Unit Five
TEXT I,The Plug-in Drug,TV
and
the American Family,Part I
Pre-class Activity
Discussion on the topic:
Pros and Cons on TV
Question:
1,What effect does TV have on the
Chinese family as a general rule?
2,What effect do you think TV has on
the American family
New Words and Expressions
afflict,trouble
asset,valuable object; advantage
preposterous,unthinkable,absurd
splintering,splitting,breaking up
the peer group,a group of people of the same
age,class,position,etc; here,a group of
children of the same age
television-oriented,interested in and influenced
by TV
equivocal,ambiguous
sorcerer,person who performs magic by using
the power of evil spirits
stint,fixed amount of work; here,the
fixed TV programmer
conjure up,bring into the mind
sane,(in this context) in possession of
good relations/of a close bond
backlog,a reserve
Background
TV and the American family in an
encyclopedia
TV has become the primary entertainment
and information medium in the U,S,In 1974,
the Bureau of the Census reported that 97%
of U.S,households contained at least one TV
set and 45% had 2 or more sets,The
average American has his set turned on for
about 6.5 hours each day,In fact TV has
become the American's eyes and ears on the
world.
Skimming Activity
Questions:
1,What is the main idea of the article?
2,Do T or F on P63
The domination of television has exerted strong
influence on the way of life of many American families,
diminishing their ordinary daily activities and affecting
the sound growth of their children
Answer,1,T 2,T 3,T 4,T 5,F 6,T 7,F
Language points
1.… that has seen medium become so deeply
ingrained a American life … ----TV has
become an indispensable part of American
life,so much so that cannot be done away
with
medium- a way or means of giving
information,expressing one's ideas,or
communication with people.
e.g,TV is a medium for giving information as
well as for entertainment
ingrained -- fixed so firmly and deeply that it is
difficult to remove.
e.g.,an ingrained habit/belief/prejudice
2,the television set has attained the rank of a
legal necessity----The television set has by
law been placed in the class of goods which
are necessary to life,What a legal necessity is
is explained in the following phrase.
attain -- succeed in getting something,
especially after some effort.
e.g.:He attained his objectives/hopes after
much hard work.
A man of attainments is one who has
accomplished/achieved a great deal.
Trs.:我们的老师不到四十岁就取得了正教授的
任职资格 。
Our teacher attained full professorship before
he was forty.
3,safe from repossession—protected from
repossession,that is,a claim/a demand
made by the original owner to regain the
possession of …
4,sufficient perspective -- enough overview,
enough comprehensive point of view
5,a curious myopia afflicted those early
observers – a strange shortsightedness
troubled those early observers
afflict -- cause to suffer in the body or mind;
trouble.
e.g.,John is afflicted with a chronic headache.
Trs.,环境污染正在危害着全世界的许多城镇 。
e.g.,Environmental pollution is afflicting many
cities and towns all over the world.
6,wondrous,This is a formal or literary
word,Wonderful is the more usual
word.
7,invariably -- always,without
exception.
e.g.,Cartoons on TV remain invariably
children's favorite
He is invariably late for school.
8,preposterous -- so strange as to be
unlikely; absurd 荒谬的,
e.g.,The suggestion that all wild
animals must be tamed is preposterous.
9,the changes TV would effect (v.,cause,
produce) upon child-rearing methods the
possible effects (n.,results or conditions
produced by a cause) of so much TV viewing
Effect is both a noun and a verb,Note the
difference between them.
e.g.,They tried to effect the rescue of the
hostages held by the terrorists.
He is suffering from the effects of smoking
and drinking.
Trs.,针灸治疗对关节痛的患者有显著的疗效 。
Acupuncture treatment produces marked
effects on patients suffering from arthritis.
10,a steady refrain -- a remark that is repeated
on and on.
Refrain is often used to refer to ―a part of a
song that is repeated,especially at the end of
each verse‖ 诗歌每节首尾的重复句
11,ameliorate -- make or become better or less
bad; improve,
e.g.,Various means are taken to ameliorate
the situation.
Trs.:工厂正在采取有力的措施改善车间的工作
条件 。
--The factory is taking drastic measures to
ameliorate the working conditions in the
workshops.
