Unit 6
The Pace of Life
Text A,
Old Father Time becomes a Terror
1,Objectives
2,Background
3,Discussion
4,Text Structure
5,Language Study
6,Content Questions
7,Essay Writing
Objectives
The students will be able to,
1,Learn the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,Learn to distinguish supporting facts from
opinions,and to use both in their own
writing;
3,Grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text;
Background
? Richard Tompkins,
consumer industries editor of the Financial
Times,where he has been a member of the
editorial staff since 1983,He is currently
based at the company’s London
headquarters,where he leads team of
journalists covering the consumer goods
sector and writes about consumer trends,
Tomkins was born in Walsall,England,in
1952,His formal education ended at the age
of seventeen,
? Before becoming a journalist,he was a
casual laborer,a factory worker,a truck
driver,a restaurant cashier,a civil servant,
and an assistant private secretary to a
government minister,He left government
service in1978 to hitchhike around the world,
and on returning to the U.K,in 1978,joined
a local newspaper as a trainee reporter,
? He joined the Financial Times as a sub-
editor four years later,In this selection,he
discusses the time squeeze that many
people are experiencing and offers a way
of combating the problem,
? sound byte,a very brief excerpt from a
speech or statement broadcast on
television or radio
? quality time,time spent in active social
interaction with another person,
especially with one's young child,
Father Time,Time personified as a very
old man,carrying a scythe and an
hourglass
Discussion
1,Has technology made our life easier or more
burdensome? Give examples to illustrate your
view,
? Everything has two sides,Technology,on the one
hand,changes our life completely,It makes our
everyday life much easier,We can communicate
instantly with the friend on the other side of the
world,We can drive to the place of interest
anytime convenient to us after tiresome work,
However,it is notable that technology also makes
us burdensome,We are overloaded with so much
work created by those modern facilities and
equipment,
2,The author makes mention of,stress
envy” in para.14.What do you think are the
possible sociological motivation behind it?
? Today's world is so competitive that
everyone is in a rush to make a better
station for himself,People are chained
down by the lust to be somebody,They try
to appear busy to show to others they are
working hard,If you are not busy,maybe
you are considered a man of no future,
3,Do you agree with the author that all time-
liberating techniques in relieving the widespread
sense of time famine are doomed to failure? Is
cutting back on human desire the ultimate
solution? Why or why not?
? Yes,the only way out is to revert to our
natural way of life,to escape from the
pursuit of the lofty desires in our lives,
Text Structure
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
Part One Paras 1-11
Part Two Paras 12-18
Part Three Paras19- 23
Part Four Paras 24-28
Parts Para-
graphs
Main Ideas
Part
One
Paras
1-11
The author gives three reasons why we
feel so time-pressed today
Part
Two
Paras
12-18
Not every one is time-stressed,and in
the case of Americans they have
actually gained more free tome in the
past decade,
Part
Three
Paras
19-23
The perception of time-famine has
triggered a variety of reactions,
Part
Four
Paras
24-28
The author pins down the crux (症结 )
of the problem and puts forward for
the stress we feel,
Language Study
? 1,on the go,
(infml) active or busy
? e.g,
? I’ve been on the go all week,preparing my
thesis,
? I was on the go all day and went home at
about 10’oclocj in the evening,
Similar Expression,on the run,bustling
Language Study
? 2,cope,
deal successfully (with sb./ sth,difficult)
? e.g,
? Health psychologists study how people
cope with stress,
? People who attempt suicide usually suffer
from extreme emotional distress and feel
unable to cope with their problems,
Language Study
? 3,set about,
begin（ a task）； start（ doing sth.）
（ used In the pattern,set about sth./doing
sth.; no passive）
? e.g,
? The school authorities must set about
finding solutions to the campus security
problems,
? My mom and I set about clearing up after
the guests left,
Compare,set out; go about
Language Study
? 4,quantities / a large quantity of,large
amounts / a large amount of
? e.g,
? The key to staying healthy and strong when
backpacking is to eat large quantities of
energy-rich foods,
? In cold weather most animals must eat large
quantities of food to obtain the energy
needed to catty on normal body activities,
Language Study
? 5,eat into,
gradually reduce the amount of (sth,Valuable);
damage or destroy
? e.g,
? All these car expenses are eating into our savings,
? Responsibilities at home and work eat into his
time,
? Acid eats into the metal damaging its surface,
Language Study
? 6,aircraft,
(plural unchanged) vehicle which can fly,
for example an aero plane or a helicopter
? e.g,
? The goal of air traffic control is to minimize
the risk of aircraft collisions,
? The Boeing Company is the world’s largest
manufacturer of commercial airplanes and
military aircraft,
Language Study
? 7,in reality,
in actual fact; really
? e.g,
? Some famous private schools are
theoretically open to the public,but in
reality are attended by those who can
afford the fees,
? He is much smaller in reality than he looks
on the television,
Language Study
? 8,multiply,
increase in number or quantity; add a
number to itself a particular number of times
? e.g,
? the weeds just multiplied,and before long
the garden was a jungle,
? Multiplying large quantities in one’s head
has become a lost art since the arrival of the
calculator,
Language Study
? 9,burden,
heavy load
? e.g,
? many pupils find homework a burden,
? Some farmers are complaining about the
heavy burden of taxation,
Language Study
? 10,fraction,
small part,bit,amount or proportion(of sth.)
