Transcript Document

New Horizon College English Book 3
新视野大学英语3
School of Foreign Studies
外国语学院
Yu Yangxiao
于阳晓
Unit Nine Section A
Premarital Agreements
Warm up :
1. How to keep a happy marriage?
2. Do you want to have a premarital agreement
before your marriage? Why?
Background Information
Premarital agreements
Premarital agreements or prenuptial
agreements are binding legal contracts between
two people who intend to marry each other.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Born on July 28, 1929,
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
was first lady of the United
States during the administration
(1961-1963) of her first husband,
John F. Kennedy. She had been
a newspaper reporter and
photographer before their
marriage in 1953. She was riding
beside President Kennedy when
he was assassinated in Dallas,
Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963. In 1968
she married the Greek shipping
millionaire Aristotle Onassis.
Contents
• New Words
• Structure and writing device
• Passage Reading
• Activity
• Assignments
1. bride: 新娘 a woman who is getting married, or who is just married
bride-to-be: 准新娘 a woman who is going to be married soon
Structure:
n.-to-be
Example
groom-to-be 准新郎
father-to-be 准父亲
father-in-law 岳父，公公
mother-to-be 准母亲
mother-in-law 岳母，婆婆
I. New Words
2. contest:
a. 争夺，竞争
b. 竞赛，比赛
(take part in and) try to win sth. (vt.)
a composition (n.)
Example
前总统决定不参加本次竞选。
The ex-president has decided not to contest
this election.
I. New Words
2. contest:
a. 争夺，竞争
b. 竞赛，比赛
(take part in and) try to win sth. (vt.)
a composition (n.)
Example
由于紧张，我们在拔河/作文/演讲比赛中没有获
胜。
Because of nervous, we failed in the tug-of-war /
composition / speech contest.
I. New Words
3. sting: (stung, stung)
a.激怒；刺激 make sb. feel upset, hurt, or annoyed(vt.)
b. 刺，蛰 （of an insect) cause sharp pain (vt.)
Example
我深受良心折磨。
My conscience stung me sharply.
I. New Words
3. sting: (stung, stung)
a.激怒；刺激 make sb. feel upset, hurt, or annoyed(vt.)
b. 刺，蛰 （of an insect) cause sharp pain (vt.)
Example
一只蜂蜇了我的手臂。
A bee stung me on the arm.
I. New Words
4. exposure:
a.暴露 (+to+n) the state of being put into a harmful situation (n.)
b. 揭发；揭露(+of+n.) the act of making sth. publicly known (n.)
Example
暴露于寒风中，我觉得嘴唇干裂。
Exposure to the cold wind left my lips feeling dry.
I. New Words
4. exposure:
a.暴露 (+to+n.) the state of being put into a harmful situation (n.)
b. 揭发；揭露(+of+n.) the act of making sth. publicly known (n.)
Example
政治腐败的揭发。
the exposure of political corruption
I. New Words
Contents
• New Words
• Structure and writing device
• Passage Reading
• Activity
• Assignments
writing device:
general statement supported by exa
The essay focuses on one social phenomenon:
prenups or premarital agreements. The writer
uses this writing device to tell us what prenups
are, who needs prenups, what points to be taken
care of before signing prenups, and how people
evaluate prenups.
Question:
How did the author organize the
passage? How can we divide the
passage into four parts?
Text Structure
Part One
(Para.1-4)
Introduction of prenups.
Part Two
(Para. 5-8)
Who want prenups?.
Part Three
(Para. 9-14)
Part Four
(Para.15-16)
Some points to be taken care of regarding
prenups.
Evaluations of prenups.
Part I (Para.1-4)
The general statement:
A social phenomenon--premarital agreements
Examples:
some examples of crazy clauses of premarital
agreements (para.1)
an example of prenups– the case of Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis (para.4)
Part II (Para.5-8)
The general statement:
Who needs to have prenups?
Para.5
Examples:
three kinds of people
Para.6
Para.7
Para.8
Part III (Para.9-14)
The general statement:
Some points to be taken care of regarding prenups
Examples:
Two examples of not taking the advice.
(para.11)
an example of Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s
divorce.