12.television-oriented -- particularly
interested in TV
e.g,-oriented,export-oriented industry
外向型工业 ; research-oriented medical
institution 研究性医疗机构 ; examination-
oriented education 应试教育
Trs.:医院不应该以营利为目的, 而应该尽
一切努力医治病员 。
--Instead of being profit-oriented,
hospitals should make every effort to
take good care of the patients
The peer group has become
television-oriented,and much of the
time children spend together is
occupied by television viewing,(11,
40-41)
--Children have become television addicts,
devoting much of the time when they
are together to watching TV.
Television is not merely one of a
number of important influences on
today’s child,(11,44-45)
--Television is not simply just one among
many important factors that may
influence a child today,
13,television emerges as the important
influence,.,-- television comes forth as the
most important influence,Note the use of the
word the in italics,When you wish to refer to
something as almost the only one of its kind,
you italicize the word the and pronounce the
word with emphasis.
emerge -- come out or appear from being
hidden.
e.g.,The sun seemed to emerge from under
the sea.
Outstanding young medical doctors have
emerged from a number of hospitals
Trs.,各行各业涌现出杰出的少男少女 。
Outstanding young men and women are
emerging from various walks of life.
Through the changes it has made in
family life,television emerges as the
important influence in children’s
lives today,(11,45-46)
--Television has brought about great
changes in is shaping the lives of
children today.
14,TV's contribution to family life has
been an equivocal one -- It is
questionable whether TV has made a
positive or negative influence on family
life./It is difficult to evaluate the
contribution TV makes to family life.
equivocal -- questionable; ambiguous.
This is a formal word.
e.g.,She took second place in the
speech contest,but her success was
equivocal (不确定的 ).
She gave an equivocal (模棱两可的 )
answer to my question.
The antonym of equivocal is
unequivocal,which means ―completely
clear,allowing no possibility of doubt‖
不含糊的,
e.g.,She took an unequivocal stand on
the issue of women's liberation
… the television set casts its
magic spell,freezing speech and
action,turning the living into silent
statues so long as the enchantment
lasts,(11,53-55)
--..,the television has its magic power
over people,As soon as the television
is on,people stop talking and doing
anything else,growing to be lifeless
statues before the TV screen,They will
remain so till the end of the programmer.
Turning on the television set turn off
the process that transforms children
into people,(11,58-59)
--The moment a child sits down to
watch television is the moment his
growth towards maturity is suspended.
15,how the medium is involved in,.,-- how
television has a necessary part in …
involve -- have as a necessary part or result.
e.g.,A lot of work is involved in writing a
research paper.
Trs.,那起诉讼案牵涉到了哪一类人？
--What sort of people are involved in the
lawsuit?
16,"We were in the midst of a full-scale
War,… a new battle,.,a major skirmish,..
diplomatic negotiations,.." -- These words
said by the mother of two boys are
metaphorical,She was describing the
differences of opinions and differences in
interests among her family members.
17,The children's evening is regimented
with an almost military precision,– the
children's activities in the evening are
arranged in such an exact way that they
were almost like military actions,Note
the use of words related to the military
to be in harmony with what the mother
said about the "war,battles,and
skirmishes."
18,without conjuring up memories of the
Victorian era -- without calling to mind what
happened in the Victorian era
conjure up -- cause to appear as a picture in
the mind.
e.g.,At the alumni meeting,everyone present
conjured up scenes at school in the past.
19,that spontaneous taking up of an activity --
taking part in an activity without planning or
preparation beforehand
spontaneous -- unplanned,not prearranged.
e.g.,He made a spontaneous offer to help the
handicapped children.
20,on the spur of the moment -- with a
sudden tendency to act without thinking
much; on a sudden impulse.
e.g.,She gave a clever answer to the
tricky question on the spur of the
moment.
Trs.,Jane是个很聪明的女孩 。 她总能不
假思索地给任何问题一个恰当的回答 。
-- Jane is a very bright girl,She can
always give an apt answer to any
question on the spur of the moment.
