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21st Century College English: Book 3. Unit 1: Part A. How I Got Smart. How I got smart. Unit 1: Part A. Pre-reading Activities Text A: Language Points Exercises Assignment. Pre-reading Activities.
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21st Century College English: Book 3 Unit 1: Part A How I Got Smart
How I got smart Unit 1: Part A • Pre-reading Activities • Text A: Language Points • Exercises • Assignment
Pre-reading Activities How many of these idioms do you know? If any of them are unfamiliar to you, hypothesize about what they might mean. Then as you listen to the passage, a) circle the idioms you hear in the dialogue, and b) check to make sure your hypotheses are correct. love at first sight fall in love make a pass at sb. puppy love flirt with sb. have a crush on sb. lovebirds be head over heels in love sweep sb. off his/her feet Check-up
Pre-reading Activities How many of these idioms do you know? If any of them are unfamiliar to you, hypothesize about what they might mean. Then as you listen to the passage, a) circle the idioms you hear in the dialogue, and b) check to make sure your hypotheses are correct. love at first sight fall in love make a pass at sb. puppy love flirt with sb. have a crush on sb. lovebirds be head over heels in love sweep sb. off his/her feet Script
Pre-reading Activities Man: Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Woman: You mean puppy love, or the real thing? Man: Either one! After all, when you’re going through it, puppy love feels like the real thing. Woman: Let’s see. When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a crush on my biology teacher. Man: A biology teacher, oh my! That was ambitious of you! Did you let him know how you felt? Woman: You mean did I flirt with him or something? No, of course not, I was too shy for that. But I surely worked hard on my biology homework!
Language Points Text A How I Got Smart By Steve Brody
Language Points How I Got Smart By Steve Brody 1 A common misconception among youngsters attending school is that their teachers were child prodigies. Who else but a bookworm, with none of the normal kid’s tendency to play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway?
Language Points 2 I’ve tried desperately to explain to my students that the image they have of me as an enthusiastic devotee of books and homework during my adolescence was a bit out of focus. On the contrary, I hated compulsory education with a passion. I could never quite accept the notion of having to go to school while the fish were biting. 3 But in my sophomore year, something beautiful and exciting happened. Cupid aimed his arrow and struck me right in the heart. All at once, I enjoyed going to school, if only to gaze at the lovely face in English II.
Language Points 4 My princess sat near the pencil sharpener, and that year I ground up enough pencils to fuel a campfire. Alas, Debbie was far beyond my wildest dreams. We were separated not only by five rows of desks, but by about 50 I.Q. points. She was the top student in English II, the apple of Mrs. Larrivee’s eye. 5 Occasionally, Debbie would catch me staring at her, and she would flash a smile that radiated intelligence and quickened my heartbeat. It was a smile that signaled hope and made me temporarily forget the intellectual gulf that separated us.
Language Points 6 I schemed desperately to bridge that gulf. And one day, as I was passing the supermarket, an idea came to me. A sign in the window announced that the store was offering the first volume of a set of encyclopedias at the special price of 29 cents. The remaining volumes would cost $2.49 each. 7 I purchased Volume I — Aardvark to Asteroid — and began my venture into the world of knowledge. I would henceforth become a seeker of facts. I would become Chief Brain in English II and sweep my princess off her feet with a surge of erudition. I had it all planned.
Language Points 8 My first opportunity came one day in the cafeteria line. I looked behind me and there she was. 9 “Hi,” she said. 10 After a pause, I wet my lips and said, “Know where anchovies come from?” 11 She seemed surprised. “No, I don’t.” 12I breathed a sigh of relief. “The anchovy lives in salt water and is rarely found in fresh water.” I had to talk fast, so that I could get all the facts in before we reached the cash register. “Fishermen catch anchovies in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Atlantic coast near Spain and Portugal.”
Language Points 13“How fascinating,” said Debbie, shaking her head in disbelief. It was obvious that I had made quite an impression. 14 A few days later, during a fire drill, I casually went up to her and asked, “Ever been to the Aleutian Islands?” 15“Never have,” she replied. 16“Might be a nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn’t want to live there,” I said. 17“Why not?” said Debbie, playing right into my hands.
