Unit 6
Women,Half the Sky
Text A
I’m Going to Buy the Brooklyn Bridge
Text B Beginning Anew
Text A
I’m Going to
Buy
the
Brooklyn
Bridge
Pre-Reading Activities
Listen to the recording and then think over
the following questions:
1,Why can’t woman be ignored?
2,What price have women had to pay for
their wisdom?
3,What happens to them if you try to break
their will?
4,How women realized their dreams?
While-Reading Activities
New Words and Expressions
1,item n,
1) a single piece of news
E.g,There is a fascinating news item in
Today’s China Daily.
2) a single article or unit on a list or among
a set
E.g,There are at least 50 items on her
Christmas shopping list,
2,draft n,a rough outline or version
E.g,My student emailed the first draft of his
thesis to me yesterday,
This is only the first draft of my speech,but
what do you think of it?
3,undo v,
1) (fml) disturb or upset greatly
E.g,My daughter’s idea about wealth undid
me.
2) untie,open
E.g,Would you please undo this knot for
me?
4.hit/strike home
(of marks,etc.) have the intended effect
E.g,His criticism hit home,I was really
selfish.
I could see from her expression that his
comments had hit home.
5,incredible adj,unbelievable
E.g,It seemed incredible that people would
still want to play soccer during a war.
There has been an incredible amount of
interest in the information highway during
the last few years.
6,consume v.
1) eat or drink
E.g,Michael consumes nearly a pound of
cheese per day.
2) use up
E.g,The human body consumes energy in
the form of carbohydrates.
7,care for
1) take care of
E.g,The college students volunteered to
care for the elderly in their community.
2) like or love
E.g,She had two sons and didn’t care for
either.
8,corporation n.
a large business or company
E.g,Several multi-national corporations are
located in the new district of Pudong.
It’s easier for students graduating from
well-known universities to get positions in
large multinational corporations,
9.rarely adv,not happening often
E.g,Rarely have I seen a student who is so
absorbed in history.
He very rarely wears a raincoat because he
spends most of his time in a car.
It’s strange that the couple were rarely seen
together.
10,decorate v,add (sth.) in order to make a
thing more attractive to look at
E.g,They are going to decorate the
classroom for Christmas,
The boy decorated his room with pictures of
his favourate sports figures.
11,client n,
a person who buys goods or service
E.g,Our company is CITI Bank’s most
valued client.
The company requires clients to pay
substantial fees in advance.
12,lap n.
1) the flat area formed by your thighs when
you are sitting down
E.g,Sitting on her mother’s lap,the little
girl was quiet.
2) a part of long journey,between two
points where you stop
E.g,The first lap of our trip is from New
York City to Boston.
13,theory n,
a formal idea or set of ideas that is intended
to explain sth,
E.g,Einstein formulated the theory of
relativity in 1905.
14,harmony n,
1) pleasant combination of different notes
of music played at the same time
E.g,The kids are singing in harmony.
2) a state or condition of agreement,
cooperation,or peacefulness
E.g,Since they moved to this community
they have lived in harmony with their
neighbours.
15,by nature
as a result of inborn or inherent qualities;
innately
E.g,He is by nature rather an aggressive
person.
I’m not by nature a violent man,but these
insults were more than I could bear.
16,get one’s act together (infml)
organize oneself and one’s activities so that
one does things in an effective way
E.g,Steve will have to get his act together if
he is going to pass the exam,He can’t just
sit about doing nothing all day,
17,military adj,
relating to the armed forces of a country
E.g,The president has not ruled out the
possibility of military action.
Your working day will need to be organized
with military precision.
18,put pencil/pen to paper
start to write
E.g,The instant he put pencil to paper,his
four-year-old son would sit beside him
quietly,
When I put pencil to paper yesterday,vivid
memories came flooding back of my first
day in school,
19,at intervals
1)sth,that happens at intervals happens
occasionally
E.g,The interview continued,with Smith
breaking off at intervals to consult his notes.
2) used to state the precise gap in time or
distance between things
E.g,There were red warning lights at
intervals along the street.
20,set aside
put (time or money) away for a special
purpose
E.g,I have a little money set aside for
emergencies.
My husband set aside half an hour every
morning to do sports.
21,race the clock
do sth,quickly in order to finish it in the
available time
E.g,The deadline will be due tomorrow,
We have to race the clock.
