Unit 1 Changes in the Way We Live

1. Unit 1 Changes in the Way We Live Meng Ling

2. Cultural Notes E(lwyn) B(rooks) White (1899-1985) • Leading American essayist and literary stylist of his time. White was known for his crisp, graceful, relaxed style. • From 1929 White worked for The New Yorker's weekly magazine, remaining in its staff for the rest of his career. • White's favorite subjects were the complexities of modern society, failures of technological progress, the pleasures of urban and rural life, war, and internationalism. He was skeptical about organized religion, and advocated a respect for nature and simple living.

3. Ivy League It refers to the eight long-established colleges and universities in USA with prestigious academic and social reputations. Its members go as follows: 1)Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; 2)Columbia University in New York City; 3)Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; 4) Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; 5) Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; 6)University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia; 7)Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey; 8)Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

4. Brown University

5. Columbia University

6. Cornell University

7. Dartmouth College

8. Harvard University

9. University of Pennsylvania

10. Princeton University

11. Yale University

12. If you want to know more about these schools, you are welcomed to log on to their websites: Brown University www.brown.edu Columbia University www.columbia.edu Cornell University www.cornell.edu Dartmouth College www.dartmouth.edu Harvard University www.harvard.edu University of Pennsylvania www.upenn.edu Princeton University www.princeton.edu Yale University www.yale.edu

13. Sports Illustrated This is a popular US sports magazine published each week by Time Inc (Incorporated), part of Time Warner. It first appeared in 1954, and is read mainly by men.

14. Individual Retirement Account (IRA) This is a US government program that allows people to put part of their income into special bank accounts. No tax has to be paid on this money until they retire.

15. Insurance Insurance policy: A written contract or certificate of insurance. Insurance provider: 1)the financial stability of the insurance company; 2)the price of policies; 3)details of coverage and service. Most insurance falls into four main categories: 1)property and casualty (意外伤害）; 2)life; 3)health; 4)old-age and unemployment.

16. People commonly choose an insurance provider based on several criteria. Some of the most important of these include: • the financial stability of the insurance company • the price of the policies • details of coverage and services

17. Text Comprehension Part 1 Para 1 Where does the author’s contentment come from? Para 2 What kind of life is a self-reliant ? Para 3 What kind of life is satisfying ?

18. I’m not in E. B. White’s class as a writer or in my neighbors’ league as a farmer, but I am getting by. • Our hens keep us in eggs, with… Our bees provides us with honey…and we cut enough wood to just about make it through the heating season. • In the summer we canoe on… In the winter we ski and skate. We love the smell of the earth warning and… We watch for hawks in the sky and deer in the cornfields.

19. Part 2 Para 4 Please describe the tough farm life by the words listed below: 30 below, hauling firewood up the river 95 above, cultivate corn; weed strawberries; kill chickens; recently, retile the back roof soon, make some long-overdue improvements later this month, spray the orchard; paint the barn; plant the garden; clean the hen house

20. Part 2 Para 5 What does the writer do in between the chores? What does his wife do? Freelancer Demanding schedule Household routine There is, as the old saying goes, not rest for the wicked, on the place like this—and not for the virtuous either.

21. Part 2 Para 6 A specific example of their hard but happy life. Para 7 What are the two floods the spring brings? The river overflowed, covering our lands for weeks. The growing season swamp us under wave after wave of produce. -- metaphor

22. Part 3 Para 8 The second year on the farm I quit my job and start to freelance. At that point the timing was terrible. Will there ever be a better time? Decidedly/definitely/undoubtedly/absolutely NO.

23. Part 3 Para 9 Achievements in writing life. There have been a few anxious moments since then, but on balance things have gone much better than we had any right to expect.

24. Part 3 Para 10 Our usual expenses: How do we managed our life. Generate enough income. Handle mortgage payments and family expenses. What are the expenses we have to cover? Aside from / except for / in addition to /apart from Set aside / put aside / reserve / save

25. Part 3 Para 11 Their entertainment life. – without lowering our standards of living. Dine out Attend the opera and ballet Combine vacations with story assignments

26. Part 4 Para 12-13 What are the special quality required for life on a farm? a tolerance for solitude. a lot of energy.

27. Part 4 Para 14 What will the future be? Maybe quite a while; maybe not… – leave with a feeling of sorrow but also with a sense of pride. – made a profit.

28. Part 4 Para 15 Restate their purpose to come to the farm life. We come here to improve the quality of our lives.

29. Techniques employed by the author • Comparison and contrast • Topic sentences followed by detail sentences • Use of transitional devices

30. The Pattern of “One Topic Sentence + Several Detail sentences” Structure • Easy for readers to grasp the main idea • Writes in a clear and logical way

31. The detail sentences run parallel to each other, like those in Para 2. • The detail sentences have their own hierarchy. Take Para 5 for example. The first sentence tells how busy “I” am. The second sentence states that Sandy, the wife, is also busy. The final sentence is a kind of summary – nobody can relax. Yet the second sentence is following a few more detail sentences showing exactly how tight a schedule Sandy has.

32. Take Para 12-13 for another example. The topic sentence herein is “I suspect not everyone who loves the country would be happy living the way we do. It takes a couple of special qualities.” Then there are two sub-topic sentences: “One is a tolerance for solitude”; “The other requirement is energy – a lot of it.” Each subtopic sentence has its own supporting details.

