Unit One
My First Job
(Text I)
Pre-reading Questions
1. What do you suppose “my first job” would
be?
2. What are your expectations of your first
job in the future?
3. What kind of boss would you like to work
for?
4. What kind of questions will be asked in a
job interview?
Main Idea
The writer was interviewed by the
headmaster of a school and was offered a
job which was none too pleasant.
Language points
– be short of :
• short: Inadequate; insufficient:
• The oil is in short supply in Guangzhou and
Shenzhen.
• I am short of cash.
• She ran short of detergent and had to buy
some on her way home.
Language points
• for short: as an abbreviation
• He's called Ed for short.
• short for: Ed is short for Edward.
• in short :In summary; briefly.
In short, we’ll work hard to attain the final
success.
Paraphrase:
•
•
•
•
•
Being very short of money and wanting…
Lacking of money and wanting…(T or F?)
Lacking money and wanting…
Being lack of money and wanting…
Lacking for money and wanting…
Language Points
•
•
•
•
Land: vb. 着陆；使到达
The plane is due to land at 12 o’clock.
An attack of hepatitis landed her in a
hospital.
Tom is very good at fishing and often
lands big fishes.
Language Points
•
•
•
•
slim adj.修长的，苗条的；微小的
The girl is slim.
I don‘t want any cake; I’m slimming. （减
肥）
slim chances of success.
Language points
summon: vb.To request to appear; send for;
bring out with an effort
summon the witness
I couldn’t sum up courage to ask you out
until now.
• : to order
• summon the captain to surrender.
Language points
• awkward: adj. lacking skill ; causing difficulty or
inconvenience
• She is an awkward dancer. / She’s awkward. She
keeps dropping things.
• an awkward pose
• an awkward journey
• He made some awkward remarks in his
girlfriend’s presence.
• Aunt Lena came to visit us at an awkward time.
Language points
•
•
•
•
dreary: adj. dull; uninteresting
It’s a dreary day.
Let’s cheer our dreary mind
His speech was dreary.
Language points
•
•
•
•
•
window n.
sash window : 上下推拉窗
a French window(通阳台的)双扇落地长窗
lattice window格子窗
window lattice窗栏
Figures of speech: (sound effect)
• alliteration: 押头韵
• The repetition of the same consonant sounds at the
beginning of words or in stressed syllables, as in:
• “on scrolls of silver snowy sentences
• “写满银色雪般句子的卷轴上”(Hart Crane)
• Round the rocks runs the river
• （Find examples from this paragraph: ）
Language points
• Rotund： Rounded in figure; fat, plump.
• Fat implies excessive weight and is
generally unfavorable in its connotations:
• Rotund suggests roundness of figure 含有
身材圆滚的意思
• Plump applies to a pleasing fullness of
figure: 指身材悦目的丰满：
a plump, rosy little girl.
Language points
•
•
•
an air of : 有某种态度、神情或气氛
There was an air of tension at the meeting.
He has a triumphant air. /He is wearing a
triumphant air
He has an air of mystery.
• He put on high airs with his learning.他以
饱学而自傲。(put on airs: 装腔作势)
Language points
•
•
•
•
•
undone: 解开；松开
The package came undone.
His buttons were undone.
Half his work is still undone.
I'm undone.
Language points
• stale adj. no longer fresh
• stale bread; stale air.
• (Having lost freshness, effervescence, or
palatability)
• a stale joke
• (Lacking originality or spontaneity)
Language points
• proceed: vb. to begin to carry on an action
or a process:
• proceed to do sth.
• As soon as he came in he proceeded to
complain about all his troubles.
Language Points
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
proceed to 向----行进
proceed to the next business
proceed to the degree of M.A.
proceed from 从---又向----; 由于--proceed from London to Leeds
disease that proceed from negligence of hygiene
proceed against 起诉
I advise you not to proceed against him.
Language Points
last straw: the last of a series of annoyances
or disappointments that leads one to a final
loss of patience, temper, trust, or hope.
• It's the last straw that breaks the camel's
back
Text II
• terrier: a small active type of dog that used
for hunting
• a fox terrier: one used for hunting foxes
• Arts: subjects of study that are not scientific ,such as
history ,languages, etc. (Humanities)
• the Sciences
• art [U]: the use of painting ,drawing ,sculpture ect to
represent things and express ideas
[C] trick： well-practised in the arts of seduction
• [C,U]:the ability or skill involved in doing or making sth.
the art of doing something
have/get sth down to a fine art
arts and crafts
• mildly adv.