The semester is coming to an end,We have
to race the clock every day to prepare for
our final exams.
22,possess v,(fml) have or own
E.g,It is said that Michael possesses a
fortune of more than two billion dollars.
The number of nations that possess nuclear
weapons in on the rise.
23,bide one’s time
wait patiently for a chance
E.g,His political rivals are biding their time
until after the election for a chance to attack
his policies.
She bided her time,planning revenge.
24,charm
1) v,attract; give pleasure to
E.g,I was charmed by her slim figure and
soft voice.
2) n,pleasing quality; attractiveness
E.g.,Snowwhite and Seven Dwarves” has
never lost its original charm.
25 take in (usu,passive) cheat
E.g,She was so smart that she couldn’t be
taken in by her colleagues.
The students played a trick on their
teacher.Unfortunately he was taken in
completely.
26,despite adv,in spite of
E.g,Despite the fact that she fell midway
through the race,she won.
They had a wonderful holiday,despite the
bad weather.
Despite wanting to see him again,she
refused to reply to his letters.
27,have sth./little/much/nothing to do with
have some/little/much/no connection with
E.g,I am not sure what her job is,but it has
something to do with marketing.
His decision to move overseas has a lot to
do with his financial problem.
28,achieve/have one’s heart’s desire(s)
get sb./sth,you want very much
E.g,To achieve her heart’s desires,she had
to work from morning to night.
When she agreed to marry him he felt he
had achieved his heart’s desire.
29,a piece of cake
sth,that is very easy to do
E.g,Getting in tough with his overseas
friends via email is a piece of cake for the
old man,
Shopping on line is a piece of cake for the
five-year-old.
30,sophisticated adj,
1) worldly-wise; showing knowledge of the
world
E.g,Richard was still young,but he was
sophisticated enough to know when people
were not telling the truth,
2) advanced or complicated
E.g,The missile has a sophisticated
guidance system.
31,move on to
stop doing one thing and begin dealing with
the next
E.g,We’re about to move on to the second
stage of the project.
She ran this shop for ten years before
deciding to move on to the real estate
business.
32,investment (in) v,putting money in sth.
E.g,More and more people have the desire
to buy a house as an investment.
Buying shares in blue-chip companies is
always a sound investment.
Total foreign investment in America still
constitutes only a small portion of US assets.
Cultural Note
Feminism
In the 1960s feminism (=the belief that
women and men are equal in abilities and
should have equal rights and opportunities)
became the subject of intense debate when
the women’s liberation movement
encouraged women to reject their
traditional supporting role and to demand
equal status and equal rights with men in
areas such as employment and pay.
Since then the gender gap between the sexes
has been reduced,However the battle
between feminist and traditional views of a
woman’s role continues,It is widely
accepted by younger people that women
should,if they wish,be allowed to
develop their careers and not give
up work when they have a family.
Feminism has brought about many changes in the
English language,Many words for job titles that
included,man” have been replaced,for example,
“police officer”is used instead of,policeman” and
“chairperson”for,chairman”.,He” is now rarely
used to refer to a person when the person could be
either a man or a woman,The title,Ms” is used
for women instead of,Miss” or,Mrs”,since it
does not show whether a woman is married or not.
