Table of Contents
Unit One Medicine
Tips for Reading: Drawing Inferences (I)
Reading One Want Treatment With Those Pills?
Reading Two Beating the Drug Cheats
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Two Industry
Tips for Reading: Drawing Inferences (II)
Reading One Esprit Comes Home
Reading Two
How Low Can Gasoline Prices Go?
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Three Generation Gap
Tips for Reading: Prediction (I)
Reading One Technology in Workplace Widens Generation Gap
Reading Two The Dsappearing Generation Gap
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Four Employment
Tips for Reading: Prediction (II)
Reading One My First Job
Reading Two The Secrets of Effective Networking
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Five Living and Studying Abroad
Tips for Reading: Reading for Main Ideas (I)
Reading One The Cost of Studying Abroad in the UK
Reading Two How to Stay Safe When Living Abroad in London
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Six Sports and Competition
Tips for Reading: Reading for Main Ideas (II)
Reading One Ryder Cup Timeline
Reading Two 2006 International Song Writing Competition（ISC） RULES &
REGULATIONS
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Reading Three
Fast Reading
Unit Seven Import and Export
Tips for Reading: Understanding Idiomatic Expressions (I)
Reading One The EU’s Bilateral Trade Agreements
Reading Two The Doha Development Agenda: a New Era for World Trade
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Eight Social Problems
Tips for Reading: Understanding Idiomatic Expressions (II)
Reading One Somebody’s Shooting
Reading Two Homelessness as a Social Problem
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Nine Insurance
Tips for Reading: Recognizing Facts or Opinions (I)
Reading One Insurance
Reading Two Insurance in a Climate of Change
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Ten Fashion
Tips for Reading: Recognizing Facts or Opinions (II)
Reading One What is Fashion?
Reading Two It’s Reality Show Time
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Eleven Future
Tips for Reading: Understanding Writer’s Purpose (I)
Reading One Trends Make Education's Future a Myster
Education 2000: Reforming Schools for a New Century
Reading Two Dreams – About Space
Reading Three Fast Reading DREAMS - ABOUT SPACE
Unit Twelve Environment
Tips for Reading: Understanding Writer’s Purpose (II)
Reading One Fish for Our Future
Reading Two Sick Buildings, Sick People
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Reading Three
Fast Reading
Unit Thirteen Animals
Tips for Reading: Polysemy
Reading One The Rat Pact
Reading Two How Do Animals Catch Their Zzz’s?
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Fourteen Courtesy
Tips for Reading: Guessing the meaning of words
Reading One Uncommon Courtesy
Reading Two Can I get you some manners with that?
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Fifteen Cultural Conflicts
Tips for Reading: Denotation and Connotation (I)
Reading One When East Meets West:Hidden Differences in Corporate Communication
Styles
Reading Two A Kiss Is Just--- a Pain
Reading Three Fast Reading
Unit Sixteen Honesty
Tips for Reading: Denotation and Connotation (II)
Reading One To Tell the Truth
Reading Two ‘Geeky Kid---Big Voice’
Reading Three Fast Reading
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UNIT ONE Medicine
Tips for Reading
Drawing inferences (I)
An inference is an idea that the speakers or writers do not state openly, but intend
you to understand anyway. To infer means to reason something out from given
evidence. If someone says he’s pleased, you know it. If he smiles, you have to infer it.
Through their words, they imply something. From their words, you infer something.
In fact, the act of speaking or writing seldom avoids inference completely. Very
seldom are we presented with surface facts only: almost automatically, we look
behind, under, or ahead of the simple facts. We practice inference constantly in our
daily lives.
For example, the factual statement “There’s the bus” may imply that you should
hurry to gather up your belongings and take out the exact change. Or the words “At
last!” may be implied if you have waited at the bus-stop for a long time.
How to infer
Actually you have already been involved in some inferring in your reading.
When the writers have not clearly stated their main idea and you have to find a single
overall topic for a cluster of details, you have practiced inference.
Seeing inferences might be called “reading between the lines.” But be careful not
to read too much into the words. If someone says to you, “There’s the bus,” and you
answer, “Do you think I’m blind?” you may be inferring too much from this simple
statement.
Drawing inferences may be simple (as drawing inference from the statement
“There’s the bus”) or it may be a complex task and requires close, careful reading and
examination of all the evidence (as drawing inferences from a political speech). No
matter what it is, remember that the ability to draw inferences is based 1) on a correct
literal comprehension of the words, 2) on the careful interpretation of the literal
meaning. Also remember that a trained reader first determines what it is that the
author intends him to infer before he draws inferences.
Practice: Use the information mentioned above to draw possible inferences of the
following sentences.
1 Damn it! The weather is fine in the morning, and I didn’t take my umbrella.
2 A fore man hustled over to (匆忙赶到…) the construction site, “how long have you
been working here?” he asked one person. The worker replied, “ever since you
arrived.”
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Have you ever read something about walk-in clinic? What’s your idea about
walk-in clinic?
2. Do you often go to hospital or just go to clinic when you have a minor health
problem? Why?
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3. What do you think is the advantage of walk-in clinic over hospital?
4. Can all the health problems be treated in clinics?
Words: 1007
Time Supposed: 11 Minutes
Want Treatment With Those Pills?
Jennifer Barrett
1
Walk-in clinics are springing up in retail chains nationwide, offering shorter
wait times, lower prices—and a challenge for doctors.
July 25th, 2006 - A couple weeks ago, Judy Mui noticed that one of her bug bites
had become infected. But the 24-year-old New York City paralegal had just started
her job and her employee insurance hadn’t yet kicked in. When she called a friend’s
doctor, she learned a visit would cost her $150. Then a co-worker told her about a
walk-in clinic located inside a drugstore just a few blocks away. In 20 minutes, Mui
got a diagnosis and two prescriptions from a nurse practitioner at the RediClinic2,
which she filled at the pharmacy in the same store. Total cost: $45. “This was
definitely more convenient and cost effective,” she says.
At least six retail clinic chains have emerged in the past few years—all betting
there are millions more like Mui, who either don’t have insurance, don’t have a
provider, or don’t have the time to spend in a doctor’s office for a minor health
problem. “The time for this concept has come,” says Brian Jones, CEO of MedXpress,
which is opening its first clinic this summer in Texas and expects to have 500
locations nationwide by 2010. “We expect this to be almost a revolution in terms of
the delivery-care model,” he adds.
More than 100 walk-in clinics—with names like RediClinic, MinuteClinic, and
Take Care Health—are already operating in major retail stores like Wal-Mart, CVS
and Rite-Aid. There are plans to open several hundred more locations within the next
few years. Generally staffed by a nurse practitioner instead of a physician, the clinics
stay open on weekday evenings and weekends. They offer basic services for patients
18 months and older, ranging from vaccinations to diagnostic screenings to
prescriptions and treatment for minor problems like sore throats, skin infections and
sprained ankles. Though most now accept insurance, even the out-of-pocket prices are
generally relatively low—from about $40 to $100, depending on the service.
RediClinic, where Mui was treated, won’t begin accepting insurance until next month,
yet more than half of the patients seen there (the company won’t reveal precise patient
figures) are insured. “They’re willing to pay for convenience,” says Webster Golinkin,
CEO of InterFit Health, which operates RediClinic.
Richard Scott, chairman of the Florida-based Solantic, which operates a dozen
clinics in Florida and plans to open as many as 1,000 locations across the country over
the next five years, notes that there are more than 40 million uninsured
Americans—and millions more who can’t get a timely appointment to see their
primary care provider, don’t have a provider, or don’t want to spend the money or
time to go to the emergency room. “There is a significant need for clinics like these to
treat episodic problems,” he adds.
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So far, consumers seem to agree. MinuteClinic chief executive Michael Howe
(the former CEO of the fast-food chain Arby’s) declined to comment on the chain's
profitability. But he said that more than half-a-million patients have visited the clinics
since the first location opened in Minnesota six years ago. It now has 83 clinics, with
plans for 250 in 19 states by year’s end—many of them in CVS stores. Earlier this
month, CVS Corporation (the country's largest drugstore chain, with more than 6,100
pharmacies) announced it would acquire the Minneapolis-based company. “We did
some research and couldn’t believe the customer receptivity to these clinics. We really
think this fills a void,” says CVS CEO Tom Ryan. “It’s an easy affordable way to get
high quality access to good healthcare.”
Even former AOL chairman Stephen Case is staking a claim in the growing
market. In July 2005, he founded Revolution Health Group, now InterFit Health’s
largest investor. Though there are only 11 RediClinic locations now, the company
expects to open 75 in the next year and have about 500 locations within the next three
years. “Convenient care can revolutionize how patients deal with simple health
problems, and how they get help staying well,” says Case.
Howe, Case and others stress that the clinics aren’t intended to replace but to
complement doctor’s offices; they don’t treat chronic ailments or serious health
problems. Still, there’s little question that they’re siphoning away some business by
offering lower prices, shorter wait times and longer opening hours. How much,
though, is unclear. A report issued by the American Medical Association in June
expressed concerns about the impact that clinics would have on physicians’ practices
and on patient care. But many AMA3 members in areas with retail clinics told the
writers of the report that clinics have so far done an effective job of referring patients
to providers for more serious or chronic problems.
Still, the report did note that the popularity of the clinics has prompted many
physicians to consider extending their own hours and set aside time each day to
accommodate walk-in patients with immediate needs. Some have even joined clinics
like Solantic, one of the few chains to staff its clinics with doctors. Others have
agreed to serve in advisory roles for clinics.
Dr. Larry Fields, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians4, says
his group’s members have also been able to weather the competition, so far though
some have adapted their practices to accommodate more patients. Last month, the
AAFP issued a list of “desired attributes” for retail clinic practices, recommending the
use of referrals for more serious cases, electronic medical records (which can be
transmitted to the patient’s primary provider) and a clearly defined—and
limited—scope of services. “To the credit of many of these clinics, they’ve endorsed
the guidelines,” says Fields.
Still, he worries that the walk-in clinics may be tempted to expand the range of
their services as they grow. “They may want a bigger piece of the market and that’s a
concern,” he says. “In today’s complex world of healthcare, patients really need to
have a medical home.” For most Americans, that’s still a doctor’s office—for now, at
least.
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From Newsweek
Notes
1 Walk-in clinic: 新近在美国兴起的一种方便快捷的医疗模式（无需预约的诊所）
或者叫 A Quick Care clinic（快速治疗诊所）。它主要以连锁的方式，一般开在
超市，商业街等方便之所，基本面向那些在美国没有医疗保险，没有时间预约
医生，或者不富裕的病人。
2 rediclinic: 迅捷诊所,它是美国在线（America Online）创始人斯蒂夫·凯斯（Steve
Case）创办的一家医疗护理初创公司。目前，大约有 12 家公司正在和美国各
大零售药店进行合作，向公众提供健康服务，这 12 家公司包括 MinuteClinic，
RediClinic，TakeCare 等大公司，与其合作的大型零售药店包括 CVS、RiteAid、
Longs、DuaneReade、Taget 和 Wal-Mart。
3 AMA: American Medical Association, 美国医学会
4 American Academy of Family Physicians: 美国家庭医师医学会
Exercises
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Mui got a diagnosis and two prescriptions from a nurse practitioner at the
RediClinic.
2. At least six retail clinic chains have emerged in the past few years—all betting there
are millions more like Mui, who either don’t have insurance, don’t have a provider,
or don’t have the time to spend in a doctor’s office for a minor health problem.
3. Generally staffed by a nurse practitioner instead of a physician, the clinics stay
open on weekday evenings and weekends.
4. There is a significant need for clinics like these to treat episodic problems.
5. MinuteClinic chief executive Michael Howe declined to comment on the chain's
profitability.
6. We did some research and couldn’t believe the customer receptivity to these clinics.
7. We really think this fills a void.
8. Howe, Case and others stress that the clinics aren’t intended to replace but to
complement doctor’s offices.
9. Still, the report did note that the popularity of the clinics has prompted many
physicians to consider extending their own hours and set aside time each day to
accommodate walk-in patients with immediate needs.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. When Judy Mui noticed that one of her bug bites had become infected, she chose to
go to a walk-in clinic because she knew that it’s convenient and cost effective.
2. Clinics are opened mainly for those who either don’t have insurance, don’t have a
provider, or don’t have the time to spend in a doctor’s office for a minor health
problem.
3. Clinics are welcome by most people as it is generally staffed by physicians and
they stay open on weekday evenings and weekends as well.
4. Clinics can offer various treatments for patients 18 months and older no matter
what health problems they have.
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5. When people have temporary health problems, they often prefer to go to clinics.
6. It can be inferred from the text that the market for clinics is very promising.
7. Clinics can offer people high quality healthcare with relatively low prices.
8. All the staff needed in clinics is nurse practitioner and doctors are almost
unnecessary.
9. In order to weather the competition, physicians have to consider extending their
own hours and set aside time each day to accommodate walk-in patients with
immediate needs.
10. It’s implied in the text that hospitals will give way to clinics in the long run.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
infect/ cost effective/ in terms of/ instead of/ decline/ access/ stake/ chronic/
weather/ adapt to
1. The only_____ to the farmhouse is across the fields.
2. I invited her to join us, but she _____.
3. If she cannot _____ the current hardship, the chance for her to succeed is very slim.
4. Her cheerful spirits and bubbling laughter _____ the whole class.
5. When you go to a new place, you should learn their custom and try to _____ it.
6. It isn’t _____ to build cars in such small quantities.
7. His has got_____bronchitis for years and it is difficult to cure it radically.
8. Although he is not good at study, he is professional _____ playing table-tennis.
9. Several clubs have already _____a claim to this young footballer.
10. _____ going to the nearest clinic, he went to a well-known hospital in the
downtown.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Clinic vs Hospital
A: convenient / lower prices/shorter wait times/longer opening hours.
B: good quality health care/ in-depth analysis of health problems/ treat all kinds of
disease/good doctors for patients to choose/reliable treatment
2. Clinics are intended to replace hospitals VS. Clinics are just intended to
complement doctor’s offices.
A: a growing market/ invite doctors to work there/ offer more professional medical
treatment
B: clinics don’t treat chronic ailments or serious health problems/clinics offer
convenience while hospitals can offer all-round treatment for chronic disease
3. Doctors are better than nurses all the time VS. Doctors are not necessarily better
than nurses sometimes.
A: professional treatment/ give prescriptions for serious problems/ more experienced/
make people rest-assured
B: amiable/ offer basic treatment for patients/ make patients light-hearted
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
8
1. Secret for the development of clinics
2. Nurses play a more and more important role in the medical cause.
3. Medical treatment in your school.
Reading Two
Words: 942
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
Beating the Drug Cheats
Mark Peplow
Experts fear the battle may never be won. Though the Olympic Games was over,
headlines about drug-taking athletes stripped of their medals will surely not be far
behind. So, away from the arena, a rather different race is being run-between the
dopers and the officials trying to catch them out.
“The competition between testers and abusers is an ongoing cat and mouse
game.” Says Norman Taylor, a biochemist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ School of
Medicine in London. And it is a battle that will probably never be won, says Vivian
James, a chemical pathologist who advises UK Sport, the government agency that
runs Britain’s national anti-doping body. James acknowledges that the illicit chemists
who make new drugs will probably always be one step ahead of the analysts.
“It’s not too difficult for a competent chemist to change a drug’s chemical
structure to make it difficult to detect. It might take them only a week or two to
develop a new steroid1 that could not be tested for,” James says. But he emphasizes
that it is much harder to determine whether these chemical tweaks affect the drug’s
effectiveness.
Although there are many different types of drugs used in sport, steroid abuse had
garnered the most headlines in the last few years because it has been linked with
high-profile sprinters such as Dwain Chambers, who tested positive for the synthetic
steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). THG’s muscle-building action was probably
discovered by accident, says James, and its unusual chemical structure meant that it
evaded detection for years before a tip-off from a coach alerted the US Anti-Doping
Agency2 in the summer of 2003.
Drug testing was first introduced to the Olympics in 1968 and was used to detect
about 20 drugs. The roll-call now numbers more than 150, and is still growing. But
the number of illicit substances is probably even larger: “We simply don’t know how
many designed drugs there are out there,” says James.
How much is too much?
A positive result on a test for a synthetic drug immediately implies guilt, but
detecting abnormal levels of the steroids that occur naturally in the body is far tougher.
“It’s certainly a much bigger challenge,” says Taylor. Nandrolone3, which occurs
naturally in tiny quantities, is an anabolic steroid: it helps to build muscle mass. Tests
for nandrolone actually look for molecules that are produced when the body breaks
down this steroid.
Doping labs must then make a judgement about whether the level of a certain
body chemical has been artificially elevated. Human beings exhibit a very wide range
of body chemistry, and world-class athletes often find themselves at the extremes of
9
that range simply because of a mixture of genetics and training. This has led to a
string of appeals against recent bans for alleged nandrolone doping, which damage the
credibility of both the athletes and the doping labs.
“I think the doping labs are being too stringent,” says John Honour, a steroid
chemist at london University. The current limit for nandrolone is just two nanograms
per millilitre of urine; if it is any higher than that, an athlete’s career could be
destroyed by the scandal of a positive drug test. But traces of the breakdown products
from nandrolone are sometimes found in diet supplements that are frequently used by
athletes. These traces would be insufficient to affect their performance, but enough to
put them over the doping limit. Honour argues that this is no different from being
banned for the traces of opiates found in the body after eating a poppy-seed bagel.
Honour thinks the answer is long-term monitoring of athletes to check for
continuous use of banned substances such as steroids, which generally only benefit
performance if used regularly for months.
The latest thing
Doping labs will soon have to deal with new and even more evasive enemies.
“There’s going to be a whole bunch of new compounds around the corner,” Honour
says.
He points to non-steroidal anabolic agents, a totally new class of compound that
doping labs cannot yet detect. One example is Bicalutamide, a commercial drug used
to treat cancer of the prostate, and he says there are a handful of others. “Although
quite a lot is known about steroid action, you can still be surprised by molecules that
on paper shouldn’t work, but do,” adds Taylor. This makes it difficult to anticipate the
drug cheats’ next molecular move.
The use of human growth hormone also seems to be on the rise, Taylor says. The
hormone is legitimately manufactured for the treatment of muscle-wasting diseases
and to boost stature in unusually short children, but some finds its way on to the black
market.
‘Gene doping’ could be a realistic prospect in just a few years, says Geoffery
Goldspink, molecular biologist at the College Medical School of London University.
Rather than injecting human growth factor to boost muscle size, gene doping would
make more of the growth factor themselves. Goldspink’s experiments with mice have
already shown that injections of a gene that produces a muscle growth factor can
boost muscle mass by about 25% in a matter of weeks. Honour says the doping
agencies “are scared of it”.
Although gene doping has not been tried in humans yet, the development of
gene-injection treatments is progressing at breakneck pace. Experts remain hopeful
that they can discover a smoking gun4 for gene doping, perhaps by studying how the
genes’ products are processed. Ultimately, the anti-doping agencies have to tackle
every new method that rears its head, says Honour, alongside the hundreds of
chemical tests they carry out. “I don’t see where it ever stops,” he sighs.
From college English 2004.10
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Notes
1. Steroid: [生化]类固醇。
2. US Anti-Doping Agency: 美国反兴奋剂处理中心。
3. Nandrolone: 诺龙，雄激素，一种同化代谢甾醇。
4. smoking gun: 犯罪的确凿证据
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Many athletes’ medals are stripped of even after the Olympics Games.
2. The competition between testers and abusers will end very soon.
3. There is an acknowledged fact that illicit chemists who make new drugs are
always one step ahead of the analysts.
4. It’s difficult for a competent chemist to determine whether these chemical tweaks
affect the drug’s effectiveness rather than for them to change a drug’s chemical
structure to make it difficult to detect.
5. Steroid abuse is well-known among many different types of drugs used in sport as
it has been linked with high-profile sprinters such as Dwain Chambers, who tested
positive for the synthetic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG).
6. All the designed drugs are listed in the roll-call, now numbering more than 150.
7. The level of a certain body chemical can artificially elevated sometimes.
8. The current limit for nandrolone is just two nanograms per millilitre of urine,
which sounds too stringent.
9. Doping labs will never catch up with the ever-growing new and even more
evasive enemies.
10. It’s promising for the anti-doping agencies to tackle every new drug-doping
method as hundreds of chemical tests have been carried out.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. What’s your opinion on the drug cheats in Olympic Games?
2. Have you ever seen any famous athlete who took drugs before competition?
3. What measures should be taken to ban drug taking by athletes?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 691
Supposed Time: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
A Prescription for Controlling Drug Costs
Arnold S. Relman & Marcia Angell
The cost of health care is one of the biggest challenges facing the United States,
and, as most people know from experience, drug prices are a growing part of the
problem. Although drug spending represents only 12 percent of total health costs, it is
at an annual rate of 10 to 12 percent—more than four times the rate of inflation—and
will soon overtake physician fees as the second largest part of the health-care bill,
after hospitalization costs. Why is this happening? Unlike other advanced countries,
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the United States doesn’t regulate drug costs. Private insurers bargain with
manufactures for discounts on the medicines they cover, but the drug industry has
long stymied such efforts by the federal government. The result is that Americans pay
roughly twice as much as Canadians or Europeans for brand-name medicines. The
problem is reaching crisis proportions—and without bold reforms, it will get worse.
The pharmaceutical industry claims that high prices are necessary to cover its
research-and-development costs. The truth is that in 2002, the top 10 American drug
companies had a median profit margin of 17 percent, compared with less than 3.1
percent for the other Fortune 500 industries. With that record, the pharmaceutical
industry can hardly claim that it is struggling to finance medical progress. The major
drug companies spend less on R& D than they keep in profits, and far less than they
spend on marketing and administration.
The industry also justifies its high prices by claiming it turns out a steady stream
of life-saving miracle drugs. But this industry engages in much less innovation than
its ads claim. Of the 78 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002,
only 17 were chemical compounds, and only seven of those were classified by the
FDA as likely improvements over drugs already on the market. (None of these seven
came from a big U.S drug company.) The few innovative drugs the industry does
bring to the market usually stem from research done at government or university labs.
When experts at the National Institutes of Health analyzed the research behind the
five top drugs of 1995, they found that only one of 17 key studies came from the
company that sold the drug.
Most of the new drugs now being produced—including many of the top-selling
treatments for arthritis, depression, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol –are
just minor variations on older ones. Drug companies insist that these “me too” drugs
create competition to keep prices down, but there is no evidence for that claim. The
industry also claims that me-too drugs provide backups in case a patient doesn’t
respond well to a drug already on the market. But pharmaceutical companies rarely
test that claim by studying new drugs in people who have not responded to similar
ones.
What will happen to drug prices in the future? No one can afford the skyrocketing
costs—not consumers, not employers, not the state Medicaid programs and not the
deficit-ridden federal government. But reform is unlikely in the current political
climate. Instead of looking for ways to control U.S prices, the Bush administration is
now pressuring other countries to ease regulations so that their prices can rise to U.S.
levels. Mounting expenditures on drugs come from increased use as well as higher
prices, and though private insurers and state Medical programs are encouraging the
use of cheaper generics and getting some prices concessions on the costly patented
brands, the industry is using direct-to-consumer advertising to stimulate new demand.
Public pressure may soon force the government to allow drug imports from
Canada and Europe, but imports can’t sustain a country this large. A more important
step toward controlling drug costs is to break the medical profession’s dependence on
the industry for instruction in the use of pharmaceutical products. Doctors are
bombarded with gifts, promotions and “educational” programs designed to convince
12
them that costly new drugs are better than cheaper, older ones. If physicians took
responsibility for their own education, and relied on published scientific studies rather
than sales pitches, they would prescribe fewer and more-cost-effective drugs. Patients
would come out ahead, and so would the country.
From the World of English
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to the first paragraph, __________ of the following is true.
A. Drug price is a minor problem in the cost of health care facing the United
States.
B. Drug spending represents 10 to 12 percent of the total health costs.
C. The annual rising rate of drug spending is merely four times that of inflation.
D. The hospitalization cost is the largest part of the health-care bill.
2. The underlined word “stymied” (Paragraph 1) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. impede
B. accelerate
C. promote
D. boost
3. According to the text, the pharmaceutical industry __________.
A. Claims that the high prices is still not enough to cover its
research-and-development costs
B. Had a profit margin of 17%, while the other Fortune 500 just had a profit of
3.1% in the year 2002
C. Keeps far more as profits than it spend on R & D
D. Engages in many innovative schemes just as its ads claim
4. Most of the new drugs now being produced __________.
A. are mainly the result of the pharmaceutical industry
B. including the top-selling treatments for arthritis, depression, high blood
pressure and elevated cholesterol
C. have improved a lot over older ones
D. have already lowered the drug prices
5. What’s the author’s attitude toward the drug prices in the future?
A. Optimistic
B. Pessimistic
C. Noncommittal
D. Neutral
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Drug costs will take the place of physician fees as the second largest of
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the health-care bill.
______ The price of brand-name medications will soar up higher and higher to a
critical degree if no bold reforms would be taken.
8. ______ The pharmaceutical industry has no excuse for its high prices.
9. ______ The Bush administration is now taking measures to control U.S. prices.
10. ______ The drug prices in the future will get lower and lower.
7.
Passage 2
Words: 529
Supposed Time: 5′20″
Time You Used:
___
Potatoes Pack a Punch Against Hepatitis B
Roxanne Khamsi
Genetically modified potatoes can deliver the disease protection that normally
comes from a vaccine shot, say scientists, which could be good news for developing
nations.
The hepatitis B virus attacks the liver and claims the lives of more than half a
million people each year. But conventional vaccines require cold storage, which can
be hard to guarantee in the remote areas of developing countries with warm climates.
And medical workers often have a tough time determining whether a delivery of the
relatively costly hepatitis B vaccine has received accidental exposure to heat,
rendering it ineffective, says biologist Charles Arntzen of Arizona State University in
Tempe, who worked on the research.
So Arntzen and his colleagues have designed an edible vaccine that can be stored
without refrigeration inside a humble potato. They tool a gene out of the hepatitis B
virus and incorporated it in the potato plant, which responded by producing the virus
antigen. Once ingested, this antigen protein crates an immune response in the human
body that acts as a booster shot against the hepatitis B virus.
The team says that although this approach is unlikely to supersede initial
vaccinations, it could replace the repeated booster injections needed to maintain
immunity. “This has the potential for a big impact on global health,” says
immunologist Julian Ma of St George’s Hospital Health School in London.
An edible vaccine would reduce the need for needles and make it simpler to
administer on multiple occasions. This gives it an advantage over the full vaccination
programme, which involves a series of three injections given over many months.
Participants in the study had already received the primary injections against
hepatitis B between 1 and 15 years ago. Arntzen and his colleagues found that 19 of
the 33 people in their study produced more antibodies against hepatitis B after eating
the potatoes. One subject’s protective antibodies increased 56-fold, the team reports in
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The fact that the vaccine worked in nearly 60% of the participants came as good
news. The researches explains that even the commercial vaccine, which contains an
extra ingredient that attracts immune cells to boost the body’s response, does not work
in 10% of subjects.
14
Arntzen’s team have already incorporated two other vaccines into potatoes: one
against a disease commonly known as travellers’ diarroea, caused by toxin-producing
Escherichia coli bacteria, and another against the Norwalk virus, which causes an
intestinal illness.
“We’ve been delighted,” says Arntzen. “We keep encountering cynics who say
this won’t work and so far we’ve solved all the problems,” he says. Unlike travellers’
diarrhoea and the Norwalk virus, the hepatitis B virus did not evolve to survive in the
gut, which makes the success of this edible vaccine all the more surprising. For the
hepatitis B vaccine to work, it must survive digestion before acting on the immume
system.
But raw potatoes do not make an appetizing dish and they contain relatively in
consistent vaccine doses. For this reason Arntzen and his colleagues are focusing on
making genetically modified tomatoes and converting them into pills. “I expect we
will never do another human clinical trial with unprocessed materials,” he says.
From College English 2005.4
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. This passage is mainly about __________.
A. vaccines against hepatitis B
B. comparison between conventional vaccines and a newly-found vaccine
C. ways to fight against hepatitis B
D. the magic of an edible vaccine—a new approach to fight against hepatitis B
2. The underlined word “supersede” (Paragraph 4) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. substitute
B. equalize
C. overtake
D. exceed
3. The edible vaccine designed by Arntzen and his colleages __________.
A. can be stored without refrigeration inside a humble tomato
B. can create an immune response in the human body once ingested
C. is produced by incorporating a gene in the potato plant
D. is directly incorporated into the potato
4. Compared with conventional vaccines, the new approach is __________.
A. likely to take the place of the conventional vaccines
B. easy to receive accidental exposure to heat
C. advantageous over conventional vaccines as it would reduce the need for
needles
D. so good that it has already had a big impact on global health
5. According to the reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science,
__________ is true.
A. some participants in the study had already received the primary injection
15
against hepatitis B
B. all the people tested produced more antibodies against hepatitis B after eating
the potatoes
C. about 58% of the tested people produced more antibodies against hepatitis B
after eating the potatoes
D. every people’s protective antibodies can increase as many as 56 times
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Genetically modified potatoes is good news for developing countries but
bad news for developed countries.
7. ______ Exposure to heat would make hepatitis B virus ineffective.
8. ______ The newly-developed vaccine came as good news for all the participants.
9. ______ The success of the edible vaccine is very surprising as the hepatitis B
virus in it did not evolve to survive in the gut like travellers’ diarrhoea
and the Norwalk virus.
10. ______ Modified tomato vaccine is better than modified potato vaccine in every
aspect.
16
UNIT Two Industry
Tips for Reading
Drawing inferences (II)
Drawing inferences from main or topic ideas
When reading, reader must not only draw inferences from words or sentences but
also from the overall passage. To get the effective way of drawing inferences from the
overall passage, an experiment was performed.
After a cursory reading of an article, you are apt to feel that your answers to the
questions are just guesses. To demonstrate the difference between guesses based on
pure chance and inferences, a class of thirty was asked to choose a number between 0
and 100. Since there was little reason to select either a high or low number, the class
average was roughly midpoint—an average of 46.
The class was then asked to infer from their own experience what percentage of a
sample of six hundred college students listed lack of self-confidence as one of their
major problems. Here the class average was 56 percent, still roughly toward the
midpoint mark.
To point up the role of the topic sentence in affecting the accuracy of an
inference, the topic sentence of the paragraph in the passage was read aloud to the
class. The students were then asked to give the percentage figure. Here the class
figure was 72—only three points away from the actual figure given later in the
paragraph, which was 75 percent.
In short, there is an observable difference in results among using (1) pure chance,
(2) personal experience and background, and (3) a specific topic sentence. Inferences
drawn from general ideas should not be confused with pure chance. If a rapid reading
of a selection does give you the main ideas, intelligent use of that information should
lead to quite accurate information about details that you did not actually read.
Practice:
We see the poor fellows hobbling back from the crest or unable to do so, pale and
weak, lying on the ground with the mangled stump of an arm or leg, dripping their
life-blood away, or with a cheek torn open, or a shoulder mashed. And many, alas!
hear not the roar as they stretch upon the ground with upturned faces and open eyes,
though a shell should burst at their very ears. Their ears and their bodies this instant
are only mud.
Question: This paragraph was written to describe events_____.
A. while planning a battle
B. just before a battle
C. during a battle
D. just after a battle
Suggested answer: C
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What’s your favorite clothing brand?
17
2. How many brands do you know in the clothing market?
3. Do you have any idea about the famous brand Esprit?
4. What style does Esprit mainly produce?
Words: 1097
Time Supposed: 11 minutes
Esprit Comes Home
Michael Schuman
Heinz Krogner, Chief Executive of clothing designer and retailer Esprit, is one of
the world’s great turnaround artists. A decade ago, Esprit was a declining
casual-clothing business. But Krogner rebuilt Esprit into one of the fastest-growing
apparel retailers. Sales in the past fiscal year, which ended in June, probably topped
$3 billion, nearly triple its revenues in 2001. In those five years, Esprit’s market value
has increased eightfold, to more than $10 billion, roughly on a par with Limited
Brands and almost twice the size of Abercrombie & Fitch.
The comeback story, however, has had an ironic wrinkle: the U.S., where Esprit
first became famous, has been left out. Though now its main offices are in Hong Kong
and Germany, Esprit was founded in San Francisco in 1968, and by the 1980s its
brightly colored knits and shirts were must-haves for any American teen. But today
sales in North America account for only about 3% of revenues. Even Krogner admits
that the brand “has lost its relevance” to the American consumer.
Not for long, he says, Esprit is plotting to replant and revive itself on its former
home turf with new stores and a long-term investment plan. To succeed, the company
must battle for the fickle American shopper with such entrenched chains as H&M and
Banana Republic in a very crowded, hypercompetitive casualwear market. “They’re
inhabiting the middle of the pack, and it’s going to be tough for them to break out,”
says Steve Harty, chairman of the New York City office of ad agency BBH. Consider
the Gap, which is struggling mightily to find its fashion mojo. But the U.S. is
absolutely crucial to Esprit’s future. “We want to be a global player,” says Krogner, 65.
“Global means you have to be in the U.S.”
There’s encouragement to be found in other comeback clothing brands. Lacoste,
whose trademark alligator had once adorned countless polo shirts, used celebrity buzz
to restore U.S. sales; Abercrombie & Fitch transformed itself from a chain for
paisley-wearing grandfathers to a hip shop for preppy youngsters.
Krogner has given Esprit a major makeover--administered with a touch of
ruthlessness. A former management consultant, he joined Esprit’s European unit in
1995 and quickly replaced the management. He applied a similar take-no-prisoners
approach to Esprit’s business model, moving the company upscale in both quality and
customer. Once primarily a shop for teens, Esprit focuses on people in their late 20s.
The new format revived European sales, now 85% of the total.
The performance must have impressed Hong Kong businessman Michael Ying,
who controlled Esprit’s Asia business. The Asian branch acquired the European outfit
in 1997, and Ying later made Krogner global CEO. Krogner then exported his plan to
Asia. Esprit has a strong presence in China, with 69 stores operated through a joint
18
venture. Last year Esprit opened its first store in India, through a local franchisee.
Esprit is tapping into a new trend in apparel retailing called fast fashion that has
been exemplified by H&M. Shoppers buy clothing more frequently and wear each
item less often, in part because the prices are low. Esprit now replaces its clothing
lines almost entirely each month. Not only does that give shoppers more new items to
purchase each year, but it also decreases Esprit’s risk. If one trend flops, a new one
hits the stores a month later.
One trend American shoppers won’t be seeing much of is the teenybopper pastel
sweaters and T shirts that were once Esprit staples. Instead, the selection is more
mature--khaki pants, jeans, striped shirts and white blouses. Although Esprit still sells
basics, its designers add some clever flourishes to give the styles more panache. The
company is positioning itself to sell clothing at prices 10% to 15% lower than Banana
Republic's. Krogner calls Esprit clothing “for good girls. Not the one with a ring in
her nose or showing her belly.”
A U.S. turnaround could go a long way toward helping Esprit maintain its frenetic
pace. “Because growth rates have started to slow down, they need to get into bigger
markets where their penetration is low,” says Macquarie retail analyst Ramiz Chelat
in Hong Kong. Hello, U.S.A. By 2002, sales had fallen to $150 million, from $700
million in 1987, according to Macquarie. Krogner got control of Esprit’s American
business when Ying bought the U.S. trademark in 2002. (The company is now
publicly traded; Ying owned 15.8% as of the end of 2005.) As part of the acquisition,
Krogner forced a shutdown of Esprit’s existing American operations to afford a fresh
start.
That time Krogner stumbled initially. He tried selling through department stores
like Macy's and Dillard's--a strategy that had been successful in Europe--but unhappy
with the placement given his product, he pulled the brand out. (Esprit is still carried
by Nordstrom.) Then in late 2004, he reintroduced Esprit retail stores and now has 15
stores and outlets, most of them in the New York City area, including a flagship in hip
SoHo. Again, some of those locations flopped, so Krogner dispatched COO Jerome
Griffith to oversee the U.S. operation. Krogner also plans to open five more stores this
fiscal year in ultra-prime locations and intends to focus on the region from Boston to
Washington.
Esprit intends to invest $20 million a year in the U.S. business, but some
retail-industry watchers say it may need to get more aggressive. To win customers in
the U.S., Esprit has to spend more on splashy marketing to create new buzz around
the brand, they say. “Word of mouth takes a long time to spread,” says Marshal Cohen,
a retail analyst at market-research firm NPD Group. “They’ve got to do more than
open doors. This isn’t the Field of Dreams.” Meanwhile, analysts complain, the brand
still fails to resonate, especially with younger consumers who don’t remember Esprit.
Says retail analyst Emanuel Weintraub: “For young people, Esprit might as well be
their father’s Oldsmobile.” Good girls may shop Esprit, but bad girls shop
everywhere.
Krogner says his conservative approach is the best way to preserve Esprit’s strong
profits while his management team figures out the U.S. retail scene. “People have lost
19
their pants” in the U.S., he says. “You don’t do a marathon if you have the flu.”
It could take five years, Krogner says, for Esprit to gain traction in the U.S. market.
But he’s starting to see some positive results. U.S. sales surged 83% in the first half of
the 2005-06 fiscal year. “Why shouldn’t we make it in America?” he asks. “It’s our
home.” Or at least it was.
From Time: Business & Technology
Exercises
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Heinz Krogner, Chief Executive of clothing designer and retailer Esprit, is one of
the world’s great turnaround artists.
2. By the 1980s its brightly colored knits and shirts were must-haves for any
American teen.
3. Esprit is plotting to replant and revive itself on its former home turf with new
stores and a long-term investment plan.
4. They’re inhabiting the middle of the pack, and it’s going to be tough for them to
break out.
5. Lacoste, whose trademark alligator had once adorned countless polo shirts, used
celebrity buzz to restore U.S. sales.
6. The Asian branch acquired the European outfit in 1997, and Ying later made
Krogner global CEO.
7. Esprit has a strong presence in China.
8. If one trend flops, a new one hits the stores a month later.
9. As part of the acquisition, Krogner forced a shutdown of Esprit's existing
American operations to afford a fresh start.
10. Meanwhile, analysts complain, the brand still fails to resonate, especially with
younger consumers who don’t remember Esprit.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. It’s Heinz Krogner who changed Esprit from a declining casual-clothing business
into one of the fastest-growing apparel retailers.
2. Esprit has a large market in the U.S. as it was founded in San Francisco in 1968.
3. Measures will be taken by Esprit to revive itself in the American market.
4. H&M and Banana Republic will be Esprit’s major competitor in the U.S. market.
5. The comeback clothing brands, namely, Lacoste, Abercrombie & Fitch, set a
good example to Esprit.
6. Esprit’’s consumers are mainly teenagers.
7. Esprit has a large market in Asia and it is still expanding its market.
8. In order to meet the needs of shoppers, Esprit now replaces its clothing lines very
frequently.
9. The style of Esprit is changing to be more mature.
10. Esprit will win customers in the U.S. without too much difficulty.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
20
eightfold/ on a par with/ ironic/ account for/ plot / ruthlessness/ franchisee/ in
part/ traction/ surge
1. There are 30 boys in his class, _____ 70% of the total number.
2. They want to expand their business to Japan, and now they are looking for _____
in that country.
3. The housing price in some major cities is constantly rising, sometimes it can
_____ high up to 120% in just one year.
4. Food production in china has increased a lot in the recent years, about _____ that
of five years ago.
5. His success in this competition owes _____ to luck.
6. Although he is not very famous, he is _____ most great writers.
7. A scheme was _____ by them to attack the enemy.
8. _____, even as the government was fulminating against American policy,
American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the
market.
9. She’s injured her back and is in _____ for a month.
10. The terrorists’ _____ shocked the population.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics.
1. Casual wear VS. Formal wear.
A: comfortable/good for students/cheaper/varied styles/fashionable/makes people
look young
B: necessary in some occasions/makes one look more elegant/mature/must-haves for
white-collars
2. High quality clothes VS. Beautiful clothes
A: wear for a long time/a token of higher social position/make you feel proud
B: eye-catching/make up the shortcomings of people’s appearance/feel confident
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. My favorite clothing brand
2. Secrets in dressing arts.
3. Clothes and character
Reading Two
Words: 948
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
How Low Can Gasoline Prices Go?
John W. Schoen
After marching relentlessly higher this year, gasoline prices suddenly have made
a sharp U-turn in the past few weeks. And analysts say consumers can expect even
more relief at the pump in the coming weeks.
“Wholesale prices are down 70 cents since Aug. 7, and retail are down about 30
cents,” said Tom Kloza at Oil Price Information Service. “It doesn’t take John
Maynard Keynes to anticipate that we’ve got tens of cents of catching up to do.”
The average retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell 11.8 cents last week
to $2.73 per gallon, according to Energy Department figures released Thursday. That's
21
34 cents lower than this time last year and the lowest level since April.
And gasoline inventories continued to build, making it likely the pump prices will
continue to drop. Refineries are running at 93.6 percent of capacity — the highest
levels since hurricanes Katrina and Rita took a big bite out of production last fall.
Prices are dropping so fast that in some Gulf Coast markets gasoline costs less
than the crude oil it takes to make it, said Kloza.
“I think we’ll quickly see prices move to $2.50 on a national average and may go
as low as $2.25,” said John Kilduff, an oil analyst at Fimat USA.
Just as the sharp spike in pump prices this year had multiple causes, several
factors have combined to send prices lower again.
Much of the price run-up was based on fears that gasoline producers, still
recovering from refinery damage inflicted by last year’s hurricanes, would have
trouble keeping up with the annual rise in demand for the summer driving season.
Those fears were amplified by bottlenecks early in the season caused by a switch to a
seasonal ethanol blend.
A lot of the supply fears concerning the use of ethanol really didn’t come to
fruition,” said Kilduff. “We made it through the peak driving season.”
In fact, there’s something of an ethanol boom under way. Though ethanol still
costs more than gasoline, production has increased rapidly this year, and more than a
dozen companies are investing in new plants that will double total output by 2010 to
10.6 billion gallons, according to Friedman Billings and Ramsey analyst Jacques
Rousseau. (Last year, American drivers burned through about 140 billion gallons of
gasoline.)
Gas prices also have retreated recently as speculators who poured investment into
futures contracts earlier this year have started pulling their money out. That retreat
was sparked last month when the widely watched Goldman Sachs Commodity Index
cut back on its weighting for gasoline futures.
Traders had also bid up gasoline futures on fears that another nasty hurricane
season could repeat the refinery damage and supply interruptions brought by Katrina
and Rita last year. So far those fears have turned out to be overdone.
“There’s excitement that the hurricane season hasn’t been worse,” said Peter
Beutel, an oil analyst with Cameron Hanover. “And as a result, a lot of people who
bought (gasoline futures) anticipating the hurricane season have started to liquidate.”
Consumers are finally getting some relief.
The biggest drop has come in the Midwest, where the average pump price fell
16.5 cents last week to $2.60 a gallon. Diesel fuel prices also are down, falling 6 cents
nationwide to an average $2.97 a gallon.
Kloza figures Americans will spend some $3 billion less on gasoline this month
than they did last September. Beutel estimates consumers will save another $3.8
million a day for every penny knocked off the average pump price.
So just how low can pump prices go? On that question, analysts are all over the
map. But they agree on one point: Gasoline prices aren’t likely prices to fall back
below $2 a gallon unless the price of the crude oil from which it’s made also drops
significantly.
22
“It’s difficult to really make a strong compelling case for crude price to drop
unless A, you have a recession or B, you have peace, love and happiness break out in
all of these chaotic portions of the globe,” said Kloza.
Major oil producers like Iran and Venezuela have made clear they want to prevent
crude prices from falling. And oil production in Iraq, and to a lesser extent Nigeria,
has been slowed by violence and insurgent attacks.
“We’ll need some of the uncertainty in the oil-producing countries to be rectified
(before oil prices fall),” said Kilduff.
But over the longer term, some analysts believe that the high price of crude oil is
having the effect that economics textbooks predict it should: spurring development of
new oil supplies. Recent test wells in deepwater Gulf of Mexico — from holes drilled
through five miles of rock at sea depths of over 9,000 feet — have raised hopes of the
biggest U.S. oil discovery since the Alaskan North Slope in the 1970s.
“This is going to be going on all over the planet,” said Beutel. “At $70 a barrel
you could probably find oil in your own back yard. You’d just have to dig awfully
deep.”
Beutel says that over the next five years or so increased drilling activity
worldwide could send oil prices crashing — and pump prices as low as $1 a gallon in
some parts of the country.
But that forecast is on the optimistic end of the range. While consumers may once
again see pump prices below $2 a gallon, most analysts expect pump prices to remain
volatile.
“My bet is that the market is going to continue to be extraordinarily bipolar,” said
Kloza. “And the difference between the lowest prices you pay in any calendar year is
going to be more than a dollar. And that could mean $1.75 to $3.50.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14717550/page/2/
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Gasoline prices dropped sharply in the past few weeks and it will probably keep
dropping in the coming weeks.
2. Both wholesale and retail prices are down largely, with wholesale of 70% and
retail about 30%.
3. The retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline this time last year is $3.07.
4. Hurricanes happened last summer had a great influence on the production of
gasoline.
5. Although ethanol still costs more than gasoline, there’s something of an ethanol
boom under way.
6. Analysts from all over the world are concerned about the question “how low can
pump prices go?”
7. The price of crude oil will probably drop.
8. In the long run, the high price of crude oil will spur the development of new oil
supplies.
9. You will probably find oil in your back yard and sell it at the price of $70 a
23
barrel.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. What do you think of the current oil price in china?
2. What do you think will be the main substitute if one day we run out of oil?
3. The relationship between price and production.
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 662
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
Apple's New Toys
Wilson Rothman
Hinting that there would be more to come in January, CEO Steve Jobs introduces
a movie store, a new iPod and a revamped nano. But will they satisfy Apple’s fans?
Apple boss Steve Jobs made good Tuesday on speculation that his company
would offer movie downloads and a movie-ready iPod for the holiday season. During
his presentation, at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, he also unveiled
an overhaul of the nano line, with flash-memory capacity reaching 8 gigabytes, as
anticipated. The only unexpected announcement was a new version of the nearly
forgotten iPod shuffle—cutting the size of the 1GB screen-less music player by half,
and cutting its price to $79.
The news that Apple’s video store had started stocking movies was no surprise to
most industry watchers, nor was the fact that the first studio on board would be
Disney. Not only did Disney recently purchase Jobs’ Pixar animation company in May,
but the studio was the first to supply TV shows for Apple’s iTunes store last October.
However, the TV shows that Apple sells do not have the quality and resolution to be
enjoyed on a standard TV set, let alone a widescreen high-definition TV. Jobs
announced that the movies for sale would be “near DVD-quality” with a resolution of
640 x 480 pixels. Pricing will range from $10 for older movies, $13 for recent hits,
and $15 for brand-new releases. In a first test, we bought The Incredibles for $13. The
1 hour and 55 minute movie—1.3 GB of digital video —took just under 40 minutes to
download using a cable broadband connection. Viewed full screen on a 13-in.
MacBook, it looked tolerably good, noticeably better than iTunes TV content, but it’s
hard to say whether it will look great on a TV.
Since this was the most highly anticipated Apple launch since Jobs’ unveiled the
first nano and video-capable iPod, Apple fans spent the weeks leading up to it
speculating wildly. The movie-friendly iPod doesn’t have a widescreen display (even
though most movies on iTunes are formatted in theatrical widescreen). It certainly
doesn’t have a touchscreen covering its entire front, as some hoped. Nor is there any
sort of wireless networking capability for downloading songs remotely or streaming
music to a receiver. It does, however, answer many concerns. Capacity has been rising
24
to 80GB in order to make room for 1-2GB movies. Battery life on the 80GB iPod
($349) is up to 6.5 hours, guaranteeing the playback of one or two, if not three
full-length features. That also means 20 hours of music. The 30GB iPod ($249) has
shorter battery life—3.5 hours of video or 14 hours of music—but it manages to
outperform its predecessor while being 30% thinner.
The new nano bears a resemblance to the fondly remembered iPod mini—not
only does it have the same rounded sides, but on $199 4GB models, its aluminum
body comes in silver, pink, green and blue. A black finish is reserved for the 8GB
nano, which will sell for $249, competing with SanDisk’s recently launched 8GB
Sansa flash player. Contrary to some speculation, the new nano does not play video
(as the Sansa does), but it will play music for 24 hours on a single battery charge.
After getting out the bulk of the news, Jobs still had more coming, from the new
micro-sized iPod shuffle to redesigned earbuds to NFL season highlights on iTunes.
The theatrically minded CEO, usually tightlipped about his next big thing, even teased
at a product that will launch in January, codenamed iTV. As eagerly anticipated as the
movie-download store itself, the iTV looks like a Mac mini, and is intended to
connect to your TV set and connect wirelessly to computers to retrieve video and
audio content. Other products like this have been on the market for years, but industry
watchers think Apple has the charm and design savvy to sell “media servers” to a
mainstream audience.
From Time
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to Apple boss Steve Jobs, a new iPod __________.
A. will satisfy Apple’s fans
B. will be equipped with movie downloads functions
C. will reach a flash-memory capacity of 8 gigabytes, which is out of
expectation
D. will be a totally different version of the nearly forgotten iPod shuffle
2. __________ is true about the third paragraph.