• in a gentle way without being angry
“Of course I don’t mind,” she answered
mildly.
• slightly
The drug is only mildly addictive.
• to put it mildly (colloquially)
• panel: n.
• Group of people; a set of sth.
a panel of experts; a panel of buttons
• a flat piece of wood, glass etc with straight
sides, which forms part of a door , wall,
fence etc
• prompt: v. urge 促使 prompt sb. to do sth.
Her situation prompted me to do something about getting new
job.
• To make people say or do something as a reaction
What prompted that remark?
• What has prompted you to want to change to medicine?
• adj. immediately; at the right time
prompt delivery of your purchases
你所购买的物品及时投送
feeling anything but well: feeling far from
being well; not feel well at all
anything but= not at all
The bridge is anything but safe.
I wasn’t sure that I had the right temperament.
I wasn’t sure that I would be the right person
to take up medicine.
※ temperament n. : people’s character
a sunny temperament
adj. temperamental
• My mind has been set on becoming a
doctor.
• But now I have determined to become a
doctor for some time.
be (dead) set on/upon/against=
be very determined to do sth.
The government’s dead set against the plan.
You are capable of a change of heart. You are able to
change your mind easily.
※be capable of doing sth=be able to do sth;have
the power to do sth
I don’t think Banks is capable of murder.
※a change of heart=change in one’s attitude
He didn’t want kids at first, but recently he’s had a
real change of heart.
Dangling modifier
• A modifier dangles when it doesn’t have a
word or phrase to connect with in a
sentence. As a result, it doesn’t make a
logical connection.
• Being a foreigner has no way of
communicating with the local people.
Misplaced modifier
• A modifier is considered misplaced when it
hooks up with the wrong word or phrase,
sometimes with comic effect.
• Carved from solid oak, the angry man
couldn’t break down the door.
• The angry man couldn’t break down the
door carved from solid oak.
Exercises
• On returning to the classroom, the desks
had been rearranged.
• Before sending out the invitation, a date for
their wedding has to be chosen.
• Never having had children, rising college
costs do not concern Mike.
• Angered by the crowd’s booing, the concert
was canceled.
Writing paragraph
• An effective paragraph has four characteristics:
• It is unified, focused on one opinion
• It is clearly organized, following a coherent
pattern
• It is polished, conveying ideas in concise and
readable language
• It is of an appropriate length for the writing
situation.
How do you construct unified
paragraphs?
•
•
•
find a focus and stick with it.
anchor your paragraph with a topic
sentence
use internal transitions to unify your
paragraphs:
use internal transitions to unify your
paragraphs:
•
•
•
use transitional words: such as first, next, however, and
in addition to etc. to show the relationships among
sentences and ideas.
Repeat key words or phrases to tie related sentences
together. (examples)
Use parallel phrases -----phrases that begin with the
same word or that share the same grammatical structure--to emphasize connections among similar examples or
related pieces of information. Eg. The author believes
that capital punishment is …… The author views that…..
The author holds the views that …..
Common paragraph patterns:
•
•
•
illustration: begins with a general statement or
claim and develops it with supporting details,
evidence or examples.
question and answer : what do we actually see
when we look up at the moon with our naked
eyes? We see….. we find….. we make out ……
narration or process: to relate the events or the
steps of a process in chronological order. This
pattern is appropriate for writing personal or
historical accounts.
•
•
•
•
definition: it is appropriate for writing a report
or article that explains or argues. Put forward a
definition, then explains it.
Terrier is a small, active breeds of hunting dog
originally developed for driving game from
burrows. It ……
classification: a classification paragraph divides
a subject into the categories to be discussed.
There are three kinds of conservations. The first
one is the preservation of places…… the second
one is…..the third is what you call …..
Comparison and Contrast:
•
Experts believe that much of the conflicts
between men and women stem from their
different ways of using language. For
men,……. While for women,…..Thus
men are usually more talkative in
pubic…and women are more…..at home.
Cause and Effect
•
•
•
cause and effect: this pattern can proceed in two
ways: mention the effect first and then describe
causes or vice versa.