Post-Reading Activities
Text Organization
P a r t P a r a s M a in I de a s
O n e
1 - 3
D e s pit e he r f r ie n d ’ s a d v ic e,t h e a u t h or,un a ble
to r e s i s t t h e te m pta ti o n,f a ll s f or s u pe r w o m a n
s tor ie s a g a in,
T w o
4 - 7 T h e a u t h or e n c o un te r s w it h a s upe r w o m a n,
w h ic h in f lu e n c e s h e r a lot,
T h r e e 8 - 11
S h e te ll s a bo u t w ha t pr e v e n t s h e r f r o m
be c om in g a s u pe r w om a n h e r s e lf,
F ou r 12 - 14 S h e a n a l y z e s w hy s he is s ti ll f a s c i n a te d b y
m ode r n s u pe r w om a n ta le s,
F iv e 15 S h e c o m e s to t h e c o n c l us io n tha t to he r,
a dm ir in g a h e r oin e is s om e th in g w or th doin g,
Translation
achieve one’s heart’s desire
a piece of cake care for
corporation despite
get one’s act together
race the clock undo
芭芭拉梦想当一名执行总裁已有好长时间了。为了达到心中渴望的这一目的，她向多家跨国 (multi-national)公司申请工作，但都失败。
然而，似乎任何东西都不能使她气馁。不久前她利用当地一家银行的贷款，开了一家餐馆。
她边做生意边照料两个年幼的孩子。同时，她还攻读工商管理硕士 (MBA)学位。尽管如此，
她努力做到将自己的事情安排得井井有条。不过，即便对她来说，争分夺秒地工作也绝非易事。这是件十分累人的活儿。
Key
Barbara has dreamed of becoming a CEO for a long time,
To achieve her heart’s desire,she applied for a job in many
a multi-national corporation,but failed to get it,However,
nothing seems to be able to undo her,With a loan from a
local bank she opened a restaurant not long ago,While
doing business she is having two young children to care for,
Also,she is working at/studying for an MBA degree,
Despite all this she manages to get her act together,
Nevertheless,even to her,racing the clock is by no means
a piece of cake,It’s a very exhausting job.
Text B
Beginning
Anew
Words and Phrases
live for take/get/gain credit (for sth.)
party die of quit reaction
plead temporary renew soak up
at every opportunity weigh down
semester expensive stir plentiful
take back set out to do (sth.)
in control (of sth.) seek after
Comprehension Check
1,We can infer that the writer used to
prefer ____.
a,Mondays to Tuesdays
b,Wednesdays to Tuesdays
c,Fridays to Saturdays
d,Mondays to Sundays
2,The writer did not go to college at the
usual age because ____.
a,she was a young mother
b,she had to go to work to earn a living
c,she preferred to train as a journalist
d,she preferred having a good time to study
3,The word,snap” (para 8) here means
____.
a,a matter of great importance
b,a very tough job
c,a piece of cake
d,a heartbreaking thing
4,Looking back over her decision to leave
work and return to college she ____.
a,has no regrets
b,realizes she should have saved more first
c,feels sorry she made no friends
d,wishes she hadn’t broken down under the
pressure
That’s all!
Thanks for you attendance!
Women,Half the Sky
Text A
I’m Going to Buy the Brooklyn Bridge
Text B Beginning Anew
Text A
I’m Going to
Buy
the
Brooklyn
Bridge
Pre-Reading Activities
Listen to the recording and then think over
the following questions:
1,Why can’t woman be ignored?
2,What price have women had to pay for
their wisdom?
3,What happens to them if you try to break
their will?
4,How women realized their dreams?
While-Reading Activities
New Words and Expressions
1,item n,
1) a single piece of news
E.g,There is a fascinating news item in
Today’s China Daily.
2) a single article or unit on a list or among
a set
E.g,There are at least 50 items on her
Christmas shopping list,
2,draft n,a rough outline or version
E.g,My student emailed the first draft of his
thesis to me yesterday,
This is only the first draft of my speech,but
what do you think of it?
3,undo v,
1) (fml) disturb or upset greatly
E.g,My daughter’s idea about wealth undid
me.
2) untie,open
E.g,Would you please undo this knot for
me?
4.hit/strike home
(of marks,etc.) have the intended effect
E.g,His criticism hit home,I was really
selfish.
I could see from her expression that his
comments had hit home.
5,incredible adj,unbelievable
E.g,It seemed incredible that people would
still want to play soccer during a war.
There has been an incredible amount of
interest in the information highway during
the last few years.
6,consume v.
1) eat or drink
E.g,Michael consumes nearly a pound of
cheese per day.
2) use up
E.g,The human body consumes energy in
the form of carbohydrates.
7,care for
1) take care of
E.g,The college students volunteered to
care for the elderly in their community.
2) like or love
E.g,She had two sons and didn’t care for
either.
8,corporation n.
a large business or company
E.g,Several multi-national corporations are
located in the new district of Pudong.
It’s easier for students graduating from
well-known universities to get positions in
large multinational corporations,
9.rarely adv,not happening often
E.g,Rarely have I seen a student who is so
absorbed in history.
He very rarely wears a raincoat because he
spends most of his time in a car.
It’s strange that the couple were rarely seen
together.