? e.g,
? Only a small fraction of the population lived
in that remote area,
? The black miners in South Africa used to
earn only a fraction of the wages paid to
white miners doing equivalent work,
Compare,portion; friction
Language Study
? 11,pour in,
go into a place quickly and in large
numbers
? e.g,
? Tourists poured onto Shanghai on
National Day,
? many football fans poured into the
stadium to have a look at their favorite
football players,
Compare,flood into
Language Study
? 12,a handful of,
a small number of; the amount of sth,That you
can hold on your hand
? e.g,
? Only a handful of graduates have not found jobs
so far,
? Despite her productivity,only a handful of Dickin-
son’s poems were published before her death,
? She scooped up a handful of snow and pressed it
hard to make a ball,
? Ethnology is a science concerned with the
comparative study pf animal behavior,
Language Study
? 13,comparative,
involving comparison or comparing
? e.g,
? Some sociologists have carried out large-
scale historical-comparative studies,
? Ethnology is a science concerned with the
comparative study of animal behavior,
Language Study
? 14,amount to,
be equal to; add up to
? e.g,
? In 1959 the combined value of U,S,imports
and exports amounted to less than 9 percent
of the country’s gross domestic product,
? The tuition fee amounts to ten thousand
yuan,
Language Study
? 15,minute,
very small in size or amount
? e.g,
? Only a minute amount of money is needed,
? Studies show that water contains minute
quantities of lead,
Language Study
? 16,frontier,(usu,Pl) the extreme limit of an area of
knowledge or a particular activity; the border
between two countries
? e.g,
? To open up the space frontier,NASA will try to
lower the cost of access to Earth orbit,
? Mount Qomolangma,the highest mountain in the
world,with a height of 8,850 m (29,035ft),rises in
the Himalayas on the frontier of Nepal and China,
? Our passports were inspected at the Czech frontier,
Compare,border; territory; boundary
Language Study
? 17,oblige,
do sth,for (sb.) as a favor or small service
(used in the pattern,oblige (sb.) (with sth,
/by doing sth.))