21,mediating between the needs of
both children and adults – acting as a
go-between concerning the needs of
both the adults and children
mediate -- act as a peacemaker
between opposing sides
e.g.,mediate between two opposing
parties/employees and employers
22,parents accede to those demands --
parents agree to those demands
accede -- agree to
e.g.,accede to a proposal/a request
23,anything other than a caretaking
institution – anything except a
caretaking institution,The whole clause
means,"the family is likely to survive
only as a caretaking institution."
TEXT II,The Plug-in Drug,
TV and the American Family,Part II
Answer the following questions.
1,Why does the author say that family rituals
act as the adhesive of family unity far more
than any material advantages?
-- Family rituals form the part of family life
that family members are proud of and
indicate their common interest,Family rituals
are the adhesive that holds the members of a
family together,so much so that nothing,not
even material comforts,can separate them.
2,What does the author mean by ―the inroads
of the television set‖? Why does she ask how
many family rituals have survived the inroads
of the television set?
--The word inroads means ―unfriendly entry‖
or ―invasion‖,The TV set is said to be inroads,
because its presence in our family life
prevents us from performing family rituals,so
its entry into our life is really hostile,The
question the author asks is ironical,What she
really means is that none of the rituals exists
any more because of the presence of the TV
set.
3,What does the author mean by ―Not
since prehistoric times… have families
been reduced to such a sameness‖?
--Families today are the same
everywhere-spending their time
together engaged in the single activity
of television watching,They are just like
families in prehistoric times,with hardly
any time spent on anything else except
hunting,gathering,eating and sleeping.
4.What is it that affects the young child’s
relationship with real-life people?
--The one-way relation with the TV
people makes it difficult for the young
child to deal with people in real life.
When the young child watches TV,the
people on the program do speak to the
child,but no response is expected,so
there is no communication or interaction.
This way the young child is only spoken
to,but he does not know how to speak
to others.
5,Why can’t children respond to people in
real life?
-- Because real life experiences are much
more complicated than what they see on the
TV screen.
6,What other harm does television do to
family relationships?
1) The elimination of opportunities to talk,to
argue,to air grievances between parents and
children,and among brothers and sisters.
2) An avoidance mechanism in confronting
family problems and in dealing with each
other in the family.
3) Interference with family activities and with
the formation of family relationships.
TEXT I,The Plug-in Drug,TV
and
the American Family,Part I
Pre-class Activity
Discussion on the topic:
Pros and Cons on TV
Question:
1,What effect does TV have on the
Chinese family as a general rule?
2,What effect do you think TV has on
the American family
New Words and Expressions
afflict,trouble
asset,valuable object; advantage
preposterous,unthinkable,absurd
splintering,splitting,breaking up
the peer group,a group of people of the same
age,class,position,etc; here,a group of
children of the same age
television-oriented,interested in and influenced
by TV
equivocal,ambiguous
sorcerer,person who performs magic by using
the power of evil spirits
stint,fixed amount of work; here,the
fixed TV programmer
conjure up,bring into the mind
sane,(in this context) in possession of
good relations/of a close bond
backlog,a reserve
Background
TV and the American family in an
encyclopedia
TV has become the primary entertainment
and information medium in the U,S,In 1974,
the Bureau of the Census reported that 97%
of U.S,households contained at least one TV
set and 45% had 2 or more sets,The
average American has his set turned on for
about 6.5 hours each day,In fact TV has
become the American's eyes and ears on the
world.
Skimming Activity
Questions:
1,What is the main idea of the article?
2,Do T or F on P63
The domination of television has exerted strong
influence on the way of life of many American families,
diminishing their ordinary daily activities and affecting
the sound growth of their children
Answer,1,T 2,T 3,T 4,T 5,F 6,T 7,F
Language points
1.… that has seen medium become so deeply
ingrained a American life … ----TV has
become an indispensable part of American
life,so much so that cannot be done away
with
medium- a way or means of giving
information,expressing one's ideas,or
communication with people.
e.g,TV is a medium for giving information as
well as for entertainment
ingrained -- fixed so firmly and deeply that it is
difficult to remove.
e.g.,an ingrained habit/belief/prejudice
2,the television set has attained the rank of a
legal necessity----The television set has by
law been placed in the class of goods which
are necessary to life,What a legal necessity is
is explained in the following phrase.
attain -- succeed in getting something,
especially after some effort.
e.g.:He attained his objectives/hopes after
much hard work.
