Unit 4
American
Text A Tony Trivisonno’s
American Dream
? Part 1 Objectives
? Part 2 Discussion Questions
? Part 3 Background
? Part 4 Text Structure
? Part 5 Language Points
I,Objectives
Students will be able to,
1,understand the main idea ( Tony Trivisonno realized
hi American Dream through his own efforts ) and
structure of the text ( one part telling the story of
Tony’s life and the other giving the author’s
comments on it);
2,learn to describe a person by his/her characteristic
features,together with supporting details which
demonstrate the features,[Back]
II,Discussion Questions
1,What do you want to be when you grow up?
2,What do you do to make your dream come true?
3,Do you think integrity,determination and hard work
can take everyone from log cabin to White House?
Why or why not?
4,What do you think is the essence of the American
dream? [Back]
III,Background
1.American Dream,the belief of Americans that their
country offers opportunities for a good and successful
life,For minorities and immigrants,the dream also
includes freedom and equal rights,
2,Immigrants,Apart from ―Native Americans‖—
Indians – who were living in North America when
people first arrived there from Europe,all Americans
have ancestors who were immigrants,In the US the
word immigrant is often used with a positive meaning,
People are proud to say that their ancestors were
immigrants who came with very little and build a
better life for themselves,
Most Americans have a clear idea of what life was
like for the immigrants,they left home because they
were poor and thought they would have better
opportunities in the US,For them the American dream
was that talent and hard work could take them from log
cabin to White House,
3,Depression days,the period of severe economic
failure in most countries of the world that lasted from
1929 until World War II,It began in the US when the
New York Stock Exchange fell on 29 October 1929,
known as Black Tuesday,Many businesses and banks
failed and millions of people lost their jobs,President
Franklin D,Roosevelt improved the situation with his
New Deal policy,[Back]
IV,Text Structure
Parts Paragraphs Main ideas
Part Paras 1-29 With determination,and with
help from Mr.Crawford,Tony
achieved his dream of owning
his own farm,
Part Paras 30-33 Tony’s career set the author
thinking about why and to what
extent he had been successful,
[Back]
V.Language Points
1,turn away
-- What are we going to do with the huge rock lying
in the middle of the road?
-- What should we do with the old computer?
4.personnel,(u.n.) organization that deal with
employees
e.g,-- Personnel has received your application form,
-- All personnel in this company are entitled to
medical insurance,
-- You’ll report to the Personnel Department upon
graduation,
5,capacity,the ability to understand or do sth,( often
followed by for or infinitive to)
e.g.--Because the hall was full,many people were
turned away,
-- He turned away a beggar,
Cf,turn down
-- His request for a raise was turned down,
-- If she offers to help me,I’ll turn her down,
2,assume,suppose
e.g,-- I assume that he has received my telephone,
--We assume the statement to be correct,
3,do with,( used in questions with what) deal with
e.g,-- What do you do with such rude boys?
e.g.-- His capacity for remembering things is interesting,
-- Those math problems were beyond my capacity,
Cf ability ( followed by in/for)
e.g,– The tests were designed to assess the students’
ability in listening comprehension,
proficiency ( followed by in)
e.g,– Students are required to improve their proficiency
in grammar,
6.skilled,often followed by in or at
e.g.--She was skilled in dealing with all sorts of people,
-- The IT industry demands skilled labor,
7,for sale,available to be bought
e.g.-- I’m sorry,this painting is not for sale,
--Her former home is for sale at 300,000 yuan,
8,loan,lend sth
e.g.-- John loaned his collection of pictures to the
public gallery,
-- Can you loan me a pen?
ask for a loan/ get ( obtain) a bank loan/ pay
off( repay) a loan/ a long-term loan/ an interest-free
loan
9.wreck,something that has been badly damaged,
especially a car,plane or train that has been in an
accident
e.g.-- It was already a wreck when two weeks later
the police found his car and he had to buy a new one,
-- The storm caused many wrecks,
10,call on,visit sb for a short time
e.g.-- He had come half a dozen times to call on his
sister,
-- Several friends called on us,
call on sb,to do sth
cf,call for/ call off/ call up/
11,confidence
e.g.-- He gained the manager’s full confidence,
-- People have confidence in the government,
lack confidence in oneself/ build one’s
confidence/ show great confidence
12,diet,food and drink usu,taken by a person or
group
e.g.-- Diet varies between different countries in the
world,
-- The doctor ordered him to go on a diet to lose
weight,
13,send for,ask for the arrival of
eg.-- Have you sent for the doctor?