A. Disney recently purchased Jobs’ Pixar animation company in May
B. Although the TV shows that Apple sells do not have the quality and
resolution to be enjoyed on a standard TV set, it can be said as a widescreen
high-definition TV
C. Price for movies will range from $10 to $13
D. Macbook will look tolerably good on a TV
3. The movie-friendly iPod mentioned in the fourth paragraph _________.
A. was launched before the first nano and video-capable iPod
B. was equipped with a widescreen display
C. have a capacity of 80GB in order to make room for 1-2GB movies.
D. have a touchscreen covering its entire front just as some people hoped.
4. Compared with the 80GB iPod, the 30GB iPod ___ ______.
25
A. is $50 cheaper
B. has a longer battery life
C. can play just 3.5 hours of video
D. outperforms its predecessor as it is 30% thinner.
5. The underlined word “bulk” (Paragraph 6) can best be replaced by ______ ___.
A. quantity
B. number
C. amount
D. volumes
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ The new version of the nearly forgotten iPod shuffle is twice the size of
the 1GB screen-less music player.
7. ______ Most industry watchers was greatly surprised at the news that Apple’s
video store had started stocking movies.
8. ______ The movie-friendly iPod has some kind of wireless networking capability
for downloading songs remotely or streaming music to a receiver.
9. ______ The new nano shares some similarity with the fondly remembered iPod
mini as it has the same rounded sides.
10. ______ The new nano can play video as well as music as it’s competitor
SanDisk’s recently launched 8GB Sansa flash player does.
Passage 2
Words: 680
Time Supposed: 6′35″
Time You Used:
___
Smartphones Emerge as Future of Wireless
Gary Krakow
LOS ANGELES — the cell phone industry is changing — and it’s changing fast.
That’s easy to see here at the CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment 2006 trade
show in Los Angeles, where cell phone makers are showing off new gadgets designed
to meet the needs of consumers who are demanding more from their cell phones.
Cell phone makers are packing new features into cell phones, many of which
have been the exclusive domain of PCs. These features include e-mail, word
processing, spreadsheets, television, music players, television shows and even
full-length movies.
Smartphones, with features such as a voice, contact, appointment, Web browsing
and e-mail functionality used to be purchased mainly by business people. That’s
changing rapidly. Manufacturers are now marketing their smarter, full-function
handsets to regular consumers and are realizing that the demand is going to be high.
“The latest batch of smartphones to hit the market is aimed squarely at
26
consumers,” said Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director at Jupiter
Research. “As much as smartphones were first adopted by businessmen who needed
to be connected to their office all the time — now it’s the consumer who is demanding
that level of connectivity.”
BlackBerry’s diminutive new Pearl phone, Sprint’s Treo 700wx, Cingular/Nokia’s
e62 and the latest, updated Sidekick 3 from T-Mobile are examples of the new breed
of handsets which are aimed directly at both business and non-business users alike.
Moms, dads and kids now see the benefit of having their phone calls, e-mail and to-do
lists with them when they’re away from home.
“They see the benefits of being able to stay connected with their office as well as
with family and friends,” Gartenberg said.
Some phone manufacturers and cellular providers are only too happy to provide
them with what they want. Companies are lowering prices for some of their phones
and they're also lowering the monthly charges for services.
“Some full function smartphones are now selling for $199, $149 and even $99,”
Gartenberg said. “And, that gets people’s attention.”
Many phones now double as music players. And some provide you with slots to
add memory cards for expanding the number of songs you carry with you. Newer
designs can accept up to 2GB cards — which means your phone can now hold as
much music as some current iPod models.
Smartphones will eventually morph into the platform of choice for portable
entertainment. Sprint recently announced that they’re going to sell full-length
movies you can watch on their cell phones.
According to Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices, content and
services for the NPD Group, video over cell phones is the next big thing.
“Right now it is just the early adopters,” Storther said. “My guess is that mobile
TV becomes an overnight sensation around 2009.”
The next generation of smartphones will be able to bring you not only streaming
video clips — but live television as well. You can download software to have your
home SlingBox video gateway stream live television to some of the latest
smartphones on the market. They’re also working on software that will allow all
smartphones to receive live video — not just those which run on the Windows Mobile
operating system.
A number of companies are working on systems which “broadcast” live television
directly to your phone. I’ve seen demonstrations of Nokia’s cell phone TV system and
even though it’s in the early development stage, it’s pretty impressive.
Cellular companies in the United States currently are building out higher speed
networks to handle these few phone features. Verizon and Sprint are busy rolling out
their EV-DO networks — Cingular and T-Mobile aren’t far behind.
But as cool as all these mobile technologies sound — it will up to the phone
manufacturers and cellular companies to provide lots of features and keep services
affordable. So far, monthly fee plans for high-speed data services are sky high. Prices
should begin to drop as competition stiffens.
Expect to see future generations of smartphones to become the Swiss Army knife
27
of portable electronics. They’ll be able to handle everything from your
communication to your entertainment needs. And, everyone will have one.
From © 2006 MSNBC Interactive
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Cellphone makers are packing new features into cell phones, including
__________.
A. short message
B. photographing
C. television shows
D. game
2. According to the passage, smartphones now __________.
A. aimed indirectly at regular consumers
B. are still mainly adopted by businessmen
C. is preferred by young people
D. has a lot of new functions packed
3. The underlined word “diminutive” (Paragraph 6) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. minitype
B. diminishing
C. delicate
D. magnificant
4. Prices for high-speed data services should begin to drop as __________.
A. it’s unaffordable
B. there will be many competitors
C. it will be viewed as common services
D. many people will use some other sources in the future
5. This passage is mainly about __________.
A. the development of cellphones
B. the function of cellphones
C. the future of smartphones
D. the main target of smartphones
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______Consumers nowadays are demanding more from their cell phones.
7. ______By using memory cards, you can expand the number of songs stored in
your cellphone.
8. ______According to Neil Strother, video over cellphone is the biggest thing for
the time being.
28
9. ______ Nokia has developed its cell phone TV system and it’s pretty impressive.
10. ______ So far, monthly fee plans for high-speed data services are as high as $50.
29
UNIT Three Generation Gap
Tips for Reading
Predicting (I)
One way to read effectively is to predict. Active readers are making predictions
before serious reading and they make corrections of their understanding of the reading
passage from time to time while reading the material. There are many helpful steps to
take in order to read for information before you actually begin reading. You can look
ahead to the content of a passage in a number of ways.
1. Look at the title. Does it tell what you will be reading about? If so, you can
then make some possible prediction about the content of the reading passage.
2. Look for subtitles. Essays, newspaper articles and other longer readings
sometimes offer help in making predictions by printing subtitles. Appearing below
titles in heavy, dark print or in italics, subtitles suggest the kind of material you will
find in a small section of the reading.
3. Look at pictures, charts, or drawings if there are any. Often an illustration helps
you figure out ahead of time what your reading will deal with.
4. Look at the first sentence of each paragraph. This may also give you a quick
idea of what the reading is about before you begin to read carefully.
Example: Taking a look at the title of one passage “Where Principles Come First”,
one can make the following possible predictions.
1. What are the principles that come first?
2. Why should we put forward the principles first?
3. How are the principles accepted or appreciated or even rejected by some others?
4. Who put forward the principles?
5. Why did he or she put forward the principles?
6. What are the striking characteristics of the person who put forward the principles?
7. Are the principles being beneficial to others?
8. What can we learn from the principles?
If we read the passage with care, we can find that the article only deals with
some of the questions listed above, not all the questions. This is the process which is
going on all the time when we are reading something with active understanding.
Practice: Give some predictions of the following titles.
1. Industrial Rise and Decline in American and Japan.
2. Totally Broken Heart.
3. Mcdonald’s Plan for Global Dominance.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What is a generation gap?
2. Have you ever come across generation gap in workplace?
3. What factors contribute to the generation gap in workplace?
4. Is it possible to overcome the generation gap in work place?
30
Words: 800
Time Supposed: 8 Minutes
Technology in Workplace Widens Generation Gap
It is not unusual to find employees of two, three and sometimes four generations
working in neighboring cubicles in American offices. With wide gaps in life
experience and expectations, it is also not unusual to have clashes among these
workers. But, as experts say, overcoming such intergenerational conflicts is a key
ingredient for creating high-performing work groups and a successful work
environment.
Many new college graduates show up at their jobs dressed very casually, stay
plugged in to their iPods while they work, and don’t understand why that’s a problem.
“A lot of the times, the young people don’t feel that their employer, their boss or
older colleagues understand the needs they have in the workplace,” reseacher Anna
Matuszewska says. Ms. Matuszewska works at the Hudson Highland Center for High
Performance, which helps businesses get the most productivity from their workforce.
“Young people are very much looking for a type of environment, which gives
them the opportunity to take risks, to experiment with their ideas and really be
challenged and use their brain,” she says.
That is one of the findings of a study conducted in 15 countries by a team of
Hudson researchers. Lead researcher Susan Annunzio says people of different
generations often make assumptions about one another, based on age and appearance.
“The older generation or the baby boomers in charge look at the new people coming
in and say, ‘Ah they are lazy. They expect everything to be coming to them,’ ” she
says. “Where the young kids coming in look at the people in charge and say, ‘They
are risk adverse. They are set in their ways. They never want to try anything.’ This
kind of labeling -- all that it does is to separate our knowledge. It doesn’t do anything
to help us get better or improve the quality of the workforce.”
Ms. Annunzio observes that each generation grows up in a very different social
environment, and that affects how each group sees the world. “The kids coming to the
workplace today have taken care of themselves all their lives,” she says. “Most of
them come from families with two parents that work. They have watched their parents
and perhaps their grandparents be laid off from jobs. Of course they are cynical. Of
course they don’t trust corporations. During their lifetime they’ve seen scandals in
politics. We grew up with heroes, people with integrity -- or at least they appeared that
way because you couldn’t get inside their private life the way we can today.”
Although there has always been a gap between generations, Ms. Annunzio says,
advancements in technology have widened this divide today more than ever. “The
generation coming into the workplace today has never experienced life without a
computer,” she says. “So you take the average 21 year old -- that person is coming
into the workplace with 21 years of experience using technology. The people running
the companies do not have that kind of experience. The older generation or the baby
boomers, people like myself who are running companies today, we look at technology
as, ‘what did I used to do and how can I do it better, faster and cheaper using
technology?’ The younger generation look at technology and they think, ‘Wow, what
31
can I get it to do what has never done before, how can I make it do something totally
new?’ ”
In her book, Contagious Success: Spreading High Performance Throughout
Your Organization, Susan Annunzio gives many examples of situations where
intergenerational conflict arises… and suggests ways to overcome it. “One of my
favorite examples is a young person coming into the workplace today,” she says.
“They are coming in; they have iPod in their ears, their cell phone in their hands.
They are text messaging. They go to their desks. They turn on their computer and
instant messaging while they are doing their work. For someone of my generation, our
immediate tendency is turn off all this so you can concentrate. Instead of that, look at
what they are really doing. They are multi tasking in technology. The world we live in
today requires us to multitask in technology.”
Ms. Annunzio says technology is also the reason young people around the world
are more similar than they have ever been before.
“We didn’t find any difference at all between any of the countries we saw. Young
people around the world today are so connected through technology. They can talk to
each other through e-mail. They can see each other on reality TV.”
Susan Annunzio says different generations can work together effectively. She
says creating a work environment that appreciates older employees’ experience and
welcomes the contributions of newcomers can make it possible to capitalize on the
widely diverse skills and knowledge each generation brings to the workplace.
From VOA News
http://come.6to23.com/voa/blog06/20060101084818.html
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Overcoming such intergenerational conflicts is a key ingredient for creating
high-performing work groups and a successful work environment.
2. Lead researcher Susan Annunzio says people of different generations often make
assumptions about one another, based on age and appearance.
3. They are risk adverse.
4. Of course they are cynical.
5. Advancements in technology have widened this divide today more than ever.
6. The world we live in today requires us to multitask in technology.
7. She says creating a work environment that appreciates older employees’ experience
and welcomes the contributions of newcomers can make it possible to capitalize on
the widely diverse skills and knowledge each generation brings to the workplace.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. It is quite common to find employees of several generations working in
neighboring cubicles in the U.S.
2. Overcoming such intergenerational conflicts in workplace is almost impossible.
3. Although many new college graduates understand it’s a problem, they still show up
at their jobs dressed very casually, stay plugged in to their iPods while they work.
32
4. Young people like to take risks and they are bold to try new ideas.
5. According to the Lead researcher Susan Annunzio, people often judge a person
from his age and appearance.
6. Today’s young people are cynical partially because that they have watched their
parents and perhaps their grandparents be laid off from jobs.
7. The older generation grow up with people of integrity and they can easily know
them by getting inside their private life.
8. With the advancements in technology, generation gap in work place is widened to a
large extent.
9. The older generation and the younger generation have almost the same view on
utilizing the technology.
10. It is the development of technology that made young people around the world
today are so connected.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
ingredient/show up/productivity/challenge/lay off/widen/run/turn on/turn
off/capitalize on
1. The management sector is looking for ways of improving_____.
2. It’s very hard for _____ workers to make a living.
3. We should fully _____ the mistakes made by our rival firm.
4. Today she was somewhat strange as she_____ all the lights in every room as soon
as she got home.
5. Before cooking, you should mix all the _____ in a bowl.
6. Not every one has the head to _____ a business.
7. He said he would be here at 12 o’clock, but up to now he hasn’t_____yet.
8. She likes _____ job.
9. As time went by, the discrepancies between the two parties_____.
10. Hearing the footsteps of his parents, he quickly _____ the television.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Older generation VS .Younger generation
A: experienced/ hard-working spirit/ conform to rules and regulations/ satisfied with
what they have
B: energetic/ like challenges/ innovative/ be brought up in the technology age/
innovative/ take risks/ experiment with new ideas
2. old age VS. Technology age
A: work in traditional way/ rigid/ no flexibility/ few entertainment/ work without
computer
B: advanced technology used in work/ flexible work hour or place/ computer be an
indispensable part of work/ many things be done at the same time
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Have you ever felt a generation gap with your friends?
2. At what point in life does the generation gap seem to be the largest?
3. Do you think you can be a better parent than your parents in future?
33
Reading Two
Words: 942
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
The Disappearing Generation Gap
Marilyn Gardner: Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is
this a good thing? Sometimes, when Tom Krattenmaker and his 16-year-old daughter,
Holland, listen to rock music together and talk about pop culture – interests they both
enjoy – he recalls his more-distant relationship with his parents when he was a
teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great
– how do you like it?’ ” says Mr. Krattenmaker, of Yardley, Pa. “There was just a
complete gap in sensibility and taste, a virtual gulf.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and
expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to revolve in
separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is shrinking in many
families. The old authoritarian approach to discipline – a starchy “Because I said so,
that’s why” – is giving way to a new egalitarianism and a “Come, let us reason
together” attitude.
The result can be a rewarding closeness among family members. Conversations
that would not have taken place a generation ago – or that would have been awkward,
on subjects such as sex and drugs – now are comfortable and common. And
parent-child activities, from shopping to sports, involve an easy camaraderie that can
continue into adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best
friend.”
But family experts caution that the new equality can also have a downside,
diminishing respect for parents.
“There’s still a lot of strict, authoritarian parenting out there, but there is a change
happening,” says Kerrie Laguna, a mother of two young children and a psychology
professor at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa. “In the middle of that change,
there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes.
They see the 1960s as a benchmark. Dramatic cultural shifts led to more open
communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a
say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that shift, whereas today’s parents, the
40-somethings, were on the ‘after’ side,” explains Krattenmaker, news director at
Swarthmore College. “It’s much easier for 40-somethings and today’s teenagers to
relate to one another. It’s not a total cakewalk for parents these days, because life is
more complicated, but [sharing interests] does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
Parents and children as friends
“Fun” is, in fact, a word heard far more frequently in families today than in the
34
past, when “duty” and “responsibility” were often operative words.
Parents today are more youthful in appearance and attitudes. From bluejeans to
blow-drys, their clothes and hairstyles are more casual, helping to bridge the sartorial
divide. Those who are athletically inclined also enjoy Rollerblading, snowboarding,
and rock-climbing with their offspring.
For the past three years, Kathy and Phil Dalby of Arnold, Md., have spent at least
one evening a week, and sometimes two, at a climbing gym with their three children.
“It’s great to be able to work together,” Mrs. Dalby says. “We discuss various climbs
and where the hard parts are. Sometimes that leads to other conversations, and
sometimes it doesn’t. We’re definitely closer.”
A popular movement with roots in the 1970s, parent effectiveness training, has
helped to reshape generational roles. The philosophy encourages children to describe
their feelings about various situations. As a result, says Robert Billingham, a
family-studies professor at Indiana University, “Parents and children began talking to
each other in ways they had not before.”
On the plus side, he adds, these conversations made parents realize that children
may have important thoughts or feelings that adults need to be aware of.
But Professor Billingham also sees a downside: Many parents started making
decisions based on what their child wanted. “The power shifted to children. Parents
said, ‘I have to focus on making my child happy,’ as opposed to ‘I have to parent most
appropriately.’ ”
Other changes are occurring as the ranks of working mothers grow. An increase
in guilt on the part of busy parents makes them less eager to spend time disciplining,
says Dr. Laguna of Lebanon Valley College.
Time-short parents also encourage children’s independence, making them more
responsible for themselves. “They’ll say, ‘We trust you to make the right decisions’
[whether they’re ready to assume the responsibility or not],” says Billingham.
The self-esteem movement of the past quarter-century has also affected family
dynamics. Some parents worry that if they tell their child no, or impose limits, it will
hurt the child’s self-esteem.
Yet, parents who don’t set rules risk becoming “so powerless in their own homes
that they feel out of control and sometimes afraid,” cautions Dennis Lowe, director of
the Center for the Family at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
He believes that parents – in their eagerness to keep the peace and avoid
arguments – miss an opportunity to teach children how to resolve conflicts, rather
than simply avoiding them.
Although sensitive and democratic parenting has its advantages, Laguna
expresses concern about “almost epidemic numbers” of children who have few
boundaries or expectations.
Dr. Lowe and his wife, Emily, try to maintain structure and boundaries by taking
a traditional approach with their children, ages 10 and 14. They also strive for a united
front. Challenges arise, he says, when one parent wants an egalitarian relationship
with a child, while the other parent wants to set limits.
“Probably the democratic approach is not bad in and of itself,” Lowe says. “It’s
35
when it swings so far that it promotes lack of rules and structure and discipline for
children. Problems also arise when it promotes overindulgence, sometimes in an
effort to avoid ‘harming’ the relationship, rather than teaching children moderation
and the limits of life.”
Overindulgence, Lowe says, can actually be a sign of neglect – neglecting values,
neglecting teaching opportunities, and neglecting the relationship. To be successful,
people need an appreciation for rules and limits.
To give their own children that appreciation, the Lowes discusses everything
from the kind of movies the children can watch to what is realistic financially.
Lowe sees some parents trying to cultivate friendship with their children even at
very early ages. And he knows families where children call parents by their first
names. “Rather than ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad,’ you have a 7-year-old saying, ‘Hey, Gary,’ ” he
explains, adding that a lack of respect for parents could carry over into relationships
with teachers, bosses, and others in positions of authority.
Growing understanding
Still, encouraging signs exist. Vern Bengtson, who has studied generational
changes as coauthor of a forthcoming book, “How Families Still Matter,” finds a
greater tolerance for divergence between generations today than in the past.
“Because of my own rebellion in the ‘60s, and because of the way I grew out of it,
I can better accept my son’s desire for independence and the crazy and sometimes
rebellious things that he does,” says Professor Bengtson of the University of Southern
California, Los Angeles. “Based on my experience, he, too, will grow out of it.”
As Dalby, the rock-climbing mom, looks around at friends and acquaintances, she
is heartened to find that many people are far more open with the things they talk about
with children. “There are a lot more dangers out there now. It’s better to address them
yourselves, because somebody will.”
Where do families go from here?
“Parents have to be careful not to totally be their kid’s buddy, because they still have
to be the authoritarian and disciplinarian,” Krattenmaker says.
For her part, Laguna would like to see role distinctions that illustrate clearly who
the adults are.
“I don’t think we’re swinging back to the ‘good old days,’ when parents ruled and
children kept their mouths shut,” Billingham says. “We’re swinging toward a balance,
where parents once again are viewed as parents, and not as peers to their children.
Children are being viewed as very loved and valued family members, but without the
power or authority of the parents.
“If we can get this balance, where parents are not afraid to be parents, and parents
and children put the family as their priority, we’ll be in great shape. I’m very
optimistic about the future.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0529/p14s02-lifp.html
I. Comprehension of the text: There are six people in the text, match their names
in Column 1 with their ideas in Column 2.
36
Column 1
(A) Krattenmaker
(B) Kerrie Laguna
(C) Mrs. Dalby
(D) Robert Billingham
(E) Dennis Lowe
(F) Vern Bengtson
column 2
1.There is a greater tolerance for divergence
between generations today than in the
past.
2.Parents and children began talking to each
other in different ways
3.There is a change of parenting role
4.It’s a great idea for parents and children
to spend time together, which can make
them closer to each other.
5.There was a complete gap in sensibility
and taste—a virtual gulf—between he
and his mother.
6.Parents who don’t set rules may have the
risk of becoming powerless in their own
homes
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. What’s the relationship between you and your parents?
2. Do you share the same interest with your parents?
3. How to promote harmonious family relationship?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 456
Time Supposed: 4′30′′
Time You Used: ________
Tips Offered on Overcoming Generation Gap at Work
Sarah H. Wright
If your co-worker’s attitudes towards work, privacy or loyalty to the organization
just rub you the wrong way, the discomfort may arise from a generational clash and
not a personality conflict, according to Marilee Jones, dean of admissions, and Lorelle
Espinosa, director of recruitment in the Office of Admissions.
“The Generation Gap at Work,” a presentation and discussion led by Jones and
Espinosa, explored an unprecedented feature of current American employment: the
co-existence of four different generations of workers within the U.S. workforce and
frequently, within small offices.
At their IAP session on Jan. 28, Jones and Espinosa provided a framework for
understanding the gaps across generations and offered tips to manage these sometimes
baffling and tense relationships smoothly.
They divided the workforce into “Matures,” born between 1909 and 1945;
“Boomers,” born between 1946 and 1964; “Gen Xers,” born between 1965 and 1978;
37
and “Millenials,” born from 1979 onward.
“The cohort in a similar age has similar values and characteristics; they have
similar attitudes and expectations that are very different from other generations,” said
Jones, a self-identified Baby Boomer, who used charts and cartoons to show how the
characteristics of each generational cohort contrasted with others. For example, she
said, “Matures are the silent generation. They value sacrifice, commitment, and
financial and social conservatism. They remember the Depression. They’re the
‘Establishment.’ ”
“Boomers value themselves. They’re competitive, anti-authority. They grew up
with Vietnam, Watergate, and Woodstock. They have high expectations. They’re
diplomatic, loyal and want validation. And they value privacy.
“Gen Xers were the first latchkey kids. They’re entrepreneurial, pragmatic, and
straightforward. They grew up with AIDS, MTV, PCs, divorce.
“The Millenials are neotraditionalists, optimistic and very community-centered.
They’re technologically adept and busy, busy. They grew up with the O.J. Simpson
trial, Columbine and 9/11. They’re versatile. They write blogs about their lives,” said
Jones.
“What this means to us is that co-workers may have fundamentally different
approaches to work, teamwork, privacy, respect and authority. If you’re a Boomer
with Gen Xers working for you, humble yourself and ask them for help. Give them
plenty of praise and training in new skills. Think of them as a whole generation of
middle children--give them attention. Praise and reward their successes,”
recommended Jones.
As for working with Millenials, Jones said. “Here’s one tip: remember that they
are as far from Vietnam as we were from the Great Depression. Spare them the ‘back
in the day’ stories.”
Espinosa, a self-identified Gen Xer, offered tips for her cohort to working with
Boomers.
“Try to understand them. Find a niche in your work where you can excel. Seek
out mentors and get on your director's calendar. If you want to break the ice with a
Boomer, ask them about their children,” Espinosa said.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/iap-generation-0202.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. We can learn from the passage that __________.
A. “Matures,” are those born before the end of World War II.
B. “Boomers,” are those born between 1946 and 1965
C. “Gen Xers,” are those born between 1965 and 1978
D. “Millenials,” are those born from after 2000
2. The underlined word “unprecedented” (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. common
38
B. popular
C. unusual
D. new
3. According to the passage, the “matures” __________.
A. are the extrovert generation
B. are the conservative generation
C. don’t value sacrifice or commitment
D. don’t have much achievement
4. According to the passage, the “millenials” are those who are __________.
A. entrepreneurial
B. pragmatic
C. optimistic and community-centered.
D. Straightforward
5. If you’re a Boomer with Gen Xers working for you, you should __________.
A. be humble when ask them for help
B. find ways to break the ice
C. consider them as mature generation
D. try to understand them
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______Discomfort may arise from a generational clash or a personality conflict in
the office.
7. ______Jones and Espinosa offered us some tips to narrow the generation gap
among workforce.
8. ______Boomers were grown up in a competitive age
9. ______ Gen Xers are the generation surrounded by AIDS, MTV, PCs, divorce.
10. ______ Gen Xers like praise and reward when they are successful.
Passage 2
Words: 498
Time Supposed: 5′
Time You Used:
___
Generation gap
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A generation gap is a popular term used to describe wide differences in cultural
norms between members of a younger generation and their elders. This can be defined
as occurring “when older and younger people do not understand each other because of
their different experiences, opinions, habits and behaviour.”
History of term
The term first came into prominence in Western countries during the 1960s, and
described the cultural differences between the Baby Boomers and their parents.
Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, during this
39
era differences between the two generations grew significantly in comparison to
previous times, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion,
drug use, and politics. The disparity may have been magnified by the unprecedented
size of the young Baby Boomer generation, which gave it unprecedented power,
influence, and willingness to rebel against societal norms.
1960s
The 1960s saw several examples of generational differences. For example, Rock
music and soul music, popular among youth, were mostly detested by their elders.
Parents frequently viewed long hair on young males as a shocking act of rebellion
against societal norms. Large scale protests against the Vietnam War on American
college campuses contrasted sharply with earlier almost-universal national support for
World War II. Traditional sexual mores were crumbling under the weight of the sexual
revolution. Drug use increased among young people, and many youths “dropped out”
into the hippie counterculture. Although these examples do not apply to all young
people, the differences were pervasive enough to cause significant friction in society.
Baby Boomers had a strong sense of generational identity during this period. A
common catchphrase was “don’t trust anyone over 30.” This sentiment was also
expressed by The Who, in their anthem “My Generation,” in which the narrator sang,
“Hope I die before I get old.” The influence of the Baby Boomers was so significant
that the entire generation was named “Man of the Year” by Time magazine in 1966.
1980s
In the 1980s, and even more so the 1990s, many have made note of a widening
rift between Baby Boomers and Generation X, with the latter often accusing the
former of having “sold out” their 1960s-era ideals and the former advocating a moral
crackdown on the latter’s allegedly wild, undisciplined behavior. This theme became
an important element in what some commentators have labeled the Culture Wars.
In both instances, another generation is often seen as standing in between the two
engaged in argument, either identifying with both sides’ assertions or neither. In the
1960s, the Silent Generation was frequently described as the group filling this role,
with the Baby Busters occupying a similarly intermediate position in the more recent
Baby Boomer-Generation X feud.
Cross-generational relationships
Despite the sharp divides between generations, cross-generational friendships and
cross-generational sexual relationships are common. An example of this characteristic
is provided in the novel Looking for Alibrandi by Marlina Marchetta, in the
relationship Josephine and her grandmother “Nonna.” For quotes see pages 75 and
221.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_gap
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The passage is mainly about __________.
A. The definition of generation gap
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2.
3.
4.
5.
B. The history of the generation gap
C. The baby boomer generation
D. The Generation X
The underlined word “disparity” (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. discrepancy
B. similarity
C. despair
D. nequality
According to the third paragraph, in 1960s __________.
A. elders like rock music and soul music
B. parents of baby boomers often conform to social norms
C. American college students were against the Vietnam War as well as World
War II.
D. people were still conservative about sex.
According to the passage, the cultural war is __________.
A. the war in which Baby Boomers often accuse Generation X of having “sold
out” their 1960s-era ideals
B. the war in which Generation X advocate a moral crackdown on Baby
Boomers’ allegedly wild, undisciplined behavior.
C. the war between Baby Boomers and their parents
D. he war between Baby Boomers and Generation X
What’s the author’s attitude toward generation gap?
A. Optimistic
B. Pessimistic
C. Neutral
D. Noncommittal
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Generation gap occurs when older and younger people do not understand
each other because of their different experiences, opinions, habits and
behaviour.
7. ______ Generational differences began to exist in 1960s between the baby
boomers and their parents.
8. ______ Generation gap will exist for ever.
9. ______ In the 1960s, the Silent Generation is often seen as standing in between
the Baby Boomers and Generation X.
10. ______ As there are sharp divides between generations, it’s almost impossible to
maintain cross-generational friendships and cross-generational sexual
relationships.
41
UNIT FOUR Employment
Tips for reading
Prediction (II):
In the process of prediction, the function of indicative pronoun is very important. This
kind of words clues to the article’s content. It can be subdivided into the following
classes:
1. Talking about the same content from different perspective: furthermore, moreover,
in addition, similarly, also, again, likewise, besides, secondly, next, then.
2. Exampling: for example, for instance, to illustrate, such as, in this case, namely,
that is
3. Emphasizing: especially, no doubt, primarily, chiefly, actually, after all, as a matter
of fact, above all
4. Comparison: on the other hand, nevertheless, on the contrary, still, however,
instead
5. Deduction: therefore, in conclusion, to sum up, consequently, as a result,
accordingly, in other word, hence, so, then
Practice: Try to write a logical ending to finish the following sentences.
1. If you keep reading books with small print in such dim light,
__________________.
2. If I did not overeat, if I avoided junk food and rich desserts,
___________________.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Have you ever found a job? If you have, what is it? If you haven’t, can you describe
your favorite job?
2. Please give us your understanding about job? Is it just a way of earning your living
and satisfying your material needs?
Words: 1234
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
My First Job
DANIEL LEVINE
(Well-known personalities discuss their first jobs.)
When I was 14, I was hired for an after-school job selling subscriptions to my
hometown paper, the Houston Post. I was sent to some of the city's worst
neighborhoods to solicit door-to-door. Even though I was often scrambling around
after dark in bad areas searching for garage apartments, I was grateful for the work.
It was a challenge because people didn't like a stranger knocking on their door,
especially a kid trying to get them to buy something. One time, a man slammed his
door in my face and screamed, "I don't want any damn paper." I forced myself to
knock again and was able to tell him how great the paper was. I ended up selling him
42
a subscription. I was soon among the top subscription sellers and, like other
successful salesmen, was given responsibility for training newcomers.
Around this time I started playing the harmonica and guitar. Before long I was
playing in a band. When I turned 18, I focused my attention on becoming a
professional musician. I never lost sight of this dream. I'm sure my perseverance came
from what I learned knocking on strangers' doors.
That experience helped me in many ways. Early in my music career I was locked
in a legal dispute with a former manager. He pressured me to back off, but I refused.
Having all those doors slammed in my face as a kid gave me the strength to stand
up to this intimidating figure. Except this time there was one difference: I was the one
saying no. And I won.
Country singer Clint Black has sold more than 16 million albums.
In 1973, when I was 22, three friends and I piled into a Ford Econoline van in
my hometown of Chicago and started out across America. We ended up in Berkeley,
Calif., where I got a job cutting down eucalyptus1 trees with a chain saw for $3.50 an
hour.
But my first real long-term job was at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery. I
worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow
waitress.
Helen was in her 60s and had red hair and incredible self-respect, something I
was sorely lacking. I looked up to Helen because she was doing what she loved -serving people -- and nobody did it better. She made everyone smile and feel good,
customers and co-workers alike.
I also learned how important it is to take pride in life's little accomplishments.
When I helped out in the kitchen, nothing made me feel better than putting two eggs
on the pan and serving them just the way the customer wanted.
Being a waitress changed my life. One of my regular customers was Fred
Hasbrook, an electronics salesman. He always ate a ham-and-Monterey-Jack omelet,
and when I saw him walking toward the diner, I tried to have it on his table as soon as
he sat down.
Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen, I dreamed of having
my own restaurant. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, "We just
don't have the money."
The next day, Fred saw me and asked, "What's wrong, sunshine? You're not
smiling today." I shared my dream with him and said, "Fred, I know I can do more if
somebody would just have faith in me."
He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me
checks totaling $50,000 -- along with a note. It reads, "The only collateral on this loan
is my trust in your honesty as a person. Good people with a dream should have the
opportunity to make that dream come true."
I took the checks to Merrill Lynch -- the first time I had ever entered a
brokerage2 house -- where the money was invested for me. I continued working at the
Buttercup, making plans for the restaurant I would open. My investments failed,
though, and I lost the money.
43
I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be a stockbroker. After
great deliberation I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch. Even though I had no
experience, I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker. Eventually I
paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five
years later, I was able to open my own firm.
I got a thank-you note from Fred, which will be imprinted on my heart forever.
He had been sick and wrote that my check had helped cover his mounting medical
bills. His letter read, "That loan may have been one of the best investments that I will
ever make. Who else could have invested in a counter 'girl' with a million-dollar
personality and watch that investment matures into a very successful career woman.
How few 'investors' have that opportunity?"
Suze Orman is a bestselling financial author whose books include "The 9 Steps to
Financial Freedom" and "The Courage to Be Rich."
Both my parents came from towns in Mexico. I was born in El Paso, Texas, and
when I was four, my family moved to a housing project in East Los Angeles.
Even though we struggled to make ends meet, my parents stressed to me and my
four brothers and sisters how fortunate we were to live in a great country with
limitless opportunities. They imbued in us the concepts of family, faith and patriotism.
I got my first real job when I was ten. My dad, Benjamin, injured his back
working in a cardboard-box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist. He rented space
in a little strip mall and gave his shop the fancy name of Mr. Ben's Coiffure.
The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning
the parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m. To pick up trash,
Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower. Mom and I emptied garbage
cans and picked up litter by hand. It took two to three hours to clean the lot. I'd sleep
in the car on the way home.
I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime. I acquired
discipline and a strong work ethic, and learned at an early age the importance of
balancing life's competing interests-in my case, school, homework and a job. This
really helped during my senior year of high school, when I worked 40 hours a week at
a fast-food restaurant while taking a full load of college courses.
The hard work paid off. I attended the U.S. Military Academy and went on to
receive graduate degrees in law and business from Harvard. Later, I joined a big Los
Angeles law firm and was elected to the California state assembly. In these jobs and in
everything else I've done, I have never forgotten those nights in the parking lot. The
experience taught me that there is dignity in all work and that if people are working to
provide for themselves and their families that is something we should honor.
Louis Caldera was the 17th Secretary of the Army.
From http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=12644
Notes:
1. eucalyptus ：桉树
2. brokerage: person who buys and sells things for others 经纪人
44
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. The boys scrambled for the toys.
2. Suspense adds interest to a detective story.
3. Experience has matured him gradually in these days.
4. The parking lot is quite crowded
5. We give 50% discount for this coat.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Clint Black failed in selling a subscription to man who slammed the door in his
face.
2. It was Clint’s perseverance gained from his first job that helped him make his
dream come true.
3. Suze Orman picked up incredible self-respect from Helen, an old lady with red
hair.
4. Suze really felt boring when she helped out in the kitchen.
5. Suze Orman’s original dream was to own a restaurant.
6. Fred Hasbrook lent Suze $50.000 with 14-percent annual interest.
7. There are six members in Louis Caldera’s family.
8. Louis’s dad, Benjamin, opened a cardboard-box factory and then became a
hairstylist.
9. Louis’s dad rent the strip mall in a discount price with a collateral condition
because of cleaning the park lot three nights a week.
10. While Louis receiving a full load in his college period , he worked 40 hours a
week in a fast-food restaurant.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
lose sight of /perseverance/dispute with/intimidate/slam/apply for/make ends
meet/incredible/dignity/collateral
1. I accept this treaty with a _____term.
2. He earns a/an _____ amount of money.
3. Never_____ your healthy when you are busy with your work.
4. She _____the box down on the table.
5. _____ combined with energy is necessary to success in life.
6. Being out of work and having two children, they found it is impossible to _____.
7. A man's _____ depends not upon his wealth or rank but upon his character.
8. We_____ the management about overtime rate.
9. The criminal _____ the witness by threatening him.
10. I want to_____emissions to reprint an extract.
45
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Money is the only focus in the process of finding a job VS. Money is not the factors
that influence the job finding.
A: material world/earn the living/fine quality life/reflection of personal capacity
B: acquire the experience/achievement feeling/psychological satisfactory/enjoy the
pleasure of interpersonal communication/develop all-round ability
2. dignity/perseverance
A: basic acquirement to be a person/ to be honest and friendly to other /to be
respected by others /precious as gold.
B: a valuable characteristic /set up one’s mind/insist on doing something/to some
extent/ sacrifice dignity for success.
3. hard-working/intellence
A: prerequisite for a success/sacrifice more than others/devote more energy
B: born with high IQ/innateness characteristic/easy to reach success/ with little efforts
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. my childhood dream
2. the requirement of success
Reading Two
Words: 1080
Time Supposed: 9 Minutes
The Secrets of Effective Networking
Your next job will probably come either from your friends or from their friends,
so networking--building personal relationships--is vitally important.
List all your personal friends and business associates. By letter first, then by
telephone later, explain your situation, describe your career direction, and ask for
advice and ideas.
Reestablish old friendships in follow-up phone calls. Ask about your friend's
work and family; get caught up on recent events. Wait until your listener asks about
you, and then explain your situation in positive terms, even if it's hard to find
positives. Ask for suggestions, and specifically ask, "Who else should I be talking
to?"
If you find networking hard because you don't want to use your friends, or
because you dislike asking for help, overcome this by genuinely caring about those
you call. Your interest will delight them, and they'll gladly share information.
Remember, you'd willingly help them if they came to you needing similar support.
Force yourself to use the telephone; it gets easier as you call. Look for
information about industry trends or trends in your functional area or specialty. Watch
for plans for new products or services. Seek out emerging markets, hidden jobs, and
companies that are hiring. Listen for upcoming retirements and insider tips about
corporate culture or political infighting. Pay attention to news of reorganizations,
46
expansions, mergers or acquisitions. Ask about business associations, publications, or
resources. Focus on anything change-related, because change means opportunity.
How to structure a meeting? Your telephone calls will soon produce face-to-face
meetings. In the beginning, be friendly and establish rapport. Set the stage by asking
how much time you'll have. State your purpose clearly and directly. Share your
excitement and enthusiasm, and ask for advice and ideas. In general, listen more than
you talk. Watch for opportunities, and take brief notes. Ask for referrals to other
experts. Before you leave, ask for a business card, discuss a next step, and offer
heartfelt thanks.
How to recognize opportunities? Don't look only for specific openings where
someone else held the job before. Watch closely for: Problems you would enjoy
solving or weaknesses in a company where you could help. Example: becoming an
in-house attorney where there was none before. Work groups where you like them and
they like you. In employment this is called "good chemistry" or "good fit." Companies
where people are complaining, troubled, or under pressure. This often indicates too
few people to do the work at hand: a need for hiring. Anywhere you see something
missing that you could add a logical extension or improvement. Example: pizza
delivery for a pizza restaurant.
Listen 80% and talk 20%. Personal meetings should be interactive, like tennis;
but in general, others would rather talk than listen. Therefore, give them your full
attention. Listening builds trust and says, "I care about you." If you're having trouble
getting hired, try listening 50% more.
Yet there is a time to talk about you. Sooner or later, your host will say, "Tell me
about yourself," "Why are you here?" or "How can I help you?" When that happens,
take twenty seconds--not twenty minutes--to answer.
Walk in prepared. Know what you want. Never enter a meeting without knowing
why you're there. You'll waste your time, waste your contact's time, and look
unprofessional. Show up unprepared too often will get around that you lack focus. No
one will want to talk to you.
In general, it's better to be subtle and indirect rather than blunt. "Can you give me
the names of your friends?" might put your host on the defensive; the answer may be
no. "Who else should I be talking to?" is far less threatening and will elicit the names
of friends and key contacts anyway.
If you're wondering what else to ask in a networking session, try these on for size:
How does my resume look? What would you change or modify? Do you have any
advice or ideas for me? Who else should I be talking to? Are there any groups or
organizations I should attend? Are there any books or publications I should read?
What would you do if you were me? Who would you be talking to?
How to end? When appropriate, establish a next step: a phone call, follow-up
meeting, something to be mailed. If you end with no next step, you miss the chance to
involve this person in your campaign--possibly a big mistake.
Tell people you value their suggestions and plan to take action on them. Say, for
example, "I'll call the people you recommended and read the articles you suggested.
Then I'll check back in a week or so to let you know what happened."
47
This approach lets the person know you take them seriously. It cements the
relationship. In addition, it makes this person a more permanent part of your network,
not just a passing face. If you handle it right, you can call later for further help.
Don't make the mistake of contacting people only once. As you meet technical
experts and business leaders, become a friend to them, and they'll likely return the
friendship.
Your contact network should always be growing, not shrinking. The best way to
expand it is to seek out new people and build relationships. It doesn't really matter
who you choose, so long as you like them, they like you, and you can help each other.
As you launch your job campaign, remember these basics:
Do your homework; don't expect others to teach you
What you should research yourself.
Dress well. Never go into a meeting without checking your appearance in a
restroom mirror.
Seek information only; don't ask directly for a job.
Don't be pushy; don't require others to help.
Be optimistic and upbeat. If you have fun, they'll have fun. If they have fun,
they'll like you. If they like you, they're more likely to help you or hire you.
When someone helps, offer something in return: a book, an article, a favor, or
the name of a contact.
Ask for a business card or for the correct spelling of name, title, and address.
Then send a thank you note the same day you talk or meet.
Always give more than you get.
I once met a highly successful job hunter with a secret. He said, "I create
relationships. The relationships create the jobs." He was absolutely right; that's
exactly how it works
.
From http://www.careerlab.com/art_secrets.htm
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Building personal relational is necessary to find your next job.
2. At the beginning, it’s useful and convenient to ask for the information you need
from your personal friends and associates directly.
3. Sometimes finding a job is a process of finding problems and solving problems in
a company.
4. In interview, the interviewee should talk more and listen less.
5. After the interview, please wait until you get the announcement of the next round.
6. When you are in the way of finding a job, the best way is to enlarge your contact
network and ask for a job.
7. It’s necessary to send a thank you note with correct spelling to the person as soon
as possible.
48
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. The friendship
2. the skill of communication in a interview
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 656
Time Supposed: 5′00″
Time You Used: ________
Changing Expectations in the Employment Relationship
Teresa J. Blandford
There is a great challenge facing business today: a basic shift in employment
expectations both from the employee's and the company's perspectives. Both "the
right person" and "the right job" are being redefined by changing values
The Rules are Different
Potential employees are looking for different things from their work life than
they were a decade ago, whether newly-graduated university applicants, transferees
from other companies, or internal candidates. Today's employees are looking for
balance. Sixty-hour work weeks, extended travel schedules, dinner meetings,
breakfast meetings, weekend training and work schedules must be put into perspective
in relation to family life, community commitment and recreation.
Employees are looking for a cooperative approach to life. "Work" is a piece of a
bigger picture. Companies that want to attract dedicated, creative employees need to
offer more than competitive pay. Today, prospective employees look for benefits such
as family leave, tuition compensate, employee assistance programs, flexible hours, job
share opportunities and financial planning programs. "Soft" cultural values, such as a
company's commitments to society, the environment and diversity, can sway top
applicants' choice of an employer.
Companies' expectations have also changed. Employment ads now ask for "team
players," "consensus builders" and "creative thinkers" along with the routine
qualifications of computer literacy and specific experience. Employees at all levels
are expected to know more and do more.
Knowledge Pays
Wages and salaries are still important incentives. Compensation is still an
indication of an employee's value to the company and top applicants can demand top
pay. However, compensation is increasingly tied to an employee's knowledge level, to
their ability to apply learning, to their ability to extrapolate experience from one field
to another. "Being there" is no longer enough. Longevity is only relevant if it is tied to
contribution. Increasingly, experience is only rewarded if it is applied.
More companies are implementing team rewards. Profit sharing and bonuses are
commonly paid on a team basis in acknowledgement of the fact that leadership
implies collective effort and that following is not a mindless exercise. A follower is
no longer a "yes, sir--yes, ma'am" puppet. Inherent in knowledge-based employment
49
is the responsibility to question, to actively participate. Team work is being
specifically mentioned in job descriptions, and responsibility for applying team
behaviors is being used as an evaluation measure.
What Are the Implications?
Pay and benefits must reflect the changing employee expectations in order to
attract job candidates and also offer incentives for innovative workers to stay.
Everyday Human Resources functions are driven by shifting values. For example,
the interview process has become a two-way inquiry. Traditionally, the interview was
a vehicle for an applicant to "sell" a prospective employer on their skills and talents.
Now, the company is under the same obligation to "sell" its culture and vision to job
applicants. The process itself is often structured as a team interview; few hiring
decisions reside solely with one supervisor or manager.
Managers and supervisors often need additional training and resources to deal
with changing workforce values. Interpersonal and behavioral skills, workshops and
communication techniques seminars are increasingly offered to help translate
changing workplace values into business practice.
Recognition programs are being revamped to reward behavioral and attitudinal
successes. Employees are being recognized for team behaviors and initiative, rather
than simply showing up and punching in and out.
Employee loyalty has been redefined. Loyalty is now interactive. Employees
want to work at companies that offer opportunities to contribute and grow. Those
companies that provide channels for personal contribution and growth, both within the
corporate environment and in "outside" endeavors, will attract the most qualified
applicants and will retain their most resourceful employees.
From http://www.careerlab.com/art_newrules.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements
1. what‘s the best title of the passage?
A. the employment’s challenge
B. the right person and the right job
C. the benefits expected by the prospective
D. changing expectation in the employment relationship
2. What’s the cause of “challenge” (para1) in the employment relationship?
A. the interpersonal communication
B. the community commitment
C. the changing value
D. the changing college education
3. Today prospective employees ask for more benefits than they did a decade ago. Which of the
following benefits are NOT mentioned?
A. profit sharing and bonuses
B. soft culture values: a company’s commitment to society, the environment and diversity
C. sixty-hour weeks, extended travel schedules, dinner meeting, breakfast meeting, weekend
50
training
D. family leave, employment assistance program, flexible hours, job share opportunities and
financial planning programs.
4. the most prominent feature that influences employee’s compensation is __________?
A .qualification of computer literacy
B .knowledge level
C .specific experience
D. creativity
5. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. the supervisor needs additional training to deal with the employment challenge.
B. now the interview is not only a vehicle for an applicant to shoe their talent and skill
C. the supervisor and manger could make the hiring decision after the interview.
D. loyalty now does not refer to the employee side.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the
information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ The employees looked for eight-hour work weeks, high wages and salaries, medical
insurance a decade age.
7. ______ If companies want to attract dedicated, creative employees, they need to offer not
only the higher wages and salaries, but “soft” cultural value, such as a company’s
commitment to the society.
8. ______ Longevity and experience are considered as the essential features in the competition
of the company.
9. ______ Employee is given the responsibility to question, to participate actively. He is not
expected to be a “yes, sir-yes-ma’am” puppet.
10. ______ Those companies that provide channel for personal contribution in corporate
environment can attract the most qualified applicants.
Passage 2
Words: 729
Time Supposed: 6′20″
Time You Used:
___
Easy Being Green -Careers in the Environment
Something happened to Australia in the early 1980s that was to change the face
of Australian society. The Tasmanian Government proposed to dam the Franklin
River in Tasmania. The outcry was huge and the campaign to save the Franklin River
captured the interest of all Australians and sparked an upraise of national interest in
all environmental issues.
With an increased awareness of environmental issues amongst Australians came
an increase in job opportunities working in the environment. A report commissioned
by the government into environmental careers in 1994 found that: "The environmental
industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy."
Dr Dieter Hochuli, an environmental researcher at the University of Sydney who
51
is often called upon as a consultant, is someone who knows first-hand about the
attraction of an environmental career. "People choose to become environmental
scientists and engineers because they know they will be doing something
worthwhile," he said. "It is definitely a career that matters."
People are also attracted to the fieldwork involved in most environmental careers
but Dr Hochuli warns that there are other sides to working in the environment. "Most
people are attracted to the outdoor nature of an environmental career," he said, "but
this is only one part of the job. A good environmental scientist or engineer will also
be able to synthesize, evaluate and present information clearly and coherently.
Research, communication and writing skills are really important."
Those working with the environment tend to work in teams with specialists from
a number of backgrounds including law, science, engineering, agriculture, geography,
chemistry, resource management, urban planning and architecture.
It’s therefore very important that anyone working in environmental science has a
broad knowledge of a number of related fields as well as detailed knowledge of their
own field and, most importantly, how these inter-relate.
Environmental scientists are employed in a number of sectors. There are jobs for
research scientists with science and agriculture backgrounds in government
departments, such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service or the Water Board, in
universities and in environmental agencies such as the Environmental Protection
Agency, the National Trust, and the catchment management trusts. Private companies
hire environmental scientists, although usually on short term contracts. Consultants
usually investigate and evaluate the environmental impact of specific proposals.
