Unit 5 Quick Fix Society
Pre-reading tasks:
1. Tell a story about a circle to the students:
Once, a circle missed a small fraction. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. However, it could only roll very slowly, simply because it was incomplete. It admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching.
Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talking to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its reclaimed piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
2. Ask students the questions listed below:
l What’s the lesson of the story?
The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something.
(Let’s look at the story from another perspective and focus on the two experiences of the circle.)
l What leads to these two different experiences?
It rolled too fast to notice the flowers or talk to the worms. The key point is nothing but “quick”.
Do you agree that nowadays people often impatiently get everything done quickly?
For instance, recently family relationship has been weakened, because, more often than not, contacts between parents and children are maintained chiefly through the telephone.
l Do you have any personal experience like that? Sometimes, you finish everything very quickly and at the same time, you lose a lot.
Probably everyone once went to fast-food store or bought frozen semi-prepared food, and actually in this way are we deprived of the fun in making Chinese dumplings together. Therefore, we are now living in a quick fix society.
While-reading tasks:
l Ask students to explain the title:
Fix: an easy and temporary solution to a problem;
The title as a whole refers to a society in search of quick solutions to everything.
l Identify the structure of the essay:
I. Introduction (1-3) a comparison bt. the ride to W. Virginia and the return trip of a different route;
II. The body (4-6) three ways that Americans seek a quick fix;
III.The conclusion (7-8) restatement of the thesis (the last 2sentences in Para. 8);
l Word study
1. advocate v. to publicly support an idea or a plan
n. someone who strongly and publicly supports someone or something
Examples:
He advocates building more schools.
There is no point advocating high salaries for teachers unless we can do it.
He is a tireless advocate of political reform.
2. antique adj. being old and therefore valuable
n. an old object such as a piece of furniture or jewellery that is valuable because it is rare, beautiful, or well made
Examples:
It is an antique rosewood desk.
The palace is full of priceless antiques.
3. compressv. a. to press or squeeze something so that it fits into a smaller space
b. to write something in fewer words
c. to make a process last for a shorter time than usual
Examples:
The machine compresses old cars into blocks of scrap metal.
Try to compress your notes so that they are easier to learn.
You’d better compress two months’ work into one.
4. condensev. a. to cause (a gas or vapor) to change to a liquid
b. to remove water from (milk, for example)
c. to make a piece of writing shorter by removing some parts
Examples:
Steam condensed on the bathroom mirror.
condensed milk (炼乳)
condensed story (缩写本)
compress, condense, contract
The pupil of the eye dilates and _________ in response to light. (contract)
She sat on the lid of the suitcase to ________ the clothes. (compress)
The chairman __________ all the suggestions put forward into a single plan of action.(condensed)
5. deposit n. a. a first payment that you make when you agree to buy something expensive such as a car or house
b. an amount of money you pay when you rent something that is returned to
you when you stop renting it
c. an amount of money that you pay into a bank account
d. a layer of metal that has formed in soil or rock
Examples:
We put down a deposit on a house last week.
You will have to pay one month’s rent in advance, plus a deposit of $500.
I’d like to make a deposit, please.
Rich mineral deposits have been discovered in the area.
6. refreshv. to make someone feel less tired or less hot
refresh one’s memory: to make someone remember something
refresh someone’s drink: to add more of an alcoholic drink to someone’s glass
Examples:
A shower will refresh you.
I looked at the map to refresh my memory of the route.
Can I refresh your drink?
7. get sth. over with: to do and finish something difficult that you have to do
Examples:
I’ll speak first if you like—I’d rather get it over with quickly.
He looked upon the marriage ceremony as a mere formality—something to be got over with as quickly as possible.
8. linger over/on: to stay somewhere a little longer, especially because you do not want to leave
Examples:
They lingered over coffee and missed the last bus.
She let her eyes linger on him.
9. more often than not = as often as not
Examples:
Nancy comes over on Saturday more often than not.
More often than not, the argument could have been avoided.
10. put away
Examples:
My grandfather had put away over $100,000.
Put away all your books on the desk. The guest might come any time.
Please put all negative thoughts away.
The boy put away the dinner in just a few minutes.
l Text analysis
Para 1:
l Ask students to identify the starting point and the destination of the trip
Philadelphia→West Virginia
l What did we see on the road to West Virginia?
Farms → moving green checkerboards
Cows → dots in the rear view mirror
l And then the author mentions: “our real amusement consisted of counting exit signs…” do you think “counting exit signs” could be something amusing or interesting?
Maybe not, but in the eyes of the author, it is really something amusing! So we can see how monotonous the trip is!
Sentences:
1…. as pastoral scenery slid by us at 55 mph.
… as we drove at 55 miles per hour past beautiful country scenes.
slid by us: moved quickly past us.
mph: miles per hour
2. … and the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror.
…(when our car was driving so fast,) the cows looked like a few dots in the rear-view mirror.
Rear-view mirror: a mirror in a vehicle, such as a car or a bus, which lets the driver see the area behind the vehicle.
3. For four hours, our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again.
The 4-hour drive on fast rods was tedious; the only fun we had was to count the exit signs we were passing and to figure out how we'd feel if we stopped again.
Exit sign: a sign along fast roads that shows were vehicles can get out of them
It would feel like to hold still again: Here, “it” is an anticipatory/introductory “it”; it stands for the subject of the clause “to hold still again”.
Para 2:
l (line 3)What are the new experiences on the return trip?
