Unit 7

The Virtues of

Growing Older

Teaching Objectives

Learn to write an argument Learn to tell subtle shades of difference

between synonyms Discuss how growing age bring changes to

our life

Before Reading Global Reading Detailed Reading After Reading

Before Reading

Most of us rejoice at growing up, which means we could enjoy much freedom and make our decisions. Poets exhaust their word in admiration for the flourishing youth. To be young is assumed to be promising. Few have ever praised old age. But this text is an exception.

Warm-up questions

What does growing older mean to you? How do you understand “growing older” in the

title of the text? Do you think the old and the young have

much in common? Watch A Little Romance (an excellent

example of friendship between an old man and two teenagers)

Global Reading

What changes occur to the author’s understanding of herself as she grows older?

How does the author develop her argument? Do you share she opinion?

Detailed Reading

Opening-up (paragraph 1-2) Development (paragraph 3-5) Conclusion (paragraph 6)

opening up

Questions

Does the American society worship old age or youth?

How does the author’s opinion differ from the assumption of the society?

Language Work

Paragraph 1 Our society worships youth.

Advertisements convince us to buy Grecian Formula and Oil of Olay…

Middle-aged folks work out in gyms and jog down the streets…

Paragraph 2 Wouldn’t any person over thirty gladly sign wi

th the devil just to be young again?

Being young is often pleasant, but being older has distinct advantages.

development

Questions

Were the author and her brother satisfied with their appearance when they were young?

How do they change when they are older? What are the two benefits of being older

according to the author?

Language Work

Paragraph 3 When young, you are apt to be obsessed with yo

ur appearance. …we worked feverishly to perfect the bodies we

had. Dave lifted weights, took megadoses of vitamins

… …in order to turn his wiry adolescent frame into

some muscular ideal.

We would be considered freaks. …Dave and I are beyond such adolescent

agonies. …he has actually become fond of his tall,

lanky frame. …we are no longer slaves to style. And women…have always seemed to

be at the mercy of fashion.

Paragraph 4 …I have already made many of the critical

decisions… I elected to return to college to complete my

education. But when you are young, major decisions

await you at every turn. It’s no wonder that, despite their carefree

façade, they are often confused…

Paragraph 5 It means trying on new selves by taking up

with different crowds. By way of contrast, forty is sanity. I no longer blame my parents for my every

personality quirk or keep a running score of everything they did wrong raising me.

conslusion

Paragraph 6 Most Americans blindly accept the idea that

newer is automatically better. But a human life contradicts this premise.

Worship

v. Have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration for God Have a strong feeling or respect and admiration for people or object

s often without being aware of their faultseg. As a child, I worshipped my older brother.

n. A strong feeeling of respect and admiration for God or a god, which i

s often shown through praying or singingeg. There have been sveral complaints entering places of worship.(=building for religious ceremonies or private prayer)

Something is liked too mucheg. In this era of fitness and health worship, people have become obsessed with exercise and dieting.

SynonymsAdore, esteem, cherish, revere, deify, adulate

Grecian Formula

Hair dye, which claims to restore the natural colour to graying hair

Work out

To exercise to improve physical fitness

Wouldn’t any person over thirty gladly sign with the devil just to be young again?

One would be ready to do anything, even to work for the devil just to be young again.

distinct

easily perceived, unquestionable

are apt to

have a tendency to, are likely to

be obsessed with

Unable to stop thinking about something; too interested in or very worried about something

eg. Why are people so obsessed with money?

feverishly

enthusiastically, extremely actively

megadoses

Large doses

Mega- large

eg. megabyte

megalith

megametre

Wiry

rather thin, but with strong muscles

freak, quirk

freak

n. an abnormally formed organism, especially a person or a

nimal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity.

eg. One of the new rabbits is a freak; it was born with only one ear.

a. unusual, abnormal

quirk

n. a peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncrasy.

Agony

Agony is something that is sad or tragic. Agony's a feeling.

eg. After my grandmother died, I was in agony for months.

lanky

thin and tall and tending to move awkwardly a a result

Synonyms:

Slender, lean, meager, bony, gaunt, weedy, scrawny

be slave to style

follow the fashion blindly

be at the mercy of …

be completed controlled by…

eg. drifting in an open boat, at the mercy of the current

Compare mercy with the following words:

leniency ， lenity ， clemency ， charity

critical

forming or having the nature of a turning point; crucial or decisive

eg. a critical point in the campaign

elect

to decide, especially by preference

eg. I elected to take the summer off.

await

fml. to wait for, or be waiting for something

eg. He is anxiously awaiting the result of the medical test.

despite their carefree facade

though they appear to be free of worries

It means trying on new selves by taking up with different crowds.

(Being young) means making friends with people from different background from time to time and taking up various identifications.

By way of contrast, forty is sanity.

In contrast with young age, being forty suggest steady mentality and farewell to changeable mood.

keep a running score of…

keep a detailed record of…

Most Americans blindly accept the idea that newer is automatically better.

Most Americans believe without a second though that being young is undoubtedly better than being old.

But a human life contradicts this premise.

But a human life does not follow this assumption.

After Reading

Summary Additional Exercise Oral work Writing

Summary

A. The text could be divided into three parts according to the development of sequence. Please write a summary for each part.

Opening-up (paragraph 1-2)

Development (paragraph 3-5)

Conclusion (paragraph 6)

B. Please use one sentence to summarize the main idea of the text.

Check the grammar exercises in the student book

Check the vocabulary exercises in the student book

Additional Exercise

The groups of words listed here are used to describe a person. Check them up in your dictionary and try to tell the difference between one another. Find an example for each word.

a. determined, obstinate, stubborn, pig-headedb. thrifty, economical, miserly, mean, tight-fistedc. self-assured, self-important, arrogant, full of oneselfd. assertive, aggressive, bossye. original, peculiar, weird, eccentric, oddf. frank, direct, open, blunt, abrupt, brusque, curtg. broad-minded, unprincipled, permissiveh. inquiring, inquisitive, nosyi. generous, extravagantj. innocent, naïvek. ambitious, pushy

Oral Work

A Discussion on A Little Romance How do you like Julius starred by Laurance O

liver in A Little Romance? Why he is loved by Lauren and Daniel?

B Opinion Pool

Carry out a survey on the following question. Collect information that stimulates brain storming.

Are you afraid of growing older? Why or why not?

Writing

Reorganize your ideas on the question and write an argument.