--He sent the waiter for a packet of cigarettes,
14,abandon,give up forever
e.g.-- They abandoned all hope of finding the child,
-- He abandoned himself to despair,
Cf,desert/ discard
15,sponsor,support by giving money,encouragement
or other help
e.g.--Who will sponsor your admission into the club?
-- This is a contest sponsored by the government
-- A large department store is the sponsor of the
annual Christmas parade,
16.handle,to take action to deal with a difficult
situation
e.g.-- The police handle the traffic very efficiently,
-- He handled a difficult argument,
17.integrity,the quality of always behaving according
to the moral principles that you believe in
e.g.-- A nation’s territorial integrity must be respected,
-- He had the integrity not to accept bribes,
18,balance,to keep your body steady without falling
over
e.g.-- His failure in the exam threw him off balance,
-- She grabbed at him to keep her balance,
19,work out,plan; solve; calculate
e.g.-- We must work out a plan as soon as we can,
-- Try and work out how much it will cost,
-- Mary worked out a beautiful design for a
sweater,
20,odds and ends,small things that are all different
and not valuable
e.g,--There was a table with odds and ends piled on it,
-- Don’t throw away odds and ends everywhere in
your room,
21,above all, most important of all
e.g.--The pressures—political,social and above all,
economic--- are growing,
-- John is fair,hardworking,and above all,honest,
22.He grew in stature in my mind,
Paraphrase,He grew taller and greater in my mind,
23.Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the ladder,
He began in the basement,
Paraphrase,Tony had nothing when he arrived in
the United States and he built up from nothing,
24.Tony’s affairs were tiny; the greatest industrialists’
affairs were giant,But after all,the balance sheets
were exactly the same,The only difference was
where you put decimal point,
Paraphrase,Tony’s affairs were very small; the
greatest industrialists’ affairs were very big,But
after all,what Tony and the greatest industrialist’
achieved were exactly the same,The only difference
lay in how successful they had been financially,
[Back]
American
Text A Tony Trivisonno’s
American Dream
? Part 1 Objectives
? Part 2 Discussion Questions
? Part 3 Background
? Part 4 Text Structure
? Part 5 Language Points
I,Objectives
Students will be able to,
1,understand the main idea ( Tony Trivisonno realized
hi American Dream through his own efforts ) and
structure of the text ( one part telling the story of
Tony’s life and the other giving the author’s
comments on it);
2,learn to describe a person by his/her characteristic
features,together with supporting details which
demonstrate the features,[Back]
II,Discussion Questions
1,What do you want to be when you grow up?
2,What do you do to make your dream come true?
3,Do you think integrity,determination and hard work
can take everyone from log cabin to White House?
Why or why not?
4,What do you think is the essence of the American
dream? [Back]
III,Background
1.American Dream,the belief of Americans that their
country offers opportunities for a good and successful
life,For minorities and immigrants,the dream also
includes freedom and equal rights,
2,Immigrants,Apart from ―Native Americans‖—
Indians – who were living in North America when
people first arrived there from Europe,all Americans
have ancestors who were immigrants,In the US the
word immigrant is often used with a positive meaning,
People are proud to say that their ancestors were
immigrants who came with very little and build a
better life for themselves,
Most Americans have a clear idea of what life was
like for the immigrants,they left home because they
were poor and thought they would have better
opportunities in the US,For them the American dream
was that talent and hard work could take them from log
cabin to White House,
3,Depression days,the period of severe economic
failure in most countries of the world that lasted from
1929 until World War II,It began in the US when the
New York Stock Exchange fell on 29 October 1929,
known as Black Tuesday,Many businesses and banks
failed and millions of people lost their jobs,President
Franklin D,Roosevelt improved the situation with his
New Deal policy,[Back]
IV,Text Structure
Parts Paragraphs Main ideas
Part Paras 1-29 With determination,and with
help from Mr.Crawford,Tony
achieved his dream of owning
his own farm,
Part Paras 30-33 Tony’s career set the author
thinking about why and to what
extent he had been successful,
[Back]
V.Language Points
1,turn away
-- What are we going to do with the huge rock lying
in the middle of the road?
