发布时间 : 星期六 文章新世纪大学英语综合教程第四册讲义Unit5更新完毕开始阅读07bc8d6682c4bb4cf7ec4afe04a1b0717fd5b339
第二讲 Unit 5 (Read: TextB)
(讲义)
一、教学目的
1. Enable students to learn some new words in this unit. 2. Enable students to understand the difficult sentences.
3. Enable students to know the true meaning of a simple life, the importance of living a simple life and how to live a simple life. 二、教学时数 2学时 三、教学方法: Discussion
四、教学重点： Learn the new words and expressions. plain ad. roll vt. standing a. fraction n. numerous a. downsize vt. 五、教学难点: The difficult sentences of Text B. 六、教学内容（详细具体）
Step I. Revision: dictate the new words of Text B.
Step II. Learn some new words
plain ad. infml completely 〖非正式〗完全地
e.g. When Stella realized that she was just plain lost in the jungle, she got scared.
The food was just plain terrible.
standing a. continuing in use or in force; permanent 长期存在的；长期有效的；长期不变的 e.g. Every point won by our basketball team received a wild, standing ovation (喝彩).
Israel has a relatively small standing army and its strength is based on its reserves.
numerous a. rather fml many 〖较正式〗许多的，很多的
e.g. Numerous books and movies have dealt with the issue of drug abuse. Despite numerous attempts to diet, her weight soared.
downsize vt. make (sth.) smaller 将（某物）改小
e.g. For the sake of convenience, you’d better downsize your luggage.
American manufacturing organizations have been downsizing their factories.
roll vt. form into a tube or other shape by curling round and round 卷；把……卷成筒状
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e.g. There’s a lot of work to do, so roll up your sleeves and get busy.
In mid-afternoon, shopkeepers began to roll down their shutters.
fraction n. [(of)] a very small piece or amount [常与of连用]小部分；少量；一点儿 e.g. The average income is high, though many people earn just a fraction of that average.
She hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding.
Expressions: look back eat out cut out write out
look back think of the past 回顾
e.g. Reviewing history involves looking back over what happened in a non-judgmental way.
Looking back, I am staggered how easily it was all arranged.
eat out have a meal in a restaurant 去餐馆吃饭
e.g. He proposed to eat out in a luxury restaurant to celebrate the special day.
We had to eat out all the time. It ended up costing a fortune.
cut out infml leave out; stop (esp. a harmful activity) 〖非正式〗戒除，改掉（坏习惯等），停止
e.g. Since my heart attack, I’ve cut out fatty foods altogether.
The doctor said I must cut overwork out.
write out fill out or complete (a sheet, check, or similar) in this way 填写（表格、支票等） e.g. Please will you write out the form with your name and address in full.
We had to write out a list of ten jobs we’d like to do.
Step III. Skim the text and find out the main ideas of each paragraph.
Step IV. Scan the text and detect the detail information of the text. ▇ Comprehension questions (Paras. 1-2)
Q: Why did the author want to change her lifestyle?
A: When she was in her early fifties, she got tired of working just for the luxuries of life. She wanted less stress and longed for a simpler lifestyle.
Q: What was the first step she took to achieve her goal — a simpler life?
A: She quit her job and took a positive attitude towards the subsequent changes in her life.
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▇ Comprehension questions (Paras. 3-5)
Q: How did the author prepare herself for the change in her lifestyle?
A: She listed on the paper all the changes that should be made, including planning carefully her husband’s income and trying to get additional sources of income. Q: What changes did she make toward her goal of a simpler life?
A: She canceled the regular weekly appointment at the beauty salon; she cut down on eating out; she sold her big house and moved into a smaller one; she downsized their possessions through garage and consignment sales.
Q: Why did the couple move to a smaller house?
A: Their previous house was too big and costly for the two of them, who were both yearning for a simpler lifestyle.
▇ Comprehension questions (Para. 6)
Q: What was the first problem the couple had to face after moving to the new home?
A: It took them some time to get used to the smaller home. The husband was not bothered much by its small size, but the wife had difficulty arranging her possessions, which still proved to be too many for her new home.
