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Unit 8Coping with an Educational Problem
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Before Reading
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Before Reading
1. A Brief Introdution to Fable2. Two Famous Fable
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A Brief Introduction to FableThe term fable refers to a short story in
which animals or inanimate objects speak and behave like humans, usually to give a moral point. The term comes from the Latin fabula, “a telling.”
The greatest teller of fables was Aesop. He was believed to be a Greek slave who lived in the 6th century B.C. Another great teller of fables was Jean de La Fontaine. He wrote in France in the 17th century. La Fontaine based many of his fables on those of Aesop.
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A Brief Introduction to FableSome of their best-known fables are
The Lion and the Mouse, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Fox and the Grapes, The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf, The Fox and the Crow, The Dove and the Ant, and The Fox and the Stork.
In the Chinese language, some idioms come from fables such as The Frog in the Shallow Well (井底之蛙 ) , His Spear against His Shield (自相矛盾 ),Making His Mark (刻舟求剑 ), Ostrich Logic (掩耳盗铃 ) and Blessing or Bane(塞翁失马 ).
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Two Famous FablesHere are some pictures about two
famous fables. One is an Aesop’s fable; the other is a Chinese one. In small groups, students are required to talk about the pictures and think of the following questions.
1.What are the names of the fables?
2.What lessons can we draw from the fables?Fables 1 Fables 2
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The First Fable
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The Second Fable
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The Fox and the GrapesOne day a fox passed under a vine.
From the vine a lot of grapes were hanging. He was very hungry and thirsty. He said, “What a fine vine it is! The grapes on the vine look very nice and sweet.” The color of the grapes was green. The grapes were very big. And the grapes were so big and beautiful that the fox wanted to eat them. The fox said, “I am thirsty and hungry. I want to eat the grapes now.” The fox jumped. The grapes were too high. He tried everything to get the grapes. But it was in vain. At last the fox said, “The grapes are too sour to eat. I don’t want to get the poor grapes.”
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Making His MarkA man from the state of Chu was
crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat. “This is where my sword fell off,” he said. When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword?
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Words & Expressions
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Detailed Reading
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 1~3
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run out of:
To our disappointment, our car ran out of gas halfway home.
use up or finish a supply of (sth.)
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“ You did that in your head?” she asked in amazement.
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1. What does the word “that” refer to?
2. What can we infer from this sentence?
It refers to “the author’s doing mental arithmetic.”
The children like the girl in the text are very poor at calculations and they can never do mental arithmetic at all.
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 4~7
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upset: vt.
They are terribly upset by/about the break-up of their parents’ marriage.
1) make (sb.) worry or feel unhappy . be upset by/about
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upset: vt.
The foreign food upset me/my stomach.
2) make ill in the stomach
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upset: vt.
The boy upset the glass of milk.
3) knock over
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ignorant: adj.
She was ignorant of her husband’s illegal activities. Otherwise she would have done everything possible to stop him.
knowing little or nothing ignorant of/about
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 8~9
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sum up:
Alice summed up her Christmas holidays in one word: “Terrible.”
give a brief summary (of sth.)
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compete: vi.
China is now competing with other countries for world market.
try to be better than (sb. else)
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accumulate: v.
Dust quickly accumulates if we don’t sweep our room.
collect, or gather together, esp.over a period of time; make or become greater in quantity or size
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affect: vt.
More than seven million people have been affected by the flood.
1) have an influence on
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affect: vt.
Martin Luther King’s speech deeply affected the audience.
2) cause feelings of sorrow, anger, love, etc, in (sb.)
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function:
The machine won’t function well if you don’t oil it.
1. vi. operate; act
The function of an adjective is to describe or add to the meaning of a noun.
2. n. a usual purpose (of a thing) or special duty (of a person)
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idle: adj.
The boy is really idle; he just lies on the bed all day.
1) lazy
Workers are left idle when machines break down.
2) not working
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idle: adj.
His words were just idle threats; he can’t harm us.
3) of no use
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break down:
The elevators in this building are always breaking down.
1) stop working
Talks between the two countries broke down when the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
2) fail
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break down:
They broke the door down.
3) destroy; reduce or be reduced to pieces
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 10~11
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drive home:
Peter was lazy. His parents tried to drive home to him the importance of hard work.
make (sth.) clear so that people understand itdrive sth. home (to sb.)
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 12
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luxury: n.
Champagne is a luxury they cannot afford.
1) a pleasant thing that is expensive, but not necessary (used as a countable noun)
He took over his father’s company and led a life of luxury.
2) great comfort, as provided by wealth (used as an uncountable noun)
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 13
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better off:
Nowadays Chinese people are better off than they used to be.
richer than you were before; more comfortable
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Kevin Hanley 1928 is far better off than either his father or his grandfather.
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1. What is the meaning of this sentence?
2. Why is he far better off than them?
It means that he is much richer than both his father and grandfather.
He is richer because he is literate. That’s to say, he can read and write.
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Paragraph 14
Detailed Reading
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scared: adj.
The lady has always been scared of snakes.
frightened
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Paragraph 15~16
Detailed Reading
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Paragraph 17~18
Detailed Reading
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Kevin 2020’s father, who is of course Kevin 1990
himself, works as a cleaner in a factory owned by the
Japanese.
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What can we infer from the fact that the factory in which Kevin 2020’s father works is owned by the Japanese not the Chinese or people from other countries?
It can be inferred that in the author’s opinion the Japanese are the symbol of success because of their hard work, education and discipline.
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Paragraph 19
Detailed Reading
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complex: adj.
The problem was so complex that there would be no easy solution.
1) difficult to understand or explain
When I visited Shanghai for the first time I got lost in the rather complex network of roads.
2) consisting of many closely connected parts
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 20
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decline:
Some people are worried that there will be a great decline in the stock market.
1. n. a gradual decrease in the quality, quantity, or importance of sth. (followed by in)
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decline:
Because of the measures taken by the new mayor, the crime rate in our city sharply declined in the past two years.
2. v. 1) move from a better to a worse position, or from higher to lower
2. v. 2) refuse, usu. politely (formal)
When he asked me to dance, I declined politely.
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acquire: vt.
Mr. Green acquired a lot of money in the oil business.
gain or come to possess by one’s own work, skill, action, etc.
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 21
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“America beat Japan in war?”
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What can we infer from the sentence?
We can infer from the sentence that Kevin 2050 is really very ignorant about history.
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astonish: vt.surprise very much; amaze
We were astonished to hear that he had passed his driving test.
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work and study and learn and discipline themselves.
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There are three words of “discipline” in this text (L.78, L.86, L.91). Tell the different meanings of them in Chinese.
The first “discipline” (L.78) means “ 训练” , the second (L.86) means “ 纪律” and the last one (L.91) means “ 约束” .
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Detailed Reading
Paragraph 22~24
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faculty: n.1) mental and physical abilities
For a woman of 85, she still has all her faculties.
2) all the teachers of a university or college
After seven years of study, he succeeded in joining the faculty of Columbia University.
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The End
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