An Integrated English Course Book 2
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Unit 1
Teaching objectives
 understand the main idea, structure of
the text and the author’s writing style
 master the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
 consider that “generation gap” as a
common phenomenon between parents and
children
Topics for discussion
 Whom do you go for help when you are in
trouble, your father or your mother?
Why?
 What is your opinion on “generation gap”?
Do you think there is generation gap
between you and your parents? How to
bridge the gap?
 Consider the deep reason of generation
gap.
Structural analysis of the text
 The text can be divided into five
parts.
 Part One: (Paragraphs 1)
As an introduction, the first paragraph
supplies the basic information for the
whole story.
 Part Two: (Paragraphs 2-4)
 The three paragraphs elaborate on
how their problems arose from
their different personal
preferences and how these
differences have developed into a
kind of “cold war” (silence). It is a
flashback into the author’s early
years.
Part Three: (Para. 5-6):
In paragraph 5, the author recalls her
childhood when she enjoyed her
father’s profound love.
Paragraph 6 returns to the present
moment when, after long years of
estrangement, the author cannot but
wonder whether her father will
extend his love for his “little
daughter” to his crossbred grandson.
 Part four: (Para. 7-13): These
paragraphs concern about the author’s
observation about the initial reaction of
her parents in their reunion
 Part five: (Para. 14-15): These two
paragraphs serve as a conclusion of the
story.
Language points
 Apprehension
 1)anxiety about the future, expectation of
something unpleasant
 E.g. We waited for their with a great of
apprehension.
 2) apprehensive adj.
 E.g. I must admit that before my baby was born
I was apprehensive about motherhood
 Feminine
 typical of a woman, especially in a way
that is graceful or attractive
 E.g. “How did you know I was lying?”

“Call it feminine intuition”
 Follow in someone’s footstep
 To follow an example set by someone in
the past
 E.g. Charles’s children will follow in his
footsteps and go to the same school
 Estrangement
 1)causing (esp. people in a family) to
become unfriendly towards each other.
 E.g. His estrangement from his brothers
and sisters made his wife and children.
 2)estrange v.
 E.g. Steve became increasingly
estranged from his wife and children.
 Uniform
 1)the same or consistent, as from
example to example or from place to
place; constant
 E.g. The air-conditioning system
maintains a uniform temperature
throughout the building
 2)uniformity n.
 E.g. most modern housing developments
show a tedious uniformity of design.
Questions for consideration
 How to bridge the generation gap
between parents and children?
Main idea of Text 2
 The writer used to be very much attached to her
mother, who, she thought, was the one to hold them
together. Assuming no one could ever replace her
mother after her death, the writer found, little by
little, to her surprise, that she and father had more in
common than she had ever imagined. And her father’s
deep love for her made her realize that he had become
her new Mum. From the whole story we know that the
writer’s father is a devoted husband and a fond father
with a lovely sense of humor. He was also sentimental,
sensitive and understanding.

Topics for discussion:
What kind of man is the writer’s father?
Explain the title “My New Mum Is …My
Dad”.
 Whom are you more sentimentally
attached to, your father or your mother?
Why?


Unit 2
Teaching objectives
• grasp the author’s purpose of writing
and make clear the structure of the
whole passage
• appreciate the fluid and sensual writing
style and master the key language
points and grammatical structures
• know how to build a good relationship
between teachers and students
Topics for discussion
• Have you ever been in a situation
where you were considered “different”
from others? How did you feel?
• Who is your favorite teacher? What
do you remember him/her for?
• What qualifications do you expect of a
good teacher?
An integrated Analysis
of Text 1
• The passage can be divided into five
parts.
• Part One: (Paragraphs 1-5) The first
three paragraphs describe Mrs.
Thompson’s initial unpleasant
impression about Teddy.
• Part Two: (Paragraphs 6-8) These
paragraphs tell the readers what Mrs.
Thompson learned from Teddy’s
records.
• Part Three: (Para. 9-12): Here we
come to the most important part of
the story, because what happened
before Christmas prompted Mrs.
Thompson to do something for Teddy.
• Part Four: (Para.13-14):These two
paragraphs describe the changes in
both Mrs. Thompson and Teddy after
Christmas.
• Part five: (Para. 15-20):this part
presents the five successive notes by
Teddy at important stages of his
study.
Language points
Lack of:
• 1) absence or less than enough of
• E.g. The building was never finished
because of lack of money.
• E.g. At a height of 25,000 feet, the lack
of oxygen causes dizziness and headaches.
• 2) lack v.
• E.g. He lacks common sense.
Take delight in
• To get great pleasure from (doing
something)
• I took great delight in watching him
making a fool of himself.
Be in for
• To be about to have something
unpleasant
• E.g. We are in for some trouble if we
don’t finish it quickly.
• E.g. It is pretty stormy! I think we
are in for a rough flight.
Inquisitive
• always wanting to find out the details
about things and people
• E.g. journalists have to be inquisitive,
fearless and determined
Take steps
• to take action, to do what is necessary
• E.g. Managers must take steps to ensure
that everyone understands the new
regulations
•
•
•
•
Take pains
to make a great effort or take great
care
E.g. Mary took great pains with her
English lesson and got high marks.
Pains (pl.): great care or effort
E.g. No pains, no gains.
Wonder
• 1)used to introduce a request
• E.g. I wondered whether you would be so
kind as to send me an application form
2) think about or ask oneself about
something
• E.g. he wondered whether he would be able
to find the hotel again
Questions for
consideration
• What is the most important in
teaching and learning process?
Main idea of Text 2
• This article is taken from Newsweek,
December 3, 2001. It is an report about
the effect of TV and junk food on children.
Parents worry a lot the harmful effect on
their children and junk food is another
problem area. The author points out that
to take a positive approach is very
important when setting limits on anything
to children.
Questions for discussion
about Text 2
Do you think children in China are now
watching too much TV?
Do you like the McDonald’s or Kentucky
Fried Chicken? Do you agree that they
sell junk food?
Do you think that some restrictions on TV
and junk food are too much for children?
Unit 3
Teaching objectives
master the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
learn the way of designing a narrative
writing
understand the main idea, structure of the
text and the author’s writing style
Topics for discussion
Think of a person you know who suffers
misfortunes but still does whatever he/she
can to help others. Describe him/her to
your classmates.
Do you believe in luck? Please explain
with your personal experience.
What is the most important element when
facing difficulties?
An integrated analysis of Text 1
Paragraphs1-2: The author uses his
recent accident –an air crash—as an
introduction to the whole story.
Paragraphs3-4: These two paragraphs
are the first flashback in the story which
describes Anne’s good judgment on
previous occasions and her experiences
during the Second World War
Paragraphs5-7: These paragraphs tell us
how the author met Anne, fell in love with
her and eventually married her. This is the
second flashback.
Paragraphs8: After two flashbacks, the
author turns back to his recovery from the
crash with his wife’s meticulous care.
Paragraphs9-10: These two paragraphs
are also a flashback. The author recalls
how his wife handled her crisis
Paragraphs11-13: these three paragraphs
are closely related with the previous two,
because they present a picture of how
Anne saved her husband, helped rebuild
his confidence and kept him moving on in
her own way.
Paragraphs14: As is the case with most
narrative writings the concluding paragraph
provides an end to the event (the air crash).
Language points:
 Collide
 To hit each other accidentally
 E.g. The two planes collided with each other in
midair.
 Depressed
 1) sad or gloomy
 E.g. I need something to occupy my mind. I get
depressed if I have nothing to do.
 2) depression n.
 E.g. Perfectly stable people are often plunged
into depression by divorce, unemployment, or
failure in their work.
Poignant
1)keen or strong in mental appeal
E.g. It was a poignant moment. They held
hands and looked into each other’s eyes
for the last time.
2)Poignantly adv.
E.g. His remarkable life and tragic death
poignantly express the hopes and
disappointments of a whole generation.
Authorize
To give permission for
E.g. Only the Congress can authorize the
President to declare war.
Beneficiary
the receiver of a benefit
E.g. people on high incomes will be the
main beneficiaries of these changes in the
tax laws
Endure
to bear
E.g. The report describes how political
prisoners have to endure
E.g. She had to endure countless attacks
on her reputation from popular
newspapers.
Inspire
to influence, to give a sudden good idea
E.g. The novel is obviously inspired by her
experience of Christianity in her childhood.
Questions for consideration
What does “stroke” stand for in this
text?
Topics for discussion about Text 2:
 What did the author ask her children to
do to express their gratitude?
 What’s new about the attitude to
gratitude?
 What’s your way to express your
gratitude?
 How do you think we should appreciate
what others have done for us?
Unit 4
Teaching objectives
 master the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
 learn the way of designing a
narrative writing
 understand the main idea, structure
of the text and the author’s writing
style
Topics for discussion
 Who is your favorite footballer or pop
singer? Why do you admire him/her?
 What would you do to meet with
challenges or cope with frustrations
in your life or work?
An integrated analysis of
Text 1
 Basically, the story falls into four parts.
 Part 1(Para.1):
 main idea—to give reasons for his job
transfer
 function—to provide the setting of the
story (introductory information about
whom, when and why)
Part 2(Para.2-13):
main idea—to recount his frustrating
experiences as a toupee model
function—to raise the first conflict and its
climax
Part3(Para.14-27):
main idea—to describe his problems, his
progress and success in broadcasting
 function—to develop the second conflict,
build up the climax and reach the solution
 Part4(Para 28):
 main idea—to comment on his
successful career transition.
 function—to elicit the theme of the story
(conclusive remark)
Language points:
 Get/ be involved in
 To take part in an activity or event, or to
be connected with it in some way
 E.g. The president was involved in the
political scandal.
 …is high on the list
 is near the top of the list. Here it means
that “being suffocated by plaster while
getting your head duplicated for a
toupee display” was one of the worst
ways to die.
 Commercial
 an advertisement on television or radio
 E.g. McEnroe has been signed up to do
a series of coffee commercials.
 Tournament
 A competition in a sport or game in which
each player or team plays several matches,
and the winner is the one who wins the
most matches
 E.g. Thirty matches were played during the
chess tournament, which lasted three
weeks.
 Cf. championship: a competition to find the
best player or team in a particular sport,
especially one that involves several stages
or games
 Fire
 to make someone leave his or her job,
especially because he or she has done
something wrong or something the employer
does not approve of
 E.g. You couldn’t fire someone for joining a
union, but you can if they go on strike.
 Cf. lay off: to make workers, especially
workers in a large factory or organization,
leave their jobs, because there is not enough
work for them to do, or not enough money to
pay their salaries
 E.g. Where demand for goods was shrinking,
firms would close down or lay off workers.
 Viewer
 Someone who is watching a particular
television program
 Cf. audience: a group of people who
have come to a place to watch a play, a
concert, or a film
 Cf. spectator: someone who is watching
an event or game
Questions for
consideration
 What is your ideal occupation?
Why?
Topics for discussion
about Text 2:
 How did the author balance work and
family life? If you were him, what
would you do?
 Can you explain precisely what
happened at that moment in
Paragraph5?
 What does “the wrong message” in
Paragraph 7 refer to?
 How do you interpret the title?
Unit 5
Teaching objectives