-- What should we do with the old computer?
4.personnel,(u.n.) organization that deal with
employees
e.g,-- Personnel has received your application form,
-- All personnel in this company are entitled to
medical insurance,
-- You’ll report to the Personnel Department upon
graduation,
5,capacity,the ability to understand or do sth,( often
followed by for or infinitive to)
e.g.--Because the hall was full,many people were
turned away,
-- He turned away a beggar,
Cf,turn down
-- His request for a raise was turned down,
-- If she offers to help me,I’ll turn her down,
2,assume,suppose
e.g,-- I assume that he has received my telephone,
--We assume the statement to be correct,
3,do with,( used in questions with what) deal with
e.g,-- What do you do with such rude boys?
e.g.-- His capacity for remembering things is interesting,
-- Those math problems were beyond my capacity,
Cf ability ( followed by in/for)
e.g,– The tests were designed to assess the students’
ability in listening comprehension,
proficiency ( followed by in)
e.g,– Students are required to improve their proficiency
in grammar,
6.skilled,often followed by in or at
e.g.--She was skilled in dealing with all sorts of people,
-- The IT industry demands skilled labor,
7,for sale,available to be bought
e.g.-- I’m sorry,this painting is not for sale,
--Her former home is for sale at 300,000 yuan,
8,loan,lend sth
e.g.-- John loaned his collection of pictures to the
public gallery,
-- Can you loan me a pen?
ask for a loan/ get ( obtain) a bank loan/ pay
off( repay) a loan/ a long-term loan/ an interest-free
loan
9.wreck,something that has been badly damaged,
especially a car,plane or train that has been in an
accident
e.g.-- It was already a wreck when two weeks later
the police found his car and he had to buy a new one,
-- The storm caused many wrecks,
10,call on,visit sb for a short time
e.g.-- He had come half a dozen times to call on his
sister,
-- Several friends called on us,
call on sb,to do sth
cf,call for/ call off/ call up/
11,confidence
e.g.-- He gained the manager’s full confidence,
-- People have confidence in the government,
lack confidence in oneself/ build one’s
confidence/ show great confidence
12,diet,food and drink usu,taken by a person or
group
e.g.-- Diet varies between different countries in the
world,
-- The doctor ordered him to go on a diet to lose
weight,
13,send for,ask for the arrival of
eg.-- Have you sent for the doctor?
--He sent the waiter for a packet of cigarettes,
14,abandon,give up forever
e.g.-- They abandoned all hope of finding the child,
-- He abandoned himself to despair,
Cf,desert/ discard
15,sponsor,support by giving money,encouragement
or other help
e.g.--Who will sponsor your admission into the club?
-- This is a contest sponsored by the government
-- A large department store is the sponsor of the
annual Christmas parade,
16.handle,to take action to deal with a difficult
situation
e.g.-- The police handle the traffic very efficiently,
-- He handled a difficult argument,
17.integrity,the quality of always behaving according
to the moral principles that you believe in
e.g.-- A nation’s territorial integrity must be respected,
-- He had the integrity not to accept bribes,
18,balance,to keep your body steady without falling
over
e.g.-- His failure in the exam threw him off balance,
-- She grabbed at him to keep her balance,
19,work out,plan; solve; calculate
e.g.-- We must work out a plan as soon as we can,
-- Try and work out how much it will cost,
-- Mary worked out a beautiful design for a
sweater,
20,odds and ends,small things that are all different
and not valuable
e.g,--There was a table with odds and ends piled on it,
-- Don’t throw away odds and ends everywhere in
your room,
21,above all, most important of all
e.g.--The pressures—political,social and above all,
economic--- are growing,
-- John is fair,hardworking,and above all,honest,
22.He grew in stature in my mind,
Paraphrase,He grew taller and greater in my mind,
23.Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the ladder,
He began in the basement,
Paraphrase,Tony had nothing when he arrived in
the United States and he built up from nothing,
24.Tony’s affairs were tiny; the greatest industrialists’
affairs were giant,But after all,the balance sheets
were exactly the same,The only difference was
where you put decimal point,
Paraphrase,Tony’s affairs were very small; the
greatest industrialists’ affairs were very big,But
after all,what Tony and the greatest industrialist’
achieved were exactly the same,The only difference
lay in how successful they had been financially,
[Back]
