Unit 8 I. General Understanding of the Text This is a short, simple and straightforward piece of persuasive writing. Some of the writing techniques are worth studying. 1. The style is informal and it suggests everyday talk. (1) Generic you is used a great deal to show the informal tone. The writer addresses the reader directly and does not miss the opportunity to give the reader his personal advice. (2) Some of the contracted forms of speech are used. Examples: You needn’t buy anything you don’t want. He couldn’t obtain it from the library… (3) The first person pronoun is used to express the writer’s personal opinion and to make his subjective assertions. Example: This opportunity to escape the realities of everyday life is, I think, the main attraction of a bookshop. There are not many places where it is possible to do this. (4) Some loosely structured sentences are use. Example: It is very easy to enter the shop looking for a book on, say, ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best-selling novel and perhaps a book about brass-rubbing—something which had only vaguely interested you up till then. 2. Sentence length is varied—short and simple sentences of ten words or less each are set against fairly long and complicated constructions. Examples: Paragraph 3 is a good illustration of this. Sentence 1. —short and simple in structure —long and complex —fairly long and complex —very short and simple —of medium length and complex What is noteworthy in this paragraph as well as in the whole text is that when the writer wishes to make an important point, he uses a short sentence and when he is illustrating or explaining these points he employs longer and more complicated sentences. 3. A subjective point of view is adopted. The passage is written from the point of view of the book-lover who has a limited purse with unlimited interests rather than the bookseller who, of course, wishes to sell as many books in as short a time as possible. Examples: If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting… … the assistant should retire discreetly… Book-sellers must be both long-suffering and indulgent. He vividly illustrates his idea of a perfect book-seller in the amusing anecdote which ends with the book-seller’s remark “I put it there in case anyone was tempted to buy it.” 4. The subject is directly established at the beginning of the passage to draw the reader into essay. The first sentence immediately establishes the theme—how time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable. Then the writer elaborates on this by: (1) describing how easy it is to become absorbed in even an unplanned visit to a bookshop (Para. 1). (2) giving reasons for such absorption and suggesting how the assistants should behave (Para. 2) (3) warning against the dangers of buying on impulse—that is, an unplanned purchase of something that has just happened to catch your eye. (Para. 3) (4) telling an anecdote which illustrates how a perfect book-seller should behave. The paragraphs follow on logically and cohesively from beginning to end. II. Duration of Time: Six periods III. Objectives On completion of the unit, students are expected to understand the writer’s argumentative reasoning, the rhetorical and stylistic devices used in the essay. IV. Difficult Points 1. informal style 2. sentence 3. several techniques: (1) exaggeration (2) reversal of the reader’s expectations (3) striking comparison V. Teaching Procedures A. Bring out the topic of buying books by asking students some common-sense questions as follows. (1) Do you visit bookshops often? (2) What is usually your purpose of visiting a bookshop, to buy books or just to browse among books? (3) Which do you prefer to visit, a bookshop with open shelves or one with closed shelves? (4) Can you brows through books if the bookshop has closed shelves? (5) How much help do you want to get from a bookshop assistant? B. Ask students to guess the main idea of the text, then tell them to go over the text rapidly once without worrying about the new words and phrases. The suggested time limit is 5 minutes. C. Questions on pages 94. Key: b. a. b. b. b. d. c. Then do comprehension exercise in Workbook. D. Do the vocabulary exercise on page 89-90. Key: Section A: f. h. d. e. a. b. g. c. Section B: 1. too strong or too good to prevent oneself from doing; 2. come near or nearer to; 3. which can not be prevented from happening; 4. go away to a quiet place; 5. provided with pictures to explain; 6. very kind to other people; 7. call sb’s attention by a movement of the hand; 8. put in a safe place E. Details of the text. (1) most enjoyable: very enjoyable (2) shelter: a: (countable noun) a building or roofed enclosure that gives cover or protection i.e. wooden shelter, air-raid shelter, bus shelter b: (uncountable noun) cover or protection In the storm, I took shelter under a tree. Everyone ran for shelter when the bombing started (3) be engrossed in: concentrate on (reading) (4) end up with… OR in…: get something or get into some state even though one does not originally intend to get /get into it. i.e. He meant to paint a portrait for her, but he ended up with only a sketch. Don’t loaf away your time, or you’ll end up in failure. (5) to your heart’s content: as much as one wants 尽情地 i.e. It’s weekend, so you can sleep to your heart’s content. (6) in the background: as unnoticeable as possible i.e. stay in the background She has a lot of power, but likes to remain the background. (7) browse: look through or read parts of a book without any clear purpose, for enjoyment. (8) retire: (formal usage) go away to a quiet, unnoticed or less central place. i.e. Members of the jury, you must now retire to consider your verdict. (9) discreet: careful, cautious i.e. discretion (10) apart from: besides (11) run up a huge account: use up a lot of money (12) indulgent: a: adj. spoiling i.e. Presently parents are usually indulgent to their children. b: very kind (13) dismay: disappoint, sadden, fill with a strong feeling of fear, anxiety, and hopelessness i.e. We were dismayed at the cost. dismal, n. (14) beckon: call with the movement of a gesture (15) tell somebody off: scold (16) tuck away: put something into an unnoticeable place for safety or protection (17) tempt: attract VI. Oral Work A. Role-play: Are second-hand bookshops worth visiting? Situation: It is Saturday afternoon. Martin invites Lily to go to a second-hand bookshop with him. But Lily thinks there’s no point in going to a second-hand bookshop. B. Interaction Activities: On Bookshop Service Are you satisfied with the service in local bookshops? Discuss this topic with your partner and make suggestions for further improvement. VI. Exercises in Workbook.