Unit 6 The man in the Water
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Presidential Monuments: Washington
Monument
In recognition of his leadership in the
cause of American independence, Washington
earned the title "Father of his Country".
With this monument, the citizens of the
United States show their enduring
gratitude and respect for the first
president in the United States.
Background knowledge
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Presidential Monuments:Jefferson Memorial
Thomas Jefferson — political philosopher,
architect, musician, book
collector, horticulturist（园艺学家）, scientist,
diplomat, inventor, and third President of the
United States, also author of the Declaration of
American Independence, and Father of the
University of Virginia.
Background knowledge
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Presidential Monuments: Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a tribute to President Abraham
Lincoln and the nation he fought to preserve during the
Civil War (1861-1865). The Lincoln Memorial was built
to resemble a Greek temple. It has 36 Doric columns,
one for each state at the time of Lincoln’s death. A
sculpture by Daniel Chester French of a seated Lincoln
is in the center of the memorial chamber.
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The Potomac River is often referred to as the "Nation's
River," because it flows through the nation's capital,
where the magnificent monuments of the Washington,
Jefferson, and Lincoln memorials are reflected in its
waters. It is one of the most beautiful and bountiful
rivers on the East Coast and is known for its historic,
scenic and recreational significance. It begins as a small
spring at the Fairfax Stone in West Virginia, and winds
its way through the mountains and valleys of Appalachia,
past battlefields and old manufacturing towns. The river
flows more than 380 miles and grows to more than 11
miles wide as it reaches the Chesapeake Bay at Point
Lookout, Maryland.
Discussion
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IV. In->
1. Divide the students into five groups and
describe in turn what happened during the whole
air crash, and ask them to try to use the words
and phrases they’ve just met. (15 min.)
2. Discussion: Why? Why did the hero in the story
do this? What did he do this for?
(10 min.
Discussion
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3. Discussion: Heroism in the story. (15
min.)
4. Talk about heroic stories the students
have experienced or heard about. (10 min.)
I. Language Points (50 minutes)
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1. As disasters go, this one was terrible, but
not unique…
as…goes…: compared with sth. average
As writers go, Oscar Wilde was not the
most talented. But he was among the most popular.
和一般商人相比， 人们认为他是非常诚实的。
As businessmen go, he is considered pretty honest.
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2. Washington, the city of form and rules,
turned chaotic by a blast of real winter and a
single slap of l on l. (para 1)
chaotic: adj. in a state of disorder and
confusion
chaos: n.
The room was in a chaos.
blast: strong , sudden movement of wind or air
When the window was opened, an icy blast
came into the room.
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3. And there was the aesthetic clash as well -—blue and
green Air Florida, the >
aesthetic: 审美的；有审美能力的
aesthetics: 审美学；美学
anaesthetic / anesthetic: 麻木的；麻醉的；麻醉剂
chunk: thick, solid piece or lump 一厚块，一大块
a chunk of meat / ice
clash: V. 1. make a loud, broken, confused noise (as when
l objects strike
together) Their swords clashed.
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2. meet in conflict
The two armies
clashed outside the town.
3. (of events) intefere with each other
because they are to be at the same timeon the
same date It’s pity that the two concerts
clashed. I want to go to both.
4. be in disagreement with
I clashed with him at the meeting.
The color of the curtain clashes with the of the
carpet.
n. the clash of weapons / views / opinions
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4. Last Wednesday the elements,
indifferent as ever, brought down Flight
90. And on that same afternoon human
nature —groping and struggling — rose to
the occasion. (para 2)
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he elements: the forces of nature 自然力；
风，雨 等的力量
be exposed to the fury of the elements
grope: feel or search in the dark
grope for the door-handle / light switch
We groped our way in the dark corridor.
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indifferent to : having no interest in ;
not caring for
How can you be so indifferent to the sufferings
of those people?
rise to the occasion /challenge /task: prove
oneself able to deal with an unexpected problem,
a difficult task, etc.
