Unit One What Are Our Real Values
Nicols Fox
Introduction
Nicols Fox: A graduate of
Mary Baldwin College in
Virginia, Fox received an
MFA(Master of Fine Arts)
in creative writing and
literature from Bennington
College in 1999. Born in
Virginia, she now lives on
the coast of Maine.
Question
Can you generalize what Chinese values are?
Possible Answers
1: Moderation,the Doctrine of Mean in Confucian
teaching
2: Following the hierarchical structure in society and
family.
3: Power-oriented
4: Excessive concern about "face"
5: Sophisticated
6: The importance of family, piety
American Values
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1: Freedom
2: Individualism
3: Equality
4: Democracy
5: Independence
6: Wealth
7: Entertainment
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Chorus: a simultaneous utterance by a number of
people
Pundit: an authority; an expert
Referendum: an occasion when all the people of a
country can vote on an important issue.
Referendum on sth
Paraphrase: The recent presidential...values.
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Paraphrase:
During the recent presidential election,
people were actually voting on American
values rather than on the president.
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Collective: shared or made by every member of a group
or society
collective wisdom/effort/leadership
convincing
making you believe that something is true or right
wholly/utterly/totally etc convincing
convincing victory/win: a person or team wins a game
by a lot of points
nurture: help the development of (sth); support
We want to nurture the new project, rather than
destroy it.
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Paraphrase:
They choose their presidents on the basis of
how clearly and convincingly these
candidates represent and can protect this
vision of American values.
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Fantasy: an idea or belief that is based only on
imagination, not on real facts
What does FANTASY mean in this sentence?
Adaptable: able or willing to change in order to
suit different conditions:
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• Questions
• 1: Conclude the main idea of these two
paragraphs
• 2: How does the author comment on people's
love for American values?
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picture-`perfect: perfect in appearance
talk back (to sb): reply defiantly to a reprimand, etc
thrift: n [U]careful or economical use of money or
resources
Continuity:sth continues for a long period of time
without being changed or stopped.
Paraphrase: We value...folks don't talk back.
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Paraphrase:
We appreciate a place where the elderly live at home
and the young never reply rudely to their parents.
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conjure sth up: make sth appear suddenly or
unexpectedly, as if by magic
I had lost my pen, but she conjured up another one for
me from somewhere.
conjuring a delicious meal out of a few unpromising
ingredients
When we think of adventurers, many of us conjure up
images of larger-than-life characters trekking to the
North Pole.
Paraphrase: But like most of the fantasies... exist.
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Paraphrase: The healthy and happy vision mentioned
above doesn't really exist, It is just one of the many
beautiful dreams made up by the advertising world.
Detailed Study
• Winslow Homer (February 24,
1836 – September 29, 1910) was
an American landscape painter and
printmaker, best known for his
marine subjects. He is considered
one of the foremost painters in 19th
century America and a preeminent
figure in American art.
• Largely self-taught, Homer began
his career working as a commercial
illustrator.He subsequently took up
oil painting and produced major
studio works characterized by the
weight and density he exploited
from the medium.
Bridle Path
Cloud Shadows
The New Novel
Breezing Up
Detailed Study
• Norman Rockwell (February 3,
1894 – November 8, 1978) was
a 20th-century American painter
and illustrator. His works enjoy
a broad popular appeal in the
United States for their reflection
of American culture.
• Rockwell is most famous for the
cover illustrations of everyday
life scenarios he created for The
Saturday Evening Post
magazine for more than four
decades.
The Problem We All Live With
Gossips
Triple Self Portrait
Dugout
Golden Rule
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nostalgia:noun[U]a feeling of sadness mixed with
pleasure and affection when you think of happy times in
the past
a sense / wave / pang of nostalgia
She is filled with nostalgia for her own college days.
face-lift: n.Plastic surgery to remove facial wrinkles,
sagging skin, fat deposits, or other visible signs of aging
for cosmetic purposes.
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gulf (between A and B); ~ (in sth): (fig ) area of
difference; division (in opinions, etc)
The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged
draw sb (to sth): attract or interest sb
The film is drawing large audiences.
Her screams drew passers-by to the scene.
I felt drawn to this mysterious stranger.
What drew you to (ie made you study) medicine?
The course draws students from all over the country.
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intact: complete, entire, full, integral, perfect, whole.
extended family: An extended family is a family group
which includes relatives such as uncles, aunts, and
grandparents, as well as parents, children, and brothers
compassion: noun[U]~ (for sb): a strong feeling of
sympathy for people who are suffering and a desire to
help them
She was known as a hard woman with no compassion,
no emotion.
In an overworked doctor, feelings of compassion are
soon lost.
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huddled: adj. gathered close together
We stood huddled together for warmth.
fiscal: adj of or related to government money or
public money, usu taxes
the government's fiscal policy
Paraphrase: We are a people...on the streets of
our richest cities.
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Paraphrase:
We are a people full of sympathy but we are more likely
to offer our sympathy to endangered whales than to the
homeless people who gather together over heat grates
on the streets of our richest cities.