master the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
learn the way of designing an
expository writing
understand the main idea, structure
of the text and the author’s writing
style
make aware of the significance of
friendship
Topics for discussion



How do you define “friendship”?
What do you expect of friendship?
And what are you ready to do for
your friends?
What is needed to make
friendship grow, blossom and
last?
An integrated analysis of
Text 1


Basically, the story falls into six
parts.
Part 1(Para.1and 2): The two
paragraphs serve as an
introduction in which the author
raises a common problem—“we
often have a hard time knowing
what the term (friend) means”.

Part 2(Para.3-4): in this part the
author uses her own
experiences to tell the readers
that friendship can occur in
marriage and families, which
might be a surprise to many
people.

Part3(Para.5-8): Paragraphs 5-6
are the first half of the third part.
Here the author discusses the
importance of friendship outside
familial ties.

Part4(Para. 9-11): these three
paragraphs are about friendship
between opposite sexes.


Part5(Para.12-13): Here the
author shifts to another
subtopic—how to fix a broken
friendship.
Part six (Para. 14-15): In the
last part of the text the author
turns back to the subtopic:
friend-making.
Language points:
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Identify
to find out exactly what
something
E.g. After years of research
scientists have identified the
virus that is responsible for the
disease.
E.g. She identified him as her
attacker.


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Transient/ transitory
lasting for only a short period of
time
E.g. His many love affairs had
only brought him transient
pleasures.
E.g. Only historians fully
understand the transient nature
of civilization.
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Essential
completely necessary for the
existence of something
E.g. Before you set off down the
ski-slope it is essential to ensure
that your skies are securely
fastened.
E.g. It’s essential that the oil
level is checked every 10,000
km., otherwise the engine may
seize up.
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
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Rank as/ among
To regard as having a certain
relative position
E.g. Yao Ming ranks among the
world’s best basketballers.
This result ranks as one of their
most successful election
performances of the last ten
years.
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Individual
a single person considered
separately from the class or
group
E.g. The decision to have an
abortion should be up to the
individual involved.
E.g. It’s the responsibility of each
individual within the class to
make sure they have the correct
books.
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Tend to
to be likely to
E.g. My father tends to interfere
too much in other people’s
business.
E.g. The bank tends to employ
only white middle-class men.
Tendency n.
E.g. Divorced people have a
tendency to live with new
partners rather than marry again.
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Vigilance
alert watchfulness
E.g. looking after young children
requires constant vigilance—you
never know what they’ll get up to
next.
Patronizing
behaving toward other people as if
superior or more important, i.e. like a
patron
E.g. Don’t be so patronizing—I’m not
a child any more. I know just as
much about it as you do.
Questions for consideration

Describe one of your best
friends.
Topics for discussion about
Text 2:
1)
2)
3)
What does the writer want to
tell us with the example of
Tippy?
Do you agree with the writer
that people are interested in
themselves? Why (not)?
What have you learned from
this passage?
Unit 6
Teaching objectives
• grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
• understand the main idea, structure of the
text and the author’s writing style
• conduct a series of reading, listening,
speaking and writing activities related to
the theme
Topics for discussion
• Tell what you know about the 9.11 attack.
• Describe a disaster you have experienced
or have heard of and how people involved
reacted to it.
• How do you view some people’s great
courage to help others in the presence of
disaster?
An integrated analysis of Text
1
• Part 2(Para.2-9): Paragraphs 2-5
present a picture of what happened
immediately after the hit.
• Part 1(Para.1): In this paragraph two
images are used to emphasize the power
(steadiness) of the WTC.
• Part 3(Para.10-30):Paragraphs 10-14
depict the scene of Mayblum’s encounter
with the heavyset man on the 53rd floor
where Ramos and Hong offered timely
help.
• In paragraphs 15-22,students could get an
idea how the three persons ( Ramos,
Hong and the heavyset man ) managed to
get down to the 36th floor.
• Part4(Para.31-34): These paragraphs
make up the last part of the text which
relates the gathering of some of the
survivors and victims’ family memory of
the dead after the disaster.
Language points:
• Lash
• to hit violently or suddenly
• E.g. The waves lashed (against) the rocks.
• Scoff
• to laugh at
• E.g. I came to the meeting to scoff but
the speaker persuaded me.
• Illusion
• something that deceives a person by
seeming to be real
• E.g. The mirror all round the walls give an
illusion of greater space.
• Devastating
• completely destructive
• E.g. The US then launched its most
devastating attack of the entire war.
• Purgatory
• a place or condition of great suffering
• E.g. Angela has a very thin sharp voice;
it’s purgatory to have to listen to her sing.
• Dilemma
• a situation in which one has to make a
difficult choice
• E.g. This is the industrialist’s dilemma:
invest, and risk going bankrupt, or not
invest and risk losing your share of the
market.
• Panic
• to be suddenly frightened by something
• E.g. When the plane gets into difficulty in
the sky, it is essential that the pilot should
not panic.
• Panic-stricken a.
• E.g. A few seconds after the explosion the
street was full of panic-stricken people,
fleeing in all directions.
• Collapse
• (break into pieces and ) to fall down or in
suddenly
• E.g. The bridge collapsed under the
weight of the train.
• E.g. There was a loud explosion and the
whole apartment block simply collapsed.
Questions for consideration
• What do you gain from the text?
Topics for discussion about Text 2:
• What was special about the World Trade
Centre in New York?
• What makes Americans feel uneasy
about extremely tall buildings?
• What do some experts think of
skyscrapers now? what’s your idea about
skyscrapers?
Unit 7
Teaching objectives
grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text
 understand the main idea, structure of the
text and the author’s writing style
 conduct a series of reading, listening,
speaking and writing activities related to the
theme
 consider the solution of the aging problem in
our society