Q: What was the rule she set up for herself when tidying up her new home?
A: The rule was that she had to be able to see all three walls of any cupboard or closet to avoid clutter or unnecessary stuff.
▇ Comprehension questions (Paras. 7-14)
Q: Was the author good at managing the family purse in the past?
A: No, she did not have a significant savings program in the past, and she might have wasted a lot of the family financial resources on unnecessary stuff.
Q: How did she tackle the financial problems of not having enough savings?
A: She cut out all the unnecessary spending in her daily life, and she also became very careful in managing money. Below are some examples:
● She stripped down her wardrobe to basic clothes (Para. 8).
● She cancelled magazine subscriptions or daily newspaper (Para. 9).
● She started saving daily change and banking it in the savings account (Para. 10). ● She gave up the extra car (Para. 11).
● She carried only one credit card (Para. 12) and paid cash for daily expenses (Para. 12). ● She planned holiday carefully and spent less money on gifts (Para. 14). Q: Why did she become so frugal with money?
A: She wanted to live a simple lifestyle and she didn’t want to be compelled to take up a job again. Besides, she had come to know that if she “minded the pennies, the dollars would take care of themselves.”
Q: How did they manage to spend only a fraction of their original cost on nice gifts and holidays? A: They didn’t mean to cut out gifts and holidays. Instead, they made their holiday and purchase plans carefully, and they often looked for the special offers in shops. In this way, they could still enjoy holidays and prepare nice gifts on less money.
▇ Comprehension questions (Para. 15) Q: What is the couple’s life like today?
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A: They are now living a very simple and frugal life, free from stress and anxieties. They enjoy their new life very much, and feel happier and more secure than ever before. Q: What is the “secret” of their simple yet happy life?
A: The “secret”, if there is one, is that they base their life on their “needs”, not on their “wants”, and they know clearly what they need from life.
Step V. Paraphrase some difficult sentences. Difficult Sentences
1. The most reasonable and surest way to achieve my goal was to just quit the corporate world for good, and then deal with the aftermath in a very positive way. (Para. 2) Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?
A: If I wanted to live a simpler life, it would be best for me first to quit my job, and then to think positively of what was going to happen to my life. Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.
A: 为了达成目标，最理智而且最有把握的方式就是永久地离开公司圈子，然后能够坦然地处理其后果。
2. My husband could care less what type of house we lived in, but I had initial difficulty because nothing “fit” properly according to my former lifestyle.(Para. 6) Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?
A: My husband did not have any difficulty in adjusting to our new home, but I encountered some problems at the beginning because none of my possessions was suitable for the new home which was much smaller than the previous one.
Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.
A: 我丈夫可以不管我们住什么样的房子，但我在开始时却遇到了一些困难，因为根据我们先前的生活方式，没有一件东西排放到位。
3. I found that if I minded the pennies, the dollars would take care of themselves. (Para. 7) Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?
A: I realized that if I was careful in dealing with small sums of money, I could save a lot. Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese. A: 我发现，只有注意存小钱，才会积累出大钱。
4. Credit cards breed carelessness in me when it comes to handling money and yet cold, hard cash in my hand is likely to stay in my hand! (Para. 13)
Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?
A: Using a credit card makes my spending less careful. With a credit card, I tend to purchase things on impulse, but with hard cash in my hand, I am careful with my spending and can save money.
Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.
A: 花钱时，用信用卡会让我不假思索，而手里如果拿着冷冰冰、硬邦邦的现金很可能就不
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舍得花出去了！
5. Today, our lifestyle is very simple, very frugal but not stingy towards us or the things we want to do. (Para. 15)
Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?
A: Though we live a simple and frugal life, we do not deny ourselves of what we like and enjoy. We still live a happy and fulfilling life.
Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.
A: 现在，我们的生活方式很简单，很节俭但是对于我们自己或者我们想做的事情来说也不算是吝啬。
Step VI. Discussion: What is the true meaning of a simple life.
StepVII. Homework: Write about a simple life.
七、教学反思
Enable students think about the current trend of lifestyle.
Make a comparison of the lifestyle between Chinese and Western people.
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