Environmental consultants can come from a number of degree backgrounds including
specialist environmental science programs as well as science, agriculture and
horticulture.
Environmental engineers are concerned with protecting the environment by
assessing the impact a development project has on the air, water, soil and noise levels
in its vicinity. This is achieved by studying the design, construction and operation of
the development and minimising any adverse effects that it may have on the
environment. They are also involved in: removing problems caused by past activity
(commonly referred to as site remediation), such as cleaning contaminated industrial
land for housing; predicting environmental problems caused by incidents leading to
oil spills; assessing long-term environmental concerns; designing equipment and
processes for the treatment and safe disposal of waste material; and managing
the conservation and wise use of natural resources. Environmental engineers can
come from a variety of engineering backgrounds.
Architects also have an important role to play in environmental planning, design
and management. Many architects become interested in environmentally sustainable
planning and design, in heritage conservation, or in energy conscious design. All three
are central to the overall management of our physical environment in ways that make
it more livable, today and for future generations. The bread-and-butter of architecture
is environmental design – the design of the built environment to provide a higher
quality of life for its inhabitants.
52
While the number of jobs in environmental areas is increasing, so too are the
number of people interested in environmental careers. This means competition for
jobs working in the environment will always be tight. The best way to secure a job,
according to Dr Hochuli, is to gain as much experience in the area by volunteer or
paid work experience, or by undertaking work or research projects during the vacation.
"The job market for environmental scientists is diverse and very competitive, so
you have to give yourself every chance of being considered for positions. Exposure to
different types of environmental science through paid or unpaid work experience
gives you an edge over other candidates."
From http://www.science.usyd.edu.au/fstudent/undergrad/careers/env.shtml
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The underlined word “outcry” (para1) can be replaced by __________.?
A. protest
B. decision
C. reaction
D. incident
2. “The environmental industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy”
because of __________?
E. the government’s emphasis on this sector
F. the increased awareness of environmental issue
G. the benefit gained from the sector
H. the aftermath environmental problems
3. Environmental scientist can be employed in a number of sectors, which of the flowing are not
mentioned?
I. in government department
J. in university and in environmental agency
K. in hospital
L. in private company
4. What is the environmental engineer’s opinion of the protection of environment?
M. evaluate the impact a development project on the air, water, soil in its vicinity
N. studying the design, construction and operation of the development and
minimizing any adverse effects
O. removing problems caused by past activity
P. predicating environmental problems caused by incidents leading to oil spills
5. The main article is about __________?
A.
B.
C.
D.
how to be a god environmental engineer
how to protect our environment
the rising awareness of environmental problem
the careers in the environment
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
53
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6.
______According to Dr. Dieter Hochuli, people choose to be an environmental scientist
and engineer because it’s worthwhile.
7. _____A good environmental scientist just does the research in the outdoor nature.
8. ______The environmental scientist must correlate the detailed knowledge of their own
field and the broad knowledge of a number of related fields.
9. ______Architects helps the environmental scientists to design the planning of protecting
the environment.
10. _____Until now the competition for the jobs working in the environment is tight.
54
UNIT Five Living and Studying Abroad
Reading Tips ?
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Do you have some opinions about studying abroad?
2. Do you have a plan to further your study abroad? If you have such a plan , what would you do
for preparing it ?
Words: 1192
Time Supposed: 10 minutes
The cost of studying abroad in the UK
It is important to plan your finances carefully when you study abroad. Mark Chandler from
ukstudentlife.com gives a guide to the costs for students coming to the UK.
One of the most important things you need to do if you are thinking about coming to study in
the UK is to consider carefully how much it will cost. There are many things you need to consider
as well as your course. To get a good understanding of the cost of living I interviewed Michiyo, a
Japanese student who has spent 9 months at a language school and another 9 months at a
university, both in London. As well as asking her how much she has spent, I asked her to give
some tips to help other students.
Travel and insurance
It is important to buy adequate insurance in case you have some difficulty while you are
abroad - for example in case you are ill, have your things stolen or are involved in an accident.
Michiyo paid ￡400 for a Japanese insurance policy. This included some private health insurance,
although she didn’t realise that she would be able to use the British public health system free
because she was studying for more than 6 months. A British insurance policy designed for the
main needs of international students in Britain is available for about ￡120.
A significant cost for students coming from Asia to the UK is the price of the air ticket. Michiyo
paid ￡900 for a 1-year open ticket from Tokyo to London.
Michiyo’s tip:
“Look around for student discounts on flight tickets — compare the different operators.
Also, try to travel outside the peak months”.
Course
University courses are expensive. People who do not live in the European Union have to pay
the “overseas” fees. As an approximate guide, expect to pay about ￡7,000 for a 1-year arts
course, ￡9,000 for a science course, and ￡17,000 for a course in medicine. An MBA course
may cost about ￡25,000. Michiyo’s university course cost her about ￡7,000.
English language school courses are usually much cheaper than university courses. You need
to have at least 15 hours of classes per week to study “full time” — one of the requirements for
obtaining a student visa rather than a tourist visa. Michiyo paid about ￡1,000 for a 9-month
course in General English in London, studying 3 hours per day (9-12), 5 days per week. This fee
did not include accommodation. She didn’t choose the cheapest available courses in London —
less than ￡500 for a 9-month course - because she was concerned about the quality of the
55
teaching and facilities at these schools. She also took an intensive 3-week course (5 hours of
classes per day) at a school in Cambridge — this cost ￡700 including accommodation. Michiyo
told me, “It was expensive, but I don’t regret paying — it was a really good school”.
Michiyo’s tip:
“Language schools are cheaper in London, but the quality of teaching is variable there.
Accommodation costs are higher, but there are more opportunities for part-time jobs. You may
want to study outside London if you want a quieter, more friendly atmosphere”.
Work
If you have a student visa, you can work for up to 20 hours per week (or longer during school
or university holidays). The minimum wage for adults over 22 is ￡4.50 per hour — you can
expect to earn about this amount of money for a typical part-time job in a pub, café or restaurant.
Michiyo’s tip:
“Don’t rely on UK income when you plan your finances. I injured my leg, so I wasn’t able to
work for a while. When I was doing my university course I did a part-time job at first, but towards
the end of the course I gave up working because I needed to study very hard”.
Accommodation
Accommodation costs are higher in London than in other parts of the UK. The cheapest
available rents are about ￡50 per week, and the average figure paid by students in London is
about ￡80 per week. You may need to pay a lot more if you want to live in the centre of London.
Remember to consider your travel costs as well as the rent.
Language schools often offer home-stay accommodation. The average weekly cost is about ￡90
— or ￡110 if you also want supper.
A single room in accommodation provided by a school or university might cost about ￡100
per week. This does not include food, but there may be a canteen where you can eat cheap meals.
Other benefits may include free internet access in every room, and you will not have to pay the
local tax which is called “council tax”.
All types of accommodation are usually cheaper outside London. You can usually get a good
idea about local costs for students by checking the website of the nearest university.
Michiyo’s tip:
“Don’t pay in advance for a whole year’s accommodation. Stay with a host family or in a
hostel for the first few weeks, and then look for somewhere. If possible, try to find a room which
is recommended by another student”.
Food
If you make your own lunch and supper, expect to pay at least ￡20 per week. Michiyo
cooked for herself each evening while she was at the language school, and made her own
sandwiches each day for lunch. By eating cheaper foods such as pasta, potatoes, chicken, eggs and
vegetables, she kept her costs down to about ￡20 per week. However, while she was at
university she was busy and ate out frequently, spending over ￡60 per week on food.
Michiyo’s tip:
“You can get food cheaper from a supermarket or market. If you go at around closing time,
you may be able to get some bargains”
Entertainment / holidays
Don’t forget to allow money for entertainment and travel. For a holiday, staying in the UK is
normally the cheapest option. A coach tour for students and backpackers usually costs about ￡50
56
per day in total. Michiyo went on a 3-day tours in Wales and Scotland: each cost about ￡150 in
total.
Trips to Europe are more expensive. There are special train tickets which can be bought in
advance. Cheap flights may be available from discount airlines. Michiyo went on holiday to
Germany, paying ￡130 return for her air fare. Her stay was much cheaper than normal because
she stayed with a friend.
Michiyo’s tip:
“Bus tours are a good way to see the UK. If you travel independently, book your tickets and
reserve your accommodation early: this can be much cheaper.”
Conclusion
Michiyo’s one-off costs for each of her 9-month trips to the UK were approximately ￡9,000
when she took the university course and ￡3,000 when she took the language school course.
Michiyo’s weekly living costs were on average a further ￡150 per week:
Note that costs vary depending on your spending habits, the course you take and your
location. Hopefully this article will give you enough information to estimate your own costs.
http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Articles/Cost.htm
Notes: ?
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. It is important to buy adequate insurance in case you have some difficulty while
you are abroad.
2. For example in case you are ill, have your things stolen or are involved in an
accident.
3. A British insurance policy designed for the main needs of international students
in Britain is available for about ￡120.
4. A significant cost for students coming from Asia to the UK is the price of the air
ticket.
5. This fee did not include accommodation.
6. Note that costs vary depending on your spending habits, the course you take and
your location.
7.
Hopefully this article will give you enough information to estimate your costs.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Planning the finances cautiously is of the utmost importance when you decide to
study abroad.
2. A Japanese insurance policy did not include all private heath insurance.
3. The cost of university courses is less than that of English language school
courses.
4. Michiyo was regretted to pay much money to study at a school in Cambridge.
5. Towards the end of the course Michiyo gave up working because of her injury of
57
her leg.
A school or university may provide the students a single room in accommodation
and sometimes you have to pay the local tax.
7. Making lunch and supper by yourself will cost more than ￡20 a week .
8. Michiyo spent about ￡150 in total in a 3-day tours in Wales and Scotland.
9. Generally speaking, staying in the UK during the holiday is the cheapest choice.
6.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
adequate / involve / available / significant / approximate / obtain /
accommodation / facility / variable / access
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Their earnings are ______ to their needs.
He ______ in a heated argument.
You will be in formed when the book becomes ______.
Profits of this company______ last year.
What is the ______ size of this room?
I ______ this record for you with difficulty.
Hotel ______ is scare.
There are enough ______ in our university.
The quality of hotel food is distinctly ______.
10. Only high official had ______ to the president.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Practice is more important for the international students. VS. Study is the task
that oversea students should finish first.
A: Practice / important / study / available / perfect / because
B: Study / meaningful / accomplish / regret / significant / since
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Is it necessary for the students to study abroad nowadays?
2. Further study and personal development.
例句来自《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》, 《OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNER’S
ENGLISH-CHINESE DICTIONARY》(Extended fourth edition)
Reading Two
Words: 1125
Time Supposed: 11 minutes
How to Stay Safe When Living Abroad in London
58
Safety is always an important consideration when studying abroad. Local people
often know of the risks and how to avoid them. As a foreign visitor, you may not be
aware of the dangers, and you may be regarded as an easy victim. Mark Chandler
offers some advice about ways to stay safe in London.
When you decide you want to study abroad, you will receive a lot of information
from schools, tourist offices and agencies. You will read quotes from visitors talking
about their wonderful experiences. But life isn’t always like that: wherever you go
there are always dangers. Learning about other people’s bad experiences can help you
to avoid trouble yourself. Here I will discuss some of the things you should know to
stay safe in my home city, on the streets of London …
In a big city like London, please try to be careful with your money and valuables
at all times. Make sure you are properly insured. Do not carry too much cash,
especially when you first arrive. Find your local police station: ask them how to
security mark your phone, camera, bicycle or other valuables, and write down their
telephone number in case you need it. Thieves often work in gangs: while one or more
of them distract your attention in some way, another member will steal your things.
Don’t draw their attention to you. Look confident, hold your bag securely in front of
you, and keep money and valuables out of sight when you are not using them.
You should be especially alert in busy public places such as shopping streets,
entertainment areas, stations or airports. JuHeon was walking along Oxford Street,
one of the busiest shopping streets in London. “I was talking with my friend, carrying
my things in a backpack. While I was walking, a police car suddenly drew up just
behind me. Policemen rushed out of the car and forced some men behind me onto the
ground. When I looked at my backpack I was shocked to discover that the zip had
been opened. I kept my wallet, books and walkman there — but nothing had been
stolen. I was very lucky — I had no idea what was happening! JuHeon recommends
visitors not to wear backpacks or listen to music while walking in busy areas.
You should also watch your things carefully in a pub or café. A Korean student
told me about the experience of one of her classmates. “She was in a queue in a café.
Suddenly a couple of men behind her tried to hug her. She was surprised at this, but
she didn’t want to shout out. While this was happening, another man took the mobile
phone from her bag and ran away”.
Ask local people to tell you where the dangerous areas are. The risks of being
attacked are greater if you stay out late in pubs or clubs and go home alone in the dark.
Avoid streets which are quiet and dark. Carry a personal alarm with you, and hold it in
your hand when you do not feel safe. Mika told me about something that happened to
her. After going out I took a night bus with my friend — it was about 3 am. Then I
noticed that I had made a mistake — we were travelling in the wrong direction. We
got off the bus — we didn’t realise this was a dangerous area. A man came up and
asked what time it was. Suddenly he ordered us to give him our mobiles and purses.
We refused, but he told us to open our bags and said that he had a knife. We held onto
our things and said we had no money. Luckily he gave up and ran away laughing,
shouting “I’m sorry, I was just joking”. We were terrified.
People from many countries live in London. Most people are kind to foreigners
59
and respect their different cultures. But at some time you will probably experience
some form of racism. The most common source of trouble for foreign students is from
groups of local teenage children. Chaeran remembers something that happened to her.
“I was walking through a park with a few friends when we heard a group of children
shouting Chinese-sounding words (children often assume all oriental people are
Chinese) — they even threw a few small stones towards us. I didn’t really feel
threatened — they were quite far from us, and we were in a group - but I was
embarrassed and felt angry afterwards. ” What advice would Chaeran give to other
students? “Normally I think the best thing to do is to ignore them and leave the place.
If they keep following you, then say some bad word in your language — people say
this sounds more threatening than if you try to say something in English”.
When you start studying abroad, you may feel lonely at first and be keen to make
new friends quickly, but do not forget to be careful when you meet strangers. Women
should be especially cautious. Do not feel that you have to give your own details
when someone asks for them. If you don’t want to be contacted, most British men
would prefer you to refuse clearly but politely, instead of lying or giving false
numbers or addresses. It is useful to create a second e-mail account and give this
address to people you don’t know well. If you arrange to meet up, make sure that you
stay in public places at first, and take a friend with you or let someone know where
you are going.
Only get into someone’s car if you know and trust that person, especially if you
are alone. Never agree if a man comes up to you and asks if you need a taxi. How can
you be sure that he won’t drive you to a quiet place and attack you? Instead, get a
London taxi (a “black cab”) from a taxi rank, from the street, or by telephone. You can
ask the driver to wait until you have entered your house if it is dark and you feel
scared.
Please don’t feel scared about coming to London. Most people do not have any
problems. Hopefully I have made you think about how to look after yourself and
reduce the risks. If you do have trouble, make sure that you report it. Don’t be afraid
to ask for help, for example from the police, your school or your friends.
You can find more information in my website UK Student Life. I have created
this website to help people who study abroad in Britain. Please come here and enjoy
yourself. But be careful out there on the streets …
http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Articles/Safety.htm
Exercises:
I. Comprehension of the text:
1. The students studying abroad should be alert in case they become easy victim.
2. It’s adequate to read quotes from visitors talking about their wonderful
experiences.
3. Thief in big city like London often woks individually.
4. JuHeon suggests visitors can wear backpacks but should be careful.
5. If you stay late in pubs or clubs and go home alone in the dark ,the risks of being
60
the attacked won’t be greater.
6. All the people living in London are kind to the foreigners and respect their
different cultures.
7. Some form of Racism does exit in London. T
8. You still need to be careful when meeting strangers even though you feel lonely
and want to make friends quickly.
9. Chances are some of British people would mind if you give them false numbers
or addresses.
10. Getting into a “black cab” won’t bring you any danger.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. Keeping safe when studying abroad is very important.
2. How to deal with the dangers when you meet them?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 407
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
More black families home schooling
Denise Armstrong decided to home school her daughter and two sons because she
thought she could do a better job of instilling her values in her children than a public
school could. And while she once found herself the lone black parent at
home-education gatherings that usually were dominated by white Christian
evangelicals, she’s noticed more black parents joining the ranks.
“I’ve been delighted to be running into people in the African-American
home-schooling community,” Armstrong said.
Home-school advocates say the apparent increase in black families opting to
educate their children at home reflects a wider desire among families of all races to
guide their children’s moral upbringing, along with growing concerns about issues
such as sub-par school conditions and preserving cultural heritage.
“About 10 years ago, we started seeing more and more black families showing up
at conferences and it’s been steadily increasing since then,” said Michael Smith,
president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, a national advocacy group.
Nationwide, about 1.1 million children were home schooled in 2003, or 2.2 percent
of the school-age population. That was up from about 850,000, or 1.7 percent, in 1999,
according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education
Statistics. A racial breakdown of home-schooled students isn’t yet available, the center
said.
However, the Home School Legal Defense Association says the percentage of black
home-schooling families has increased, though hard numbers weren’t available.
The numbers are still very low because most black families lack the time or
economic resources to devote to home schooling, said Michael Apple, an education
61
professor at the University of Wisconsin who tracks home schooling. He said much of
the increase is seen in cities with histories of racial tensions and where black people
feel alienated and marginalized.
Some families decide to do it because public schools don’t adequately teach
African-American history and culture, some want to protect their children from school
violence, “and for some, it’s all of this and religion,” Apple said.
Armstrong said she wants her children — ages 12, 10 and 7 — to have a “moral
Judeo-Christian foundation” that public schools can’t provide.
“I felt that my husband and I would be able to give more of a tutorial, individual
learning situation than a teacher trying to address 40 kids at one time,” said
Armstrong.
She said she also was concerned that schools wrongly label some black boys as
learning-disabled while white children with similar behavior are not.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-12/13/content_502957.htm
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. More black families home schooling appear because __________.
E. home schooling is better than that of public school
F. home-education gatherings were usually dominated by white Christian
evangelicals
G. there is a wider desire among families of all races to guide their children’s
education
H. parents want to better guide their children’s moral upbringing.
2. Nationwide, the number of black children who were home schooled is
__________.
I. about 1.1 million in 2003
J. about 850,000 in 1999
K. hard numbers weren’t available, but it’s been steadily increasing
L. 2.2 percent of the school-age population in 2003 and1.7 percent, in 1999
3. People choose home schooling because __________.
a) home schooling attach importance to African-American history and culture
b) public schools are full of violence
c) home-education could protect children from discrimination
d) they have various purposes
4. According to the passage, this of the following statement is right __________.
a) Denise Armstrong is the lone black parent at home-education gatherings.
b) Home schooling involves lots of time or economic resources.
c) Public school is flooded with violence
d) Home schooling is more efficient.
5. The main idea of the passage is __________.
a) more black families home schooling
b) Denise Armstrong’s standpoint towards home schooling
62
c) home school is better than public school
d) the necessity of home schooling
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the
information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ People involved in home schooling are mostly white Christian
evangelicals.
7. ______ In cities without histories of racial tensions, the number of black
home-schooling families are still very low.
8. ______ Black people is still at a disadvantage place.
9. ______ Public schools do not think much of moral education.
10. ______ Public school is widely repulsed.
Passage 2
Words: 430
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
MBA students are ‘biggest cheats’
MBA students are the biggest cheats of all graduate students, with 56 per cent
admitting to misdemeanors such as using crib notes in exams, plagiarism and
downloading essays from the web.
The statistic comes from a survey of graduate students to be published in the
Academy of Management Learning and Education journal. The report is based on
data from about 5,300 survey respondents at 54 colleges and universities in the US
and Canada, including 623 students in 32 graduate business programmes.
The report will be unpleasant reading to US business schools, many of which are
still smarting from the involvement of their alumni in the corporate scandals of recent
years: Jeffrey Skilling, former chief executive of Enron, received his MBA from
Harvard Business School in 1979, for example.
As a result, over the past few years many of the top US business schools have
scrambled to introduce compulsory courses on ethical behaviour at the core of their
MBA programmes.
It is not just the prevalence of cheating that interests the author of the report,
Donald McCabe, professor of management and international business at Rutgers
University, in New Jersey. “What surprises me is how willing these students are to
admit to it.”
Even though the survey is anonymous, he believes some students may not report
incidents of cheating for fear of being caught out, which would mean the true figures
are even higher than 56 per cent.
The most significant reason for cheating, he believes, is that students see their
peers being dishonest, in a highly charged competitive environment where the prize is
the best company internship or Wall Street job. “The moment they see somebody
63
cheating they are placed at a disadvantage.” They act by cheating themselves, he says.
Mr McCabe, who has been conducting studies on cheating in US colleges for the
past 16 years, believes the strongest deterrent is for the business school to have a
strong honour code in place, something that is missing at most business schools today.
Dubious though the accolade of being the biggest cheats might be, MBAs can
take comfort from the fact that graduate students in general — arguably the cream of
the academic crop — are often prolific cheats. Half the engineering students (54 per
cent) and science students (50 per cent) questioned also admitted to cheating. And
even among the most honest group, the social scientists and those studying humanities,
39 per cent admitted cheating.
Moreover, bad as it is in graduate programmes, even more cheating is reported in
undergraduate degree programmes, says Mr. McCabe. And high school students, it
would seem are even worse.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fa431f24-48c7-11db-a996-0000779e2340.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The underlined word “misdemeanors” in paragraph1 means __________.
A. offenses
B. download
C. misdeed
D. copy
2. We can infer from paragraph 4 that __________.
A. before 1979, there were no compulsory courses on ethical behaviour in MBA
programmes of many of the top US business schools
B. since 1979, there have been compulsory courses on ethical behaviour in MBA
programmes
C. Jeffrey Skilling introduced compulsory courses on ethical behaviour to MBA
programmes
D. many of the top US business schools have introduced compulsory courses on
ethical behaviour at the core of their MBA programmes.
3. In terms of the statistic — 56 percent, Donald McCabe __________.
A. firmly convinced that true figures must be higher than 56 percent.
B. is surprised by the statistic.
C. thinks the students are willing to admit to the statistic.
D. thinks the statistic may be inaccurate.
4. According to Donald McCabe, the reason why MBA students cheat is that
__________.
A. students see their peers being dishonest.
B. the prize for cheating is the best company internship or Wall Street job.
C. they are placed at a disadvantage.
D. they do not want to be lagged behind, which would result in losing a rare
opportunity.
5. We can infer from the passage __________?
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A. M BA students like to downloading essays from the web
B. ethnical courses should be introduced to MBA programmes.
C. 39 per cent of the social scientists and those studying humanities, admitted
cheating.
D. Business schools have no strong honour code in place
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the
information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ MBA students are the biggest cheats of all students
7. ______Because of the involvement of series of corporate scandals in recent years,
US business schools began to introduce compulsory courses on ethical
behaviour at the core of their MBA programmes.
8. ______ Donald McCabe believes some students may not truly fill the survey
respondents
9. ______ Students who cheat could gain the opportunity to work in the best
company internship or Wall Street job.
10. ______ Mr. McCabe proposed some advice for the business school on cheating.
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UNIT Six Sports and Competition
Reading Tips ?
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Do you know anything about Ryder Cup?
2. Talk about Gulf rules. What is hole-in-one?
Words: 1078
Time Supposed: 10 minutes
Ryder Cup Timeline
The origin of the Ryder Cup matches has been debated for years. Some say
Sylvanus P. Jermain, president of Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, first created the
concept in 1921.
Others credit James Harnett, a circulation representative for Golf Illustrated. He was
raising funds to pay expenses for 10 professional U.S. golfers to play their
contemporaries in Great Britain. Harnett didn’t get the support he needed until The
PGA of America voted at its Annual Meeting on December 15, 1920, to advance
Harnett funds.
The first informal matches were played in 1921 at Gleneagles, Scotland. Harnett
selected the American Team, which lost to the British, 9 – 3.
Another informal match was held before the 1926 British Open. Some of the
American players agreed to form a team and play against British professionals at
Wentworth Club. Seed merchant Samuel Ryder was in the gallery, watching his new
golf tutor Abe Mitchell play.
Afterward, Ryder met with British Team Members George Duncan and Mitchell,
and Americans Walter Hagen and Emmett French. Ryder agreed to provide a trophy
and commissioned the gold chalice that bears his name and Mitchell’s likeness on top
— the Ryder Cup trophy.
Key Years:
1927: The inaugural Ryder Cup matches were held at Worcester Country Club in
Massachusetts. The United States Team defeated Great Britain, 9 1/2 – 2 1/2. Matches
would be played every two years, alternating locales in the United States and Great
Britain.
1929: At Moortown Golf Club in Leeds, England, the British staged a final-day
comeback over Captain Walter Hagen’s team. They defeated the United States 7 – 5.
1937: Golfing legend Walter Hagen, captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, guided
his group to victory at Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club. It was the first time the
United States won a Ryder Cup on British soil.
1939-1945: The Ryder Cup matches were postponed due to World War II. Those
golfers who were selected to play for the 1939 matches participated in exhibition
matches on their home soil.
1947: The Ryder Cup matches return to action at Portland Golf Club in Portland,
Ore. The U.S. team dominated their opponents 11 – 1, and Britain’s Sam King won
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the only point for his team. Americans Lew Worsham and Porky Oliver defeated their
opponents 10 & 9, the largest margin of victory in Ryder Cup foursomes so far.
1957: Since 1935, the United States had dominated the Ryder Cup. The British
team — captained by Dais Rees and including Christy O’Connor and Max Faulkner
— defeated the U.S. team 7 1/2 – 4 1/2, earning its first Ryder Cup in 24 years.
1959: At the 1959 Ryder Cup, held at Eldorado Country Club in Palm Desert,
California, the United States reclaimed the Cup, thanks to strong performances from
players like Dow Finsterwald and Bob Rosburg. This year marked the beginning of a
28-year American win streak at the Ryder Cup.
1963: Fourball matches were introduced at the 1963 Ryder Cup at East Lake
Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia. U.S. Captain Arnold Palmer, who played at the
event, steered his team to a 23 – 9 victory. American golfer Billy Casper was a
standout, winning four matches at the event.
1967: The United States, led by non-playing Captain Ben Hogan, overpowered
Great Britain 23 1/2 - 8 1/2 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. Arnold
Palmer and Gardner Dickinson won all their matches, earning five points each for the
team.
1969: In one of the most closely contested Ryder Cups, the victory came down to
one match — Jack Nicklaus vs. Tony Jacklin. Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup
Matches, conceded a two-foot putt to Jacklin after making a four-foot putt for par on
the previous green. The result was the first tie at the Ryder Cup Matches, and the
United States retained the Ryder Cup.
1973: In the first Ryder Cup to be held in Scotland, the British team is expanded
to include players from Ireland. Great Britain & Ireland’s Peter Butler recorded the
first hole-in-one at the Ryder Cup, yet the United States won 19 – 13.
1979: In 1979, golfers from Continental Europe join Britain’s golfers, combining
to create the European Team. The format changed to eight foursomes, eight fourballs
and 12 singles — making 28 points total up for grabs. Despite brilliant play from Nick
Faldo, the U.S. Team — bolstered by Larry Nelson’s five-match sweep — retained
the cup 17 – 11.
1985: At The Belfry Golf & Country Club in Sutton Coldfield, England, Sam
Torrance defeated Andy North 1-up to help Europe break a 28-year drought and
capture the Ryder Cup. Other European standouts were Manuel Pinero and Seve
Ballesteros.
1989: Europe’s Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal helped their team gain
the advantage during the final day at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England. The
U.S. Team won seven singles matches on Sunday, and the Ryder Cup ended in a tie
for the second time in its history.
1991: The battle for the Ryder Cup came down to the final day in a close
competition at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Bernhard Langer
missed a crucial par putt on the final hole, and he halved his match with Hale Irwin.
The U.S. Team, led by Fred Couples and Lanny Wadkins, won back the Ryder Cup,
14 1/2 – 13 1/2.
1995: The 1995 Ryder Cup was another closely contested meeting. At Oak Hill
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Country Club in Rochester, New York, Team Europe overtook the Americans in
Sunday’s singles matches and won the Ryder Cup 14 1/2 – 13 1/2. Ryder Cup rookie
Phil Mickelson was the only undefeated player at this year’s event.
1999: In a thriller at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., the U.S. team staged
an incredible singles-match comeback on Sunday. Justin Leonard helped his team take
home the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993 by halving the match with Jose
Maria Olazabal, helping the Americans earn 8 1/2 points on Sunday to finish 14 1/2 –
13 1/2.
2001: Due to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Ryder Cup matches
at The Belfry in Sutton Colfield, England, were postponed until 2002. The Ryder Cup
is now contested on even years as a result.
2004: Captain Bernhard Langer guided the European team to a stunning 18 1/2 –
9 1/2 victory over the U.S. team at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Mich.
Europe’s Lee Westwood went 4 – 0 – 1, and Colin Montgomerie’s win against David
Toms in singles tipped the scales in Europe’s favor.
http://www.sinogolf.net/sinogolf/yule/mh/2006-09-22/4368.shtml
Notes:
1
Ryder Cup Timeline: The game was founded in 1927 taking between American and
European teams very two years. Though there is no price money , all the players
regard the team membership as the highest honor. (莱德杯高尔夫球赛)
Exercises:
Ⅰ. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. The origin of the Ryder Cup matches has been debated for years
2. The gold chalice bore his name and Mitchell’s likeness on top
3. The Ryder Cup matches were postponed due to World War II.
4. The U.S. team dominated their opponents 11-1
5. U.S. Captain Arnold Palme steered his team to a 23-9 victory.
6. Other European standouts were Manuel Pinero and Seve Ballesteros.
7. The Ryder Cup ended in a tie for the second time in its history.
Ⅱ. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. People now agree on the origin of the Ryder Cup matches.
2. The PGA of America supported James Harnett to raise funds.
3. The first gulf matches between American team and British team were played in
1921.
4. Ryder Cup was named after Samuel Ryder because he was a famous gulf star.
5. The Ryder Cup matches were held between US and Britain in 1939.
6. In 1957 the United States defeated the British team for the first time, winning
Ryder Cup for the first time in 24 years.
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7. In 1969 Ryder Cup matches the points were very close.
8. Before 2001, the Ryder Cup was contested on odd years.
9. In the late 1970s European golfers began to take part in the Ryder Cup matches.
Ⅲ. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
debate / bear / due to / postpone / dominate / steer / Standout / tie/ overtake /
crucial
1. The company’s problems are ______ a mixture of bad luck and poor management.
2. His conclusions were hotly ______ among academics.
3. Successful leaders ______ events rather than react to them.
4. I don’t think the chair is strong enough to ______ our weight.
5. By 1970 the Americans had ______ the Russians in space technology.
6. We are ______ our holiday until August.
7. They are faced with ______ decisions involving millions of dollars.
8. The match ended in a ______.
9. Among mystery writers Agatha Christie was a ______ as a real master.
10. We turned the car and ______ for home.
Ⅳ. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. The US has been dominating the Ryder Cup matches Ryder Cup matches VS.
European teams are an enemy worthy of American teams steel.
A: Dominate / win / defeat / victory / record / since
B: Closely / tie / over / matches / standout / take home / proud
Ⅴ. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Should a gulf field be built in a university campus?
2. Sports and friendship.
Reading Two
Words: 1283
Time Supposed: 12 minutes
2006 International Song Writing Competition（ISC） RULES &
REGULATIONS
1. Each entry must include the following:
Completed entry form (photocopy is acceptable) with original signature.
Song on CD or tape. If you want to submit an MP3, you may enter online. If you
are submitting multiple songs or one song in multiple categories, please put them all
on one CD or tape, if possible. If entering a CD, submit the entry in a regular-sized
CD case (not an ultra-thin case) and label the spine with entrant's name in black
69
marker. Also, be certain that the entrant's name is marked directly on the CD, CDR, or
tape. If entering a tape, label the spine of the case with entrant's name. Please include
a track listing of the songs in the correct order.
If you are entering the Lyrics Only category, it is not necessary to submit music,
and you do not need to specify a category or kind of music. You only need to submit
the lyrics typed or written legibly.
Two copies of the lyric sheet for each entry (please include English translation, if
applicable, and type or print legibly). Do not send sheet music with your entry.
$30 per song entry. For example, if you enter one song in one category, the fee is
$30. If you enter one song in two categories, the fee is $60. If you enter two songs in
the same category (or in different categories), the fee is $60. If you enter three songs
in different categories, the fee is $90, and so forth.
Checks and money orders should be made payable to International Songwriting
Competition.
Payment from countries outside the US must be in the form of a bank check,
money order, cash, or credit card. Personal checks are not accepted from outside the
U.S.
Online entries are accepted. Please note: there is a small processing fee for
online entries, but you don't have to pay for postage, it is a very easy process, and it
only takes minutes. To enter online, please click here.
The deadline has been extended until November 17, 2006.
All entries must be postmarked on or before November 17, 2006.
Categories include: Pop/Top 40, Rock, AAA, Country, Americana, R&B/Hip-Hop,
Blues, Dance/Electronica, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, World, Latin, Instrumental;
Children's Music; Gospel/Christian, Lyrics Only, Teen* and Performance.
*All songwriters entering the Teen category must be 18 years old or younger by
October 31, 2006. All genres of music are accepted in this category. Entering this
category will not exclude you from entering other categories as well.
** The Performance category is judged not only on the songwriting but also on
the overall delivery/performance of the song. All genres of music are accepted in this
category.
Mail entries to: International Songwriting Competition
1307 Eastland Avenue
Nashville, TN 37206 USA
2. All entries submitted must be original songs and shall not infringe any copyrights
or any other rights of any third parties. Songs may have multiple co-writers, but
only one name should be designated on the entry form. Entrant shall, by entering,
indemnify and hold ISC harmless from and against any claims inconsistent with
the foregoing.
3. ISC is open to all amateur and professional songwriters and anyone regardless of
nationality or origin. Employees of ISC, its families, subsidiaries and affiliates are
not eligible. If entrant is under 18 years old, the signature of a parent or guardian
is required.
4. Entrant may submit as many songs as desired in each category. Entrant may also
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
enter the same song in more than one category. It is preferred that entrant put all
entries on one CD or tape, and it is required that the song(s) for submission and
name of entrant be clearly marked on the CD or tape. It is entrant's responsibility
to ensure that the submitted song(s) are complete and playable. All entry fees are
non-refundable. ISC does not give feedback or a critique to entrants.
Entry materials (CDs or tapes) submitted will not be returned to the entrant. ISC is
not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or
misappropriated entries.
Entries will be screened by ISC, and the finalists will be sent to the judges who
will select the winners. The judging committee consists of high-profile music
industry professionals including record label executives, producers, and artists.
Songs are judged equally on melody, composition, originality, and lyrics (when
applicable). Lyrics may be in any language. Quality of performance and
production will not be considered. All prizes will be awarded to the first name as it
appears on the entry form, and division of prizes among co-authors is the
responsibility of winners.
Finalists will be announced in February, 2007 and winners in March, 2007. ISC
will use its best efforts to announce the winners at the designated time, but will
not be held liable for any unforeseen delays. Winners will be notified by mail
and/or email. Winners will be required to sign an affidavit confirming that
winner's song is original and he/she holds rights to the song. Failure to sign and
return the form within the required time period or provision of false information
may result in disqualification and an alternate winner may be selected. Affidavits
are subject to verification by ISC and its agents. Entry constitutes permission to
use winner's name, likeness, and voice for future advertising and publicity
purposes without additional compensation.
Prizes: Grand Prize winner will receive US $25,000 cash and $20,000 in
merchandise/services. 1st place category winners will receive $3,000 in
merchandise and services. 2nd Place category winners will receive $2,000 in
merchandise and services. 3rd winners will each receive $1,000 worth of
merchandise and/or services. There will be no transfer and substitution of prizes
except as necessary due to availability in which case a prize of equal or greater
value will be awarded. If it is necessary to substitute a prize, ISC reserves the right
to give the winner a cash substitute determined by the wholesale value of the prize.
All winners agree to release ISC and sponsors from all liability regarding prizes
won. All federal, state, and local taxes, and customs fees, when applicable, are the
sole responsibility of winner. ISC will not pay any winners' taxes. Prizes will be
sent out within a reasonable amount of time, and ISC will use its best efforts to
send prizes out in a timely fashion. Please note that prizes which are being sent to
winners from Sponsors may take longer than prizes sent directly from ISC. If the
winner has not received any portion of prizes within 180 days and has not
responded to ISC communication, ISC will no longer be responsible for delivery
of prizes.
Entrant agrees that should his/her song(s) be selected as a winner, ISC shall have
71
the right to include the winning song(s) on the ISC Compilation CD to be used for
promotional purposes only. The CD will not be for sale.
10. Entrant retains all ownership rights to all submitted song(s). ISC will not have any
ownership rights to any song(s) submitted.
11. Entrant acknowledges that all songs entered may be distributed to judges who will
be selecting the winners, and Entrant agrees to release, indemnify, and hold ISC,
its sponsors, and judges harmless for liability, damages, or claims for injury or
loss to any person or property relating to, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly,
participation in ISC.
12. By entering ISC, entrant and/or their parents or legal guardian (if such entrant is a
minor) agree to accept and be bound by the decisions of ISC and its judges which
are final and binding in all matters. Entrant agrees to be bound by all terms of
these official ISC Rules And Regulations as established herein.
http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/rules.htm
Exercises:
Ⅰ. Comprehension of the text.
1. If you want to win a prize in the competition, you must go to the US and sing a
song.
2. Sheet music is acceptable in the competition.
3. The competition is held for singers.
4. If you write a song with two others, you can submit the song in the name of you
and the other two and if it wins a prize, it will be awarded to all of you.
5. Anyone from anywhere can take part in the competition.
6. You may submit as many songs enter the same song in many categories as you
like.
7. An entrant will be required to sign an affidavit confirming that his / her song is
original when filling out the entry form.
8. All winners will receive some money as their prizes.
9. All winners will go to the US to get their prizes.
10. Winning entrants’ songs on the ISC Compilation CD will sold.
Ⅱ. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Music is an international language.
2. Music is pleasure to the ears and food to the soul.
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 300
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
72
Oldest Winter Olympian to Set Record
When Scott Baird steps on the curling rink next week he will become the oldest
Winter Olympian in the history of the Games.
Aged 54 and 282 days, the white-haired curler from Minnesota will beat the
previous record set by Briton James Coates who at the 1948 Winter Games at the age
of 53 and 328 days competed in the skeleton, finishing seventh.
“I am the oldest member of the U.S. men’s curling team and that is exactly one of
the reasons I love curling,” a smiling Baird told Reuters on Sunday said ahead of the
start of the Turin Olympics, his first.
“Curling is like golf, it’s a lifetime sport.”
Baird is from Bemidji, Minnesota, which prides itself as the curling capital of the
U.S. and has another four of its citizens on the men’s and women’s Olympic teams.
He said while he taught the younger players a thing or two about the sport, he was
also picking up a lot from them.
“The game is always evolving and I am still learning from watching them play,”
Baird said. “The strategy is constantly evolving.”
As for the team’s chances of a medal, Baird said if they played well they could
surprise everyone.
“We are hopeful if we play to the top of our game. If we can be consistent we will
have good results,” he said.
The team, including Baird, finished sixth at the 2005 world championships which
were won by Canada. Scotland, competing in the Turin Olympics for Britain, were
second and Germany third.
Despite his veteran status, Baird is not considering putting an end to his curling
career.
“I want to keep going. At least for another decade or two,” he said with a smile. “At
least at club level.”
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-02/07/content_517814.htm
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to the passage, Scott Baird set a record for __________.
A. participating in the Winter Olympic Games
B. his age among those participants in the history of the Games
C. his achievement in the Winter Olympic Games
D. beating Briton James Coates
2. Scott Baird loves curling because __________.
A. he is very old
B. this is the first time to take part in the Winter Olympic Games
C. curling is a lifetime sport
D. he is from Bemidji, Minnesota, the curling capital of the U.S.
3. Scott Baird’s anticipation towards the match is __________.
A. optimistic
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B. pessimistic
C. ironical
D. prejudiced
4. At the 2005 world championships, the team of Canada won the __________ place.
A. first
B. second
C. third
D. sixth
5. In terms of his curling caree, Scott Baird considers __________.
A. he is at least at a club level
B. as at his veteran status, Scott Baird considers to retire
C. he wants to get good results
D. he would keep going for a long time
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Scott Baird is at his age of 54 and 282 days.
7. ______ Scott Baird beat Briton James Coates at the 1948 Winter Games.
8. ______ In the Turin Olympics, there are totally six participants who are from
Bemidji, Minnesota on the men’s and women’s Olympic teams.
9. ______ Scott Baird might be a coach before.
10. ______ U.S. finished sixth at the 2005 world championships.
Passage 2
Words: 372
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
Asia among most competitive economies
Northern Europe and key east Asian countries and regions are the most competitive
economies in the world, retaining their positions in the top 10 of a survey released
Wednesday by the World Economic Forum.
For the third straight year, Finland has the most competitive economy, followed by
the United States, according to a survey of almost 11,000 business leaders in the
“Global Competitiveness Report.” The poll was conducted for a 26th consecutive
year.
Rounding out the top 10 in the survey — expanded this year to include 117
countries and regions — were Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland,
Switzerland, Norway and Australia.
The success of the Nordics is based on their “very healthy macroeconomic
environments and public institutions that are highly transparent and efficient,” said
Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist and director of the Geneva — based
institute's global competitiveness program.
74
Japan slipped to No. 12 from No. 9 last year as a result of poor management of its
public finances, but reforms proposed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to
privatize the sprawling postal service could help turn things around, the study said.
China dropped for the second straight year to No. 49 from No. 44 in 2003, as the
survey said it continues “to suffer from institutional weaknesses which, unless
addressed, are likely to slow down their ascension to the top tier of the most
competitive economies in the world.” India raised three places to come in just behind
at No. 50.
The aim of the survey, the World Economic Forum says, is to examine the range of
factors that can affect an economy's business environment and development —
including the levels of judicial independence, protection of property rights,
government favoritism and corruption.
Lopez-Claros said the Nordic nations were disproving the common belief that high
taxes hinder competitiveness.
Finland, home of mobile phone giant Nokia Corp., topped the study because of its
swiftness in adapting to new technology and the quality of its public institutions, the
report said.
The United States ranked second because it “demonstrates overall technological
supremacy, with a very powerful culture of innovation,” the World Economic Forum
said. But it suggested the United States might have been kept from the top spot
because of its low scores for contractual law and macroeconomic management.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b4e648ec-49b3-11db-84da-0000779e2340.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Japan’s slipping ascribe to the __________.
A. unhealthy macroeconomic environments and public institutions
B. inefficient management of its public finances
C. privatization of the sprawling postal service
D. institutional weaknesses
2. The country which raised its place is __________.
A. America
B. China
C. Finland
D. India
3. The success of the Nordic nations proves that __________.
A. their institution is superior
B. high taxes would not block competitiveness.
C. the management of its public institutions is at a high level
D. their culture of innovation is very powerful
4. We can infer from the passage __________.
A. For the third straight year, United States has the most competitive economy
but one
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B. United States has overall technological supremacy but Finland
C. The poll was conducted for a 26th consecutive year
D. the contractual law and macroeconomic management of United States is
powerful
5. According to the survey, the right order is __________.
A. Finland, United States, Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland,
Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Japan, China, India
B. United States, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland,
Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Japan, China, India
C. Finland, United States, Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland,
Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Japan, India, China
D. United States, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland,
Switzerland, Norway, Australia, Japan, India, China
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Asian governments do not provide enough “bankable” projects to private
investors for lack of opportunities and large needs.
7. ______ The development of roads, power plants and communications networks in
Asia will be affected by an investment shortfall.
8. ______ Indonesia’s infrastructure investment has greatly increased since the
1997-98 Asian crisis.
9. ______ In the 1997-98 crisis, both private sector infrastructure investors and
government-guaranteed projects suffered great losses.
10. ______ Poor government policies are partially responsible for inadequate
investment shortfall.
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UNIT Seven Import and Export
Reading Tips ?
Reading One
Warming-up discussion:
1. Do you know anything about The European Union and the WTO?
2. When did China became a member of the WTO? What rights and duties does a
member country of the WTO have?
3. What do you think of international cooperation and globalization?
Words: 1304
Time Supposed: 12 minutes
The EU’s Bilateral Trade Agreements
The European Union is the world’s biggest trading power. Though it operates
according to trade rules that are set multilaterally, the actual exchange of goods and
services takes place bilaterally — between the EU and individual trading partners.
However, what takes place bilaterally and what happens at the multilateral level often
reinforce each other. The EU’s bilateral agreements with individual trading partners,
or with regional groupings of countries, are often designed to pursue goals that are
subsequently achieved through multilateral negotiations.
EU tariffs on industrial products are among the lowest in the world and most of
them will disappear in 2004 in line with the Union’s commitments from 1994 under
the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations.
As it is, most of the EU’s imports are already duty free or enter the EU at
preferential rates under the terms of bilateral trade agreements or the EU’s generalised
system of preferences regime. For example, more than 50 % of finished steel imports
enter the EU duty free from countries in central and eastern Europe with which the
EU has bilateral association agreements.
Doing business with neighbours
Trade has helped the EU establish closer links with its immediate neighbours. In
the first place, the Union has stepped up its trade with the candidate countries of
central and eastern Europe that are due to join the EU. The agreements with these
countries, known as ‘Europe agreements’, are intended to create a free trade area
between them and the EU before they actually join.
Thanks to these agreements, a much greater proportion of the exports from these
countries now goes to the EU. The agreements also relate to the free movement of
services, payments and capital for trade and investment.
In addition, these countries will have to bring their national trade legislation into
line with EU law before they become EU members. Association agreements with the
other candidate countries — Cyprus, Malta and Turkey — contain similar provisions.
For the Balkan countries, which could eventually join the EU, trade is an
instrument of reconstruction. The EU has removed customs duties on 95 % of exports
from these countries in order to boost their economic recovery and strengthen their
trade links with western Europe.
At the same time, the EU intends to conclude ‘stabilisation and association
agreements’ with these countries, similar to those signed with the candidate countries.
Agreements have already been signed with Croatia and with the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.
The EU also has a regional strategy for relations with its neighbours in the
77
Mediterranean region. In 1995, it began what is called the ‘Barcelona process’. This
seeks, by means of a network of bilateral agreements and regional arrangements, to
establish a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010.
To move this process forward, association agreements have been signed with
Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and
Tunisia. Negotiations are ongoing with Syria.
EU trade: the big players
Trade partner
Imports into the Exports from the Percentage of
EU
EU
total trade
(billion euro)
(billion euro)
(imports
+ exports)
EU global trade
985
990
100
1. United States
174
239
20.9
2. The 10 countries due
107
125
11.7
to join the EU in
2004
3. Switzerland
59
71
6.5
4. China
81
34
5.8
5. Japan
68
42
5.6
6. African,
Caribbean
46
40
4.4
and Pacific countries
(ACP)
7. Russia
48
30
3.9
8. Norway
45
26
3.6
Figures for 2002, trade in goods.
Source: Eurostat.
Opening up trade around the world
The EU is encouraging countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and other
regions of the word to forge closer ties with one another, just as the countries of
Europe have done. Europe’s own experience of ‘regional integration’ has brought
many advantages, and the EU believes that integration in other regions of the world
will put its trading partners in a better collective position to benefit from globalisation.
The EU is committed to ensuring that its agreements are compatible with WTO
obligations. The EU expects the same of other WTO members and hopes the current
international negotiations under the auspices of the WTO will be a useful opportunity
to clarify and strengthen rules in this field for the benefit of all members.
The United States is by far the EU’s biggest trading partner, accounting for nearly
22 % of the EU’s total trade (exports plus imports).
Given the volume of their bilateral trade, it is not surprising that the EU and the
United States have trade disputes from time to time. While a number of these are
handled bilaterally, some end up before the WTO dispute settlement body. Although
these disputes make the headlines, the amounts of trade involved are very small in
comparison with total US–EU trade flows (less than 2 % of trade).
The EU’s relationship with Japan is also of high importance. The EU’s focus here
is on the need for Japan to open up its market more to European goods and
investments and to get the government to take effective action to reflate the economy.
The EU is also negotiating the establishment of a free trade area with the six
members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is the regional organisation
grouping Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The EU is examining ways of promoting bilateral economic relations with Iran
78
through a trade and cooperation agreement which is under negotiation. In addition, the
EU has concluded partnership and cooperation agreements with Russia and a number
of other countries of the former Soviet Union — Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova and Ukraine. The agreements with Moldova, Russia and Ukraine are part of
a process that could lead to the establishment of a free trade area between them and
the EU.
The EU has recently been very active in its trade relations with Latin America.
A free trade agreement with Mexico came into force in July 2000. This agreement
will give EU exports the same access to the Mexican market as those coming from the
United States and Canada, its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). The EU is scheduled to remove all duties on imports from Mexico by 2003,
while Mexico will lift all duties on EU goods by 2007.
The EU and Chile have recently concluded the negotiations for an association
agreement, delivering the most ambitious and innovative results ever for a bilateral
agreement by the EU.