Language Points 18“Well, the climate is forbidding. There are no trees on any of the 100 or more islands in the group. The ground is rocky and very little plant life can grow on it.” 19“I don’t think I’d even care to visit,” she said. 20 The fire drill was over and we began to file into the building, so I had to step it up to get the natives in. “The Aleuts are short and sturdy and have dark skin and black hair. They live on fish, and they trap blue foxes and seals for their valuable fur.”
Language Points 21 Debbie’s eyes widened in amazement. 22 One day I was browsing through the library. I spotted Debbie sitting at a table, absorbed in a crossword puzzle. She was frowning, apparently stumped on a word. I leaned over and asked if I could help. 23“Four-letter word for Oriental female servant,” Debbie said. 24“Try amah,” I said, quick as a flash. 25 Debbie filled in the blanks, then turned to stare at me in amazement. “I don’t believe it,” she said. “I just don’t believe it.”
Language Points 26And so it went, that glorious, joyous, romantic sophomore year.Debbie seemed to relish our little conversations and hung on my every word. Naturally, the more I read, the more my confidence grew. 27 In the classroom, too, I was gradually making my presence felt. One day, during a discussion of Coleridge’s “The Ancient Mariner”, we came across the word albatross. 28“Can anyone tell us what an albatross is?” asked Mrs. Larrivee.
Language Points 29 My hand shot up. “The albatross is a large bird that lives mostly in the ocean regions below the equator, but may be found in the north Pacific as well. The albatross measures as long as four feet and has the greatest wingspread of any bird. It feeds on fish and shellfish. The albatross has an enormous appetite, and when it’s full it has trouble getting into the air again.” 30 There was a long silence in the room. Mrs. Larrivee couldn’t quite believe what she had just heard. I sneaked a look at Debbie and gave her a big wink. She beamed proudly and winked back.
Language Points 31 What I failed to perceive was that Debbie all this while was going steady with a junior from a neighboring school — a basketball player with a C+ average. The revelation hit me hard, and for a while I felt like forgetting everything I had learned. I had saved enough money to buy Volume II — Asthma to Bullfinch — but was strongly tempted to invest in a basketball instead. 32 I felt not only hurt, but betrayed. Like Agamemnon, but with less drastic consequences, thank God.
Language Points 33In time I recovered from my wounds. The next year Debbie moved from the neighborhood and transferred to another school. Soon she became no more than a memory. 34 Although the original incentive was gone, I continued poring overthe encyclopedias, as well as an increasing number of other books. Having tasted of the wine of knowledge, I could not now alter my course. For: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing: Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.” So wrote Alexander Pope, Volume XIV — Paprika to Pterodactyl.
misconceptionn. — wrong idea based on a failure to understand a situation • Examples: • The medicine company held a press to change the misconception about its new product. Vocabulary building mis- referring that the action is done wrongly or badly mislead — to cause to believe sth. that is not true — to cause to behave in a wrong way misreport — to provide information that is not completely true or correct misjudge — to form an unfair or incorrect opinion or idea about sth./sb. miscount — to reach a total, when counting, which is not correct
Who else but a bookworm, with none of the normal kid’s tendency to play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway? Paraphrase Who else would ever grow up to be a teacher at all except a bookworm who, unlike other kids, likes to study but not to play? • tendencyn. • — part of a person’s character that makes him like • (to do) sth. • Examples: • He’s always had a tendency towards fast cars. • His tendency to exaggerate is well known. • anyway ad. • — (often used in conversation without adding much meaning to what is being said) in any case, anyhow • Examples: • Why don’t we get rid of the car since we don’t use it anyway? • What was he doing with so much of the company’s money in his personal account anyway? bookwormn. — a person devoted to reading
… the image they have of me as an enthusiastic devotee of books and homework during my adolescence was a bit out of focus. • devoteen. • — a person who strongly admires a particular person or extremely interested in sth. • Examples: • The hotel was surrounded by a large crowd of devotees of the movie star. • adolescence n. • — a period between childhood and adulthood • Examples: • The author describes his joys and sorrow of his adolescence. • out of focus • — not sharply defined • Examples: • The children’s faces were badly out of focus in the photograph. • Though I’ve known him for several years, his personality is still a bit out of focus to me. Paraphrase Who else would ever grow up to be a teacher at all except a bookworm who, unlike other kids, likes to study but not to play? the image they have of me = the image of me which they have
Who else but a bookworm, with none of the normal kid’s tendency to play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway? Paraphrase Who else would ever grow up to be a teacher at all except a bookworm who, unlike other kids, likes to study but not to play? rather than Meaning:to say what someone does not do or does not intend to do in contrast to what they actually do rather than Rules: 1) The word or phrase introduced by rather than is generally in the same form as the one parallel to it in the main clause; 2) When the main clause has an infinitive, rather than can be followed by an infinitive with “to” (which is more formal) or without “to”, while a V-ing form is also possible; 3) When the main clause has a verb in the past tense, rather thancan be followed by either a verb in the past tense if the two verbs are parallel, or an infinitive if something yet to happen is implied. • rather than • Examples: • He was pitied rather than disliked by his friends. • He likes starting early rather than staying late. • Why don’t you wear the black shoes rather than the brown ones? • I’d like to stay at home this evening rather than go/to go/going out. • Rather than cause trouble, he left.
