unit10-The-idiocy-of-urban-life-自作

1、Unit 10The idiocy of urban lifeHenry FairlieTeaching Schedule1.1 background information1.2Pre-reading Questions1.3 Words and Expressions1.4 Analysis of the Text 2.1 Text Study2.2 Rhetorical features of the text3.1 Summary3.2 Exercises1.1 Background information The author Henry Fairlie :(19241990)was

2、 a British expatriate political journalist and social critic. Sometimes mistakenly believed to have coined the term the Establishment, an analysis of how all the right people came to run Britain largely through social connections, he spent 36 years as a prominent freelance writer on both sides of th

3、e Atlantic, appearing in The Spectator, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and many other papers and magazines. He was also the author of five books, most notably The Kennedy Promise, an early revisionist critique of the U.S. presidency of John F. Kennedy. In 2009, Yale Universit

4、y Press published Bite the Hand That Feeds You: Essays and Provocations (ISBN 9780300123838), an anthology of his work edited by Newsweek correspondent Jeremy McCarter.More information about him : /identities/lccn-n79-26692 http:/ http:/books.google.nl/books/about/The_Parties.h

5、tml?hl=zh-CN&id=jBNMuGB-FmwC What do you think the differences between city life and country life ? Lets look at some pictures to find out together .Country lifeGreen Urban lifemodernThe differences City Busy, flourishing, advanced, modern More chances, fortune, adventure Artificial indifferent

6、Countryside Quiet, peaceful, clean, beautiful A sense of belonging, security Natural harmony1.2 Pre-reading Questions Do you live in country or city ? Where do you prefer to live in ? Why ?1.3 Words and expressions 1. cruise v. (of a vehicle or its driver) travel smoothly (at an efficient/moderate s

7、peed)The plane is cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet.Many taxies cruised around the streets in search of passengers. 2. reign v. hold royal office ; prevail ; hold sway It is the rats that reign urban life according to the author. n. in the reign of William II3. congregate v. collect or gather i

8、nto a mass or crowdWhy do people like to congregate in large cities? congregation n. Touched by her singing, the congregation applauded in delight. 4. disdain v. think oneself superior to ; reject Do you think those living in cities disdain rural life? What do people usually disdain? disdain vulgar

9、practices /dishonesty /flattering etc. Our new neighbors seem to be disdaining to speak to us. 5. Simulation n. imitation of the conditions of (a situation etc ); resemblancePeople try to create simulation of rural life by planting large patches of grass and prim new trees. I was quite deceived by h

10、er simulation of sorrow. simulate v. imitate; give appearance ofIn cheap furniture, plastic is often used to simulate wood. Anne simulated pleasure at seeing Simon, but she wished he hadnt come. 6. pretense/pretence n. a false show of intentions or motives pretend v. The boy didnt come to the class

11、under the pretence of sickness. You cant keep up the pretence any more. pretend to be asleep/ill7. precondition n. a prior condition that must be fulfilled before other things can be done Can you tell as many words with the prefix “pre” as you can? preview, prelude, prepare, preschool, preposition,

12、prehistoric, preface8. exertion n. efforts or endeavors He was painting the house with exertion. physical exertion exert v. exert all ones strength exert ones influence on sb.9. grievous a. causing grief or suffering 令人傷心或痛苦的 e.g. He survived in spite of suffering grievous injuries.盡管身受重傷，他還是活下來了。 a

13、dv : 嚴(yán)重的,沉重的 e.g. Their loss would be a grievous blow to our engineering industries.失去它們將會是對我們工程行業(yè)的一個沉重打擊。10. insolence n. arrogance ; contempt e.g. Pupils could be excluded from school for insolence.學(xué)生可能會因目無師長而被開除。insolent a. 侮慢的，無禮的e.g. Dont be insolent with me, mademoiselle .小姐，請不要對我無禮。11.Solitud

14、e n. the state of being alone ,especially when this is peaceful and pleasant. 獨(dú)處，獨(dú)居 e.g. Imagine long golden beaches where you can wander in solitude.想象一下那長長的金色海灘吧，在那里你可以獨(dú)自徜徉。 solitudinarian n. 隱士，遁世者1.4 Analysis of the Text This text taken from The Seven Deadly Sins Today published by New Republic

15、Books in 1987. the title of the text inverts an oft-quoted remark about “ the idiocy of rural life” that appears in the English translation of The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels.Structural analysis of the text Part One : Paragraphs 1-2 Part Two : Paragraphs 3-9 Part 3 : Paragraph 10 Part One

16、 (Paragraphs 1-2): In this part, the author presents the thesis of his argument: aggressively individualistic and atomized urban life today goes against both the purpose of the city and the human nature, and thus is foolish. Part Two (Paragraphs 3-9): In this part, the author provides evidences for

17、the idiocy of urban life. Para. 3-4: discussing the pretense of city dwellers when they try to live outside the city boundariesPara. 5-6: putting forward the point that city work is an unreal environmentPara. 7: proving that the city dwellers live and work in an unreal environmentPara. 8-9: showing

18、the damage done by the office work to the physical conditions of the workers Part 3 (Paragraph 10): In this part, the writer summarizes the idiocy of urban life and the ultimate reasons for this phenomenon. On the one hand, city dwellers try to simulate rural life, and on the other hand, they disdai

19、n and mock this life. 2.1 text studyQuestions for discussion from paragraphs 121.What is urban life like at night?2.What does the author think of the human urban life? paragraphs 1-2 1. civil a. polite and formalHis manner was civil, though not particularly friendly. more often: civil war civil offi