Negotiations are currently under way to liberalise trade with Mercosur, the South
American Common Market consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The EU is already the most important trading partner of the Mercosur countries and
the biggest foreign investor in the region. The negotiations will cover not only the
liberalisation of trade in goods and services, but also public procurement, intellectual
property rights, competition policy and foreign investments.
South Africa concluded a bilateral agreement with the EU on trade, cooperation
and development in 2000. According to this agreement, within 12 years, South Africa
and the EU will grant free trade status to each other’s exports.
Focus on development
The globalisation of trade must not sideline poorer countries. The EU wants to
find ways of helping these countries catch up with the rest of the world, instead of
facing marginalisation. Improving their access to global markets for agricultural and
industrial goods and services is crucial.
The EU demonstrated its support for the 49 ‘least developed countries’ by
launching the ‘Everything but arms’ initiative in March 2001. This means the EU is
opening its markets to unlimited quantities of all products (except weapons) from
those countries and without charging any duties whatsoever.
As Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said: ‘This sends a signal to the rest of the
world that we are serious about getting the most disadvantaged to share in the fruits of
trade liberalisation’
http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/move/37/index_en.htm
Notes:
1. Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations: 乌拉圭回合是关税与贸易
总协定主持下的第八轮多边贸易谈判，也是关税与贸易总协定的最后一轮谈判。
从 1986 年 9 月谈判的启动到 1994 年 4 月最终协议的签署历时 8 年。参加乌拉圭
回合谈判的国家和地区从最初的 103 个，增加到 1993 年底的 117 个和 1994 年 4
月谈判结束时的 128 个。此次多边贸易谈判的主要成果一是强化了多边贸易体
制，特别是将农产品和纺织品纳入到贸易自由化的轨道，并加强了争端解决机制。
二是进一步改善了货物和服务业市场准入的条件，关税水平进一步下降，通过这
轮谈判发达国家和发展中国家平均降税 1/3，发达国家工业制成品平均关税税率
降为 3.5%左右。同时通过谈判达成了服务贸易总协定，与贸易有关的投资措施
79
和与贸易有关的知识产权协议。三是建立了世界贸易组织。
2. The European Union: 欧盟。 前身是欧洲共同体（简称“欧共体”）。1951 年 4
月 18 日，法国、联邦德国、意大利、荷兰、比利时和卢森堡 6 国在法国首都巴
黎签署关于建立欧洲煤钢共同体条约（又称《巴黎条约》），1952 年 7 月 25 日，
欧洲煤钢共同体正式成立。目前欧盟有 25 个成员国，人口 4.55 亿。成员国有：
法国、联邦德国、意大利、荷兰、比利时、卢森堡、英国、丹麦、爱尔兰、希腊、
葡萄牙、西班牙、奥地利、瑞典、芬兰、马耳他、塞浦路斯、波兰、匈牙利、捷
克、斯洛伐克、斯洛文尼亚、爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚、立陶宛。
3. WTO: 世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization , 英文缩写为 WTO)成立于
1995 年 1 月 1 日，其前身是关税和贸易总协定(GATT)。其总部在瑞士日内瓦。
WTO 是世界上最大的多边贸易组织，目前已经拥有 137 个成员，成员的贸易量
占世界贸易的 95%以上。WTO 与世界银行、国际货币基金组织被并称为当今世
界经济体制的“三大支柱”。
Exercises:
I. Study each of the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of
the italicized word according to the context. Turn to your dictionary if
necessary.
1. Though it operates according to trade rules that are set multilaterally, the actual
exchange of goods and services takes place bilaterally — between the EU and
individual trading partners.
2. EU tariffs on industrial products are among the lowest in the world
3. most of the EU’s imports are already duty free or enter the EU at preferential rates
4. Trade has helped the EU establish closer links with its immediate neighbours.
5. Thanks to these agreements, a much greater proportion of the exports from these
countries now goes to the EU.
6. The agreements also relate to the free movement of services, payments and capital
for trade and investment.
7. In addition, these countries will have to bring their national trade legislation into
line with EU law before they become EU members.
8. The EU has removed customs duties on 95 % of exports from these countries in
order to boost their economic recovery and strengthen their trade links with
western Europe.
9. the EU and the United States have trade disputes from time to time. While a
number of these are handled bilaterally, some end up before the WTO dispute
settlement body
10. The EU is examining ways of promoting bilateral economic relations with Iran
through a trade and cooperation agreement.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. The European Union trade rules are set multilaterally ,and trade activities also
takes place multilaterally.
2. EU tariffs have been the lowest in the world since 1994.
3. The European Union intends to create a free trade area between central and
eastern European countries and the EU although they have not yet actually join.
4. If other countries intend to join the European Union, they must obey EU law.
5. The EU has removed customs duties on 95 % of exports from the Balkan
80
6.
7.
8.
9.
countries because they are candidate countries.
The EU is opening its markets to all products but arms from the 49 ‘least
developed countries
Trade disputes between the EU and the United States often make the headlines
and have greatly affected the trade between them.
The European Union doesn’t think Japan’s market is open enough to European
goods and investments.
The EU has a very active trade and close trade relationship with the six members
of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Iran, Russia and a number of other
countries of the former Soviet Union.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
reinforce / pursue / subsequently / in line with / commitment / duty / immediate /
in addition / commit/given
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
That book was ______translated into fifteen languages.
I was impressed by the energy and ______ shown by the players.
The ______ area was sealed off after the bombing.
The sea wall is being ______with tons of cement.
Customs ______ are paid on goods entering the country, death ______on property
when the owner dies.
6. The contract ______ him to playing for the team for the next three years.
7. Kristin ______her acting career with great determination.
8. ______ that there was so little time, I think that they have done a good job.
9. The hotel itself can accommodate 80 guests and, ______, there are several
self-catering apartments.
10. Pensions will be increased ______ inflation.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. The globalisation of trade will do harm to poorer countries.VS. The globalisation
of trade will help less developed countries catch up with the rest of the world and
improve their access to global markets
A: sideline/ marginalisation/ exploit/ tax/ dispute/ weak/ industry/ agriculture/
unemployment
B: open up/ market/ promote/ develop/investment/ capital/ catch up with/in line
with/ negotiation/ rules/ WTO/
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. The globalisation of trade will spur businesses to improve the quality of their
products.
2. The globalisation of trade is bringing about great pressure on China’s motor
industry.
Reading Two
Words: 1352
81
Time Supposed: 12 minutes
The Doha Development Agenda: a New Era for World Trade
On 14 November 2001, the 142 members of the WTO concluded the fourth
ministerial conference with a decision to launch a new round of world trade talks.
Called the ‘Doha development agenda’, this round will include both further trade
liberalisation and a review of trade rules.
It is underpinned by the commitment of WTO members to help developing
countries benefit fully from future WTO decisions. The negotiations will last three
years — until January 2005.
The EU believes that the new WTO round, which it helped to launch, is the best
way to ensure that trade expansion strikes a balance between economic growth,
environmental protection and the promotion of social equity — in other words,
sustainable development.
The EU finds the new round timely because:
globalisation is accelerating. Its positive effects need to be harnessed in the
interests of both developing and industrialised countries. This should be done by
boosting opportunities for trade while creating a regulatory framework that offers
predictability, stability and transparency;
 people are becoming increasingly aware of global issues such as the environment,
investment, competition, consumer protection, and public health and safety. The
world trade community needs to take all of these public concerns into account.
Priorities for the future
The new agenda sets WTO members on the path towards the following.
Further opening up their markets for goods and services
This is the traditional task of the WTO. Members need to do more to open their
markets on the basis of predictable and non-discriminatory rules. Trade should be
liberalised as comprehensively as possible, so that countries can negotiate concessions
in one sector against gains in another.
Helping developing countries get better access to the markets of advanced
countries
As developed countries open up their markets, businesses and citizens in those
countries will have better access to imported products. This should happen at a pace
that allows developing countries to adjust successfully to increased competitive
pressures.
Focusing on development
This was a crucial aspect of the position which the EU took in Doha, and the
outcome of the conference reflects it faithfully. The EU is committed to helping
developing countries integrate into the world trading system and reap the benefits of
liberalisation. WTO members must not only give developing countries better market
access and a say in the rule-making, but must also provide them with the skills and
tools to become effective players in the world trade arena.
Trade-related assistance
The EU is a clear proponent of trade-related technical assistance (TRTA). From
1996 to 2000, it devoted more than 700 million euro to TRTA, and is providing an
82
additional 300 million euro for ongoing bilateral or regional TRTA initiatives.
Examples of trade-related technical assistance for African, Caribbean and Pacific
(ACP) countries include:
 a major 42 million euro programme to improve the health conditions of ACP
fishery exports;
 a 29 million euro pesticide initiative programme for horticultural products;
 support for the installation and maintenance of an ACP office in Geneva.
The EU is committed to providing trade-related technical assistance and
capacity-building for developing countries. It will make a special effort to help
developing countries define and defend their interests in the new negotiations. It will
also provide assistance for the medium- to long-term efforts needed to implement the
results and take advantage of the trading opportunities which will flow from it.
The EU particularly welcomed a separate declaration in Doha on access to
essential medicines at affordable prices. This confirms that the WTO agreements (here
the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement) can be
interpreted in a way that allows members to take action to protect public health if
need be.
Updating the world trade rule book
A fair and transparent rules-based system to govern world trade is just as
important for developing countries as it is for industrialised ones. But as globalisation
advances, the WTO will inevitably have to update its rules. The EU pressed
successfully for the new round to include issues such as investment, competition,
government procurement and measures to simplify trade procedures (known as ‘trade
facilitation’). The EU also supports plans to improve WTO rules on anti-subsidy
measures and anti-dumping procedures, so as to reduce the scope for abusing the
system.
Protecting the environment within sustainable development
Ministers at Doha agreed with the EU that trade and environmental issues can and
should be dealt with in a multilateral context. In an increasingly interdependent world,
challenges such as climate change, the protection of the ozone layer and the disposal
of toxic waste cannot be solved by one country or even by a group of countries acting
alone.
The EU has long argued that multilateral environmental agreements have to mesh
smoothly with agreements in the international trading system, so they become
mutually supportive.
Promoting trade and social development
There will be more cooperation between the WTO and the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) so as to ensure progress on the social aspects of globalisation,
including labour standards.
The EU will encourage the world community to pursue this issue via the ILO, and it
will work to make sure that the WTO contributes constructively to this process.
The EU already includes social and environmental incentives in its trade relations
with developing countries (the generalised system of preferences). It grants extra tariff
reductions to countries that implement ILO conventions.
83
Taking on board issues of general public concern
The EU has been keen to promote a debate within the WTO on issues of general
public concern. Among these, consumer protection, and in particular food safety, is a
top EU priority.
Quality and safety standards must be maintained at a high level. The WTO rules
already allow countries to take trade measures to protect the health and well-being of
their citizens, provided the measures taken are scientifically justified. When scientific
proof is not available, countries may take action provisionally on the basis of the
precautionary principle, pending the availability of scientific evidence that is being
sought.
Dialogue with civil society
Demonstrations against globalisation have focused public attention as never
before on the way trade policy is made. Concerned that globalisation was pushing
trade policy in directions hostile to the interests of many, representatives of civil
society around the world sought to make their views known.
The European Commission started its dialogue with civil society in 1998,
recognising that trade policy must reflect the competing interests and values of the
broadest cross-section of society and that their views need to be heard before difficult
trade-offs are made. Since then, the Commission has held regular meetings with
representatives of trade unions, academic institutions, employers’ organisations
(including small businesses) and non-governmental organisations (Internet:
trade-info.cec.eu.int/civil_soc).
Further market access negotiations on services are expected to bring considerable
market opportunities for business as well as benefits to consumers worldwide. In this
respect, the EU does not seek general deregulation or privatisation of markets in
sectors where principles of public interest are at stake, such as healthcare and
education, or where the public authorities have a historic involvement, like energy or
postal services.
The EU is also committed to maintaining its right to cultural diversity in
negotiations. Audiovisual services are essential purveyors of culture and are therefore
unlike other commercial services. Trade negotiations cannot be allowed to create
standardised cultural products; rather, they should help them to be traded in a way that
respects their diversity.
Overall, the Doha development agenda takes the World Trade Organisation into a new
era. Not only will it continue improving conditions for worldwide trade and
investment, but it will now be able to play a much fuller role in promoting economic
growth, job creation and the fight against poverty.
Better world governance and the promotion of sustainable development are the
ambitious backdrop to the agenda. The EU will actively pursue its work on this
agenda by tabling proposals on all aspects of the negotiations and acting as a broker
among different players, particularly between developed and developing countries. It
will maintain close contacts with a wide range of ministers and seek to reshape trade
policy so that it serves the interests of the majority of WTO members, namely the
developing countries.
84
http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/move/37/index_en.htm
Notes:
EU： 欧洲联盟（简称欧盟）是由欧洲共同体演变而来。总部设在比利时首都布
鲁塞尔。欧共体创始国为法国、联邦德国、意大利、荷兰、比利时和卢森堡六国。
欧盟 25 个成员国是 ： 法国 德国 意大利 比利时 荷兰 卢森堡 丹麦 爱尔兰
英国 希腊 西班牙 葡萄牙 奥地利 芬兰 瑞典 波兰 塞浦路斯 捷克共和国 爱
沙尼亚 匈牙利 拉脱维亚 斯洛伐克 斯洛文尼亚 立陶宛 马耳他
Exercises:
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. The fourth ministerial conference of the WTO solved the problems of further trade
liberalisation and a review of trade rules.
2. WTO members promised to help developing countries benefit fully from future
WTO decisions.
3. The EU helped to launch the new WTO round to ensure that trade expansion
strikes a balance between economic growth, environmental protection and the
promotion of social equity.
4. As developed countries open up their markets, they will hardly have any chance to
adjust to increased competitive pressures.
5. As globalisation advances, the WTO will inevitably have to update its rules.
6. The EU proposes that countries should cooperate with each other when dealing
with trade and environmental issues.
7. Globalisation may cause hostile conflicts of interests.
8. The trade policy of the WTO served the interests of the developing countries very
well before the fourth ministerial conference of the WTO.
9. From this text we can see the EU is greatly concerned with the interests of the
developing countries.
10. This text is written to express the point of view of the WTO.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. In the process of globalisation the WTO should allow developing countries to
adjust to increased competitive pressures.
2. Relationship between globalisation and cultural diversity.
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 398
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
85
Asia Must Spend to Grow, ADB Says
Asia is raising transport costs and damaging the international competitiveness of
China and other countries by not spending enough on infrastructure investment, the
Asian Development Bank will report on Friday.
In a draft discussion paper to be presented on Friday by Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB
president, to a closed-door emerging markets forum in Jakarta, the ADB warns that
Asia needs $3,000bn — or $300bn a year — in infrastructure investment over the
next decade.
Mr Kuroda told the Financial Times that heavy investment in infrastructure was
crucial if Asia was to facilitate further growth. The report says that “despite huge
opportunities and large needs”, Asian governments are failing to provide enough
“bankable” projects to private investors to ensure that infrastructure projects succeed.
Because of that, the authors say, east Asia is facing an investment shortfall of
about $100bn a year, while south Asia is falling short by a further $60bn a year. Key
areas affected by the shortfall include roads, power plants and communications
networks, the ADB says.
Mr Kuroda pointed to Indonesia as an example of the problem. Infrastructure
investment in south-east Asia’s largest economy has fallen from 6 per cent before the
1997-98 Asian crisis to 2 per cent of gross domestic product today. Meanwhile Jakarta
is struggling to implement a $150bn infrastructure investment programme unveiled in
January 2005, largely because it has failed to address investor concerns.
The 1997-98 crisis, which saw private sector infrastructure investors lose
substantial sums as even government-guaranteed projects foundered, “demonstrated
that ultimately, projects must be economically and financially viable”, the report says.
“Risk mitigation alone cannot offset either poor economics or poor government
policies.”
Asia’s still-growing exports have not yet suffered from infrastructure constraints,
according to the ADB paper, but it warns that the export sector could be at risk unless
investment spending increases sharply.
The ADB warns that “inadequate” and “uncompetitive” transport, communication
and logistics sectors, coupled with high fuel prices, mean that businesses in Asia face
high costs relative to other parts of the world when they try to move goods into, out of
and around the region.
Logistics costs in China are equivalent to about 18 per cent of GDP, according to
the ADB, compared with about 10 per cent in North America.
“Moreover, while logistics costs as a percentage of GDP have declined in North
America and Europe, they have actually increased in Asian countries,” the paper’s
authors say.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b4e648ec-49b3-11db-84da-0000779e2340.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
86
1. According to the Asian Development Bank, _____ will affect the international
competitiveness of China and other countries.
A. low transport costs.
B. inadequate infrastructure investment.
C. few opportunities and needs.
D. lack of private investors.
2. Infrastructure investment constraints have not yet influenced Asia’s _______.
A. roads
B. power plants
C. exports
D. communications networks
3. In order to remain competitive, Asian countries should ______.
A. reduce its logistics costs
B. increase its transport costs.
C. increase its communication costs.
D. reduce its investment.
4. Which of the following has nothing to do with further economic growth?
A. infrastructure investment.
B. government policies.
C. the 1997-98 Asian crisis
D. enough bankable projects
5. The main idea of the passage is _____.
A. Asia is damaging its international competitiveness.
B. Asia is facing an investment shortfall.
C. private sector infrastructure investors have lost substantial sums.
D. Asia should increase infrastructure investment to keep its economy grow.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
6. ______ Asia does not care about the international competitiveness, so it is raising
transport costs and spending little on infrastructure investment.
7. ______ Asian governments do dot provide enough “bankable” projects to private
investors for lack of opportunities and large needs.
8. ______ The development of roads, power plants and communications networks in
Asia will be affected by an investment shortfall.
9. ______ Indonesia’s infrastructure investment has greatly increased since the
1997-98 Asian crisis.
10. ______ Poor government policies are partially responsible for inadequate
investment shortfall.
Passage 2
Words: 1123
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
External trade: introduction
The objective of the Treaty of Rome was to create a customs union between
Member States in which there would be no barriers to trade and a common external
tariff would be applied to imports from third countries.
Gradually, as a result of growth in international trade, the common commercial
policy has become one of the most important Community policies. At the same time,
87
successive enlargements and the consolidation of the single market have strengthened
the Community’s position as a pole of attraction and a major player in trade
negotiations, both in bilateral negotiations with third countries and multilateral
negotiations in the GATT (now in the WTO). The Union has therefore progressively
built up a solid network of trade relations worldwide.
The European Union is today the leading player in international trade, ahead of
the United States and Japan. At a time of strong growth in international trade, it
accounts for a fifth of world trade. However, the EU’s capacity to play a key role in
global negotiations depends more on the effectiveness of its common commercial
policy than on its volume of trade.
LEGAL BASIS
The Union’s influence on the international stage hinges on its ability to negotiate
with its trade partners as a single entity.
Article 133 of the EC Treaty gives the European Commission this unique
negotiating role in accordance with specific mandates given by the Council. In
practice, ad hoc coordination procedures allow Member States to be involved in each
phase of the Commission’s negotiations.
The scope of the common commercial policy, as defined by Article 133, has been
interpreted very broadly by the Court of Justice. However, it does not cover
international negotiations and agreements relating to services and intellectual property,
two areas being discussed within the WTO. The Council can nevertheless extend the
scope of Article 133 to include these areas by unanimous agreement following
consultation of the European Parliament.
PRINCIPAL INSTRUMENTS
A broad range of instruments have been developed within the common
commercial policy.
The common external tariff
The common external tariff (CET) is one of the essential features of the European
customs union: it involves applying uniform customs duties to products imported
from third countries, irrespective of the Member State of destination.
Originally, the CET was the arithmetic mean of the tariffs applied in 1957 by the
Member States. On the basis of Article 28 of the Treaty, the Council, acting by a
qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, has since amended this several
times, either independently or in the course of tariff negotiations.
The creation of the common external tariff has resulted in Member States’
protection vis-à-vis third countries being standardised and in the de facto creation of a
Community preference (as imports from another Member State are not subject to
customs duties, by definition they are given more favourable treatment than imports
from a third country).
Trade defence instruments: anti-dumping, anti-subsidy policy, Regulation on
trade barriers, and protective measures
Anti-dumping policy is intended to counter the practice of exporting goods at
lower prices than those applied to similar products on the domestic market.
Anti-subsidy policy is designed to prevent imports of products for which prices
88
are kept artificially low by public subsidies in the third country of origin.
In practical terms, these two policies result in customs duties being reinstated
temporarily for the imports in question.
The European Union can also limit the flow of imports by taking protective
measures: these are applicable only if it can be proven that the imports to be reduced
have increased so rapidly and on such a scale as to jeopardise the situation of national
producers. In addition, these measures must be non-discriminatory, i.e. they must be
applied to all imports of the product in question, irrespective of origin.
It should be noted that these instruments are part of the WTO regulations and
comply with them.
Instruments for access to third country markets
At a time when tariffs are generally being dismantled, the Union has set up
mechanisms allowing it to identify the trade barriers encountered by Community
businesses in exporting to third countries and to ensure that they are monitored
constantly until an acceptable solution is implemented.
Preferential arrangements and multilateral negotiations
Endeavours to eliminate obstacles to trade on international markets include
“special relations” with certain countries or groups of countries. In practice, this
means concluding preferential trade agreements which allow certain partner countries
to be given special treatment. It should be noted that these preferential treatments are
exceptions to the most-favoured nation clause which have been authorised by the
WTO.
The most important of these agreements are:
 the European Economic Area (with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein);
 the Association Agreements with the countries of central and eastern Europe;
 the agreements with the Mediterranean countries;
 the Lomé Conventions with the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries.
Nevertheless, most of the European Union’s external trade is governed by multilateral
agreements negotiated within the WTO.
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE WTO
Founded on 1 January 1995 by the Marrakesh agreements resulting from the
Uruguay Round negotiations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) incorporates
within one structure trade negotiations on goods (GATT), services (GATS) and
intellectual property (TRIPS).
The world’s leading trading power and a major player in the Uruguay Round
negotiations, the European Union continues to play a key role in the work of the WTO.
It fully supports the objective of liberalising world trade, supported and guaranteed by
multilateral rules agreed by consensus.
The European Union attaches particular importance to the proper functioning of
the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The DSB is a true arbitrator which allows
alleged infringements of multilateral rules to be dealt with directly instead of letting
governments take unilateral measures.
Since the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva in May 1998, the European
Union has argued for a new round of global negotiations. As well as allowing
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progress towards multilateral liberalisation, this “millennium round” should deal with
subjects such as agriculture and services (already on the agenda), the definition of
more precise rules on public procurement and investment, and the complex links
between trade, competition, the environment and social standards. Other areas should
also be discussed, for example the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, mutual
recognition of technical standards, and ways of allowing the least developed countries
to play a greater role in international trade.
Although the Seattle Ministerial Conference of November 1999 did not succeed
in its aim to launch this new round, the European Union continues to campaign for
global negotiations to strengthen the multilateral trading system. It also intends to
support the involvement of civil society in future negotiations.
Finally, the European Union is in favour of new members joining the WTO, in
particular China and Russia.
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/r11000.htm
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The passage is mainly about __________.
A. the external trade of the WTO
B. the external trade of EU
C. the relationship between the WTO and EU
D. EU’s external tariff policy
2. According to the passage, which of the following is more important for the EU’s
capacity to play a key role in global negotiations ?
A. A third country.
B. Its volume of trade.
C. The effectiveness of its common commercial policy C
D. A solid network of trade relations worldwide.
3. The common external tariff __________.
A. was the arithmetic mean of the tariffs
B. has been amended independently
C. has been amended through tariff negotiations
D. A, B and C
4. If some goods are exported at lower prices than those applied to similar products
on the domestic market, which of the following policies can be applied to the
situation?
A. Anti-subsidy policy
B. Anti-dumping policy
C. The Treaty of Rome
D. The Marrakesh agreements
5. Which of the following is true according to the article?
A. EU treats all its trading partners equally.
B. EU may give special treatment to certain partner countries.
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C. EU is a part of the WTO.
D. EU has no influence on the work of the WTO
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ the EU pays great attention to its effectiveness of its common commercial
policy to improve its capacity to play a key role in global negotiations.
7. ______ International negotiations and agreements relating to services and
intellectual property are covered by the common commercial policy.
8. ______ According to the common external tariff when applying uniform customs
duties to products imported from third countries, the Member State of destination
must considered.
9. ______ When The European Union takes protective measures to limit the flow
of imports, the measures are usually applied to only some imports of the product
in question, irrespective of origin.
10. ______ The European Union does not support Russia to join the WTO.
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UNIT Eight Social Problem
Tips for reading
Understanding Idiomatic Expression (II):
When you read a comprehension text, you will naturally come across some
idiomatic expression. When this happens, do not stop reading right away to look for
their meanings in a dictionary. Just keep on reading. Sometimes the context will tell
you what the words mean. This is called a context clue. In using the context to figure
out the meaning of the word, you have to use your knowledge of grammar and your
understanding of the author’s ideas. You can keep the following in mind to improve
your ability to guess the meaning of the idiomatic expression.
1. Use the meaning of other words in the sentence or paragraph and the meaning of
the sentence as a whole to reduce the number of possible meaning.
2. Use the definition the author gives.
3. Use cultural clues and general knowledge of the world.
4. Use the examples.
Practice: try to figure out the meaning of the underlined idiomatic using the methods
above.
1. The wine flew like water at the party.
2. Every bird likes its own nest.
3. Good wine needs no bush.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What kind of attitude do you hold towards juvenile delinquency? Do you have
some suggestions available to decrease such a social phenomenon?
2. In your opinion, is it legal or illegal for an individual to keep guns? Present your
evidences to the rest of your class to justify your augment.
Words: 975words
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
Somebody’s Shooting
John Rosengren
The ninth-graders in Missy Doddy’s seventh-period study hall were restless that
Monday afternoon, March 21, 2005. It was the last period of the day. All eyes were on
the big clock on the front wall of the classroom-just minutes until the final bell.
Jeff May sat alone at a table calculating algebra problem. If he crank through his
schoolwork now, he could meet up with a buddy that afternoon to shoot baskets in hid
aunt’s driveway.
May was nearly a full-blooded Ojibwe1, like many of the students and teachers at
Red Lake Senior High School in northern Minnesota2. The 15-year old didn’t mind
studying, but he much preferred playing basketball.
Suddenly there was frantic pounding on the door. Near Rogers, one of the
teachers, rushed into the classroom, breathless. “Somebody’s shooting out there!”
Rogers said.
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Just a few minutes earlier, a young man in a black coat walked into the building
carrying three guns. One of the stationed at the main entrance, Derrick Burn,
confronted .Even though the guard was unarmed; the gunman shot him twice, killing
him.
Then he fired another shot down the hallway, narrowly missing Rogers, a
62-year-old English teacher. Dodds quickly lock the door and turned off the light.
“Get in back!” She told the students “Hide!”
The classroom was absolutely silent. Suddenly there were shots in the hallway
outsides-loud booms that sounded like textbooks slammed to the floor. As seconds
ticked by, the shots boomed louder, closer.
An instant later, the window beside the locked door was shattered by a shotgun
blast. A burly figure in a black coat and combat boots, climbs through the
two-foot-wide opening. May recognized Jeff Weise. Although the two boys both live
on the reservation, they had never spoken.
Other students sometimes picked on the troubled boy. For the past few months,
Weisw had been tutored at home. He was depressed and being treated for suicidal
tendencies. Doctors had tried to get him into a better balance. But today Weise carried
a 12-gauge3 shotgun, a 22-caliber4 semiautomatic pistol and a 40-caliber
semiautomatic pistol. On his face was a frightening smile.
“God save us,” said Mrs. Rogers.
Weise looked over at her. He leveled his 40-caliber and fired. The bullet struck
her in the head, and she slumped to the floor, dead. He then turned to the students
huddles in the back of the room. “Do you guys believe in God?” he asked.
“No,” answered one boy, ChonGai’s la Morris. May said nothing.
Weise pointed his gun and opened fire .Boom. May watched his best friend
Dewayne slump. Boom. Alicia White, crumpled. Boom. Boom. Boom. Chanelle
Rosebear, Chase Lussier and Thurlene Stillday lay fatally wounded.
The killer aimed his gun at Doddys and squeezed the trigger.Click. It. was empty.
He reached to reload.
As soon as Weise started shooting Jeff May thought, somebody’s got to stop this
guy. At six-foot-three and 300 pound, he realized he was one of the few kids who
might have a chance against the gunman, who stood six feet tall and weighted about
250.
May was a varsity football player, but he was not a tough guy. Still, he thought, if
I can save some lives. At least he might buy a little time till police arrives. May
figured his best change was to surprise Weise, take him down. Glancing around for a
weapon, he saw nothing. Then he realized he was still clutching the pencil he’d used
to calculate his algebra problems.
In one motion, May lunged at the shooter and jabbed the pencil hard into his side.
But something deflected the blow. It turned out Weise was wearing a bulletproof5 vest
swiped from his police officer grandfather, Dary Lussier.
Earlier that afternoon, Weise had stopped at Lussier’s house, where he shot and
killed his grandfather and his grandfather’s girlfriend. Then Weise had grabbed the
key to Lussier’s patrol car and drove to the school.
93
No one knows what set Weise off that day. But he was clearly determined to kill
as many people as he could.
May tried to wrestle him to the ground, but Weise stubbornly held his own .then
he managed to raise his reloaded pistol and fire right at May’s face.
May saw a bright flash of light and collapsed hard on the floor. The bullet had
entered his right cheek, fractured his jaw and lodged in his neck, near his vertebrae.
Blood splattered Weise’s black boots.
The two had grappled for just enough time spare the lives of the remaining dozen
people in the classroom. In total, Weise spent less than ten minutes at the high school,
but left eight people dead and another seven wounded in the deadliest school shooting
since Columbine.
Four Red Lake police officers arrived and exchanged gunfire with Weise in the
hallway outside Mrs Dodds’s classroom. One officer shot him three times. The
troubled boy staggered back into the classroom and fatally shot himself in the head.
Speaking for herself and the other witnesses, Dodds says Jeff May saved their
lives when he jumped at the killer. His brave action did not surprise her. “I totally
would expect that of him,” she said.
Many was airlifted to Meritcare Hospital, 105 mile away in Fargo6, North
Dakota7. He suffered a stroke that immobilized his left side and required surgery to
remove the bullet. For many tense hours, his family members feared they would lose
him. He is recovering, slowing, with two daily hour-long sessions each of physical,
occupational and speech therapy.
Still, lying in his hospital bed two months after the shooting, May says if he had
to relive that day, he would once again abandon the shelter of the overturned table and
try to stop the shooter. “Why?”
“To make sure so many people don’t die,” he says.
Revised from Reader’s Digest September 2005
Notes
1. Ojibwe: North American tribe (奥吉布瓦).
2. Minnesota: A state of the northern United States bordering on Lake Superior and
on Manitoba and Ontario, Canada（明尼苏达）.
3. gauge: The interior diameter of a shotgun barrel as determined by the number of
lead balls of a size exactly fitting the barrel that are required to make one pound.
Often used in combination.
4. caliber: The diameter of the bore of a firearm, usually shown in hundredths or
thousandths of an inch and expressed in writing or print in terms of a decimal
fraction.
5. bulletproof: Impenetrable by bullets.
6. Fargo: A city of eastern North Dakota on the Red River east of Bismarck.
Founded with the coming of the railroad in 1871, it is the largest city in the state.
Population, 74,111 (法戈).
7. North Dakota: A state of the north-central United States bordering on Canada（北
达科他）.
94
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. My car's so old that I have to crank it up on cold winter mornings.
2. There was a frantic rush to get everything ready for the unexpected inspection
from the superiors.
3. We accept his statement without reservation.
4. She slumped, exhausted, into a chair.
5. The bullet struck a wall and was deflected from its course.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. The ninth-graders in Missy Doddy’s seventh-period study hall were restless that
Monday afternoon, because they know a gunman is going to come.
2. The gunman shot Derrick Burn who was trying to exchange gunfire with him.
3. Dodds quickly turned off the light to prevent themselves from being seen.
4. The sudden shots in the hallway and loud booms made all the textbooks slump
onto the floor.
5. The troubled boy was once a classmate of Jeff May.
6. Jeff Weise broke into the classroom and firstly killed Mrs. Rogers.
7. Jeff Weise didn’t believe in God.
8. The killer aimed his gun at Doddys and shot her.
9. Jeff May didn’t know that Jeff Weise were wearing a bulletproof vest before he
jabbed his pencil into his side.
10. According to the text, if Jeff May was confronted with such situation again, he
would again choose to stop the shooter to make sure of the safety of others.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
meet up with / pound / pick on / be determined to / shatter / calculate / squeeze /
slump/ stagger/ exchange
1. He________ on the table to show his anger.
2. “Why ________ on me?” complained Miss Wang to her colleagues.
3. The man________ stand firm and to respond against any difficulties and
hardships.
4. I ________ one of my best friends on my way home this afternoon.
5. The outcome of the conflict ________ our dreams of peace and prosperity.
6. He ________ an orange to get the juice out.
7. Astronomers ________ the positions of the planets.
8. The deputy manager ________ the company's interest for his personal honor.
9. The unexpected blow did not ________ his resolution.
10. Sales________ badly recently.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Social Security is Vs
A: the state should help the poor, aged, unemployed, and sick /advanced countries /
religions stress charity/social misfits / the strong must help the weak / provide good
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health care for its citizens
B: costs too much / does not work efficiently / look after themselves / results in heavy
taxes Social Darwinism / survival of the fittest/ no freebies in life
2. Corporal Punishment VS verbal punishment
A: Spare the rod and spoil the child / control juvenile delinquency/ reinforces the
authority of teachers and parents / respect discipline / a form of training / respect
discipline/ builds real character/a check on excessive permissiveness
B: Violence begets violence / love/ emotional, irrational response / cause
psychological problems / barbarous /not necessary/ result in a lawsuit
3. Censorship is necessary VS censorship is ineffective
A: for the good of society/ protects children / the community/ absolute freedom leads
to anarchy / not mature enough
B: limits the individual’s freedom and human rights / not consistent with democracy/
subjective and not objective / creates the problem / deprives / totalitarianism
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Juvenile delinquency
2. How to construct a harmonious campus
3. Your ideal hero or heroine
Reading Two
Words: 1168
Time Supposed: 11 Minutes
Homelessness as a Social Problem
Mary Anne Winslow
The problem of homelessness is one of the oldest and most troubling problems of
the society of all times. It is a vital issue that needs to be paid much attention of the
government and the whole society. However there is also an opinion that
homelessness is not the problem of a society but an individual one, as it is up to a
person to choose the life style and the way to go in one’s life. It is an individual
difficulty of a person to work and provide food and dwelling1 for oneself, but it is the
government’s responsibility to create the conditions for safe and successful work and
conditions for the one who works to be able to eventually get a dwelling1.
The provision of shelter is a basic human need which is identified in Maslows2
hierarchy of needs2 as an ‘essential’ need in order to progress to ‘higher order’ needs
such as belonging and love. Those without shelter are collectively termed as
‘homeless’.
This report will examine some of the reasons for homelessness in Britain, the
problems that homeless people face and how the government has tackled these in the
past. A brief history of housing policy is included which then leads on to current
legislation intended to prevent homelessness.
Stewart remarks that homelessness is the most extreme form of housing need and
that it is a failure of access to a secure home. It is therefore important to study
96
homelessness as a social problem as Britain is a welfare state 3in which poverty and
the housing problems and conditions of pre-war Britain were intended to be
eradicated by increasing welfare provision such as social housing and social security
benefits.
Indeed, the number of people seriously lacking in food, clothing, shelter and
warmth was dramatically reduced (ibid) in comparison to 1930’s statistics and a
massive growth in Social Service professions in the 1960’s and 70’s meant that people
had greater access to quality health care, housing and advice.
Unfortunately, many problems exist today which mean that people are still
experiencing problems associated with poor living conditions and the reasons why
this is happening in a so-called ‘welfare state’ need to be investigated and addressed.
Pierson and Thomas term homelessness as ‘The condition of being without a
home or shelter or of living in circumstances wholly inappropriate to personal and
social needs.’ Definitions of homelessness tend to vary widely with those who
campaign against homelessness often taking a holistic approach and defining all those
who are in ‘inadequate accommodation4’ as homeless. Homelessness can be seen as a
condition of detachment from society characterized by the lack of the affiliate bonds
that link people into their social structures. Homelessness carries implications of
belonging nowhere rather than not having a bed.
The emphasis in the definition is on ‘accommodation’ and although someone
may have a roof over their head and be sheltered, this does not necessarily constitute a
‘home’. However, the act does address the issue of people who have no legal right to
occupy the accommodation that they may be residing in and thus includes them as
‘homeless people’.
Homelessness statistics are often unreliable as many people do not report
themselves to local authorities as being in need of housing and figures usually reflect
people who are accepted as homeless by local authority housing departments and thus
are grossly underestimated. However in order to give an indication of the extent of the
problem of homelessness according to local authorities in Britain, some statistics are
included here.
There are many stereotypes5of homeless people. They are often perceived as
being ‘beggars’, ‘tramps’, addicted to drugs and alcohol and are often blamed for their
own predicament. A common misconception is that homeless people are all ‘rough
sleepers’ but the vast majority of homeless people are not rough sleepers and still need
the help of a local authority housing department (ibid) and the voluntary sector.
Homelessness is characterized by poverty, but homeless people may not be
poorer than the lower ranks of the housed population, for instance, Dispatch Online
reports that a Dutchman is believed to be living rough as a tramp somewhere in
Amsterdam6, unaware that he has inherited a fortune. Lawyers are now searching the
streets for the 43 year old, the sole surviving heir to a rich uncle who died in Heerlen.
However, their state does render them more insecure and vulnerable to violence and
threats especially when they are living rough.
Shelter state that people lose their homes for many reasons such as relationship
breakdowns, domestic violence and eviction by landlords, however there are groups
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of people who may lose their homes because of the ‘system’ that they are part of.
These include young people leaving care, the mentally ill leaving hospitals, low paid
and unemployed people and people who are leaving the armed forces. In addition,
asylum seekers not only face discrimination but severe restrictions on or the refusal of
state benefits.
Young people in the care system are at a higher risk of becoming homeless. With
less than one per cent of young people being taken into care in the United Kingdom,
twenty two per cent of their research sample group had been in care at some point in
their lives. In London alone, O’Mahoney found that thirty to forty per cent of people
using the homeless facilities have had experience of the care system.
Children in the care system have often had disrupted and traumatic childhoods
and may have suffered from a wide range of abuse which in turn could create
difficulties in coping with independence when they leave care between the ages of
16-18.
This quote raises the issue that the problem of homelessness experienced by care
leavers may be a result of the inadequacies of the care system itself, however the
Homeless Act 2002 which will be discussed in more detail later, places care leavers
under the age of twenty one who were ‘looked after’ local authorities when they were
16-17 in ‘priority need’ of accommodation. This, in conjunction with the Children
(Leaving Care) Act 2000 which lays important duties on local authorities such as
mapping out routes to independence and providing personal and practical support
during and after the transitional stage, is intended to improve the life chances of
children leaving care.
People in the armed forces normally have accommodation provided for them by
the Ministry Of Defence, however when they leave the service, inevitably they are
required to leave the accommodation that was provided for them and this can
effectively render them as ‘homeless’ if they cannot secure alternative
accommodation. Shelters Armed Forces Project identify that a significant number of
ex-service personnel have not had a home since leaving the forces and experience a
range of difficulties resettling into civilian life.
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Anne_Winslow
Notes
1. dwelling: A place to live in; an abode.
2. Maslows hierarchy of needs: Abraham Maslow has developed a famous theory
of human needs, which can be arranged in order of importance(马斯洛的需求层
次理论).
3. welfare state: A social system whereby the state assumes primary responsibility
for the welfare of its citizens, as in matters of health care, education, employment,
and social security.
4. accommodation: Room and board; lodgings.
5. stereotypes: One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or
type.
6. Amsterdam: A city of east-central New York on the Mohawk River northwest of
98
Albany(阿姆斯特丹).
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text:
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The passage is mainly about ________.
A. the introduction of different definitions of homelessness by different scholars
B. the homeless people in Britain
C. homelessness as a social problem that needs to be paid much attention of the
government and the whole society
D. young people in the care system
2. According to Pierson and Thomas, the following are all homeless except
________.
A. people living in circumstances wholly inappropriate to personal needs
B. beggars in the streets
C. people in the armed forces leaving the service, not securing alternative
accommodation
D. people addicted to alcohol
3. According to the passage, which of the following is not right ________.
A. homeless people may not be poorer than the lower ranks of the housed
population
B. homelessness statistics can reflect the reliable fact
C. the inadequacies of the care system itself may result in problem of
homelessness of those care leavers
D. not all people report themselves to local authorities as being in need of
housing
4. People may lose their homes for many reasons as follows with an exception of
________.
A. people leaving care
B. addiction to alcohol
C. the mentally ill leaving hospitals, low paid and unemployed people
D. relationship breakdowns, domestic violence and eviction by landlords
5. As for the author, she thinks that the UK, as a welfare state, has a system that
is________.
A. perfect
B. terrible
C. good but still needs to be promoted
D. impractical
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. Homelessness
2. The compulsory military service
3. The computer games for children
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Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 494
Time Supposed: 4′30″
Time You Used: ________
Aging Issue Cries out for Solutions
By He Na (China Daily)
A senior official in charge of elderly people's welfare is calling upon all sectors
to attach greater importance on the emerging problem China faces with an aging
society and ways to find answers to assist people.
"If we do not attach enough importance to the rapidly growing aging population
and a flurry of social and economic problems in succession, aging problems will
become a big obstacle to the pace of China's economic development and the
development of democracy," warned Zhao Baohua, deputy director of the Office of
China National Committee on Aging.
Zhao made the remarks during a news conference on Tuesday in Beijing for the
launch of "Silent Revolution", a large-scale documentary and report on aging in China.
The documentary will air for the first time this Friday on CCTV 10 on what is
traditionally Chinese Senior Citizens' Day.
Zhao said that in the next decade, aging problems will become more obvious.
The number of Chinese citizens aged over 60 presently stands at 134 million,
accounting for nearly half of all the people over 60 in Asia.
Thirty-five years ago the population proportion of children and the aged was six
to one. However, 35 years later the population of the elderly is two times greater than
the number of children, according to an analysis of China's population and economy
by the China Business Times.
Meanwhile, the aging problem has already become a global headache. In
Thailand, more than half the population is over 30. The number of people aged over
60 is set to increase from 6 per cent this year to 9 per cent in the next five years.
The Chinese Government is now focusing on improving its insurance systems
and vigorously exploring the aging market to deal with the elderly population, which
will reach its topmost in 2030, according to a latest report issued by the Information
Office of the State Council.
Therefore, products that can make people healthier and look younger have
started to attract the attention on an increasing number of consumers.
An investigation by the China Research Centre on Aging showed that 42.8 per
cent of aging people in urban districts possess savings and by the end of 2010, the
retirement pensions of elderly people in China will hit 838.3 billion yuan (US$101
billion).
But the actual situation of the market pales in comparison with the enormous
potential market.
100
Although many large enterprises and business people already have begun fixing
their eyes on the vast market, most of them are cautious.
Anti-aging products, tonics, garments and other aging-related products appear on
the aging counters. New vacations and services especially for the aging people such as
tourism and gymnasiums have also emerged.
However, the quantity, quality and style of the products still lag behind those for
women and children.
Experts say that the exploration of the elderly products market must accord with
such consumers' characteristics and practical demands.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/21/content_384168.htm
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The passage is mainly about __________.
A. the launch of "Silent Revolution"
B. products that can make people healthier and look younger
C. emerging problem China faces with an aging society and ways to find
answers to assist people
D. the quantity, quality and style of anti-aging products
2. According to the passage, which of the following is not right__________?
A. Aging problems will become more obvious in the next decade In China.
B. The elderly products market must accord with such consumers'
characteristics and practical demands.
C. The Chinese Government is now focusing on improving its insurance
systems.
D. The aging problem has already become a global headache for China only.
3. The following will all be a result of the coming aging society except__________.
A. the abolition of the family plan policy
B. exploring the aging market to deal with the elderly population
C. the increase of retirement pensions of elderly people
D. a big obstacle to the pace of China's economic development and the
development of democracy
4. The actual situation of the market pales in comparison with the enormous
potential market, because __________.
A. business people don’t think it will be a vast market
B. the local government don’t support such business behavior
C. many large enterprises and business people are very cautious
D. there is no profit
5. According to this news repot, the government holds a (an) _______ attitude to
China’s aging issue.
A. impartial
B. pessimistic
C. passive
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D. active
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6.______ Zhao made the remarks on CCTV 10 on Tuesday in Beijing.
7.______ Thirty-five years ago the population proportion of children and the aged
was six to one.
8.______ An investigation showed that the retirement pensions of elderly people in
China will hit 838.3 billion RMB by the end of 2010.
9.______ New vacations and services especially for women and children will emerge
later.
10.______ The actual situation of the market matches well with the enormous
potential market.
Passage 2
Words: 611
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used:
___
United Nations Convention against Corruption
In its resolution 55/61 of 4 December 2000, the General Assembly recognized
that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25,
annex I) was desirable and decided to establish a committee for the negotiation of
such an instrument in Vienna at the headquarters of the Centre for International Crime
Prevention, Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. The text of the United
Nations Convention against Corruption was negotiated during seven sessions of the
Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the Convention against Corruption, held
between 21 January 2002 and 1 October 2003.
The Convention approved by the Ad Hoc Committee was adopted by the General
Assembly by resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003. The General Assembly, in its
resolution 57/169 of 18 December 2002, accepted the offer of the Government of
Mexico to host a high-level political signing conference in Merida for the purpose of
signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The Assembly invited all
States to be represented at the Conference at the highest possible levels of
Government.
Corruption can be prosecuted after the fact, but first and foremost, it requires
prevention. An entire chapter of the Convention is dedicated to prevention, with
measures directed at both the public and private sectors. These include model
preventive policies, such as the establishment of anticorruption bodies and enhanced
transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties. States must
endeavour to ensure that their public services are subject to safeguards that promote
efficiency, transparency and recruitment based on merit. Once recruited, public
servants should be subject to codes of conduct, requirements for financial and other
disclosures, and appropriate disciplinary measures. Transparency and accountability
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in matters of public finance must also be promoted, and specific requirements are
established for the prevention of corruption, in the particularly critical areas of the
public sector, such as the judiciary and public procurement. Those who use public
services must expect a high standard of conduct from their public servants. Preventing
public corruption also requires an effort from all members of society at large. For
these reasons, the Convention calls on countries to promote actively the involvement
of non-governmental and community-based organizations, as well as other elements
of civil society, and to raise public awareness of corruption and what can be done
about it. Article 5 of the Convention enjoins each State Party to establish and promote
effective practices aimed at the prevention of corruption.
The Convention requires countries to establish criminal and other offences to
cover a wide range of acts of corruption, if these are not already crimes under
domestic law. In some cases, States are legally obliged to establish offences; in other
cases, in order to take into account differences in domestic law, they are required to
consider doing so. The Convention goes beyond previous instruments of this kind,
criminalizing not only basic forms of corruption such as bribery and the
embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence and the concealment and
laundering of the proceeds of corruption. Offences committed in support of corruption,
including money-laundering and obstructing justice, are also dealt with. Convention
offences also deal with the problematic areas of private-sector corruption.
Countries agreed to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight
against corruption, including prevention, investigation, and the prosecution of
offenders. Countries are bound by the Convention to render specific forms of mutual
legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court, to extradite
offenders. Countries are also required to undertake measures which will support the
tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of corruption.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/crime_convention_corruption.html
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. This piece of information is mainly about_________.
A. the history of the General Assembly
B. corruption as an international problem
C. the establishment and operation of the United Nations Convention against
Corruption
D. the Ad Hoc Committee
2. The General Assembly adopted the approval of the Convention by the Ad Hoc
Committee by resolution ________.
A. 58/4
B. 55/61
C. 57/169
D. 55/25
3. The public and private sectors include model preventive policies of the following
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except _______.
A. the establishment of anticorruption bodies
B. enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns
C. political parties
D. the General Assembly
4. According to the Convention, which is not an obligation of a country
__________.
A. to promote actively the involvement of non-governmental and
community-based organizations.
B. to pay annual fee to the Convention.
C. to establish criminal and other offences to cover a wide range of acts of
corruption.
D. to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight against corruption.
5. Once a public servant is recruited, he should be subject to __________.
A. codes of conduct
B. appropriate disciplinary measures
C. requirements for financial and other disclosures
D. All the above
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______The text of the United Nations Convention against Corruption was
negotiated during the first session.
7. ______Preventing public corruption requires an effort from all members of
society.
8. ______Convention offences doesn’t deal with the problematic areas of
private-sector corruption.
9. ______States are legally obliged to establish offences in some cases.
10. ______ Mexico has undertaken most of the business in the Convention.
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UNIT Nine Insurance
Tips for Reading
?
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
4. How many kinds of insurance do you know?
5. Is it necessary for a young man to perchance a life insurance?
Words: 1165
Time Supposed: 11 minutes
Insurance
Why should you insure your farm?