Gambling leads to socially destructive behaviors.
The gamblers tend to have a high number of car
accident…… they tend to make more suicide.
(Cause to effect)
One reason for the good teaching in Japan is that
the profession attracts excellent people. People
respect teachers……. Teachers are well
paid…..(effect followed by cause).
Examination
• Spelling： (40)
Advertise suburb slim awkward dreary
gravel survive freckle rotund disapproval
colonel stale dingy mantelpiece mumble vital
algebra geometry incompetent diffident appall
ultimate indignity summon ample prompt
temperament panel reckon crucial resent
unforthcoming dismay startle incurable interview
scar cricket depress moustache
• Phrases: (10)
teaching post
attach importance to
teaching set-up in turn a crocodile of
get to one’s feet proceed to
General School Certificate the Arts
clear one’s throat
• Passage Dictation: (20)
• The Wrist Watch
• It is generally believed that wrist watches are an
exception / to the normal sequence in the
evolution of man’s jewelry. / Reversing the usual
order, they were first worn by women, / and then
adopted by men. / In the old days, queens included
wrist watches among their crown jewelry. /
• Later, they were worn by Swiss workers and
farmers. / Until World War I, Americans
associated the watch with fortune hunters. / Then
army officers discovered that the wrist watch was
most practical for active combat. / Race car drivers
also loved to wear wrist watches, / and pilots
found them most useful while flying. / Soon men
dared to wear wrist watches without feeling selfconscious.
• By 1924, some 30 percent of man’s
watches were worn on the wrist. / Today,
the figure is 90 percent. / And they are now
worn by both men and women / for
practical purposes rather than for decoration.
Paraphrase the following italicized
parts: (10)
•
•
•
•
•
She stopped short of throwing out the old photo.
(near the side of )
We're short of cash.( lack; are lacking in; in need
of)
I don't want any cake; I'm slimming.( am on diet)
There was an awkward silence, when no one
knew what to say. (embarrassing)
The child is still awkward with his chopsticks.
(clumsy)
•
•
•
•
•
Let’s cheer our dreary mind. (gloomy; depressed;
not cheerful)
He is wearing a triumphant air. (manner)
I was anything but happy now. (not… at all)
I wasn’t sure at the time I had the right
temperament. (qualified)
She was dismayed to learn that her favorite
dancer used drugs. (depressed)
Paraphrase: (20)
•
•
1.Being very short of money and wanting to do
something useful, I applied, fearing as I did so,
that without a degree and with no experience of
teaching my chances of landing the job were
slim.
1.Because I was in bad need of money and was
eager to do something of use, I applied for the
job. But at the same time that I did so, I was
afraid that the possibility for me to get the job
was very small because I didn’t have a
university degree or any teaching experience.
Paraphrase
• 2. ….three days later a letter arrived,
summoning me to Croydon for an interview.
• 2. … three days later I received a letter,
asking me to go to Croydon to have a job
interview.
Paraphrase
•
•
•
•
3. The headmaster and I obviously had
singularly little in common.
3. Apparently the headmaster and I had no
similar interests.
4. The teaching set-up appalled me.
4. I was shocked at the teaching
arrangements. ( The way teaching was
organized filled me with terror.)
Paraphrase
•
•
5. It was not so much having to tramp a mile
along the dusty streets of Croydon, followed by
a crocodile of small boys that I minded, but the
fact that most of my friends would be enjoying
leisure at that time.
5. I felt troubled not because I had to walk for a
mile along the dusty streets of Croydon,
followed by a group of boys, but because at that
time most of my friends were having a good
time and relaxing.
Paraphrase
•
•
•
•
6. The prospect of working under a woman
constituted the ultimate indignity.
6. The fact that I would have to work under a
woman in future made me feel totally humiliated.
7.What has prompted you to want to change to
medicine?
7. What has urged you to want to study medicine
for a change?
Paraphrase
•
•
•
•
8.But you are capable of a change of heart.
8. But you change your mind easily.
9.…the terrier man said on a note of
somber improbability.
9. ..the terrier said in a gloomy tone,
which suggested it was impossible for me
to succeed in the interview.
Paraphrase
•
•
10. I reckon I took on too many activities.
10. I thought I took part in too many
activities.
The End
Thank You!