Transcript Fun, Oh Boy. Fun. You Could Die from It

Fun, Oh Boy. Fun. You
Could Die from It
By Suzanne Britt
Jordan
Pre-reading
 What expectations do you bring to an
article entitled “Fun, Oh Boy. Fun. You
Could Die from it”? Can ‘fun” actually
harm or kill you? In what ways? Do you
think that Americans are too much of a
“fun” culture? Why or why not?
 Do you think we Changsha people have a
“fun” culture? Why or why not?
Pre-reading
 Consider the contrasts between, and shades
of difference within, “puritan” (par. 3).
“selfless” (par. 4), and “Licentiousness”
(par. 9). Or between “epitome” (par. 11),
“reverently” (par. 13), and “blaspheme”
(par. 13). What do these words imply about
the essay, the author? What do you guess
the essay is likely to say?
About the author:
Suzanne Britt Jordan
 Born in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, and attended Salem College
and Washington University. She has
been a columnist for the Raleigh News
and Observer and Stars and Stripes,
European edition, and has written for
other newspapers and newsmagazines.
 Jordan’s books include a collection of
essays, Show and Tell (1982); Skinny
People Are Dull and Crunchy like Carrots
(1982), an expansion of her essay "That
Lean and Hungry Look"; and A Writer’s
Rhetoric (1988), a college textbook. This
essay originally appeared in the "My Turn"
column of Newsweek magazine.
Newsweek
Puritans
Puritans refer to a group of radical English
protestants that arose in the late sixteenth century
and became a major force in England during the
seventeenth century. Puritans wanted to “purify”
the Church of England by eliminating traces of
its origins in the Roman Catholic Church. In
addition, they urged a strict moral code and
placed a high value on hard work. After the
execution of King Charles I in 1649, they
controlled
the
new
government,
the
Commonwealth.
Oliver Cromwell, who became leader of
the Commonwealth, is the best-known
Puritans. Many Puritans, persecuted in
their homeland, came to America in the
1620s and 1630s, setting colonies that
eventually became Massachusetts. The
words puritan and puritanical have come
to suggest a zeal for keeping people from
enjoying themselves. One who is
scrupulous and strict in his religious life;
often used reproachfully or in contempt;
one who has overstrict notions.
清教徒原指英国的一部分新教徒，他们大都倾向于资
产阶级革命，像克伦威尔。后来分布变得更广泛，遍
及美国。历史上将在英国的新教徒，那些信奉加尔文
教义、不满英国国教教义的人称为清教徒。由于英国
的宗教迫害，大部分清教徒逃亡到了美国，所以人们
所说的清教徒，一般指在美国的清教徒。清教徒并不
是一种宗教，而是一种态度，一种倾向，一种价值观，
它是对信徒群体的一种统称。清教徒是最为虔诚，生
活最为圣洁的新教徒，他们认为“人人皆祭司，人人
有召唤”。认为每个个体可以直接与上帝交流，反对
神甫集团的专横、腐败和繁文缛节、形式主义。他们
主张简单、实在、上帝面前人人平等的信徒生活。
清教徒认为人必须要禁欲和勤俭节约。他们
限制一切纵欲、享乐甚至消费行为。毫无疑
问，清教徒运动对后世的影响是巨大的。清
教徒精神所形成的现代文化，其许多重要方
面，仍是当今社会的基础。尤其是美国的共
和政体制度、美国文化精神，都深受清教徒
运动的影响。可以说，没有清教徒，美国今
天不会是这样的社会面貌。罗斯福总统在纪
念五月花号清教徒的演说上说，“三百年前到
达此地的五月花清教徒，改变了这一块土地
的命运，也因而改变了这一个世界的命运。”
现在清教徒也用来指那些主张禁欲的人或极
端拘谨的人。
Structural analysis of the Text
The essay evaluates the “fun” side of the
American culture in an ironic way. The first five
paragraphs, which form the introduction to the
essay, provide a stipulative definition of “fun”.
Then in the main body of the text, the writer
gives an extended definition of it by pointing out
what it is not. The essay concludes with an
anecdote that further explains what fun is. To
develop the definition, a number of methods have
been employed, among which are narration.,
comparison and contrast.
In reading
 What other rhetorical strategies are used in
this essay? (hint: pars. 8 & 14; pars. 6 & 10
 Repetition
 Simile
 Personification
Vocabulary Building



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
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1. A. something precious
B. by all-powers
C. she feels terrible
D. Gosh
2. A. render unimportant or insignificant
B. failing
C. walking aimlessly or idly
D. drinking greedily or excessively
Gaiety, merriment
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 1. In pars. 1-5, she implies that fun is not easily
come by; it is not something common; it is not
something that necessarily comes daily; and it is
not simply pure pleasure.