Toured a battle field
Stood on the little hill
Drove through the main street
We Admired toy trains and antique cars
Saved 70 percent
Stuffed ourselves with salads
Wandered outside
l Ask students to make a comparison of the two experiences
experiences | reason | ||
Phi. → W. V. (para 1) | Farms → moving green checkerboards Cows → dots in the rear view mirror | Fast driving | No fun at all |
W. V.→ Phi. (para 2) |
Toured a battle field Stood on the little hill Drove through the main street WeAdmired toy trains and antique cars Saved 70 percent Stuffed ourselves with salads Wandered outside |
Slow driving |
Full of funs |
Sentences:
1. So, when it was time to return to our home outside of Philadelphia, I insisted that we take a different route.
Outside of: outside
Route: a chosen direction or line of travel between one place and another, e. g.
What's the shortest route from our university to Tian'anmen Square.
2. The two days it took us to make the return trip were filled with new experiences.
Our return trip took 2 days; the route was longer, and we drove much more slowly. But we had many discoveries.
3. We toured a Civil War battlefield and stood … get killed in the vain attempt.
We visited a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill. One hundred and twenty-five years ago, on a hot July afternoon, 15,000 soldiers fighting for slavery, while trying to occupy the hill, had no idea that they would fail and that half of them would be killed in the battle.
4. We drove slowly through main streets … on their way to market.
This time instead of driving past towns at 55 mph, we would enter quiet Pennsylvania Dutch towns and drive slowly through the main streets, at 20 mph, in order not to disturb the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.
5. And we returned home refreshed, revitalized, and reeducated.
When we got home, we not only felt fresh and energetic, but also felt that we had experienced a new way of life.
Para 3:
l Look at the chart above , which route is more preferable to you?
l Why do many of the Americans choose the first one? (And introduce the thesis)
Our country has become a nation in search of the quick fix – in more ways than one.
Sentence:
Our country has become a nation in search of the quick fix----in more ways than one.
In our country, people are looking for ways of getting things done quickly----in various aspects of life.
In search of: to try to find
Para 4: Now instead of later
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l Can you identify the two parts of this paragraph? How can you easily tell?
Referring to the 2 time indicators: Once upon a time/ today
l Note the repetition of sentence structure “if we …”And ask students to point out the 3 aspects that the author intends to elaborate on:
1. money 2. food 3. losing weight
l Note the comparison: the way how Americans lifestyle has changed from “saving for a rainy day ” in the past to “relax now, pay later” at present
l Ask students to pick out the key phrases to complete the chart below.
l Ask students to retell this part, referring to the information in the chart (some phrases are erased)
Once upon a time | today | |
money | __________ for a rainy day __________ | __________ loans use ____________ |
food | Wait patiently for the harvest | Ready-made/ __________ |
Losing weight | Eat less and wait patiently | Try_____________ |
Para5: faster instead of slower
l Look at the first sentence, what is the function of this sentence in this particular paragraph?
A transitional sentence- from “now” to “faster”
l How does the author further illustrate the “I-hate-to-wait” attitude of Americans?
By the repetition of “fast”
1) fast money
2) fast convenient store
3) fast food/meal
4) fast relief
5) fast pictures- Polaroid
6) fast entertainment- VCR
7) fast information
Para6: superficially instead of thoroughly
l Is there any transitional sentence in this paragraph?
The first sentence
l What are the examples in this paragraph to illustrate the point? Can you find a sentence in which these 4 examples are all mentioned?
1) book 2)music3) news items4) personal relationship
The last sentence includes all these 4 examples, so it is the concluding sentence of this paragraph.
Para 7:
l The first sentence is a very brief summary of the previous part, and can you tell reason why?
Because in this sentence, three verbal phrases correspond to three ways that Americans seek quick fix.
Para 8:
l Can you identify the thesis of the whole essay?
The last sentence: Let’s take the time to read every word of the story, hear very note of that music, and enjoy every subtle change of that countryside. Let’s rediscover life in the slow lane.
Post-reading tasks:
1. Review the structure of the essay
2. Homework: Finish the sentences with the phrases given below
be reduced toThanks toget it over with
lingered over save people the trouble of
1) Simply because of poverty, these boys ____________ stealing and begging.
2) __________the favorable weather conditions, we had a good harvest last year.
3) This book is boring. I’d like to ________________ as soon as possible.
4) We were not interested in the details, but he ____________________them for a long time.
5) Fast-food restaurants are popular, because they __________________cooking at home.
Outline
I. Introduction (1-3) a comparison bt. the ride to W. Virginia and the return trip
Para.1. the ride from Philadelphia to West Virginia
1) Farms → moving green checkerboards
2) Cows → dots in the rear view mirror no fun at all
Para. 2. the return tripToured a battle field
Stood on the little hill
Drove through the main street
New experiences →We Admired toy trains and antique cars fun
Saved 70 percent
Stuffed ourselves with salads
Wandered outside
Para. 3. the reason to choose the fast lane- a nation in search of the quick fix
II. The body (4-6) three ways that Americans seek a quick fix;
Para. 4. now instead of later
1) once upon a time
a. money: put away for a rainy day; save up for
b. food: Wait patiently for the harvest
c. to be thinner: Eat less and Wait patiently
2) today
a. money: take out loans; use credit card
b. food: Ready-made; off the rack
c. to be thinner: the latest miracle diets
Para. 5. faster instead of slower
1) fast money
2) fast convenient store
3) fast food/meal
4) fast relief
5) fast pictures- Polaroid
6) fast entertainment- VCR
7) fast information
a. messages
b. documents
c. current events
d. history
Para. 6. superficially instead of thoroughly
1) book
2) music
3) news items
4) personal relationship
III. The conclusion (7-8) restatement of the central idea(the last 2sentences in Para. 8);
After-reading tasks:
1. List all the useful phrases and expressions
2. Translate the sentences into English on P130, 131.
3. Grammar work on Page 132, 133
