新視界大學(xué)英語綜合教程第三冊(cè)u(píng)nit 4 Active reading

1、,Warming up, Listen and underline any words or expressions which are different from what you hear.,Nathan: So whatve you done over the last two years, since we left college and became unemployable science graduates? Brett: Ive been on the road. Ive been east, to China, Japan, Thailand I taught Engli

2、sh for a few months in Tokyo and yourself?,Nathan: So whatve you done over the last two years, since we left college and became unemployable science graduates? Brett: Ive been on the road. Ive been east, to China, Japan, Thailand I taught English for a few months in Tokyo and yourself?,Warming up,Na

3、than: Nothing so exciting. Ive been here most of the time, doing odd jobs dealing with online orders for a supermarket, delivering pizzas, gardening, cat-sitting (not quite as difficult as babysitting!), replying to emails for a local politician, and what else? Oh yes, I spent two months in a call c

4、entre, which wasnt very well-paid, and I did some tourist information research, interviewing people arriving at the station. And Ive done some teaching too, giving maths lessons to students preparing for university entrance. Brett: For someone whos unemployable it looks as if youve been rather busy!

5、,Nathan: Nothing so exciting. Ive been here most of the time, doing odd jobs dealing with online orders for a supermarket, delivering pizzas, gardening, cat-sitting (not quite as difficult as babysitting!), replying to emails for a local politician, and what else? Oh yes, I spent two months in a cal

6、l centre, which wasnt very well-paid, and I did some tourist information research, interviewing people arriving at the station. And Ive done some teaching too, giving maths lessons to students preparing for university entrance. Brett: For someone whos unemployable it looks as if youve been rather bu

7、sy!,Warming up,Now listen again and correct the information.,Answer: science art; Tokyo Bangkok; cat-sitting dog-walking; very well-paid much fun; station airport; maths history,Warming up, Work in pairs and discuss the questions.,1 What jobs has Nathan done since he left university? 2 Which of them

8、 would you describe as traditional? Which of them are new? 3 Why does Nathan describe them both as “unemployable”? 4 Has the world of work changed for young people? If so, why? 5 Why do you think Nathan and Brett have not started secure careers yet?,Warming up,1 What jobs has Nathan done since he le

9、ft university?,Dealing with online orders for a supermarket, delivering pizzas, gardening, dog-walking, replying to emails for a local politician, working in a call centre, doing tourist information research and giving history lessons to students preparing for university entrance.,Warming up,2 Which

10、 of them would you describe as traditional? Which of them are new?,Traditional: gardening, market research, tutoring the rest are of more recent date, though delivery boys as a group are arguably traditional.,3 Why does Nathan describe them both as “unemployable”?,Presumably they have not been able

11、to find jobs. Perhaps he is also referring to the high jobless rate for fresh graduates in many economies.,Warming up,4 Has the world of work changed for young people? If so, why?,It is less stable jobs change faster so people need to retrain. Companies continually look for savings and new technolog

12、y allows them to automate tasks. Workers now spend most of their time in front of screens. Work is less social.,5 Why do you think Nathan and Brett have not started secure careers yet?,They have not had the sort of job offers they want. The competition among new graduates is intense. It seems Brett

13、is not quite ready to settle down yet and enjoys being free to travel.,Warming up,Listen to the passage and fill the blanks.,There are many methods of woodworking and each culture has its own _. Artistic wood creations include architectural _ on buildings, furniture for the home or even carved anima

14、ls. For example, in Thailand, _ detailed carvings from teak and other hard woods are an important part of _ palaces and religious buildings. Woodcarvers were a very important group of _. A person needed many years of training with experts to be a wood carver. Wood carvings often include plant forms

15、such as the lotus flower as well as _ taken from Hindu and Buddhist religious stories.,traditions,decoration,richly,ancient,artists,figures,Warming up, Look at the first sentence of the passage and choose the best answer to the question.,It is not surprising that modern children tend to look blank a

16、nd dispirited when informed that they will someday have to “go to work and make a living”.,Warming up,Why do you think it isnt surprising that children are unhappy that one day they will have to “go to work”?,(a) Most of them have never done any hard work in their lives. (b) They feel demotivated ab

17、out the qualifications they will have to get. (c) They cant make up their minds what they want to do. (d) They dont understand what most of todays jobs are.,(a) Most of them have never done any hard work in their lives. (b) They feel demotivated about the qualifications they will have to get. (c) Th

18、ey cant make up their minds what they want to do. (d) They dont understand what most of todays jobs are.,Skimming,Browse the passage within 8 minutes to get a rough idea about it. Answer the questions of Activity 2 and 3 on page 75.,Task,Skimming, Choose the best summary of the passage.,1 In todays

19、America jobs are not what they used to be. Everything is made by machines, not people. Nearly all the jobs today are office jobs, and for an outsider, such as a child, it is difficult to understand what these jobs really are. 2 Machines have made work in America unnecessary. Apart from the few manua

20、l jobs which are left, almost all of todays jobs are not worth doing, and many people spend all their time in offices reading the paper. 3 Industry in America no longer produces anything that lasts for more than a few years, after which things have to be thrown away. Nowhere is this more apparent th

21、an in office jobs, where huge quantities of paper are thrown away every day.,Answer: 1,Skimming, Check () the true statements., 1 Children today dont have much idea what jobs their parents do. 2 Nobody makes or repairs things like tables any more. 3 Children cant understand job titles like “systems

22、analyst”. 4 Its easy for adults to understand other peoples job titles. 5 Most manufactured items can be repaired cheaply by machines. 6 The typical office in America is in a 12-floor building made of glass. 7 Typical office workers feel they are not really working. 8 If you walk into any office, mo

23、re than half the people will be talking on the phone. 9 Almost everyone has a job involving paper.,The true statements are 1, 3, and 9.,Work in Corporate America,譯文,Digging,1 It is not surprising that modern children tend to look blank and dispirited when informed that they will someday have to “go

24、to work and make a living”. The problem is that they cannot visualize what work is in corporate America.,Background information,Digging,2 Not so long ago, when a parent said he was off to work, the child knew very well what was about to happen. His parent was going to make something or fix something

25、. The parent could take his offspring to his place of business and let him watch while he repaired a buggy or built a table.,譯文,Digging,3 When a child asked, “What kind of work do you do, Daddy?” his father could answer in terms that a child could come to grips with, such as “I fix steam engines” or

26、 “I make horse collars”.,譯文,Digging,4 Well, a few fathers still fix steam engines and build tables, but most do not. Nowadays, most fathers sit in glass buildings doing things that are absolutely incomprehensible to children. The answers they give when asked, “What kind of work do you do, Daddy?” ar

27、e likely to be utterly mystifying to a child.,譯文,Digging,5 “I sell space.” “I do market research.” “I am a data processor.” “I am in public relations.” “I am a systems analyst.” Such explanations must seem nonsense to a child. How can he possibly envision anyone analyzing a system or researching a m

28、arket?,譯文,Digging,6 Even grown men who do market research have trouble visualizing what a public relations man does with his day, and it is a safe bet that the average systems analyst is as baffled about what a space salesman does at the shop as the average space salesman is about the tools needed t

29、o analyze a system.,譯文,Digging,7 In the common everyday job, nothing is made any more. Things are now made by machines. Very little is repaired. The machines that make things make them in such a fashion that they will quickly fall apart in such a way that repairs will be prohibitively expensive. Thu

30、s the buyer is encouraged to throw the thing away and buy a new one. In effect, the machines are making junk.,譯文,Digging,8 The handful of people remotely associated with these machines can, of course, tell their inquisitive children “Daddy makes junk”. Most of the workforce, however, is too remote f

31、rom junk production to sense any contribution to the industry. What do these people do?,譯文,Digging,9 Consider the typical 12-story glass building in the typical American city. Nothing is being made in this building and nothing is being repaired, including the building itself. Constructed as a piece

32、of junk, the building will be discarded when it wears out, and another piece of junk will be set in its place.,譯文,Digging,10 Still, the building is filled with people who think of themselves as working. At any given moment during the day perhaps one-third of them will be talking into telephones. Mos

33、t of these conversations will be about paper, for paper is what occupies nearly everyone in this building.,譯文,Digging,11 Some jobs in the building require men to fill paper with words. There are persons who type neatly on paper and persons who read paper and jot notes in the margins. Some persons ma

34、ke copies of paper and other persons deliver paper. There are persons who file paper and persons who unfile paper.,Digging,12 Some persons mail paper. Some persons telephone other persons and ask that paper be sent to them. Others telephone to ascertain the whereabouts of paper. Some persons confer

35、about paper. In the grandest offices, men approve of some paper and disapprove of other paper.,譯文,Digging,13 The elevators are filled throughout the day with young men carrying paper from floor to floor and with vital men carrying paper to be discussed with other vital men.,譯文,Digging,14 What is a c

36、hild to make of all this? His father may be so eminent that he lunches with other men about paper. Suppose he brings his son to work to give the boy some idea of what work is all about. What does the boy see happening?,譯文,Digging,15 His father calls for paper. He reads paper. Perhaps he scowls at pa

37、per. Perhaps he makes an angry red mark on paper. He telephones another man and says they had better lunch over paper.,譯文,Digging,16 At lunch they talk about paper. Back at the office, the father orders the paper retyped and reproduced in quintuplicate, and then sent to another man for comparison wi

38、th paper that was reproduced in triplicate last year.,譯文,Digging,17 Imagine his poor son afterwards mulling over the mysteries of work with a friend, who asks him, “Whats your father do?” What can the boy reply? “It beats me,” perhaps, if he is not very observant. Or if he is, “Something that has to

39、 do with making junk, I think. Same as everybody else.”,譯文,1. Work in corporate America (Title),Corporate America is a general term given to a large non-government-owned organization or company in the United States, eg a bank, a marketing research company etc. It has both positive and negative conno

40、tations. Positively, it means that a company or an organization produces wealth and improves peoples living standards in a free market and competitive society by people working together to achieve the goals. This mainly refers to financial gains and success. Negatively, it seems to indicate the prom

41、otion of self-interest, financial gains, greed and irresponsibility in the workplace.,Difficult sentences,Difficult sentences,2. It is not surprising that modern children tend to look blank and dispirited when (Line 1, Para 1),To “l(fā)ook blank” means that modern children show no sign of understanding

42、or emotion about the corporate workplace, they seem unresponsive and have blank looks. Someone who is “dispirited” does not have the hope, enthusiasm or interest that they had earlier; they are in low spirits or downhearted.,Difficult sentences,3. The parent could take his offspring to his place of

43、business and let him watch while he repaired a buggy or built a table. (Line 4, Para 2),buggy: It is a vehicle used for babies and toddlers by carers (parents, grandparents and adults in caring professions), to push them around. It is also called a pushchair. In the US, it is called a stroller.,Diff

44、icult sentences,4. When a child asked his father could answer in terms that a child could come to grips with, such as “I fix steam engines” or “I make horse collars”. (Line 1, Para 3),come to grips with: It normally means to face up to a problem, situation or difficult job and deal with it. Here, it

45、 means that someone gets to understand something that is difficult or unpleasant. It has the similar meaning as come to terms with, tackle, handle, manage etc. horse collar: It is made of leather and fit around animals necks to allow them to pull heavy things. When horses are used to pull carts or c

46、arriages they wear horse collars. Here, in corporate America, this is a deliberate image of something very old-fashioned, just like steam engines.,Difficult sentences,5. How can he possibly envision anyone analyzing a system or researching a market? (Line 4, Para 5),envision: a verb which means to s

47、how a visual scene in your mind, to imagine something that is outside your experience, which has not happened or does not exist,Difficult sentences,6. Even grown men and it is a safe bet that the average systems analyst is as baffled about what a space salesman does at the shop as the average space

48、salesman is about the tools needed to analyze a system. (Line 1, Para 6),In this sentence the writer is saying he is quite sure that neither the systems analyst nor the space salesman knows about each others work and what they actually do. it is a safe bet: It means that the speaker or writer is sur

49、e about something (they would be willing to risk money to confirm it).,Difficult sentences,a space salesman: People who deal with the arrangements for the use of space in offices and other places: How many rooms might be needed for what purposes, what sorts of work people do in particular offices an

50、d how the office furniture and equipment can best be arranged for the maximum effectiveness, how much it costs to rent or use office accommodation in different parts of a city But probably, a space salesman mainly deals with people who want to rent office space.,6. Even grown men and it is a safe be

51、t that the average systems analyst is as baffled about what a space salesman does at the shop as the average space salesman is about the tools needed to analyze a system. (Line 1, Para 6),Difficult sentences,7. The machines that make things make them in such a fashion that they will quickly fall apa

52、rt in such a way that repairs will be prohibitively expensive. (Line 3, Para 7),The sentence means that the machines make things in such a way that they will break or fall into pieces so that they cant be cheaply repaired. It is implied that the things are made to be short-lasting so that the manufa

53、cturers can sell more later.,Difficult sentences,7. The machines that make things make them in such a fashion that they will quickly fall apart in such a way that repairs will be prohibitively expensive. (Line 3, Para 7),in such a fashion: in a particular way or manner prohibitively expensive: The c

54、ost is prohibitively expensive when it prevents you from buying something, as it is beyond the limits of what you can afford. Or, we may say the cost is prohibitive.,Difficult sentences,8. The handful of people remotely associated with these machines can, of course, tell their inquisitive children “

55、Daddy makes junk”. (Line 1, Para 8),The few people who are involved in production / manufacturing could say they make something (although actually it is not a very good product), but most people cannot claim to make anything. Its harder for them to say what they do. The paragraph is all in an ironic

56、 tone. inquisitive children: those who like to ask lots of questions, especially things that adults do not want to talk about,Difficult sentences,9. Most of the workforce, however, is too remote from junk production to sense any contribution to the industry. (Line 3, Para 8),The sentence means most

57、workers are distant from the process of junk production so they do not feel that their work has any part in it.,Difficult sentences,10. There are persons who file paper and persons who unfile paper. (Line 6, Para 11),The writer is wittily half referring to a famous biblical passage which contains ph

58、rases such as there is a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to keep and a time to throw away. Mocking the entire process of modern business, he writes of people whose job is to put away papers and others whose job is to get them out.,Difficult sentences,

59、11. Others telephone to ascertain the whereabouts of paper. (Line 3, Para 12),ascertain the whereabouts of something: to find out where something is,Difficult sentences,12. Back at the office, the father orders the paper retyped and reproduced in quintuplicate, and then sent to another man for comparison with paper that was reproduced in triplicate last year. (Line 1, Para 16),The word “quintuplicate” means that something is made into five copies. To “quadruplicate” means to make into four copies; “triplicate” three cop