Topics for discussion
What, in your opinion, are the advantages
and disadvantages of growing older?
 What do you think are the virtues of being
young?
 How should the whole society take care of the
old people?
 Describe some of the occasions that people
show their concern to the old.

An integrated analysis of Text 1
Part 1(Para.1-2): the two paragraphs make
up the first part of the text.
 Part 2(Para.3-5): the writer, in paragraph
three, offers the first advantages of growing
older – not being obsessed with one’s
appearance.

Paragraph 5 presents the third and the
greatest benefit of growing older
 The second advantage is discussed in
paragraph 4—people in their forties are less
uncertain than adolescents.


Part 3(Para.6): after sharing her own
experience in contrast to adolescents’
problems with the readers, in this paragraph
the writer turns the issue to the similar to the
one mentioned in the first paragraph: the
validity of American values on the aging
problem.
Language points:







Aging
the process of growing old
E.g. Our society is full of attitudes towards aging
and old people.
Dread
to feel great fear or anxiety about
E.g. I’ve got an interview with the bank manager
tomorrow – I’m dreading it.
E.g. He always dreaded asking them for their rent
because he knew it would end in an argument.
Distinct
 noticeable; unmistakable
 E.g. There is a distinct possibility that she’ll
be appointed manager of the company.
 (be) obsessed with
 to have an unreasonably strong and
continuous interest in particular things or
persons
 E.g. She became obsessed in her old age
with what to do with her immense wealth.

Plead
 To beg
 E.g. the wife of one of the hostages
appeared on TV last night to plead for her
husband’s life.
 Tolerate
 To suffer without complaining
 E.g. For years we’ve had this article is
beyond my capability.

Agony
 extreme mental or physical pain or suffering
 E.g. He lay in agony until the doctor arrived.
 Deny oneself
 not to allow oneself to have something that
one normally has
 E.g. He denied himself all small pleasures
and luxuries in his effort to live a holy life.








Confront
to deal with something in a brave and determined
way; to bring face to face
E.g. We try to help people confront their problems
E.g. The union forced the management to confront
the issue of equal pay.
Await
to wait for
E.g. The committee is awaiting a decision from
head office before it takes any action.
Benefit
 anything that brings help, advantages or
profit
 E.g. Think of the benefits our health care
plan has to offer.
 Beneficial a.
 E.g. These changes in the education system
are beneficial to both teachers and students.

Sanity
 the condition of being mentally healthy
 E.g. your visits were the only thing that
preserved my sanity.
 Quirk
 a strange or unusual habit or part of
someone’s character
 E.g. She always went or three minutes’
walk at exactly 10:45 and the robber took
advantage of this little quirk.

Questions for consideration

Think of some efficient ways to solve the
aging problem.
Topics for discussion about Text 2:


Do you believe in the reconnection of age
groups? Explain your opinion.
Do you think senior-citizen homes are a
good place for the aged? Why /Why not?
Unit 8
Teaching objectives
• students will be able to:
• master the key language points
and grammatical structures in the
text
• understand the main idea,
structure of the text and the
author’s writing style
• understand the significance of life
Topics for discussion
• Can an invalid lead a happy life?
Please explain.
• How would you show your
appreciation if somebody helps you
when you are in trouble?
• What is your ideal life?
An integrated analysis of Text 1
• Basically, the story falls into four parts.
• Part 1(Para.1-2): these two paragraphs
are about the author’s first which could be
further divided into two phases: the first
phase was a hard struggle to make a
living, the second phase was “a pleasant
dream”, because the author had
everything that a happy life can offer.
• Part 2(Para.3-5): In these three
paragraphs, the author depicts his life
afflicted by the disease, especially the
difficulty in climbing the 14 steps.
• Part3(Para.6-8):Paragraph 6
describes how the author got a flat
tire in a stormy night and his
desperate need for help.
• Part4(Para9-10): these two
paragraphs concluding paragraphs
are the author’s reflection on the
incident and his life philosophy, from
which he discovered the true value of
life.
Language points:
• Be inclined to
• to be likely or tend to
• E.g. Middle-class victims are more inclined to
•
•
•
•
•
contact the police
E.g. I don’t feel victims to talk to him
Afflict
to cause severe suffering or pain
E.g. The old man was afflicted with blindness.
E.g. Pollution might be one of the major problems
currently afflicting Third World countries
• Disillusioned
• disappointed
• E.g. Disillusioned by his team’s
performance, the manager resigned.
• E.g. Impossibly high expectations of the
new regime have left many voters
disillusioned.
• Hold on to
• to keep one’s grip on; not to let go of
• E.g. hold on to your ticket—you might
need it on the return journey.
• Swerve
• to turn suddenly to one side
• E.g. The driver swerved sharply to avoid
hitting a dog.
• E.g. Next, the pitcher threw a curved ball.
Which swerved away from me as I lunged
forward to hit it.
• Bundle
• to quickly push something or someone into
•
•
•
•
•
something
E.g. he had been bundled into the back of a
Volkswagen by three masked men.
E.g. There had just been time to bundle his
bloodstained jacket and gloves into the washing
machine.
Slacken
to become slower or less active
E.g. The train slacked speed as we approached
the station
• Penetrate
• to enter or pass(into or through)
• E.g. light cannot penetrate a brick wall
• Overflow with
• to be very full of
• E.g. Kerry handed me a glass overflowing
with wine, trying not to let it spill on the
carpet.
• E.g. Mother Teresa was respected by the
people because she had a heart
overflowing with love.
• Indifference
• not caring about
• E.g. Though thoroughly apprehensive, he
put on a show of indifference.
• E.g. All our requests for government help
have been with complete indifference.
Questions for consideration
• What do you live for? Recall an
experience that you have overcome
difficulties successfully.
Topics for discussion about Text 2:
• What do you think made the author
stand up again?
• Do you believe in power of belief?
Please illustrate your point with
examples.
Unit
9
. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 By the end of this unit, you will
 (a) grasp the writer’s purpose of writing and make
clear the structure of the whole passage through
an intensive reading of Text 1.
 (b) get a list of new words and language points
and then use them freely in conversations and
writing.
 (c) say something about the disadvantages of the
war.
Text 1
The Diary of the Unknown Soldier
 I. Topics for pre-reading
 Have you seen any war film? Can you
describe the scene of the cruelties of war?
 Can you guess what question a soldier
would ask about war before he was killed?
 II. Structural analysis
 This story is dedicated to all of the
unknown soldiers who died while trying to
protect the lives of the innocent. And it
shows us what happened in different three
days according to the soldier’s diary. This
passage is divided into three parts.
 Part 1 November 24, 1943 (The first entry)
 Paragraph 1: The first paragraph provides a
contrast between what the author saw in the
battlefield and what he and his fellow soldiers
had expected before they joined in the war.
 Paragraph 2: This paragraph is a description
of the enemy’s air raid before the unknown
soldier wrote this entry. It is a flashback.
 Paragraph3-4: As a lucky survivor of the air
raid, the author witnessed the aftermath of
the bombing
 Part 2 November 29, 1943 (The 2nd entry)
 Paragraph 1: This paragraph consists of
three points. The author begins with his
remarks on the validity of war(Sentence1--4),
and then turns to his grim situation at that
time(S5--9), and shifts to those dead soldiers
and their families.
 Paragraph 2: This paragraph projects the
author’s strong passions: his affection for his
family (daughters) and his rage for “selfish
and ignorant” killing and destruction.
 Part 3 December 24, 1943 (The 3rd entry)
 In the third part, what readers can see in the paragraph is like
picture-talking with the focus shifting from the approaching
death on the battlefield to the author’s envisioned peace at
home. Then it ends abruptly with one last question about the
sensibility of war, “Why?”, possibly with the end of his life.
 Look at these snapshots:
 ---Nazi troops’ invasion into their location;
 ---the author’s vision of lying in his own bed at home, waiting
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for Christmas;
---his feeling of being close to death;
---his vision of his daughters at home;
---a Nazi soldier’s footsteps coming in his direction;
---his last wish to get his diary back home.
Language
Work
 Part 1:
 With an air of : seeming to have/be
e.g: With his fiery glance and with an air of
destiny, he moved through the paring crowd
toward the beggar.
Assign: to give someone a task to do
assign sb to do sth.
e.g: You have been assigned the task of
keeping the records up to date.
 Out of the blue: all of a sudden
synonyms: suddenly, abruptly, plump
E.g: The job had been offered to her out of the blue.
a sea of blood: This is a metaphor which is used to
describe the scene more vividly.
E.g: Look at the followings: a torrent of anger; a mountain
of books.
scoop up: to take up or out; to life
E.g: When the policeman arrived the traders scooped up
their watches and jewellery and ran off.
 Spot: to see, esp. with effort
 E.g: The fake painting was spotted by a New York art
dealer.
 Part 2:
 Run: to develop or pass into the stated condition
E.g: Our supply of coal is running low.
 Have it that: to say, to express
Legend has it that all the world is a stage.
 Odds: the probability that something will or will not
happen.
The odds against being killed in a plane crash are very
high.
shed blood: to cause wounding or, esp. killing
They wanted to bring down the government, but without
shedding blood.
 Take precaution: to do everything that is necessary
to avoid danger or risk
The accident would never have occurred if they had
taken precaution.
strike a…note: to express the stated feeling or
message
His new book strikes a warning note against
government overspending.
enrage: to make someone very angry
He was enraged by the murder of his brother that he
decided to find the killer himself.
 Part 3:
 engulf: to surround and swallow up
The house was engulfed in flames.
An almost unbearable loneliness engulfed her.
inspect: to examine
doom: to cause to suffer something unavoidable,
such as death or destruction
We saw the doomed aircraft just before it crashed.
Text
2
 Highlights
 1. The author impresses the reader with the cruelty of war
mainly being specific about the great numbers of the
soldiers and animals lost in the war. From these figures the
reader can easily imagine how many civilians were killed.
 2. The idea “Life Goes on ” is mainly expressed in the first
and the last paragraphs. In the first paragraph the author
describes the tall and defiant towers of St. Martin’s
Cathedral and the Cloth Hall and tell us that “the Flemish
city has been invaded nineteen times” in her history, which
suggests that the evil will never be able to conquer the
good. In the last paragraph, the author mentions, “this daily
moment of solemnity passes quickly. Ypres is preparing for
the annual Festival of the Cats”, which tells us that life is
sweet and that, whatever happens, sweet life goes on.
Unit 10
Learning Objectives
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By the end of this unit, you are supposed to
(a) make clear the structure of the whole
passage through an intensive reading of Text 1.
(b) get a list of new words and language points
and then use them freely in oral
communication and writing.
(c) learn something from Gregory Peck’ life
philosophy.
Text 1
Gregory Peck– An American Master


Topics for pre-reading discussion
Have you ever been favored of any
actor or actress? If yes, who and
why？
what do you know about Gregory
Peck?
An integrated analysis of Text 1


1. Main idea
As a biography, the passage is chronologically
structured from Gregory Peck’s early years to
his last days. It mainly tells the readers about
Peck’s career as a professional actor, the roles
Peck played on the screen and Peck’s life
philosophy. And each paragraph tells of Peck’s
experiences during a particular time in his life.
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2.Structural analysis
This passage can be divided into five parts
Part 1 (paragraph 1)
This paragraph is a general introduction of Gregory Peck both as
a famous Hollywood star and as a symbol of the American man at
his best.
Part 2 (paragraph 2-3)
Paragraph 2 narrates Peck’s life before he graduated from high
school.
Paragraph 3 is mainly about Peck’s decision to be an actor and his
early experiences on the stage.
Here are two questions for you:
(1) What made Peck decide to be an actor?
(2) Were Peck’s early experiences of acting very successful?
When was the turning point?
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
Part 3 (paragraph 4-6)
Paragraph 4 is about the ascent of Peck’s
fame as a gifted actor during the 1940s
Paragraph 5 explains why Peck is adored
by his audience and that’s because of the
image he created on the screen—the
typical mid-century American man,
romantic and tough.
Paragraph 6 introduces Peck’s best film To
Kill a Mockingbird, which won him an
Oscar Award for Best Actor.
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Part 4 (paragraph 7)
This paragraph gives an account of Peck’s
life philosophy in relation to his acting
career on the screen.
Part 5 (paragraph 8-9)
These two paragraphs serve as a
conclusion of the passage.
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3. Language work
with compelling stories of strength and masculinity:
with exciting in supposing moral courage.
Adore: to love deeply and feel proud of
She adores her grandchildren and is always buying
them presents.
at one’s best: the greatest effort or highest
achievement or standard that he/she is capable of
Mary is at her best when she is playing the piano.
moral: concerning principles of right and wrong
behavior and difference between good and evil.
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Compelling: being very exciting and interesting
His recent film is a compelling account of life
under British colonial rule.
compel: vt. 强迫，使不得不
驱策，驱使
compellable adj.
compellably adv
compeller n
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destined: intended, esp. by fate, for some special purpose
She was convinced that her little boy was destined to
become President.
concern: (n.) worry; anxiety
There is growing concern over the effect of video games on
children’s behavior.
concern (v.)
涉及， 有关
感兴趣于， 从事， 参与， 干预［涉］
使担心［挂念］， 使忧虑
concern oneself about 关心， 挂念
That doesn't concern me. 那与我无关。
We are all concerned for [about] her safety.
我们大家都担心着她的安全。
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Some phrases of concern
as concerns: 关于
as far as... be concerned:关于;至于; 就...而言
so far as... be concerned:关于； 至于；就...而言
be concerned about:关心
be concerned over sth.:为某事忧虑
be concerned at sth.:为某事忧虑
be concerned in sth.:和某事有牵连
be concerned with:牵涉到， 与...有关， 参与



meditation: the act of thinking deeply
He was lost in meditation.
meditate v.
Once safely abroad, Molly meditated on the
condition of his own country.
Maternal grandmother: grandmother on one’s
mother’s side.
Demeanor: behavior towards others
He was only in his early thirties, but already had
the demeanor and failing constitution of an aging
invalid.
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inhumane: not showing ordinary human
kindness, esp. when it should be shown
assertion: a forceful statement
She could provide no evidence to back up
her assertions.
“shed light on human possibility and social
reality.” means “make it easier for people
to see what achievements man is capable
of and what our society really is”
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breathe life into: to give life to; to make
something exciting or full of life
His enthusiasm breathed new life into the
firm, which was about to fail.
shed light on: to make something clearer;
to clarify
The discoveries may shed light on the
origins of the universe.
IV. After reading discussion


What are the particular features in Peck’s
characters that make the quintessential midcentury American man?
What does Peck learn from the characters he
portrayed? And what does he try to do in
most of his films?
Text
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2
Discussions
1. Have you seen any films starred by Ingrid
Bergman? What is your idea of her acting?
2. What do you think is most important for an
actor or actress?
Unit 11
Learning objective
After the study of this unit, you should:
 1. make clear the structure of the whole
passage through an intensive reading of
Text 1.
 2. Commander new words and language
points and then use them freely in oral
communication and writing.
 3. Know the writing purpose of the author as
a teacher.