20、cial civil case civil law 2. All work that has to be done at those hours is useful in bakeries, for example. Even the newspaper presses stop turning forests into lies. What do the sentences imply? A metaphoric and cynical way of saying things, meaning:”doing propaganda work on paper”3. With their pi

21、nk ears and paws, sleek, well- groomed, their whiskers combed, rats are true city dwellers. with + n/porn + adj. She left the classroom with the door open . Dont talk with your mouth full .with + n/porn + done The fellow stood there with his hands crossed 4. But after 6 a.m., the two-legged, daytime

22、 creatures of the city begin to stir; and it is they, not the rats, who bring the rat race. 在強(qiáng)調(diào)句型中，能夠被強(qiáng)調(diào)的句子成分通常為主語、賓語、狀語等。當(dāng)被強(qiáng)調(diào)部分為sb.，且在句中作主語時，可用who，也可用that，其它情況一律用that。強(qiáng)調(diào)主語時，that后的謂語動詞必須與被強(qiáng)調(diào)的主語人稱與數(shù)保持一致。 e.g.: I am going to meet my friend at the airport tomorrow.It is I who am going to meet my friend

23、 at the airport tomorrow.(強(qiáng)調(diào)主語) It is my friend that Im going to meet at the airport tomorrow.(強(qiáng)調(diào)賓語) It is at the airport that Im going to meet my friend tomorrow.(強(qiáng)調(diào)地點(diǎn)狀語)It is tomorrow that Im going to meet my friend at the airport.(強(qiáng)調(diào)時間狀語) 注：除謂語的其他部分都可強(qiáng)調(diào)。判斷一個句子是否為強(qiáng)調(diào)句，去掉It is，that，如果句子仍然完整則是，相反則不是。

24、 the rat race : a term often used to describe excessive work in fierce competition to maintain ones position in work or life. 爭斗，爭斗，商業(yè)競爭商業(yè)競爭 He got out of the rat race because he wanted to take a look at the real world. 5. Urban life today is aggressively individualistic and atomized（做后置定語，修飾前面的urba

25、n life ). Questions for discussion from paragraphs 3-91.What is the authors evidence that city dwellers try to simulate rural life?2.What is it that attracts city dwellers to the country? 3.What characteristics does the author think city worker has?4. What is the most symbolic lunacy of all urban li

26、fe? Why?5. Why cannot city dwellers have any true sense of season changes?6. What causes Americans to be the most round-shouldered in the world?Paragraphs 3-91.Disdaining rural life, they try to create simulations of it. (Paraphrase) Paraphrase : Although they dislike and scorn rural life, they atte

27、mpt to imitate it.2.No effort is spared to spare no effort: try every meansWe must spare no effort to maintain social stability. All of us should spared no effort to support environmental protection project.我們都應(yīng)該不遺余力地支持環(huán)保項目。3. head v. 朝著/向著去 head for the library, head west head to Beijing4. the Hamp

28、tons ： the four towns on the southeast coast of Long Island. Long Island : located just east of Manhattan on the southeastern tip of New York, Long Island is comprised of four counties : Brooklyn ,Queens , Nassau and Suffolk . City dwellers take the city with them to the country, for they will not l

29、ive without its pampering. People in the city create all kinds of city vogues when they go to the country, for they cannot live without the fashionable things of city life5. Soon the countryside will be just as nourishing to them, as the city dwellers take their filth with them. asas，和一樣 as : adv. e

30、qually My sister smile as sweetly as an apple. conj. becauseHe went to bed early, as he was so tired. 6. At the same time they maintain the pointless frenzy of their work hours in their hours off. Paraphrase ：when the time to brake , they also try best to keep their unmeaningful work time .7. It mer

31、ely means that to the rush-hour traffic into the city there is now added a rush-hour traffic out to the suburbs in the morning and back around and across the city in the evening. Paraphrase : there is now a rush-hour traffic out to the suburbs in the morning and back around and across the city in th

32、e evening added to the rush-hour traffic into the city. 8. As the farmer walks down to his farm in the morning, the city dwellers is dressing for the first idiocy of his day, which he not only accepts but even seeks the journey to work. as: while, at the same time that 當(dāng)?shù)臅r候 which: the first idiocy o

33、f his day 9. The windows are a scandal The windows are disgraceful Their affair created a scandal in the office. 10. Thus it is not surprising that the urban worker has no knowledge of the season. 對一無所知E.g. :Many Americans have no knowledge of Chinese history, geography and culture.11. but no true s

34、ense of the rhythms of the seasons is to be had from a lawn in the backyard and a few spindly trees struggling to survive.Paraphrase ：but from a lawn in the backyard and a few long and thin trees that struggle for life the city dwellers do not have the true sense of season changes. 12. The city dwel

35、ler reels from unreality to unreality through each day, always trying to recover the rural life that has been surrendered for the city lights. Paraphrase ：always trying to get back the rural life that has given way to city lights.13. Electric typewriters cut down the amount of physical exertion need

36、ed to hit the keys; the buttons of a word processor need even less effort, as you can tell from the posture of those who use them. cut down: reduce as: becauseQuestion for discussion in paragraph 10: What is the example of a Douglas fir used to illustrate? It is used to illustrate that city dwellers ridiculously simulate rural life and have no true communications with nature. pensate for: make up for Nothing can compensate for the loss of time. 光陰一去不復(fù)返。2.