Unit Four The Multicultural Society
Text A America as a Collage
Reference Book: (New) Integrated Course 4
Student’s and Teaching’s Book
Teaching Method: Explanation & Combination
Objectives
1 grasp the main idea and structure of the text
2 practice their critical thinking ability through in-depth discussion
3 master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text
Time allocation
Teaching Period ( 31 & 40) 10
Teaching Processes :
Pre-reading
1 Warming-up
Introduce some relevant materials and Quotations
2 Culture Note
Background information
Ryzasard Kapuscinski :
he has spent most of the post World War II years reporting on war and revolution in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Being away from the United States frequently and being acquainted with social, ethnic, and racial conflicts in many cultures has given Kapuscinski a broader perspective on the social pressures facing the United States in the future. in this essay ,commissioned by the New Perspectives Quarterly, Kapuscinsski finds the changing composition of the American melting pot not a source of social problems but a sign of positive future and of the continuing vitality of the democratic experiment represented by the people and the government of the United States
Pluralism : refers to the acceptance of many different groups in society or many different schools of thought in an intellectual or cultural discipline. Although America's culture is becoming more uniform, its society remains a diverse mix of ethnic, racial and religious groups. The Unite States is a pluralistic society. meaning it is composed of many nationalities, races, religions and creeds . Some of people who immigrated to American embraced the opportunity to leave old cultures behind and to remark themselves unencumbered by past traditions and loyalties.
A nation of Immigration:
Although the United States has been shaped by successive waves of immigrants, Americans have often viewed immigrants as a problem. established Americans often look down on new immigrants. The cultural habits of immigrants are frequently targets of criticism, especially when the new arrivals come from different country than those in the established community. Despite such tensions, economic needs have always forced Americans to seek immigrants as laborers and settlers, and economic opportunities have beckoned foreigners. The vast majority of immigrants to the United States have come in search of jobs and the chance to create a better life for themselves and their families. In all of American history, less than 10precent of immigrants have come for political or religious reasons. Although immigrants are expected to absorb the beliefs and standards of the dominant society, most immigrants groups try to maintain their own cultural heritage, language and religious practices.
Traditionally the United States has been described as a melting pot ,a place where the previous identities of each immigrants group are melted down to create an integrated, uniform society.
3 Discussion :Can you think of something other than a city that symbolizes the American future ?
While-reading
Text Analysis
People tend to worship things printed in black and white. Yet we would like to cultivate in our students the ability to think critically. They should understand that not everything they read is true. At the same time they need to able to, and they should be able to , justify their disbelief
In a word, students must realize that there are always different perspectives.
Key words
1 debt---n
eg: if I pay all my debts, I will have no money left
I will always be in debt to you for your help
run into debt 陷入债务中 in debt to sb 欠债
be in debt
2 characteristic---n
---adj
eg: A characteristic of the camel is its ability to live for a long time without water
A prominent characteristic of language is that the relation between a linguistic sign and its meaning is arbitrary
3 paralyze
eg: He had a minor stroke in 1987, which left him partly paralyzed.
The explosion killed about 200 people and paralyzed part of the city's transportation system
4 thesis
eg: Their main thesis is that inflation is caused by increase in the money supply
he was awarded his PhD for a thesis on industrial robots
5 historical actual/ real / factual \\ fiction/ legendary
eg: Museums collect objects of scientific, aesthetic, or historical importance
Many historical documents and photo grants are preserved in the provincial achieves in Nanjing
6 precedent
eg: The trial could set an important precedent for dealing with large numbers of similar cases
7 mentality
eg: Can you understand the mentality of someone who likes to watch animals fighting each other running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaries employee
8 plural
eg: His government has pledged to move the country towards a plural democracy
Data is the Latin plural form of datum
9 unbelievable
eg: Dealers were paying unbelievable prices for her painting
Her excuse for being late for class was totally unbelievable
10 immigrant--n /adj
eg: Historically, the United States has attracted vast numbers of immigrants from around the globe
It was estimated that more than 11 out of every 20 New Yorkers were immigrants or the children of immigrants
11 network
eg: The Internet is composed of many interconnected computer networks
Most personal computers communicate with each other and with large networks, such as the Internet, by using the ordinary telephone network
12 constructive
eg: Criticism is welcome only when it is constructive criticism
After their meeting, both sides described the talks as friendly, frank and constructive
13 cooperation
eg: The mission of the united Nations is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote cooperation in solving the world's problems and encourage respect for human right
The European Union is an organization dedicated to economic cooperation among European nations
14 conception
eg: Their conception of love seems to be very different from our own