If you have a mortgage on your property, your lender will likely require that you
carry insurance and the mortgage holder will be named as an additional insured on the
policy. Your farm is probably the largest and most important investment you have
made in your lifetime. Insurance is to protect you in the event of a catastrophe or loss
that you could not financially afford. In the event of a loss, there could be damage to
your home, its contents, outbuildings, equipment, livestock, crops, etc. Few of us have
sufficient personal resources to cover these types of loss. Insurance provides a means
by which we can transfer this risk of loss to an insurance company that does have the
financial resources to cover the costs. In addition, insurance policies can provide you
with protection if someone is injured or hurt while on your property or if someone has
their property damaged due to something you did or failed to do. The same applies if
a person is injured or their property is damaged by something you own or by someone
that works for you. You may also be able to purchase insurance that will provide you
with protection if someone becomes ill or hurt after eating or using a product they
receive or purchase from you (such as fruits, vegetables, pies or jams). Insurance
policies may also protect you by providing you with an attorney to represent you at no
charge if you are sued by someone making a claim that might be covered by your
policy.
What type(s) of insurance should you purchase?
The type of insurance you should purchase will depend on a number of different
factors; such as the type of farm you have, the type of business you operate (growing
crops, livestock, agritourism), whether you have employees working on the farm, any
outbuilding you may have, the types of equipment you have, etc. In order to
determine what is the appropriate insurance coverage, you should meet with an agent
(producer) or broker and discuss in depth with them the specifics of your farm
operation so that they can find the right coverage for you. It is important to remember
that a farm policy differs from a homeowners policy and you should make certain that
you have a clear understanding of what is covered and what is excluded under your
policy.
What types of insurance coverages should you purchase?
Farm policies have many different types of coverages available. In order to be
105
sure that you have the appropriate type and amount of coverage, it is essential that you
talk with a trusted insurance advisor.
The following are some of the standard coverages available under a farm policy:
Property damage coverage protects your farmhouse and outbuildings or household
belongings if they are damaged or destroyed by certain causes of loss. Some examples
are fire, lightening, hail or tornado. Liability coverage will pay if you unintentionally
cause another person to be injured or another person’s property to be damaged or
destroyed. Medical payments coverage will pay up to a specified amount for medical
expenses incurred by persons injured in an accident on your property and, in certain
situations, away from your farm regardless of whether you were at fault for that
person’s injury. This coverage does not apply to you or a member of your household.
Additional living expenses coverage will pay for the additional expenses you incur
when you can not live in your dwelling because of damage or loss that is covered by
your policy. For example, if you are required to move into a motel or apartment while
your home is being repaired, your insurance company will pay the cost of this
temporary housing. In addition to these basic coverages, many companies offer a
variety of additional coverages for an additional cost. These are generally referred to
as endorsements to your policy. Endorsements may be purchased to increase or
expand some of the basic coverages (i.e. changing from actual cash value coverage to
replacement cost coverage); to provide coverage for specific types of losses (i.e. water
that backs up from sewer and drains); or to cover items that are excluded by your
policy (i.e. particular animals, outbuildings, farm equipment, etc). Many of the items
that are typically covered under a homeowners policy (i.e. fences, outbuildings,
swimming pools, etc.) will not be covered under your farm policy, unless you
specifically purchase an endorsement that covers these items. Please note that the
types of coverage you elect to purchase will determine the price of your policy.
Further, if you have employees working on your farm, you may need to purchase
workers’ compensation coverage. To
Be sure you get proper coverage, you should have a list of all your employees,
their titles and a description of the work they perform, as well as the number of hours
they work and the wages they earn, with a summary reflecting the total number of
employees and the total payroll in order to obtain a quote for this type of coverage.
What is crop insurance?
The Risk Management Agency offers a federally subsidized crop insurance
program through private insurance companies. Crop insurance covers disasters such
as drought, hail, frost, hurricanes, excessive moisture, fire, insects and plant disease,
and wildlife damage. For more specific information on a particular crop, contact your
local crop insurance agent or visit www.rma.usda.gov.
How much will your insurance cost?
The cost of insurance will depend on a number of factors. The primary factor
driving the cost will be the type of coverage you are purchasing. The price will also
reflect any prior claims history and the amount of your deductible (the higher the
deductible, the lower the premium). Developing a farm safety and security plan for
your farm and performance of periodic self-assessments may reduce your insurance
106
premium.
Suppose one company has said they do not want to insure you, what do you do
for insurance?
If you have been turned down by one company for your farm insurance, try
obtaining coverage through another company or other companies. Do not assume that
because one company turned you down, all companies will turn you down. Just as
companies have different rates they charge, they also have different underwriting
requirements. So call around and keep trying to obtain an insurance policy.
Can your insurance company cancel your policy for late payment?
Your insurance company may cancel your policy for nonpayment of the premium,
even if the payment is just one day late. The company must provide you with a notice
10 days in advance that your policy will be cancelled. Some insurance companies
have guidelines for accepting late payment and may reinstate you when the payment
has been made: however, this is not a legal requirement. The best practice is to pay
your premiums by the due date in order to avoid being cancelled.
From: Consumer’s Guide to Farm Insurance in Maryland
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. You should obtain a separate policy covering valuable household items.
2. Insurance is to protect you in the event of a catastrophe or loss that you could not
financially afford
3. Our agent in Rio deals with all our Brazilian business.
4. The plane was cancelled and all we got in compensation was a free meal.
5. I won’t be at the meeting as I have a prior engagement.
6. The manager had been unfairly dismissed, and he was duly reinstated.
II. Comprehension of the text: Choose the best answer for each of the questions
or unfinished statements.
1. Why should a farmer insure his farm?
A. Because it can insure his lender.
B. Because he can get some money from the insurance company in case he
needs it.
C. Because it can insure that he will lose nothing.
D. Because it can protect him in the event of a catastrophe or loss.
2. Which of the following is true?
A. If someone becomes ill after eating some peaches from you, your insurance
will protect you.
B. Insurance policies are useless if a person’s property is damaged by someone
working for you.
C. An insurance can not protect you suppose some is injured while on your
property
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D. Your insurance can not protect you if your sheep are killed by wolves
3. If you want to insure your farm against losses, __________.
A. any type of insurance will do
A. you should purchase a homeowners policy
B. you can purchase the same type of policy as other farmers do
C. it is essential to determine what is the appropriate insurance coverage
4. Match the items in column A with those in column B.
COLUMN A: Different types of coverages:
1) Property damage coverage
2) Additional living expenses coverage
3) Liability coverage
4) Medical payments coverage
COLUMN B: Items possibly covered:
a. Medical expenses incurred by persons injured in an accident on your
property
b. Damage to outbuildings caused by fire, lightening, hail or tornado
c. Cost of temporary housing in case something is happening to your house
d. Damage accidentally caused by you to another person’s property
A. 1) — b
2) — c
3) — d
4) — a
B. 1) — a
2) — d
3) — c
4) — b
C. 1) — b
2) — c
3) — d
4) — a
D. 1) — c
2) — b
3) — a
4) — d
5. Suppose you want to insure your swimming pool on your farm __________.
A. A farm policy homeowner’s policy will cover it.
B. you can purchase an endorsement to cover this item
C. you should purchase workers’ compensation coverage
D. you have to purchase both homeowners policy and an endorsement
6. If you have purchased a medical payment coverage, the insurance company will
pay some medical expenses __________.
A. if your father is in hospital.
B. if you have to be operated on for cancer.
C. if a friend is injured in an accident in your car
D. if your family members or a worker on your farm is injured by what you
have done
7. If you have purchased workers’ compensation coverage for your employees
working on your farm, to get proper coverage, you should get ready some
information which includes __________.
A. 4 items
B. 5 items
C. 7 items
D. 8 items
8. Which of the following is true according this passage?
A. The cost of all types of coverage is just the same.
B. If the deductible is lower, the premium will be higher.
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C.
Your security plan for your farm will surely reduce your insurance
premium.
D. The cost of insurance has nothing to do with your periodic self-assessments.
9. Which of the following is correct according to this passage?
A. If you pay your premium within ten days after your insurance provides you
with a notice, your policy will not be canceled.
B. You must remember the date when you have to pay your premium in case
your policy is cancelled
C. You don’t have to pay your premium on time because insurance companies
will reinstate you even if your policy is canceled.
D. Any insurance company will cancel a policy if the premium is not paid on
time.
10. This passage is intended for __________ to read
A. employees on a farm
B. all people
C. those who own a farm
D. rich people
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
Policy/ incur/refer to/ exclude/ claim/ assume/ cancel/charge/in advance/ turn
down
1. The insurance company can’t meet such enormous ______.
2. We can’t ______ the possibility that some warmongers will run the risk of starting a
new world war.
3. You should obtain a separate ______ covering valuable household items.
4. ______ that the proposal is accepted, when are we going to get the money?
5. That company ______ substantial losses during the stock market crash.
6. I should warn you ______, we may be delayed.
7. If you don’t know what this means, ______ your dictionary.
8. The restaurant ______ us $40 for the wine.
9. Jimmy offered to marry her again, but she had already ______ her ______ three
times.
10. The football game had been ______ due to rain.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Purchasing a life insurance is gambling in which you can never win VS. Life
insurance protects both you and your family.
A: premium, incur, turn down, exclude, claims, cancel,
B: policy, protect, cover, coverage, in advance, claim, disaster, compensation
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V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Insurance and tsunami.
2. Insurance and students
Reading Two
Words: 973
Time Supposed: 10 minutes
Insurance in a Climate of Change
Evan Mills
Catastrophe insurance provides peace of mind and financial security. Climate
change can have adverse impacts on insurance affordability and availability,
potentially slowing the growth of the industry and shifting more of the burden to
governments and individuals. Most forms of insurance are vulnerable, including
property, liability, health, and life. It is incumbent on insurers, their regulators, and the
policy community to develop a better grasp of the physical and business risks.
Insurers are well positioned to participate in public-private initiatives to monitor loss
trends, improve catastrophe modeling, address the causes of climate change, and
prepare for and adapt to the impacts.
Business and science meet in the wake of disasters. The insurance sector is a
lightning rod, serving as global integrator of impacts across all sectors of the economy,
and messenger of these impacts through the terms and price signals it projects to its
customers. As the world's largest industry [it would be the third largest country if its
$3.2 trillion in yearly revenues were compared with national gross domestic products
(GDPs)], the implications of rising disaster losses on insurers are as important as
defining the industry's role in furthering understanding of the problem and advancing
loss-prevention solutions.
The insurance “industry” is nonmonolithic, with considerable regional variations
in coverages, hazard exposure, and regulation within and among countries. Insurance
penetration averages 9% of GDP ($2750/capita) in industrialized countries and 5% of
GDP ($25/capita) in developing countries and economies in transition. Although 12%
of premiums today come from this latter market, at current growth rates it will
constitute half of the global market within a few decades. Insurance payouts for
weather-related disasters in the developing world are today three times the amount
provided by international aid.
Insurance is part of a broader public-private patchwork for spreading risks across
time, over large geographical areas, and among diverse social and commercial
communities. Not all natural hazards are insured. In some cases (e.g., flood, crop),
public and private agencies share the risk. The growing repository of insurance loss
data — considered among the best sources of disaster statistics (4) — augments
geophysical observing systems with trends in economic impacts.
The availability and affordability of insurance are grist for economic
development and the financial cohesion of society, as well as security and peace of
mind in a world where the knowledge of hazards lags their evolution. Unanticipated
110
changes in the nature, scale, or location of hazards are among the most important
threats to the insurance system. History has shown that society in general, and
insurers in particular, are often caught unprepared for ostensibly “inconceivable”
disasters. This reflects, in part, the recurring social miscalculation of using the past to
predict the future while under-investing in disaster preparedness. Be it the attacks of
“9/11” or Hurricane Andrew, expectations based on past experience led to
complacency and dramatic underestimation of exposure. An eye-opening insurance
industry report from the mid-1980s (5) highlighted the importance of anticipating
multiple large events in a single year, yet exposures are still often expressed in terms
of probable maximum losses for single events rather than for entire insurance
“seasons.” The limitations of this approach were evident in the 2004 U.S. hurricane
season and its $60 billion in economic losses (of which half were insured). The
weather-dependent share of global insured catastrophe losses (90%) is greater than
that experienced by the economy as a whole (75%)
This, coupled with the increase in the number, cost, and variability of such losses
has brought some insurers, reinsurers, and their trade associations to view climate
change as a strategic factor in their future
Virtually all segments of the industry have a degree of vulnerability to the likely
impacts of climate change, including those covering damages to property (structures,
automobiles, marine vessels, aircraft); crops and livestock; pollution-related liabilities;
business interruptions, supply-chain disruptions, or loss of utility service; equipment
breakdown arising from extreme temperature events; data loss from power surges or
outages; and a spectrum of life and health consequences (1).
Specific technical risks include the following: (i) Shortening times between loss
events. (ii) Changing absolute and relative variability of losses. (iii) Changing
structure of types of events. (iv) Shifting spatial distribution of events. (v) Damage
functions that increase exponentially with weather intensity (e.g., wind damages rise
with the cube of the speed). (vi) Abrupt or nonlinear changes in losses. (vii)
Widespread geographical simultaneity of losses (e.g., from tidal surges arising from a
broad die-off of protective coral reefs or disease outbreaks on multiple continents).
(viii) More single events with multiple, correlated consequences. This was well
evidenced in the pan-European heat catastrophe of 2003 — where temperatures were
six standard deviations from the norm (9). Immediate or delayed impacts included
extensive human morbidity and mortality, wildfire, massive crop losses, and the
curtailment of electric power plants owing to the high temperature or lack of cooling
water. (ix) More hybrid events with multiple consequences [e.g., El Niño–Southern
Oscillation (ENSO)–related rain, ice storms, floods, mudslides, droughts, and
wildfires].
Specific market-based risks include the following: (i) Historically based
premiums that lag behind actual losses (especially for life insurers, where premiums
may be fixed over long periods). (ii) Failing to foresee and keep up with changing
customer needs arising from the consequences of climate change. (iii) Unanticipated
changes in patterns of claims, and associated difficulty in adjusting pricing and
reserve practices to maintain profitability. (iv) Responses of insurance regulators (10).
111
(v) Reputational risks falling on insurers who do not, in the eyes of consumers, do
enough to prevent losses arising from climate change. (vi) Stresses unrelated to
weather but conspiring with climate change impacts to amplify the net adverse impact.
These include drawdowns of reserves due to earthquakes or terrorist attacks and
increased competition from self-insurance or other competing methods of
risk-spreading (especially if relatively low-risk customers shift to those products).
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5737/1040?maxtoshow=&HITS=10
&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=insurance&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&
resourcetype=HWCIT
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Climate changes have nothing to do with government expenditure.
2. Insurance industry can work as an indicator of the economic trend.
3. Insurance industry developed much better in developing counties.
4. Insurance works as a mechanism to spread risk to more people.
5. It is accurate to predict future base on history.
6. Insurers should calculate risk by probable maximum losses for single events.
7. The weather-dependent share of global insured catastrophe losses is always
greater than that by the economy as a whole.
8. It has been noticed that climate change has became an important fact to take
into consideration.
9. Something likes El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is included in the
specific market-based risks.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. How does the changes of climate infect daily life?
2. the relationship between insurance and climate changes
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 419
Time Supposed e: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
Farm Insurance in Maryland
WHO WE ARE
The Maryland Insurance Administration is the State Agency that regulates the
business of insurance in the State of Maryland. If you are having a problem related to
insurance, the MIA will try to help you to solve that problem.
112
HOW WE HELP CONSUMERS
We provide assistance to consumers, businesses, health care providers (doctors,
hospitals), and producers (agents and/or brokers) in all areas of insurance; including
life, health, disability, workers compensation (however, we do not have jurisdiction
over workers compensation claims), automobile, homeowners, and property. We can
provide you with answers to your general insurance questions and suggest actions or
processes that you may wish to follow in order to address and resolve your insurance
questions or problems. We can provide you with educational materials (such as
homeowners and automobile consumer guides) to help you to understand the types of
coverages you may be purchasing and your rights and obligations you may have with
respect to various types of insurance policies as well as what you may wish to
consider and the types of questions you may wish to ask when you are shopping for
insurance. We can provide you with guides that may help you to compare rates among
insurance companies writing automobile, homeowners, health coverage for small
employers, and for Medicare supplement insurance policies. We may be able to
investigate any circumstance that you bring to our attention, in writing, to ensure that
the companies and individuals that are engaged in the business of insurance in our
State obey Maryland laws and regulations. We may be able to investigate written
allegations that your insurance carrier, insurance producer (agent), or other entity
engaged in the business of insurance:
— did not pay or authorize the payment for medically necessary services;
— has improperly denied or delayed payment of all or some portion of your claim;
— has improperly terminated your insurance policy;
— has improperly raised your insurance premiums;
— has made false statements to you in connection with the sale of insurance or the
processing of insurance claims;
— overcharged you for services, including premium finance charges.
If you need more information about coverage for farms or any other
insurance-related issue, please call or write to the Maryland Insurance Administration.
Our mailing address is 525 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202; our phone numbers
are (410) 468-2000 or (800) 492-6116 (toll free). Our web address is
www.mdinsurance.state.md.us.
I hope that you will find this guide to be informative and helpful. Please feel free
to contact us with any questions or concerns.
From: Consumer’s Guide to Farm Insurance in Maryland
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. This passage seems to be a(n) __________.
A. guide
B. advertisement
C. news report
D. presentation
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2. The MIA could provide assistance to __________.
A.
consumers, businesses, health care providers
B.
life, health, disability, workers compensation
C.
insurance questions or problems
D.
farmers
3. According to the passage, the method that the MIA uses to help consumers is
__________.
A.
regulating the business of insurance in the State of Maryland
B.
revising workers compensation claims
C.
proving related materials and guides
D.
investigating Maryland laws and regulations
4. The underlined word “jurisdiction” means __________.
A.
authority
B.
chance
C.
regulation
D.
insurance
5. The best title for the passage is __________.
A.
Methods to help consumers
B.
How to shop for insurance
C.
An introduction of the MIA
D.
Consumer’s guide to insurance in Maryland
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the
information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ The MIA is an administration that regulates the business of insurance in
the State of Maryland.
7. ______ The MIA can offer help to consumers through educational materials for
better understanding insurance policies.
8. ______ The MIA can address and resolve all insurance questions or problems.
9. ______ The MIA could help consumers to investigate whether they have been
overcharged for services in the business of insurance.
10. ______ We have to pay for the call fee if we want more information about
coverage for farms or any other insurance-related issue through
telephone.
Passage 2
Words:
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used: ________
China’s Hua An Says Insurers Should be Allowed to Buy QDII Fund
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Hua An Fund Management Co. appealed for regulators
114
to allow insurers to buy Chinese mutual funds that invest overseas, after initial slow
sales of its first offering.
“A lot of insurers were interested in our product, but it would take too long to
obtain China Insurance Regulatory Commission approval,” said Frank Yao, Hua An’s
executive vice president and chief investment officer, at a financial conference in
Beijing yesterday.
Sales were sluggish for the first two weeks for the product, the first mutual fund
invested in internationally traded securities, Yao said. Shanghai-based Hua An raised
$196.6 million, short of the $500 million investment quota the government granted it.
The Chinese government this year approved a number of banks and Hua An to
pool as much as $13.1 billion from domestic individuals and companies to buy
overseas securities under a program known as the Qualified Domestic Institutional
Investors, or QDII. China is encouraging outward flows of investment to reduce
pressure on the Yuan to appreciate.
“It could ease the rapid growth of China’s foreign exchange reserves,” HSBC’s
China economist Qu Hongbin said about QDII at the conference. The program could
also help reduce the domestic savings rate and stimulate consumption by improving
people’s investment results, he added.
Hua An was the first Chinese fund manager approved for the QDII program.
About half of the more than 16,652 investors in its fund converted Yuan assets into
foreign currency to buy fund units.
Slow Sale
Unlike banks, which must invest QDII funds in bonds and other fixed-income
products, Hua An may buy equities. That could boost returns for its fund, which was
first offered Sept. 13.
A number of insurers that expressed interest in the fund were unable to obtain
approval from the insurance regulator by the Oct. 20 subscription deadline, said Yao,
who once worked for U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said earlier this year it’ll let
insurers invest as much as 15 percent of their assets overseas, once they get approval.
The companies, led by China Life Insurance Co. and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.,
held a total of 1.85 trillion of assets as of Oct. 31.
The fund’s slow sales also came amid concerns about the Yuan’s appreciation
against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Shanghai composite index gained almost 80
percent this year as well, damping investors’ desire to look abroad.
Hua An has yet to apply for approval from the China Securities Regulatory
Commission to sell another QDII fund product, he added.
Asset Allocation
Hua An’s QDII fund, advised by U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc., aims to allocate 45 percent of assets to global fixed-income products,
35 percent to U.S.-listed stocks, 10 percent to U.S. real estate investment trusts and
the other 10 percent to commodity funds.
More than 70 percent of the fund’s U.S. real estate investment trust holdings are
backed by commercial properties, Yao said, amid weakness in the country’s
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residential housing market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aM1qIJljnSh8
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The Huan An raise only $196.6 million is because __________.
A. the Yuan is depreciating
B. few of investment institutions are interested in it
C. it haven’t got the qualification to sell so much securities
D. few of insurers were approved to buy this kind of funds
2. The relation between Yuan and the movement of capital is that __________.
A. the Yuan will appreciate if more QDII were granted
B. the Yuan will depreciate if the there is a inflow of investment
C. the movement of capital has nothing to do with the price of Yuan
D. the Yuan is positively correlated to the inflow of investment
3. The effect of QDII program is __________.
A. help to reduce China’s foreign exchange reserves
B. encourage Chinese to save more
C. reduce the consumption
D. people will consider to invest less
4. An insurer hold overseas can asset __________.?
A. $500 million
B. $1.85 trillion
C. 15% at most
D. $196.6 million
5. More than 70 percent of the fund’s U.S. real estate investment trust holdings are
backed by commercial properties because __________.
A. the country’s residential housing market is declining
B. they are not confident in this market
C. they see opportunities in this market
D. it is easy to get weak in this market
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if
the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the
information is not given in the passage.
6. The Hua An has two QDII fund been approved to issue.
7. Only 13.1billion was granted to invested in the foreign securities.
8. The appreciation of the Yuan is one of the reasons to make a slow sale of the fund
issued by the Hua An.
9. It can be seen from the allocation of asset that eggs should be put into various
baskets.
10. If the benchmark goes up, the investors will invest more abroad.
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UNIT TEN Fashion
Tips for reading:
Understanding Idiomatic Expression (II):
When you read a comprehension text, you will naturally come across some
idiomatic expression. When this happens, do not stop reading right away to look for
their meanings in a dictionary. Just keep on reading. Sometimes the context will tell
you what the words mean. This is called a context clue. In using the context to figure
out the meaning of the word, you have to use your knowledge of grammar and your
understanding of the author’s ideas. You can keep the following in mind to improve
your ability to guess the meaning of the idiomatic expression.
6. Use the meaning of other words in the sentence or paragraph and the meaning of
the sentence as a whole to reduce the number of possible meaning.
7. Use the definition the author gives.
8. Use cultural clues and general knowledge of the world.
9. Use the examples.
Practice: try to figure out the meaning of the underlined idiomatic using the methods
above.
1. The wine flew like water at the party.
2. Every bird likes its own nest.
3. Good wine needs no bush.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What does “fashion” mean to you?
2. Do you want to keep in fashion? What can you do to keep in fashion?
Words: 933
Time Supposed: 9 Minutes
What is Fashion?
For centuries individuals or societies have used clothes and other body
adornment as a form of nonverbal communication to indicate occupation, rank,
gender, sexual availability, locality, class, and wealth. Fashion is a form of free
speech. It not only includes clothing, but also accessories1, jewellery, hairstyles,
beauty and body art. What we wear and how and when we wear it, provides others
with shorthand to subtly read the surface of a social situation.
Fashion is a language of signs, symbols and iconography that non-verbally
communicate meanings about individuals and groups. Fashion in all its forms from a
tattooed2 and pierced navel, to the newest hairstyle, is the best form of iconography
we have to express individual identity. It enables us to make ourselves understood
with rapid comprehension by the onlooker.
How we perceive the beauty or ugliness of our bodies is dependant on cultural
attitudes to appearence. The accepted beautiful female form that Rubens3 painted is
subliminally undesirable nowadays, if we are to be thought beautiful in a way that the
majority accepts in the 21st century.
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Today an inability to refashion and reshape our bodies, while constantly
monitoring the cultural ideal leaves us failing the fashion test. Those that pass the
fashion test invariably spend their lives absorbed in a circle of diet, exercise, cosmetic
surgery and other regimes. This includes the rigors of shopping in search of the
ultimate dressing.
The youth cult of the teenager in the 1950s became a major force in the 1960s.
Other contributing influences were the glamour of the cinema, the television in
ordinary homes and a change in attitudes and values. Global coverage of the mood of
society was absorbed from the cinema, television and fanzine magazines. The world
had instant access to the latest trends and fashions as fast as the picture could be
transmitted.
Today what people see in their homes on television or when surfing the Internet
soon becomes accepted very quickly as normal and everyday. In the comfort of one's
own home the television monitor scales down the newness of an idea, especially the
impact of a fashion concept and this makes it easier for us to accept more quickly
when worn by others even if we can't see ourselves wearing a similar item.
The young have not always been dominant in fashion history. Until the
Victorian Era, a fashion look took between 10 and 15 years to permeate country areas.
Once rail travel improved mass communication between country and city, the cycle of
fashion speeded up so fast, that by the Edwardian Era in 1901, fashion was moving in
a yearly cycle.
Emancipation of Women and the contribution of all classes of women to the
1914-1918 war enabled and encouraged women to adopt more practical clothing and
to try out new styles in fashion, hair and beauty.
By the millennium everyday changes in lifestyle included fitness and health
pursuits, car and air travel and centrally heated environments in home life. All created
a need for clothing fashion designed for the way we live now. How we perceive our
persona and what we want to say to society in a very visual camera obsessed culture,
is still expressed through our bodies, the way we wear clothes, jewellery and body art.
Today fashion and beauty can be affordable for everyone. There is always a
range that provides quality beauty, make up and accessory products at a price most
can afford. Mass fashion is moving so fast that fashion now moves in a weekly cycle
and fashion trends are hot for a short time only.
Rôles and activities are closely linked to what people wear. People are affected
by their rôle-set, which includes boyfriends, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, friends,
husbands, lovers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, relatives, employers, customers,
clients, work mates, business colleagues, peer and age groups.
The person with whom a purchaser interacts affects the final purchase and this
applies to any fashion dominated item from interior furnishings to choice of cars.
Likewise the purchase of fashionable clothes, fabrics, or accessories becomes a visual
currency and speaks volumes silently. The tools of fashion provide the signs and
symbolism that function as an information service for the rôle-set.
People are so aware that others make judgments about them through their clothes
and accessories that many run up huge debts to appear to belong to a particular
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lifestyle. Frequently the rest of their rôle-set are doing likewise. Members of the
rôle-set often encourage them. Only individuals with a strong sense of self identity
stick their necks out and admit to wearing items that others might consider dubious or
passé.
Those with high status occupations will wear the clothes they think others expect
them to wear. They will not wish to experience rôle conflict by wearing the incorrect
clothing. It is from the clothes a person wears that we get our first impression of
personality. They provide mental clues to a person's status and occupational rôle, as
well as being a means of conforming to peer group expectations.
Clothes also have the utilitarian4function of providing both protections from the
extremes of the elements, keeping us warm or cool or safe. They also act as an aid to
modesty or immodesty as the wearer so desires.
The state of a person's clothes is synonymous with self respect and is a sign of
respectability. It also adds another sign that the person has sufficient status in society
to maintain at the cost of time and money, laundering, dry cleaning and repair. To be
respectable some expense has to be incurred in the maintenance of cleanliness and
neatness.
From http://www.fashion-era.com/sociology_semiotics.htm
Notes:
1. accessory: small article of (esp. women’s),e.g. a belt, handbag, etc. 配饰
2. tattoo: marked with a permanent picture or pattern by pricking it and inserting a
dye 纹身
3. Rubens: a famous painter in Netherlands in 17th century 鲁宾斯（1577-1640）, 荷
兰画家
4. utilitarian: design to be useful rather than luxurious or decorative; severely
practical 功利主义
Exercises
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. She has a very subtle mind.
2. He cycles to school everyday.
3. A man is peering out of the window.
4. The luxurious house incurs debts.
5. The maintenance of good relationship between neighbors is necessary.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Fashion can be used to indicate occupation, rank, gender, sexual availability,
locality and class.
2. The judgment of beauty is based on the major acceptance.
3. The world approaches the latest trend through the paintings or pictures.
4. Those who want to be in fashion should spend their lives on diet, exercise,
cosmetic surgery.
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5. In Victorian era, women were encouraged to adopt more practical clothing, hair
and beauty.
6. In fashion history, the young have always played the dominant role.
7. By the 21st century, the way we wear clothes, jeweler and body art still expressed
how we perceive the society.
8. Fashion trend are hot for a short time, only in a monthly cycle.
9. A person’s status and occupational role are closed linked to his clothes.
10. Clothes not only keep us warm, but also show the wearer’s modesty or
immodesty.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
embrace/ access/ scale down/ permeate/ emancipation/ stick one’s neck out/
obsess/ dubious/ modesty/ be synonymous with
1. The fear of death_____ her throughout her old age.
2. The Declaration of Independence is regarded as the beginning of the_____ of
Americans.
3. Water will _____ blotting paper.
4. _____ helps one to go forward.
5. The hills _____ the village.
6. The only _____ to the town is across the bridge.
7. As an adjective word, fast_____quick.
8. The tax was _____to 10 percent
9. I may be _____， but I still think he is going to win.
10. The result is still _____.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Beauty in appearance VS beauty in soul
A: glamour/easy to communicate/keep in fashion/ self-respect and a sign of
respectability/a representation of politeness
B: purity of heart/ kind-hearted/ to be deeply concerned with others/be sincere
2. keep individuality/ follow the fashion trend
A: consider one self’s characteristic/design for oneself/ particular lifestyle/ self
identity
B: most popular/ esthetic sense or notion/ express the status and occupation
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. the functions of clothes
2. the definition of beauty
Reading Two
Words: 1234
Time Supposed: 12 Minutes
It’s Reality Show Time
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Xi Wena
Soon after the government’s decision to limit proliferation1 of TV reality show,
Hunan TV announced that its broadcasts to five provinces of the huge successful
Super Girl contest would be extended to the whole nation.
“There is a huge number of reality talent contest-type shows on TV these days.”,
Confirms Ha Wen, producer of CCTV’s offering in the genre, Dream China. And they
get hotter daily.
Shows jostling for airspace at weekend prime time this year. The public’s
response to these programs has been avid to the extent of fanaticism. When one male
contestant in Play Up! Good Boy! was voted out ,a 17-year-old fan of his called
Dragon TV ,threatening to mob the station building and killing herself on the spot if
they refused to put her favorite Good Boy back in the running. Fans of these shows
are largely young people who think nothing of skipping classes or calling in sick，just
eager to cheer on their favorite contestant. The show presents an instant
fame-and-fortune fantasy that draws young people’s attention from their studies and
works and gives them an unhealthy sense of value. This naturally arouses ire and
anxiety among parents and teachers. It was public opinion that prompted the States
Administration of Radio. Film and television to attempt to check the nationwide
reality show fever.
Pursuit of profit is at the root of the proliferation of these shows. “TV drama has
historically been a main propeller of audience ratings in recent years,” says Xie
Yungeng, a professor of media studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, “but local
TV station cannot compete with CCTV when it comes to the purchase of sole right to
blockbuster2 series, and lack the fund to put on lavish productions of their own. In the
struggle not to be squeezed out of the market, they see reality entertainment as their
salvation.
This is exactly what happened with Hunan TV’s show trailblazer3. At the end of
the first season of Super Girl in 2005, it had shot ahead of all its rival TV stations as
regards ratings and commercial revenues. More significantly, it opens a new
dimension in Chinese TV programming by empowering audiences to have direct
influence on the success or failure of the performers trying their luck. This has proved
a more powerful hook than the most compelling of TV soap operas.
Lucky contestants that succeed also stand to gain hugely from this broadcasting
phenomenon .The best example is 2005 Super Girl champion Li Yuchun. In the past
year her name has been prominent in entertainment news and the talk of the mass
media. Her happy smile has even beamed from the front cover of Time magazine. As
her fame spreads, with advertising appearances and album releases, so her fortune,
estimated at no less than RMB10 million, grows. There is every reason to believe that
this new star, who personifies the rag-to –riches –overnight cliché, will continue to
shine brightly for a while to come.
The lives of all the other four 2005 Super Girl have undergone similarly dramatic
transformation, which motivates an ever greater number of young men and women to
try their luck, to the delight of program producers. Says Dream China producer Ha
Wen: “though many people doubt that 2006 Super Girl can attract as many contestants
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and viewers as last season, and contestants are aware that not everyone can be as
fortunate as Li Yuchun ,it nonetheless commands a huge following. To the youth, it
presents a tantalizing4more exciting and profitable way of earning a living than
salving in a shop, office, or restaurant.” As new college graduates nationwide quail5 at
the prospect of looking for a job in today’s tight employment market, many find hope
in the possibility of fame and fortune as a successful reality show constant.
Chen Mingqing, a 20-year-old from Shanghai, is one of the many Dream China
contestants. “I want to win in order to prove my talent, and if I do, I will have
everything my heart could desire.”
Many contestants compete in more than one show to increase their chance of
winning. Li Yuchun, for instance, failed in Dream China before coming through in
Super Girl. Each show has its own standards and requirement, which creates a wider
scope of possibilities.
All show in this genre follows the same format. Participants display their singing
and other performance skills .Those selected from this initial trial must continue
through several elimination rounds before getting to the serious competition for top
performer. TV viewers’ support is vital, as the votes they cast can completely override
the decision of the panel of the judge.
In order to intensify and capitalize on the show’s ethos of human stress and high
endeavor, producers purposely put two most popular rivals in the same team. In so
doing they achieve a moment of pathos6 when one of them is knocked out. Another
common practice is to dig up or fabricate scandal about the participants’ past in a bid
to boost the rating still higher as the competition reaches its final stages.
Fame doesn’t come cheap. The 20 Super Girl final contestants in each city are
given the dubious choice of either signing a five-year contrast with the media agency
company co-sponsoring the program or dropping out of the contest. The majority
complies and so consigns its fate to the company for the next five years. Insiders
doubt both the company’s ability and motivation to cultivate and promote so many
singers. The general practice is to keep these hopefuls on hold utile the later stages of
the competition and then concentrate on those that get the farthest. Those left out in
the cold are obliged to sit out the term of their contract, deprived of the right to
perform for anyone else.
This is one of the many reasons why such shows are widely deplored. “they are
active persecution of people with musical ideals,” declares Muer, a schoolmate of Li
Yuchun. Super Girl and Dream China are nevertheless forging their way to
hegemony7 in China’s entertainment business.
Super Girl bills itself as an all people festival with the logo “sing when ever you
feel like it, regardless of what you sing, how you look or where you are from, but it
has been proven that only good-looking pop singers win out.” Prof.Zhang Yiwu of
Peking University points out: “Contestant regarded with the greatest potential are
either sweet or sexy .producers care little about their vocal skills, and encourage them
to woo the audience with their physical rather than vocal attributes.” It is, therefore,
no surprise that Li Yuchun’s latest recordings ,made and performed without the visual
backing and brouhaha8 of Super Girl ,have had a tepid reception .she may soon realize
122
that the Super Girl hype die down, she will have to concentrate purely on singing for
her champagne supper.
Whether for or against them, TV reality shows are obviously here to stay. But in
order to win public approbation they must extent their emphasis from contestant’
physical charms to singing ability. One reality show producer predicts: “There is still
much space to be explores in TV show programming.” this may be true, but airtime is
increasingly encroached upon by the reality talent shows that viewers, hooked on their
ability to select the media darling of the moment, and cry for more.
Revised from China Daily 2006.9
Notes
1. proliferation: produce new growth or offspring rapidly; multiply 繁殖
2. blockbuster: book or film strongly promoted by its producers to increase sales
3. trailblazer: a person who does something new or original 先驱者
4. tantalize: tease or torment by the sight of something that is desired but cannot be
reached 逗弄
5. quail: small birds, similar to partridge 鹌鹑
6. pathos：cause a feeling of pity or sadness ,esp. in speech, writing ,acting 痛苦，
伤悲
7. hegemony: leadership, esp. by one state in a group of states，霸权
8. brouhaha: noisy excitement or commotion，嘈杂声
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Fans of TV reality shows are largely young people who think nothing about their
study and word.
2. The purpose of the TV Reality Show is to present an instant fame-and fortune
chance to the young people.
3. Super Girl in 2005 gained huge success by empowering audience to determine
the fate of performers.
4. 2005 Super Girl motivates a great number of young people to try their luck.
5. Li Yuchun, 2005 Super Girl champion, won for the first time she competed in the
reality show.
6. Vocal skill and musical talent are the major concern in the competition.
7. TV reality Show will focus on the contestant’s physical charms and singing
ability.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. What about your opinion on “TV Reality Show”?
2. If you are one of the contestant in Super Girl ,what will you do to compete with
other contestants？
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Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 565
Time Supposed: 5′00″
Time You Used: ________
Korean Scrub Drains Body of Tension
Xie Fang
The enthusiasm for Korean TV dramas that has swept China during the past few
years shows no sign of waning, while the influence of Korean culture has been felt in
many different aspects of daily Chinese life.
In August, I checked into the CMM PILA Beauty SPA to experience Korean body
treatment. I was curious about the difference between Western-style and Korean spas.
The three-story building with its light purple exterior is tucked away. A peaceful, neat
interior was a pleasant start.
After some time in the reception area with tea, my "cleaning lady" came to collect
me. I was a bit disappointed to find out she was not the Korean masseuse promised in
the advertisement.
She directed me to a bathing room where she had already prepared the hot water. Her
attention to the details of my comfort was delightful.
There was a hand-size herbal bag in the wooden bathtub. According to the
cleaning lady, all materials were from Korea, and I was supposed to immerse the bag
in the water and squeeze it to prepare it.
The 20 minutes of what should have been bliss didn't give me any relaxation
because the water was too hot even after I tried to cool it down.
It seemed more like having a sauna rather than an herbal bath - my face was
flushed and sweaty. I was convinced that only a glass of water brought to me in the
tub prevented my head from exploding from the unbearable heat.
By the time I became adjusted to the water temperature, a little clock announced
that bath time was over.
After having a quick shower, I was led to a small private room where golden
lighting created a nice aesthetic.
I was surprised to see the cleaning lady wearing a tight blue T-shirt and shorts
instead of her white uniform, as if she were going to the gym.
On the cream-colored leather bed, I felt a bit like a piece of meat on a chopping
board waiting for the butcher. The body scrubs started from my hardened summer
soles.
Contrary to my expectation of a gentle, smoothing massage, she rubbed very hard
with special gloves. When I told her that there was no need for that because I shower
everyday, she said: "Horny skin softens when people have a bath rather than shower.
Now is the best time to scrub away the horny skin."
Throughout the whole process, she kept splashing water on me, until I was so
afraid that the room would be flooded soon.
"Many customers feel a bit uncomfortable when they first experience the Korean
spa and body scrub," she said, after noticing my embarrassment, "but you will feel
124
your body is refreshed afterwards," she added.
She explained that this traditional kind of body treatment is a weekly event in
Korea for many people. Since being introduced to china, it has attracted some
foreigners, who have become regular customers.
Moisturizing cottonseed oil follows the body scrubs. The pure vegetable oil
imported from Korea helps regenerate and protect the skin.
The body treatments lasted more than an hour, sadly unaccompanied by
background music.Nevertheless; I was impressed by the way the therapist carried out
the treatments. It's easy to see how this experience allows exhausted city white-collar
workers like me to shed tension in this stress-filled city.
http://www.shanghai-star.com.cn/Shanghai_Star/Shanghai_Star_news.asp?lv1=2&lv2
=14&newsid=2120&viewsid=2120&views=96
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. What is the closest mean of the word underlined? C
A. disappear
a) prosperous
C. decline
D. influential
2. The writer feel disappoint when she enter the CMM PILA Beauty SPA because
---?
A. the exterior of the building is uncomfortable
B. the masseuse is not the Korean
C. the material is not from Korean
D. it is only a hand-size herbal bag in the wooden bathtub
3. The reason why the masseuse rubbed the body very hard with special gloves after
bath is that ---. A
A. it’s the right time of scrubbing away the horny skin
B. it’s the special feature of Korean SPA
C. it’s the massage skill to keep body healthy
D. it’s an effective way to lose weight.
4. Which of the following words could be used to describe the Korean SPA? D
A. healthy
B. relax
C. refreshed
D gentle
5. according to the writer‘s description, which is the right order of Korean SPA? D
①. have a bath in the wooden bath tub
②immerse the herbal bag in the wooden bathtub
③body scrubs
④moisturize cotton seed oil
⑤have a quick shower
A.④②⑤①③
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B.④②①③⑤
C.②①③④⑤
D.②①⑤③④
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______I was delighted to the masseuse awareness of my comfort.
7. ______I am bliss and relax after the 20 minutes hot water bath.
8. ______After the gentle, smoothing massage, the masseuse scrubbed my body very
hard with special gloves.
9. ______It’s until recently that the Korean SPA was introduced to china.
10.______Korean SPA is an effective way for the white-collar workers to relax.
Passage 2
Words: 526
Time Supposed: 5′00″
Time You Used:
___
Hiking Gear: Packing Tips
More and more people enjoy the simple, wholesome fun of hiking. Hiking is
simple, affordable, healthy and emotionally rewarding way to spend a vacation or a
long weekend – and you don’t need to visit a travel agent.
Experienced hikers will always tell you that there is no little or disregarded
details when you pack the hiking gear, especially tents and camping stoves. Even the
little mistake in your hiking equipment may result in injury or at least in discomfort
and general negative experience. To fully enjoy your hiking trip you must prepare
beforehand. Right hiking gear and clothing, properly and economically packed
backpack, positive mood and good fitness – all these elements of a hiking trip are
equally important.
Hiking boots are the most important part of your hiking gear. The right footwear
will serve you longer and take you farther and safer than any training shoes or
sneakers will. You can wear a cheaper pair of pants or an old t-shirt, but a good
reliable pair of hiking shoes or boots should be as expensive as you can afford.
Many people consider their jackets are the most important clothing item for a hiker,
especially in the colder periods of the year. A hiking jacket can be a true lifesaver if
you choose it right. A Gore-Tex top layer can shield you from cold, wet, and wind.
Many hiking jacket manufacturer use a layering approach in their jackets, so that an
outer shell layer becomes not insulation, but is meant to go over insulating clothing
like fleece that you wear next to it. Underneath a Gore-Tex layer your can wear a
lightweight and even trendy fleece jacket that you can use in warmer months and for
other sport activities too.
Hiking tents are a must if you plan to hike in mountain regions in three seasons spring, summer, and fall. Hiking tents can be used for protection from storms, winds,
small animals and insects. Along with a tent pack a sleeping bag and an insulating
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ground pad which also brings warmth and insulation.
A lightweight, dependable backpacking stove is much easier to use than a
campfire which are often prohibited in certain areas. A camping stove manufactured
by such trustworthy brands as Primus and Coleman, are basically a fuel container and
a fire faucet with burner grates. These grates can often collapse to allow for compact
storage. More expensive models even have an electronic ignition so you won’t need
matches or lighter. But pack them anyway. A newer variety is a storm cooker which
basically consists of a spirit burner with windshield and handle and a pot or pan for
cooking. These stoves are lightweight and don’t require carrying a gas container.
The newest models of camping stoves are environmentally friendly, odor-free,
and flexible. To cook and eat, take a pot, spoon, and a cup. To start the camping stove,
lighters are more reliable than matches. Take more fuel than you initially planned –
camping stoves “eat” more fuel in cold weather. Check and fire up your camping
stove, and double check your hiking gear and equipment using a hiking checklist
http://toronto.fashion-monitor.com/news.php/toronto_travel/2005090704hiking_gear
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statement
1. Before hiking what should you do?
A. visit a travel agent
B. ask detail from experienced hiker
C. prepare the hiking gear using a hiking checklist
D. find partners
2. Which of the following can be replaced the sentence underline in the first
paragraph?
A many
A. few
B. limited
C. a lot of
3. Which is the most useful and pivotal part of hiking gear?
A. hiking tent
B. hiking boots
C. hiking jacket
D. camping stoves
4. Which of the following could not shield you from cold, wet and wind?
A. hiking tent
B. a Gore-Tex top layer jacket
C. a sleeping bag
D. hiking boots
5. Which is not the advantage of the backpacking stove?
A. lightweight and dependable
B. environmental friendly
C. frugal
127
D. odorless
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______Hiking is a simple and quite expensive use to spend a vacation.
7. ______Experience hiker may teach you to use the hiking gear correctly.
8. ______A hiking jacket can save your life if you choose a correct one.
9. ______If you plan to hike in mountain in winter, hiking tent is a must.
10. ______In cold winter, camping stove would use more fuel.
128
UNIT Eleven Future
Tips for reading:
Understanding writer’s purpose (II):
Sometimes the writer’s purpose is obvious, but sometimes it is not so obvious.
To identify an author’s purpose in an article where it is not apparent, first, you may
predict the author’s purpose from the title of the article; second, determine the subject
the thesis of the article; third, notice how the writer supports the thesis; then ask
yourself the following question.
1. Who is the intended audience? Try to decide for whom or for what type or group
of people the article seems to be written. A writer may write for a general interest
audience or for a particular interest group.
2. What is it that the writer tries to communicate to the audience?
3. Does the writer try to prove anything about the subject? If so, what is it? Try to
determine if the article is written to persuade the reader to accept a certain idea or
point of view or to encourage him or her to perform a certain action.
Practice: try to analysis the writer’s purpose of the advertisement according to the
questions above.
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Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Can you image what your school like in the future?
2. What can computer do for our school? What changes has computer brought about
in our school?
Words: 1115
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
Trends Make Education's Future a Mystery
Education 2000: Reforming Schools for a New Century
By Carmen J. Lee
When it comes to forecasting what American schools will look like in the future,
educators in this country don't agree on every point.
There's much less agreement over whether Americans will ever get really serious
about teaching children more than one language.
129
And while hardly anyone disputes that the use of technology in schools will only
increase in future decades, there's a debate over how often a real teacher, textbook in
hand, will be replaced.
"I don't believe the futurists who say that new technology will transform teaching.
The history of American education suggests the opposite," said Jonathan Zimmerman,
an education historian at New York University.
"Thomas Edison thought the motion picture would change [the classroom].
Others said the same thing about radio. They were very wrong. If the past is any
indicator, computers won't change the way most classroom instructors go about their
business. Instead, the teachers will incorporate computers into their old regimens1."
So what will schools of the 21st century look like?
Here are some possibilities.
The shape of buildings
Because of the high cost of construction, Zimmerman doubts that in the next 10
to 20 years there will be a dramatic change in the range of old and new school
buildings we see today.
Duquesne University President John Murray Jr. insists parents won't continue to
tolerate inequality in school building conditions, with some beautiful and others
disastrous, but he believes that communities will have to become more united if they
want change.
What if there is a huge infusion of money for school buildings? In that case,
Mike Griffith sees clusters of three or four small buildings on a campus, rather than
the traditional one-building school.
The idea, said Griffith, a policy analyst with the Education Commission of the
States in Denver, would be to create a setting that provides the advantages of large
schools while at the same time offering the sense of security and community found in
small schools.
"We're hitting the point where the useful life of the school buildings built [just]
after World War II is about over," Griffith said.
"The new school buildings will be in the suburbs and the newer large cities, and
they'll be as modern as any office building."
Wired for the Net
These new school buildings will be wired for technology, Griffith added, and he
envisions classrooms where the focus will be a large computer screen that could also
be used for distance learning.
But Griffith believes that distance learning and the opening of cyber schools2,
which rely heavily on students taking courses by computer, will occur more in remote
areas where schools and communities are losing population.
While he and Murray foresee more use of technology than Zimmerman does,
they agree that, classroom teachers will remain the backbone3 of education.
"You can have a cyber school, but at some point you have to have live teachers,"
Griffith said. "When a student gets stuck, he or she needs a human being and someone
who is there, not just over the phone."
130
Murray added that technology wouldn't replace the need for students to master
reading and writing and to learn how to think critically.
"We know technology is going to change. But the question is whether we're
going to have the fundamental mental skills and intellectual curiosity to be able to use
this technology as it should be used," he said.
Courses and tests
What will go on at the desk of the average student in the future?
Murray believes that they'll be studying more Spanish, but Zimmerman and
Griffith doubt there will be a big push in the coming years for students to master any
foreign language.
The country may be diverse in makeup, Zimmerman said, "But in terms of our
linguistic culture, we're incredibly uniform, and I don't see that changing."
Griffith said current high-stakes tests in schools didn't include foreign language;
instead, they focus on reading, math and science.
"As schools start to worry about test scores, they will be putting their money
toward those subjects," he said. "In California, Hispanic students who were forced to
take English tested better. ... That was just the opposite of what everyone expected."
Griffith predicts that students will take even more standardized tests, but
Zimmerman believes less will be riding on those exams. He believes that emphasis on
high-stakes testing will decline as middle-class families become disenchanted because
their youngsters aren't doing well on them.
"High-stakes tests may have peaked now," he said. "Originally, lots of poor kids
were failing, but now middle-class kids are failing. I think the middle class is turning
away from them."
