Unit 5 The Company Man

1. Unit 5 The Company Man

2. Contents • Pre-reading questions • Background information • Structural analysis of the text • Comprehensive questions • Language Points • Sentence highlights • Language appreciation • Grammar points • Comprehensive questions of Text II

3. Pre-reading questions • What do you think is the life of a typical workaholic like? • 2. How important do you think work is to a person?

4. Background information • About the text and the author • Ellen Goodman(1941 – ), journalist and columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for commentary. She has written for Newsweek, the Detroit Free Press, and the Boston Globe. Her works include Turning Points (1979), Close to Home (1979), and At Large (1981).

5. Background information (5) Pulitzer Prize Any of several awards established by Joseph Pulitzer and conferred annually for accomplishment in various fields of American journalism, literature, and music.

6. Pulitzer Medal

7. Structure analysis of the text • Paragraph 1 • This is an introductory paragraph. • Paragraphs 2-6 • This part reports how devoted the man was to his work.

8. Paragraphs 7-13 This part describes Phil’s role in his family. Paragraph 14-16 This is the concluding part. After the cause of Phil’s death being restated, the author goes on to report the company president’s inquire for his successor.

9. Comprehensive questions • 1. what is meant by the sentence “she would be well taken care of” in Paragraph 8? • It means that the company Phil worked for would provide some financial help for his wife so as to relieve her of any possible worries about finance.

10. Comprehensive questions (2) • 2.why is the phrase “dearly beloved” repeated when referring to his children in Paragraph 9? • The phrase “delay beloved” is repeated to create a sarcastic effect for his relationship with his children was far from being close and intimate and he devoted too little to his children.

11. Comprehensive questions (3) • 3. What do you think is the relationship like between Phil and the three children? • Refer to Paragraphs 9—12. Successful as his was as a corporate man, Phil was a failing father. His eldest son knew so little about him that he had to research his father by asking the neighbors what he was like. His daughter had nothing to say when staying along with him. And his younger son, also his favorite, remarked bitterly that his father and he only boarded at the home. The relationship between Phil and his children was distant and estranged.

12. Comprehensive questions (4) 4.what is the implication of the ending? It implies the story of Phil sees no end: He will soon be replaced by an equally hardworking guy who may following in his steps and repeat the same tragedy. Bosses are always on the lookout for workaholics and they are never in short supply. The ending is full of sarcasm and bitterness.

13. Comprehension questions (5) 5. Do you think it is a sheer waste of life to die so young for working so hard? What can you learn from the story of Phil?

14. Language points of Text I Paragraph 1 precisely: exactly • They arrived at five o’clock precisely. • synonyms: exactly, accurately, definitely

15. Paragraph 2-6 • overweight: weighing more than is normal, necessary, or allowed, especially having more body weight than is considered normal or healthy for one’s age or build. • Compare: fat, obese, fleshy, stout（壮实的）, pudgy(矮胖的）, plump, chubby（圆胖的）

16. Para 7-13 • survive : to live longer than; to outlive • It’s amazing that she should have survived all her children and grandchildren. • My father survived my mother by four years. • marketable: wanted by purchasers or employers. • They have failed to launch a marketable model for years. • It is a good idea to list your marketable skills before heading for the job fair.

17. widow: a woman whose husband has died, and who has not married again. widower: a man whose wife has died, and who has not married again. Widow v. to make a widow or widower of somebody. She calls her windowed father/mother nearly everyday.

18. straighten out: to solve or settle: to remove difficulties from something or the doubt or ignorance in somebody’s mind. • we need someone capable of straightening out all the confusion.

19. Paragraphs 14-16 inquiry: a request for help or information; an investigation Don’t hesitate to check with our workers at the inquiry desk/office when in doubt.

20. Sentence highlights • 1. He was, however, one of six vice-presidents, and one of three who might conceivably-if the president died or retired soon enough-have moved to the top spot. (Para.3) • Paraphrase:

21. 2. He was the one who tried to grab at his father, and tried to mean enough to him to keep the man at home. (Para.11) • Paraphrase:

22. 3. She was afraid he would read her bitterness and after all, she would need him to straighten out the finance-the stock options and all that. (Para.13)

23. Language appreciation • He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning. (Para.1) So when he finally worked himself to death, at precisely 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning, no one was really surprised. (Para. 15) • Repetition of the time of his death vividly expresses _______________

24. 2. He was a perfect Type A, a workaholic, a classic, they said to each other and shook their heads. • Three appositions together disclose characteristics of the man.

25. 3. His second child is a girl,… to each other. (Para.10) • The writer employs comparison and contrast here again to

26. Grammar points • Present Perfect Tense • The present perfect tense is common in English . • It is often used for an action which started at some time in the past, and is still continuing now. • He has lived in Canada for five years.

27. Secondly, it’s important to say that something happened, but it’s not important when it happened. • Thirdly, it can be used for actions which happened in the past, but still have an effect in the present.

28. Comprehensive Questions of Text II • 1.What is a kind of fundamental malaise(不舒服） which seams very common and which poses difficult problems for the social reformer? • 2.What is the first of the two causes that prevent people from being as happy as one might expect? • 3.What is the major cause that prevents people from being happy as much as possible? • 4.How do you understand the statement that a life which is all principle is a life on rails?

29. A1: People are troubled by a feeling of boredom and discontent, so they seem to yearn for something that may help to boost their spirits. The rich often depressed and professional men often feel hopelessly thwarted.

30. A2: It is the necessity of readiness to submit to others in some large organization. Conformity is encouraged and submission is a virtue. If you are bubbling with energy and laden with ideas, you constantly find yourself in trouble. You are bossed about by some big man at the top who is elderly, weary and cynical. The bright people always suffer form the impossibility of doing anything they believe to be right.

31. A3: Most people act on some principles rather than on impulse. They believe in a general theory on how to make one happy, but the theory is basically false. A competitive struggle dominates life in which happiness lies in getting ahead of those who are your neighbors, colleagues or fiends. They forget joys devoid of competitive elements. Though it is true that you are mad if you always yield to impulse, it is no less true that you may dry up by soft degrees if you never yield to impulse. If you desire to live a healthy and happy life, you should allow impulse to have sufficient scope to remain alive and you should preserve a range of interests. However, if you live merely on principle, you can hardly feel happy.

32. A 4: In such a life, one may score earthly achievements in a fairly fast manner, but he may succeed in attaining his particular goal at the cost of freedom, which is an indispensable element in happiness.