上海建桥学院大学英语制作
Unit One
Text A
Mr. Doherty Builds His
Dream Life
Content
Background information
Warming-up activity
Text organization
 Text analysis
Sentence study
Words and phrases
Exercise
abstract
Translation
discussion
listening
Background Information
Cultural Notes
The Ivy League （常青藤协会）
It refers to the eight long-established colleges and
universities in the United States with prestigious academic
and social reputations. The members of the Ivy League
compete in intercollegiate athletics. Members of the Ivy
League go as follows:
1) Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island;
2) Columbia University in New York City;
3) Cornell University in Ithaca, New York;
4) Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire;
5) Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts;
6) University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia;
7) Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey;
8) Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Brown University
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Columbia University
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Cornell University
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Dartmouth College
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Harvard University
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University of Pennsylvania
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Princeton University
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Yale University
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Cultural Notes
Sports Illustrated （《体育画报》）
A popular US sports magazine published each week
by Time Inc, part of Time Warner. It first appeared in 1954,
and is read mainly by men. The magazine also publishes
the Sports Illustrated Sports Almanac （年鉴) every year.
Individual Retirement Account (个人退休帐户)
IRA is a US government program that allows people to
put part of their income into special bank accounts. No tax
has to be paid on this money until they retire.
Cultural Notes
Insurance Policies
Factors to be taken into consideration when we
choose an insurance provider mainly include:
1) the financial stability of the insurance company;
2) the price of policies; and
3) details of coverage and service.
Most insurance falls into 4 categories according to
what it covers:
1) Property and casualty(意外伤害）,
2) life,
3) health and disability, and
4) old age and unemployment
II. Cultural Notes
E. B. White (1899-1985):
Leading American essayist and literary stylist known
for his crisp, graceful, relaxed style.
White's stories ranged from satire to children's fiction.
While he often wrote from the perspective of slightly ironic
onlooker, he was also a sensitive spokesman for the
freedom of the individual. Among his most enduring essays
is ‘Once More to the Lake.’
White's favorite subjects were the complexities of
modern society, failures of technological progress, the
pleasures of urban and rural life, war, and internationalism.
White was awarded the gold medal for essays and
criticism of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and a
Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1978. He held honorary
degrees from seven American colleges and universities and
was a member of the American Academy.
Warm-up Activity




City life vs. Country life
In your opinion,which is better,
living in the country or living in the city?
Give reasons.
CityCity
life life:
Advantages
Disadvantage
Higher living standard
Overpopulation
Convenient
Air pollution
transportation
Noise
Health care
Heavy traffic
Better education
High crime rate
More job opportunities
Fierce competition and stress
entertainment
Indifference in interpersonal
relationship
Country life
Country life
Advantages
 Fresh air
 Healthy food
Self-sufficiency
Peaceful life
More leisure time
less pressure
Closer personal

relationship

Disadvantages
Remote and backward
underdeveloped
inconvenience in life
not well-informed of the
outside word
hard manual labor
Low income
Text Analysis
The text can be divided into four
parts. The paragraph numbers of
each paragraph have been given
to you. Now find out their main
ideas
Part Division of the Text
Parts
Paras
Main Ideas
1
1~3
The writer views his life in the country as a
self-reliant and satisfying one.
2
4-7
Life in the country is good yet sometimes
very hard.
3
4
8-11
12-15
After quitting his job, the writer’s income
was reduced, but he and his family can
manage to get by.
A tolerance for solitude and a lot of energy
have made it possible for the family to enjoy
their life in the country.
All through the text, the writer tells
about the happiness and hardships the
family have experienced in the country.
Make a list of the happy moments and
events as well as a list of the hardships
in the following columns.
Happy Moments and Events
• Growing nearly all their fruits and vegetables
• Canoeing, picnicking, long bicycle rides, etc.
• Keeping warm inside the house in winter
• Writing freelance articles
• Earning enough money while maintaining a happy
family life
Hardships
• Working hard both in winter and in summer
• Harsh environment and weather condition
• Anxious moments after the writer quit his job
• Cutting back on the daily expenses
• Solitude
Text Comprehension
Understanding the Paragraphs
Para 1
Q: Where does the author’s contentment come from?
A: Writing and living on a farm.
Para 2
Q: What is a self-reliant life like?
A: (See Para. 2)
Para 3
Q: Why is this kind of life satisfying?
A: (See Para. 4)
Para 4
Q: How tough is the good countryside life ?
A: Bad weather (30 below and 95 above),
Tough work: hauling firewood up the river on a sled,
cultivating corn,
weeding strawberries,
killing chickens,
retiling the back roof,
making improvements on the outdoor toilet,
spraying the orchard,
painting the barn,
planting the garden,
cleaning the hen house.