Text 1
letter to a B Student
I. Discussion for teamwork:
 The whole class can be divided into groups
freely, and discuss the following topic:
 Imagine yourself to be a teacher and that
you are to write a letter to a student who is
disappointed with the grade he gets. What
would say to him in the letter?
 What do you think the author will say to his
student?

II. An integrated analysis
About the text:
 The author, Robert Oliphant is an English
professor at California State University at
Northridge. The text is an excerpt of a
sensitive and thoughtful letter to a student on
keeping a sense of perspective on grades. It
appeared in Liberal Education in 1986. And
the author’s purpose is to tell the student
what a grade really means and what it
doesn’t.

Structural analysis

This letter can be divided into four parts. The
1st paragraph serves as an introduction,
which introduces the topic of the letter.
The rest of the text falls into three parts,
each of which is marked at the beginning by
a key word or words. You can try to find
them out.
Part 2 (Paragraph 2-5)
 These four paragraphs constitute the first main
part of the letter.
 The writer’ purpose of writing in the first
sentence the 3rd paragraph :
 to put your disappointment in perspective by
considering exactly what your grade means
and does not mean.

Part 3 (Paragraph 6-8)
 What the writer aims to do in this part is to
show that there is a distinction between the
student as a performer in the classroom and
the student as a human being. He uses his
personal experience to illustrate his
distinction.
 Now, can you relate the writer’s experience?

Part 4 (Paragraph 9-10)
 The focal point of this part is “perspective”,
i.e. the way we should regard grades.

Now, please think about the following
questions:
 1. What is the writer’s view concerning social
labels?
 2. How does the writer relate a student’s
academic performance with his future life?

III. Language work of the text
far superior to: better in quality than
 E.g: The visiting team turned out to be far
supervisor to the host team in teamwork.


Gentleman’s C: a decent grade. A
gentleman is supposed to be a man of
decency, i.e. decent in speech and behavior.
remove: take away
 E.g:
 Reference books are not to be removed
from the library.
 The doctors decided to operate on him
immediately to remove the tumor on his
liver.
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offset: to counterbalance or compensate for
E.g:
The extra cost for traveling to work is offset by the
lower rent here.
Take something at face value: to accept something
for what it appears to be
E.g:
I took their offer at face value and did not suspect
at all that they were trying to trick me.
You should never take what he says at face value.
be apt to: to have the tendency to
 E.g:
 The river is apt to overflow when there is a
heavy rain.
 apt : a.
 He made an apt comment that nicely
summed up what every one of us had in
mind.
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correspond to: to match, to be similar or
equal to
E.g:
The American FBI corresponds to the British
M15.
His story of what happened that night does
not correspond with the witness’s version.
cf. correspond with: to communicate with by
writing letters
For many years they have never stopped
corresponding with each other.


handle: to deal with sth. Or someone; to control
with hands; to be in charge of
He knows best how to handle a problem of this
type.
make a point of doing something: to take particular
care to do something
e.g:
he makes a point of jogging to 6 miles every
morning , rain or shine.
To prevent loss of data, I always make a point of
making a copy on a floppy disk of what I have
done during the day.

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Make a distinction: to say what the difference is
between two or more similar persons or things
E.g:
Most societies make a distinction between the
status of an unmarried woman and a married one.
III. After-reading work
1. Please generalize the main idea and try to
give some comments about this letter.
 2. How do you interpret the second sentence
in paragraph 2 “The essence of success is
that …?”

Text 2



Questions for discussion
1. How do you interpret the last sentence of the 1st
paragraph “But there are no villains, only victims”?
2. Why do students, both of those who want to
enter graduate schools and those who just want to
graduate and get a job, attach to much importance
to grades?
Unit 12
Learning objective
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
After learning this unit, you are
suppose to:
1.grasp the main idea of Text 1and
make clear the structure of the
whole passage
2. have a good command of the new
words and expressions and make full
use of them in the oral
communication and writing.
3. know some different attitudes
toward work and leisure between
Text 1
Time to Take It Easy

Workers of the world
Relax
!
I. Discussions for pre-reading
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
Before you read this passage, you
can think about the following
questions
1. What is the Chinese’s attitude
towards work and relaxation? What
is our attitude to time?
2. Which opinion do you hold, live to
work or work to live?
3. Which is more important, money
or time?
II. A integrated analysis of the
passage
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i. structural analysis
This text can be divided into five
parts
Part 1(Paragraph 1-2)
The two paragraphs draw a picture
of sharp contrast between busy
Americans (and Britons) and easygoing continental Europeans.
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Part 2 (paragraph 3-4)
This part explain one of the main
differences between busy Britons and
Americans and easygoing Europeans,
which lies in their “work ethnic” or
“attitude to work”.
work ethic
moral beliefs about
how one should work.
Part 3 (paragraph5-8)
In this part, the author indicates the
need to re-examine the American
attitude to work, and explore the cause
underlying the American attitude to
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Part 4 (paragraph9-12)
In this part, the author introduce Oliver
James’view about time, which different
from what is deep-rooted in AngloAmerican culture.
Part 5 (paragraph13-14)
The last two paragraphs are the
conclusion in which the author raises a
paradoxical problem in a jocular way and,
by quoting Professor Gini’s
words,bdefines the true significance of
“being lazy”.
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ii. Text analysis
1.“…to think about the
issue”(Paragraph5)--- the issue refers
to “one of the big arguments within
the European Union” in the proceeding
paragraph.
2.“unstructured time”(P7)--unorganized time, time spent without
proper planning.
“dead time”, “downtime” : Both
expressions indicate a period of time
in which there is nothing to do.
3.Here is a question for you:

4. “…the citizens of the richest are no
more likely to say they are happier
than those…”(P9)
the citizens of the richest nations
are no more likely than those from the
poorest nations to say that they are
happy.
5. “People should work to live, not live
to work”--- In other words, work is not
the sole purpose of life. We work
because we need to keep ourselves
alive, but work is not the most
important thing, let alone the only
thing, in life.
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iii. Language work
1. take it easy: to rest; to become
more relaxed
E.g: It was wise to take it easy and go
along comfortably.
2. shut down: to stop operation, esp.
for a long period of time; to close
down
E.g: The company has threatened to
shut down the mine if the strike is not
resolved.
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3. on average: usually; in most cases
E.g: Women are still paid less than
men–-- earning on average about
three quarters of men’s pay.
4. like it or not: no matter whether
you like it or not
E.g: Like it or not, the Internet is
becoming an indispensable part of our
life.
5. ill at ease: nervous; worried
E.g: She was a bit ill at ease when she
first met her boyfriend’s parent.
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6. make a comparison: to compare
two or more situations, ideas, etc., to
show difference.
E.g: He tried to make a comparison
between religion and superstition.
7. meet one’s needs: to satisfy one’s
needs
E.g: In many part of the world, there
is not enough food to meet everyone’s
needs.
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8. get through
(1) to succeed in making someone
understand what one is trying to tell him.
E.g: The message finally got through to
them.
(2) to succeed in contacting someone on the
telephone
E.g: I was not able to get through to New
York this morning.
(3) to manage to live through a difficult
time
E.g: I can’t imagine how the woman and her
three children got through the war.
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9. work at: to study, write
to be engaged in doing
something
E.g: I am working at a short story these
days.
I want to work at perfecting my
composition before I hand it in.
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10. carry on: to continue
Carry on reading!
继续读！
We must carry on till success in spite of the
extremely difficult conditions.
尽管条件极端困难,我们必须坚持下去,直到成功。
carry on with （与）…调情；与…有暧昧关系
carry out 实现；完成；实行
carry out one's plan 实行自己的计划
I have carried out my work. 我已经完成了我
的工作。
carry through 帮（某人）渡过难关； 使（某人）
保持勇气
His courage will carry him through.
他的勇气会帮他渡过难关。
IV. Some questions for afterreading
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
1.what does Professor Gini mean by
saying “the gentle art of doing
‘nothing’ ”?
2. How do American people feel
about their hard work?
3. What can you learn from this text?
Give your own ideas after reading
the following materials