? e.g,
? We are happy to oblige,
? Please oblige me by leaving me alone,
Language Study
? 18,forecast,
tell in advance; predict
? e.g,
? The means of forecasting natural disasters,such
as floods,and hurricanes,have improved
immensely as science and technology have
advanced,
? Because the behavior of weather systems is
chaotic,it is impossible to forecast the details of
weather more than about two weeks in advance,
Compare,foretell; predict; presuppose
Language Study
? 19,volunteer,
person who offers to do sth,Without being compelled or
paid
? e.g,
? Some students served as volunteers to help the old and
disabled in the community in their spare time,
? The charity agency will recruit volunteers to build
affordable housing for the poor,
? Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the
essence and perception of beauty ugliness,
? Our teachers also taught us how to increase the powers
of perception,
Language Study
? 20perception,
way of seeing or understanding
sth,;ability to notice and understand
things
? e.g,
? Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy
concerned with the essence and
perception of beauty and ugliness,
? Our teachers also taught us how to
increase the powers of perception,
Language Study
? 21,nurture,
care for and educate (a child); encourage the
growth of (sth.); nourish
? e.g,
? Parents want to know the best way to nurture
and raise their child to adulthood,
? With one year’s observation the biologists
have found how dolphins socialize,breed,
and nurture their young and how they
communicate,
? The local government has taken measures to
nurture the state-run factories,
Language Study
? 22,offspring,
(plural unchanged) child or children of a
particular person or couple
? e.g,
? Heredity is the process of transmitting
biological traits from parent to offspring
through genes,
? Asexual reproduction produces offspring
that are genetically identical to their
parent,
Language Study
? 23,appliance,
instrument or device for a specific
purpose
? e.g,
? The Energy Department has set efficiency
standards for new home appliances,
? The company has operations in many
different business sectors,including
household appliances,aircraft engines,
and financial services,
Language Study
? 24,distribution,
the way in which people,buildings,etc,are
arranged over a large area; the act of giving
things to a large group of people or
delivering foods to companies,
? e.g,
? The study of animal distribution is called
zoogeography,
? Distribution of the goods is handled by local
companies,
Language Study
? 25,famine,
(instance of) extreme scarcity of good in a
region
? e.g,
? China has succeeded in feeding its people;
national attention to equity,agriculture,and
birth control has significantly reduced and
threat of famine,
? To eliminate famine and reduce malnutrition,
attention needs to focus not only on food
production but also on food distribution,
consumption,and family planning,
Language Study
? 26,widespread,
found or distributed over a large area
? e.g,
? The landscape of the American west was
dramatically altered during the 20th century as
a result of the widespread construction of dams
along major rivers,
? The corrosive nature of acid rain causes
widespread damage to the environment,
Language Study
? 27,provoke,
cause (sth.) to occur or arouse ( a feeling etc.)
? e.g,
? People’s concern over genetically modified
food has provoked a global debate that shows
no sign of ending soon,
? They argued that NATO enlargement could
provoke Russian hostility and lead to regional
instability,
Compare,arouse; stimulate
Language Study
? 28,a variety of,
a lot of a particular type of things that are
different from each other
? e.g,
? My students come from a variety of different
backgrounds,
? There are(is) a variety of excellent schools in
the area,
? China has a great variety of mineral
resources
Language Study
? 29,streamline,
make (sth.) more efficient and effective;
give a streamlined from to (sth.)
? e.g,
? Corporate mergers can result in job losses
because management combines and
streamlines departments within the newly
merged companies,
? Some racing cars are streamlined for speed
and are single-seated,
Compare,underline
Language Study
? 30,growth,
(process of ) growing; development
? e.g,
? Statistics show that the pace of population
growth may continue to increase,
? Industrial growth depends on the availability
of both finance capital and physical capital,
Language Study
? 31,domestic,
of the home,household or family; of or
inside a particular country
? e.g,
? Police and hospital records indicate that the
majority of victims of domestic violence are
women,
? GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product,
Language Study
? 32,forum,
an assembly,place,radio program etc,for
the discussion of public matters or current
questions
? e.g,
? The school authorities will provide a forum
where problems can be discussed,
? The producers of the TV program Question
Time intended it to be a forum for public
debate,
Language Study
? 33,spring up,
appear,develop,grow,etc,quickly or
suddenly
? e.g,
? New professional training schools sprang up
all over the country,
? Fast food restaurants are spring up all over
the city,
? A strong wind seemed to have sprung up
from nowhere,
Language Study
? 34,futile,
producing no result ;useless; pointless
? e.g,
? It was futile to continue the negotiations,
? I knew that it was futile to try and
persuade her once she had made the
decision,
Language Study
? 35,divert,
turn(sb./sth.) aside from a course,direction,etc,
into another
? e.g,
? Some dams divert the flow of river water into a
pipeline,canal,or channel,
? There had been an accident and traffic was being
diverted by the police,
? Money set aside for development was being
diverted to finance the famine relief operations,
Compare,avert,revert; convert; diverse; invert
Language Study
? 36,arise,
appear ;become evident
? e.g,
? Challenging ethical issues have
arisen in science and medicine,
? Some birds attack crops when the
opportunity arose,
? A financial crisis has arisen in the
multinational corporation,
Language Study
? 37,shortage,
lack of sth,needed; deficiency
? e.g,
? The word id facing the prospect of
water shortages caused by population
growth,uneven supplies of water,
pollution,and other factors,
? Some African countries have acute
food shortages requiring emergency
assistance,
Language Study
? 38,switch off,
disconnect (electricity etc.)
