Unit 8  Unit Eight Section A There’s a Lot More to Life than a Job I. Greetings II. Start the new lesson 1. Introduction: According to a survey and my own observation, young people today are more consumeristic and less idealistic. The college students’ major objective “is to be financially well off.” Less important than ever is developing a meaningful philosophy of life. It is true that we need to be financially comfortable, but we also need to feel we have perspective on the world beyond the confines of our occupation. It is the duty of educational institutions to help people get a better understanding of the accumulated wisdom of the ages, to learn how to think, to educate people for life as well as for a career because there is a lot more to life than a job. 2. Discourse analysis Part I (Paras.1-9): Through a survey, the author pointed out the meaning s of life was not only for a job, but also for a career. Part II (Paras.10-17): The author probed the true meaning of life through facts and theories. Part III (Paras.18-19): There is a lot more to life than a job. 3. Language points: 1. if only: 1) used to express a wish that past events had been different e.g. If only I had gone by taxi. 2) used to express a wish or a desire, esp. one that cannot be fulfilled e.g. If only she would marry me! 2. suspect: vt. have an idea that one thinks id possibly true e.g. The young man is more intelligent than we suspected him to be. 3. poll: n. 1) (c.) a survey of public opinion e.g. We are conducting a poll to find out how many people in favor of nuclear power. 2) (pl.) giving of written choices at a election; a place where people make election choices e.g. The result of the poll won’t be known until after midnight 4. objective: 1) n. purpose, aim e.g. All our main objectives have been achieved. 2) a. impartial (antonym: subjective) e.g. I firmly believe that any report should be as objective as possible. 5. accordingly: ad. 1) for this reason; so e.g. She was angry and accordingly refused to attend the meeting. 2) in a manner that is suggested by what is known or has been said e.g. She’s an expert in her field, and is paid accordingly. 6. at a low: at a low level or figure e.g. Share prices have been a an all-time low. 7. well off: in a good position, esp. financially e.g. The government claims that most people are better of than they were five years ago. 8. along with: together with e.g. Many fresh vegetables are on sale along with some canned food. 9. as well as: in addition to e.g. He was appointed general manager for his rich experience as well as excellent educational background. 10. conviction: n. the thing (or things) one deeply believes in e.g. He had a firm conviction that he was always right. convict: vt. ( of a jury or judge) declare in a law court that sb. is guilty ( of a crime) e.g. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. 11. specialization: (u, c) specializing; limiting all or most of your study or work to one subject or activity e.g. There is too much specialization of subjects too early in our school. specialize (in): vi. limit all or most of your study or work to one subject or activity e.g. After she qualified as a lawyer, she decided to specialize in business law. 12. be meant to: be supposed to e.g. We are meant to fill in a tax form and pay income tax every year. 13. confine: n. (pl.) limits or borders e.g. beyond the confines of human knowledge within the confines of campus life 14. occupation: n. 1) a job; an employment e.g. Please tell me your name, age and occupation. 2) a regular activity; activity done in one’s spare time e.g. His favorite occupation is reading. 15. render: vt. 1) give, offer (help, assistance, service, etc.) e.g. You have earned a reward for the help you have rendered. 2) cause sb./sth. to be in a particular state e.g. His rudeness rendered me speechless. 16. dawn ( on/ upon): vi. grow clear in one’s mind e.g. The truth began to dawn upon the poor man. 17. resent: vt. feel anger and dislike about ( sth. that hurts, offends or annoys one) e.g. He resented his father for being so strict with him. 18. preferably: ad. desirably above anything else e.g. Doing some exercise, preferably in the fresh air, will surely be good for your health. preferable (to): a. more desirable e.g. A day with friends is always preferable to staying at home alone and doing nothing. 19. incredible: a. impossible or very difficult to believe e.g. He was absent from class and he gave an incredible excuse. 20. contribution: n. action of giving (money, support, help or ideas) towards a particular aim or purpose; sth. given towards a particular aim or purpose e.g. He has made an important contribution to the company’s success. 21. weekly: 1) ad. once a week or every week e.g. The group meets weekly. 2) a. happening once a week or every week e.g. We go and do the weekly shopping every Saturday. 3) n. a newspaper or magazine which is published once every week e.g. Two of the four national daily papers are to become weeklies. 22. read of: find out about sb./sth. by reading e.g. I once read of this place in one of the books piled here. 23. out of business: no longer able to operate as a business e.g. Lately, shops have had to pay more every month for the space they use. These increases could put a lot of small shops out of business. 24. argument (for/ against): n. a statement used to convince people that sth. is correct e.g. The managers will declare their arguments against the plan next week. 25. accumulate: v. make to become greater in quantity e.g. Work hard, and you will accumulate a fortune someday. 26. distinguish (one thing) from (another)/ distinguish between ( two things): understand the difference between e.g. I can’t distinguish Jack from his twin brother since they look so much like each other. 27. in the long run: after a long period of time, in the end e.g. It’ll be cheaper in the long run to use real leather because it will last longer. 