Unit 2

Text 1 The Company Man

Text 2 Time to Take It Easy ------by Fan Jiaolan

About the Author of Text 1

Ellen Goodman Ellen Goodman, a Pulitzer prize winning columnist, author, speaker, and commentator who refuses to call herself a pundit. Ellen has long been a chronicler of social change in America, especially the women’s movement and its effects on our public and private lives.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you are supposed to

• the author’s purpose of writing

• the structure of the whole passage

• comprehend the topic sentences

• paraphrase

• get a list of new words and structures

• be aware of the cross-cultural differences

Lead in

What do you think is an ideal life?How important do you believe work is to a

person? How should one strike the right balance between work and leisure?

Many college students wish to become “white collar” in the future. What do you know about the life of “white collar”? Do you like the way they live?

Vocabulary Study

1.widow :n.→ widowed a. • She has been a widow for ten years. 她守寡十年了。 • It‘s really not easy for a widowed mother to

rear up four children.一个寡母要抚养四个孩子长大成人确实不易。

Vocabulary Study

2. nerve: n. → nervous a. → nerveless a.

• It takes nerve to be a racing driver.

当赛车手要有胆量。 • She gave a nervous laugh. 她胆怯地一笑。 • The knife fell from her nerveless fingers. 刀子从她那无力的手中落下。

Vocabulary Study

3.precise :a. →precision n. → precisely adv. • It was found at the precise spot where she had l

eft it. 那东西正好在她遗落的那个地点找到了。• Your report lacks precision. 你的报告不够准确。 • That is precisely what I mean.

那正是我的意思。

Vocabulary Study

4. compete: v. → competitive a. →competition n.

• Several companies are competing (against / with each other) for the contract / to gain the contract.

几家公司正为争取一项合同而互相竞争。• Our firm is no longer competitive in world market

s.

我们公司在世界市场上已不占优势。

Vocabulary Study

5. execute: v. → execution n. • He was executed for treason. 他因叛国罪被处死。 • The plans were finally put into execution.

这些计划最终得以实施。

Vocabulary Study

6. preside: v.→ president n. → presidency n.• The Prime Minister presides at meetings of t

he Cabinet. 首相主持内阁会议。 • He was made president of the cricket club. 他被任命为板球俱乐部会长。• He was elected to a second presidency.

他获选连任总统。

Vocabulary Study

7. marry: v. → marital a. → marriage n.

• Which priest is going to marry them?

哪位牧师来为他们主持婚礼 ? • A fading woman in her 40s, Larisa had both

drinking and marital problems.

拉丽莎 40 几岁，徐娘半老，爱喝酒，婚姻也不如意。

Vocabulary Study

8. company ： n. → accompany v. → companion n.

• You may know a man by the company he keeps. 观其友则知其人。

• I must ask you to accompany me to the police station.

我得要求你陪我去一趟警察局。 • A dog is a faithful companion. 狗是忠实的伙伴。

Vocabulary Study

9.obituary ： a notice of someone‘s death; usually ： includes a short biography n. 讣告

• I never want to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure

• Six months ago, his campaign was broke and its obituary was in every paper, including this one.

Vocabulary Study

10. workaholic: person with a compulsive need to work 工作狂 *A workaholic lives to work, rather than works to live.

In America, it is generally thought that being a workaholic is unhealthy and harmful.

holic: 意为沉迷于某事，表示对某件事情非常热衷，无法 意为沉迷于某事， 意为沉迷于某事 表示对某件事情非常热衷， 自拔，不单独使用，做形容词词尾。 自拔，不单独使用，做形容词词尾。

Vocabulary Study

如： beerholic 嗜好啤酒 colaholic 嗜好可乐成癖 movie-holic 嗜 酒成癖 teleholic 嗜好看电视成癖、好电影成癖 alcoholic 嗜酒成癖的

Vocabulary Study

11. conceivably ： within the realm of possibility ad. 可以想象地 可相信地 可以想象地 , 可相信地， conceive: vt./ vi. 想象，想出 想象

• Conceivably, he is telling the truth for once. • He conceives of society as a jungle where only the

fittest survive. • I find it hard to conceive that people are still treate

d so badly.

Vocabulary Study

12. executive: a person responsible for the administration of a business n. 高级管理人员

• sales executive 销售主管 销售主管 • She is now a senior executive having worke

d her up through the company.

Vocabulary Study

13.survive ： vt. live longer than 比…活得长 幸免于 活得长

• Many parents expect that their children will survive them.

• I hope I shall never survive my usefulness. 我希望不要活成无用的人。

Vocabulary Study

14. board ： vt. & vi. 搭伙 寄宿 收费为 ……供膳宿 寄宿； n. 伙食，膳食，伙食

• When you went to school were you a day-student or did you board?

• She boarded a lodger at her house. • How much does it cost per week for board and lod

ging( 伙食和住宿费 )

Vocabulary Study

15. deceased ： a./ n. someone who is no longer alive 已故的 死者 已故的； decease n./ v. 死亡

• They wept for the deceased. • Both her parents are deceased.• mourn a deceased friend• Upon his decease the house will pass to his

wife.

Vocabulary Study

16. lineup: a line of persons arranged by police for inspection or identification n. 人 ( 或物的列队，阵容 )

• The TV show featured a great lineup of performers.

• have a strong lineup 阵容强大

Pre-reading Questions

What do you think of is the life of a typical

workaholic like?

Do you have any workaholic around you ?

Main Idea of Text 1

In a colloquial style, the author paints an ironic picture of the cutthroat life of a compman and his family,the man was a workaholic who died of a heart attack

Which surprised no one. His wife lost him years ago to his work, and his children did not know well.