Para 5
Q: What does the writer do in between the chores mentioned
above?
A: He manages to spend 50-60 hours at the typewriter or
doing reporting for the freelance articles.
Q: What does his wife do meanwhile?
A: His wife pursues her own demanding schedule.
(See Lines 27-32)
Para 6
Q: Why is the author’s first winter in the country
unforgettable?
A: Though buried in deep snow, they kept warm inside
burning their own wood, eating their own apples and loving
every minute of it. (A tough but happy life)
Para 7
Q: What is this paragraph about?
A: Their amazing harvests (wave after wave of farm produce).
Para 8
Q: What did the writer do in the second year on the farm?
A: He grew even more food and managed to get through the
winter on firewood from their own trees. He also thought
about quitting his job and starting to freelance.
Para 9
Q: What did the author do as a freelance writer?
A: (See Lines 55-59)
Paras 10-11
Q: What are these two paragraphs about?
A: How the family managed to cover their usual expenses and
live a satisfactory life though they were making much less
money in the country:
--need less, buy a poor man’s major medical policy (low
premium),
--make up the difference in income by cutting back without
appreciably lowering their standard of living,
--patronise cheaper local restaurants, attend opera and ballet
less often, eat less meat, drink cheaper wine, see fewer
movies,
--combine vacations with story assignments.
Paras 12-13
Q: What are the special qualities required for life on a farm?
A: --Tolerance for solitude
--A lot of energy to do the work yourself
Para 14
Q: What will the future be like and how will the family feel
when they leave the farm?
A: They may continue their stay on the farm. They may leave
the farm with a mixed feeling of sorrow (for leaving the
farm) and pride (at what they have accomplished—a good
life and a fair profit on the sale of the place).
Para 15
Q: What do we learn from the last paragraph of the text?
A: Echoing with what he says in the opening paragraph, the
author restates his purpose to come to the farm.
--to improve the quality of their lives;
--to find contentment with life in the country.
Sentence Study
Sentence study
1. I am not in E.B. White’s class as a writer or in my
neighbor's league as a farmer, but I’m getting by. (L. 3)
Paraphrase:
As a writer, I am not as good as E.B. White;
neither am I as good a farmer as my neighbor who is
a member of the farmers’ league. Anyhow, I can
manage to do well enough both as a writer and as a
farmer.
Sentence study
2. …and we cut enough wood to just about make it
through the heating season.” (L.9)
Paraphrase:
make it --- succeed
the heating season --- the cold winter
With the wood they cut, their family can succeed in
getting / manage to get through the cold winter.
Sentence study
3. There is, as the old saying goes, no rest for the wicked …..
(L. 31)
Paraphrase:
Just as the old saying goes, there is no rest for the
bad people.
It means that you must continue with your work or
other activity that your should be doing.
Sentence study
4. I’m not making anywhere near as much money as I did
when I was employed full time,… (L. 60)
Paraphrase:
I’m not at all making as much money as I did when
I worked full time, …
Words and Phrases
Get by:
be good enough but not very good; manage to live
or do things in a satisfactory way
过得去，尚可
1. My parents managed to get by on a
small amount of money.
2. It is a little bit difficult for the old couple to get
by on such a small pension.
Translate：
眼下我们有四台计算机还过得去，但是新员工来
了我们就需要多增加几台。
Leave over:
have…undone
剩下; 把…留待后
We’ll leave this pie over for tomorrow.
Translate：
他的收入很少，缴了房租之后就没剩多少了。
He has a very small income and the rent has left him
very little over.
leave about: 乱扔，乱放
leave behind: 留下，忘带；把…丢在后面
leave out: 省去，略去；遗漏
Haul:
1) transport, as with a truck,
cart, etc. 运输
2) pull or drag with effort or
force 拉,拽
The farmers haul vegetables to the market on a truck
every morning.
A crane had to be used to haul the car out of the
stream.
Translate：
救援小组把医疗设备和食物运到受洪灾的村庄。
Improvement: 改善;修葺;改观
Internet service providers should develop security
improvement services for their customers.
Translate：
他们在搬家前对房子作了大量的内部改进装修。
They had carried out a great number of interior
improvements to the house before they moved in.
我发现家乡在许多方面都改观了。
Supplement:
v. add 补充
n. sth. that is added 补充（物），
增补（物）
Peter does freelance work to supplement his income.
Translate：
凯伦在晚上做点辅导以增补收入。
Karen supplements her regular salary by tutoring in the evening.