A man of attainments is one who has
accomplished/achieved a great deal.
Trs.:我们的老师不到四十岁就取得了正教授的
任职资格 。
Our teacher attained full professorship before
he was forty.
3,safe from repossession—protected from
repossession,that is,a claim/a demand
made by the original owner to regain the
possession of …
4,sufficient perspective -- enough overview,
enough comprehensive point of view
5,a curious myopia afflicted those early
observers – a strange shortsightedness
troubled those early observers
afflict -- cause to suffer in the body or mind;
trouble.
e.g.,John is afflicted with a chronic headache.
Trs.,环境污染正在危害着全世界的许多城镇 。
e.g.,Environmental pollution is afflicting many
cities and towns all over the world.
6,wondrous,This is a formal or literary
word,Wonderful is the more usual
word.
7,invariably -- always,without
exception.
e.g.,Cartoons on TV remain invariably
children's favorite
He is invariably late for school.
8,preposterous -- so strange as to be
unlikely; absurd 荒谬的,
e.g.,The suggestion that all wild
animals must be tamed is preposterous.
9,the changes TV would effect (v.,cause,
produce) upon child-rearing methods the
possible effects (n.,results or conditions
produced by a cause) of so much TV viewing
Effect is both a noun and a verb,Note the
difference between them.
e.g.,They tried to effect the rescue of the
hostages held by the terrorists.
He is suffering from the effects of smoking
and drinking.
Trs.,针灸治疗对关节痛的患者有显著的疗效 。
Acupuncture treatment produces marked
effects on patients suffering from arthritis.
10,a steady refrain -- a remark that is repeated
on and on.
Refrain is often used to refer to ―a part of a
song that is repeated,especially at the end of
each verse‖ 诗歌每节首尾的重复句
11,ameliorate -- make or become better or less
bad; improve,
e.g.,Various means are taken to ameliorate
the situation.
Trs.:工厂正在采取有力的措施改善车间的工作
条件 。
--The factory is taking drastic measures to
ameliorate the working conditions in the
workshops.
12.television-oriented -- particularly
interested in TV
e.g,-oriented,export-oriented industry
外向型工业 ; research-oriented medical
institution 研究性医疗机构 ; examination-
oriented education 应试教育
Trs.:医院不应该以营利为目的, 而应该尽
一切努力医治病员 。
--Instead of being profit-oriented,
hospitals should make every effort to
take good care of the patients
The peer group has become
television-oriented,and much of the
time children spend together is
occupied by television viewing,(11,
40-41)
--Children have become television addicts,
devoting much of the time when they
are together to watching TV.
Television is not merely one of a
number of important influences on
today’s child,(11,44-45)
--Television is not simply just one among
many important factors that may
influence a child today,
13,television emerges as the important
influence,.,-- television comes forth as the
most important influence,Note the use of the
word the in italics,When you wish to refer to
something as almost the only one of its kind,
you italicize the word the and pronounce the
word with emphasis.
emerge -- come out or appear from being
hidden.
e.g.,The sun seemed to emerge from under
the sea.
Outstanding young medical doctors have
emerged from a number of hospitals
Trs.,各行各业涌现出杰出的少男少女 。
Outstanding young men and women are
emerging from various walks of life.
Through the changes it has made in
family life,television emerges as the
important influence in children’s
lives today,(11,45-46)
--Television has brought about great
changes in is shaping the lives of
children today.
14,TV's contribution to family life has
been an equivocal one -- It is
questionable whether TV has made a
positive or negative influence on family
life./It is difficult to evaluate the
contribution TV makes to family life.
equivocal -- questionable; ambiguous.
This is a formal word.
e.g.,She took second place in the
speech contest,but her success was
equivocal (不确定的 ).
She gave an equivocal (模棱两可的 )
answer to my question.
The antonym of equivocal is
unequivocal,which means ―completely
clear,allowing no possibility of doubt‖
不含糊的,
e.g.,She took an unequivocal stand on
the issue of women's liberation
… the television set casts its
magic spell,freezing speech and
action,turning the living into silent
statues so long as the enchantment
lasts,(11,53-55)
--..,the television has its magic power
over people,As soon as the television
is on,people stop talking and doing
anything else,growing to be lifeless
statues before the TV screen,They will
remain so till the end of the programmer.