? e.g,
Be sure to switch off the lights
when you leave home,
Language Study
? 39,be doomed to,
(sth.) be certain to happen,and you can do
nothing to prevent it (used in the patterns,be
doomed to sth,be doomed to do sth.)
? e.g,
? Their plan seemed to be doomed to failure,
? He thought that he was doomed to spend the
rest of his life in a wheelchair,
Similar expression,be destined to
Content Questions
1,What did we use to expect from
technology?
2,In what ways have inventions such
as the motorcar and the aircraft
affected our life? And what about
the advent of washing machine?
3,What new burdens has technology
produced apart from cramming
work into our leisure time?
Content Questions
4,How fast is information generated
today as compared to a couple of
centuries ago?
5,What is Edward Wilson’s purpose in
subscribing to sixty-old journals and
magazine?
6,What gives rise to our discontent with
super abundance?
Content Questions
7,Is everyone time-starved today? What
percentage of the population is
suffering under the stresses and
strains of life today?
8,What is stress envy,as conceived by
Paul Edwards?
9,How much free time has the average
American gained since the mid-
1960s?How are the gains distributed
between the sexes?
10,What is meant by the,the growth of
the work-life debate”?
Content Questions
11,What does Godbey mean by
saying,It’s the kid in the candy
store”?
12,For time stress,what remedy
does the author offer?
Content Questions
Essay Writing
Topic,
How You Try to Make Time Your Servant
A model paper,
Time is peculiar,At first sight it would seem that one
second must last as long as another,no more,no less,Yet,
in terms of our experience nothing could be further from the
truth,Often time seems to fly past; before we know it the
end of the week has arrived again,Is there any way to slow
it down? There is a character in Kurt Vonnegut's Catch 22
who tries to make his life seem longer by doing boring and
repetitive things,in the belief that this will make time go
slower,Unfortunately,he was quite wrong,
The way to slow time down is to do many new and
interesting things,Repeat the same old pattern week after
week and time flies past,Take a break from routine,go on
holiday to somewhere completely new or take up a fresh
task,and the days begin to pass more slowly,So,If you
want to feel as if tune is not passing you by,break up your
routine and do something new,
Thank You
The Pace of Life
Text A,
Old Father Time becomes a Terror
1,Objectives
2,Background
3,Discussion
4,Text Structure
5,Language Study
6,Content Questions
7,Essay Writing
Objectives
The students will be able to,
1,Learn the main idea and structure of the
text;
2,Learn to distinguish supporting facts from
opinions,and to use both in their own
writing;
3,Grasp the key language points and
grammatical structures in the text;
Background
? Richard Tompkins,
consumer industries editor of the Financial
Times,where he has been a member of the
editorial staff since 1983,He is currently
based at the company’s London
headquarters,where he leads team of
journalists covering the consumer goods
sector and writes about consumer trends,
Tomkins was born in Walsall,England,in
1952,His formal education ended at the age
of seventeen,
? Before becoming a journalist,he was a
casual laborer,a factory worker,a truck
driver,a restaurant cashier,a civil servant,
and an assistant private secretary to a
government minister,He left government
service in1978 to hitchhike around the world,
and on returning to the U.K,in 1978,joined
a local newspaper as a trainee reporter,
? He joined the Financial Times as a sub-
editor four years later,In this selection,he
discusses the time squeeze that many
people are experiencing and offers a way
of combating the problem,
? sound byte,a very brief excerpt from a
speech or statement broadcast on
television or radio
? quality time,time spent in active social
interaction with another person,
especially with one's young child,
Father Time,Time personified as a very
old man,carrying a scythe and an
hourglass
Discussion
1,Has technology made our life easier or more
burdensome? Give examples to illustrate your
view,
? Everything has two sides,Technology,on the one
hand,changes our life completely,It makes our
everyday life much easier,We can communicate
instantly with the friend on the other side of the
world,We can drive to the place of interest
anytime convenient to us after tiresome work,
However,it is notable that technology also makes
us burdensome,We are overloaded with so much
work created by those modern facilities and
equipment,
2,The author makes mention of,stress
envy” in para.14.What do you think are the
possible sociological motivation behind it?
? Today's world is so competitive that
everyone is in a rush to make a better
station for himself,People are chained
down by the lust to be somebody,They try
to appear busy to show to others they are
working hard,If you are not busy,maybe
you are considered a man of no future,
3,Do you agree with the author that all time-
liberating techniques in relieving the widespread
sense of time famine are doomed to failure? Is
cutting back on human desire the ultimate
solution? Why or why not?