I had no conception of the finished product
15 destructive damaging / hostile / harmful \\ constructive / creative / productive
eg: Technology can be conceived as both a creative and a destructive process
The strong El Nino which occurred between 1982 and 1983 was the most destructive in more than a century
be destructive of
16 offend
eg: Richard was deeply offended that people thought he'd faked the story
He apologized for his comments and said he had no intention of offending the professor
be offended with sb for sth
17 religion
eg: Philosophy comprised all areas of speculative thought and included the arts, sciences, and religion
Christianity is the most widely distribute of the world religions
18 submerge
eg: Submarines are designed to submerge and surface, and to maneuver quietly underwater to avoid detection
Some archeological treasures will be submerged in the construction of the Three Gorges Dam
19 ethnic
eg: Although America's culture is becoming more uniform, its society remains a diverse mix of ethnic, racial, and religious groups
Long-held ethnic tensions escalated into a violent armed conflict ethnic minorities
20 essential--n /adj
eg: Most teachers agree that play is an essential part of a child's development
This alliance is essential for the stability of Europe
Is money essential to happiness
It is essential that you arrive on time
21 combination
eg: It is the combination of wit and political analysis that makes his articles so readable
All genetic traits result from different combinations of gene pairs, one gene inherited from the mother and one from
the father
22 stagnant
eg: Thousands of disputes between management and labor resulted from stagnant wages coupled with inflation
They tried to drain stagnant pools where mosquitoes breed
23 destiny
eg: She wanted to be an artist, but destiny decreed that she should become a doctor
We are masters of our own destiny
24 discourage
eg: Michael was so discouraged by repeated failures that he decided to give up his project
Many people were discouraged by the seemingly endless economic depression
Key phrase
in decline / on the decline
He is still one of the world's most popular tennis players, but his game is in decline
As she was getting older, her mental powers were on the decline
have a / the sense that
As soon as we had the sense that something was wrong, we moved the children away
We have the sense that one month's preparation is far from enough if we want to accomplish the project
for the first time
Korea entered into the quarter-finals in the World Cup for the first time
Airplane were used in a major military campaign for the first time during World War I
leave behind
I am afraid we will have to leave the dog behind at home
I arrive at the meeting to find I’d left my notes behind
in the ....sense
In the academic sense, this article is not well written
In the environmental sense, your plan to build a chemical factory is a disaster, whatever the economic
benefits may seem to be
from the perspective of
From the perspective of women, the article is well worth reading
The novel Harry Potter is written from the perspective of a child
give way to
The storm gave way to bright sunshine
Sentence Paraphrases
1 I have a sense that what is going on here concerns much more than the fate of a nation
(I think that what is happening in America means more than the fate of a nation)
2 Now is the first chance on a new basis with new technologies to create a civilization of unprecedented openness and pluralism
(There is a chance for the first time to create a civilization of unprecedented openness and pluralism with new technologies on a new basis)
3 Eighty-one languages, few of them European, are spoken in the elementary school system of the city of Los Angles
(In the elementary school system of Los Angles,81languages are spoken. But European languages are rarely spoken there)
4 The mere fact that America still attracts millions of people is evidence that it is not in decline
(It is a fact that America still attracts millions of people, which proves that America is not in decline)
5 It is incredible coming to America to find you are somewhere else----in Seoul, in Taipei, in Mexico City
(Coming to America, you may unbelievably find that you are somewhere else----)
6 There were only strawberry fields where the plant is
( The place of the company was strawberry fields at that time)
7 And the border between races has usually been a border of tension, of crisis
(The border between races is often full of tension and crisis)
8 This type of man is being borne in Los Angles, in the cultural sense if not the anthropological sense
( In the sense of culture but not anthropological, this kind of man is emerging in Los Angles)
9 Destiny has already sentenced you
( your fate is predetermined)
Summary of Text A
The author holds this point of view that American won't decline as a great power in the world. on the country, it will move forward. Then he gives the example of the city of Los Angeles, in which many cultures and customs coexist. The collage-like city shows the advantage and disadvantage of cultural interaction. In the end, he provides the way of harmonizing the competing cultures in one place :the chance to try
Text Organization
Section One (1-5) American is not in decline, but is in the process of creating a new civilization of unprecedented openness and pluralism
Section Two( 6-21) Los Angeles is a good example of a collage- like civilization
Section Three(22-24) There is something in American that acts as glue to piece different parts together to make the American collage : the chance to try
Writing Strategy of Text A
1 An argument
2 demonstration based on pertinent facts
3 organized by general ------ separately ------sum up
After-Reading
Going over
Some contend question P116
Discussion
1 The author maintains that the Euro-centered American nation is giving way to a new Pacific civilization---a type of society unlike any that has gone before it. Do you agree?