Turning on the television set turn off
the process that transforms children
into people,(11,58-59)
--The moment a child sits down to
watch television is the moment his
growth towards maturity is suspended.
15,how the medium is involved in,.,-- how
television has a necessary part in …
involve -- have as a necessary part or result.
e.g.,A lot of work is involved in writing a
research paper.
Trs.,那起诉讼案牵涉到了哪一类人？
--What sort of people are involved in the
lawsuit?
16,"We were in the midst of a full-scale
War,… a new battle,.,a major skirmish,..
diplomatic negotiations,.." -- These words
said by the mother of two boys are
metaphorical,She was describing the
differences of opinions and differences in
interests among her family members.
17,The children's evening is regimented
with an almost military precision,– the
children's activities in the evening are
arranged in such an exact way that they
were almost like military actions,Note
the use of words related to the military
to be in harmony with what the mother
said about the "war,battles,and
skirmishes."
18,without conjuring up memories of the
Victorian era -- without calling to mind what
happened in the Victorian era
conjure up -- cause to appear as a picture in
the mind.
e.g.,At the alumni meeting,everyone present
conjured up scenes at school in the past.
19,that spontaneous taking up of an activity --
taking part in an activity without planning or
preparation beforehand
spontaneous -- unplanned,not prearranged.
e.g.,He made a spontaneous offer to help the
handicapped children.
20,on the spur of the moment -- with a
sudden tendency to act without thinking
much; on a sudden impulse.
e.g.,She gave a clever answer to the
tricky question on the spur of the
moment.
Trs.,Jane是个很聪明的女孩 。 她总能不
假思索地给任何问题一个恰当的回答 。
-- Jane is a very bright girl,She can
always give an apt answer to any
question on the spur of the moment.
21,mediating between the needs of
both children and adults – acting as a
go-between concerning the needs of
both the adults and children
mediate -- act as a peacemaker
between opposing sides
e.g.,mediate between two opposing
parties/employees and employers
22,parents accede to those demands --
parents agree to those demands
accede -- agree to
e.g.,accede to a proposal/a request
23,anything other than a caretaking
institution – anything except a
caretaking institution,The whole clause
means,"the family is likely to survive
only as a caretaking institution."
TEXT II,The Plug-in Drug,
TV and the American Family,Part II
Answer the following questions.
1,Why does the author say that family rituals
act as the adhesive of family unity far more
than any material advantages?
-- Family rituals form the part of family life
that family members are proud of and
indicate their common interest,Family rituals
are the adhesive that holds the members of a
family together,so much so that nothing,not
even material comforts,can separate them.
2,What does the author mean by ―the inroads
of the television set‖? Why does she ask how
many family rituals have survived the inroads
of the television set?
--The word inroads means ―unfriendly entry‖
or ―invasion‖,The TV set is said to be inroads,
because its presence in our family life
prevents us from performing family rituals,so
its entry into our life is really hostile,The
question the author asks is ironical,What she
really means is that none of the rituals exists
any more because of the presence of the TV
set.
3,What does the author mean by ―Not
since prehistoric times… have families
been reduced to such a sameness‖?
--Families today are the same
everywhere-spending their time
together engaged in the single activity
of television watching,They are just like
families in prehistoric times,with hardly
any time spent on anything else except
hunting,gathering,eating and sleeping.
4.What is it that affects the young child’s
relationship with real-life people?
--The one-way relation with the TV
people makes it difficult for the young
child to deal with people in real life.
When the young child watches TV,the
people on the program do speak to the
child,but no response is expected,so
there is no communication or interaction.
This way the young child is only spoken
to,but he does not know how to speak
to others.
5,Why can’t children respond to people in
real life?
-- Because real life experiences are much
more complicated than what they see on the
TV screen.
6,What other harm does television do to
family relationships?
1) The elimination of opportunities to talk,to
argue,to air grievances between parents and
children,and among brothers and sisters.
2) An avoidance mechanism in confronting
family problems and in dealing with each
other in the family.
3) Interference with family activities and with
the formation of family relationships.
