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Pre-reading questions
Background information
Structural analysis of the text
Comprehensive questions
Language points
Sentence highlights
Language appreciation
Grammar points
Comprehensive questions of Text II

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 About the author:
Suzanne Britt Jordan

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American columnist and writer. Her books include
Show and Tell (1982), Skinny People Are Dull and
Crunchy like Carrots (1982).
http://wadsworth.com/english_d/templates/student_resources/0
759398313_sundance/a-f/britt.html

Puritans http://baike.baidu.com/view/1658836.htm?fr=ala
0_1

The essay evaluates the
“ fun
” side of the American culture in an ironic way. The first five paragraphs, which form the introduction to the essay, provide a stipulative definition of
“ fun
”
. Then in the main body of the text, the writer gives an extended definition of it by pointing out what it is not. The essay concludes with an anecdote that further explains what fun is. To develop the definition, a number of methods have been employed, among which are narration., comparison and contrast.

1.
How does advertising help to cultivate our fun-seeking appetite?
Advertisements help to develop modern people
’ s fun fetish by setting an example for us to follow and showing how much fun we can get from consuming all the items being advertised.

2. How old was Jordan at the time she remembers having an especially good time with her friend Pam?
Describe in your own words why she had such a wonderful time that day.
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Jordan was twelve at the time she remembers having an especially wonderful time. She had a fun night to look forward to that day and she had lots of candies and her friend kept imitating a sailor
’ s posture and words. All these were simple forms of fun yet keen to a girl of twelve. More importantly, she was a simple, innocent girl without a dulled and insatiable appetite for fun; that is why she could feel the fun of simple joys.

 3.
What according to Jordan is fun?
 The author employs the technique of negation-i.e., defining a term through showing what it is not- in defining the concept of fun. Fun, according to
Jordan, is not a family visit to Disney World; nor is it celebrating big occasions. Fun is simple pleasure in life which lies rather in one
’ s work and the fulfillment of one
’ s duty.

 4. Does Jordan think fun is as important as duty and morality?
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In more than one place in the essay (Paragraphs 4 and 13), Jordan points out that fun cannot be compared with duty and morality. People should not be obsessed with fun; instead they should devote themselves to their work and the fulfillment of their duties.
 5. Do you agree with Jordan
’ s view about the fun fetish of modern Americans? Why or why not?

 1. overshadow: to make ( sb. Or sth.) less successful, important or impressive by comparison with others; to dominate)

Ben overshadows all his colleagues.
 She is overshadowed by her younger and more attractive sister .

 2. flunk: to fail, especially (in) a course or an exam
 The boy was upset because he flunked (in) an
English Exam.
 Flunk out: to expel or be expelled from a school or a course because of work that does not meet required standards.
 We didn
’ t flunk out, but our records weren
’ t so good.

 3. traipse: to walk wearily
 She spent the day traipsing from one shop to another.

 4. epitome: an ideal; a typical representation
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His father is the epitome of goodness.
“He is seen…as the epitome of the hawkish, right-of-center intellectual”.
Epitomize: v. to be an epitome of something
 He epitomizes the loving father.
 She epitomizes all the good qualities of her family.

 5. damper: something that stops an occasion from being an enjoyable as it was intended to be,
 The bad news put/cast/threw a damper on the party.

 6. blaspheme: to swear; to use words which show a lack of respect for God or religion
 The bank manager began to rage and blaspheme
(against) God.
 The spiritual leader charged that the film blasphemed Islam.

 7. chunky
 1) (of candy,etc.) containing small, thick pieces
 Chunky peanut butter; chunky soup
 2) (of a man) short and strong; stocky
 A chunky man usually has a wide upper body and looks strong.

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 8. scan
(1) to examine (sth.) carefully, with the eyes or with a machine, in order to obtain information,
 She anxiously scanned the faces of the young men leaving the train in the hope of finding her son.
(2) To scan a text can also mean to look through it quickly in order to find a piece of information that one wants to get a general idea of what the text contains.
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Now, scan the newspaper article quickly and make a note of the main points

 1. Somewhere along the line people got the modern idea that
…
. Puritans. (para.3)
 Paraphrase:

 2. Television commercials brought a lot of fun and fun-loving folks into the picture. (Para.10)
 Paraphrase:

 3. I don
’ t
’ mean to put damper on things. I just mean we
…
. Like an animal. (Para.13)
 Paraphrase:

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1. Fun is hard to have.
Fun is a rare jewel. (Paras. 1-2)
Short sentences; metaphor

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2. Fun got to be such a big thing that everybody started to look for more and more thrilling ways to supply it. One way was to step up the level of danger or licentiousness or alcohol or drug consumption so that you could be sure that, no matter what, you would manage to have a little fun. (Para.9)
Long sentences are adopted here to show the misunderstanding of fun in modern society.

 3. Big occasions were supposed to be fun.
Christmas, Thanksgivings and Easter were obviously supposed to be fun. Your wedding day was supposed to be fun. Your wedding night was supposed to be fun. Your honeymoon was supposed to be the epitome of fun. And so we ended up going through every Big Event we ever celebrated, waiting for the fun to start. (Para. 11)

 4. It is a mystery. I cannot be caught like
 virus. It cannot be trapped like an animal.
(Para. 13)
The three parallel sentences emphasizes
…
.

 the alternative use of short and long sentences, the use of rhetoric, such as simile and repetition.
 Repetition

 1. What, according to the author, is the most distinctive feature of our age?
 Our age, according to the author, is the age of thrills. It generates many more thrills than any of the previous ages did and people in our age expect to be thrilled as continuously as people in no other ages did. We have cinemas running all day long, publishing houses pouring out thousands upon thousands of thrillers every day and various devices of excitements of speed. We are by no means short of a diversity and variety of thrills.

 2. What is the essence of happiness? Can thrills bring us happiness?
 Happiness is not rooted in thrills, which are merely amusements. Happiness chiefly derives from affection for people and interest in various objects in the external world. It is the simple joy in life rather than the thrilling experience that provides us with happiness which is deep and lasting. And those who are truly happy do not depend on thrills for their happiness, for thrills can only help to et rid of the feeling of boredom.

 3. What is the difference between great books and thrilling books?
 Great books bring us exaltations while thrilling books only excite our nerves superficially; great books inspire imagination and affection while thrilling books can hardly do so. Great books can help us to gain an insight into the reality, into the essence of life, into the nature of human beings and into the truth of the universe while thrilling books can help us to escape form reality and worries in life for some time.

 4. Should we deny ourselves entirely the excitement of thrills?
 We, as human beings, can enjoy thrills occasionally, for various forms of thrills can serve as a kind of spice in life, but what is important is that we should learn to derive our pleasures from simple things in life so as to feel truly happy. In addition, if we learn how to bear a certain degree of boredom, we may enjoy life more intensely.