I’m sure he will rise to the occasion when he
realizes what is at stake.
(处于危险境地）
5. Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event,
three ate able to account for their behavior.
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acknowledge:
1.
admit
He refused to ~ that he was defeated.
He ~ having been cheated.
2. express thanks for
We should ~ gifts promptly.
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3. indicate that one recognizes sb.
by greeting
I passed her in the street , but she
didn’t even ~ me when I smiled.
4. acknowledgement
n.
We are sending you a small sum of money in
acknowledgement of your help.
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Answer for:1. give an explanation or reason for
He can account for every penny in his pocket.
Science can now account for many things
that ancient people could not understand.
2. answer for
You will have to account for the misprints in the
article.
3. amount to
In that country the production of raw materials
account for a considerable proportion of the
national economy.
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6. On television, side by side, they
described their courage as well in the
line of duty.
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line: range of activity
His line is banking. 他从事银行业。That’s
not my line. 那不是我的本行。
in line with: in agreement with
Our foreign policy is in line with the
interests of all the people of the world.
(be) in line with
(be) out of line
with
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7. Skutnik added that “somebody had to go
into the water, delivering every hero’s
line that is no less admirable for being
repeated. (para 3)
deliver one’s line : give a remark
deliver a speech
deliver a
lecture
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8 . “In a mass casualty, you’ll find
people like him,” said Windsor.” But I’ve
never seen one with that commitment. (para
4)
mass casualty: large number of people
hurt or killed in an accident or battle
9 . His selfishness was one reason the
story held national attention; his
anonymity another. (para 4)
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anonymity
n.
anonymous adj.
an ~ letter
an ~
gift
10. Still he could never have imagined
such a capacity in himself. (para. 5)
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ability
capability & capacity:
ability: 做某种具体事情的能力，特别是经过学习
的实际本领;
capability：做某事 的才干或本领，可与 ability通
用，但更强 潜在的能力；
capacity： 主要指接受，吸收 或容纳的能力.
He has the ability to swim like a fish.
He has the capability of solving practical
problems.
The theater has a seating capacity of 300
people.
The book is within the reading capacity of
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11. He was there, in the essential,
classical circumstance. (para 7)
essential: basic typical, most important
classic: traditional or long established
12. So the age-old battle began again in
the Potomac. For as long as man could last,
they went at each other, nature and man.
(para 7)
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go at: attack; fight
13. The man in the water set himself against an
immovable, impersonal enemy; he fought it with
kindness; and he held it to a standoff. He was
the best we can do.. (para. 9)
set sb. against: make sb. start to fight or
quarrel with
an immovable, impersonal enemy: refers to nature,
which is indifferent and cannot be persuaded to
change its attitude towards us humans
standoff: a situation in which neither side in a fight or
battle can give an advantag
II. Difficult Sentences (30 min.)
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1．And there was the aesthetic clash as well -—
blue and green Air Florida, the >
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When the air crash occurred, it was not
clash of l against the bridge, but also
between colors: the blue-green color of
ant the gray and black color of the ice
just a
a clash
the plane
and river.
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2．Last Wednesday the elements, indifferent as
ever, brought down Flight 90. And on that same
afternoon human nature —groping and
struggling —rose to the occasion. (para. 2)
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Last Wednesday, the bad weather, unconcerned
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3. Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event,
three ate able to account for their behavior.
(para. 3)
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Only three out of these four heroes lived to tell
people what they actually had done and how they
rescued the five survivors.
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4. Skutnik added that “somebody had to go into
the water, delivering every hero’s line that is
no less admirable for being repeated. (para 3)
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Skutnik gave a remark that has been said before
by many people in similar situations, but it is
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5．“In a mass casualty, you’ll find
people like him,” said Windsor.” But I’ve
never seen one with that commitment. (para
4)
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We can always find heroic people like him in a
mass casualty because although not everyone
is a hero, there’s bound to be a fair
representation of heroes in a big crowd. But
I’ve never seen anyone with such a strong
sense of responsibility.