(para.13)
Part IV (Para.15-16)
Evaluations
A positive one: prenups sometimes may help
save a couple from a terrible
marriage. (para.15)
A negative one: prenups sometimes prove to
be of no use to some happy
marriages. (para.16)
Contents
• New Words
• Structure and writing device
• Passage Reading
• Activity
• Assignments
Premarital Agreements
Para. 1 A future husband wanted to be sure that if his
marriage didn't work out, he could keep his treasured icecream collection safely stored away in a freezer. A woman
insisted on verifying who would walk the dog. One man
wanted the right to get a divorce if his bride-to-be gained
more than 15 pounds once she became his wife.
Para.2 These are some of the crazier clauses of
prenuptial agreements. But make no mistake about it,
what most of them are about is money — and how
financial assets will be divided up if a couple divorces.
And divorce with its accompanying money problems is
common in the United States.
What’s it
most about ?
Para.3 Prenuptial agreements — or "prenups" — are
designed to address these problems as they arise. Prenups
are negotiated by lawyers for the prospective spouses, and
signed before a minister binds them in marriage. They
have been gaining in acceptance in the United States since
the early 1980s, when more states began passing laws that
affected the division of financial assets in a divorce. The
laws are based either on "community property" (split
evenly) or on "reasonable distribution" (whatever a judge
thinks is "fair").
Para.4 The prenups of the famous make the headlines:
lawyers for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis contested the
prenuptial agreement between her and Aristotle Onassis
after his death, reportedly winning $26 million in an outof-court settlement.
What’s a
prenuptial
agreement ?
1. make no mistake (about it):
emphasize what one is saying is true 完全可以肯定
Example
可以肯定，他能通过考核。
Make no mistake about it, he will pass the test.
Language points
2. gain in:
get more of sth. 得到更多
Example
因为在电视上亮相，这些人名声大增。
These people have gained in fame as a result of their
television appearance.
Language points
3. make/ hit the headlines:
become important news 成为头条新闻
Example
贝克汉姆在昨晚比赛中为英国队赢得3分，再次
成为头条新闻。
Beckham again made the headlines, after scoring three
points for England in last night’s game.
Language points
Para5. But prenuptial agreements are also for lesser
known, although wealthy folks. "It's because divorce has
such great economic consequences, and successive
marriages have become so common," said a family law
lawyer.
Para.6 A typical candidate for a prenuptial agreement is a
man who has accumulated considerable wealth, has
already been stung once, and wants to reduce his
exposure to future problems. "They want to make their
own arrangements, rather than let a court decide," said
the president of the New York chapter of the American
Academy of Marriage Lawyers.
The three
situations that
may call for it .
Para.7 Protecting children from a previous marriage is a
strong reason for prenuptial contracts. "Someone may
have an estate of $1 billion and he may not want a second
spouse to get a payment of half a billion. He may want
more for his children," said a lawyer. The effort to shield
assets to be passed on to children and grandchildren is
making prenups more common among retired people in
their 60s and 70s who are remarrying after a spouse has
died.
Para.8 Another situation that calls for premarital
agreements occurs when a potential spouse has, or is in
line for, great inherited wealth or a family business,
especially if the future partner has little or nothing at all.
4. be in line for sth.:
be likely to get sth. 有可能得到
Example
她是一名优秀的雇员，很有可能获得提升。
She is an excellent employee and is in line for promotion.
Language points
Para.9 But even when both parties have signed such an
agreement, it can be impossible to enforce it in court if
proper guidelines have not been followed. A lawyer is
required to write the document, for mistakes in
language — even a misplaced preposition — can be
disastrous. But never, ever, warn marriage law consultants,
should you use the same lawyer as your future spouse
does.
Para.10 Another problem is a prenuptial agreement
signed under pressure. To avoid this, some lawyers will
not draw up an agreement once a wedding date has been
set. "I figure there's a sword hanging over their head, and
that's pressure," they said. Such lawyers counsel their
clients never to send out wedding invitations
until both
Some points
signatures are on an agreement.
to take care
of
Para.11 But not everyone takes this advice. A classic example is
cited by lawyers: "An agreement is stuck under somebody's nose on
the day of the wedding — and it's usually a 'she' — and she signs,
but doesn't even read it." Another lawyer recalled one awkward
episode where the two sides were still editing the contract, arguing
over what to keep and delete, as 150 wedding guests were arriving
for the wedding. When an agreement could not be forged, the
wedding was canceled.