“We are slaves to nothing but the
clock,” it has been said. Time is
treated as if it were something
almost real. We budget it, save it,
waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it,
account for it; we also charge for it.
It is a precious resource. Many
people have a rather acute sense of
the shortness pf each lifetime. Once
the sands have run out of a person’s
hourglass, they cannot be replaced.
We want every minute to count.
Text 2
Less Work Is the Secret to a Richer
Life
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Questions for open discussions
1. What is your definition of success?
2. What do you think is the key to
success? Is laziness a luxury or a
necessity?
3. Do you agree that there is an
element of truth to doing things in a
“lazy way”?
Unit 13
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• In this unit, you are supposed to:
• 1. know something about the global warming
and environment protection.
• 2. obtain some knowledge about the effect of
the green house.
• 3. commander the use of the new words and
expressions in this unitt.
• 4. make clear the author’s purpose of Text 1.
Text 1
Focus on Global Warming
• I. Topics for pre-reading
. What do you know about global warming?
And what is the cause?
• . What do you know about the measures
of the environmental protection
throughout the world?
II. An integrated analysis
• Structural analysis
• This passage can be divided into three parts.
• Part 1 (Paragraph1-2)
These two paragraphs make up the first part
which serves as the introduction of the whole
passage. In this part, the author mentions how
global warming, which used to be topic of
academic journals, has become a matter of
increasing public concern. This concern is
justified by public fears about the consequences
of global warming.
• Linguistic knowledge:
• “a giant asteroid” literally refers to one of
the small planets moving around the sun
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. In
the text it suggests the possible collision
of our Earth with one of such planets
which, though tiny in the distance, are
actually “giant” compared with the Earth.
• Part 2 (Paragraph3-7)
• This part covers five paragraphs under the
subtitle “Our Warming Planet”.
Paragraph3: to introduce a number of causes that
lead to the rising concentration of greenhouse
gases.
• Paragraph4-5: the author cites some records and
information from IPCC and paleoclimate readings.
And the obvious change in climate is further
evidenced by some climate data in Paragraph 5.
• Paragraph 6-7: the author depicts the variation of
climate changes in different geographic areas. In Pa 7,
he points one of the consequences of global warming:
the threat to human health.
• Please match damage or diseases with climate
changes in the following table.
Slight increase in heat and rain
An increase in vector diseases such as
malaria
Moderate rise in sea level
Threat to the coastlines of low-lying
islands
More intense rain and hurricanes
Severe flooding and more deaths
Hotter summers and warmer
temperature across the globe
More cases of heart stroke and deaths;
More hospital admissions for those with
Respiratory problems
• Part 3 (Paragraph8-11)
• This part puts forward some suggestions on what to
•
•
•
•
•
be done.
Paragraph 8-10: the author brings about his
suggestion--- what to be done to slow global
warming.
immediate actions
strategies to reduce the impact
long-term policies
Paragraph 11: the conclusion in which the author
invites the participation of everybody to combat
global warming and to “make a real difference”.
Language work
• peruse: to read through carefully
• e.g: Applicants should peruse the instructions
before completing the forms.
• attest : to declare to be true
• e.g: The luxurious furnishings attested to the
family’s wealth.
• deserve: to be worthy of
•
•
e.g:
I am glad she got the first prize at the English
Speech Contest– she thoroughly deserved it.
I said some cruel things to him, but he deserved it
for the way he treated me.
• spew: to pour out, esp. quickly and violently
•
e.g:
One engine of the plane caught fire and spewed
black smoke.
• harbinger: something that indicates or foreshadows
•
•
what is to come
e.g:
Frost is a harbinger of winter.
• concentration: the direction of attention of attention
on something
concentrate (on) v.
•
• e.g:
• School science courses, I remember, concentrated on
the unimportant parts of science, leaving major
insights almost untouched.
• abundant: more than enough
• abundance n.
• e.g:
• Timber was one commodity which the
country possessed in great abundance.
• Cf. rich plentiful affluent
• luxurious prolific
• recession: the act of receding; a period of
reduced trade and business activity
• result in: to have as a result, to lead to,
to cause
e.g: This bad attitude resulted in a failure of
his study.
Cf. result from: to happen as a result of
e.g: Culture shock(文化休克) is caused by the
anxiety that results from losing all our familiar
signs and symbols of social intercourse.
• mitigate: to make an unpleasant situation
or its effect less serious and less difficult
to bear
• e.g: Their extreme poverty is mitigated
slightly by the fact that Rosa has a parttime job.
Text 2
• Discuss the following topics:
• 1.what does the word “villain” in the title
refer to? Why does the author use the word
for such a reference?
• 2. Do you think China is doing a good job of
protecting its environment? Explain your
opinions.
Unit 14
Learning objective
• In this unit, you will be expected to:
• grasp some knowledge about the western
countries’ traditions and cultures, esp. the USA,
British and so on.
• generalize the main idea of Text 1 and collect
some knowledge about American cultural
symbols.
• make full use of the new words and expressions
in this unit
Text 1
•
The
Jeaning
of
America
• Do you like blue jeans? Why?
• What do you know about its
origins?
An integrated analysis
• i. about the text:
• This is a piece of investigative writing which
explores the history of the blue jeans, one of
American symbols today. The author provides
some important information concerning who the
inventor was, when and how the pants came into
being, why they have become popular and what
they symbolize.
• Linguistic knowledge
• designer jeans: jeans that are named
after their designers.
• boot-cut jeans: jeans that are specially
tailored for people wearing boots.
• ii. Structural analysis
• The essay is structured with five parts.
• Part 1 (Pa.1)
• In this paragraph, the author mentions three points
about the blue jeans:
• a). The pant, more suitable than the dollar and CocaCola, have become an American symbol.
• b). They stand for “a manly and legitimate passion for
equality”.
• c). They have gained worldwide popularity.
• Part 2 (Pa.2--3)
• These two paragraphs introduce Levis
Strauss and his early experience in New
York as an immigrant.
• A simple question for you:
• Why did Levis Strauss decide to leave New
York for the west?
• Part 3 (Pa.4--5)
• This part tells us how Levis Strauss to invent the
blue jeans. The author tells how the pants got their
mane, how rivets were added to the jeans and,
accidentally, became a company trademark.
• Part 4 (Pa.6)
• This paragraph tells us that Strauss’s local
company developed into a national business. The
blue jeans not only had become popular among
western laborers, but had won the favor of people
from the East.
• Part 5 (Pa.7): A conclusion.
• iii. Language work
• draw a distinction: to indicate the difference
• e.g: Can you draw a distinction between a gerund
and a present participle?
• favor: to like…better than others
• e.g: Fortune favors the brave.(天助勇者。)
• seek after: to try to get
• seek for: look for
• e.g: We’re earnestly seeking after the truth.
• break up: to stop from continuing, esp. by
using force.
• The police were instructed to break up the
demonstrate against the government.
• C f: break away 逃走；逃脱
•
断裂；开裂
•
break down 破坏；拆散
•
break even 不赚不赔；收支平衡
•
break in 闯入；强行进入
•
打断；插嘴
• stand up to: to last well under certain hard
conditions
• e.g: The material can stand up to high
temperature.
• run out of : to use up a supply
• e.g: By the time they got to the camp they’d
run out of water.
• work: to succeed
• e.g: It seems a strange way of treating a
cold but it works, believe me.
• confine: to keep within limits; to limit or restrict
• e.g: Please confine yourself to the subject under
discussion.
• I wish you would confine your attention to the facts
and ignore anything that can be described as hearsay.
•
• be engaged in: to be involved in, to be committed to
• Cf. be engaged with: be busy with
• e.g: During dinner I found myself engaged in a long
and complicated conversation wit the doctor’s wife.
• adapt to: to become used to something
• e.g: He soon adapted himself to the cold weather
in Beijing.
• chop off: to cut something off by hitting it with
repeated strokes, using a sharp tool
• e.g: We had to chop off the legs of the table to get
it through the door.
• convert into: to change into
• e.g: The children converted the backyard into a
peanut lot.
Electricity is converted into heat.
• tribute:
• 1) a gift, payment, speech, or other acknowledgment
of gratitude, respect, or admiration
• [count]: They gave the retiring president a tribute.
• [non-count]: They paid tribute to her outstanding
talents.
• 2) evidence attesting to some praiseworthy quality or
characteristic
• Her home is a tribute to her good taste.
Text 2
• Questions for discussion or thinking
• 1). Give your own examples to explain the
spirit of America.
• 2). How, in your opinion, is American
popular culture adapted in China?
Unit 15
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you are supposed to