Structure Analysis

The passage can be divided into five parts.Part One: (Paragraph 1) the first paragraph

announces bluntly Phil’s death, which is the starting point of all the following events.

Part Two: (Paragraph 2-6) this part give us a detailed portrait of the company environment in which Phil had been working.

Structure Analysis

Part 3: (Paragraph 7-13) this part shows the rest part of Phil’s world---his family, where lay problems no less serious than those in his job, paragraph 13 serves as a conclusion of these 6 paragraphs.

Part 4: (Paragraph 14-15) this part is a kind of refrain, not only making the theme clearer, but also preparing the readers emotionally for the impact of the ending.

Structure Analysis

• Part 5: (Paragraph 16) this paragraph is the end, but it seems the beginning of another tragedy• What is the implication of the ending?• Do you think it is a sheer waste of life to die so

young for working so hard? What can you learn from the death of Phil?

Language Work

Type A: The type A and Type B personality theory is a personality type theory that describes a pattern of behaviors that were once considered to be risk factor for coronary heart disease. Since its inceptions in the 1950s, the theory has been widely popularized and also widely criticized for its scientific shortcomings. Type A individuals can be described as impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about their status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation. Type B individuals, in contrast, are described as patient, relaxed, and easy-going. There is also a type AB mixed profile for people who cannot be clearly categorized.

Language Work

Three of them will be seriously considered for his job: three of the man who work under him will be considered seriously by the top leader of the company to take up the vacancy left by Phil.

Heart –attack natural: it is believed that people of Type A personality are more likely to get coronary heart disease.

Language Work

I already have: the implied meaning of Phil’s wife is that even when Phil was still live, since he stayed at home for so little time and had so little communication with her, she had already got the feeling of losing him.

“Missing him all these years” she must have given up part of herself which had cared too much for the man: this pointedly comments on how their lack of time together had smothered some of her feeling for her husband.

Language Work

…he went around the neighborhood researching his father: since Phil had so little communication with his eldest son when he was alive, the information about his father was so little for the son to make some commemorative remarks in the funeral. So he had to do research on his father by inquiring among the neighbors. But the neighbors were embarrassed because they hardly knew Phil, either.

Rhetorical Features

To make his writing more effective, the

author uses repetition and parallelism

You are required to find one or two

examples to show how the author use the

Rhetorical Features

Writing Tasks

Write an essay of no less than 250 words

with the title: career and family, which is

more important?

Translation Exercises Ⅱ

1. My immediate boss is a typical workaholic, for he works for over ten hours each day all the year round.

2. The principal attaches much importance to extracurricular activities and he believes that they will help to cultivate students‘ tremendous interest in the external world.

3. He always grabs a shower, a sandwich and then a taxi to go to work every Monday morning.

4. Since you are leaving the company, you should straighten out the accounts with the week.

Translation Exercises Ⅱ

5. He often stays up late at light in order to finish writing his Ph.D dissertation on time

6. Nothing can replace the profoundest love in one‘s heart of hearts.

7. He is considered a natural for the post of the president, for he has been an excellent vice president for almost ten years.

8. He is just too common to be picked out from the crowd.

Text 2---Time to Take It Easy The Book:

Workers of the world, relax.

Instruction of Book: Workers of the world, relax.

There are approximately seven billion people on the earth today. As population continues to grow it is becoming clear that the planet is not as big as we once thought it to be; it is also becoming obvious that humans are wreaking havoc upon the environment. The big question we have been trying to solve for the past 100 years is, "how do we maximize production and produce more and more stuff?"

Instruction of Book: Workers of the world, relax.

The big question we now face is, "what do we do with all the junk and pollution we have created?". To make matters worse, we now seem more determined than ever to work harder and produce more stuff, which creates a bizarre paradox, we are proudly breaking our backs to decrease the carrying capacity of the planet.So what is the solution?A great beginning would be to reduce the industrial workweek.

Instruction of Book: Workers of the world, relax.

We would consume less, produce less, work less, pollute less and live more. Providing that the remaining work be distributed among more people, an industrial slow-down could have the additional benefit of reducing unemployment. This is a simple concept which has not garnered much attention. This book tackles the ideological constraints to environmental sustainability and proves how a reduced workweek can help solve many of our social and environmental problems.

Analysis of Text 2---Time to Take It Easy The passage is neatly structured in accordance

with the development of ideas. It falls into five parts.

In the first part (paragraph 1-2), the author presents two contrasting picture of what continental Europeans, Britons, and Americans do in summer, thus introducing the theme of the essay---how to view the work-leisure issue.

Analysis of Text 2---Time to Take It Easy The second part (paragraph 3-4) tells the readers t

hat the differences largely lie in people’s attitudes to work.

The third part(Pa.5-8) and the fourth part(Pa.9-12) elaborate on the two different attitudes.

In the last part(Pa.13-14) Professor Gini explain the true meaning of “being lazy”---it simply means “to take it easy” as suggested by the title of the essay.

A Topic for Discussion

Why it is important to balance work and life? Tips :Work-life imbalance is a public-health crisis and a

major drain on our economy. Stress is having a direct impact on our health, causing everything from heart disease and memory loss to infertility and obesity.It‘s a vital issue for businesses, facing escalating absenteeism and growing challenges with retention and recruitment. It‘s affecting our home lives as well, wearing on marriages and affecting the kids. But still, there is resistance to reeling ourselves in.

Memorable Quotes

The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise

--------BibleWhat is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and star

-------William Henry Davies