Transcript 幻灯片 1

Unit Four
American Dream
Part I. Lead-in questions:
1) A dream could be an ambition. Do you have a
dream ? What do you dream to do in the future?
2) Success is desired by many. What do you think is a
successful person like? Tell the story of a
successful person in your eyes.
3) Decades ago, there was a hit soap opera in China
entitled Beijingnese in New York, in which a line
went like this : Send him to America if you love him;
If you hate him, just do the same. What do you
think of it? Is America heaven or hell to you ?
Text A
Tony Trivisonno’s American Dream
---By Frederick C. Crawford
Part II. Cultural Notes (1)
American dream: a faith held by many Americans
that through courage, determination and hard work,
one can achieve a better life, usually symbolized by
financial prosperity, such as a college education, a
decent job, and a nice house.
These values were held by many early European
settlers and have been passed on to subsequent
generations. It has been under severe criticism
recently for its focus on material wealth as a
measure of success or happiness.
Now, people look towards a new American Dream
that stresses living a simple and fulfilling life
rather than having more financial gain.
Part II. Cultural Notes (2)
 Immigrants: Apart from “native Americans” or
“Indians” (people living in North America long
before Europeans arrived there), all Americans
have ancestors who were immigrants. The United
States has become the home of immigrants from all
over the world.
 Some immigrants come in search of a place to
practice a free religious belief, others come to seek
political or economic protection and still others
arrive in hope of building a better life for
themselves and their families.
This map shows the numbers of people (in thousands)
who immigrated to the US between 1820 and 1990.
Ellis Island
 Ellis Island was the
first stop for most
immigrants from
Europe in late 19th
and early 20th
centuries.
 Entrance to the
museum.
Part II. Cultural Notes (3)
 Depression days: the period of severe economic
failure in most industrialized countries of the
world. It began in the U.S when the New York
Sock Exchange fell on Friday 29 October 1920,
and continued the following Tuesday ,known as
Black Tuesday. The Depression struck many other
countries as well, such as Germany, Britain and
Japan. In the early 1930s , millions of people lost
their jobs and millions of businesses failed.
President Roosevelt’s New Deal policies improved
the situation, but the Depression didn’t come to an
end until World War II when industrial production
for the war increased.
Part II. Cultural Notes (4)
 mortgage: an agreement to have money lent ,
especially to buy a house or land, with the house or
land belonging to the lender until the money is repaid.
If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender may
force the sale of the house or land to recover the
amount of the loan. Most lenders require the borrower
to have a certain amount of money to use as a down
payment. Payments for the loan are usually made
monthly. The life of the mortgage can be 15, 20 years
or even longer.
Part III. Writing Features(1)
1) This story unfolds in time sequence with the
help of time words and phrases, for instance, the
next two days, the months passed, a year or two
passed, after about two years, sometime later, etc.
Writing in time sequence makes the narration easy
to follow.
Part III. Writing Features(2)
 2) Well-selected details are vital to story
development. For example, Tony’s faulty English
“I mow your lawn’ is repeated four times to show
his determination in finding a job and his
optimistic view that people would help a man in
need of a job. His physical appearance is presented
on three occasions to show an increasingly well-todo Tony.
Part III. Writing Features(3)
 3) To be fair and objective, the author doesn’t
claim that Tony is a good worker. Rather, he leads
readers to believe so through the compliments of
other people. For example, “my wife said he was
very helpful”; the personnel department said “Tony
was a very good worker”; When he died, people
found “the farm green with vegetables, the little
house livable and homey.”
Part III. Writing Features : Text
Organization
 Part 1 (Paras. 1-29): With determination, vision
and perseverance, Tony Trivisonno fulfilled his
American dream.
 Part 2 (Paras.30-33): Tony’s story set the author
thinking about why he had been successful and to
what extent.
Part III. Writing Features : Text
Organization
 Part 1 is made up of several events which helped
Tony fulfill his dream. These include:
1) Tony volunteered to work as a help at Mr.
Crawford’s house.
2) Tony asked for a snow-clearing job at Mr.
Crawford’s factory.
3) Tony learned to become a skilled worker.
4) Tony bought a house with Mr. Crawford’s help.
5) Tony bought a farm and brought his family to
America.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 It’s hard to comprehend his broken English.
(para. 2)
 --- His English was broken and it was not easy to
get what he said.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice.
(para. 16)
--- Tony became an apprentice at our apprentice
school and to that end he had his pay reduced.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 My wife and I were delighted with what we felt
was a satisfying end of the story. (para. 16)
 --- My wife and I were delighted with what Tony
had achieved and thought things had been settled
for him.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 He grew in stature in my mind.(para.30)
 --- In my mind, he grew taller and greater.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the
ladder. He began in the basement. (para.32)
 --- This sentence shows that Tony’s starting point is
much lower than others. When he arrived in
America , he had nothing and he built up from
nothing.
Part IV. Difficult Sentences:
 But after all, the balance sheet was exactly the
same. (para. 32)
 --- But after all, Tony’s balance sheet was the same
as that of those great industrialists. In other words,
we can say , what Tony and the other industrialists
have achieved were just the same.
