Lesson 9 Quick Fix Society

1. Lesson 9Quick Fix Society

2. Introduction to the Text • Structure • Introduction Para. 1—3 compare her ride on fast road to West Virginia and her return trip of a different route. • Body Para. 4---6 lists three ways Americans seek a quick fix. • Conclusion Para. 7---8 let’s slow down and enjoy what nature offers us and what mankind has left us and rediscover life

3. Words and Expressions • 1.gorgeous: • 1)splendidly or showily brilliant or magnificent; • e.g. a gorgeous Victorian gown; the pianist’s gorgeous technique • 2)(infml)delightful; e.g. He says that she is a gorgeous person. • 3)(infml)very beautiful (the meaning in the text); • Synonyms: magnificent, glorious, beautiful, grand, grandiose, imposing, majestic, stately, marvelous.

4. 2.Pastoral • (adj.) • 1)of or relating to or composed of shepherds or herdsmen; • 2)devoted to or based on livestock raising; • 3)of or relating to the countryside; not urban; • 4)pleasingly peaceful and innocent; • 5)of or relating to a pastor; • e.g. Rabbi makes pastoral visits every Tuesday.

5. (n.) • 1)a literary work (poem, drama, etc.) dealing with shepherds or rural life; • 2)a rural picture or scene; • Pastorale: A dramatic performance or opera, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, that was based on a rural theme or subject; • Synonyms: idyllic, rural, rustic

6. 3.Crowd • (vt.)1)to fill by pressing or thronging together; • e.g. The children crowded around the TV. • 2)to advance by pressing or shoving; • e.g. Reporters crowded toward the candidate. • 3)to draw or stand close to; • e.g. The batter(打击者) crowded the plate(本垒). • 4)(infml) to put pressure on; • e.g. Don’t crowd me, I’ll pay. • Synonyms: throng, crush, cram, horde, squeeze, press.

7. 4.Outlet • (n.) 1) a place or opening through which something is let out; exit; • 2) a stream flowing out of a lake or pond; • 3) a publication or broadcast organization; • e.g. media outlets; • 4)a market for commodity; • 5) an agency through which a product is marketed; • e.g. retail outlets; • 6) a receptacle for the plug of an electrical device;

8. 5.Deferred gratification • Defer: to postpone; to put off; adjourn; procrastinate; suspend; shelve; delay; • e.g. His military service was deferred until he finished college. • Gratification: satisfaction; • Gratify (v.): to give pleasure or satisfaction to; to satisfy( a desire); • e.g. It gratified me to know how soon she will be well again; • Now she has a job in France she can gratify her wish to Europe.

9. 6.Stuff • (n.)1)The material out of which something is made or formed; substance; • 2) The essential substance or elements; essence; • E.g. ““We are such stuff/As dreams are made on”( Shakespeare) • 4)(slang) money, cash; • 5)(slang) drug, esp. heroin; • stuff ( a space ) with something: • to fill with sth. • Eg: His wallet is always stuffed with coins.

10. (v.)1) to pack tightly; cram; • 2) to block; plug; • 3) to fill (the mind); e.g. stuffing their heads with facts; • “That’s the stuff!” That’s the right thing to do/say! • “Know one’s stuff” to be good at what one is concerned with; • “Stuff and nonsense!” That’s a stupid idea!

11. 7.Rack • (n.)1) a framework or stand in which or on which to hold, hang or display various articles; • 2) a framework for livestock feed; • 3) an instrument of torture on which the victim’s body was stretched; • 4) a cause of anguish or pain; • On the rack: under great emotional stress; • Off the rack (AmE)/ off the peg (BrE) • (of clothes) ready-made; made to a standard average size and nor made esp.to fit you.

12. 8.Bank words: • 1)account: a record or statement of money received or paid out, as by a bank or business, esp. for a particular period or at a particular date; money deposited in a bank account and subject to withdrawal by the depositor;

13. 2)accountant: a person whose job is to keep and examine the money accounts of businesses or people. • 3)loan:money lent at interest usu. At the borrower’s temporary use; • 4)check: a written order directing a bank to pay money as instructed; • 5)credit card: a card authorizing purchases on credit; • 6)teller:a member of a bank’s staff concerned with the direct handling of money received or paid out; • 7)deposit: something placed for safekeeping or as a pledge, esp. to put in a bank.

14. 9. Fast roads in the US • Highways: usually connect cities. • Superhighways: a road with many lanes. • Interstate highways: connect cities in different states, and sometimes go through several states. • Freeways: roads within a city on which you can drive without stopping, usu. have 3 or 4 lanes in each direction.