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Question
What is the implication or function of this question?
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Questions
1: According to the author, how should we understand
real American values?
2: Explain "soup kitchin", "struggling writers and
artists".
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soup kitchen: a place where homeless people or very
poor people are provided with free food.
Baron:powerful and wealthy leader of industry
a press baron
an oil baron
a cattle baron
a steel baron
a drug baron
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struggling: unsuccessful but trying hard to succeed
It's the story of a struggling artist who marries a rich
woman.
Social worker: persons whose work involves giving
help and advice to people having various serious
problems( people in poverty or to people suffering cold
in winter.)
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articulate: (of a person) able to express one's ideas
clearly in words
an intelligent and highly articulate young woman
Synonym:Eloquent silver-tongued
do time: to spend a period of weeks, months, years, etc.
in prison:
It's not always easy to find a job after you've done time.
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charm: please, fascinate or attract (sb); delight
indicator: a sign that shows you what sth is like or how
a situation is changing
The economic indicators for the end of the year are
better than expected.
These atmospheric waves are a reliable indicator of
weather changes
Paraphrase: ...even the articulate convicts...done
their times.
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Paraphrase:
even the eloquent prisoners who win us over on
talk show after they have completed their prison
sentences.
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Questions
1: Conclude the main idea of this paragraph.
2: How do you understand" that crime pays"?
3: Explain "we buy it and we tolerate it".
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invasion: 1: If you refer to the arrival of a large number
of people or things as an invasion, you are emphasizing
that they are unpleasant or difficult to deal with
this year's annual invasion of flies, wasps and ants...
2: the movement of a disease or of the cells that cause
it from one area to another:
an invasion of cancer cells
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Deserve: you have the right to have sth, be entitled to
have sth, should have sth.
[VN]:deserve a rest/break/holiday etc
[V to inf] They didn't deserve to win.
I work hard and I think I deserve to be well paid.
richly/fully/thoroughly deserve sth
Paraphrase: our culture tells us ...to be satisfied.
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Paraphrase:
Our culture tells us we should not feel uneasy about
taking drugs for every discomfort and that every
desire, good or bad, is entitled to be fulfilled.
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decadence: / dekədəns/ n [U] (falling to a) lower level (in
morals, art, literature, etc) esp after a period at a high level
incidence of: frequency of occurrence, rate of occrrence
Why did the incidence of heroin use continue to climb?
old-fashioned: not modern; no longer fashionable
pornography: noun[U](disapproving) books, videos, etc. that
describe or show naked people and sexual acts in order to make
people feel sexually excited, especially in a way that many other
people find offensive.
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Questions
1: what is the real root job?
2: What does the author imply when she talks about
churches' moral leadership?
3: Explain" live together in community".
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Hoe:to break up soil, remove plants, etc. with a hoe:
hoe the soil, the flower beds, etc
ethics: the moral principles about right and wrong
behaviour which they believe in.
He told the police that he had thought honestly about
the ethics of what he was doing.
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Judgement Day :
(also the Day of Judgement, the Last Judgement)
the day at the end of the world when, according to
some religions, God will judge everyone who has
ever lived
Judgement Day
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not so much sth as sth: not one thing but rather sth else
She's not so much poor as careless with money.
The details are not so much wrong as they are incomplete.
He isn't so much ill as depressed．
（＝He's depressed rather than ill．）
Oceans don't so much divide the world as unite it.
（＝Oceans unite the world rather than divide it．）
It's not so much that the machine is out of order as（that）I
have not learned to operate it．
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abdicate: refuse to accept, give up
The government cannot abdicate responsibility for
national security.
collectively：as a group
All members of the cabinet are collectively responsible
for decisions taken.
exude：exude (sth) (from/through sth):come or pass out
slowly; ooze out
Sweat exudes through the pores.
The hot sun made him exude sweat.
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Relativism:the belief that the truth is not always the
same but varies according to circumstances.
how do you understand these two words
RELATIVISM, INSECURITY
Handy:(for sth / for doing sth): situated near to sb/sth
Always keep a first-aid kit handy.
Have you got a pen handy?
Paraphrase: Collectively they ...the rest of us.
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Paraphrase:
As a group they seem to be as ambivalent and uncertain
about right and wrong as the rest of us.
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Question
What does the author mean by the expression "
read-my-lips service?"
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Yearn for: (literary) to want sth very much, especially when it is
very difficult to get:
The people yearned for peace.
There was a yearning look in his eyes.
wishful thinking: If you say that an idea, wish, or hope is
wishful thinking, you mean that it has failed to come true or is
unlikely to come true.
It is wishful thinking to expect deeper change under his
leadership.
Hazy: not clear; vague
hazy memories
Paraphrase: I share your values...I share your dreams.
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Paraphrase:
"I share your values," the new president said again
and again during the presidential elections, but I
believe what he was really saying was " I share your
dreams..."
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Question:
Why does the author mention ad again?
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Paraphrase: a healthy future ...not on ad copy.
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Paraphrase:
A healthy future will be built on reality, not on
fantasies created by the advertising world.
Thank You
Ruby