字典应通过每年出补编以保持内容崭新。
Indoor:
situated or used inside a building
室内的，户内的
ant.: outdoor 室外的，户外的
室内运动
室内污染
an indoor sport
indoor pollution
室内网球场
露天剧场
an indoor tennis court
an outdoor theatre
喜欢野外活动的人
户外活动
an outdoorsman
outdoor activities
Spray:
force out liquid in small drops
upon (with)喷洒，喷涂；扫射
I’ll have to spray the roses with insecticide to get rid of
the greenfly.
Translate：
不守公德的人在墙上乱涂鸦。
Vandals have sprayed graffiti on the walls.
枪手朝着人群扫射。
Pursue:
v. strive to gain or
accomplish 努力去获得，
追求
After graduation Martin chose to pursue the same
career as his father as a minister.
Translate：
在艺术上她追求达到完美境界。
从事研究
追求远大目标
Stack:
v. make into a pile将…堆
起来
n. a pile 一堆
Once the last few people had left the hall, the
caretakers began stacking the chairs.
Translate：
这些床设计的易于叠放。
一堆干草
a stack of hay
大量的工作
整齐堆放的书
books in a neat stack
一大批人
Get through: vt. come successfully to
the end 通过，度过
She got through the entrance examination and was
accepted by the college.
Translate：
地方政府已采取措施确保所有村民安全过冬。
The local government has taken some measures to
ensure that all the villagers will get through the winter.
他们又一次没能使议案被议会通过。
On balance:with all things considered
总的来说
I think, on balance, I didn’t treat you unfairly
Translate：
总的来说，他得到的将比失去的多。
On balance, he will gain more than he will lose.
总的来说，改变一个已广为流传的产品的名称是不
明智的。
Generate: vt. produce; bring into
existence 产生；形成
The program has generated a lot of new jobs in
the service industry.
Translate：
流水可以驱动叶轮机发电。
The flowing water can be used to drive turbine, which
generates electricity.
航天技术导致了了数以千计的日用品的产生，如
用于跑鞋制作的轻便材料。
.
Pick up:
1) be ready to pay 支付
2) learn by chance (无意中）
学会
If he loses the case, Mike will have to pick up the
bill for legal costs.
--Where did you study Greek?
-- I didn’t, I just sort of picked it up when I lived
there.
Translate：
纳税人将支付公交系统改造费用。
Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the improved
public transport network.
没有成年人的监护，青少年很容易交上不良朋友。
Minor:
较少的，较小的，次要的
ant.: major 较大的，较多的，重要的
Translate：
扮演次要角色
play a minor part
小手术
a minor operation
轻罪
a minor offence
小病
minor illness
副修科目
minor subject
Premium:
vt. a sum of money paid
regularly for an insurance
policy 保险费
The employers make the employees pay for a large
portion of their health insurance premium.
Translate：
虽然汽车的价格下降了，但人们发现汽车保险费却上
升了。
Although the price of cars has gone down, people find
car insurance premiums have increased.
六十岁以上的人付的人生保险费要高于六十岁以下的人。
People who are over sixty pay higher life insurance
premiums than those under.
Aside from:
except for; in addition to除了；
除以外（尚有）
The essay is good aside from a couple of spelling
mistakes.
Translate：
除了偶尔打打网球外，他几乎不做任何运动。
Aside from(Except for) an occasional game of tennis, he
seldom takes any exercise.
除了学费外他还要支付许多其他费用。
Cut back:
reduce in size or amount
削减，减少
There is growing movement to cut back the government’s
role in agriculture and to reduce subsidies paid to the farmers.
Translate：
政府已大力削减国防开支以发展经济。
The government has cut back considerably on defense
spending to develop economy.
许多工厂在夏季电力不足期间被迫缩减生产。
.
Dine out:
eat a meal away from home
(usu. in a restaurant)外出吃饭
With the improvement of living standards, more people
dine out at weekends.
Translate：
今天是我女儿生日,所以我们要到餐馆吃饭。
Today is my daughter’s birthday, so we are dining out.
正餐我们吃的是鸡、土豆、凉拌菜和苹果馅饼。
We dined on chicken, potatoes, salad and apple-pie.
在家吃
Patronize:
1. go to as a customer
光顾, 惠顾
2. support or give money
to… 资助
1. When he was a student, Sterling often patronized
the little restaurant near the school.
2. Many football clubs are patronized by businesses.
Translate：
因为服务好,许多顾客光顾那家小吃店。
Suspect:
believe to be true, likely or probable
怀疑,相信有…
It was perfectly all right,Henry said, because the police
had not suspected him of anything.
Translate：
我怀疑他是个窃贼。
I suspect him to be a thief/that he is a thief.
