Quick Fix Society
Janet Mendell Goldstein
Quick Fix Society
Unit 5
W arming up
B ackground
T ext Analysis
R einforcement
Quick Fix Society
Unit 5
Questions / Activities
Check-on Preview
Objectives
Warming up
Warming up
A Map of U.S.
Warming up
Check-on Preview
1. Study the word “fix”. What does a “quick fix”
mean in the text?
2. What are the three features of a quick fix
society according to the author? Summarize
them in your own words.
3. Provide examples for a quick fix society from
your life.
4. Find out relevant brief information about the
American highway system.
Different Fast Roads in the US
Highway: connects cities; two or more lanes
(superhighway; interstate highway)
Freeway: within a city; without stopping; three
or more lanes in each direction
Expressway: fast road in or near cities
Turnpike (tollway): fast road you have to pay
before using it
Warming up
Objectives
• Understand the structure and the general idea
of the story
• Grasp the usage of key words and phrases
• Think about the theme of the story
• Relate the theme to the reality in China today
Background
Genre
Explanatory Writing
Comparison and Contrast (e.g. para. 4)
Exemplification (e.g. para.5)
Use of Rhetorical Questions
Repetition of Structure and Words
Quick Fix Society
Unit 5
Theme
Text Analysis
Structure
Detailed
Analysis
Text Analysis
Structure
Part I: Para. 1-3
• Two trips and a discovery
Part II: Para. 4-6
• Three features of a quick fix society
Part III: Para. 7-8
• The author’s proposal of slowing down
and rediscovering life
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Main Idea
 How did the author find her trip to West Virginia and
back home? Why?
 What did the two trips set the author thinking about?
 What does the title “Quick Fix Society” mean?
 What purpose does the third paragraph serve?
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Sentence Paraphrase
•
And we returned home refreshed, revitalized, and
reeducated. (para.2)
Used as subject compliment
Alliteration: repetitive occurrence of the same letter
Fix: more contexts to observe
• We were in a real fix (i.e. Our car broke down and
there wasn’t a phone in sight.)—
我们真有麻烦了。
• I need my fix of caffeine in the morning or I can’t
think.
• The election was a fix.
sth. that has been dishonestly arranged
• I sat and thought for a while, trying to get a fix on
the situation.
to understand what the situation is really like
Text
Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Words & Expressions
Words
fix; insist; trip, tour, journey, voyage
Phrases
can’t wait to; consist of; be reduced to; stuff
with; in search of
Sentence
Pattern
couldn't wait to …; I insist that…; return
home refreshed, revitalized and reeducated
Grammar
so as not to…; use of rhetorical questions
Words
Phrases
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part I: Exercise
Translate the following sentences into English, using words in
the brackets.
1. 这个报告可以压缩为三大部分。(reduce)
The report can be reduced to three main parts.
2. 亨利掂着脚尖走进了讲座房间以免打扰旁人。(so as to)
Henry tiptoed into the lecture room so as not to disturb others.
3. 每次这个男孩去祖母那儿，她都会在孩子的口袋里塞满糖果。(stuff)
Each time the boy went to see his grandma, she would stuff his pockets
with candy.
4. 我坚持主张他应该去医院。(insist)
I insisted that he should go to the hospital.
5. 他四处走着寻找丢失的钥匙。(search)
He walked around in search of his lost key.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Main Idea
 What are the three features of a quick fix society?
 What is the principle of deferred gratification
according to the author?
 What do people tend to do to gratify themselves
now?
 What does the author mean by “superficially
instead of thoroughly”?
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Sentence Paraphrase
•
Even our personal relationships have become compressed.
Instead of devoting large parts of our days to our loved
ones, we replace them with something called “quality time”,
which, more often than not, is no time at all.(para.6)
More than or at least
half of the time
To give an amount of time,
attention, etc, to sb. or sth.
Time spent with one’s children
Paraphrasing: Even our personal relationships are affected,
instead of spending much of our time with our loved ones, we
now talk about giving them full attention in the limited time after
work. But usually we have not time to do that at all.
Text
Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Words & Expressions
Words
afford
Phrases
instead of; deferred gratification; save up; off
the rack; a rainy day; agree with; linger over;
more often that not; thanks to
Words
Phrases
Sentence
Pattern
need to …; verb + Wh-word + to infinitive
Grammar
verbs in the -ing form; attributive modifiers
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part II: Exercise
Translate the following sentences into English, using words in
the brackets.
1. 他们在攒钱去欧洲旅行。(save)
They’re saving up for a trip to Europe.
2. 网购省去了人们外出的麻烦。(trouble)
Shopping online saves people the trouble of going out.
3. 你的故事和警察对我们说的一番话完全不符。(agree)
Your story doesn’t agree with what the police have told us.
4. 由于父母一直以来付出的耐心，她现在成了一个很成功的歌
手。(thanks)
Thanks to the patience her parents have given her all those years,
now she’s quite successful as a singer.
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part III: Main Idea
 What is the function of the three questions at the
beginning of para.7?
 According to the author, what is the sad truth?
 Do you think it is a sad truth?
 What does the author propose in the end?
 Do you agree with her on that?
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part III: Sentence Paraphrase

But I am saying that all of us need to think more seriously about
putting the brakes on our “we-want-it-all-and-we-want-it-now”
lifestyle before we speed completely out of control. (para. 8)
Become impossible to manage or
control
Paraphrasing: But what I do want to say is this: Before we go
too far/Before it’s too late, all of us need to think seriously
about changing our lifestyle of seeking a quick fix in our lives.
Text
Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part III: Words & Expressions
Words
skim; speed; advocate; rediscover
Phrases
get it over with; in a hurry; put the brakes on; in
the slow lane
Words
Phrases
Sentence
Pattern
this urge to do it now; to get it over with; to
skim the surface of life
Grammar
attributive modifiers
Text Analysis
Detailed Analysis
Part III: Exercise
Translate the following sentences into English, using words in
the brackets.
1. 如果你愿意的话我就先讲吧—我宁愿早点说完了事。(get)
I’ll speak first if you like—I’d rather get it over with quickly.
2. 抓住这次机会，我保证你不会后悔的。（guarantee)
Take this opportunity, and I guarantee you won’t regret it.
3. 她主张保持长远的眼光。(advocate)
She advocates taking a more long-term view.
4. 我只是浏览了一下他的信，还没有细读。（skim）
I've only skimmed (through/over) his letter; I haven't read it carefully yet.
Quick Fix Society
Unit 5
Discussion
Reinforcement
Writing
Reinforcement
Discussion
Work in groups of four and discuss the following questions:
1. Do we live in a quick fix society? In what way is our society
similar to/different from American society in this respect?
2. What are the possible reasons for a quick fix society?
3. Some say that modern people are justified in seeking a quick
fix. Do you agree? Why or why not?
4. Can you find any examples showing that people are trying to
slow down in life?
Reinforcement
Writing
Writing Task
Some people say that quick fixes are inevitable in
contemporary society. What is your opinion on this
statement?