? Yes,the only way out is to revert to our
natural way of life,to escape from the
pursuit of the lofty desires in our lives,
Text Structure
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
Part One Paras 1-11
Part Two Paras 12-18
Part Three Paras19- 23
Part Four Paras 24-28
Parts Para-
graphs
Main Ideas
Part
One
Paras
1-11
The author gives three reasons why we
feel so time-pressed today
Part
Two
Paras
12-18
Not every one is time-stressed,and in
the case of Americans they have
actually gained more free tome in the
past decade,
Part
Three
Paras
19-23
The perception of time-famine has
triggered a variety of reactions,
Part
Four
Paras
24-28
The author pins down the crux (症结 )
of the problem and puts forward for
the stress we feel,
Language Study
? 1,on the go,
(infml) active or busy
? e.g,
? I’ve been on the go all week,preparing my
thesis,
? I was on the go all day and went home at
about 10’oclocj in the evening,
Similar Expression,on the run,bustling
Language Study
? 2,cope,
deal successfully (with sb./ sth,difficult)
? e.g,
? Health psychologists study how people
cope with stress,
? People who attempt suicide usually suffer
from extreme emotional distress and feel
unable to cope with their problems,
Language Study
? 3,set about,
begin（ a task）； start（ doing sth.）
（ used In the pattern,set about sth./doing
sth.; no passive）
? e.g,
? The school authorities must set about
finding solutions to the campus security
problems,
? My mom and I set about clearing up after
the guests left,
Compare,set out; go about
Language Study
? 4,quantities / a large quantity of,large
amounts / a large amount of
? e.g,
? The key to staying healthy and strong when
backpacking is to eat large quantities of
energy-rich foods,
? In cold weather most animals must eat large
quantities of food to obtain the energy
needed to catty on normal body activities,
Language Study
? 5,eat into,
gradually reduce the amount of (sth,Valuable);
damage or destroy
? e.g,
? All these car expenses are eating into our savings,
? Responsibilities at home and work eat into his
time,
? Acid eats into the metal damaging its surface,
Language Study
? 6,aircraft,
(plural unchanged) vehicle which can fly,
for example an aero plane or a helicopter
? e.g,
? The goal of air traffic control is to minimize
the risk of aircraft collisions,
? The Boeing Company is the world’s largest
manufacturer of commercial airplanes and
military aircraft,
Language Study
? 7,in reality,
in actual fact; really
? e.g,
? Some famous private schools are
theoretically open to the public,but in
reality are attended by those who can
afford the fees,
? He is much smaller in reality than he looks
on the television,
Language Study
? 8,multiply,
increase in number or quantity; add a
number to itself a particular number of times
? e.g,
? the weeds just multiplied,and before long
the garden was a jungle,
? Multiplying large quantities in one’s head
has become a lost art since the arrival of the
calculator,
Language Study
? 9,burden,
heavy load
? e.g,
? many pupils find homework a burden,
? Some farmers are complaining about the
heavy burden of taxation,
Language Study
? 10,fraction,
small part,bit,amount or proportion(of sth.)
? e.g,
? Only a small fraction of the population lived
in that remote area,
? The black miners in South Africa used to
earn only a fraction of the wages paid to
white miners doing equivalent work,
Compare,portion; friction
Language Study
? 11,pour in,
go into a place quickly and in large
numbers
? e.g,
? Tourists poured onto Shanghai on
National Day,
? many football fans poured into the
stadium to have a look at their favorite
football players,
Compare,flood into
Language Study
? 12,a handful of,
a small number of; the amount of sth,That you
can hold on your hand
? e.g,
? Only a handful of graduates have not found jobs
so far,
? Despite her productivity,only a handful of Dickin-
son’s poems were published before her death,
? She scooped up a handful of snow and pressed it
hard to make a ball,
? Ethnology is a science concerned with the
comparative study pf animal behavior,
Language Study
? 13,comparative,
involving comparison or comparing
? e.g,
? Some sociologists have carried out large-
scale historical-comparative studies,
? Ethnology is a science concerned with the
comparative study of animal behavior,
Language Study
? 14,amount to,
be equal to; add up to
? e.g,
? In 1959 the combined value of U,S,imports
and exports amounted to less than 9 percent
of the country’s gross domestic product,
? The tuition fee amounts to ten thousand
yuan,
Language Study
? 15,minute,
very small in size or amount
? e.g,
? Only a minute amount of money is needed,
? Studies show that water contains minute
quantities of lead,
Language Study
? 16,frontier,(usu,Pl) the extreme limit of an area of
knowledge or a particular activity; the border
between two countries
? e.g,
? To open up the space frontier,NASA will try to
lower the cost of access to Earth orbit,
? Mount Qomolangma,the highest mountain in the
world,with a height of 8,850 m (29,035ft),rises in
the Himalayas on the frontier of Nepal and China,
? Our passports were inspected at the Czech frontier,
Compare,border; territory; boundary
Language Study
? 17,oblige,
do sth,for (sb.) as a favor or small service
(used in the pattern,oblige (sb.) (with sth,
/by doing sth.))