More education
While there's currently much talk about "school-to-work" programs, the
forecasters said more and more students would have to pursue some type of
post-secondary education in the future.
"I don't care what the profession or job. You're going to have to continue to go to
school in some fashion," Murray said. "We're in a time where you go to school for
life."
Griffith said he drafted a school-to-work bill three years ago when he was on
staff with the Michigan state Legislature, but he said the measure failed because
parents were outraged that the state would suggest that their children might not be
college material.
"Not all kids are going to college, but almost all parents want their kids to go to
college," he said. "There's a mentality in this country that you need to go to college.
We don't envision ourselves as a country that works by the sweat of its brow anymore,
but one that works behind a desk. And if you want a desk job, you need college."
Griffith said there could be a push for greater coordination among preschools,
elementary and secondary schools, technical schools, community colleges and
universities to create so-called preschool through 16th-grade programs. Such a system
would place more importance on early childhood programs getting children ready for
131
school and would give high school students the opportunity to take the college or
technical school courses that they are prepared for, he said.
To create the schools many Americans want, Zimmerman believes that more
federal money will have to flow into public education -- and with that will come more
federal control.
"Everyone wants the bucks, but one always comes with the other," he said.
Griffith, on the other hand, predicts large private corporations will move into
education as they did with health care in the previous decade, marketing themselves
as providers of the educational choices parents want.
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000903future3.asp
Notes:
1. regimen: sets of rule about traditional teaching skills
2. cyber school: a school applying internet technology into teaching
3. backbone: line of bones down the middle of the back from the skull to the hip;
chief support; strength
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Her opening words were dramatic.
2. I am stuck on the first question
3. Her interests are very diverse.
4. I am still drafting the first chapter of this book.
5. According to him, he failed for want of transport.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. There is an agreement that in the future Americans will teach children more than
one language.
2. A real teacher and textbook will be replaced by the use of technology in the future
decade in school.
3. In the next 10 or 20 years, the school campus will be in the suburbs and consist of
three or four small buildings.
4. according to Griffith, the classroom will equip a large computer screen, so the
teacher will not only limit in the classroom.
5. Zimmerman believes that Spanish will be popular in the future.
6. Now the test in school only focuses on the test score.
7. The test focused on the scores is not welcome by the middle-class family because
of their children’s poor doing at it.
8. Nearly all the children will go to the collage in the next decade.
9. The federal government will infuse more money in public education to satisfy the
Americans wants.
10. The 16th –grade program will enable the high school students to take the collage
course only.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
132
forecast/ tolerate/ disastrous/ infuse/coordinate/curiosity/incredible/incorporate
/mentality/decline/
1. Mr. Smith's firm __________ with others last year
2. We must __________ our movement when swimming.
3. This heavy task __________me a lot.
4. The weather reporter __________ that it will rain tomorrow.
5. Carelessness in driving often results in __________ accidents.
6. The price of 14 inches TV set __________ from 400 to 320 Yuan each. 14
7. it’s an effective way to develop the child's __________
8. Let the tea stand a few minutes to __________.
9. He can not restrain his __________ and open the letter addressed to his sister.
10. The red army fights with __________bravery.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. the use of the technology VS teacher’s teaching skill
A: transform teaching/ take course by computer/ eliminate space distance/arouse
students’ curiosity
B: traditional teaching method/backbone of education/ supply fundamental mental
skills/get direct instruction
2. scores VS capacity
A: take standardized test/academic excellence/testify one’s ability/part of the
judgment of a person
B: not to be ignored any more/ development of a students all-round ability/key to
success as a member of society
3. work by the sweat of its brow VS work behind a desk
A: physical work/benefit of the society/sacrifice physical energy
B: mental work/ acquire higher education/ honor to be sought after/ to be respected by
people
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. my colorful campus life
2. the quality of a good student
Reading Two
Words: 1293
Time Supposed: 12Minutes
Dreams - About Space
By Thomas F Rogers
A Talk Made To THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ASTRONAUTICS (IAA)
At Its Meeting Concerned With "Making the Space Future Happen"
Thank you for inviting me here today.
133
I have been asked to speak to you about "Dreams" with respect to "Making the
Space Future Happen."
Subsequently, as I thought more about the professional interests of the
International Academy of Astronautics, I decided to speak about two other Dreams as
well, all of which, in my mind, are related to each other in "Making the Space Future
Happen."
At the outset, please note that I am speaking here about Dreams of my own -Dreams that I hope you would share with me.
But please note that they are truly Dreams, not predictions. For my ability to
predict the space future in any detail is poor.
I have spent most of my professional life since about 1975 in trying to move
certain space-related Dreams from "page Zero" to "page One." That is, from the stage
of rumination1 to the point where they are being taken seriously to see if they can be
become real.
Today I will speak of:
1. A first Dream, "space tourism," which the IAA2should have a serious interest
in, a Dream that is just now moving on from "page Zero" to "page One";
2. A second Dream that the IAA is certainly interested in: "human Moon-Mars
activities," a Dream which continues to be stuck on "page Zero"; and
My First Dream is that of "Space Tourism".
In the conduct of the cooperative NASA-Space Transportation Association
"space tourism" study that was reported upon a year ago, it was discovered that a
large "space tourism" market already exists -- it is all terrestrial "space tourism."
Well over 10,000,000 people per year visit our Air and Space Museum, the
NASA Kennedy launches Center, space camps, etc.
Inasmuch as 3each person spends $100 to $1,000 on such trips, this is a market
with annual revenues of $1-10 billion per year. And, undoubtedly, a very large
number of such terrestrial tourists dream of becoming "space tourists."
Over 30% of our 130 million traveling public, some 40 million people in the U.S.
alone, would like to take a trip on the Shuttle4. And these people would be willing to
pay several $10s of billions each year to do so. This would be a revenue stream that is
larger than is generated by today's U.S. satellite communications business.
Well known U.S. tourism companies are already offering space-related tours,
trips on aircraft that provide a zero-g experience and on MIG5 aircraft to altitudes of
over 70,000 feet. And they are planning to take people to higher and higher altitudes
in vehicles now in development that will allow them to do so -- at first up to 100 km,
then into orbit, etc.
Now Richard Bransom, who heads the U.K.'s Virgin Airlines, has just
organized a space tourism company. Late last year NASA found it possible to have a
77 year-old grandfather take a trip to LEO on the Shuttle.
Last month the second European "space tourism" conference was held in Bremen,
Germany. And next month, on June 23-24th, the Space Transportation Association
is holding the first U.S. "space tourism" Conference in Washington, D.C.
134
So, the "space tourism" Dream is definitely moving from "page Zero" to "page
One." And relatively soon, we should begin to see people able to take trips up to the
edge of space.
I would note in passing that, when this Dream begins to be realized, the
implications thereof6 for all kinds of other space activities -- commercial, civil and
military -- will be seen to be simply enormous. Enormous!
My Second Dream is that of "Human Moon-Mars Activities"
Many more civil space leaders have thought about seeing people return to the
Moon and exploring Mars, and seeing the beginnings of human settlement on both,
than have thought about "space tourism."
They believe that our doing so is important for many reasons -- reasons which I
need not enumerate to this audience. Indeed, they believe that such activities should
form the backbone of our civil space program now and far into the future.
My particular Dream in this regard is to see a small settlement on either the
Moon or Mars devoted to maintaining another place in the solar system, remote from
our planet, where our Earth's life, and knowledge of our human history and values, are
maintained -- maintained "just in case." For instance, "Recently, the inhabitants of
Earth have become aware that our planet is exposed to occasional impacts of asteroids
and comets that may cause worldwide devastation."
Nevertheless, the chances of our general public providing the amounts required
for such activities are small.
Many in the civil space area decry our public's unwillingness to provide tax
money for such activities. For instance, a well-known astronaut is recently quoted as
saying that Americans are "... unwilling to take risks...” a view oftentimes expressed
by civil space leaders in blaming their fellow Americans.
And recently, a NASA7 Associate Administrator noted that "... there is not a lot
of commercial application to looking for life on other planets, so hopefully our society
will continue to support such goals. There are a lot of examples in history to show that
once a culture stops looking outward, it does not survive too well."
But, of course, there are many ways that the people of the United States are
"looking outward," even though going to the Moon and/or Mars is now not one of
them.
I hold the view that the fundamental problems are yet to be appreciated by
human Moon/Mars protagonists8. As of now, the problems are threefold9:
1. Of course we cannot cite national security concerns for support, as was the
case in the 1960s, '70s and '80s;
2. Rather, human Moon/Mars activities would be cultural ones -- not social or
economic ones.
But, while we do support museums, symphony orchestras10, parks, etc., very few
of us would be able to participate in Moon/Mars activities, and there are many other
much more clear and pressing demands upon the public purse.
135
And, after spending $100s of billions in the human space flight area, after four
decades there is still no business going on involving people in space with other than
the Federal government as the customer.
3. Also, human Moon/Mars activities, especially Mars ones, would be very
costly.
It was only a decade ago that a people-to-Mars program was costed out at $1/2
trillion. President Bush asked for such a public commitment and he was refused.
We have since seen a Space Station program, originally described as costing $8
billion, now expected to cost well more than $100 billion over its planned 10-year
lifetime -- and this only 200 miles away from the Earth's surface, not 200,000 miles
(the Moon) or 200,000,000 miles (Mars).
In brief, all of the arguments that can be honestly made by civil space intellectual
and government leaders have been made, again and again. But, in the face of these
problems they have failed to be persuasive.
In my judgment, given the character of the problems that it faces, and its great
and the nearly unknowable cost, this Dream will continue to languish on "page Zero"
for as far ahead as I can see.
So, these are my two space Dreams
1."Space tourism", now moving off of "page Zero," i.e., becoming a reality;
2. Any Human Moon/Mars program still stuck on "page Zero"; and
How will all of this work out?
"The time that these things take will depend on unforeseeable accidents of
history, finance and politics."
I've given you my Dreams.
I'll leave the predictions up to you!
Again, thank you.
From http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/dreams_about_space.shtml
Notes:
1. rumination: think deeply ;ponder
2. IAA: the International Academy of Astronautic
3. inasmuch as: since ;because
4. shuttle: aircraft, bus, etc that can travel regularly between two places
5. MIG:米格式飞机（苏联）
6. thereof: of that ;of it 由此
7. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration 国家航空航天局
8. protagonist: chief characteristic in a drama; hero; chief person in a story or
chief participant in an actual event
9. threefold: three times as much or as many
10. symphony orchestras: 交响乐团
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
136
1. Space-related dream from “Page Zero” to “Page One” is a process from thought to
action.
2. About 130million people in the United States is eager to take a round trip in the
space.
3. “Space tourism” would earn $10s of billion each year. But the revenue is smaller
than that of satellite communication business.
4. “Human Moon-Mars Activities” is regarded as one of the ways of looking outward.
It can be realized very soon.
5. The government provides little tax money for “Human Moon-Mar Activities”.
6. “Human Moon-Mar Activities” isn’t used as a way of earning money. It’s a cultural
one.
7. When the dream will come true depends on unforeseeable accidents of history,
finance and politics.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. Do you want to have a space trip? Describe the scene you see the earth from the
space?
2. Can you image the method of earning money from “Human Moon-Mar
Activities”?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words:587
Supposed Time: 5′00″
Time You Used: ________
Self Care's Promising Future
Technologies being tested today promise to help aging individuals stay healthy
or keep chronic diseases in check, allowing seniors to live more independently and
avoid or delay nursing home care
Imagine wearing a “smart shirt” that monitors your heart rate and other vital
signs.Or a Blackberry -like handheld wireless communications device that helps
remind an aging parent when to take her medicine, then dispenses the appropriate pills
on cue. Or consider what it would be like to immediately get accurate answers to your
questions about managing your diabetes or other chronic condition from a “talking
pill” or a television screen.
These are not just science fiction fantasies. Rather, they are technologies being
tested today and that promise to help aging individuals stay healthy or keep chronic
diseases in check, simultaneously allowing seniors to live more independently and
avoid or delay nursing home care. The Pioneer Portfolio is supporting the exploration
of these and other emerging self-care technologies that patients and their caregivers
can use to better manage their health. Pioneer is the funding that seeks to promote
innovative projects—including those from nontraditional sources and fields—that can
lead to fundamental breakthroughs in health and health care.
137
Pioneer supported the Center for Future Health at the University of Rochester
(N.Y.) to bring patients, doctors, caregivers and researchers together dedicated to
advancing technologies that can help people self-manage and monitor their health.
The need to provide such technologies to patients and caregivers is becoming
increasingly urgent. The demands of an aging population are upon us. In 2000, 12
percent of the U.S. population was aged 65 and older; by 2030, 20 percent will be in
that demographic.
The needs of an aging America are expected to overwhelm our current health
care system. Putting self-care technologies at the fingertips of patients and caregivers
also is an economic imperative. At the current rate, about two-thirds of the federal
budget will be spent on medical care by mid-century, according to government
research estimates.
Self-care and self-monitoring technology has the potential to bridge the current
health system with the growing demands of an aging population. Experts say the new
technologies can improve the quality of life for aging adults; increase the autonomy of
older Americans by allowing them to age in place; reduce medical errors; and
improve communication between patients, providers and caregivers.
For example, in the near future, an older individual might wear a shirt or
wristwatch with invisible sensors that would constantly record his heart rate, blood
pressure, blood sugar, and even walking patterns and gait. The device would not only
alert caregivers or doctors of immediate or impending health problems, but signal the
earliest signs of dementia by analyzing subtle changes in the individual’s routine
motions or walking gait.
“We believe body movement monitoring will be a new vital sign,” says Cecelia
Horwitz, associate director and chief operating officer of the Center for Future Health.
http://www.rwjf.org/portfolios/pioneer/features/featuredetail.jsp?featureID=1348&typ
e=3&iaid=140
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Which of the following new technologies is mentioned in the passage?
A. a shirt or wristwatch with invisible sensor
B. Blackberry-like handheld wireless communication devices
C. a “taking pill” device
D a television-like device used to manage the diabetes and other chronic condition
2. The pioneer portfolio is a fund of the following function except ---?
A. support the exploration of the self-care technologies
B. promote innovative projects
C. develop advancing technologies
D. prolong the patients’ lives
3. The underline words can be replaces by ---?
A. requirement
B. command
138
C. urgency
D. obligation
4. We learn from the passage that the need to provide the technology is becoming--A. the requirement of growing aging population
B. the federal budget
C. the increasing medical errors
D. the current health system
5. The shirt or wristwatch with invisible sensors cannot---? B
A. record the heart rat, blood pressure, blood sugar
B. answer the question about the chronic disease
C. record walking gait
D. signal the earliest sighs of dementia
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
1. ______The new technology can be used to cure the chronic diseases.
2. ______The new technology can help aging individual stay healthy and to live a
independent live.
3. ______By 2030, 20 percent of the world population was aged 65 and older.
4. ______Now the new technology has been put into practice in the medical
treatment of many chronic diseases.
5. ______According to Cecelia Horwitz, the body movement monitor will signal
individual’s change from his routine motion.
Passage 2
Words: 660
Supposed Time: 6′00″
Time You Used:
___
Future Plans
Education opens doors to any number of career pursuits. Research shows that by
the year 2010, one out of every five jobs in the United States will require a college
degree and that nearly one-third of all jobs will require at least some college
preparation. It therefore is no surprise that 34 percent of the American young-adult
population (aged 18-24) attend university after high school. Those who do not pursue
higher education have a myriad of other choices after graduation—the trades, service
industry jobs, military service (which often provides financing for university study
later), and family-owned businesses all offer opportunities.
Casey Czarzasty, 17, grade 12, St. Mary's Ryken High School,
Leonardstown, Maryland
For me, planning for after high school is a scary thought. The idea of having to
leave my comfort zone and go out into the "real world" is a little frightening. Some
139
people go to a community college, some go to a university, and others go to a regular
college. I wish to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. I
have decided to push myself to my limits—physically and mentally. This also means
that I will be an officer in the United States Navy. The Naval Academy offers many
different studies, from aerospace engineering, to political science. I would like to
major in either business or political science.
Graduates of military academies are very strong-willed and well-structured
individuals. Another advantage to going to an academy is that you automatically have
a great job when you graduate, and the pay is pretty good! There isn't much of a
downside, [but] I guess if you had to choose something it would be that the
individuals that attend the Academy are not as free to do what they please [as in] other
colleges. To me this is a good thing. It keeps young individuals out of trouble, and
keeps them in line to succeed.
Kristen Grymes, 17, grade 12, James Monroe High School, Fredericksburg,
Virginia
I want to be a neonatologist, which is a doctor who specializes in the care of
newborns, especially those who are premature, or have jaundice, or some problem
like that. It all started out when I was little. I went to a babysitter, a girl who later
went to Duke University. She wanted to be a doctor, and she got me interested in
medicine. So, from the seventh grade on, I have been focused on being a
neonatologist. This year I took a special class, called "independent study," in which
you can choose something that you are interested in. You do research, have a mentor
for 18 weeks, and do a project at the end. I got a chance to shadow a doctor at the
hospital, a neonatologist. I got to see exactly what they do, and the different
technologies that are used to keep the babies alive.
Evan Hoke, 19, grade 12, Red Land High School, Etters, Pennsylvania
I've decided to join the U.S. Air Force. This is partly for financial reasons, but
I've always believed that people should do their part to help make a better future and
help defend what we have.
If I end up liking the Air Force after I'm in there for four years, I'll probably stay
in and make a career of it. But for now I plan on using the G.I. bill [which pays
college tuition for military veterans] to go to college and study psychology, which is
what I think I want to do as a career.
I am interested in psychology in general, because it fascinates me the way the
brain works and makes people act one way or the other. I am looking into counseling,
because I would like to be able to help people who have problems live happier,
healthier lives. I am also interested in forensic psychology where I could help track
down criminals and insure justice, making the world safer for my family and everyone
around me.
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0705/ijse/future.htm
(660words)
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. By the end of this decade, at least---jobs in the United States require a college
140
degree.
A.1/3
B.1/5
C.34%
D.66%
2. The passage is mainly about ---?
A. the career pursuit graduation
B. the importance of higher education
C. the influence of education in job pursuit
D. the influential factor in career pursuit
3. Casey Czarzasty chooses to attend US Naval Academy mainly because the
following except---?
A. It can practice individual’s will.
B. It can get a well-paid job after graduation
C. It’s not free to do what young people please
D. It’s no need to pay for the college tuition
4. According to Kristen Grymes the reason she wants to be a neonatologist is that
--?
A. it‘s a career to save newborns life
B. it’s a kind of “independent study”
C. she was influenced by her baby sitter
D. it’s a well-paid job
5. What’s the best understanding of the underlining sentence (para6)?
A. after my staying there for 4 years, I like the Air Force, and I’ll make a career of
it.
B. after my staying there for 4 years, I never like the Air Force, but I’ll make a
career of it.
C. after my staying there for 4 years, I like the Air Force, but I’ll not make a career
of it.
D. after my staying there for 4 years, I don’t like the Air Force, and I’ll not make a
career of it.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
1. ______Nearly all the parents desire their children to be educated in the
university.
2. ______Joining the military service provides financing for university study later.
3. ______It could be possible for Casey Czarzasty to learn psychology in the
United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.
4. ______In the “independent study”, Kristen Grymes got a chance to be a
neonatologist.
5. ______Evan Hoke plans to go to college and study Psychology with the
141
financing of military service.
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UNIT Twelve Environment
Tips for Reading
Understanding Writer’s Purpose (I)
Authors write for a reason. Three common purposes of writing are:
1) To inform—to provide readers with information about a topic;
2) To persuade—to convince readers to believe a certain viewpoint or to take a
certain course of action;
3) To entertain—to amuse readers in some way (although very often there’s some
food for thought as well!).
Reading effectively means recognizing the author’s purse—which may not
always be as easy as it sounds, especially when you’re reading in a foreign language.
Writers sometimes disguise their aims: A text that appears to be factual information
may really be full of emotional appeals meant to persuade you of the writer’s point of
view; or an apparently serious piece of persuasion may in fact be a humorous text
intended mainly to amuse you. There are also times when the question of whether a
writer is serious may depend largely on each reader’s individual philosophy.
However, there are some clues that effective readers can watch for to help them
identify what kind of writing they’re dealing with:
1) Informational writing features facts and evidence, not opinions or value
judgments. It often contains dates, statistics or other figures, and/or quotes from
experts or witnesses. Depending on the subject, the language may include technical
jargon (行话), but the vocabulary and sentence structure are often quite simple.
2) Persuasive writing features emotional appeals: opinions and arguments (which
may be presented as if they were facts, so be careful!); rhetorical questions; evaluating
language (good/bad, right/wrong, horrifying/wonderful, etc.) and/or judgmental
language (must, should, had better, etc.).
3) Texts written mainly to entertain can, of course, be very varied — but they often
use rather informal language, simple sentence structure, dialogs, puns (双关语) and/or
figures of speech.
Practice: Using the above mentioned methods to figure out the writer’s purpose of
the following passage:
It seems odd that while three-quarter of the world’s surface is covered with water,
getting an adequate supply of it that’s fresh, clean, and safe to use for drinking,
cooking and washing, is one of the most pressing problems that faces humanity. Most
of the earth’s water is salt water in the oceans; only three percent is fresh and only a
small part of that is accessible. It may be trapped deep underground, in polar ice caps
and anyway is unequally distributed around the globe, hence the occurrence of
droughts and floods. Of the remaining fresh water, much is polluted and dangerous to
use.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What does “FISH FOR OUR FUTURE” mean to you?
143
2. Do you like seafood?
3. Can you imagine that one day there is no seafood left as a result of
over-exploitation?
Words: 860
Time Supposed: 9 Minutes)
Fish for Our Future
Seafood is delicious, healthy and nutritious and today more people are
incorporating it into their diets. But when we look at a snapshot of the world’s marine
stocks, we see that 60 percent are fully fished, over-exploited, depleted or recovering
at a slow rate, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
“Seafood populations in all parts of the world’s oceans are in trouble today and
their depletion affects us all directly as it limits choices for us now and for future
generations,” said Scott Burns, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Marine
Conservation Program. “The good news is the problem is now being tackled with a
certification system that rewards fisheries and fishermen for practicing
environmentally-sound methods that help maintain healthy populations and marine
eco-system structures the fish need to survive and thrive.”
As part of its commitment to offer consumers seafood from renewable sources,
Whole Foods Market1 is partnering with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) 2 to
promote the importance of sustainable fishing practices and provide consumers with a
certified sustainable option.
The emphasis of the “Fish for Our Future” awareness campaign is on the first
North American seafood product to earn MSC certification—wild Alaska
salmon—which is now available during its peak season at all 120-plus Whole Foods
Market stores nationwide. Whole Foods Market urges consumers to “Fish for Our
Future” by looking for the MSC eco-label at the seafood counter, which means that
the product comes from a renewable source and an environmentally sound area.
“As one of the first U.S. companies to partner with the MSC, Whole Foods
Market has set an example for the retail industry to take action and reward fisheries
that follow sustainable seafood management practices,” said Karen Tarica, U.S.
Communications Director for MSC. “Whole Foods Market is also setting an example
for consumers by taking a leadership role in the area of sustainable seafood by not
only providing consumers with the best environmental choice in seafood, but also
explaining why it is important.
Consumers can play an important role in fisheries adopting sustainable practices.
When shoppers seek out and buy certified, sustainably-managed fish and seafood,
they are sending a clear message with their dollars—which is a tangible incentive for
the fishing industry—that fisheries practicing environmentally-sound, economical and
socially-responsible fishery management practices will be rewarded in the
marketplace. “Whole Foods Market actively supports initiatives that allow marine life
to recover and flourish and we constantly look to provide our customers with seafood
from well-managed sources,” said Steve Parkes, national seafood coordinator for
Whole Foods Market. “We applaud the certification program backed by the MSC as it
gives our customers the buying power to influence the management of fisheries as
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well as the confidence that purchasing MSC label-bearing products will not contribute
to over fishing or the harming of marine ecosystems.”
Whole Foods Market stores nationwide are providing educational materials
about the importance of sustainable seafood practices and wild Alaska salmon
summer recipes. Select stores will also host celebrity chefs who will conduct demos
and offer tips on salmon preparation.
Wild Alaska salmon has a more vibrant color and robust flavor when compared
with farm-raised salmon. The rich, buttery flavor and texture can be attributed to the
icy coldwaters that the wild salmon swims in, adding an extra insulating layer of fat
around the meat, which is full of omega-3 fatty acids (the good fat that helps lower
cholesterol). The vibrant color comes from the wonderful natural diet of the salmon
which includes shrimp, krill, squid and herring.
The difference between sustainable seafood and regular seafood is that
sustainable seafood, such as wild Alaska salmon, comes from a well-managed source.
That means that fishermen follow practices that allow the fish population to grow and
thrive rather than be depleted. Some day we would like to say that all seafood comes
from well-managed sources.
To help fund future projects for the MSC, Whole Foods Market is donating
partial proceeds from the sale of select Whole Foods Market branded products that
complement the preparation of wild Alaska salmon. Each product is identified with
signage indicating that purchasing the product benefits the MSC certification
programs, enabling the MSC to continue to help other fisheries adopt sustainable
practices and ultimately making it easier for consumers to buy more and more
sustainably-harvested seafood.
Everyone can help support healthier oceans and improved management of our
oceans’ resources by:
1. Looking for the MSC sustainability logo on seafood products, including wild
Alaska salmon. By doing so, you are voting for sustainability with your dollars.
2. Visiting “Take Action Centers” at all Whole Foods Markets for the latest
information on sustainability issues.
3. Knowing your elected officials and how they vote on environmental issues. Let
them know seafood sustainability is an important issue to you.
4. Volunteering for restoration projects with environmental groups such as the World
Wildlife Fund, Ocean Trust, the Nature Conservancy and National Audubon Society.
A few hours of your time can make a big difference.
It’s important for consumers to know the source of their food. None of Whole
Foods Market’s suppliers use or feed their stocks preservatives, artificial colorings,
antibiotics or hormones.
From Newsweek 2001
Notes
1 Whole Foods Market: 美国天然和有机食品零售商.
2 Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): 海洋管理工作委员会，在用可持续方式捕
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获的渔货上贴上“生态标签”（eco-label）
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. But when we look at a snapshot of the world’s marine stocks, we see that 60
percent are fully fished, over-exploited, depleted or recovering at a slow rate,
according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
2. Seafood populations in all parts of the world’s oceans are in trouble today and their
depletion affects us all directly as it limits choices for us now and for future
generations.
3. The good news is the problem is now being tackled with a certification system.
4. The emphasis of the “Fish for Our Future” awareness campaign is on the first North
American seafood product to earn MSC certification—wild Alaska salmon—which
is now available during its peak season at all 120-plus Whole Foods Market stores
nationwide.
5. Consumers can play an important role in fisheries adopting sustainable practices.
6. When shoppers seek out and buy certified, sustainably-managed fish and seafood,
they are sending a clear message with their dollars—which is a tangible incentive
for the fishing industry.
7. We applaud the certification program backed by the MSC as it gives our customers
the buying power to influence the management of fisheries as well as the
confidence that purchasing MSC label-bearing products will not contribute to over
fishing or the harming of marine ecosystems.
8. Wild Alaska salmon has a more vibrant color and robust flavor when compared to
farm-raised salmon.
9. That means that fishermen follow practices that allow the fish population to grow
and thrive rather than be depleted.
10. To help fund future projects for the MSC, Whole Foods Market is donating partial
proceeds from the sale of select Whole Foods Market branded products that
complement the preparation of wild Alaska salmon.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Today more and more people like to eat seafood as it is delicious, healthy and
nutritious.
2. Fish extinction is around the corner if no measures will be taken.
3. As seafood populations in all parts of the world’s oceans are in trouble today, it
limits choices for us now and for future generations.
4. Environmentally-sound methods will be taken to help maintain healthy populations
and marine eco-system structures the fish need to survive and thrive.
5. “Fish for Our Future” indicates the importance of sustainability.
6. Whole Foods Market is setting an example for consumers as it provides consumers
with sustainable seafood.
7. Consumers can play an important role in fisheries adopting sustainable practices as
nobody will say no before the tangible incentive.
8. The reason why the wild salmon has a robust flavor is that they live on shrimp, krill,
squid and herring, which offer salmon wonderful natural diets.
9. All seafood we eat nowadays comes from well-managed sources.
10. With the help of MSC, there is a promising future that consumers can buy more
146
and more sustainably-harvested seafood in the future.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
incorporate/ environmentally-sound/ commitment/ partner with/ renewable/
sustainable/ set an example/ tangible/ insulate/ preservative
1. Assets having a physical existence, such as cash, equipment, and real estate are
usually considered _____ assets.
2. To most people, her deep_____ to the career is unbelievable.
3. Human beings will face energy shortage in the future as most energy is _____.
4. The government has taken some _____ policies to save the endangered animals.
5. Index-linked pay rises _____ them against inflationary price increases.
6. Many of your suggestions have been_____ in the new plan.
7. As he doesn’t have enough funds, he wants to _____one of his friend to start a
business.
8. BASF is the world’s largest chemical company and has made _____ Development
an indispensable part of its corporate strategies.
9. _____is usually added to tinned meat.
10. His glorious deeds _____for the students.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Sustainable seafood VS. Regular seafood.
A: beneficial in the long run/ come from well-managed source/ safe to eat/ allow fish
population grow and thrive
B: natural/good taste/relatively low price
2. Government plays an important role in fisheries adopting sustainable practices VS.
Consumers play an important role in fisheries adopting sustainable practices
A: establish rules/people have to obey/mandatory
B: sending a message with their dollars/tangible incentive for the fishing
industry/fisheries practicing environmentally-sound practices will be rewarded.
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Delicious, healthy and nutritious seafood.
2. Results over-exploitation for seafood
3. How to protect fish from extinction.
Reading Two
Words: 1026
Time Supposed: 11 Minutes
Sick Buildings, Sick People
Leo Galland, M.D.
In the industrialized nations of the world people spend 90 percent of their time
indoors and the greatest airborne health risks may be posed by indoor air pollution.
Occupational exposures are common. A survey of outpatients seen in the primary care
clinic of a Midwest hospital found that three-quarters of the men interviewed had
been exposed to at least one potentially toxic agent at work and over 30 percent had
147
been exposed to more than four potential toxins. Chemical fumes, solvents, pesticides
and asbestos were the most common exposures.
For many of my patients, the presence of an indoor toxic exposure has gone
unnoticed until after illness develops, for example, a school undergoes construction
while classes continue, causing a high rate of sickness among students and teachers.
At another school with a poorly-vented furnace, children come home smelling of soot
and their school performance deteriorates. In one concert hall in which the air intake
vents leading to the orchestra pit are located above the loading dock where the trucks
idle, the musicians become sick. In a bedroom in which the condensation beneath a
waterbed is slowly disintegrating the particleboard frame, releasing fumes of
formaldehyde, the residents suffer insomnia, profound fatigue and bouts of coughing.
Toxic exposures to specific chemicals encountered at work account for 70,000
deaths a year in the United States, with 350,000 new cases of occupationally-related
environmental illness appearing each year. Beyond disease caused by individual
toxins lies a broad spectrum of health problems caused by the buildings in which
people work.
The World Health Organization has defined the “sick building syndrome”1 as a
group disease, the occurrence of excessive work or school-related illness among
workers or students in buildings of recent construction. The symptoms may include
lethargy, dry or sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, irritation of the eyes, chest
tightness, impaired memory and concentration, dizziness, nausea, itching, skin rash
and shortness of breath.
In about one-quarter of the cases a specific source of indoor air pollution can be
found: either an accumulation of motor vehicle exhaust or contamination of a
humidification system with mold, producing allergic reactions among the building’s
occupants. In most cases, however, no single source of contamination can be
identified. Yet a survey of nine thousand office workers in three European countries
found that 50 to 80 percent of those working in modern office buildings reported
symptoms typical of the sick building syndrome. At any one time, 10 to 25 million
workers in a million U.S. office buildings suffer from building-related illness. The
personal and economic impact of this modern miasma is considerable, because
symptomatic workers feel lousy, have reduced productivity and are absent more.
The original name of sick building syndrome was “tight building syndrome.” It
was believed that tightly-sealed buildings, which do not allow much outside air to
seep in, acted like sumps to concentrate the level of indoor air pollutants. This theory
has not been borne out. Increasing the supply of outdoor air does not prevent or
relieve the symptoms of people working in sick buildings. It appears that sick building
syndrome is caused by the presence of chemical toxins or airborne microbes that
cannot merely be diluted away.
Two broad categories of pollutants have been implicated as the culprits. The first
category are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 2, invisible gases emitted from
paints, adhesives, carpeting, wall coverings, new furniture, building materials,
solvents, cleaning solutions, copy machines and laser printers. Studies using
experimental chambers have shown that VOCs can cause irritation of the respiratory
148
system in humans and animals at levels one hundred times weaker than permissible
exposure levels of the World Health Organization Indoor Air Guidelines. Controlled
experiments with people who describe themselves as sensitive to VOCs confirm that
VOC exposure causes headache, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. People who
deny such sensitivity also experience symptoms but do not encounter mental
impairment when exposed. Air samples of buildings with and without sick-building
complaints have established an association between VOC exposure and human
sickness.
The second category of sick-building culprits are the bioaerosols, which consist
of living bacteria or fungi (molds and yeasts) or their toxic by-products or fragments,
circulating in the air supply. If live microbes circulate as aerosols, respiratory
infection may occur. Legionnaires’ disease is the best-known example. An epidemic
of pneumonia (182 cases with 29 deaths) disrupted an American Legion convention in
a Philadelphia hotel during the summer of 1976. The epidemic was traced to a
bacterial species, subsequently named Legionella pneumophila, which contaminated
the hotel’s air-conditioning system. At least 20, 000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease
occur in the United States every year. There are 20 different species of Legionella
bacteria. They all thrive in stagnant water and have caused epidemics of flu-like
illness in resorts and hotels throughout the world.
Some scientists believe that fungal or bacterial toxins may be responsible for the
more common symptoms of sick building syndrome. European studies reveal that sick
building syndrome is more likely to occur in the air-conditioned buildings than in
buildings with natural ventilation ducts supporting the growth of microbes, which
disperse fragments of their membranes or toxic secretions into air ducts. A recent
study from the Georgia Environmental Technology Consortium found that samples of
fungi (molds) growing in sick buildings actually produce their own VOCs identical to
the VOCs originating in building materials.
To safeguard your home from environmental toxins:
a. Don’t allow tobacco smoking inside your home.
b. Remove shoes upon entering your home from outside.
c. Maintain a relative humidity of 30 to 45 percent in each room of your home.
d. Do not carpet areas like kitchens and bath rooms that are prone to dampness.
e. Dust frequently and clean all horizontal surfaces with a damp rag or wet mop twice
a week.
f. Remove moldy foods from the refrigerator promptly.
g. Make certain that all stoves, heaters and dryers are properly maintained and vented.
h. Do not use gas appliances that run with a continuous pilot light.
i. Test home air for carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.
j. Filter tap water through activated charcoal to remove aluminum, lead and
cancer-promoting derivatives of chlorine.
k. Use air filters and environmentally safe consumer products.
From Newsweek
149
Notes
1 sick building syndrome: 病态建筑综合症。这个名词于 1970 年代首度使用，指
的是长期在大楼活动这一特定族群所发生的特定症状，除了嗜睡、疲累、头疼、
晕眩、恶心、黏膜发炎、对异味敏感这些抱怨之外，其它常见的症状还有眼睛或
鼻咽发炎、鼻炎或鼻塞、注意力无法集中，以及虚弱不适等。
2 volatile organic compounds (VOCs): 室内挥发性有机物(VOCs)主要来源于建
筑及建筑装修材料,具有极强的危害性。
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. People around the world spend most of their time indoors and they are constantly
exposed to indoor pollutant chemicals, so they are faced with great health risks.
2. The presence of an indoor toxic exposure can be noticed at an early stage as it
does great harm to people.
3. Indoor toxic exposure has an affect on students’ school performance.
4. Occupationally-related environmental illness claims many people’s lives each
year.
5. “Sick building syndrome” is caused by the irrational construction of the building.
6. Source of contamination can be identified without much difficulty in most cases.
7. Among the surveyed people, around 4500 to 7200 were reported to have
symptoms typical of the sick building syndrome.
8. The original name of sick building syndrome was “tight building syndrome” as it
was believed that tightly-sealed buildings acted like sumps to concentrate the
level of indoor air pollutants.
9. Two broad categories of pollutants have been implicated as responsible for the
common symptoms of sick building syndrome.
10. Sick building syndrome is more likely to occur in air-conditioned buildings as
there is no natural ventilation ducts.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. What do you think of the “sick building syndrome”?
2. Our endangered living environment.
3. What about your living building? Have you ever suffered from any disease caused
by the toxic chemicals?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 711
Time Supposed: 6′
Time You Used: ________
Is It Too Late To Stop the Warming?
Ned Potter
It was the summer of 1988, and strange things were happening: repeated heat
waves hit the eastern seaboard of the United States, while the Midwest was mired in
massive drought. In some places, the waters of the Mississippi were so low that
150
barges are stranded.
Were these phenomena related? It was hard for scientists to say, but on one
sweltering Washington morning, a Senate subcommittee called for testimony from a
prominent climatologist named James Hansen.
“Earth is warmer in 1988 than at any time in the history of instrumental
measurements,” said Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies
in New York, in his testimony before the subcommittee. He would later say, “The
warming of a few degrees is going to take us to a world that is perhaps as different
from today as the last ice age is from today.”
Hansen set a fire as hot as the summer sun. Many fellow scientists said privately
they were glad he had gone public, but they were not prepared to join him. Others
doubted that these were “greenhouse signals” that could be separated from the ups
and downs of the world’s weather.
In the years since, many of them have changed their minds.
“I used to think part of the changes we were seeing in the Atlantic were cyclical,”
says Kerry Emanuel of MIT, “but several of my colleges and I have worked very
carefully on the data.”
Emanuel published a paper in the journal Nature last summer, reporting that as
average global temperature rose in the last half-century, the intensity of Atlantic
hurricanes had risen too.
“The hurricanes are following the tropical ocean temperature. The tropical ocean
temperature is following the Northern Hemisphere. And it’s very hard now to believe
that there’s anything natural about that,” Emanuel says.
No Turning Back
James Hansen, still at NASA, now warns that a deadline of sorts is approaching:
in the next 20 years or so, he says, greenhouse warming may cause enough changes
that, even if everyone stopped burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere, some processes would have been set in motion that would continue
anyhow.
“If we pass a certain point of no return that we’re going to get large sea level rise,
we will have started a process that we just can’t stop,” he says.
Scientists refer to these processes as “positive feedbacks,” even they regard the
effects as negative.
A prime example: decayed vegetation in the Arctic, which contains massive
amounts of carbon, used to be protected by the perpetual cold. As the climate
warms—sped along by human beings burning fossil fuels that release carbon
dioxide—scientists say the vegetation will dry out and break down, releasing even
more carbon dioxide.
That carbon, escaping into the atmosphere, would cause more greenhouse
warming.
“I feel very uncomfortable about it. I mean, it’s not the way the Arctic should be,”
says Walter Oechel, a biologist from San Diego State University, as he stood on the
tundra of Alaska’s North Slope. “Humans are putting about about 6 or 7 billion metric
tons of carbon in the atmosphere a year, and we’re standing on 200 billion tons here,”
151
says Oechel. “Any significant portion comes out, that’s worse than current human
injection into the atmosphere. And once that runaway release occurs, there would be
no way to stop it.”
Solutions
Of course, scientists, politicians and advocates say they hope new technology and
better ways of using energy will make a major difference.
So-called renewable energy sources, which don’t burn coal or oil, are a small part
of the world’s energy diet, but some, such as wind power, are growing in the United
States at a rate of 20 percent a year.
Australian author and field biologist Tim Flannery, who describes himself as a
former doubter of the climate-change problem, writes that if Americans invest in
energy-efficient appliances when their current ones wear out, they could cut their
energy use by as much as half.
Still, the scientists concede, some climate change may not be reversible.
“I think as far as environmental threats go over the next hundred years, it is the
biggest threat that faces us,” says Ronald Prinn of MIT, “and also the most difficult
one to do something about.”
From college English (selected from ABC News)
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. We learn from the passage that James Hansen is__________.
A. a prominent climatologist from England
B. an ordinary climatologist
C. a member of a Senate subcommittee
D. director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York
2. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. James Hansen was called for to give an explanation of the phenomena by
NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York
B. It’s easy for scientists to judge whether the phenomena mentioned in the first
paragraph were related
C. Earth is the warmest in 1988 in the history of instrumental measurements
D. The warming of only a few degrees will not make the world different from
today
3. The underlined word “testimony” (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by
__________.
A. explanation
B. support
C. proof
D. declaration
4. __________ is not the reason why Walter feels uncomfortable.
A. Decayed vegetation in the arctic will no longer be protected by the perpetual
cold
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B. There is no return for the sea level rise.
C. As a result of burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide, the vegetation
will release even more carbon dioxide.
D. The carbon, escaping into the atmosphere, would cause more greenhouse
warming.
5. What can be inferred from the text?
A. It’s too late to stop the warming
B. The current situation will become worse and worse
C. There is still hope to better the present situation
D. Now the environmental threat is the biggest threat that faces us.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Some people didn’t believe that there is any relationship between the
“greenhouse signals” and the ups and downs of the world’s weather.
7. _______ Kerry Emanuel of MIT thinks that part of the changes they were seeing
in the Atlantic were cyclical.
8. ______ It’s too late to stop the warming.
9. ______ It’s the human beings themselves who are mainly responsible for the
“greenhouse effect”.
10. ______As long as appropriate measures are taken, all climate change will be
reversible.
Passage 2
Words: 580
Time Supposed: 4′40″
Time You Used:
___
Millions of Volunteers to Clean up the World’s Iconic Sites
Sydney, Australia, 13 September 2006 – What do the Nile River, Copacabana
Beach and Sydney Harbour have in common? All three will be among the many sites
of community-led environmental clean ups taking place next weekend as part of the
global Clean Up the World campaign.
Over 600 members, mobilizing over 35 million volunteers from 122 countries,
will participate in this year's Clean Up the World Weekend, celebrated globally on
15-17 September.
The campaign, held in conjunction with the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), has grown steadily since the inaugural event in 1993. Activities
range from cleaning up small villages to overhauling entire countries. Across many
regions communities also implement recycling and educational programmes, as well
as water and energy conservation projects.
Since the start of the campaign, Clean Up the World members worldwide have
collected an estimated 3,574,991 tonnes of rubbish – enough to fill 5,710 Olympic
size swimming pools. Plastic, glass, metal and cigarette butts are among the most
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commonly found rubbish items every year.
“From the world’s iconic sites to the sites of significance to remote local
communities, Clean Up the World campaign brings people together in a meaningful
activity that changes their lives and environment for the better,” said the campaign’s
Chairman and Founder Ian Kiernan, Recipient of the Order of Australia.
“Clean Up the World mobilizes people around a powerful idea – taking the
challenge of environment and sustainable development to our front doors, our
backyards, and everywhere else around the globe. It comes with another idea that
UNEP strongly believes in: that what we consider waste and rubbish today could
become a resource for tomorrow,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
Volunteers from fourteen countries across the Mediterranean Sea will engage in a
wide range of activities going from underwater clean ups to environmental parades in
a joint effort to promote greener living in this iconic region.
In Egypt, the Arab Office for Youth and the Environment is focusing on the Clean
Up the Nile initiative with participation of 17 cities, which seeks to highlight the
River’s importance for agriculture and development in this desertification-prone
region.
School children, divers, snorkellers and community volunteers will be cleaning
up the world-famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This clean up event
is coordinated by Brazil’s popular TV show “Programa Na Praia” (“On the Beach”),
which raises environmental awareness across the country.
On the island of Newfoundland, off Canada’s Atlantic coast, Ocean Net
volunteers will celebrate the 1000th marine clean up conducted since the group’s
establishment in 1997 with underwater and beach clean ups at Topsail Beach.
In China’s City of Shaoxing, situated in the Yangtze River delta, about 100
cycling enthusiasts will collect roadside rubbish during a bike ride on the Clean Up
the World weekend, targeting in particular plastic bags and drink containers.
In Australia, where the Clean Up the World campaign started fourteen years ago,
volunteers will remove rubbish from the Sydney Harbour and Lane Cove National
Park. Dozens more Australian volunteers will work with overseas communities as far
as Ghana, the Philippines and the Kingdom of Tonga to help improve local
environment and livelihoods, promoting this Australian campaign across the world.
“Many communities across the globe have faced uncertainty over the past year.
Clean Up the World is an opportunity to break down geographical and political
barriers by working together to look after our shared environment. I encourage more
groups to join us in creating greener cities and communities across the world,”
concluded Ian Kiernan.
www.cleanuptheworld.org.
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. What is true about the global Clean Up the World campaign?
A. It is a campaign to clean up Nile River, Copacabana Beach and Sydney
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Harbour
B. It is a nationwide campaign
C. It was first started in 1993
D. It includes activities of cleaning up small villages rather than the whole
countries
2. __________ is not included in the global Clean Up the World campaign.
A. Cleaning up the small villages
B. Overhauling entire countries
C. Implementing recycling and educational programmes
D. Cleaning up one’s own room
3. __________ is not among the most commonly found rubbish items.
A. Plastic
B. Used paper
C. Metal
D. Cigarette butts
4. Clean Up the World campaign __________.
A. Can change people’s lives and environment for the better, however, it is a
rather tedious job.
B. Fails to mobilize people to take the challenge of environment
C. Can make a sustainable development to our front doors, our backyards, and
everywhere else around the globe.
D. Comes with an idea that rubbish is rubbish
5. __________ is mentioned in the world-wide campaign.
A. Beijing
B. Shaoxing
C. Berlin
D. Paris
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ There are various activities in the campaign.
7. ______ So much rubbish has been colleted since the start of the campaign that
even 5,710 Olympic size swimming pools is not enough to hold them.
8. ______ Today’s waste can become tomorrow’s resource.
9. ______ On the island of Newfoundland, about 100 cycling enthusiasts will
collect roadside rubbish during a bike ride on the Clean Up the World
weekend.
10. ______The campaign can bridge the gap between nations.
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Unit Thirteen Animals
Tips for Reading
Polysemy
Most words have more than one meaning. For example, tricky means: 1. difficult to
do or deal with (eg. a tricky question, a tricky situation) 2. (of people) clever but
likely to deceive you
Practice: Use context clues to decide which meaning of “draw” is the right one in
each sentence.
1. to move something by pulling it or them gently 2. to open or close curtain 3. to
take out a weapon in order to attack somebody 4. to attract or interest somebody 5.
get reaction 6. make somebody talk 7. to decide something by picking cards,
tickets or numbers by chance 8. to take money or payments from a band account
or post office 9. to breathe in smoke or air 10.to have a particular idea after you
have studied something or thought bout it
A .She drew a revolver on me.
B. Spielberg refused to be drawn on his next movie.
C. What conclusions did you draw from the report?
D. He drew thoughtfully on his pipe.
E. I drew my chair up closer to the fire.
F. She went to the post office to draw her pension.
G. Her screams drew passers-by to the scene.
H. The announcement drew loud applause from the audience.
I. It was getting dark so I switched on the light and drew the curtains.
J. They had to draw lots to decide who would go.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. Have you ever raised a pet? What is your relationship with your pet?
2. Do you think animals and human beings can communicate with each other? If so,
how?
3. If there are misunderstandings or conflicts going on between you and your pet,
what will you do?
4. In what ways can pets be good companions to our human beings?
Words: 1087
Time Supposed: 8 Minutes
The Rat Pact
Rachel Toor
Sometimes all love requires is an open mind, and a willingness to risk being bitten
I was talking on the phone with an old friend about my little pet mouse, Prudence.
She had recently died, and I missed her terribly. Not everyone could understand how
the world had grown gray for me when I lost my rodent companion, how hard it was
to come home at the end of the day to my empty New York City apartment where no
one, not even a mouse, stirred. But I knew I could turn to my friend, a scientist who
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worked with lab animals. She listened to me grieve for Prudence, and began to tell me
about the rats she worked with.
“They are so cute, so sweet,” she said. “And so smart and interested.” And then
she asked if I had ever considered a rat as a pet.
I had not. I didn’t want to replace Prudence; the idea of supersizing my mouse
held no appeal. But after I hung up, I thought about it. Newly parted from my
boyfriend, I was lonely. I called my friend back. “Okay,” I said. “Would you bring me
a rat, please?”
A few days later, I took the train out to Long Island, got dinner and a rat, and
toted my new pet back to the city in a shoe box. I decided to name her Hester, after
Hawthorne’s1 stigmatized heroine. If you’re a rat, I reasoned, you don’t need to wear a
scarlet letter2--you are a scarlet letter.
The cage was all clean and ready. I reached into the shoe box to remove Hester.
That’s when she whipped her head around and sank her ratty teeth into my hand.
I yelped and cursed. She may have looked like a bigger version of
Prudence—white, with red eyes, and a tail longer than her body—but this rat was no
mouse.
Telling myself that maybe Hester was freaked out from the move—leaving the
comforting fluorescent light of the lab and the scent of other experiment-bound
rodents—I tried again to connect with her one Saturday afternoon. I made a peace
offering of a cracker. She ignored the food but wasted no time in chomping on my
skin. Then she withdrew.