10,decorate v,add (sth.) in order to make a
thing more attractive to look at
E.g,They are going to decorate the
classroom for Christmas,
The boy decorated his room with pictures of
his favourate sports figures.
11,client n,
a person who buys goods or service
E.g,Our company is CITI Bank’s most
valued client.
The company requires clients to pay
substantial fees in advance.
12,lap n.
1) the flat area formed by your thighs when
you are sitting down
E.g,Sitting on her mother’s lap,the little
girl was quiet.
2) a part of long journey,between two
points where you stop
E.g,The first lap of our trip is from New
York City to Boston.
13,theory n,
a formal idea or set of ideas that is intended
to explain sth,
E.g,Einstein formulated the theory of
relativity in 1905.
14,harmony n,
1) pleasant combination of different notes
of music played at the same time
E.g,The kids are singing in harmony.
2) a state or condition of agreement,
cooperation,or peacefulness
E.g,Since they moved to this community
they have lived in harmony with their
neighbours.
15,by nature
as a result of inborn or inherent qualities;
innately
E.g,He is by nature rather an aggressive
person.
I’m not by nature a violent man,but these
insults were more than I could bear.
16,get one’s act together (infml)
organize oneself and one’s activities so that
one does things in an effective way
E.g,Steve will have to get his act together if
he is going to pass the exam,He can’t just
sit about doing nothing all day,
17,military adj,
relating to the armed forces of a country
E.g,The president has not ruled out the
possibility of military action.
Your working day will need to be organized
with military precision.
18,put pencil/pen to paper
start to write
E.g,The instant he put pencil to paper,his
four-year-old son would sit beside him
quietly,
When I put pencil to paper yesterday,vivid
memories came flooding back of my first
day in school,
19,at intervals
1)sth,that happens at intervals happens
occasionally
E.g,The interview continued,with Smith
breaking off at intervals to consult his notes.
2) used to state the precise gap in time or
distance between things
E.g,There were red warning lights at
intervals along the street.
20,set aside
put (time or money) away for a special
purpose
E.g,I have a little money set aside for
emergencies.
My husband set aside half an hour every
morning to do sports.
21,race the clock
do sth,quickly in order to finish it in the
available time
E.g,The deadline will be due tomorrow,
We have to race the clock.
The semester is coming to an end,We have
to race the clock every day to prepare for
our final exams.
22,possess v,(fml) have or own
E.g,It is said that Michael possesses a
fortune of more than two billion dollars.
The number of nations that possess nuclear
weapons in on the rise.
23,bide one’s time
wait patiently for a chance
E.g,His political rivals are biding their time
until after the election for a chance to attack
his policies.
She bided her time,planning revenge.
24,charm
1) v,attract; give pleasure to
E.g,I was charmed by her slim figure and
soft voice.
2) n,pleasing quality; attractiveness
E.g.,Snowwhite and Seven Dwarves” has
never lost its original charm.
25 take in (usu,passive) cheat
E.g,She was so smart that she couldn’t be
taken in by her colleagues.
The students played a trick on their
teacher.Unfortunately he was taken in
completely.
26,despite adv,in spite of
E.g,Despite the fact that she fell midway
through the race,she won.
They had a wonderful holiday,despite the
bad weather.
Despite wanting to see him again,she
refused to reply to his letters.
27,have sth./little/much/nothing to do with
have some/little/much/no connection with
E.g,I am not sure what her job is,but it has
something to do with marketing.
His decision to move overseas has a lot to
do with his financial problem.
28,achieve/have one’s heart’s desire(s)
get sb./sth,you want very much
E.g,To achieve her heart’s desires,she had
to work from morning to night.
When she agreed to marry him he felt he
had achieved his heart’s desire.
29,a piece of cake
sth,that is very easy to do
E.g,Getting in tough with his overseas
friends via email is a piece of cake for the
old man,
Shopping on line is a piece of cake for the
five-year-old.
30,sophisticated adj,
1) worldly-wise; showing knowledge of the
world
E.g,Richard was still young,but he was
sophisticated enough to know when people
were not telling the truth,
2) advanced or complicated
E.g,The missile has a sophisticated
guidance system.
31,move on to
stop doing one thing and begin dealing with
the next
E.g,We’re about to move on to the second
stage of the project.
She ran this shop for ten years before
deciding to move on to the real estate
business.