28. host: vt. act as a host of e.g. Beijing is going to host the 2008 Olympics. III. Summary: The writer admits that education should prepare us for life “after” school, but young students and older teacher often don’t agree about what will be most important when all the classer are finished. IV. Homework: write a paragraph: challenge Section B What Youngsters Expect in Life I. Greetings II. Review: 1. Answer the question: what have you learned from Section A? 2. Have a dictation of the new words from section A. III. Start the new lesson 1. Introduction: Survey reveals that young people in America are not happy with their prospects for the future, familiar patterns fade, familiar solutions fail and familiar options disappear. In industrial societies the gloomier prospects implicit in the projections of those trends cause young people feel anger an frustration, which is happening to them will be a terrible and dangerous force in all the major industrial economies. 2. Discourse analysis: Part I (Para.1): All of us will be creators and pioneers over the next 10 years whether we like it or not. Part II (Paras.2-4): The attitude surveys tell us that a large proportion of American young men are not happy with their prospects for the future. Part III (Para.5): They are likely to be very destructive forces of resistance in society. 3. Language points: 1. play (it) safe: carefully avoid risks e.g. I don’t think it will rain today, but I will play it safe and take a raincoat. 2. disaffected: a. dissatisfied and lacking loyalty e.g. Some of the government’s most loyal supporters are now becoming disaffected. 3. no wonder: it is not surprising… e.g. I didn’t know that Barbara was Jack’s stepmother. No wonder she shows little care for him. 4. motivate: cause to want to do sth. e.g. We have to try and motivate our sales people. 5. be the reason for (sb.’s action); cause (sb.) to act in a particular way e.g. This murder was motivated by greed and hatred. 6. in particular: especially e.g. In particular, I admire the woman writer Virginia Wolf. 7. prospect: n. 1) sth. expected, chance of success e.g. He is facing the prospect of living alone, far away from his parents. 2) possibility or strong chance of sth, happening e.g. There’s not much prospect that this war will be over soon. 8. civil: a. 1) of or relating to ordinary people rather than the armed forces or the Church e.g. civil defense civil servant 2) within the country e.g. Thousands of people have been driven from their homes be civil war. 9. commit oneself to (doing/do)sth.: firmly decide to do sth . or have sth. e.g. The government has promised to commit itself to keep peace. 10. preference: n. 1) a liking for sth. (more than sth. else) e.g. Of the two, my preference is for the smaller car. 2) a thing that is liked better or best e.g. What are your preferences in music? 11. proportion: n. 1) a comparative part or share of a whole e.g. What proportion of your salary goes to food? 2) relation of one thing to another in quantity, size, etc. e.g. The tax increases in proportion to the amount of money you earn. 12. be likely to: be expected to e.g. He is not likely to succeed. 13. gang: n. a group of people who go around together, socialize together, cause trouble together e.g. He was killed in a fight with another gang. 14. swell: v. 1) (cause to) become greater e.g. We asked them to come to the meeting to swell the numbers. 2) (cause sth. to)become larger e.g. His knee swelled up after the fall. 15. at large: in general e.g. People at large approve of the new policy. 16. periodical: 1) n. a magazine or newspaper that is published regularly e.g. The periodical is published every two weeks 2) a. happening repeatedly over a period of time e.g. Middle-aged people should have periodical medical checks. 17. projection: n. a guess of future possibilities, esp. based on the general direction of events at a particular time e.g. These figures show our projection of the town’s population increase in the next ten years. 18. alternative: 1) a. that can be had, used, etc. instead of sth. e.g. There are alternative ways of working our the puzzle. 2) n. sth, that can be had, used, etc. instead of sth. e.g. Is there no alternative to solve that problem? 19. gloomy: a. 1) (that makes people ) sad and disappointed e.g. Our future seems gloomy. 2) dark or unlighted e.g. We ran past the gloomy corner. 20. implicit: a. 1) understood without being directly expressed, clearly intended even though it is not said e.g. Their request for money seems to contain an implicit threat. 2) unnecessary to be questioned e.g. I have implicit trust in your abilities. 21. fearful: a. 1) nervous and afraid e.g. He was fearful of her anger/ that she might be angry. 2) terrible, horrifying e.g. What a fearful waste of time! 22. backward: a. 1) directed towards the back or the starting point e.g. He took a backward step an ran away. 2) having made or making less than normal progress e.g. Some backward parts of the country have no electricity. 23. principally: ad. for the most part, mainly, chiefly e.g. The decrease in your sales is principally because the market is becoming smaller. 24. economically: ad. 1) having to do with economics, the production of wealth and the ways it is shared by people in a society; concerning economy e.g. Economically, even if a business does not have all the money it needs, it can still survive. 2) having to do with saving money or not wasting it e.g. Try to live more economically. economical: a. careful in spending money, tending to save money. e.g. A good manger is economical in the use of his funds. economic: a. of or having to do with economics e.g. Economic problems have to do with the production, sharing and consumption of goods. 25. grind to a halt: gradually become slower or less active until it stops e.g. The peace progress ground to a halt and both parties went back to the battlefield. 26. eliminate: vt. remove, get rid of, take away e.g. If a food toe drink is not healthy, eliminate it from you diet. 27. display: vt. 1) show signs of having ( a quality or emotion, etc.) e.g. Her writing displays natural talent. 2) put sth. on show e.g. The new fashions for the season are displayed in the shop windows. IV. Summary: The essay talks about what young people expect these days, and provides a quick look at what can happen when expectations do not match reality. V. Exercises VI. Homework: Preview Unit 9 Section A