? e.g,
? We are happy to oblige,
? Please oblige me by leaving me alone,
Language Study
? 18,forecast,
tell in advance; predict
? e.g,
? The means of forecasting natural disasters,such
as floods,and hurricanes,have improved
immensely as science and technology have
advanced,
? Because the behavior of weather systems is
chaotic,it is impossible to forecast the details of
weather more than about two weeks in advance,
Compare,foretell; predict; presuppose
Language Study
? 19,volunteer,
person who offers to do sth,Without being compelled or
paid
? e.g,
? Some students served as volunteers to help the old and
disabled in the community in their spare time,
? The charity agency will recruit volunteers to build
affordable housing for the poor,
? Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the
essence and perception of beauty ugliness,
? Our teachers also taught us how to increase the powers
of perception,
Language Study
? 20perception,
way of seeing or understanding
sth,;ability to notice and understand
things
? e.g,
? Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy
concerned with the essence and
perception of beauty and ugliness,
? Our teachers also taught us how to
increase the powers of perception,
Language Study
? 21,nurture,
care for and educate (a child); encourage the
growth of (sth.); nourish
? e.g,
? Parents want to know the best way to nurture
and raise their child to adulthood,
? With one year’s observation the biologists
have found how dolphins socialize,breed,
and nurture their young and how they
communicate,
? The local government has taken measures to
nurture the state-run factories,
Language Study
? 22,offspring,
(plural unchanged) child or children of a
particular person or couple
? e.g,
? Heredity is the process of transmitting
biological traits from parent to offspring
through genes,
? Asexual reproduction produces offspring
that are genetically identical to their
parent,
Language Study
? 23,appliance,
instrument or device for a specific
purpose
? e.g,
? The Energy Department has set efficiency
standards for new home appliances,
? The company has operations in many
different business sectors,including
household appliances,aircraft engines,
and financial services,
Language Study
? 24,distribution,
the way in which people,buildings,etc,are
arranged over a large area; the act of giving
things to a large group of people or
delivering foods to companies,
? e.g,
? The study of animal distribution is called
zoogeography,
? Distribution of the goods is handled by local
companies,
Language Study
? 25,famine,
(instance of) extreme scarcity of good in a
region
? e.g,
? China has succeeded in feeding its people;
national attention to equity,agriculture,and
birth control has significantly reduced and
threat of famine,
? To eliminate famine and reduce malnutrition,
attention needs to focus not only on food
production but also on food distribution,
consumption,and family planning,
Language Study
? 26,widespread,
found or distributed over a large area
? e.g,
? The landscape of the American west was
dramatically altered during the 20th century as
a result of the widespread construction of dams
along major rivers,
? The corrosive nature of acid rain causes
widespread damage to the environment,
Language Study
? 27,provoke,
cause (sth.) to occur or arouse ( a feeling etc.)
? e.g,
? People’s concern over genetically modified
food has provoked a global debate that shows
no sign of ending soon,
? They argued that NATO enlargement could
provoke Russian hostility and lead to regional
instability,
Compare,arouse; stimulate
Language Study
? 28,a variety of,
a lot of a particular type of things that are
different from each other
? e.g,
? My students come from a variety of different
backgrounds,
? There are(is) a variety of excellent schools in
the area,
? China has a great variety of mineral
resources
Language Study
? 29,streamline,
make (sth.) more efficient and effective;
give a streamlined from to (sth.)