2 As a modern non-Western youth, do you agree with the author’s opinion on the non-Western concept of time?
Language Sense Enhancement
Poems and Quotations P118-P119
Dictation
Key words and Key phrases
Structure and Comprehensive Exercise
P122-P127
Unit Four The Multicultural Society
Text B What’s American about America?
Teaching Method: Ask-based learning
(The emphasis focus on the task rather than the language)
Key words
1 contrary---n /adj
eg: It does not seem ugly to me, on the contrary, I think it has rather beautiful
I thought he was a student; on the contrary, he was a teacher
There is no evidence to the contrary
On the contrary // Be contrary to // to the contrary
2 memorial---n / adj
eg: This statue is a memorial to a great statesman
In memory of the dead soldiers, a grand memorial was built on the spot of the great campaign
3 dwell---n / v
eg: Let us not dwell on your past mistakes
Their talk dwells too much on the economic aspects of the problem
dwell on / upon 细想 详谈 dwell in 住在
4 mysterious
eg: He was being very mysterious, and would not tell me what he was up to
At midnight, he received a mysterious telephone call and was asked to meet at once
5 applaud---vt
eg: We must applaud the council's decision not to close the hospital.
The schoolmaster applauded the girl's bravery in his opening speech
6 derive
eg: She derived no benefit from the course of drugs
He derived a lot of please from meeting new people
7 dwarf
eg: Most of children like to listen to the story of seven dwarfs
Our little boat was dwarfed by the big yacht
8 originate
eg: The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families
Who originated the new style of dancing
originate in sth // originate from / with sb
Key phrase
shortly after
The last time anyone saw her shortly after 7pm. last Friday
in exile
She was in exile because of her participation in the plot against the government
to....extent
To what extent can he be believed ?
Sentence Paraphrases
1 America has drawn to its shores individuals from all over the world
( America has attracted people all over the world to this country)
2 The next day I went to McDonald's and snapped pictures of smiling youngsters eating hamburgers below paintings that could grace the walls of any the country's leading museum
( The next day I went to McDonald's and took pictures of smiling youngsters who were eating hamburgers below paintings that could match those exhibited in the best US museums )
3 Where did such an attitude, which has caused so much misery and depression in our national life, which has spoiled even our noblest achievements, begin?
(The attitude has caused so much misery and depression in our national life and spoiled even our noblest achievements. but where did such an attitude begin)
4 He was not talking about a legendary city located in some mysterious region of the world
(What he was talking was not a city of legend located in some region of mystery)
5 Industrious, responsible, it was their Yankee ingenuity and practicality that created the work ethic
( They are industrious and responsible, their work ethic was created by their Yankee ingenuity and practicality )
6 Such blurring of culture styles occurs in everyday life in the United States to a greater extent than anyone can imagine
( Such blurring of culture styles is very common in the United States, which is beyond anyone's imagination)
7 They killed children who disobeyed their parents
( Children who disobeyed their parents were killed )
8 We can become a place where the cultures of the world crisscross
( We will become a place where different cultures interact with each other )
9 This is possible because the United States and Canada are unique in the world
( The United States and Canada are different from the rest of the world , so it is possible )
Summary of Text B
As the most powerful and developed country in the world. America has attracted people all over the world. This has led to a conflict and mixing of cultures, religions and customs which disturb many Americans. However, the author holds a different opinion. according to his idea, this blending is typically American because the United States and Canada are unique in the world
Organization of Text B
Section One(1-5) The blurring of cultural styles occurs in everyday life in the United States.
Section Two(6-13) Many Americans find the blurring disturbing. However, the author holds a different opinion
Section Three(14) America can become a place where the cultures of the world crisscross according
to the author
Writing Strategy of Text B
1 An argument
2 demonstration based on pertinent facts
3 organized by general ------ separately ------sum up
4logically arrangement
Conclusion of Unit Two
Assignment of Unit Two