 2. We would make it into fun, despite the fact that
it may not have been so. For example, she cites
things that got the reputation of being fun (6):
family outings, sex, education, work, Walt Disney,
church, staying fit.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 3. By placing “happy faces” on them.
 4. By stepping up “the level of danger or
licentiousness or alcohol or drug
consumption.
 5. Taking Polaroid picture, swilling beer,
buying insurance, mopping the floor,
bowing, taking aspirin (10)
Happy face
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 6. We usually anticipate the fun so
much on big occasions that we end up
missing it when it finally comes. “It
may even come on a Tuesday” means
that fun may come when we least
expect it, when there is no big
occasion.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 7. About fun, Jordan says “not much is”
(12). She feels we ought to be more
reverent about fun, to feel it more as a
mystery than as something to which we are
automatically entitled. It may even come
when we are working or performing some
duty, implying that those things can be the
“real fun” in life (13)
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 8. They were about twelve years old. They
had just bought candy—Bit-O-Honey,
malted milk balls, chocolate stars,
Chunkies, M & M’s—and were walking
home together. Pam’s gestures were
especially funny because they were truly
enjoying each other’s friendship—that is,
“having fun.”
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 9. She is regretful about “growing up” and
feeling, therefore, that she has lost “the
kind of day and friendship and occasion”
that she had with Pam. It is difficult to say
how sad or regretful she really is; she
seems more bittersweet than sad, although
some readers might logically question why
growing up precludes having fun
Understanding the Writer’s
Techniques
 1. Fun comes unexpectedly, it is not there for the
asking. Par. 13 provides the key elements of the
thesis.
 2. The first two paragraphs are, in a way,
definitions of “fun.” However, these two
sentences, either singly or together, do not
sufficiently define the abstract concept which is
the subject of the essay: The first (“fun is hard to
have”) simply states the quality of the concepts;
the second (“Fun is a rare jewel.”) makes a
metaphorical comparison.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 3. In the three paragraphs, Jordan mentions
all sorts of things that are “supposed” to be
fun, but does so in a way to suggest that
she certainly does not think of them as
automatically being fun. For example, in
par. 7 she explains how “happy face”
stickers are supposed to make “fun” out of
something like a flunked test.
 Par. 8 relates a vignette（小插曲） in
which a kid does not respond the right way
to something which his or her parents are
sure would be “fun.” And in par. 9 she
becomes more serious in her irony by
indicating that drug or alcohol abuse is
sometimes a negative way of making “fun”
out of times when life is not so thrilling
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 4. The fact that we have accepted some things as
fun mainly because, through advertising or
cultural assimilation, we have come to think of
them as having to be fun although we may not
actually derive any pleasure from them.
 5. Jordan attempts to include in her definition and
analysis the broad spectrum of objects, products,
and activities which we have come to assume are
fun, but may, in fact, not be so.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 6. The tone is talky and slightly cynical
although essentially it remains a
lighthearted irony through the use of
conversational words and phrases. Among
these are: snakes alive! (3); by Jove (5);
flunking (7); this ain’t fun, ma (8); Golly
gee (8); those rough-and-ready guys (10)
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 7. As in her use of “everyday” and
“everything,” Jordan is attempting to show
us just how many things from so many
different types of activities we take for
granted as having to be fun. In a way, she
is trying to point out to us that we are often
much too unselective in our evaluations of
“fun.” Pars. 6 and 10 are especially
effective for their use of multiple examples.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 8. Par. 12 serves as a transitional paragraph,
whereas par. 13 is the first one to be mostly
affirmative (“It is a mystery.”) The switch turns
the tone of the essay from ironic or cynical to
more serious and reminiscent of fun times in the
past
 9. Disney World (8); Polaroids (10); Bit-O-Honey,
Chunky, M & M’s (14). By using specific brand
names, she brings specificity and familiarity to
her illustrations.
Disney Land
Polaroids
Bit-O-Honey
Chunky
M & M’s
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 10. Narration is used to illustrate aspects of
the concept of “fun.” Par. 8 is the imagined
story of a kid with his or her parents in
Disney World. Par. 14 narrates a fun time
Jordan had with her childhood friend, Pam.
The narration of her childhood memory
adds a nice, personal touch to the essay.
Understanding the Writer’s ideas
 11. Perhaps she wants her readers to begin
and end this essay with the idea that “fun”
is really quite simple—not so complicated
and busy as all the “things” she describes
in the body of the essay.
Language points
1. somewhere along the line: inf. During
the time when you are involved in an
activity or process, e.g.
Somewhere along the line, Jack
seemed to have lost interest in
their marriage.