32,investment (in) v,putting money in sth.
E.g,More and more people have the desire
to buy a house as an investment.
Buying shares in blue-chip companies is
always a sound investment.
Total foreign investment in America still
constitutes only a small portion of US assets.
Cultural Note
Feminism
In the 1960s feminism (=the belief that
women and men are equal in abilities and
should have equal rights and opportunities)
became the subject of intense debate when
the women’s liberation movement
encouraged women to reject their
traditional supporting role and to demand
equal status and equal rights with men in
areas such as employment and pay.
Since then the gender gap between the sexes
has been reduced,However the battle
between feminist and traditional views of a
woman’s role continues,It is widely
accepted by younger people that women
should,if they wish,be allowed to
develop their careers and not give
up work when they have a family.
Feminism has brought about many changes in the
English language,Many words for job titles that
included,man” have been replaced,for example,
“police officer”is used instead of,policeman” and
“chairperson”for,chairman”.,He” is now rarely
used to refer to a person when the person could be
either a man or a woman,The title,Ms” is used
for women instead of,Miss” or,Mrs”,since it
does not show whether a woman is married or not.
Post-Reading Activities
Text Organization
P a r t P a r a s M a in I de a s
O n e
1 - 3
D e s pit e he r f r ie n d ’ s a d v ic e,t h e a u t h or,un a ble
to r e s i s t t h e te m pta ti o n,f a ll s f or s u pe r w o m a n
s tor ie s a g a in,
T w o
4 - 7 T h e a u t h or e n c o un te r s w it h a s upe r w o m a n,
w h ic h in f lu e n c e s h e r a lot,
T h r e e 8 - 11
S h e te ll s a bo u t w ha t pr e v e n t s h e r f r o m
be c om in g a s u pe r w om a n h e r s e lf,
F ou r 12 - 14 S h e a n a l y z e s w hy s he is s ti ll f a s c i n a te d b y
m ode r n s u pe r w om a n ta le s,
F iv e 15 S h e c o m e s to t h e c o n c l us io n tha t to he r,
a dm ir in g a h e r oin e is s om e th in g w or th doin g,
Translation
achieve one’s heart’s desire
a piece of cake care for
corporation despite
get one’s act together
race the clock undo
芭芭拉梦想当一名执行总裁已有好长时间了。为了达到心中渴望的这一目的，她向多家跨国 (multi-national)公司申请工作，但都失败。
然而，似乎任何东西都不能使她气馁。不久前她利用当地一家银行的贷款，开了一家餐馆。
她边做生意边照料两个年幼的孩子。同时，她还攻读工商管理硕士 (MBA)学位。尽管如此，
她努力做到将自己的事情安排得井井有条。不过，即便对她来说，争分夺秒地工作也绝非易事。这是件十分累人的活儿。
Key
Barbara has dreamed of becoming a CEO for a long time,
To achieve her heart’s desire,she applied for a job in many
a multi-national corporation,but failed to get it,However,
nothing seems to be able to undo her,With a loan from a
local bank she opened a restaurant not long ago,While
doing business she is having two young children to care for,
Also,she is working at/studying for an MBA degree,
Despite all this she manages to get her act together,
Nevertheless,even to her,racing the clock is by no means
a piece of cake,It’s a very exhausting job.
Text B
Beginning
Anew
Words and Phrases
live for take/get/gain credit (for sth.)
party die of quit reaction
plead temporary renew soak up
at every opportunity weigh down
semester expensive stir plentiful
take back set out to do (sth.)
in control (of sth.) seek after
Comprehension Check
1,We can infer that the writer used to
prefer ____.
a,Mondays to Tuesdays
b,Wednesdays to Tuesdays
c,Fridays to Saturdays
d,Mondays to Sundays
2,The writer did not go to college at the
usual age because ____.
a,she was a young mother
b,she had to go to work to earn a living
c,she preferred to train as a journalist
d,she preferred having a good time to study
3,The word,snap” (para 8) here means
____.
a,a matter of great importance
b,a very tough job
c,a piece of cake
d,a heartbreaking thing
4,Looking back over her decision to leave
work and return to college she ____.
a,has no regrets
b,realizes she should have saved more first
c,feels sorry she made no friends
d,wishes she hadn’t broken down under the
pressure
That’s all!
Thanks for you attendance!