15. Expressways: fast roads in or near cities. Freeways and expressways are free. • Turnpike/ tollway: before you use a fast road you have to pay a small amount of money. • 10. antique cars: cars made in an earlier period and usu. valueable.

16. 11.more and more: • increasingly, to a steady increasing extend or degree. • Eg: when he first arrived, he rejected cheese. But more and more, he comes to like it. • 12.save (up) (for): • to keep and add to an amount of money for later use. • Eg: I’m saving (up) for my retirement. • They’re saving up for a trip to Europe.

17. 13.help sb. out: • to give sb. help at a time of need. • Eg: My friends helped me out when I lost my job. • 14.take out • to abtain an official document or service • eg: to take out a loan/ an insurance policy（保单）/ a mortgage （按揭，抵押贷款）

18. 15.not agree with sb. • (of food) to make you feel ill/ sick. • Eg: I love seafood, but it doesn’t agree with me.

19. 16.Linger (over/ on) • to continue to look at sth. • Eg: The detective lingered over some cigarette ash on the floor. • 17. pick out sb./ sth. • To choose carefully from a group of people or things. • Eg: He picked out the best wine for his parents. • She was picked out to speak on behalf of the class.

20. 18. devote sth to sb/ sth • to give an amount of time, attention, etc. to sb or sth • eg: No matter how busy he is, de devotes an hour a day to reading.

21. 19. more often than not • more than or at least half of the time. • Eg: Whenever I make a request, more often or not my parents reject it. • More often than not, the couple dine out in Chinese restaurants.

22. Text Analysis Can’t wait to do sth. • When I arrived at the railway station, I couldn't wait to see my parents. Stuff…with • His head is stuffed with silly notions • stuff a bag with things

23. Put away • We put a little of each paycheck away “for a rainy day”. • Put away all your books on the desk. The guest might come any time. • Please put all negative thoughts away. • The boy put away the dinner in just a few minutes.

24. to save up for • They are saving up for a vacation. to help out: help sb. in a difficult situation. • Who is helping out in the garden this afternoon? • I’ve often helped Bob out when he has been a bit short of money. to save sb. the trouble of doing sth. • Fast-food restaurant are popular because they save people the trouble of cooking.

25. off the rack/off the peg: ready made • on the rack: under great press • not agree with sb.: to be suitable, appropriate, pleasing, or healthful: Spicy food does not agree with me. • More often than not Nancy comes over on Saturday more often than not.

26. to get over with一劳永逸地做完(不愉快但不得不做的事), 把...做完了事 • He looked upon the marriage ceremony as a mere formality---- something to be got over with as quickly as possible. • Let’s get the goodbyes over with and go! to go back to • Let’s go back to what the chairman said before. (回过来谈） • The valentines’day goes back to Roman times. （可追溯到）

27. For four hours, our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again. (para.1) The 4-hour drive on fast roads was tedious; the only fun we had was to count the exit signs we were passing and to figure out how we’d feel if we stopped again.

28. We toured a Civil War battle field and stood on he little hill hat fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers had tried to take on another hot July afternoon, one hundred and twenty-five years ago, not knowing that half of them would get killed in the vain attempt. • We visited a Civil War battlefild and stood on the little hill. one hundred and twenty-five years ago, on a hot July afternoon, 15,000 soldiers fighting for slavery, while trying to occupy the hill, had no idea that they would fail and that half of them would be killed in the battle.

29. If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin, we saved up for it, and the banks helped us out by providing special Christmas Club and Vacation Club accounts. • If we wanted to buy some new furniture or spend a week at a lakeside, we could open special accounts at the banks to save money for it.

30. And if we are in a hurry to lose weight, we try the latest miracle diet, guaranteed to take away ten pounds in ten days… unless we’re rich enough to afford liposuction. • If we want to lose weight quickly, we try the most recent miracle diet which is said to be effective and is sure to make us lose a pound per day. If we are rich enough to pay for the operation, we can have our unneeded fat removed from our bodies.

31. Even out personal relationships have become compressed. Instead of devoting large parts of our days to our loved ones, we replace them with something called “quality time”, which, more often than not, is no time at all. • Even our personal relationships are affected. Instead of spending much of our time with our loved ones, we now talk about giving them full attention in the limited time after work. But usually we have no time to do that at all.

32. As we ruches from book to music to news item to relationship, we do not realize that we are living our lives by the iceberg principle--- paying attention only to the top and ignoring the 8/9 that lied just below the surface. • When we rush through books, music, news and relationship, we are paying attention to the surface and will never get into the heart of anything.