Unit 8 Coping With an
Educational Problem
? Fable of the Lazy Teenager
? Benjamin Stein
? Part 1 Objectives
? Part 2 Background
? Part 3 Text Organization
? Part 4 Language Study
? Part 5 Translation
? Objectives,Students will be able to
1,understand the main idea (Teenagers’ idleness
and ignorance will seriously affect themselves
and society in general) and structure of the text
(two parts— the author’s concern and his
proposed remedy) ;
2,learn the way to write a cause-and-effect
analysis;
3,grasp the key language points and grammatical
structures in the text;
4,conduct a series of listening,speaking and
writing activities centered on the theme of the
unit,
? Part 2 Background
? 1,U.C.L.A.,(University of California at Los
Angeles) the largest of the eight branches of the
University of California,It was established in 1919
and now has about 35,000 students,UCLA is
known especially for its film studies,
? 2,The Wealth of Nations,an important work of
economic and social theory by Adam Smith (a
Scottish philosopher and economist),published in
1776,Its full title was An Inquiry into the Nature
and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,In it he
analyzed the relationship between work and the
production of a nation's wealth,
? His conclusion was that the best economic
situation results from encouraging free
enterprise (an economic system in which
there is open competition in business and
trade,and no government control),This
idea has had a great influence on economic
theories since and it formed the basis of the
economic policies of the Conservative
government in Britain in the 1980s,
? Text Organization
? Part One Paras 1-10
? Main Idea Teenager;s idleness and
ignorance will produce serious effects on all
concerned and society as a whole,
? Part Two Paras 11-24
? Main Idea Kevin 1990 comes to realize in his
dream how greatly lack of education costs
hisforebears,himself,his children and the
society they live in,and how important it is to
study hard,
? Part 4 Language Study
? 1,run out of,use up or finish a supply of
(sth.)
Examples,1) To our disappointment,our car
ran out of gas halfway home,
? 2) When they ran out of food,the soldiers
set about hunting for more,
? 2,handful,a small number (used as singular
noun,followed by of)
? Examples,1) You'd better hurry up,A
handful of people are already waiting in the
hall,
?
? 2) I have to give up the plan because only a
handful of students are willing to spend the
New Year's Eve on campus,
? 3,in amazement,with a feeling of great
surprise or disbelief
? Examples,1) Aunt Sophia gazed at her
picture in amazement,she looked like a
teenage girl in it,
? 2) All the people in the lecture hall stared
at him in amazement when he talked loudly
with his friend,
? 4,upset,make (sb.) worry or feel unhappy
(usu,used in the pattern,be upset by/about)
? Examples,1) They are terribly upset by the
break-up of their parents' marriage,
? 2) He was upset about the argument he had
with his wife,
? 5,ignorant,knowing little or nothing (often
used in the phrase,be ignorant of/about)
? Examples,1) Some people are ignorant of
the facts about global warming,
? 2) She was ignorant of her husband's illegal
activities,Otherwise she would have done
everything possible to stop him,
? ignorance n
? 6,slice,1) a part of sth,(followed by of)
? Examples,a) Fiction takes up a large slice
of the publishing market,
? b) The boss promised that everyone
would get a slice of the profits,
? 2) a thin flat piece cut from sth,(often used
with of)
? Examples,a) Try to eat at least four slices of
bread a day,
b) Cut the pork into thin slices,
?, The ability to perform even the simplest
calculations is only a memory among many students
I see.,Many students whom I see don't have the
ability to perform even the simplest calculations
any longer,
? ability,power or skill to do,make,or think;
talent (followed by infinitive to)
? Examples,1)We elected him monitor because he
had the ability to bring out the best in others,
2) He lost the ability to walk after a car accident,
? 8,sum up,give a brief summary (of sth.)
? Examples,1) Alice summed up her
Christmas holidays in one word,
"Terrible."
? 2) My teacher would sum up the main
points of the lesson before he ended the
class,
? 3) We discussed the proposed changes for
most of the meeting,The chairman only
took a few moments at the end to sum up,
? 9,compete with / against,try to be better
than (sb,else) (used in the pattern,compete
with / against sb,for sth.)
? Examples,1) More than 2,300 candidates
from 93 political parties are competing for
486 seats
? 2) We are having to compete with three
other departments for the fund,
? 3) They found themselves competing with
foreign countries for a share of the
market,
? 10,human capital,Here human capital
refers to people's knowledge and skills,
? 11,accumulate,collect,or gather together,
esp,over a period of time
? Examples,1) I have accumulated many
books over the last few years,
? 2) While we were away on vacation,a lot
of letters accumulated in our mailbox,
? 12,affect,have an influence on
? Examples,1) The 20th century was full of
inventions that have affected the way we live,
? 2) More than seven million people have
been affected by the drought,
? 3) The Asian financial crisis didn't affect
our national economy,
? 13,function,operate; act
? Examples,1) When the camera is
functioning properly the green light comes
on,
? 2) Athens functioned as a center of trade in
the thirteenth century,
? 14,idle,lazy; not doing anything
? Examples:1) Most of the men were idle
during the depression,
? 2)She is so idle,we can never get her to do
anything,
? 15,jam,get stuck
? Examples,1) The lock jammed and I
couldn't open it,
? 2) The tape-recorder jammed and the
teacher had to read the story to the class by
herself,
? jam n,
? traffic jams
? 16,break down,stop working; fall,collapse
? Examples,1) The elevators in this
building are always breaking down,
? 2) I have accumulated so many dirty
clothes since my washing machine broke
down last week
? 3) Talks between the two countries broke
down when the two sides failed to reach an
agreement,
? 17,drive home,make (sth.) clear so that
people understand it (used in the pattern,
drive sth,home(to sb.))
