Unit 9Text A

I'm Toast in the Battle

Against "Smart"

Appliances

Work today1. A review of words in text A;2. Read and discuss the main idea of the

text;3. Details of the text4. Exercises and homework5. Summary

Review of words1. He is a manager in a big company that

manufactures car parts.

2. I'm sorry to disturb you, but my car has broken down and I was wondering if I could use your phone.

3. Just water these plants twice a week, and likewise the ones in the bedroom.

4. How she manages to fit so much into a working day is beyond my comprehension.

1. This course will be taught through the computers connected to the Internet.

2. All the police officers were equipped with guns to defend themselves against the criminals.

3. Even the mechanic couldn't figure out what had gone wrong with the car.

4. The factory is faced with many problems as a result of years of bad management (管理 ).

5. When it comes to football games, boys usually get excited.

Read and answer1. Does the author want “smart

appliances”?

2. Are “smart appliances” smart according the author?

3. Can the author use TV at will? Why or why not?

4. Does the author like the “MORE features” given by manufacturers?

5. What is the author’s attitude towards “smart” appliance industry?

Details of the text1. I'm Toast in the Battle Against "Smar

t" Appliances

Meaning: I'm completely defeated in the battle against the new appliances that are smarter than their owners.

2. Recently, The Washington Post printed an article explaining how the appliance manufacturers plan to drive customers up the wall.Meaning: Lately, The Washington

Post printed an article which explained how the firms that produce appliances plan to make customers angry or even mad.

3. If you want to improve our dishwashers, give us one that senses when …Meaning: If you want to make our dishwashers better, give us one like this

4. Likewise, we don't need a refrigerator that knows when it's out of milk.

Meaning:In addition(Similarly), we don't need a refrigerator that knows when there is no milk left, either.

5. We can't use the appliance features we have NOW.

Meaning: We can't even use the features of the appliances we already have at present

6. I have a feature-packed telephone with 43 buttons, at least 20 of which I am afraid to touch.

Meaning: I have a telephone with too many features; it has 43 buttons, but I dare not touch at least 20 of them.

7. So when I want to watch television, I'm faced with a total of 110 buttons, identified by such helpful names as PIP, MTS, DBS and JUMP.

Meaning: when I want to watch television, I have to deal with 110 buttons in all …these names can tell you nothing.

8. It has honestly been years since I have successfully recorded a television program.Meaning: To be honest, I

haven't successfully recorded a television program for several years.

9. Yet, to make the refrigerator stop, you'll have to read a whole book written in terms that are beyond comprehension.

Meaning: Yet, to make the refrigerator stop saying your milk is out of date, you'll have to read a whole book with difficult terms that are impossible to understand.

10. But you need to act quickly, because as you are reading this, your microwave is saying “YES!”

Meaning: But you need to let them know this quickly, because as you are reading my article, your microwave is saying "YES"， as one of its features asks it to.

ExercisesModel :  We are just going to eat our fourth

piece of pie in two hours.

Key: We are about to eat our fourth piece of pie in two hours.

1. I stopped him as he was just going to leave the room.I stopped him as he was about to leave the room.

2. He called up when I was just going to have breakfast.He called up when I was about to have breakfast.

3. I was just going to cross the street when I saw an old man fall down. I was about to cross the street when I saw an old man fall down.

Model: Honestly I haven't successfully recorded a television program for years.Key: It has honestly been years since I have successfully recorded a television program.

1. I haven't tasted such delicious food for months. It has been months since I have tasted such delicious food.

2. She hasn't written a successful novel for years. It has been years since she has written a successful novel.3. He hasn't done any new research for years. It has been years since he has done any new research.

Homework (Page169-171)

1. Translating

2. Using topic-related terms

3. Basic writing skills------Reducing wordiness

4. Preview Text B & C

Summary1. Review

2. Questions about the text

3. Explanation

4. Exercises

5. Don’t forget your homework

The End

Thank You All