… while the fish were biting Paraphrase when it was time to play Idioms with “fish” fish in troubled waters — to try to take advantage of a confused situation like a fish out of water — completely unfamiliar with one’s surroundings fish or cut bait — to proceed with an activity or abandon it altogether
Text-related information Cupid aimed his arrow and struck me right in the heart. Paraphrase ? Cupid: in Roman mythology, son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology was Eros, god of love. He appears as a mischievous boy who indiscriminately wounds both gods and humans with his arrows, thereby causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid is commonly represented in art as a naked, winged infant, often blindfolded, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. I fell in love.
… if only to gaze at the lovely face in English II. if only to Usage: to introduce what one thinks a fairly good reason for doing something, although one realizes it may not be a very good reason, meaning even if the only reason is ... • if only to • Examples: • I’ll have a glass myself, if only to prevent you from drinking it all. • I think you should get a job if only to stop yourself getting so bored at home. if only to Translation: 哪怕只是为了 ... Make a sentence with “if only to” ?
... and that year I ground up enough pencils to fuel a campfire. Question 1: What does the sentence mean? Question 2: Why did the author grind so many pencils?
We were separated not only by five rows of desks, but by about 50 I.Q. points. Translate into Chinese : ? Key: 将我们隔开不仅有五排课桌，还有约50分的智商。
beyond my wildest dreams — (in a way that is) better than what one expected or hoped for Translate: 得到一台计算机的生日礼物远远超出了我的期望。 • Examples: • The salary was beyond my wildest dreams. Key: A computer as my birthday gift is far beyond my wildest dreams.
Text-related information We were separated not only by five rows of desks, but by about 50 I.Q. points. I. Q. = intelligence quotient, an index of measurement of the intelligence level of both children and adults, with a normal standard of 100 The distribution of IQ scores on the Weschsler Adult Intelligence Scale follows an approximately normal curve, an average distribution of values. The test is regularly adjusted so that the median score is 100 - -that is, so that half of the scores fall above 100, and half fall below
the apple of one’s eye — a person or thing that is the main object of sb.’s love and attention Translate: The girls in the class were rather hostile to Jenny simply because she was the apple of their teacher’s eye. • Examples: • Alice is the apple ofher parents’eye. Key: 班里的女孩对简尼怀有敌意，就因为她是老师的宝贝。
intellectual gulf — difference in mental ability gulfn. — area of division or difference, esp. between opinions • Examples: • There is a widening gulf between the middle classes and the poorest sections of society. • It is hoped that the peace plan will bridge the gulf between the government and the rebels.
volume n. 1. one of a set of books of the same kind (一套书的)一册、一卷 2. (of) 体积；容积 3. 音量 • Examples: • I have a set of Dickens’ works in 24 volumes. • The tank has a volume of 4,000 cubic feet（立方英尺）. • She turned down the volume on the TV.
scheme v. make plans (for); plan in a deceitful way n. 1. a formal, official or business plan 2. a clever, dishonest plan • Examples: • Behind the scenes, a small group was scheming to remove the chairman from office. • The government’s Youth Training Scheme soon ran into difficulties. • The criminal was planning a scheme to rob the bank.