? e.g,
? Corporate mergers can result in job losses
because management combines and
streamlines departments within the newly
merged companies,
? Some racing cars are streamlined for speed
and are single-seated,
Compare,underline
Language Study
? 30,growth,
(process of ) growing; development
? e.g,
? Statistics show that the pace of population
growth may continue to increase,
? Industrial growth depends on the availability
of both finance capital and physical capital,
Language Study
? 31,domestic,
of the home,household or family; of or
inside a particular country
? e.g,
? Police and hospital records indicate that the
majority of victims of domestic violence are
women,
? GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product,
Language Study
? 32,forum,
an assembly,place,radio program etc,for
the discussion of public matters or current
questions
? e.g,
? The school authorities will provide a forum
where problems can be discussed,
? The producers of the TV program Question
Time intended it to be a forum for public
debate,
Language Study
? 33,spring up,
appear,develop,grow,etc,quickly or
suddenly
? e.g,
? New professional training schools sprang up
all over the country,
? Fast food restaurants are spring up all over
the city,
? A strong wind seemed to have sprung up
from nowhere,
Language Study
? 34,futile,
producing no result ;useless; pointless
? e.g,
? It was futile to continue the negotiations,
? I knew that it was futile to try and
persuade her once she had made the
decision,
Language Study
? 35,divert,
turn(sb./sth.) aside from a course,direction,etc,
into another
? e.g,
? Some dams divert the flow of river water into a
pipeline,canal,or channel,
? There had been an accident and traffic was being
diverted by the police,
? Money set aside for development was being
diverted to finance the famine relief operations,
Compare,avert,revert; convert; diverse; invert
Language Study
? 36,arise,
appear ;become evident
? e.g,
? Challenging ethical issues have
arisen in science and medicine,
? Some birds attack crops when the
opportunity arose,
? A financial crisis has arisen in the
multinational corporation,
Language Study
? 37,shortage,
lack of sth,needed; deficiency
? e.g,
? The word id facing the prospect of
water shortages caused by population
growth,uneven supplies of water,
pollution,and other factors,
? Some African countries have acute
food shortages requiring emergency
assistance,
Language Study
? 38,switch off,
disconnect (electricity etc.)
? e.g,
Be sure to switch off the lights
when you leave home,
Language Study
? 39,be doomed to,
(sth.) be certain to happen,and you can do
nothing to prevent it (used in the patterns,be
doomed to sth,be doomed to do sth.)
? e.g,
? Their plan seemed to be doomed to failure,
? He thought that he was doomed to spend the
rest of his life in a wheelchair,
Similar expression,be destined to
Content Questions
1,What did we use to expect from
technology?
2,In what ways have inventions such
as the motorcar and the aircraft
affected our life? And what about
the advent of washing machine?
3,What new burdens has technology
produced apart from cramming
work into our leisure time?
Content Questions
4,How fast is information generated
today as compared to a couple of
centuries ago?
5,What is Edward Wilson’s purpose in
subscribing to sixty-old journals and
magazine?
6,What gives rise to our discontent with
super abundance?
Content Questions
7,Is everyone time-starved today? What
percentage of the population is
suffering under the stresses and
strains of life today?
8,What is stress envy,as conceived by
Paul Edwards?
9,How much free time has the average
American gained since the mid-
1960s?How are the gains distributed
between the sexes?
10,What is meant by the,the growth of
the work-life debate”?
Content Questions
11,What does Godbey mean by
saying,It’s the kid in the candy
store”?
12,For time stress,what remedy
does the author offer?
Content Questions
Essay Writing
Topic,
How You Try to Make Time Your Servant
A model paper,
Time is peculiar,At first sight it would seem that one
second must last as long as another,no more,no less,Yet,
in terms of our experience nothing could be further from the
truth,Often time seems to fly past; before we know it the
end of the week has arrived again,Is there any way to slow
it down? There is a character in Kurt Vonnegut's Catch 22
who tries to make his life seem longer by doing boring and
repetitive things,in the belief that this will make time go
slower,Unfortunately,he was quite wrong,
The way to slow time down is to do many new and
interesting things,Repeat the same old pattern week after
week and time flies past,Take a break from routine,go on
holiday to somewhere completely new or take up a fresh
task,and the days begin to pass more slowly,So,If you
want to feel as if tune is not passing you by,break up your
routine and do something new,
Thank You