33. Transitional Devices • Sometimes there are no transitional devices between detail sentences, sometimes there are, the most frequently used of which is time words or phrases. For example, the detail sentences in Para 4 begin with “three months ago”, “three months from now”, “recently” and “later this month”, respectively. • Other transitional words are used, such as in Para 7, “first” – “then” – “then” – “eventually”.

34. Discussion:City life vs. Country life City life: Advantages:Disadvantages Overpopulation Air pollution Noise Heavy traffic High crime rate Fierce competition and stress Indifference in interpersonal relationship Higher living standard Convenient transportation Health care Better education More job opportunities entertainment

35. Country life Advantages:disadvantages * Fresh air * Healthy food * Self-sufficiency * Peaceful life * More leisure time * less pressure * Closer personal relationship * Remote & backward * Underdeveloped * Inconvenience in life * Not well-informed of the outside world * Hard manual labor * Low income

36. American attitudes towards changes: Americans might be a nation most used to changes who believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you’re falling behind. Traditions can be a guide, but not necessarily superior. Better and better ways can be found. Life is in constant change. It’s neither the strongest nor the most intelligent of a species that will survive, it is those who are most adaptable to changes. This pursuit of perfection leads to American’s positive attitude towards change and results in a nation of people committed to researching, experimenting, and exploring.

37. American ideals: civil liberties, balance of powers, environmental protection, cultural diversity, equal economic opportunity and spiritual freedom Key words: self-made success, value of manual work; individuality, nature

38. 1. get by: manage; survive. How can he get by on such low wages? It is a little bit difficult for the old to get by on such a small pension. 2. make it: 1) to be successful in one’s career. He’s never really made it as an actor. 2) to succeed in reaching a place after difficulty, effort, etc It was a terrible journey but we finally made it. 3) to attend sth. I am afraid I won’t be able to make it to your party next week.

39. 3. haul: 1) transport, as with a truck, cart, etc. • The farmers haul vegetables to the market on a truck every day. • The rescue team hauled medical supplies and food to the flooded village. 2) pull or drag sth. with effort or force • I got stuck in the in the mud and the others had to haul me out. • Rescue workers hauled passengers out the bombed commuter train.

40. 4. improvement: the act or an instance of improving or being improved. • Internet service providers should develop security improvement services for their customers. • The government’s priorities will go to local transport improvement projects

41. 5. supplement: to add to or complete with sth else. (followed by with) • My doctor suggested a diet supplemented with vitamin tablets. • He works in the evenings to supplement his student grant. 6. indoor: situated or used inside a building. • Indoor pollution has been found to be as much as five to ten times higher inside some skyscrapers than outside. • The Mall of America, the biggest mall in USA includes the world’s largest indoor amusement park. 7. spray: force out liquid in small drops upon (followed by with) • A car went past and sprayed me with water.

42. 8. pursue: to strive to gain or accomplish • pursue lofty political goals / pleasure / one's studies • Public evening classes allow people to earn a living during the day and pursue vocational and intellectual interests in their spare time. • After graduation Martin chose to pursue the same career as his father as a minister. n. pursuit: the pursuit of higher education

43. 9. stack: make into a pile • After she did the dishes, Mon started stacking them on the draining-board. • Before being processed into lumber, the wood must be carefully stacked to prevent warping.

44. 10.wicked: evil or bad • I would rather starve in a ditch than accept the fortune upon such wicked terms. • We are born good, but can be taught to be wicked. 11. get through: come successfully to the end. • The local government has taken some measures to ensure that all the people will get through the winter. • She got through the entrance examination, and was accepted by the college.

45. 12.on balance: with all things considered. • Their suggestion has, on balance, proved practicable. • On balance, it’s probably not advisable to change the company’s name. 13.illustrate: provide with visual feature; clarify by use of examples, etc. • The editor has illustrated the book with black-and-white photographs. • His story illustrates her true generosity very clearly.

46. 14.generate: bring into being; give rise to • generate heat / power / employment / enthusiasm • The widespread use of English in France has generated a public as well as an academic debate over language in the country. 15. pick up: be ready to pay • If he loses the case, Michael will have to pick up the bill for legal costs. • Taxpayers will be picking up the tab for the improved public transport net work. 16. minor: smaller, less serious or less important than others • minor repairs / operations / injuries / role in a play

47. 17. cut back: reduce in size or amount (cut back sth./ on sth.) • If we don’t sell more goods, we’ll have to cut back (on) production. • After NPC, the government decided to cut back military spending to ensure more on infrastructure. 18. dine out: eat a meal away from home ( usu. in a restaurant) • More people have accepted the growing trend of dining out on weekend. • As more working mother appear, many families have to dine out.

48. 19. patronize: go to as a customer. • The restaurant featuring French dishes is patronized by a lot of politicians and journalists. • When he was a student, Mark often patronized the little shop near the college due to its inexpensive goods.

49. 20. suspect:believe to be true, likely or probable; feel doubt about ( used in the patterns: suspect sb./ sth. of sth.; suspect that ) • USA banned domestic poultry imported from China, suspecting that they might have been infected with bird flu. • It was perfectly all right, Henry said, because the police had not suspected him of anything.

50. 21.budget: A systematic plan for the expenditure of a usually fixed resource, such as money or time, during a given period • A new car will not be part of our budget this year. • The low-budgeted film “ Lost in Translation” was an instant success in the Academy Award.