grasp the author’s purpose of writing and make clear the
clue of the whole passage through an intensive reading
of Text 1 Should a Public Worker Accept Costly Gifts?
figure out the reasons why the author concluded that a
public worker should not accept costly gifts.
get a list of new words and structures and use them
freely in conversation and writing.
be aware of the different types of the social behavior of
bribery in different parts of the world.
Text 1. Should a Public Worker
Accept Costly Gifts?
What are the possible harms of bribery to our
society?
 What do you think are the roots of bribery and
what should we do to eliminate it?
 Do you think bribery can be avoided provided
that pubic workers are well-paid as in Hong
Kong?

This piece of autobiographic writing can be roughly
divided into four parts.
Part One: (Paragraphs 1-6)
 describes the situation when the author was to
leave the community he had served and the
farewell gifts bestowed by the local people.


Para. 1-2: the two beginning paragraphs tell the readers why the
author wants to return to his home country and the condition on
which he can leave South Africa.
Para. 3-6: these paragraphs reveal the love that bound the author
and the local community. For the author the love “was too strong to
break” because the Natal Indian “bathed” him “with the nectar of love”,
which was expressed in the form of costly gifts before he returned to
India.
Part Two: (Paragraphs 7-11)

tells of the author’s worriers about the
gifts and his decision to return them.


Para. 7-9: in these three paragraphs the author tells
of his agitation about the costly gifts. The questions
that he raises for himself in Paragraph 7 and some
subsequent sentences (“... I could make no
difference ...”, “... so it could not be separated from
the rest.”) best illustrate his agitation.
Para 10-11: The two paragraphs tell the readers what
the author finally decided to do. (“... I could not keep
these things. I drafted a letter, creating a trust of
them in favor of the community.” )
Part Three: (Para. 12-22):




is about how he discussed the matter with his children and how
he persuaded his wife to return the gifts.
Para. 12-15: these four paragraphs mark the beginning of the author's
scheme to persuade his family members. He first discussed his decision
with his children who, as he expected, gave him their support (“So I
decided to constitute them my attorneys”). His children felt confident that
their mother would “part with them” as they did.
Para. 16-18: these paragraphs are mainly about the author's wife's
argument why she would keep these gifts. From the preceding
paragraphs, the readers can reasonably expect that the persuasion
job was tough. The author's wife, like many other women, seemed
to be unwilling to part with the costly jewellery, but the author and
his children were equally adamant.
Para. 19-22: the four paragraphs record both sides' arguments.
Part Four: (paragraphs 23-26):



concludes the writing with the final
settlement of the gifts.
Para. 23: this paragraph tells the readers that
eventually the gifts were returned according to his
wishes despite his wife's strong argument.
Para. 24-26: these three paragraphs constitute the
conclusion of the story. The author tells the readers what
he did with the fund in the interests of the public, and
the change of his wife's attitude. The last sentence
highlights the author's message to all public workers.
LANGUAGE WORK

So I requested my co-workers to
relieve me.


1)So I asked my colleagues to let me leave
the community. “to relieve me” here means
“to relieve me of my work in South Africa”
2) relieve: to take someone's place in a job
E.g.: Can anyone relieve Mary? She's been on
duty for ten hours without a break.
I want you to go to our base camp to relieve
Captain Roberts for a few days.

... I had a sleepless night :
The adjective “sleepless” is a transferred
epithet, because logically it modifies the
subject.
E.g.: We heard the singing of the passionate
throat of a young man. (The passionate
throat really means the throat of a passionate
young man.)
The killer smiled a murderous smile.

It was difficult for me to forego
gifts ... :
Here the author means that it was difficult to
find a way to deal with those gifts, which is
indicated by the previous sentence “... but
could find no solution”.
forego ( = forgo): to give up.
E.g.: You shouldn't forego the opportunity of
hearing this world-famous pianist in a live
concert.

Even then I was exhorting
people to conquer the infatuation
for jewellery.
Here the word “jewellery” stands for wealth,
and “infatuation” refers to a strong and
unreasonable feeling of love for wealth.
Infatuation: the state of having a strong
and uncontrollable feeling of love
E.g.: It's only an infatuation; she'll get over it
soon enough.

So I decided to constitute them my
attorneys.
So I decided to enlist the support of my children and
ask them to persuade their mother for me. Literally,
an attorney is the person (usually, a lawyer) who
deals with legal matters on behalf of his/her clients.
constitute

1)to give (someone) authority to hold (a position,
etc. )
E.g.: They constituted him chief adviser.
The company constituted him their spokesman.

2) to make up, to form
E.g.: Twelve months constitute a year.
Terry's photographs constitute an important
part of the exhibition.

I would be the last person to part with
gifts so lovingly given. :


1) Here “last” means “least willing, least likely,
desirable”, etc.
E.g.: She is the last woman I would marry on the
earth.
That's the last thing I should expect him to do.
2) part with: to give up
E.g.: He has parted with his house, but he would not
part with his precious books.