Text-related information aardvark n. — (Afrikaans for “earth pig”), common name for a burrowing, ant-eating mammal. The aardvark is found throughout much of Africa, from the southern part of Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope 土豚，非洲食蚁兽
Text-related information asteroid n. — one of the many small or minor planets that are members of the solar system; starfish 小行星；海星
venture n. — a plan of action, esp. in business, which is new and might be difficult and so involves uncertainty or the risk of failure. • Examples: • She had three divorces and this is her fourth matrimonial（婚姻的）venture. • We are looking abroad for more profitable business ventures.
henceforth ad. — from this time onwards • Examples: • The governor declared that, henceforth, the first of June would be a holiday. • The memo said, “Henceforth, all salary raises must be approved by the president.”
I would become Chief Brain in English II and sweep my princess off her feet with a surge of erudition. • sweep sb. off his/her feet • — make sb. feel suddenly and strongly attracted to you in a romantic way • Examples: • John was swept off his feet by the appearance of a beautiful girl at his door. eruditionn. — much of specialist knowledge e.g. The debate requires not only skills of speech but also erudition on the subject. Paraphrase: I would become the most intelligent person in English II, and would impress her and make her feel attracted to me with a sudden and great increase in my learning.
Text-related information anchovyn. — any of several small, bony, schooling fishes related to the herring. One of the world’s most important commercial fishes, the anchovy population off Chile and Peru has been severely depleted in the last several years by over-fishing and climatic changes 鳀鱼，凤尾鱼
I breathed a sigh of relief. • relief n. • —feeling of comfort at the end of anxiety, fear, or pain • Examples: • This medicine will give a little relief. • It was a great relief to me when I heard he was safe. • Note: Relief also refers to money, clothing, food and other aid that is made available to help poor people or people who are victims of a disaster. Translate the sentence: ? Key: 我松了口气。
get sth. in — manage to say sth. about a subject • Examples: • I’ll get my suggestion in at the start of the meeting. • I finally managed to get a word in（插话）.
play right into one’s hands — do something which gives sb. an advantage • Examples: • In the basketball game, Jerry’s foul played right into the opponents’ hands. • Mary and Bobby both wanted the last piece of cake, but Bobby played into Mary’s hands by trying to grab it. (Father gave the cake to Mary because Bobby tried to grab it.)
… file into the building Paraphrase: … walk into the building one behind another in a line
Text-related information The Aleutian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands of southwest Alaska, U.S.A. Characterized by fairly uniform temperatures, high winds, heavy rainfall, and persistent fog, the Aleutians are practically without trees but covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses, sedges, and many flowering plants.
step it up — (infml) increase the size or speed of (非正式语) 加快; 增加 • Examples: • The police are stepping up their efforts to fight crime. • The pace of the reforms is being stepped up.
seal n. 1）海豹； 2）印记，印章 vt. 1）盖章于； 2）封，密封 • Examples: • Some seals can bark like a dog. • The flap（信封口盖）of the envelope has the company’s seal on it. • The secretary sealed (= stamped an official mark on) the company’s official letters. • If you want to keep the jam for a long time, you must seal the jar well.
stumpvt. • — put an unanswerable question to; puzzle • Stump as a verb that means “puzzle” has its origin in the stumps（树桩）that American settlers had to pull from the earth after felling trees – some stumps were so big and deep-rooted that the pioneers didn’t know what to do. They stumped them. • Examples: • The question has stumped philosophers since the beginning of time. Translate: We’re all completely stumped — we can’t work out how he escaped. Key: 我们都困惑不解—想不出他到底是怎样逃掉的。
And so itwent, that glorious, joyous, romantic sophomore year. Question 1: What does the “it” stand for? Question 2: The word “went” could be best replaced by ____. A) escaped B) moved C) passed by D) traveled Translate into Chinese: ? Key: 那个光辉灿烂的、充满欢乐的、富有浪漫色彩的二年级就这样继续着。
relish vt. get pleasure out of, enjoy greatly n. If you do something with relish, you do it eagerly and with a lot of enjoyment. • Examples: • My grandmother has always relished life. • The reporter seemed to relish asking all those personal questions. • Kate lit a cigarette and inhaled with relish. • Charles described with great relish how he got his revenge on Malcolm.
hang on (sb.’s words) — listen very carefully to sb. • Examples: • Ann hangs on every word of her history teacher and takes very careful notes. • He told them stories around the campfire, the boys hanging fascinated on his words.