She ran to a corner of her cage and cowered. I retreated to a corner of mine and
sat at my desk, head in hands. I’d always been able to communicate with animal.
What was wrong with Hester? Or, more disturbingly, what was wrong with me?
It was a relief to go to my editorial assistant job. But inevitably I had to come
home to a rat-infested apartment. Hester would be alert the moment I walked in .Each
time I opened the door to five her food, she’d scamper over, a sinister look in her eye,
wanting blood, I could tell. I learned to be very quick.
A few weeks after I got her, I could no longer put off cleaning her cage. I opened
the door and, after some tentative air sniffing and poking about, she climbed out. I
was able to guide her to the floor, where she could safely hang around while I was
cage cleaning. In such a small space, it wasn’t likely that she could get lost.
But once the cage was newly fresh, I looked around and didn’t see her. At last I
found her, in the corner where I’d piled my shoes, perched atop a pair of Italian
leather oxfords. She had chewed a hole right through the top of the left shoe. I
screamed. She looked up at me. Smug? Was that a smug look on her ratty mug? I
picked her up by the tail and put her into the cage.
Not long afterward I was reading in bed one night and looked up to see Hester in
her cage, standing at the door. With a sigh, I decided I’d try just once more. Carefully,
I let her out and then placed her up onto the loft bed. While I read, she explored the
hills and dales made by the comforter, staying mostly near my feet. I could see her
occasionally looking in my direction, watching my hands each time they turned the
page. The way she sat, ears alert, whiskers twitching, she almost looked cute, in a
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ratty kind of way.
Suddenly she came charging, right toward the hand lying idle on my stomach. I
flashed back to tiny pointy teeth, and just as she got to my hand, I used it to shoo her
away. She retreated to the foot of the bed.
“Get away, you rat,” I said.
She shook herself off, looked me dead in the eye and came galloping back. Again
I shooed her to the foot of the bed. Again she charged, once more into the breach.
I looked at her. She didn’t look angry or frightened. She was alert and
interested .Could it be? Maybe, just maybe, after that initial period of being freaked
out, what I had taken for aggression was actually play. Maybe what I had thought was
hostility was in fact interest. Had I misread her?
Slowly I moved my hand in front of her. She watched, and then gave chase. I
stopped and held my hand still. I braced myself as her mouth came near my finger. I
froze, waiting for pain. She sniffed, sniffed, and gently, with her nose, nudged it. I
moved my hand in circles, and in circles she followed. Hester wanted to play.
I put my hand down, palm up. She crawled slowly onto it. I brought her up to my
face, eye to eye, and finally we saw each other. I was shocked by my own ignorance,
by my inability to recognize her for who and what she was –playful, curious and
engaged. My heart swelled.
This, I felt, was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
Every night from then on, as soon as I’d get home, I’d let Hester out of her cage,
only putting her back when it was time for sleep. And so we reached an
understanding .Until I appreciated Hester for who she was, we couldn’t connect. She
wasn’t who I wanted her to be –Prudence; she was, and could only be, herself. Love
can be an imaginative act not only of seeing what’s there, but accepting what isn’t.
Looking down at my rat, nestled in my armpit, I felt mostly lucky in love.
From Reader’s Digest
Notes
1 Hawthorne: 纳撒尼尔·霍桑（Hawthorne, Nathaniel）(1804-1864)，美国19世
纪影响最大的浪漫主义小说家和心理小说家，长篇小说《红字》是他的代表作。
2 scarlet letter: 霍桑的成名作，叙述一个有夫之妇与一个神父相爱并生有一女，
其丈夫用不离婚而在其胸前刻写字母 “A”的作法来报复的故事。歌颂女主人公
为了爱情担当世人指责的伟大勇气。令人为其中的美与丑、爱与恶的博斗而惊
心动魄。堪称绝世之作。
Exercises
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Not everyone could understand how the world had grown gray for me when I lost
my rodent companion, how hard it was to come home at the end of the day to my
empty New York City apartment where no one, not even a mouse, stirred.
2. She listened to me grieve for Prudence, and began to tell me about the rats she
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worked with.
3. I didn’t want to replace Prudence; the idea of supersizing my mouse held no
appeal.
4. Each time I opened the door to five her food, she’d scamper over, a sinister look in
her eye, wanting blood, I could tell.
5. I’d piled my shoes, perched atop a pair of Italian leather oxfords.
6. She sniffed, sniffed, and gently, with her nose, nudged it.
7. I was shocked by my own ignorance, by my inability to recognize her for who and
what she was –playful, curious and engaged. My heart swelled.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. My rodent companion, a little pet mouse, died recently, which made me in a
gloom mood.
2. The moment my friend advised me to take a rat as a pet, I accepted it.
3. My refusal of taking a rat as a replacement for Prudence is due to the fact that rats
are bigger in size.
4. Hester attacked me by biting my hand the first time I tried to connect with him
because he felt frightened at the move.
5. After my first failure of connecting with Hester, I began to be doubtful about my
communication skills with a pet and lost interest in building up a new relationship
with my companion.
6. While I was cage cleaning, Hester chewed a hole in one of my shoes, which made
me lose my temper.
7. The rat’s charging misunderstood as a hostile aggression by the author turned out
to be an interesting game.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
freak out/ ignorance/ initial/ hostility/ perch/ put off/ version/ appeal/
stigmatize/ occasionally
1. The-------- letters of his name are W.E. for Will. Exon.
2. Every care was taken to ensure that he was kept in -------- of what had occurred.
3. He would take out his spectacles and --------them on his nose.
4. The shape of his face would not-------- to a portraitist.
5. The well-known incident is recounted in various different--------.
6. Sometimes Maud rode with her, sometimes Charlie, -------- both.
7. It’s an unjust -------- upon their ancient liberties.
8. When she was first doing therapy, it -------- (her ).
9. I can’t be -------- as an American fortune-teller.
10. He keeps -------- going to the dentist.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words /phrases, pair up, and
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debate upon the following topics.
1. Pet-raising is healthy VS. Pet-raising is unhealthy
A: teaching people to love/ providing company and driving away loneliness/ building
harmonious relations between animals and human beings/ nurturing love and
patience in people
B: be harmful to people’s physical health/ risky in catching such diseases as
hydrophobia/ create pollution to the environment
2. Pet-raising is good for pets VS. Pet-raising is bad for pets
A. well-fed/ well-protected/ free from attacks from other animals/ taken good care of
B. deprived of all their rights and freedom/ feeling lonely/ being restless with anxiety
3. Survival is an exalted privilege VS. Survival is a painful burden
A: life is precious/ the right of living is the most fundamental right of all living beings
B: the survival of the fittest/ fierce competition/ hard struggle against the hard
conditions
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topic fully.
1. “Love can be an imaginative act not only of seeing what’s there, but accepting what
isn’t.” What is your understanding of this sentence?
2. Do you feel a bond with the animal? Why, or why not?
3. Trust and Friendship
Reading Two
Words: 1045
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
How Do Animals Catch Their Zzz’s1?
Where does a lion sleep? Anywhere it wants.
It’s an old joke, but still true. When a lion wants to sleep, it can just flop down on
the ground or even hang out in a tree. And male lions especially get plenty of practice,
since they sleep as much as 22 hours a day. Other animals have to be a little more
careful about where they sleep, so they don’t end up as someone’s dinner.
How would you like to build a new bed every night? Do you think you could
sleep standing on one leg? How would you sleep if you lived underwater but had to
come up to the surface to breathe? Different creatures have developed some pretty
creative ways to get their rest and stay safe.
The basilisk lizard2 likes to sleep at the far end of small branches hanging out
over a pond or lake in the rain forest. If a snake tries to slither up the branch to eat it,
the snake shakes the branch and knocks the lizard off, and it falls safely into the water.
Chameleons3 can change color to match their surroundings in order to hide—even
while sleeping.
Gorillas and orangutans4 like to sleep high in the trees. They build a new nest
every night, sometimes taking up to half an hour to pile branches, twigs, and leaves
into a comfortable bed. Birds also find it safe to sleep in the trees, but unless they
have eggs or young chicks, they don’t use a nest. They just lock their feet around a
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ranch and hang on .A special tendon in their legs is automatically tight when they are
at rest, so they won’t let go and fall.
Floating Ducks in a Row
Other birds find it safer to sleep on water. Mallard ducks5 will line themselves up
in a row, with the ducks on each end keeping an eye out for danger. Perhaps the
strangest way that birds sleep is when they stand on one leg. You may have seen a
flamingo sleeping this way at the zoo. They stand in shallow water, tuck one leg under
their bodies, put their heads under their feathers, and go to sleep on one leg like big
pink puffballs6 on sticks. Herons7 and other birds can also sleep this way. Their bodies
are designed so that they can center their balance perfectly over one leg and relax that
way.
Water presents its own sleeping problems. Sea otters 8, which live in the water,
float on their backs to sleep. Baby otters may lie on their mothers’ stomachs. To keep
from floating away, the otters wrap seaweed around their bodies to anchor themselves.
Occasionally, a young otter will sleep next to its mother and they will hold paws to
stay together.
Dolphins live underwater, but must come to the surface to breathe. Scientists now
believe that dolphins may sleep with only half their brain, while the other half stays
awake, to keep them safe and breathing. Seals also do this, lying on their sides on the
surface of the water with one flipper underwater paddling to keep their noses above
the surface. Some ducks may also have this ability, and actually sleep with one eye
closed and one eye open.
So Big, They Sleep Standing Up
Some animals face a different sleeping challenge. They are just so big that lying
down for long isn’t comfortable. You may have heard that horses sleep standing up.
They can lock their knees and sleep while standing, but the deepest sleep still comes
when they lie down. Elephants may lie down and sleep for a few of the coolest hours
in the morning, but the weight of their bodies makes this uncomfortable after two or
three hours, and they will stand up and nap a little longer on their feet. They also
snore.
Even giraffes sleep standing up, and their bodies are balanced so that their long
necks support their heads without much effort even in a standing position. Very young
giraffes may fold their legs under them to sleep, but still don’t lay their heads down.
Sleeping in a Cosy Hole
When animals hibernate, they sleep for a very long time, perhaps even for an
entire winter. But some sleep more deeply than others. If you were to find a squirrel
hibernating in its nest in a hollow tree, you could probably pick it up and carry it
around without waking it. It might be several hours before the squirrel woke up. But
walk into the den of a hibernating bear and he’ll know you’re there right away and
invite you to leave. Animals that hibernate pick places where they aren’t likely to be
disturbed, such as caves or holes.
Other animals, such as moles, shrews9, rabbits, and chipmunks10, also find holes a
nice place to sleep.
Warthogs11, with their long tusks, climb backward into their holes to sleep. That
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way if an intruder climbs into the hole, the first thing it will find is a pair of tusks
facing it.
The octopus sleeps in an underwater cave .Sometimes it will wedge a shell in
front of the opening to serve as a door.
Deer find that hiding is a good way to sleep safely. A mother deer will tuck her
fawn into a grassy or leafy spot to sleep. The fawn lies still, so as not to give away its
position.
Upside-Down Snoozers12
Other animals sleep on the ceiling. Bats hang upside down from the tops of caves
or from tree branches. Some bats never use their feet for walking, but their curved
claws help them to hang from branches or rocks. Sloths13 sleep hanging upside down
in trees, hooking their clawed toes around branches. They sleep about 20 hours a day
and may spend their entire lives in the same tree.
Do fish sleep? It’s hard to tell, since they never close their eyes. But sharks have
been noted to go through resting phases when they slow down their movements. They
keep swimming, though, and will notice if prey or predators come near. Other fish
also seem to slow down for a period, so they do rest, whether or not we would call it
sleep.
From The World of English
Notes
1. catch/ get some zzz’s: (美语) 睡觉；睡眠
2. basilisk lizard: 产于热带美洲的鬣蜥
3. chameleon: 安乐蜥，一种美洲变色蜥蜴
4. orangutan: 猩猩
5. mallard duck: 绿头鸭
6. puffball: 马勃（菌）
7. heron: 鹭
8. otter: 水獭
9. shrew: 鼠句 鼠青
10. chipmunk: 金花鼠
11. warthog: （脸部有肉赘的非洲产的）疣猪
12. snoozer: (尤指在白天)小睡、打盹的人
13 sloth: 树懒
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text: match the animals in Column 1 with their ways of
sleeping and keeping safe in Column 2
Column 1
Column 2
(A) lions
1 . sleep in holes
(B) basilisk lizards
2. line up in a row on water, with ones on
each end keeping an eye out for danger
(C) chameleons
3. sleep in underwater caves, wedging a
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(D) gorillas and orangutans
(E)Mallard ducks .
(F) flamingo
(G) sea otters
(H) dolphins
(I) giraffes
(J) squirrels
(K) chipmunks
(L) octopus
(M) deer
(N) bats
(O) sharks
shell in front of the opening to serve as
a door
4. float on their backs to sleep, wrapping
seaweed around their bodies to anchor
themselves
5. change color to hide themselves whiling
sleeping
6. hang upside down from the tops of caves
or from tree branches
7. sleep in nests high in the trees
8. hibernate in nests with fast sleep
9. sleep while standing up, with heads high
up
10. sleep with half the brain, the other half is
awake to keep safe and breathing
11. flop down on the ground or hang out in a
tree
12. sleep at the far end of small branches
hanging out over a pond or lake in the rain
forest
13. slow down movements, keep swimming,
keep alert
14. stand on one leg while sleeping
15. hide in grassy or leafy spots
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1．What’s your understanding of “the Survival of the Fittest”?
2．Why is sleeping so important to all living beings？
3. What about your sleeping habits? Are they healthy or not?
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 563
Time Supposed: 5’10’’
Time You Used: _________
How Animals Hear
When we talk about ears, we usually mean the oddly wrinkled appendages on the
side of our heads.
We are aware that at the end of the central hole in this outer ear there is something
called the middle ear, with an eardrum and a few little bones. Even deeper lies the
inner ear, the organ with which we "hear".
Animals such as dogs and cats also have conspicuous outer ears, but few of us
probably ever stopped to think whether there might be such a thing as a middle and
inner ear beneath those point tips. Yet, we know very well that these animals hear.
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Birds are even more mysterious, because here we do not even see an outer ear.
The same is true to still a larger degree of such animals as frogs and fishes; although
in the frog we can least see an eardrum.
Again, at one time or another, you may have found that all such animals hear.
Hunters know that birds are attracted by artificial calls, and fishermen emphasize that
you should be as quite as possible if you don't want to go home empty-handed. And if
you even hunted frogs in your childhood, you know how softly you had to tread!
Moreover, it seems absurd that birds should sing and frogs croak, if the could not
even hear their own voices.
By direct observations and many experiments, biologists have discovered that
practically all animals have some sense of hearing or vibration. Earthworms feel
vibrations in the soil, fish can be trained to respond to certain tones, male mosquitoes
are attracted by the sound of the female, and frogs will respond to a tape recording of
their own voices.
The inner ears is composed of delicate membranes which bear dense patches of
specialized cells called maculae. Each of these collections of cells can carry a
message to the brain. What message is carried by a macula depends upon how it is
affected. The message which is carried kind of tadpole can tell the depth of the water
it is swimming in by the pitch of a tone which is produced by its own lungs.
In the human and all other mammals, the macula has developed into an organ
which easily be seen. This organ is called the cochlea. This spiral shaped organ
contains the macula itself and it is called "Organ of Corti" after its discoverer. If you
have ever seen a snail shell, you know how a cochlea looks.
When sound waves enter the cochlea, which is really a coiled around. They set a
membrane into a back forth motion and cause a new wave. This is something like the
way in which high and low sounds are produced by a flute or whistle. The high
sounds are produced when the air is prevented by the holes from going through, while
the low sounds are produced by allowing more of the air to pass. All this is what
produces the differences by how much the membrane is caused to move.
Whether or not hearing is really produced in all animals by the effect of pressure
is not definitely known by scientists as yet. We do know, however, that nature has set
up some very delicate hearing mechanisms for its creatures. Scientists must explore
much further for more knowledge about how animals use their ears.
From http://www.basv.com.cn/english/008.htm
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. The organ with which we “hear” is ______.
A. outer ear
B. middle ear
C. inner ear
D. eardrum
2. Which of the following animals has outer ears?
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A. Birds
B. Cats
C. Fish
D. Frogs
3. According to the author, which of the following cannot be used as evidence for
animals’ hearing ability?
A. Birds are attracted by artificial calls.
B. Fishermen should keep quiet while go fishing.
C. Birds can sing and frogs can croak.
D. All the above animals have outer ears.
4. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the text?
A. The loudness of the sound is dependent on the degrees of motion of the
membrane.
B. Sound waves cause the membrane into motion which in turn cause a new wave.
C. The high sounds are produced by allowing more air to pass than the low sounds.
D. A kind of tadpole can tell the depth of the water it is swimming in by the pitch of
tone produced by its own lungs.
5. The more pressure on the membrane, the ____ the sound will be.
A. louder
B. lower
C. higher
D. clearer
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y( for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO)if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG ( for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. _____When we talk about ears, we usually mean the organ with which we “hear”.
7. _____ Dogs and cats can hear because they have outer ears as well as middle and
inner ears.
8. _____ Birds, frogs and fish can’t hear because they don’t have outer ears.
9. _____According to biologists, all animals have some sense of hearing or
vibration.
10. ______The organ which contains macula is called “cochlea” because it looks like
a snail’s shell.
Passage 2
Words: 617
Time Supposed: 5’30’’
Time You Used: _______
Whales
Everyone has heard about whales. What a beautiful sight it must be to see a
whale. It is no wonder so many stories have been written about them. In years gone by,
men sailed in ships that did not take them back to their homes for many years. Their
job was to capture whales. They sold certain parts of the whales to people for different
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uses. The whale was valuable because it was not very much of anything from whales
easy to get. Whaling is not a job for many people any more. We no longer need very
much.
There have been many stories written about whales. They are good stories to read
because they always tell of adventure.
To enjoy a story about whales is a good idea to learn as much about them as you
can. Aboard the whaling ship you would hear a man shout: "There she blows! Whale
off the starboard bow!"
The lookout on a whaling ship has sighted a spouting whale. All hands spring to
their jobs. The harpooner takes aim with his gun and fire. There is a short fight. The
whale is dead. Its body is taken aboard the ship. A crew of men sets to work stripping
the great whale of its blubber.
The thick fat, or blubber, under the whale's skin protects the animal against cold
waters. It is for the valuable oil in blubber that whale are hunted.
Although whales spend their lives in water, they are not fish. Whales cannot
breathe under water, but must come above water for air every thirty or forty minutes.
The whales' lookouts watch for the misty steam of water when the whales exhale.
One group of whales has, instead of teeth, long strips of bone, hanging from
their upper jaw. This is the baleen whale, the largest animal in the world. Although it
may weigh as much as twenty elephants, this giant of the sea feeds on sea plants and
animals. It strain the tiny plants and animals through its bone strips. Some of the kinds
of whales are the blue whale, the humpback, the gray whale, and the white whale.
Once whales were hunted for whale-bone as well as for blubber. So many
whales were killed that it was feared they might die out. An international code was set
up to protect them. 9. The sperm whale is dangerous. It fights and kills. It often dives
thousands of feet down into the ocean in search of its favorite dinner. It likes to eat the
giant squid.
There in the darkness, the two monsters fight a terrible battle of life and death.
The whale matches its strength and weight against the moving arms of the great squid.
Many a whale carries battle scars that were left by a squid's fierce struggles.
The giant sperm whale is the only whale whose mouth is large enough to hold a
man. It could turn over the early whaling boats with one lash of its powerful tail. The
dangers and the excitement of those whaling days are written in the Herman
Melville's story of the white whale, Moby Dick.
Eskimos use many parts of the whale. They make its hide into clothing and its
flesh into food. The blubber is used for fuel. Oil from the whale's head is burned in
lamps.
When a sperm whale is sick, it many produce a fatty substance called ambergris.
Strangely enough, this greasy, ill-smelling product is used in making fine perfumes.
The sperm whale has about thirty teeth in its lower jaw. It belongs to a group of whale
called toothed whales. Other toothed whales are the bottlenose, the beaked whale, and
the white whale.
From http://www.basv.com.cn/english/009.htm
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Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to the author, which of the following can’t be used as the reason for
whales’ great value?
A. Whales are not easily to be caught.
B. The oil in the blubber of the whale is very valuable.
C. The whale-bone is very valuable
D. Every part of its body could be put into use.
2. Which of the following word cannot be used to replace “blow” in the third
paragraph?
A. spout
B. exhale
C. strain
D. eject
3. Which of the following whales is the most dangerous and aggressive one?
A. baleen whale
B. the sperm whale
C. the humpback
D. blue whale
4. Which of the following word can’t be used to describe the job of whaling?
A. exciting
B. risky
C. delighting
D. dangerous
5. Which of the following does not belong to toothed whales?
A. the blue whale
B. the white whale
C. the sperm whale
D. the beaked whale
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO)if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG ( for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. _____ Whaling is still popular nowadays because whales are very valuable.
7. ______ Most of the stories about whaling are worth reading because they are full of
adventures.
8. ______ As other fishes, whales spend their lives in water.
9. ______ The sperm whale likes to eat the giant squid because it tastes delicious and
it is easy to be caught.
10.______ An international code was set up to protect whales in the fear that they may
extinct.
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Unit Fourteen Courtesy
Tips for Reading
Guessing the meaning of words
You can often discover the meaning of an unfamiliar word by looking at its
context—the words and sentences that surround it.
For example: Logging crews felled tall trees and planted seedlings.
Since logging crews did this action, and the action was done to tall trees, you would
conclude that “felled” probably means “chopped down”.
Practice Use clues in the sentences to define the italicized words
Sometimes she was annoying, but she could also be endearing.
You might have guessed that endearing means “likeable”.
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What does COURTESY mean to you?
2. Are manners dying in this modern society?
3. How to test a person’s courtesy?
4. Are you a courteous person? Will you help others to retrieve a pile of dropped
papers in the streets? What your reasons for helping others?
Words: 1224
Time Supposed: 12 Minutes
Uncommon Courtesy
Neena Samuel and Joseph K. Vetter
We keep hearing about the death of civility---but it’s alive and well in a place
you’d least expect.
A woman heads into a popular New York City coffee shop on a chilly winter
morning. Just ahead of her, a man drops a file full of documents. The woman pauses,
and stoops to help gather the papers.
Six blocks away, a different man enters another shop, but not before politely
holding the door for the person behind him. A clerk at another busy store thanks a
customer who’s just made a purchase. “Enjoy,” the young woman says, smiling,
widely. “Have a nice day. “ She sounds like she really means it.
Whoa. Common courtesy on the mean streets of a city known for its
in-your-face style? Have New Yorkers suddenly gone soft?
In her international bestselling death-of-manners manifesto Talk to the Hand,
author Lynne Truss argues that common courtesies such as saying “excuse me” are
practically extinct. There are certainly plenty who would agree with her. Consider that
in one recent survey, 70 percent of U.S. adults said people are ruder now than they
were 20 years ago.
Is it really true? Reader’s Digest decided to find out if courtesy truly is kaput.
RD sent reporters to major cities in 35 countries where the magazine is
published—from Auckland 1, New Zealand 2, to Zagreb3, Croatia 4. In the United
States, that meant targeting New York, where looking out for No.1—the heck with the
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other guy—has always been a basic survival skill.
The routine in New York was similar to the one followed elsewhere: Two
reporters—one woman and one man—fanned out across the city, homing in on
neighborhoods where street life and retail shops thrive. They performed three
experiments: “door tests” (would anyone hold one open for them?); “document drops”
(who would help them retrieve a pile of “accidentally” dropped papers” “and “service
tests” (which salesclerk would thank them for a purchase?). For consistency, the New
York tests were conducted at Starbucks coffee shops, by now almost as common in
the Big Apple as streetlights. In all, 60 tests (20 of each type) were done.
Along the way, the reporters encountered all types: men and women of different
races, ages, professions, and income levels. They met an aspiring actress, a high
school student, a hedge-fund analyst and two New York City police officers. And
guess what? In the end, four out of every five people they encountered passed RD’s
courtesy test—making New York the most courteous city in the world. Imagine that.
A for Effort
While 90 percent of New Yorkers passed the door test, only 55 percent aced the
document drop. Are people less likely to help others when doing so takes extra effort
or time? Not always, the reporters found. Take the pregnant woman who thought
nothing of bending down to help us with our papers. Or the Queens woman named
Liz who precariously balanced two coffees, her keys and her wallet on a takeout tray
with one hand, while picking up papers off the wet pavement with the other. Her
reason for helping? “I was there,” she said matter-of -factly.
Par of the Job
Nineteen of the 20 clerks who were subjected to service tests passed. Roger
Benjamin, the manager and coffee master at a Manhattan Starbucks, acknowledged
that the chain trains its employees to be courteous. And some baristas the RD
reporters encountered went beyond basic niceties. “You have to feed off people’s
vibes,” said one clerk. “You go out of your way to show customers they did us a favor
by coming here.” At another store, a green-apron-clad attendant said that while
courtesy was part of his job, he sought respect in return: “It’s contagious.”
Chivalry: Not Dead Yet
Overall, men were the most willing to help, especially when it came to
document drops. In those, men offered aid 63 percent of the time, compared to 47
percent among women. Of course, men weren’t entirely democratic about whom
they’d help. All of them held the door for RD’s female reporter, and were more than
twice as likely to help her pick up fallen papers than they were to help our male
reporter. “I’ll hole the door for whoever’s behind me,” said Pete Muller, 27, an
account executive from Brooklyn. “But I’m definitely more conscious of women!” he
added with a smile.
Mother Knows Best
By far, the most common reason people cited for being willing to go out of
their way to help others was their upbringing. “It’s the way I was raised,” said one
young woman who held a door open despite struggling with her umbrella on a frigid,
sleety day in Brooklyn.
169
Her sentiment was echoed by Christine DuBois, a 49-year-old sales manager
from Bayside, Queens. DuBois was headed to the gym when she stopped to retrieve a
pile of scattered papers. “It’s something that’s taught to you when you’re young,” she
said.
A few people, including Frederick Martin, 29, credited their mothers’ influence
specifically. “My mom brought me up like that, “Martin said. “It’s pure manners.”
What Goes Around—
Another reason people are quick to be courteous:” You do what you’d want
other people to do if it happened to you, “said Christine Rossi, who pitched in on an
early-morning document drop. Dennis Kleinman, a 57-year-okd doctor and writer,
used one word to sum up what drove his impulse to help:” Empathy.” He came to the
aid of an RD reporter when a middle-aged woman ignored a pile of papers in front of
a shop on Manhattan’s East Side. “The same thing happens to me, and I appreciate it
when someone takes 10 to 15 seconds of their valuable tome to help,” he said.
Excuses, Excuses
The reporters did run into a few courtesy clods. In one case, while an RD staffer
was inside a Starbucks interviewing a woman who’d passed the door test, a dozen
oblivious people stepped over a second staffer’s fallen papers. Another time, a wise
guy offered only a snarky comment on our clumsiness: “That guy had too much
coffee!” he cracked.
And just when we thought we’d heard every excuse in the book for not helping,
along came Margot Zimmerman. The 44-year-old computer sales-woman was on her
way into a Queens Starbucks when a reporter dropped his folder of papers right at her
feet. Looking down, Zimmerman stepped gingerly around the papers, then entered the
shop. “I’m probably one of the most courteous people,” she insisted later. “I pick up
every other person’s dog poop. I help old ladies across the street. But when he
dropped his papers, he made such a face.”
Thankfully, such were the exception, not the rule. Which makes New York City
a pretty darn polite place—the most polite major city in the entire world, in case you
missed it before. We realized this isn’t a rigorous scientific study, but we believe it is a
reasonable real-world test of good manners around the globe. And it’s comforting to
know that in a place where millions of people jostle one another ach day in a
relentless push to get ahead, they’re able to do it with a smile and a thank-you. Hey, if
they can make nice here, they can make nice anywhere.
From Reader’s Digest
July 2007
Notes
1 Auckland: 奥克兰(新西兰北岛西北岸港市)
2 New Zealand: 新西兰(太平洋南部岛国)
3 Zagreb: 萨格勒布(南斯拉夫西北部城市)
4 Croatia: 克罗地亚(南斯拉夫成员共和国名)
5 the Big Apple: （美国）纽约城
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Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Two reporters—one woman and one man—fanned out across the city, homing in on
neighborhoods where street life and retail shops thrive.
2. For consistency, the New York tests were conducted at Starbucks coffee shops, by
now almost as common in the Big Apple as streetlights.
3. While 90 percent of New Yorkers passed the door test, only 55 percent aced the
document drop.
4. And some baristas the RD reporters encountered went beyond basic niceties.
5. At another store, a green-apron-clad attendant said that while courtesy was part of
his job, he sought respect in return: “It’s contagious.”
6. Her sentiment was echoed by Christine DuBois, a 49-year-old sales manager from
Bayside, Queens.
7. And it’s comforting to know that in a place where millions of people jostle one
another ach day in a relentless push to get ahead, they’re able to do it with a smile
and a thank-you.
8. Or the Queens woman named Liz who precariously balanced two coffees, her keys
and her wallet on a takeout tray with one hand, while picking up papers off the wet
pavement with the other.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. Common courtesy occurs on the New York streets because New Yorkers have
suddenly gone soft.
2. According to one recent survey, 70 percent of U.S. adults said people are more
polite now than they were 20 years ago.
3. Reader’s Digest conducted 3 experiments to test people’s courtesy: “door tests”;
“document drops”; and “service tests”.
4. All the tests were conducted at Starbucks coffee shops.
5. In the end, 80% people passed RD’s courtesy test---making New York the most
courteous city in the world.
6. According to the tests, people are less likely to help others when it takes extra
effort or time, such as helping people retrieve a pile of dropped papers.
7. Almost all the clerks in Starbucks coffee shops passed the service tests because
they are trained to be courteous.
8. According to the tests, men are more willing to help than women and they are
more willing to help women than men.
9. The most common reason for people’s willingness to help was out of empathy.
10. The result of the experiment---New York City is the most polite major city in the
entire world is inspiring to people all over the world for New Yorkers were once
notorious for being rude.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
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Change the form where necessary.
consistency/ thrive/ routine/ conduct/ be subjected to/ encounter/ acknowledge/
pitch in/ oblivious/ purchase
1. _____ that don’t speed up your heart beat aren’t worth your while.
2. He filled the car with his _____.
3. Price branded wines make ______of quality possible.
4. They _____ a careful scrutiny by the head waiter.
5. The first person they ______on entering the main street was the schoolmaster.
6. He ______with a surely nod the greetings of his colleagues.
7. She strolled back and forth, ____of the stingingly cold air.
8. You cannot _____ a delicate negotiation like this over the telephone.
9. Industry had_____ on the labor of hungry and exhausted people.
10. Local companies _____with building materials and labor.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words /phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics.
1. Human nature is inherently good VS. Human nature is inherently evil
A: goodness takes dominant role in our nature/ fight against the negative and dark
side of our soul/ sympathy/ rationality/ mindless obedience and evil environment
which take the dominant roles in arousing people’s negative side of nature
B: born sin/ born to do cruel and sadistic things/ genocide or racial extermination/
illegal behaviors/ infinite desires/ violence/ war/ the necessity of teaching
2. Advocating chivalry is outdated in the modern society VS. Advocating chivalry is
not outdated in the modern society.
A: women enjoy equal rights with men/ survival of the fittest/ the chivalry is not
realistic in this competitive society
B: courtesy and considerate behavior / implying courage, honor, courtesy and concern
for the weak and helpless/ good for enhancing social moral standards/ help ease
social tension/ avoid distortion of social values
3．Females need more care than males VS. Males need more care than females
A: women are more fragile than men both physiologically and mentally/ double social
responsibilities/ bearing children and earning money/ sexual discrimination/
maltreatment/ inequality between men and women
B: Men are not free to express their feelings/ anxiety/ more pressure/ more
responsibilities/ Society has higher demands on men / more confined to their
social roles/ the lack of the care for men’s inner world in the society
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topic fully.
1. Courtesy and life
2． Manners and interpersonal relationship
3．. How to test and improve people courtesy?
4．. Chivalry and Man-chauvinism
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Reading Two
Words:865
Time Supposed: 8 Minutes
Time You Used ___________
Can I get you some manners with that?
Christie Scotty
So often it was the “professionals” who looked down on me who were lacking
in social grace.
Like most people, I have long understood that I will be judged by my
occupation. It’s obvious that people care what others do for a living: head into any
social setting and introductions of “Hi, my name is …”are quickly followed by the
ubiquitous “And what do you do?” I long ago realized my profession is a gauge that
people use to see how smart or talented I am. Recently, however, I was disappointed
to see that it also decides how I’m treated as a person.
Last year I left a professional position as a small-town reporter and took a job
waiting tables while I figured out what I wanted to do next. As someone paid to serve
food to people, I had customers say and do things to me I suspect they’d never say or
do to their most casual acquaintances. Some people would stare at the menu and
mumble drink orders---“Bring me a water, extra lemon, no ice”---while refusing to
meet my eyes. Some would interrupt me mid-sentence to say the air conditioning was
too cold or the sun was too bright through the windows. One night a man talking on
his cell phone waved me away, then beckoned me back with his finger a minute later,
complaining he was ready to order and asking where I’d been.
I had waited tables during summers in college and was treated like a peon by
plenty of people. But at 19 years old, I sort of believed I deserved inferior treatment
form professional adults who didn’t blink at handing over $24 for a seven-ounce fillet.
Besides, people responded to me differently after I told them I was in college.
Customers would joke that one day I’d be sitting at their table, waiting to be served.
They could imagine me as their college-age daughter or future co-worker.
Once I graduated I took a job at a community newspaper. From my first day, I
heard a respectful tone from most everyone who called me, whether they were readers
or someone I was hoping to interview. I assumed this was the way the professional
world worked---cordially.
I soon found out differently. I sat several feet away from an advertising sales
representative with a similar name. Our calls would often get mixed up and someone
asking for Kristen would be transferred to Christie. The mistake was immediately
evident. Perhaps it was because their relationship centered on “gimme”, perhaps it
was because money was involved, but people used a tone with Kristen that they never
used with me.
“I called yesterday and you still haven’t faxed---“
“Hi, this is so-and-so over at the real-estate office. I need---”
“I just got into the office and I don’t like---”
“Hi, Kristen. Why did---“
173
I was just a fledgling reporter, but the governor’s press secretary returned my
calls far more politely than Kristen’s accounts did hers, even though she had worked
with may of her clients for years.
My job title made people chat me up and express their concerns and complaints
with courtesy. I came to expect friendliness from perfect strangers. So it was a shock
to return to the restaurant industry. Sure, the majority of customers were pleasant,
some even a delight to wait on, but all too often someone shattered that scene.
I often saw my co-workers storm into the kitchen in tears or with a mouthful of
expletives after a customer had interrupted, degraded or ignored them. In the eight
mouths I worked there, I heard my friends muttering phrases like “You just don’t treat
people like that!” on an almost daily basis.
It’s no secret that there is a lot to put up with when waiting tables, and
fortunately, much of it can be easily forgotten when you picket the rips. The service
industry, by definition, exists to cater to others’ needs. Still, it seemed that many of
my customers didn’t get the difference between server and servant.
Some days I tried to force good manners. When a customer said hello but
continued staring at his menu without glancing up at me, I’d make it a point to say,
“Hi. My mane is Christie,” and then pause and wait for him to make eye contact. I’d
stand silent an awkwardly long time waiting for a little respect. It was my way of
saying “I am a person, too.”
I knew I wouldn’t wait tables forever, so most days I just shook my head and
laughed, pitying the people whose lives were so miserable they treated strangers
shabbily in order to feel better about themselves.
Three months ago I left the restaurant world and took an office job where some
modicum of civility exists. I’m now applying to graduate school, which means
someday I’ll return to a profession where people need to be nice to me in order to get
what they want. I think I’ll take them to dinner first, and see how they treat someone
whose only job is to serve them.
From The World of English
August 2006
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text:
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
1. ______ People tend to judge strangers by the occupations they take.
2. _____ I was shocked at some of my customers’ manners when I returned to the
restaurant industry because I used to have pleasant customers.
3. ______Reporters earn more respect from people than advertising sales
representatives.
4. ______ Some customers treated waiters as servants.
5. ______ I insisted on introducing myself to the customer and waiting for their
response in order to draw their attention and respect.
174
6.
______ I had a mercy for the ill-mannered people because they build up
confidence by despising strangers.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. Prejudice against occupations
2．What do you think of “ judging people with their appearance”?
3. Talk about someone you know who has made great achievements on trivial posts.
Reading Three
Passage1
Words: 573
Time Supposed: 5’30’’
Time You Used: _________
Good Manners, Good Business
Nobody actually wants to cause offence, but as business becomes ever more
international, it’s increasingly easy to get it wrong. There may be a single European
market but it does not mean that managers behave the same in Greece as they do in
Denmark.
In many European countries handshaking is an automatic gesture. In France good
manners require that on arriving at a business meeting a manager shakes hands with
everyone present. This can be a demanding task and, in a crowded room, may require
gymnastic ability if the farthest hand is to be reached.
Handshaking is almost as popular in other countries—including Germany,
Belgium and Italy. But Northern Europeans, such as the British and Scandinavians,
are not quite so fond of physical demonstrations of friendliness.
In Europe the most common challenge is not the content of the food, but the way
you behave as you eat. Some things are just not done. In France it is not good
manners to raise tricky questions of business over the main course. Business has its
place: after the cheese course. Unless you are prepared to eat in silence you have to
talk about something—something, that is, other than the business deal which you are
continually chewing over in your head.
Italians give similar importance to the whole process of business entertaining. In
fact, in Italy the biggest fear, as course after course appears, is that you entirely forget
you arte there on business. If you have the energy, you can always do the polite thing
when the meal finally ends, and offer to pay. Then, after a lively discussion, you must
remember the next polite thing to do—let your host pick up the bill.
In Germany, as you walk sadly back to your hotel room, you may wonder why
your apparently friendly hosts have not invite you out for the evening. Don’t worry, it
is probably nothing personal. Germans do not entertain business people with quite the
same enthusiasm as some of their European counterparts.
The Germans are notable for the amount of formality they bring to business. As
an outsider, it is often difficult to know whether colleagues have been working
together for 30 years or have just met in the lift. If you are used to calling people by
175
their first names this can be a little strange. To the Germans, titles are important.
Forgetting that someone should be called Herr Doktor of Frau Direktorin might cause
serious offence. It is equally offensive to call them by a title they do not possess.
In Italy the question of title is further confused by the fact that everyone with a
university degree can be called Dottore—and engineers, lawyers, and architects may
also expect to be called by their professional titles.
These cultural challenges exist side by side with the problems of doing business
in a foreign language. Language, of course, is gull of difficulties--- disaster may be
only a syllable away. But the more you know of the culture of the country you are
dealing with, the less likely you are to get into difficulties. It is worth the effort. It
might be rather hard to explain that the reason you lost the contract was not the
product or the price, but the fact that you offended your hosts in a light-heated
comment over an aperitif. Good manners are admired: they can also make the deal.
From English Saloon
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Which of the following can best replace “chewing” in the passage?
A. discussing
B. thinking
C. eating
D. talking
2. Why do German companies seldom entertain their business partners after a friendly
dinner together?
A. Germans are more stingy than their European counterparts.
B. Germans are not as hospitable as their European partners.
C. Germans are less enthusiast in entertaining business partners than their European
counterparts.
D. Germans don’t want to develop personal relationship with their partners for
business is business.
3. According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?
A. Germans usually address their long-time partners in business by their first names
to show their intimate relationship.
B. Germans seldom address their colleagues by their first names because they insist
on the formality in doing business.
C. Never forget to call a German by his title even though you are not sure of it.
D. In Italy, only engineers, lawyers and architects can be titled as “Dottore”.
4. Which of the following is NOT the implied meaning of “disaster maybe only a
syllable away.”?
A. Language plays an important role in intercultural communication.
B. People of different languages may easily get involved in misunderstanding.
C. Language is a main obstacle in doing international business.
D. It’s not so easy to offend your partner by misusing a word, or a syllable.
176
5. According to the author, what is the most possible reason for failing in signing a
contract with foreign partners?
A. The quality of your products does not meet their expectation.
B. You have difficulty in communicating with each other because you speak
different languages.
C. You can’t reach an agreement on the price of the product.
D. You may offend your partner because of the ignorance of his culture.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO)if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG ( for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Handshaking is popular in many European countries, such as France,
Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia and Italy.
7. ______ In Europe, people pay particular attention to table manners.
8. ______ It is acceptable to discuss business during dinner in France.
9. ______ In France, people prefer to eat in silence to pick up a topic at table.
10. _____In Italy, it is considered polite to offer to pay the bill for a business dinner
and insist on doing so.
Passage 2
Words: 523
Time Supposed: 4’30’’
Time You Used: _______
Those Strangers We Know
We may look at the world around us, but somehow we mange not to see it until
whatever it is we’ve become accustomed to suddenly disappears. Take, for example.
The neatly attired woman I used to see—or look at--- on my way to work each
morning.
For three years, no matter what the weather, she was always waiting at the bus
stop around 8 a.m. On snowy days, she wore heavy boots and a woolen scarf.
Summer time brought out neat belted cotton dresses and a straw hat worn low over
her eye-glassed. Clearly a working woman, she exuded an air of competence, stability
and dependability.
Of course, I remembered all this only after she vanished. It was then I realized
how much I counted on seeing her each morning . You might say I missed her.
Naturally, I had fantasies about her disappearance. Accident? Something worse?
Now that she was gone, I felt I had known her.
I began to realize that a significant part of our daily life consists of such
encounters with familiar strangers: the power walker you see every afternoon at three
o’clock…The woman who regularly walks her Yorkie at the crack of dawn. The
dapper twin brothers you see at the library.
Such people are important markers in the landscape of our lives. They add weight
to our sense of place and belonging.
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Think about it. If, while walking to work ,we mark where we are by passing a
certain building ,why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar,
though unnamed, person?
After all, if part of being a tourist is seeing nothing and no one familiar to you,
then can we not say that seeing the familiar jogger or shopper is part of what makes us
citizens of our community?
This is one thing an immigrant longs for, I suppose: the sight of a familiar
stranger. The shopkeeper who nods to you. The bus driver who drives you to work
each day. The woman you see walking her child to school.
Sometimes I wonder: am I a familiar stranger to someone?
Perhaps a shopper at the supermarket sees me there every Saturday without really
noting my presence. Or maybe someone at the drugstore counter where I eat breakfast
would notice if I stopped showing up.
Once in a while you might actually meet one of these familiar strangers, as I did a
few months ago. I was standing in a coffee shop when a woman said hello. “Do you
know who I am?” she asked. And I did. She was a patient I had seen many times in
my doctor’s office. We had an easy, familiar chat—although we never got around to
exchanging names.
But here’s what I remember most about the importance of familiar strangers.
Once, driving home from the airport after a long vacation, I was feeling disoriented,
out-of-place. Then I saw him—the gentleman in the tweed jacket and green cap. I’d
seen this man walking through my neighborhood a thousand times.
Ah, I thought, seeing the familiar stranger, I’m home at last.
From English Corner
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Which of the following is the Chinese equivalent to “power walker”?
A. 强壮的行人
B. 有权势的行人
C. 有能力的行人
D. 风风火火的行人
2. We failed to notice people around us because ______
A. they are total strangers to us.
B. we have become accustomed to their appearance.
C. we are so obsessed with ourselves.
D. they deserve no attention and interest.
3. According to the author, when can you realize the existence of a stranger?
A. When you have a long conversation.
B. When you come across each other on the street.
C. When he does you a favor.
D. When he suddenly disappears.
4. Why do you think the author say “you might say I miss her”?
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A. Because the author was attracted by the woman’s beauty and elegance.
B. Because the woman has become a beautiful scenery in the author’s eyes.
C. Because the author usually takes the woman as a marker on his way to work.
D. Because the frequent encounter with the woman has become an important part
of the author’s daily life.
5. The word “weight” in “add weight to” share the same meaning with “weight”s in
the following sentences EXPECT______.
A. The president has now offered to lend his weight to the project.
B. Your opinion carries weight with the boss.
C. The news was certainly a weight off my mind.
D. The weight of evidence against her is overwhelming.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO)if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG ( for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ Everyone can be a familiar stranger in other’s eyes.
7. ______The best thing we can get from those familiar strangers is the sense of
belonging to a community.
8. ______As an immigrant, I felt lonely so I longed for making new friends in the new
environment.
9. ______We began to realize the presence of those strangers only when they
suddenly disappear from our sights.
10.______The sight of the gentleman in the tweed jacket and green cap made me feel
back-home because he was once an old friend of mine.
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Unit Fifteen Cultural Conflicts
Tips for Reading
Denotation and Connotation (1)
The dictionary definition of a word is its denotation. A word may also have an added
meaning, a meaning that suggests certain feelings associated with the word. This is its
connotation. Two words may have similar denotations but very different connotations.
For example, sobbing suggests pitiful crying, while blubbering suggests foolish, silly
crying.
Several of the vocabulary words in the passages have connotations that are important
to know, such as “individualism”.
Practice: Use the information given about connotations to answer the questions.
1. Industrious suggests being active in a careful and steady way because of a feeling
that the task is important.
Both a bird building a nest and a puppy playing with a ball are busy, which is
industrious?
2. Endure suggests continuing or lasting even though it is very hard to do so.
Both Rick and Nick continue to do their homework. Rick’s is easy; Nick’s is
difficult. Which one endures the task?
3. An attic is an odd, silly, or comical action.
Joe and John played tricks on one another. John’s trick was mean, but Joe’s was fun.
Which could be called an antic?
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1. What does INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION mean to you?
2. Is cultural conflict good or bad? What is the best way to handle conflict when it
arises?
3. Have you ever heard of or read about INDIVIDUALISM or COLLECTIVISM?
What do you know about them?
4. What do you think is the biggest barrier to business success?
Words: 984
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
When East Meets West:
Hidden Differences in Corporate Communication Styles
Not so long ago, an American company sent one of its best young managers to
Japan to take over the Tokyo office. His first decision concerned a new advertising
campaign, which he found completely unacceptable. When the New York office urged
him to accept the plan anyway, he felt angry and frustrated. These feelings only
deepened overtime. Meetings seemed disorganized, and department heads were vague
about heir plans. His plans to reorganize the office and put his own mark on the
company met with passive resistance. Six months later, after his top Japanese
manager resigned, the young man was recalled.
What happened? The cultural misunderstanding lay at the root of the problem.
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Sending a young man to head the Tokyo office was the first mistake, as Japanese
businessmen respect age and experience. The fact that the young man himself failed
to do research on Japanese language, culture, and business practices was another error.
Finally, sending an ambitious person with a desire to put his own ideas into practice
was the third mistake. The Japanese find a competitive, aggressive attitude
uncongenial and distressing. A CEO1 says, “Despite popular beliefs to the contrary,
the single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture.”
One difference between Japan and the United States is that Japan, like many
countries in East Asia, Africa, and South America, is a collectivist culture, while the
United States is an individualist country. When collectivists and individualists interact
without understanding the hidden differences that characterize their corporate styles,
misunderstandings result. According to the experts, individualism-collectivism is a
major cultural difference that affects work values, personal styles of interaction, and
even concepts of morality. They believe that anyone who wants to work effectively in
international business should be trained in how to diagnose and adapt to differences
along the individualism-collectivism continuum.
What is the difference between collectivist and individualist cultures? Briefly,
collectivists have a “we” orientation. Loyalty to the group is more important than
individual achievement, and the smallest “unit of survival” is the collective, whether it
be extended family, clan, or organization. In contrast, individualist cultures have an
“I” orientation. Here the smallest “unit of survival” is the individual.
The behaviors of collectivists can seem surprising or distasteful to
individualists, and collectivists may find individualist attitudes and actions equally
inexplicable. What should Americans, as individualists, do when working in a
collectivist culture? Experts have offered a number of guidelines, a few of which are
listed below.
First, individualists should understand that collectivists let themselves be
guided by group norms rather than individual goals. This means that when
collectivists change group memberships, their opinions, attitudes, and even their
personalities may change. Individualists need to be ware of this factor and not be
taken aback.
In addition, collectivists are likely to stress harmony and cooperation more than
individualists. Competitive or confrontational situations cause discomfort and
embarrassment. If criticism of a coworker becomes necessary, the individualist must
be sure the interaction takes place in private and should offers much positive feedback
as possible to allow the other to save face.
Because harmony is so important, individualists should not be put off by
unusual shows of modesty from collectivists. It is not uncommon for a collectivist to
begin a presentation by saying something like, “Please forgive this unworthy effort.”
Individualists who give presentations should begin in a more modest way than they
are generally used to. Attempts to build credibility by stressing expertness will seem
like boasting and will create a negative impression.
Although Collectivists are not competitive or boastful, they do recognize and
respect status differences. Unlike individualists, they feel more comfortable in vertical
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than in horizontal relationships. They therefore feel uncomfortable interacting until
they know what position in society their partner occupies. Individualists should not
hesitate to let collectivists know their age, rank, place of birth, and even income. This
information allows collectivists to decide how to proceed. Individualists should also
seek out this kind of information and give special respect to collectivists’ status and
age.