You are trying to make sadhus of
my boys from today! :
You are trying to train my boys to be saints!
The idiom “to make something of
someone/oneself”
means “to train someone/oneself to be a person
of some value or importance”.
E. g.: His father wants to make a doctor of him.
He’s trying to make a poet of himself,
but I don’t think he’ll make it.


deprive of : to take away from
E.g.: The management has threatened to
deprive union members of their new privileges.
The trees outside the windows deprive the
house of light.
toil and moil: to work extremely hard with
little pleasure .
It will be a lot more expensive to take them out but, on
the
other hand, I don't like to think of you toiling and
moiling in
the kitchen all day to produce a dinner for 12 people.
QUESTIONS


What did the author think a public worker should
do about costly gifts? Why?
If you were a public servant, what would you do
about the bribes that had come upon you?
Suppose you were a businessman, do you think
you would try bribing an official so that he would
act in your interests?
MAIN IDEAS 0F TEXT 2

Bribery ---- An Inevitable Evil?, is a piece of typical
argumentation. At the beginning of the passage, the
phenomenon of bribery is presented through wellsupported examples. Then the three categories of bribes
are classified according to their specific functions with
concrete positive and negative examples. At last, a
possible solution is provided. However, it is not workable.
So, the author concludes that bribery is inevitable in
modern society, and it is difficult to square a
businessman’s business interests with his moral
conscience.
Unit 16
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you are supposed to
• get the message delivered in the passage and make
clear the structure of the whole passage through an
intensive reading of Text 1 Open the Door to Forgiveness.
 make a thorough understanding of the guidelines for
forgiving through their respective examples.
 get a list of new words and structures and use them
freely in conversation and writing.
• be aware of the writing structure of presenting favorable
views first, putting forward unfavorable points second,
and finally coming the conclusion.
Text 1. Open the Door to
Forgiveness
– Have you ever tried to forgive someone who hurt you in
some way?
– How do you think of the ancient phrase “an eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth”?
– Please comment on the statement made by Francis
Bacon: “Nobody does bad things with the purpose of
doing bad things, but to gain the fun, honor and
interest for himself. So why shall I be angry about the
person who loves himself much more than me?”
The passage can be divided into four parts.
Part One: (Paragraphs 1-6)
• the author begins with his comment on one of our common
experiences: being hurt and hating the person who hurts us.
• Para. 1-2: The first two paragraphs serve as an introduction, in
which the author mentions the common phenomenon of people
hurting each other.
• Para. 3: The author proposes the right approach to the matter by quoting a
philosopher's words and giving the example of Pope John Paul II.
• Para. 4-5: In these two paragraphs the author comments on our
reactions to “deep and unfair hurts” from two perspectives. He first
admits that it is not easy to forgive, but he points out the true merit
of forgiveness. While he acknowledges that “our natural response” is
hate, he reminds us of its detrimental effects. Thus the author drives
home his point that forgiveness is a more sensible choice.
• Para. 6: This is a transitional paragraph that leads to the author's
suggestions.
Part Two: (Paragraphs 7-18)
• The author moves on to give advice on the right
approach to the matter: forgiving the person and healing
our wound.
• Para. 7-9: In these paragraphs the author puts forward
the first guideline exemplified by Liz's case.
• Para. 10-12: These paragraphs make up the second
guideline for forgiveness.
• Para. 13-16: The third guideline is discussed in these
four paragraphs.
• Para. 17-18: The two paragraphs are about the last
guideline ---- don't give up on forgiveness because it
calls for determination and continual effort.
Part Three: (Para. 19-22):
•
After offering some suggestions about how to achieve
forgiveness, the author raises the opposite view ---“forgiveness is a sign of weakness”, which prepares the
ground for his counter-argument in the subsequent
paragraphs.
• Para. 19-20: The author first cites a seemingly sound
argument in Paragraph 19 “the wrongdoer should not be
let off the hook”, but he is in fact setting a target for his
own counter-argument in the subsequent paragraph “It
ties both the injured and the injurer to an endless
escalator of retaliation.”
• Para. 21-22: In these paragraphs the author points out
that we often do wrong to others without being aware of
it and that the wrong done to us is therefore often their
reaction to what we have done to them.
Part Four: (paragraph 23):
• This is the concluding paragraph,
in which the author reiterates his
view that forgiveness can “heal
the hurt and create a new
beginning”.
LANGUAGE WORK
– heal: to make healthy again
E.g.: This cream is used for healing
minor
cuts and bruises.
The seawater is now polluted. It
would
infect rather than heal an open
wound.
• betray: to be unfaithful to
E.g.: When I heard what my friends had said about me
I felt betrayed.
You have betrayed our trust in you, and for that you
must be punished.
• pay for: to receive punishment or
suffering for something
E.g.: I've spent the last three years in jail. I tell you, I've
paid for what I did.
• trapped: unable to move or
escape
E.g.: The children were trapped in the
bedroom of the blazing house.
I feel so trapped. I can't leave that lousy
job until the house is paid for.
• guideline: instruction on how
something should be done
E.g.: Medical staff have been issued with new guidelines
when
working with the patients.
• One day she confronted him.
• 1)“One day she produced evidence and
accused him of his wrong. The phrase
“confront somebody” here means: meet
somebody and present facts or evidence
in order to accuse him.
• 2) confront: to face bravely
E.g.: They have confronted the problem
of terrorism with great courage.
• hide from: to keep from being known
•
E.g.: Frogs can search for food underwater,
hidden from birds of prey.
Infect: to make (someone else) have
feelings of the same type
E.g.: She infected the whole class with her
enthusiasm.
His optimism infected us all in those days
of great difficulty.
• Compel: to force (a person) to do
something
E.g.: The high cost of materials will compel
manufacturers to increase their prices.
More and more details of her private life
appeared in the press, thus compelling her to
resign.
• face up to: to be brave enough to meet
E.g.: You should face up to things, not just
pretend that nothing is happening.
The principal accused parents of not
facing up to their responsibilities.
• be critical of : to criticize someone or something
severely
E.g.: The article is highly critical of the policies towards Central
America.
• The Bible describes, in the ancient drama of
atonement, ...
This is an episode from Leviticus 16, Old Testament. In this episode
Moses’s brother Aaron takes two goats and presents them before
the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (also called the Most
Holy Place) to make atonement for himself, his household and the
whole community of Israel. He is to lay both hands on the head of
one live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of
the Israelites - all their sins - and put them on the goat's head. The
Lord shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man
appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a
solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.
• her natural mother
• 1)her biological mother.
Here it refers to the mother who gave birth to
Cathy.
•
2)cf. “her adoptive mother”: the mother who
adopts Cathy.
• strip someone of: to take away from
E.g.: The captain was stripped of his license
after the collision.
Having been stripped of all his titles, the
politician disappeared from public life.
• Insight: the power of using one's mind to
understand the true nature of a situation
E.g.: Jerry soon established himself as a scientist of
great insight and creativity.
She has a real insight into the way people
subconsciously seek to justify their actions.
• a bully of a teacher
• 1)a teacher who was a bully, a person who uses his
strength or power to hurt or frighten others.
• 2)This structure is often used in written English. Similar
expressions include: a beast of a husband ( a beastly
husband), a slip of a girl (a small thin young girl). Notice
that the indefinite article “a” is used in front of both
nouns.
• ... the wrongdoer should not be let off the
hook.
We should not let go of the wrongdoer without
punishing him.
• eye for an eye: revenge
the original expression is “an eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth” which means that those who have hurt
others must be hurt in the same way. A similar
expression is “give tit for tat”.
• reconcile: to bring back friendly relations
between
E.g.: They quarreled, but now they've completely
reconciled.
• infidelity: a lack of loyalty,
unfaithfulness
E.g.: In the past some women often had to
tolerate their husband's infidelity because they
depended completely on their money.
• Her toughness had been a way to
keep her secret demons under
control.
Her domineering attitude had been only a
facade that covered her weaknesses, which
were her secrets.
• keep something under control: to
control something carefully so that it
stays the way as expected
E.g.: Johnson's been struggling for years
to keep his drinking under control.
There is no foolproof way of keeping
the spread of the disease under control.
• divine act of creation: noble act of
moving into a new phase of life.
QUESTIONS
• What are the guidelines to begin to
•
forgive?
“It only takes a few seconds to open
profound wounds in those you love, and it
can take many years to take them.”? Do
you agree? Have you ever heard of such
stories?
MAIN IDEAS 0F TEXT 2
• The purpose of the passage is to teach people ways to
manage their stress and to live lives of great satisfaction,
to reduce people’s risk of cardiovascular disease and to
help their bodies maintain health and well-being. Actually,
forgiving does good to the giver, because it’s nice to
reflect upon and feel the respect we have been given to
be able to make such profound choices. It also does
good both physically and mentally. In the passage, the
four stages of forgiveness are stated according to their
development sequence with persuasive details. It ended
with different choices made by different people towards
forgiveness.