他有谋杀嫌疑。
Cf.: doubt
doubt: feel unsure of sth.怀疑, 不确切
suspect后的从句一般由that引导,而doubt后的从句
可以是whether/if (肯定句中)和that (否定句中)
I doubt whether he is honest. 我怀疑他是否诚实。
I suspect that he is not honest. 我认为他不诚实。
I never doubt that he is an unselfish person.
我从不怀疑他是一个不自私的人。
Budget:
n. 预算
The personal or family budget is a financial plan that helps
individuals to balance income and expenses.
Translate：
制定家庭收支预算
make a family budget
如果你乘火车旅行的话,你不用花很多钱就可以游览欧
洲。
.
Scale:
n. a relative level or degree
规模, 范围
After the Selma protest Martin Luther King continued to
organize protests but not on a grand scale.
Translate：
他们先在小范围内试验新的教学法。
At first they tested their new teaching methods on a small
scale.
全国掀起了一场禁烟运动。
Resist:
v. keep from giving in or enjoying
抵制
In my view students should resist the temptation of
taking part-time jobs in their first two years at college.
Translate：
小孩很难抵挡得了麦当劳的诱惑。
It’s very hard for little kids to resist the temptation of
McDonald’s.
她强忍着才没有出声尖叫。
She resisted an urge to scream.
Device:
n. a piece of equipment designed to
serve a special purpose
设备, 装置
They suspected that an explosive device had been
left somewhere inside the building.
Translate：
救援者用一种特殊装置寻找被困在煤矿井下的人们。
The rescuers used a special device for finding people
trapped in the coalmine.
Profit:
n. an advantageous gain
or return 收获,利润
The tax is likely to hit his company’s profit by up
to 3% in future.
Translate：
他向纺织品公司出售废料赚了大笔钱。
He makes a big profit from selling waste material to
textile companies.
他为了自身利益而做那件事。
.
Invest:
v. Commit (money or capital)
in order to gain a financial
return 投资
When people buy houses they’re investing a lot of
money.
Translate：
我父母决定用存款投资股票和证券。
My parents decided to invest their savings in stocks
and bonds.
她把全部的爱倾注在她的残疾孩子身上。
Exercises
Exercises
Abstract
Write an abstract for the text.
Jim Doherty may not be a born farmer, but he gets by
without too much trouble. Not that he has had it easy. That
first hard winter he faced must have left him with the
temptation to give up and go back to the city. But he
managed to get through it without losing heart. He’s picked
up a lot of skills. Since then and made some real
improvements to his farm, though without much
laborsaving machinery, aside from that old rotary cultivator.
Meanwhile he had his writing to supplement what little
profit he makes from the farm. They didn’t move there
primarily to earn money, but to improve the quality of life.
Exercises
Translation
Resist, primarily, patronize, dine out, profit,
indoor, patronize, on balance, on a large scale
相当多的孩子体重越来越重，这个趋势正日益明显。这个现象主要可
以用以下两个原因来解释。随着人们生活水平的提高，孩子们有更多的
机会外出就餐。他们无法抵制麦当劳、肯德基或者是必胜客的诱惑。这
些快餐公司在针对孩子的广告花了上百万的钱。 这些广告又反过来给公
司带来了巨大的利润。
孩子们经常光顾这些快餐连锁店，结果不可避免的胖起来。第二个原
因是缺乏运动。今天的孩子们忙于学习，有的甚至整天呆在屋里。 卡路
里摄入的增加，运动时间的减少，导致了孩子肥胖的危险。总的说来，
我们应该更加关注孩子们的健康问题。应该大规模的开展一项反对西方
快餐疯狂进攻中国的运动。
Exercises
Reference
There is a growing trend that quite a number of children
are getting overweight. This fact can be primarily
accounted for by the following two reasons. With
great improvement in people’s living standard,
children now have much more chances to dine out.
They just can’t resist the temptation of Mc Donald,
KFC or Pizza hut, which have spent millions of
dollars on advertising directed at kids. This in turn
brings about great profits to these companies.
Exercises
Reference
Children patronize these fast food outlets so often that they
are inevitably getting obese. The second reason is lack of
sports. Children today are extremely occupied by their
studies, and some even go so far as to stay indoor all day
long. Increased calorie intake and decreased exercise time
leads to obesity risk in children. On balance more attention
should be paid on children’s health problem, and a
campaign, on a large scale, against crazy aggression of
western fast food should be launched.
Exercises
Discussion
Where to Live: Countryside or City?
Advantages of city life:
--convenience for people to do shopping
--better educational opportunities
--easy access to the entertainment
--more chances to get jobs ……
Advantages of Rural Life:
--less pollution
--safer, cleaner, more attractive environment
--more peaceful life
--smaller expenses
--friendlier neighbors
--fresher foods
Exercises
Listening
Directions: