Unit 4  Unit Four Section A Five Symbols of American Culture I. Greetings II. Review: Ask some students to summarize the cultural differences in Western and Japanese decision-making, according to Section B unit 3. III. Start the new lesson 1. Introduction: The Statue of Liberty, Barbie dolls, the American Gothic painting, the Buffalo nickel and Uncle Sam are the five famous models of American culture. The Statue of Liberty is a gift of French to the American people. Barbie dolls are the productions of the Mattel Toy Company. American Gothic is a painting drawn by an American artist. The Buffalo nickel honored the extinction of the buffalo herds and the American Indians. Uncle Sam is evolved from an earlier cartoon character and it becomes the symbol of America. 2. Discourse analysis: Part I (Paras1-4): It shows the creator, creating time and process of the Statue of Liberty.. Part II (Paras 5-10): It shows the origin, developing process of Barbie Dolls and the affection of people to Barbie Dolls. Part III (Paras 11-14): It shows what American Gothic is, the creator and the creating process. Finally, it shows how people feel about American Gothic. Part IV (Paras 15-18): It shows the creator of the Buffalo Nickle. And it shows the speciality of the Buffalo Nickle. Part V (Paras 19-22): It shows the origin of Uncle Sam, and it shows the process of Uncle Sam coming to be known. 3. Language points: 1. work on: 1) have sth. as the subject of thought or effort I want to work on perfecting my style before trying anything new. / He is working on a novel. He is working on a new project which has to be finished by the end of the year. 2) have the desired result or effect on sb. or sth Some pills work on the nerves and make people feel more relaxed. 2. enlighten: vt. give sb more information about sth so that he knows the truth I cannot remember how the trains turned round to return to London. Could you enlighten me? It is an enormously enlightening and exciting experience. 3. alliance: n. a group of countries, political parties or people who have agreed to work together because of the same interests or aims (against, between, with, to do ) They made an alliance against the common enemy. Marriage is an alliance between two people. We must have/form an alliance with the neighboring peoples. 4. approve: vi. say, show or feel that sth is good (of) Her mother does not approve of her friendship with John. I didn’t approve of his manner. / His father didn’t approve of his leaving school at 16. She would not do anything that was not approved by her parents. Vt. accept, permit or officially agree to sth An official from the government approved the project. 5. affection: feeling of fondness (for /toward) I have (a) great affection for my brother. He gained/won her affections. 6. go ahead: 1) continue; advance In spite of the teacher’s illness, the class will go ahead as planned. The government has decided to go ahead with its plans to develop the North-East. 2) move in front of sth or sb You go ahead and tell him I’m coming. / Go ahead, what are you waiting for? 3) begin, especially to speak The council gave us permission to go ahead with our plans. / Go ahead, we are all listening. 7. refashion into: change into; make into Can you refashion this dress into a skirt? 8. exaggerate: make sth seem larger, more important, better or worse than it really is Don’t exaggerate. I was only two minutes late, not twenty. You are exaggerating the difficulties. The problem has been greatly exaggerated. 9. interpretation: 1) an explanation or understanding of sth What’s your interpretation of these statistics? He’s always putting a wrong interpretation on what I say. 2) making clear or bringing out the meaning of ( a character, music, etc) The actor’s interpretation of Hamlet was criticized. 10. inspire: vt. 1) give sb a feeling of wanting and being able to do sth good, create a work of art The painter was inspired by natural scenery. The book was inspired by a real person, namely Tamara. 2) fill sb. with confidence or eagerness so that they feel they can achieve sth. difficult or special The father inspired his son with confidence./ The father inspired confidence in his son. His friend’s words inspired him to try again./The teacher inspired us to greater efforts. 11. stretch: v. 1) make sth. longer, wider or tighter by pulling My T-shirt stretched when I washed it. 2) cause to go as far as possible or beyond the usual limit I’m afraid we can't take on any more work---we’re already fully stretched. 3) (of a piece of land or water, etc) spread over a large area or distance The long white beaches stretch for miles along the coast. 12. no doubt: very probably: No doubt he will help us if we ask him. 13. settlement n. 1) the movement of a new population into a place to live there the settlement of the American West / the settlement of immigrants 2) an agreement that ends an argument; the act of reaching this kind of agreement She accepted an out-of-court settlement of $4,000. We are optimistic about a settlement of the eleven-year conflict. The strike lasted for several weeks until a settlement was reached. 14. inspect: vt. 1) look at sth. closely The detective inspected the room for fingerprints. 2) make an official visit to make sure that work is being done properly A committee will inspect our college next week. IV. Summary: We’ve learned something about American culture. The Statue of Liberty is a gift of French to the American people. Barbie dolls are the productions of the Mattel Toy Company. American Gothic is a painting drawn by an American artist. The Buffalo nickel honored the extinction of the buffalo herds and the American Indians. Uncle Sam is evolved from an earlier cartoon character. V. Homework: Write a composition about 120 words with the title of “How did Mr. Smith become a criminal?” Section B Engelbreit My Name，Cute Is My Game I. Greetings II. Review: 1. Ask one or two students to say something about the five symbols of the United States. 2. Have a dictation of the new words from section A. III. Start the new lesson: 1. Introduction: Mary Engelbreit was intended to become an artist illustrating children’s books. She gained great success because of designing cards. Now the annual retail sales are in the $100 million range. Engelbreit is cheerful and humorous. The style of her cards is characteristic. So she succeeded through hard work. 2. Discourse analysis: Part I (Paras 1-2): Mary Engelbreit became a greeting card maker which broke her dream of being an illustrator for children’s books. Part II (Paras 3-5): The sale and style of Mary Engelbreit’s cards are very well. Part III (Paras 6-12): the writer introduced Mary Engelbreit’s experiences of life. Part IV (Paras 13): When Mary Engelbreit became an illustrator for children’s books she found what she liked best was still to draw greeting card. 3. Language points: 1. turn sb./sth. down: refuse to accept sb./sth. My request for a pay rise was turned down again. 2. be suited to = be suitable for The title of the book is well suited to its content. Jim and Nary seem suited to each other, in spite of their quarrels. Do you think David is suited to teaching? He is not suited to be a teacher. 3. astonish: vt. surprise sb. greatly astonished astonishing astonishingly astonishment There is more astonishing news. be astonished at /by/to do/that I was astonished at/to hear the loud sound./We were astonished that he appeared at the party. To my astonishment, the dog jumped at me suddenly. 4. bare: adj. 1) not covered by clothing Her bare shoulders were burned by the sun. 2) empty; without its usual contents or covering The trees are bare in winter./The room is bare of furniture. 5. distinct: adj. 1) different in kind His work is quite distinct from mine. 2) definite; easily seen, heard, felt or understood There is a distinct smell of perfume in the room. draw/make a distinction between 6. elaborate: adj. complicated We made elaborate preparations for the party. v. describe or explain sth. in detail Would you elaborate on the subject? 7. comprise: vt. 1) consist of Our class comprises 50 students. 2) (be) comprised of; (be) made up of This house is comprised of three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living-room. 8. venture: n. a project which is new and often risky, because one cannot be sure that it will succeed a joint venture I wish you good luck in your new business venture. v. risk doing sth. He ventured out into the storm in a thick coat. 9. plunge: v. go, jump, dive, fall suddenly into sth. (into) They plunged into water to save the child. The country plunged into war. / The room was plunged into darkness. 10. gratitude: n. thanks to sb. for sth. express one’s gratitude/ appreciation/thanks to sb for =My gratitude goes to sb.=thank/appreciate sb. for sth. We’d like to express our gratitude to David for all his help and advice. My gratitude also goes to Mr. Mike Moore who has given his support and assistance in the past 15 years. 11. distribution: n. 1) the process or act of marketing and supplying goods to various people or places We have a good product, but our distribution is bad. 2) giving to each of several people (to/among): the distribution of prizes to the winners the distribution of food parcels to the refugees 3) arrangement of sth. within an area the distribution of rainfall in China The uneven distribution of wealth causes many problems. The distribution of wealth is very uneven in his country. 12. with an eye to: showing an interest in or concern for The government is with an eye to improving people’s living conditions. 13. dress up: to wear one’s best clothes She dressed up for a party. 14. show up: to appear At times like these the true character of the man shows up. 15. date back to: to have existed since The castle dates back to the ancient Rome days. Their quarrel dates back to last year. IV. Summary: Mary Engelbreit was intended to become an artist illustrating children’s books. She gained great success because of designing cards. Now the annual retail sales are in the ＄100 million range. Engelbreit is cheerful and humorous. The style of her cards is characteristic. So she succeeded through hard work. V. Do Exercises VI. Homework: Preview Unit 5 Section A