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6 . His selfishness was one reason the
story held national attention; his
anonymity another. (para 4)
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We can always find heroic people like him
in a mass casualty because although not
everyone is a hero, there’s bound to be a
fair representation of heroes in a big
crowd. But I’ve never seen anyone with
such a strong sense of responsibility.
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7. The fact that he went unidentified gave
him a universal character. (para 4)
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The fact that he went unidentified made
him a representative man, like everyone of
us could do. We may feel that it might
have been anyone.
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8. For a while he was Everyman, and thus proof
(as if one needed it) that no one is
ordinary. (para 4)难句解析。请同学解释较难句子，
锻炼学生分析句子、组织句子的能力。(30分钟)
“Everyone” echoes the title of a medieval play
about a typical human being. It conveys the idea
that this anonymous man really represents the
best of human nature. What he did was not the act
of a supernatural being, but the act of an
ordinary person. Yet
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9. He was there, in the essential,
classical circumstance. (para 7)
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What happened that day was a typical situation in
which nature and man fought each other. And when
nature begins to show its power, you always find
man fight back. He is always there. We can always
expect to find such a hero.
10. …the one making no distinctions of good and
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evil, acting on no principles, offering no
lifelines; the other acting wholly on
distinctions, principles and , perhaps, on faith.
(para. 7)
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Nature is indifferent. It does not have
any idea what is good or what is bad for
human beings, and it does not care. It has
no moral principles. Human beings, on the
other hand, are different. They have moral
standards. They have feelings. They care
and they love. Therefore they are able to
choose between right and wrong.
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11. In reality, we believe the opposite, and it
takes the act of the man in the water to remind
us o four true feelings in this matter. (para. 8)
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Actually, the death of the man did not mean that
human beings had lost the battle. In a moral
sense, man had won because man’s courage to defy
death was also a tremendous power. Therefore,
what happened to this man in the water should
fill us with pride rather than sadness.
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III. In->
Divide the students into five groups and
ask them to make up as many sentences as
they can by using the new words and
phrases they’ve just learned. and choose
the best performers.
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1. His long service with the company was ____
with a present.
A. admitted
B. acknowledged
C. attributed
D.
accepted
2. Teaching students of threshold level is hard
work but the effort is very ____.
A. precious
B. rewarding
C. worth
D. challenging
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3. Among all the changes resulting from the ____
entry of women into the workforce, the
transformation that has occurred in the women
themselves is not the least important.
A. massive
B. quantitative C.
surplus
D. tragic
4. Whether their football team will win is a
matter of ____ to me.
A. indifference
B. discrimination
C.
deviation
D. interests
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5. The plane ____, its bombs exploding as it hit
the ground.
A. collided
B. crushed
C.
plunged
D. crashed
6. The morning news says a school bus ____ with a
train at the junction a group of policemen were
sent there immediately.
A. stumbled
B. collided
C.
crashed
D. struck
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7. Today the public is much concerned about the
way ____.
A.
nature is being ruined B. which nature is
ruined C. on which to ruin nature
D. of nature to be
ruined
8. These surveys indicate that many crimes go
____ by the police, mainly because not all
victims report them.
A. to be unrecorded B. unrecorded C. to have
been unrecorded
D. unrecording
II. Oral Work（15 min.）
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Role-play a television interview with
three students acting as the three heroes
and another student as the anchorman. Make
sure that the questions and answers bring
out the dramatic details about their
rescue mission, and about the man in the
water.
III. Vocabulary.
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Page 152. Exercises 1 to 12.
IV. Grammar
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IV. Grammar （20 min.）
Page 159. Exercises 2 to 6
V. Written Work （30 min.）
Describe the plane crash briefly in about
130 words, with emphasis on the
behaviour of the “man in the water.”