Somewhere along the line, his father
became addicted to gambling.
2. deserve: be worthy of (应受奖、罚；值
得), e.g.
He deserves to be scolded for having
broken the precious vase.
The composition deserves careful study.
deserve + doing = deserve to be done, e.g
deserve criticizing
3. overshadow: to make ( sb. Or sth.) less
successful, important or impressive by
comparison with others; to dominate)
e.g.
Ben overshadows all his colleagues.
She is overshadowed by her younger
and more attractive sister.
4. beneficial: producing results that bring
advantages, e.g.
beneficial effects
An agreement has been reached that will
be beneficial to both parties.
5. reputation: the opinion that people have
about a particular person or thing
because of what has happened in the
past, e.g.
He has a reputation for honesty and
efficiency.
The man began to establish a reputation as
a writer at the age of 19.
earn / win / establish a reputation as
live up to your reputation
6. flunk: to fail, especially (in) a course or
an exam
The boy was upset because he flunked (in)
an English Exam.
Flunk out: to expel or be expelled from a
school or a course because of work that
does not meet required standards.
We spent the day traipsing from one shop
to another.
7. very: right (for the sake of emphasis),
usu. used with the superlative form of
adj. or first and last, etc. e.g.
There have been three accidents in this
very same place.
The very first thing you must do is ring
the police.
She’s the very worst cook I’ve ever
encountered.
8. consumption: consume, consumer
This is produced for domestic consumption.
There is too great a consumption of alcohol
in Britain.
We have no more right to consume happiness
without producing it than to consume
wealth without producing it. (Bernard
Shaw)(如果我们不能建筑幸福的生活，
我们就没有权利享受幸福；这正如没有
创造财富就无权享受财富一样。)
 8. epitome: an ideal; a typical
representation
 His father is the epitome of goodness.
 “He is seen…as the epitome of the
hawkish, right-of-center intellectual”.
Epitomize: to be an epitome of something
 He epitomizes the loving father.
 She epitomizes all the good qualities of
her family.
 10. no matter what: no matter what
happens: you will definitely do sth, e.g.
 I’ll call you tonight no matter what.
 No matter what, he’ll be there on time.
 11. flick: make sth. move away by hitting
or pushing it suddenly or quickly,
especially with your thumb or finger
 12. –dom: 1) the state of being sth.,
freedom, wisdom
 2) a. a particular rank, an earldom伯
爵/ dukedom

b. an area ruled by a particular
type of person, a kingdom
 3) inf. All the people who share the
same set of interests, have the same job
etc.,
 Officialdom 官 场 ,
yuppiedom
(uncountable nouns)
13. go through:
1) suffer or experience sth. bad, e.g.
How does she keep smiling after all she’s gone
through?
2) to use sth. and have none left, e.g.
Austria was so expensive – we went through all our
money in one week.
3) a law was accepted, e.g.
The Bill went through Parliament without a vote.
(法案未经表决就在议会通过了。)
4) look at or for sth. carefully, e.g.
Dave went through all his pockets looking for the
keys.
 14.
damper: something that stops
an occasion from being an
enjoyable as it was intended to be,
e.g.
The bad news put/cast/threw a
damper on the party.
15 scan
(1) to examine (sth.) carefully, with the eyes or with
a machine, in order to obtain information, e.g.
She anxiously scanned the faces of the young
men leaving the train in the hope of finding her son.
(2) To scan a text can also mean to look through it
quickly in order to find a piece of information
that one wants to get a general idea of what the
text contains.
Translation
1. It goes without saying that Shakespeare
overshadows all the other playwrights
throughout the ages.
2. The Great Gatsby is commonly deemed
as the epitome of the Jazz Age of the last
century in America.
3. It is advisable for you not to put a damper
on his enthusiasm to further his studies at
Harvard.
4. Young people tend to make a fetish of
glamorous stars in sports and entertainment
circles.
5. They traipsed all the way to the People’s
Square for the celebrations of the National
Day.
6. He does not deserve such severe
punishment, as he has committed neither
serious errors nor grave crimes.
7. Every time I met him, he would talk a
whole lot of nonsense.
8. He said that reputation is a trap into
which many people are ready to fall.
Note-writing
Here is a note offering tickets to a friend. In
notes of this kind, the specific offers
should be clearly mentioned. Usually the
reason for the offer is given. Sometimes a
reply is required if the contents require one.
10 May, 2000
Dear John,
I’ve got two tickets for the Chinese Folk Song
Concert, which is on this coming Sunday at 7:30
p m. I know you have always been a music lover.
But do you care for vocal recitals? If you are
interested, we can go together. Please let me
know by calling me up at my office.
David
Thanks for your attention！