Transcript Document

Unit 7
综合英语精品课程组 李晓东
I. Time Allotment 8
II. Teaching Objectives and Requirements
1. To grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
2. To understand the main idea, structure
of the text and the author’s writing style
3. To conduct a series of reading, listening,
speaking and writing activities related to the
theme
4. To consider the solution of the aging
problem in our society
III. Key Points and Difficult Points in
Teaching
1. Key language points and grammatical
structures in the text
2. Structure of the text and the author’s
writing style
IV. Teaching Process
Warming up
Youth is not a time of life; it is a
state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy
cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is
a matter of the will, a quality of the
imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it
is the freshness of the deep springs of
life.
An integrated analysis of text I
The Virtues of Growing Older
1. Pre-reading questions
--- What, in your opinion, are the
advantages and disadvantages of growing
older?
--- What do you think are the virtues of
being young?
--- How should the whole society take care
of the old people?
2. Structural analysis of the text 1
Problems connected with aging are quite a
common phenomenon of our society. According
to the development of ideas, the text can be
divided into three parts. At the very beginning
the writer airs her own view about the problem of
growing older. By giving some examples the
writer illustrates a number of distinct advantages
of growing older. Then the writer winds up her
discussion with a reference to her parents’
contentment in the last paragraph.
3.The passage can be divided into three parts
Part 1(Para.1-2): the two paragraphs
make up the first part of the text. The
writer admits the virtues of being
young, but what she really wants to
talk about is those advantages of
growing older, which are discussed in
the subsequent paragraphs.
In paragraph 2, “… gladly sign with the
devil just to be young again” literally the
phrase “sign with the devil” means “to sign a
contract with the devil, so that the devil
would help you become young again”. In
the text the phrase is metaphorically used to
mean “ready to do anything, even to work
for the devil just to be young again”.
Part 2(Para.3-5):
---What are the advantages of growing
older?
The writer, in paragraph three,
offers the first advantages of growing
older – not being obsessed with one’s
appearance.
It can be noticed that the technique of contrast is used
to project the difference between adolescents and
people in their forties:
“when my brother Dave and I were teens…”
“when Dave and I were young…”
“now, however, Dave and I are beyond such adolescent
agonies.” “Now my clothes are attractive yet easy to
wear.”
“we no longer feel anxious…”
These contrasts are focused on two aspects: the
shape of their bodies and clothes. With her own
experience, the writer drives home her point that
adolescents “feel anxious about what others will think”,
while older people are happy “as long as we feel good
about how we look”.
The second advantage is discussed in
paragraph 4—people in their forties
are less uncertain than adolescents.
The last sentence pinpoints the
writer’s view: what truly worries the
young people is not the problem of age,
but the unknowns in the future.
Paragraph 5 presents the third and the
greatest benefit of growing older:
the knowledge about yourself (the selfidentity). It is implied that lack of this
knowledge can bring about a kind of
adolescent insanity (in contrast with the
sanity of forty-year-olds) expressed in
parallel structures “It means…”, “Being
young means…”
Part 3(Para.6): after sharing her own
experience in contrast to adolescents’
problems with the readers, in this paragraph
the writer turns the issue to the similar to
the one mentioned in the first paragraph:
the validity of American values on the aging
problem. The writer cites her parents’
example to back her view, thus echoing the
theme—distinct advantages of growing
older makes a better phrase of life.
4.Language points:
Aging
the process of growing old
E.g. Our society is full of attitudes
towards aging and old people.
Dread
to feel great fear or anxiety about
E.g. I’ve got an interview with the bank
manager tomorrow – I’m dreading it.
E.g. He always dreaded asking them for
their rent because he knew it would end in
an argument.
Distinct
noticeable; unmistakable
E.g. There is a distinct possibility that
she’ll be appointed manager of the
company.
(be) obsessed with
to have an unreasonably strong and
continuous interest in particular things or
persons
E.g. She became obsessed in her old age
with what to do with her immense wealth.
Plead
To beg
E.g. the wife of one of the hostages appeared on TV last
night to plead for her husband’s life.
Tolerate
To suffer without complaining
E.g. For years we’ve had this article is beyond my
capability.
Agony
Extreme mental or physical pain or
suffering
E.g. He lay in agony until the doctor arrived.
Deny oneself
Not to allow oneself to have something that one
normally has
E.g. He denied himself all small pleasures and luxuries
in his effort to live a holy life.
Critical
Extremely important; crucial
E.g. These accusations came at a critical phrase in the
negotiations.
Confront
To deal with something in a brave and determined way;
to bring face to face
E.g. We try to help people confront their problems.
E.g. The union forced the management to confront the
issue of equal pay.
Benefit
Anything that brings help, advantages or profit
E.g. Think of the benefits our health care plan has to offer.
Beneficial a.
E.g. These changes in the education system are beneficial
to both teachers and students.
Sanity
The condition of being mentally healthy
E.g. your visits were the only thing that preserved my sanity.
Quirk
a strange or unusual habit or part of
someone’s character
E.g. She always went or three minutes’ walk
at exactly 10:45 and the robber took dvantage
of this little quirk.
5. Questions for consideration
1. Think of some efficient ways
to solve the aging problem.
2. Whom do you prefer to make
friends with, the young or the old?
6.Task
Observe and Describe some of the
occasions that people show their
concern to the old.
Text III
Topics for discussion about Text 2:
--- Do you believe in the
reconnection of age groups? Explain
your opinion.
---Do you think senior-citizen homes
are a good place for the aged? Why
/Why not?
YOUTH
Samuel Ullman
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind;
it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and
supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality
of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is
the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a tempera-mental redominance
of courage over timidity, of the appetite for
adventure over the love of ease. This often exists
in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody
grows old merely by a number of years. We
grow old by deserting our ideals.
•
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, selfdistrust bows the heart and turns the spring back
to dust. Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human
being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing
childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the
game of living. In the center of your heart and my
heart there is a wireless station: so long as it
receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage
and power from men and from the Infinite, so long
are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is
covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of
pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but
as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of
optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
•
青春
塞缪尔·厄尔曼
• 青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深
沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙热的恋情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，
二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理
想丢弃，方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，
惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。
无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹
之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你
从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青
春永驻，风华常存。
一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油
然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；然则只要树起天线，捕
捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。