Part V. Language Points
comprehend(para.2):vt. understand sth. fully 理解
 e.g. 1)I cannot comprehend how you could have
been so stupid.
 2)He comprehends that he must improve his work,
or fail the course.
comprehensible 和comprehensive
comprehensible: adj. capable of being understood;
clear, intelligible能理解的
e.g. a book that is comprehensible only to specialists
Her writing is quite comprehensible.
comprehensive: adj. that includes nearly everything
（几乎）包罗万象的；全面的
e.g. 1) She has a comprehensive grasp of the subject.
2) Our company has a comprehensive health plan that
covers expenses for doctors, hospital, medicine and
dental care.
Part V. Language Points
turn away(para.4): refuse to allow sb. to enter a
place; refuse to give help or support to sb. 拒绝
 e.g. 1) The security guard turned away people who
didn’t have invitations to the party.
 2) Hundreds of people had to be turned away from
the stadium because it was full.
Part V. Language Points
assume(para.6): vt. 1) accept sth. as true before there
is proof 假设，认为
 e.g. 1)I assume that the present situation is going to
continue.
 2) We must assume him to be innocent until he
is proved guilty.
2) assume ignorance, indifference呈现
e.g. The look of innocence she assumed had us all
fooled.
3) begin to act in or exercise sth; undertake; take on
开始从事；承担；担任
e.g. The winner of the election assumed the office of
senator.
Part V. Language Points
 compliment sb. on sth.(para.8): vt. express praise
or admiration of sb. 赞扬
e.g. 1) I complimented her on her skillful
performance.
2) She complimented the nine-year-old boy on his
good manners.
Part V. Language Points
 work out (para. 10):
 1) calculate sth.
e.g． I’ve worked out your share of the expenses at
$10.
2) develop, formulate 想出；制订出
The president worked out a solution to the
company’s problems.
Part V. Language Points
 capacity (para.15): n.
 1) the ability to contain, hold or absorb 容量，容
积
e.g. a hall with a seating capacity of 2000
That restaurant is filled to capacity.
2) ability to produce, experience, understand or
learn sth. 生产、体会、理解或学习的能力
e.g. 1) She has an enormous capacity for hard work.
2) His capacity for remembering things is amazing.
3) This book is within the capacity of younger
readers.
Part V. Language Points
 turn sb./sth. down (para. 15): reject or refuse to
consider (an offer, a proposal, etc. or the person
who makes it) 拒绝
 e.g. 1)He meant to join the army but was turned
down because of poor health.
2) He asked Jane to marry him but she turned him
down/turned down his proposal.
Part V. Language Points
apprentice (para.16): n.学徒
 e.g.: an apprentice plumber , carpenter
 Most of the work was done by apprentices.
 v. apprentice sb. to sb.
e.g.: The parents apprenticed him to a blacksmith.
Part V. Language Points
 for sale (para. 18): available for purchase 待售；
供出售
e.g. 1)We don’t want our car anymore; it is for sale.
 比较 on sale available for a lower price than usual
廉价出售；降价销售
e.g. I bought this coat on sale, for $20 less than the
original price.
Part V. Language Points
wreck (para. 18): n.
1) sth. or sb. ruined 被严重破坏之物；受到了严
重损害的人
e.g. After the accident, his car was a wreck.
He is a wreck after drinking for so many years.
2) a ship lost at sea 海上失事船只
Some divers like to dive for wrecks in the ocean.
Part V. Language Points
 call on (para. 19):
1) visit sb. 拜访
e.g. We called on our new neighbors last weekend.
2) request that sb. do sth. 要求,号召
The governor called on the state residents to
conserve water.
Part V. Language Points
 down payment (para.21): a part payment at the
time of buying sth.首付 ；定金
e.g. We made a down payment on the refrigerator
and agreed to monthly payments on the rest.
Part V. Language Points
 odds and ends (para.21): a mix of items, bits and
pieces 零星东西；残剩的东西
e.g. We moved all our things from one apartment to
another, except for a few odds and ends, like an old
lamp.
Part V. Language Points
 sponsor (para.27) :
 n. 1) a person, business, or group that helps pay
for sth. (cultural or sporting event, TV shows, etc)
发起人；赞助者，资助者
e.g.: The sports equipment store is the sponsor of
the local baseball team; it pays for uniforms and
transportation.
2) v. act as a sponsor
e.g.: A beer company sponsored the baseball game
by paying for television advertising.
Part V. Language Points
approach(para.27): vt. come nearer to sth. 靠近
e.g.: 1) As they approached the wood, they saw a
squirrel scurrying down a tree.
2) Look, we are approaching the Oriental Pearl TV
tower now.
Part V. Language Points
 pass away (para.28): die (euphemism 委婉语)过
世
e.g.:1) Her father passed away just last week.
2) The teenager has lived on his own since his
parents passed away 4 years ago.
Part V. Language Points
 check on sth.(para.29): examine sth. to discover if
it is true, safe, correct, etc. 察看，检查
e.g.:
1)I checked on my facts before going to the
meeting.
2) Go upstairs and check on the kids.
Part VI.
Writing Assignment
Have a discussion on the role of dreams in one’s life
and the efforts required to turn the dream into a
reality. Then write an essay : Turning Dreams into
A Reality
The End