Individual decision making is not as highly valued by collectivists as it is by
individualists. Individualists should expect negotiations to take time as collectivists
seek out group consensus. Negotiations also take time because collectivists feel the
need to establish personal relationships with their individualist partners. In some cases,
individualists may feel their privacy is being violated. In an attempt to establish long
term relationships, collectivists may spend a great deal of time visiting their
individualist partners, or they may ask personal questions that individualists feel are
intrusive. Although establishing a personal relationship takes time, once the
relationship has been defined, collectivists will expect a great deal more loyalty and
commitment than individualist is normally likely to five to a business partner.
Finally, the actual mechanic of doing business may differ dramatically.
Collectivists rely less on written contracts than individualists and may not understand
the necessity for signed documents. They may also engage in some acts which are
considered illicit in individualist countries. Whereas an individualist might consider
paying a government official to expedite paper-work to be a bribe, collectivists may
see it as a natural part of doing business. Nepotism2 and other personal connections
are much more acceptable in collectivist cultures than in individualist cultures.
Of course, not all collectivist countries are the same, and individualists doing
international business must recognize the particular patterns in the country to which
they are assigned. Nevertheless understanding the general nature of both collectivism
and individualism can be an important first step in successful intercultural interaction.
If you should find yourself working in a different culture some day, you will have to
find a way to maintain your own value system while respecting that of others. This is
by no means an easy task, but it is absolutely essential in adapting to the hidden
differences you are sure to encounter.
From English Saloon
Notes
1. CEO: (abbr.) Chief Executive Officer 执行总裁，首席执行官
2. nepotism: (商界和政界中的)重用亲属，裙带关系
Exercises
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. The Japanese find a competitive, aggressive attitude uncongenial and distressing.
2. They believe that anyone who wants to work effectively in international business
should be trained in how to diagnose and adapt to differences along the
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individualism-collectivism continuum.
3. Briefly, collectivists have a “we” orientation.
4. The behaviors of collectivists can seem surprising or distasteful to individualists,
and collectivists may find individualist attitudes and actions equally inexplicable.
5. Competitive or confrontational situations cause discomfort and embarrassment.
6. Attempts to build credibility by stressing expertness will seem like boasting and
will create a negative impression.
7. They may also engage in some acts which are considered illicit in individualist
countries.
8. Whereas an individualist might consider paying a government official to expedite
paper-work to be a bribe, collectivists may see it as a natural part of doing business.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or
false. Put a T for true and F for false.
1. According to the author, the reason why the American managers met with many
barriers in Japan lies in the cultural misunderstanding.
2. The Japanese usually have a preference for a competitive, aggressive attitude.
3. Japan, like many countries in East Asia, Africa, and South America, is a
collectivist culture while the United Stats is an individualist country.
4. Collectivist cultures have a “we” orientation where the smallest “unit of survival”
is the collective, while the individualists have an “I” orientation where the
smallest “unit of survival” is the individual.
5. Collectivists value harmony and cooperation so much that they never criticize
their co-workers in order to avoid competitive or confrontational situations.
6. Individualists usually began their presentations in a more modest way than
collectivists.
7. Since collectivists respect status differences, it’s advisable for individualists to send
out information about their age, rank, place of birth, and even income.
8. Collectivists value individual decision making as well as group consensus.
9. Individualists put higher value on interpersonal relationship with their partners.
10. Paying a government official to expedite paper-work is regarded as a bribe in
collectivist cultures.
11. All collectivist countries share the same pattern in doing international business.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
orientation/ concern/ adapt to/ take aback/ put off/ commitment/ expedite/
credibility/negotiation/ continuum
1. She _____merrily to diplomatic life.
2. The Press would not agree to the extra expense without a guarantee that
production would thereby be _____.
3. An adult’s sexual _____ is determined between the ages of one and five.
4. It’s a confidential matter, and _____ another person.
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5. No longer a dichotomy of town and country; rather it is an urban-rural _____.
6. The fight was brought to an end by _____.
7. A career as an actor requires one hundred percent-_____.
8. The prosecution did its best to undermine the _____of the witness.
9. Neighbors were _____that such an attack could happen in their area.
10. Don’t _____by how it looks—it tastes delicious.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words /phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics.
1. Cultural conflict should be welcomed VS. Cultural conflict should be avoided
A: provide opportunities to strengthen relationships/ gain new information about
members or about other groups/ defuse more serious conflict/ increase group
cohesiveness/ release tensions
B: lead to problems for relationships and groups/ disturbing to peace/
face-threatening/ threat to interpersonal and community harmony
2. Distance creates beauty VS. Distance creates misunderstanding
A: distance produces attraction/ lovers’ affection for each other would be deepened by
distance/ no one is born perfect/ distance can help you to keep some good
memories about another person / help you filter bad memories
B: the lack of communication may cause misunderstanding/ temptations are hard to
resist/ trivial problems cannot be solved in time/ leading to hidden trouble in
interpersonal relationship
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topic fully.
1 .Cultural conflict
2. Differences between individualism and collectivism
3. Factors that may influence intercultural communication
4. Different meanings of “individualism” in Eastern and Western cultures
Reading Two
Words: 663
Time Supposed: 6 Minutes
A Kiss Is Just--- a Pain
Mary Roach
America is a culture that cannot agree on how to end an evening. Some people are
huggers. Some peck, some shake. Ed and I were at a dinner party last week that was
particularly treacherous, in that it combined old friends and total strangers, each
requiring a different skill set. Ed is better at this, and I turned to him for guidance.
The first to leave was our friend Laurie. “Kisser-hugger,” whispered Ed. “No
problem there.” Her friend Jim was trickier. We’d met him only once, and though I
had a dim memory of him as a hugger, I couldn’t say for sure what kind. There’s
full-body frontal, lip/cheek, cheek/cheek, and there’s combo. I stepped closer to Jim,
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imagining a panel of judges off to the side and a team of commentators speaking in
hushed tones. “It looks like they’re getting ready for a single-side, lateral cheek press
with shoulder clasp. That’s got a difficulty factor of 5. Let’s see how Roach does. In
the past she’s had trouble with her finish.” I pictured them wincing quietly. “That’s
going to be tough to recover from.”
Other cultures have managed to agree upon a national protocol for greetings and
farewells, and they simply get on with it. The French kiss each other twice, perhaps
because no one else will. The Dutch at some point trumped the French with a triple
cheek buss. The English , my people, will step closer and raise their arms to your
shoulders while simultaneously leaning away, imparting a vague impression of
affection while at the time suggesting it’s quite possible they find your kind repellent.
Cross-cultural goodbyes are especially trying. I once met a French-Canadian
author in an airport and spent a pleasant hour chatting with him. When his flight was
called, we stood up to say goodbye. I went for a peck, but because he had turned his
head in preparation for a double-cheek press, my mouth collided with the side of his
nose. We rushed to make corrections, but it was like trying to steady a plummeting
jetliner. The embrace spiraled out of control and crashed to the floor. Black smoke
billowing from the departures hall for days.
Cross-generational hugs are also tricky, as I learned with Laurie’s mother the
other night. A kiss or hug might seem inappropriate, but a handshake might be taken
as standoffish.
“Let her make the first move,” whispered Ed.
I worried that she might be plotting the same thing. Ed acknowledged that that
was a problem, in that we’d both be awkwardly standing there. “High noon in a Clint
Eastwood 1 movie” was how he put it.
So I made the first move. I flipped my poncho over one shoulder and removed the
cigar. I was going for a cheek/cheek. Though people refer to this as a kiss, it is
technically an embrace. It is physically impossible to kiss someone else’s cheek while
he or she is kissing yours, unless you have highly elastic, protuberant lips. Orangutans
can manage the simultaneous cheek kiss, but have the good sense not to bother.
The rest of the table had stood up and begun gathering their coats. We were
toward the back of the pack. A man with whom I hadn’t exchanged a word was
drawing near.
“Hug,” Ed whispered urgently. “If you’re at the end of the line, and everyone in
front of you has been doing the hug, you have no choice. You have to go to the hug.”
So I hugged the man, perhaps a bit too exuberantly. He extracted himself as
quickly as he could without actually pushing me away. The judges shook their heads
sadly.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to get home, where the people I love come and
go without any of this fuss, unless one of us is heading off for , say, a year in Tripoli.
“See ya!” “Bye!” It’s so wonderfully simple.
From Reader’s Digest
185
Notes
1.Clint Eastwood movie:1930 年出生于美国旧金山，美国著名演员，导演兼制
片人，拍摄作品《不可饶恕》（Unforgiven）曾获奥斯卡最佳导演奖
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text:
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
1.______ “His friend Jim was trickier.” means Jim was clever, but he tends to deceive
you.
2.______ While I was approaching Jim to say goodbye, judges and commentators
watched me closely, which made me feel very nervous.
3.______American ways of saying goodbye are varied and complicated
4.______The Dutch kiss each other three times when saying farewells.
5.______The English way of saying goodbye is full of passion and affection.
6.______It is never easy to say goodbye to a person not of your generation.
7.______The French, the Dutch, and the English have agreed on what they should do
when taking leave.
8.______There was an air crash near the departures hall when I said goodbye to the
French-Canadian author.
9. ______It was inappropriate to hug a stranger goodbye.
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Different ways of exchanging greetings in different cultures
2. Difference in non-verbal communication behaviors
3. Significance of body language
4. Cultural differences and similarities you find in your contact with foreigners
Reading Three
Passage1
Words: 446
Time Supposed: 3’50’’
Time You Used: _________
Kin Selection!
I used to think that the ability to integrate into a diverse culture and environment
was a valuable quality and a dominant strategy for individual’s success.
Today I was talking to an expatriate friend that is living in China for 6 year. His
children have been studying in China for about the same period. They face no
language barrier since they speak Chinese fluently. Nevertheless they feel isolated and
unable to integrate into the culture and society.
It would be one more evidence that integration would be an ability in itself
independent of other qualities, and since it’s so difficult to develop it would be even
186
more valuable for the individual’s success.
Wrong! Integration has no value for individual’s success.
At first thought anyone would imagine that natural selection pressure would put a
high value in the ability of an organism to integrate into a new environment, since the
more integrated the organism, higher its chance of surviving.
Wrong! Integration is not adaptation, especially if we take into account the human
social context. In such environment successful adaptation comes as a last resource for
survival.
It doesn’t matter if someone is able to easily and fast integrate in the Asian culture
and society despite the huge costs of overcoming all the barriers such as language,
cultural clashes etc. This ability does not necessarily translate in survival success or
greater economic return, as one would expect.
The explanation, as usual, is in the genes. But before turning to our genes let’s
just take a look in the human history.
In any given case where two or more different social groups faced each other in
competition for resources there were, first, clashes and forceful fights. Integration and
adaptation was the last resource often used by the oppressed and defeated group.
Hence we should expect that the majority of us actually carry a gene craving to
dominate other social groups. The wider the genetically difference between the
competing social groups, the less likely to occur integration. Exploitation and
domination over the different group will always come as the first strategy.
The theory of Kin Selection offers the scientific framework to support my
observation. Hamilton’s rule is clear: the degree of relatedness between individuals is
a decisive element in determining which strategy (altruist or selfish) will be used if we
keep the benefits and costs the same. The further the relatedness, the more selfish we
are.
And let’s face it. Most of the economically successful individuals or social groups
are not concerned in integration, but exploiting.
It’s a sad reality for a utopian traveler, but the undeniable truth is written in our
genes. No myth can overcome nature.
Fromhttp://hppaes.spaces.live.com/
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to the author, why do his expatriate friends feel isolated after 6 six
years of living in China?
A. Because they cannot speak Chinese so they cannot communicate with people
around them.
B. Because their ability of integrating into a diverse culture and environment is
rather weak.
C. Because they are different from Chinese genetically.
D. Because they have met with many cultural clashes in China.
2. According to the author, which of the following is most UNLIKELY to happen
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when two genetically different social groups meet?
A. Clashes and fights would come first as the result of their fighting for
resources.
B. The oppressed and defeated group may take integration and adaptation as
their last resource for survival.
C. The more greatly the two social groups are different from each other
genetically, the more likely to occur integration.
D. Both B and C
3. What is mostly likely to happen if the two groups are greatly different from each
other genetically?
A. clashes and fights
B. integration
C. exploitation and domination
D. adaptation
4. According to the author, what makes a successful individual or a social group?
A. The ability of integrating into a new environment.
B. The ability of exploiting and dominating others.
C. The ability of adapting to a new environment.
D. None of above.
5. According to the last paragraph, what’s the author attitude?
A. optimistic
B. pessimistic
C. indifferent
D. sarcastic
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;
N (for NO)if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG ( for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ The ability of integration into a new environment is an essential quality to
an individual’s success.
7. _______A quick integration ensures survival success and greater economic return.
8. _______ It’s genetically determined that the majority of us crave to dominate other
social groups.
9. _______ The author got support for his opinion from the theory of Kin Selection.
10. ______ According to Hamilton’s rule, the further the relatedness, the more selfish
we are.
Passage 2
Words: 540
Time Supposed: 3′50″
Time You Used:
__
Girlness
As a visiting professor in an American university, Chonghua Zhang was invited
188
to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students
in China. During the question-and-answer period after the lecture, one female student
asked a question that surprised Chonghua Zhang. “When you talked about female
students, you referred to them as girls. Why?”
“Because they are girls. That’s what they are called.” Chonghua Zhang tried to
answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of the question. “I don’t
quite understand your question, I’m afraid.”
“In the States, we call ourselves ‘women’ if we’re old enough to go to the
university. Calling us ‘girls’ is insulting.”
Chinese perspective
What young females call themselves is very different in China form the States.
In China, “girl” means someone who is young and single. In a way, it makes a female
sound more desirable to be called a girl rather than a woman. For most people,
“woman” means someone who is married and who probably is not young. In fact,
most single Chinese females, such as university students, would be insulted to be
called “women”.
However, male students of the same age would not want to be called boys.
Almost all of them call themselves “men”. This may have to do with the fact that
traditionally, men are supposed to be the pillar of the family. Being a “man” means
that one feels strong enough to shoulder responsibilities. Most males want to be
considered strong and psychologically, they are more prepared for adulthood than
women.
Therefore, what males and females want to be called reflect how they want to
be thought of in the society.
North American perspective
What to call females is a sensitive and sometimes confusing issue in the West.
In formal, public settings, it is customary to call any woman who is past puberty a
woman, even though she may not be legally old enough to vote, marry, purchase
alcoholic beverages, drive a car, or sign a contract. This terminology became
widespread during the “women’s liberation movement in the 1960s”. The term “girl”
is sometimes interpreted to be demeaning or disrespectful.
The issue of “boy” versus “man” is not as delicate a matter because (1) males
are seen by females as socially more advantaged than females and less in need of
vocabulary protection and (2) males tend not to pay much attention to such issues.
However, the term “boy” is potentially insulting if you use it to refer to a black
(African-American) male. “Boy” has long been used as a derogatory term referring to
black males: in fact, it can be seen as a racial slur and thus quite insulting.
However, just to keep things complicated, young women---and even older
ones---- will often use the term “girl” to refer to themselves when speaking with
female friends or a spouse or lover. If they are going to a movie with female friends,
they may describe it as “a girls’ night out”. If they want to encourage a female friend
to try something new, they may say, “Go girl!”. And younger women often speak of
their sense of mutual support and positive feelings about what they can accomplish as
“girl power”.
189
From Cultures in Contrast: Mis-communication and Misunderstanding between
Chinese and North Americans
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. After the lecture, the American student asked a question about______.
A. the lecture
B. the professor himself
C. the professor’s attitude towards women
D. the professor’s understanding of “girls”
2. According to the passage, which of the following cannot be counted as reasons for
Chinese single females’ preference for “girls” to “women”?
A. “Women” in China implied the person is married and probably not young.
B. Most of Chinese females would feel insulted to be called “women”.
C. “Girl” means someone young and single in China.
D. “Women” sounds more sophisticated than “girls” in China.
3. Male students in China prefer to be called “men” to “boys” because of the
following reasons EXCEPT______.
A. Most of males wants to be considered strong.
B. Being a “man” implied one’s strong enough to shoulder responsibility.
C. “Men” sounds more manly, thus caters for male-chauvinism.
D. Men are more prepared for adulthood than women psychologically.
4. In the West, a female who is not legally old enough can______.
A. be called as a “woman” in formal settings
B. purchase alcoholic beverages
C. sign a contract
D. drive a car
5. Which of the following is NOT the reason why the issue of “boys” versus “men” is
less complicated?
A. Males are more open-minded than women.
B. Males usually don’t care about how they are called.
C. All males, including black males, accept both terminologies.
D. There’s less need for vocabulary protection for males.
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. _______ Chonghua Zhang found it hard to answer the American student’s question
because he couldn’t understand the question literally.
7. _______The American female student thought that calling them “girls” was
insulting because they were old enough to be called “women”.
8. _______What males and females want to be called reflect their expected images in
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the society.
9. _______During the “women’s liberation moment”, “women” became widespread
because the movement advocated equality between men and women.
10._______ “Girl power” refers to females’ sense of mutual support and confidence in
themselves.
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Unit Sixteen Honesty
Tips for Reading
Denotation and Connotation (2)
For example, relentless has the negative suggestion of a lack of pity or mercy.
Adaptable has the positive suggestion of an admirable ability to change.
Practice: Use the information above to answer the questions.
1. Both A and B talked endlessly about my speech to the class. A was making fun of
me, and B was complimenting me .Which one was relentless? A
2. Both Polly and Molly can change their behavior. Molly does so if her old way of
doing things doesn’t work. Polly does so only when it is demanded of her. Which
one is adaptable? Molly
Reading One
Warming-up discussion
1．Is it possible to be an honest businessman?
2．What does TRUSTWORTHINESS mean to you? What is the importance of
trustworthiness in doing business?
3．Have you ever set a goal for yourself? What obstacles came up as you pursued
your goal? Did you succeed?
4．How do you handle tough situations? With determination? With courage?
Words: 969
Time Supposed: 9 Minutes
To Tell the Truth
Maria Bartiromo
He wanted to do good business and make money. But could he do it the honest
way?
Trustworthiness can be underestimated when it comes to creating both success
and wealth. But it is a critical trait in getting ahead. Just ask Charles Schwab, founder
of the discount brokerage firm that bears his name.
The idea of never taking advantage of someone is a lesson Schwab learned early
on from his father, then the district attorney of Yolo County, near Sacramento1,
California. “When I was young, my father taught me a lot about how important ethics
are, about right and wrong, about doing the right thing and not compromising.”
By his own admission, Schwab was “a hard –working kid.” And for a long time
he only dreamed of making money. “ I’ve come out of a generation of parents and
grandparents who lived through the Depression 2 years, and all they talked about was
not having money, the lack of money, the lack of resources, so from my earliest
memories, I wanted to see if I could break out of that.”
Schwab knew that education would be his escape route, but school presented
inexplicable complications. “I got good grades in math and science, but in anything
related to composition or reading, I was C-minus for sure.”
The mystery would be solved decades later when his youngest son was diagnosed
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with dyslexia. Schwab says,” I realized that all of the difficulties he was going
through, I went through too.”
Schwab didn’t consider the learning disability a handicap. “I worked harder to
overcompensate,” he says. “My SAT3 scores were pretty bad, but my enthusiasm,
commitment and hard work were impressive. And because I had to work harder than
the other kids, I had self-confidence.”
That self-confidence asserted itself on the golf course, where he was a member of
his public high school’s golf team. When the school played Stanford University’s
freshman squad, Schwab shot 36 in his first nine holes. He won the notice of
Stanford’s coach –and eventually landed a college scholarship.
After completing his undergraduate degree in 1959, he stayed on to go to business
school. “I cost $335 a quarter. My dad helped, but I had to work. I worded after
school, on weekends and during the summers.” Schwab was employed by an
insurance company, a bank, a financial services firm. “They were a lot of junk jobs,
but I made it a point to really understand the mechanics of the financial –services
world.”
He also learned the tricks that unscrupulous brokers used. “I saw the B.S.4 they
gave clients to get the big, fat commissions,” he said. Many followed the “363
banker” formula: They paid customers at a rate of 3 percent, loaned them money at a
rate of 6 percent and were out of the office by 3 p.m.
Schwab sys he “could see the nasty underpinnings at the very beginning. I had a
spiral binder in which I kept all the stories of how they would pitch a particular stock.
There was a great deal of ‘inside information,’ The broker would say, ‘Well, I talked
to this director and he said--- ’ Most of that ‘ inside information’ wasn’t worth its
weight in feathers.”
Within a year of graduating form business school and getting a job as a financial
analyst, Schwab experienced his first stock market crash in 1962. He said to his boss,
“All of our customers have lost o lot of money in this crash. We ought to be
sympathetic to their positions. We ought not to charge these people for this quarter.”
Schwab’s boss was silent for about30 seconds, then said, “You’re fired.”
Married and with a young child at home, Schwab couldn’t afford to be
unemployed. “I came back the next day, tail between my legs, and said,’ Look, I really
need this job.’”
His boss rehired him, but Schwab continued to struggle to reconcile the conflict
between doing what was good for business and doing what was right for the customer.
For him, the ultimate test was whether an offering was something he would have his
parents invest in.
Schwab had also come to realize a simple truth: “Clients will pay you money
even when things are bad, as long as you tell them the truth.”
That determination to deal honestly with customers became Schwab’s guiding
principle when he started his own discount brokerage business in 1974. He had just
four employees and $75,000 in loans from family and friends. To this day, Schwab
says, “some of my food friends still say to me, ‘When you showed up, I was just
wishing you weren’t going to ask me for money!’”
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Four years later, Schwab made a decision that was critical to the company’s
growth: He replaced the firm’s boring, just-the –facts advertisements with those using
his own image. “Putting my picture in the advertising put a face to the business.
People felt there was a real person behind the whole thing, someone they could trust.”
Results quintupled, then quintupled again. With each development, from the mass
marketing of mutual funds in the 1980s to the Internet boom of the 1990s, Schwab’s
company came up with innovations to further empower individual investors. But the
basic impetus stayed the same: “Ｉjust wanted to lower the prices and get better
outcomes for investors,” he says.
“Deep in my heart,” Schwab adds, “I knew if I got more people to invest, it
would be part of the great American success story and improve democracy. If people
don’t participate in wealth creation, we lose them as major participants in the body
politic. I still feel it today. The more I can do to bring new investors into the success
tent, the better off we all will be.”
From Reader’s Digest
Notes
1. Sacrament: 萨克拉曼多(美国加州首府)
2. Depression: the great Depression of 1930s, 20 世纪 30 年代的经济大萧条
3. SAT: scholastic aptitude test（美国）学业能力倾向测试（高中生升入大学必须
通过的测试）
4. B.S.: bill of sale 卖据，发货单
Exercises:
I. Study the following sentences carefully. Try to make out the meaning of the
italicized words with the help of a dictionary.
1. Just ask Charles Schwab, founder of the discount brokerage firm that bears his
name.
2. “When I was young, my father taught me a lot about how important ethics are,
about right and wrong, about doing the right thing and not compromising.”
3. Schwab knew that education would be his escape route, but school presented
inexplicable complications.
4. The mystery would be solved decades later when his youngest son was diagnosed
with dyslexia.
5. I had a spiral binder in which I kept all the stories of how they would pitch a
particular stock
6. Four years later, Schwab made a decision that was critical to the company’s growth:
He replaced the firm’s boring, just-the –facts advertisements with those using his
own image.
7. Results quintupled, then quintupled again.
II. Comprehension of the text: decide whether the following sentences are true or false. Put a
T for true and F for false.
1. Trustworthiness is a critical trait in creating success and wealth.
194
2. Charles Schwab admitted his diligence and he dreamed of making money at an
early age.
3. Schwab got high marks in composition and reading.
4. Schwab considered his learning ability as a handicap and totally lost confidence in
himself.
5. The part-time jobs he took during his school days turned out to be very helpful
because they got him to understand the mechanics of the financial-services world.
6. According to Schwab, most of the “inside information” was worthless.
7. Schwab’s guiding principle in doing business is to be honest to the customers.
8. Schwab put his own picture in the advertising to get trust from his customers,
which turned out be a big success.
9. His father is his first ethnic teacher in doing business.
III. Language work: fill in the blanks with the words and phrases listed below.
Change the form where necessary.
assert/ overcompensate/ underestimate/ loan/ sympathetic/ empower/
determination /impetus/ commission/ reconcile
1. Some of them wanted a fifteen-cent _____ on every copy.
2. He remained very poor, dependent upon _____ made to him from his wealthier
friends.
3. Macbeth is not made ______, however adequately his crime maybe explained.
4. In the______ of this question the identity of virtue and knowledge is found to be
involved.
5. Only in Austria did the revolutionary _____ find its natural outlet.
6. Some have doubted whether the Devil is ______ to take up any human shape.
7. It would be wrong to ______ the bonds between Eliot and Vivian.
8. I could never have become ______ to the blind adulation of the leader.
9. Good sense _____ itself.
10. She ______ for her shyness by talking too much and laughing too loud.
IV. Pros and cons: study the recommended key words/phrases, pair up, and
debate upon the following topics
1. Trust is dying in the modern society VS. Trust is thriving in the modern society
A: cheating can be found in many fields of the society/ morality has declined over the
past few years/ loss of criterion in realistic personality/confusion over moral
standards/ customers' trust in brand are scant\ trust crisis among many Chinese
couples/ stifle Chinese e-commerce boom
B: endeavor to develop technologies for supporting and measuring trust/ multiple trust
properties/ the prosperity in e-commerce
2．Talents are born out of adversity. VS. Talents are born out of favorable circumstance
A: Some difficult situations bring out the best in people/ help to develop a new
attitude towards a tough situation/ temper oneself/ foster perseverance and
courage/ many admirable people facing hard problems in their lives, such as
Martin Luther King Jr, Helen Keller, Anne Frank and Jackie Robinson
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B: Favorable circumstance provides good conditions for personal development/ more
opportunities to show and develop one’s abilities/ adversity may bring about
obstacles/ more people succeed in favorable circumstance than in adversity
3. Ambition is a positive attribute VS. Ambition is a negative attribute
A: necessary impetus to people’s dreams and success/ lead an orderly life /provide
motivation /imply work and discipline to achieve goals/ the rewards of
ambition/wealth, distinction, control over one’s destiny
B: dangerous/ perverse human quality/ life being measured by external yardsticks/
consumed by drive and over drive/ delayed gratification/ greedy/ lead a chaotic
and crowded life
V. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully.
1. Trustworthiness and wealth/ success
2. Trust crisis in the modern society
3. Attitude is everything
4. Self-confidence and success
Reading Two
Words: 1040
Time Supposed: 10 Minutes
‘Geeky Kid---Big Voice’
Clay Aiken 1with Allison Glock
With Mrs. Norton’s help, I got rid of the wedgies and made it all the way to
‘American Idol”
When I was young, I got teased by other kids like it was their job. I remember
riding the bus in Raleigh2, North Carolina3, and always sitting in the seat right behind
the driver. I would talk his ear off and hope that the other kids wouldn’t tease me.
I wasn’t popular in grade school. I had friends, but they were like me, geeky,
shy, and unable to fit in. Some of it came because I spent a large chunk of my
childhood around adults. My mother and I left my birth father when I was about two.
After that, I spent most of my time with her or my grandparents. I would even go to
work with Mom at Sears and hang out with the old ladies there. They’d prop me on
the carpet samples and make me sing country songs. I already had my red hair, square
white teeth and freckles. I looked like Howdy Doody4. For some reason they found it
adorable.
I felt comfortable when I was singing for the ladies at Sears. But kids in grade
school don’t really care if you can sing, and since I’d rarely spent time around others
my age, I didn’t know the social rules. I knew all the words to “Break It To Me
Gently.” But that doesn’t keep you from getting wedgies at recess.
It didn’t help that I dressed like a loser, in old-man sweaters with loud patterns
and crazy colors, while other kids were wearing hyper-color neon T-shirts, Umbro5
athletic shorts and designer sneakers. I remember once when I wanted new tennis
shoes, my mother said, “We don’t have the money for$100 tennis shoes. Besides, you
don’t grow from having everything given to you.”
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Then she’d tell me about Dolly Parton6 and where she started and she’d say’
“Look where she is!”
Well, I didn’t want to be Dolly Parton. I wanted to be cool.
But there I was, on the playground, dressed like somebody’s grandfather,
burning up in those sweaters, unable to play soccer or kickball, just off by myself
feeling and looking ridiculous. Of course I got picked on. I was teased, called
“wimp,” “dork,” “four eyes,” and “loser.” I was dodgeball bait. I spent a lot of time
praying to be invisible.
Then I entered seventh grade. Leesville7 Road Middle School was brand new.
Since it had just opened, there were no cliques. Everyone was starting fresh. Maybe
things could be different.
I had sung briefly in the elementary school chore but since I was trying to be
like other boys---none of whom sang--- I had given it up. I also had a bad experience
with the Raleigh Boy chore, a prestigious singing club in the area. I knew my voice
was as good as the other kids’, but I never felt at home in that choir. It seemed like
just another place to get picked on. So after a year, I quit. Which annoyed my mother,
who told me,” God gave everybody a calling and he gave you a voice. You need to
use that talent.”
Instead, I made the tragic mistake of deciding to be the water boy for the
football team. I figured if I could be part of the team somehow, I might be respected. I
figured wrong. The players mocked my high voice, and one of the coaches even
called me a gnat. So, because I was ignoring her about singing, Mom took it upon
herself to approach the new school’s music teacher, Mrs. Elsie Norton, and tell her
that I needed to be on the choir.
Mrs. Norton called me into her office after school one day. She said she had
heard about my previous chore experience and asked if I would be interested in trying
out for her chore. I said I wasn’t sure.
She explained how she believed music brings people together, that it’s a
universal language. She also mentioned that a lot of cute girls would be taking the
class. Then she popped in a cassette and asked me to sing for her. I sang Whitney
Houston’s8 “One Moment in Time.”(I was still a soprano then.)
Mrs. Norton was enthusiastic. She told me I had a strong voice, that I could
project a long way. “You sing in church, don’t you?” she asked.
I nodded. I ‘d been singing in church for four years.
“I can tell. You sing like you’re aiming for the rafters.”
She flattered me. She told me that voices as strong and steady as mine didn’t
come along often. “You are already connecting the words to feelings,” she said. “I
know adults who can’t do that.” She seemed genuinely impressed. Then she reminded
me about the girls who would be in class. “We’ll be rehearsing before school,” she
said.
I thought, You know what? I’ll do it. And if it’s stupid, so what? I did it, and
things got a little better.
To start, I got instant friends, a choir clique. And the more I sang, the more
people knew who I was. It wasn’t about clothes and glassed anymore, but about what
197
I could do.
By eighth grade everything had changed. I had a really wonderful year. At the
school shows, I usually got the solos---sometimes even standing ovations. Everybody
knew me not as the gangly redhead, but as the kid with the big voice. Well, they knew
me as both. But my looks were no longer a liability. It was like, he may be geeky but
that boy can sing, you know?
I’m still close with Mrs. Norton. And whenever I see her, she reminds me of
music’s power, of her belief that singing lets us feel passion and be connected in a
fundamental way. Every culture makes music because the world needs song. I often
think if Mrs. Norton hadn’t pushed, I might never have joined choir. Singing could
have completely fallen out of my life. I remember this every time I sing. And how
sometimes it takes somebody else to help you find your voice.
From Reader’s Digest
Notes
1. Clay Aiken : “American Idol” runner-up in 2003, released his new CD, “Merry
Christmas
with Love,” in November. His holiday special, “A Clay Aiken
Christmas,” aired on NBC-TV in December
2. Raleigh： 美国北卡罗来州城市
3. North Carolina: 美国北卡罗来纳州
4. Howdy Doody: Howdy Doody was a children's television program (with a
decidedly frontier/western theme, although other themes also colored the show) ...
Howdy Doody himself was a freckle-faced boy marionette, and was originally
voiced by Bob Smith.
5. Umbro ( athletic shorts): 知名运动品牌茵宝
6. Dolly Parton: 美国乡村歌坛的常青树多莉-帕顿。多次荣获“格莱美”大奖。近
三年来，她接连发行的三部曲式的专辑《再次饥饿》(Hungary Again)、《草
是蓝色的》(The Grass Is Blue)和《小麻雀》(Little Sparrow)――后两张专辑属
于乡村音乐中更为纯净的“蓝草音乐”。
7. Leesville: 美国路易斯安那州的路易斯维尔
8. Whitney Houston: 惠特尼·休斯顿, 1963 年出生于美国新泽西州，美国流行
乐坛著名歌手
Exercises
I. Comprehension of the text:
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is not TRUE?
A. I’m shy and geeky, not good at socializing with other kids.
B. I dressed like a loser.
C. I had no confidence in myself.
D. I had bad performance at school.
2. I gave up singing for a period because _____.
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A. I lost interest in singing totally.
B. I wanted to be more like other boys who usually don’t sing.
C. I got discouragement from my mother.
D. I realized that my voice was not as good as others.
3. My experience in the football team can be best described as______.
A. unforgettable
B. wonderful
C. humiliating
D. tragic
4. According to the author, what is the most important factor in making him join Mrs.
Norton’s choir?
A. my mother’s push
B. Mrs. Norton’s encouragement
C. Mrs. Norton’s reputation
D. my eagerness to make new friends
5. Which of the following word can best express the author’s feeling towards his
teacher?
A. respect
B. gratitude
C. awe
D. regret
II. In-depth discussion: based on the information contained in the text and
targeting the specific conditions in real life, discuss the following topics fully
1. The power of music
2. What’s you understanding of the last sentence “And how sometimes it takes
somebody else to help you find your voice.”?
3. Talk about teachers who once gave you great encouragement and guidance.
Reading Three
Passage 1
Words: 490
Time Supposed: 5′
Time You Used: ________
Try It a Different Way
Gary Sledge
Exacted from ‘They say I couldn’t’ ---- Six stories of people who wouldn’t give up
Bobby Moresco grew up in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, a tough working-class
neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side. But Hell’s Kitchen lies right next door to
Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a ten. Being
stage-struck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his buddies. Fearing their
ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons,
at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction
worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.
199
Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting,
turned out for al the cattle calls—and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of
$2000. “I wasn’t a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with
my life,” he says.
He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. “My
father said, ‘Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.’” But
Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.
Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing.
Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore
the pain and the patrimony of Hell’s Kitchen. Half-Deserted Street, based on his
brother’s killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood
producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.
His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood.
By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul
Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about
the country after September 11. The two worked on the script, but every studio in
town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio execs, however, thought no one
wanted to see a stark, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern
America.
Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house.
He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writer s found an independent film producer
who would take a chance, but the upfront money was so meager, Moresco deferred
his salary.
Crash slipped into the theatres in May 2005, and quietly became both a smash hit
and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three—Best
Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and
the kid from Hell’s Kitchen.
At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. “If you have something
you want to do in life, don’t think about the problems,” he says, “think about the ways
to get it done.”
From Reader’s Digest
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
1. Children grew up in New York’s Hell’s kitchen usually became the following
EXCEPT_____.
A. cop
B. construction worker
C. longshoreman
D. actor
2. Crash has won 3 Academy Awards EXCEPT______.
A. Best Picture
B. Best Music
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C. Beast Film Editing
D. Best Writing
3. Which of the following word can best replace “deferred” in the passage?
A. delayed
B. deprived
C. decreased
D. disproved
4. Their script of Crash was first refused by every studio in the town because ______.
A. It was not well-written.
B. Its theme was not welcomed.
C. They had no money and no fame
D. It was written in an unrealistic way
5. According to the passage, what is the secret for Bobby Moresco’s success?
A. opportunities
B. luck
C. self-confidence
D. determination
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6. ______ To be an actor was Bobby Moresco’s long-held dream, and he kept it as a
deep-hidden secret.
7. ______ His father had given him strong support on his acting career.
8. ______ Bobby Moresco made a large sum of money by taking leading roles in the
films.
9. ______ His career as a screenplay writer began with the book Half-Deserted Streets,
based on his brother’s killing.
10. ______ “Stage-struck” means enjoying the theatre a lot and wishing very much to
become an actor.
Passage 2
Words: 636
Time Supposed: 5′30″
Time You Used:
___
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was
born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in 1934. Carolina was a poor community, and
Roberto’s family worked hard to make enough money to live on. Roberto was lucky
to have received an education at all. He was especially lucky to have met a woman
named Maria Isabela Caceres, a teacher who dedicated her life to helping Roberto and
other students like him. Roberto became a man who had not only tremendous talent,
but also compassion for those in need.
201
The record books show that Roberto Clemente collected 3,000 hits during his
major league career. He came to bat 9,454 times, drove in 1,305 runs, and played
2,433 games over an eighteen- year career. These are quite impressive statistics for a
baseball player of any time period. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for his entire
career. In 1971, the Pirates won the World Series, with Clemente leading the team to
victory. He was a superstar in this particular series against the Baltimore Orioles, even
being named the MVP (Most Valuable Player). It was an accomplishment he had
worked diligently for, and all his hard work paid off. He was confident that he would
continue to excel on the playing field.
However, Roberto Clemente had a love beyond baseball. He met a woman
named Vera when he was back in Carolina for a visit, after he had become a famous
baseball player. Vera walked into a pharmacy where Roberto was sitting with his
teacher, Senora Caceres. Roberto and his teacher were reminiscing about the past
when Vera caught his eye. She was also a student of Caceres’s, and Clemente wanted
an introduction. However, his teacher did not think it was proper to introduce them, so
Roberto did it himself. He and Vera were married in 1964.
Besides being a baseball player and a devoted husband, Roberto Clemente
always wanted to help those in need. In 1972, there was a deadly earthquake in
Managua, Nicaragua. It was the worst earthquake the region had experienced in a
long time. Roberto had just been to Nicaragua two weeks earlier with a junior
baseball team, and he had made many friends there during this time. He was saddened
to hear the news, and he wanted to help. Roberto knew he could get the people of
Puerto Rico to listen to him. He went on television to ask for their assistance in this
time of crisis.
He asked them to donate medicine, clothes, food , and shoes to the people of
Nicaragua. Roberto took the supplies with him on a plane on December 31, 1972. It
was an old plane, and the pilot had trouble getting the engine to work properly. The
flight was delayed while a mechanic made adjustments to the engine. Finally, the
plane left San Juan Airport. Ninety seconds later, the pilot radioed the airport to tell
them that the plane was coming back to the airport. Yet the plane never came back. A
radio report informed the people of Puerto Rico and the United States that Roberto’s
plane was missing. For three days people waited and searched, but to no avail.
Roberto Clemente died at the age of 38.
Although Roberto Clemente lived a short life, he accomplished many goals and
was well loved. He touched the hearts of the Puerto Rican people, and he helped
change people’s lives throughout his travels. He died wanting to help others and will
always be remembered for his kindness and generosity. In 1973, he was elected to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame. Besides being honored for his baseball ability, he
was honored for his charity and desire to help those in need. The world lost not only a
fine athlete but also a fine man.
From The Reader’s Choice California edition
Reading Comprehension I (Reading in Depth)
202
Choose the best answer for each of the questions or unfinished statements.
!. The author of the passage believes that Roberto Clemento lived a ______.
A. short but full life
B. long and full life
C. rewarding but disappointing life
D. fast and confusing life
2. In the passage, the word diligently means______.
A. in a playful, fun-loving manner
B. in a lazy manner
C. in a hard-working manner
D. by chance
3. This passage gives you reason to believe that Roberto Clemente_____.
A. is remembered for his educational and athletic abilities at school
B. had helped other people before his flight to Nicaragua
C. was voted to the Hall of Fame in 1985
D. was a teacher in Puerto Rico
4. Which of the following is another possible title for this article?
A. “Famous Baseball Players”
B. “A Man of Talent and Charity”
C. “An Earthquake in Nicaragua”
D. “An Untimely Death”
5. Compared to present-day baseball players, Roberto Clemente’ baseball statistics are
_____.
A. remarkable
B. average
C. pathetic
D. important
Reading Comprehension II (Skimming and Scanning)
Mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N
(for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for
NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.
6.______Roberto was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, which ensured him
a good education.
7.______ Roberto was once the team leader of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
8.______ His achievements on the playing field were attributed to his talent.
9. ______ It was Roberto’s teacher who made the introduction for Roberto and his
wife.
10.______The fight went missing without any omens.
203
Key for Reference
Unit One Medicine
Reading One
II
1. F
2. T
3. F
4. F
III
1. access
2. declined
6. cost effective 7. chronic
Reading Two
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. D
2. A
3. C
4. B
Passage 2
1. D
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. T
6. T
7. T
3. weather
8. in terms of
8. F
4. infected
9. staked
9. T
10. F
5. adapt to
10. Instead of
5. T
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. F
10. F
5. D
6. Y
7. Y
8. N
9. N
10. NG
5. C
6. N
7. Y
8. N
9. Y
10. NG
8. F
9. T
10. F
Unit Two Industry
Reading one
II
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. T
6. F
III
1. accounting for
2. franchisee
3. surge
6. on a par with
7. plotted
8. ironically
Reading two
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. F
5. T
6. T
Reading three
Passage 1
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. C
5. D
6. N
Passage 2
1. C
2. D
3. A
4. B
5. C
6. Y
7. T
4. eightfold
5. in part
9.traction
10. ruthlessness
7. F
8. T
9. F
7. N
8. Y
9. Y
10. N
7. Y
8. N
9. N
10. NG
9. F
10. T
Unit Three Generation Gap
Reading One
II
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. T
6. T
204
7. F
8. T
III
1. productivity
6. run
Reading Two
A-5
B-3
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. C
2. D
Passage 2
1. B
2. A
2. laid-off
3. capitalize on
7. shown up 8. challenging
4. turned on
9. widened
5. ingredients
10. turned off
C-4
D-2
E-6
F-1
3. B
4. C
5. A
6. N
7. Y
8. N
9. Y
10. Y
3. D
4. D
5. C
6. Y
7. N
8. NG
9. Y
10. N
8. F
9. T
10. T
Unit Four Employment
Reading One
II
1. F
2. T
3. T
4. F
III
1. collateral
2. incrediblee
Perseverance 6. make end meet
intimidates 10. apply for
Reading Two
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. F
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. B
Passage 2
1. B
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. T
6. F
7. F
3. lose sight of
4. slammed
7. dignity
8. are disputing with
5. F
6. F
7. F
5. C
6. NG
7. Y
8. N
9. Y
10. N
5.D
6. Y
7.N
8. Y
9. NG
10. N
Unit Five Living and Studying Abroad
Reading One
Ⅱ.
1. T
2. T
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. F
9. T
Ⅲ.
1. adequate
6. obtained
Reading Two
Ⅱ.
1. T
2. F
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. C
2. C
2.was involved 3.available 4.rose
5. approximate
7.accomodation
8.facilities 9.variable
10. access
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. T
10. T
3. D
4. B
5. A
6. Y
7. Y
8. Y
9. N
10. N
205
5.
9.
Passage 2
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. B
6. N
7. Y
8. Y
9. N
10. Y
Unit Six Sports and Competition
Reading One
II.
1. F
2. T
III.
1.due to
6. postponing
Reading Two
Ⅰ.
1. F
2. F
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. B
2. C
Passage 2
1. B
2. D
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. T
2. debated
7. crucial
3. dominate
8.tie
4.bear
5. overtaken
9. standout
10. steered
3. F
4. F
5. F
6. T
7. F
8. F
9. F
10. F
3. A
4. A
5. D
6. Y
7. N
8. N
9. Y
10. Y
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. N
7. Y
8. N
9. N
10. Y
Unit Seven Import and Export
Reading One
II.
1. F
2. F
III.
1. subsequently
6. commit s
with
Reading Two
1. F
2. T
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. B
2. C
Passage 2
1. B
2. C
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. T
7. F
8. T
9. F
2. commitment 3. immediate
7. pursued
8.Given
4. reinforced
5. duties, duties
9. in addition
10. in line
3. F
4. F
5. T
6. T
7. T
8. T
9. T
10. F
3. A
4. C
5. D
6. N
7. N
8. Y
9. N
10. Y
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. Y
7. N
8. N
9. N
10. N
8. F
9. T
10. T
Unit Eight Social Problem
Reading One
II
1. F
2. F 3. T
III
1. pounded 2. pick
4. F
5. T
6.F
7. T
3. was determined to 4. met up with
206
5. shattered
6.squeezed 7. calculate 8. exchanged
Reading Two
1. C
2. D
3.B
4. B
5. C
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. C
2.A
3. D
4. B
5. D
Passage 2
1. C
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. D
9. stagger
10. have slumped
6. N
7. Y
8. Y
9. NG
10. N
6. N
7. Y
8. N
9. Y
10. NG
8. B
9. A
10. C
Unit Nine Insurance
Reading One
II.
1. D
2. A
III.
1. claims
6. in advance
Reading Two
1. F
2. T
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. A
2. C
Passage 2
1. D
2. D
3. D
4. C
2. exclude
7. refer to
5. B
6. C
7. C
3. policy
4. Assuming
5. incurred
8. charged 9. turned…down 10. cancelled
3. F
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. F
8. T
9. F
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. Y
7. Y
8. N
9. Y
10. N
3. A
4. C
5. A
6. N
7. N
8. T
9. T
10. N
Unit Ten Fashion
Reading One
II
1. F
2. T
3. F
4.T
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. F
9. T
10. T
III
1. obsessed 2. emancipation
3. permeate
4. Modesty
5. embrace
6. access. 7. is synonymous with 8. scaled down 9. sticking my neck out 10. dubious.
Reading Two
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. T
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. D
5. D
6. Y
7. N
8. N
9. NG
10. Y
Passage 2
1. A
2. B
3. D
4. C
5. C
6. N
7. NG
8. Y
9. N
10. Y
207
Unit Eleven Future
Reading One
II
1. F
2. F
III
1. incorporated
6. declined
Reading Two
1. T
2. F
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. C
2. D
Passage 2
1. B
2. A
3. T
4. T
5. F
2. coordinate
7. mentality
6. T
3. tolerate
8. infuse
7. T
8. F
4. forecast
9. curiosity
9.F
10. T
5. disastrous
10. incredible
3. F
4. F
5. T
6. F
7. T
3. A
4. A
5. B
6. N
7. Y
8. N
9. NG
10. Y
3.D
4. C
5. A
6. NG
7. Y
8. N
9. N
10. Y
Unit Twelve Environment
Reading one
II
1. T
2. T
3. F
4. T
5. T
6. T
7. F
8. F
9. F
10. T
III
1. tangible 2. commitment
3. unrenewable
4. environmentally-sound
5.
insulated 6. incorporated 7. partner with 8. Sustainable 9. Preservative 10.
have set an example
Reading Two
1. F
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. F
8. T
9. T
10. T
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. B
5. C
6. Y
7. N
8. NG 9. Y
10. N
Passage 2
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. C
5. B
6. Y
7. N
8. Y
9. N
10. Y
Unit Thirteen Animals
Reading One
II
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. F 6. T 7.T
III
1. initial
2. ignorance 3. perch
4. appeal
6. occasionally 7. hostility
8.freaked out 9. stigmatized
Reading Two
208
5. versions
10. putting off.
A.1 B.12 C.5 D.7
E.2
F.14 G. 4 H. 0
I. 9
J. 8 K. 1
L. 3 M. 15
N. 6 O. 13
Reading Three
Passage 1
1.C
2.B
3.D
4.C
5.A
6.F
7.NG
Passage2
1.D
2.C
3.B
4.C
5.A
6.F
7.T
8.F
9.T
10.NG
8.F
9.T
10.T
Unit Fourteen Coutesy
Reading One
II
1.F
2.F
3.T
4.F
5.T
6.F
7.T
8.T
9.F
10.T
III
1.Routines
2. purchase 3.consistency 4.were subjected to 5. encountered
6. acknowledged 7.oblivious 8.conduct
9.pitched in
10.thrived
Reading Two
1.T
2.F
3.T
4.T
5.T
6.T
Reading 3
Passage 1
1.B
2.C
3. B
4.D
5.D
6. F
7.T
8.F
9.NG
10.F
Passage2
1.D
2. B
3.D
4.D
5.C
6. T
7.T
8.NG
9.T
10.F
Unit Fifteen Cultural Conflicts
Reading One
II.
1.T
2. F
11. F
III.
1. adapted
6. negotiation
Reading Two
1. F
2. F
Reading 3
Passage1
1.C
2.C
Passage2
1. D 2.D
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. F
2.expedited 3.orientation
7.comitment 8.credibility
3. T
4. T
5. F
3.C
4.B
5.B
3.C
4.A
5.C
7. T
7. T
6.F 7.F 8.T 9.T
209
9. F
4.concerns
5.continuum
9.taken aback 10.be put off
6. T
6.F 7.T
8. F
8.T
9.NG
8.F
10.T
10.T
9.F
10. F
Unit Sixteen Honesty
Reading One
II.
1.T 2.T 3.F 4.F
5.T 6.T 7.T 8.T 9.T
III.
1. commission 2.loans
3. sympathetic 4. determination 5. impetus
6. empowered 7. underestimate 8. reconciled 9.asserts 10. overcompensated
Reading Two
1.D
2.B 3.C
4.B
5.B
Reading Three
Passage 1
1. D 2.B 3.C 4.B 5. B 6. T 7. F
8. NG 9.T 10.T
Passage2
1. A 2.C 3.B 4.B 5.A 6.F 7. NG
8.F
9. F 10.F
210