Para.12 A dispute can also break out over prenuptial agreements if
a couple decides to divorce while living abroad, or when they have
different passports. A lawyer in a London law firm that often
handles divorces for British-American couples noted that in Britain,
prenuptial agreements were "just about ignored" by the courts
because English law says that circumstances of a marriage aren't
static, and therefore a judge should decide how financial assets will
What’s the
be divided.
situation in
Para.13 That can lead to "court-shopping", since what
matters is the law of the country where the couple is
getting divorced. He gave the following example: "A
wealthy Mr. Ed Smith gets married to Mrs.Smith, and they
enter into a New York prenuptial contract. They live in
England, and then decide to get divorced. English lawyers
will say to Mrs. Smith, 'No, that contract is not valid,'
while Mr.Smith will want it to be an American case. The
Why it’sthe
issue of where it will be held can greatly multiply
popular in
amount of time required to reach a settlement."
USA ?
Para.14 Romantic love has no bearing on this process,
say these lawyers, who consider prenups to be business
agreements. Their justification: some 50 percent of all
marriages in the United States end up on the trash heap .
Para.15 Moreover, the discussions for a prenuptial
agreement, which involve laying bare all one's finances,
sometimes save a couple from a terrible marriage. "It
sheds light on issues which could later widen and result in
divorce," said a lawyer.
Para.16 But there is still hope. "Many people sign an
agreement, put it in a drawer and never look at it again,"
the lawyer added.
5. But never, ever, warn marriage law consultants, should
you use the same lawyer as your future spouse does.
某些表示否定意义的副词位于句
首时，句子通常要部分倒装，即：
助动词或情态动词位于主语之前。
More:
nowhere, no longer, hardly, little, few,
seldom, rarely, barely, etc.
Language points
Complete the sentences:
Never have I seen such a nice movie.
• (我从来没) ___________
No longer was he in charge of this work.
• (他不再) _______________
did she think of the consequence.
• (她没怎么) Little
___________
Nowhere were they to be found.
• (哪儿也找不到他们)___________________
Hardly could I understand what
• (我几乎听不懂)______________
• he said.
Seldom did he go anywhere
• (他很少到别处去)_________________
• except to the library.
Few words _______
did they exchange.(他们几乎没交谈)
• ____
6. draw up:
prepare a written document, such as a contract 写出；起草
Example
战争结束后，两国起草了一份和平条约。
The two countries drew up a peace treaty after the
war ended.
Language points
7. under one’s nose:
just in front of sb. 就在…面前
Example
小偷就在警卫的眼皮底下拿着那幅油画走出了博
物馆。
The thief walked out of the museum with the painting
right under the guards’ nose.
Language points
8. just about :
almost; very nearly 几乎；差不多
Example
我见到他时差不多是三月末了。
It was just about the end of March when I saw him.
Language points
9. That can lead to "court-shopping", since what matters
is the law of the country where the couple is getting
divorced.
Paraphrase
People may choose court to get a divorce because the
important thing is the law of the country where the
couple is getting divorced.
Court-shopping: a word created by the writer,
probably modeled after “window-shopping”. The
implied meaning is that one may choose a court
among several for one’s legal suit.
Language points
10. have no bearing on sth.:
have no effect or influence on sth. 对…无影响；无关
Example
他的意见对我们的决定没有影响。
His comments had no bearing on our decision.
你所说的与本题无关。
What you have said has no bearing on the subject.
Language points
11. lay sth. bare:
make sth. known 揭露；暴露
Example
在这份报告里，所有的事实都被披露出来了。
All the facts are laid bare in this report.
Language points
12. shed light on :
make sth. easier to understand 使易于理解
Example
这些线索使这个疑案变得清晰一些。
These clues shed new light on the mystery.
Language points
Contents
• New Words
• Structure and writing device
• Passage Reading
• Activity
• Assignments
IV Activity
Please create a short story or dialogue by
making use of as many new phrases and words
in this section as possible in an effort to
remember their meaning and usage.
contest
sting
make the headline
underone’s
one’snose
nose…have
under
… no bearing on… …
Contents
• New Words
• Structure and writing device
• Passage Reading
• Activity
• Assignments
V Assignments
Paragraph writing
Write a paragraph supported by examples
You may choose whatever you are interested in
as your topic.
Thanks for your attention