? Examples,1) We must drive home to them
where the difficulties lie,
? 2) Peter was lazy,His parents tried
to drive home to him the importance of hard
work
? 18,humble,1) not proud; modest
Examples:A) He thanked us again with a
humble smile,
? B) Frank strikes me as a very humble
person,
? 2) low in importance,status,or condition
? Examples,Michael started his career as a
humble fisherman,
?
? Lacocca rose from humble beginnings to
become boss of Ford,
? 19,suggestion,sth,suggested (often followed
by of / for / that-clause)
? Examples,1) The old man followed the
doctor's suggestion of a stroll to the river
every day,
? 2) I have lots of suggestions for the park's
future,
? (Note that in the that-clause after
"suggestion" the subjunctive mood
should be used,
? Example,They didn't like my
suggestion that she share the room with
her classmate.)
? 20,portable,light and small enough to be easily
carried or moved
? Examples,1) Professor Smith always carries
a portable computer with him,2) I still
remember that my parents bought me a
portable radio at my 20th birthday,
? 21,search for,look for
? Examples,1) Many planes and ships were
sent to search the South Sea for the missing
Chinese pilot,
? 2) The police were searching the yard for clues,
? 22,luxury,1) sth,expensive which is not
necessary but which gives you pleasure
(used as a countable noun)
? Examples,A)A week by the sea is a luxury
they can no longer afford,
? B) Houses with swimming pools are still a
luxury in many parts of the country,
? 2) very great comfort,esp,among beautiful
and expensive surrounding (used as an
uncountable noun)
? Examples:A) She was brought up in an
atmosphere of luxury and wealth,
? B) He took over his father's company
and led a life of luxury,
? luxurious adj,
? 23,better off,richer than you were before;
more comfortable
? Examples,Today's farmers are better
off than they used to be,
? It's obvious that those who work
hard are better off than those who don't,
? 24,scared,frightened (often followed by
of/to /that-clause)
? Examples,When she saw a snake on the
floor,the lady was too scared to move,
? 1) I have always been scared of dogs,
? 2) Alex was scared that his classmates
might tell the teacher he broke the window,
? 25,wake up,stop sleeping
? Examples,1)This morning I woke up
with a terrible headache,
? 2) Stewart woke me up with his
coughing,
? 26.,.,and government offers no services to
the working class.,Here "services" refers
to the systems of social security such as
health care and provision for the
unemployed maintained by the
government,
? 27,complex,not simple
? Examples,1) The problem was so
complex that there would be no easy
solution,2) When I visited Shanghai
for the first time I got lost in the rather
complex network of roads,
? 28,adequate,enough (often followed by
infinitive to or for)
? Examples,1) My parents are prepared to
offer me an amount of money adequate to
purchase an apartment,
2) Her knowledge of English was adequate
for the job,
29.decline,a gradual decrease in the
quality,quantity,or importance of sth,
(followed by in)
? Examples,1) The first signs of economic
decline became visible in that region,
? 2) Some people are worried that there
will be a great decline in the stock market,
? (Phrases,in decline / on the decline,
gradually decreasing in importance,
quality,or power
? Examples,1) The birthrate in China is on
the decline,
? 2) He is still one of the world's most
popular soccer players,but his fame is in
decline,
? 3) Class attendance is in decline recently.)
? 30,acquire,get
Examples:1) I've managed to acquire a copy
of the report,
? 2) J.P,Getty acquired a fortune in
business,
? 31,astonish,surprise very much; amaze
? Examples,Her devotion to students
always astonishes us,
? Diana astonished her family by
winning three competitions in a
? 32,swear,make a serious promise about
(often followed by infinitive to or that-
clause)
? Examples,1)The witness swore on the
Bible to tell the whole truth and nothing
but the truth,
? 2)He swore that he would never lie,
? 33,make a living by,earn money by (doing
sth.)
Examples:1) Many farmers in this area
make a good living by growing flowers,
? 2) He makes a living by writing,
? 34,miracle,an amazing or wonderful
event,esp,sth,that happens unexpectedly
? Examples,1)It is a miracle that no one
was killed in the earthquake,
? 2) It was a miracle that the pilot landed
the plane in that snowstorm,
? 35,faculty,mental and physical abilities
? Examples:1) He is 90 years old but still
has most of his faculties,
? 2) It is a myth that the faculty of hearing
is greatly increased in blind people,
? Key to Translation Exercise
? This morning I heard an interesting piece of
news over my portable radio,A man of 36 and
his son of 10 attend the same class competing
with each other for high marks,The story goes
/ It's like this,
? The man,Li Wei by name,was too idle to
learn anything when young,With little
education,with no useful skills,he could hardly
earn an adequate living wage,His life
experiences drove home to him the point that
he had to acquire knowledge before he was able
to accumulate wealth,So Li Wei swore that he
would go to school with his son,determined to
learn,
