Unit 3
Longing for a New
Welfare System
Background Information:
Social welfare:
Public assistance programs, commonly
called “welfare”, provide cash or in-kind
benefits for particular categories of the
financially needy. The U.S. welfare system
operates on both the federal and state levels.
The federal welfare program is known as Social
Security that provides benefits or assistance
for child care, disability, food and medical
assistance (also known as medicaid). The state
welfare programs, on the other hand, provide
assistance to both individuals and local
communities with state schooling and social
insurance.
Background Information:
U.S. welfare programs grew significantly in the decades
following World War II, but increases in welfare costs
during the 1960s and 1970s brought into question the
extent and quality of public assistance. In the early
1980s the Reagan Administration reduced welfare
expenditure and suggested turning responsibility for
welfare funding over to the states. The cuts in federal
funding that took effect during the Reagan
Administration did in fact effectively place the
responsibility for maintaining funding levels on the
states — and, in some cases, on the larger cities. The
result has been a widening of the already existing
disparities in social services spending between states,
and between cities and regions within a state.
Background Information:
U.S. welfare system: the U.S. welfare
system operates on both the federal and
state levels. The federal welfare system is
known as Social Security that provides
benefits or assistance for child care,
disability, food stamp and medical
assistance. The state welfare system, on
the other hand, provides assistance to
both individuals and local communities
with state schooling and social insurance.
Text Structure Analysis:
Part 1 (Para. 1-3 ):
Part II (Para. 4-14):
general images of welfare clients and
Part III (Para. 15-17):
welfare caseworkers
under
the present
problems
with the present
welfare
system.
suggestions to improve the present welfare
system.
system.
Summary of the Text:
The passage explores the problems of the
present welfare system first and then
expresses the desire to have a new system.
According to the author, a disabled person
with spinal cord injuries, he is forced to
account for every penny while enduring
lectures by the caseworkers. It is hard to
have his wheelchair repaired and even
harder to make a gradual shift away from
welfare. That is why he longs for a new
system under which the disabled like him
can earn part or all of their own livings.

Words and Expressions
1. long for: have an intense desire for
（Title）



The whole nation longed for peace after
many years of war.
经过多年战争后，全民族都渴望和平。
The children are longing for the holidays.
孩子们盼望放假。
2. be supposed to: (Para. 1)
1)be generally believed or expected to be or do
2) be expected or required to do or be sth.
 according
She’s supposed
to have
five hundred
pairs of
to a rule,
a custom,
an
shoes.
arrangement,
etc.
据信她有500双鞋。

You’re supposed to buy a ticket, though not
many people do.
尽管没有多少人买票，但你应该买。
 It’s supposed to be a great movie.
据说这部电影不错。
You’re supposed to ask the teacher if you
want to leave the classroom.
如果你要离开教室，得跟老师说。

3. bleed: (Para. 1)
1) force sb. to pay a lot of money over a
period of time
2) lose blood, esp. from a wound or an injury
 His ex-wife is bleeding him for every penny
he
has. arm is bleeding.
 Your
你的胳膊在流血。
他的前妻要榨干他身上的每一分钱。

 He was bleeding from a gash on his head.
The
West is bleeding poorer countries dry.
他头上的刀口正在流血。
西方正在榨干贫穷国家的财富。
4. drum up: try hard to get support,
customers, business, etc. (Para. 2)



During the Christmas season each year,
traders use their unique tricks to drum up
business.
每年圣诞节期间，商家们各显神通来招揽生意。
They were unable to drum up enthusiasm
for the new policies.
他们未能激起人们对新政策的热情。
5. under the table: in a secret way (Para. 2)


Some athletes sometimes cheated,
sometimes lied, or took money under the
table.
有些运动员有时作弊，有时说谎，有时私下拿钱。
under the table (Am.E.) ＝ under the
counter (Br.E.)
6. yield to: stop resisting sth. (Para. 2)


I yielded to an impulse.
我听凭一时的冲动行事了。
The government refused to yield to the
hostage takers’ demand.
政府拒绝答应人质挟持者的要求。
7. make a fool of sb.: trick sb. into
behaving foolishly


(Para. 3)
He’d been made a fool of.
他被人骗了。
Your sister is making a fool of you.
你妹妹在愚弄你。
8. be entitled to: have the right to have or
do sth. (Para. 3)


You will be entitled to your pension when
you reach 65.
你到65岁时，可以享受养老金。
Everyone is entitled to his or her own
opinion.
每个人都有权发表自己的意见。
9. talk back: answer sb. rudely, esp. sb. in
authority (Para. 4)


When he found his two-year-old son
learned to talk back, he felt angry and
funny.
当他发现两岁的儿子学会顶嘴了，他觉得又好气又好
笑。
We were all scared of Mr. Williams, but
there was a girl who actually talked him
back.
我们都怕威廉老师，但有一个女孩却和他顶嘴。
10. lecture: v. criticize sb. or tell them how
one thinks they should behave, esp. when it
is done in an annoying way (Para. 9)



He’s always lecturing me about the way I
dress.
他老说我穿着不得体。
Don’t lecture me!
别教训我！
11. account for: be or give a reason for
(sth. or doing sth.) (Para. 13)


I find it very difficult to account for the
fact that two of our best students failed
the exam.
我觉得很难解释为什么两名最好的学生考试不及格。
Can you account for your strange behavior?
你能解释你奇怪的行为吗？
12. There needs to be a lawyer who can
act as a champion for the rights of welfare
clients, … (Para. 15)




There seems to be some problems.
In a small town in Germany there once
lived a poor shoemaker.
There remains nothing more to be done.
Suddenly there entered a strange figure
dressed all in black.
13. convict: v. decide and state officially in
a court of law that sb. is guilty of a crime
(Para. 17)


He was convicted of fraud.
他被判犯有诈骗罪。
He has twice been convicted of theft.
他两次被判犯有盗窃罪。
Questions for Discussion:
1. Why do welfare clients often cheat the
system?
2. In what ways do welfare clients cheat the
system?
3. What do you think of the present welfare
system in China?
Writing:
Definitions of Something (界定说明文)
1. 人们对某一事物的不同界定。
2. 其正确的定义为……
3. 如何对待该事物？
写作模式（1）

1) Something may be many things to many
people./People usually view something
from different perspectives. （主题引入）2)
Some would prefer to define it as… while
others would like to interpret it as…（人们
的不同解读）3) There are still some others
who are inclined to regard it as…（人们的进
一步解读）
写作模式（2）

4) If seen in its true colors/In a proper
sense/ In essence, however, something is
nothing but…, no matter what…（正确的界定
）5) The key to the issue is the yardstick
you use for measuring.（进一步阐述）6）If
you…, you are more likely to… but, if
you…, you have more chances to…（进一步
阐述）7) On the other hand, something is
also a becoming.（进一步界定）8) It goes up
along with… whereas it goes down
together with…（进一步阐述）(进一步阐述)
写作模式（3）

9) So there is much need to... 10) To
achieve this/To make it, you’d better learn
how to…, which/as…（建议I）11) And
meanwhile, you may…, after which, you
will…（建议II）12) But most important/ vital
for you is…（建议III）
Writing Assignment:
The True Meaning of Self-worth
1. 人们对自我价值的不同界定。
2. 其正确的定义为……
3. 如何培养正确的自我价值观？