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（Book 2）
Unit 1
Section A Time-Conscious Americans
I. Background Information
Culture conflicts: Each nation has its own conventions. Different nations have different cultures. When two cultures clash, problems in communication may occur. Which side should compromise when there are cultural conflicts? In fact, knowing and understanding the other’s cultural is the responsibility of both sides, and both sides should be willing to compromise. Educating, rather than complaining and blaming, is the best solution to cultural conflicts.
II. Teaching Time: seven periods
III. New Words & Phrases
1.budget: v.
(1). plan the spending of or provide (money) in a plan
e.g. She has to budget her time very carefully.
(2). Save or spend money (for a particular purpose)
e.g. He budgeted for buying a new car.
2.replace: vt.
(1). put (sth.) back in its place
e.g. Replace the caps on the bottles.
Replace the book on the shelf.
(2). take the place of (sb./ sth.)
replace… as
e.g. George replaced Jack as the personnel manager.
Tom replaced Bill as the president of our club.
replace…by/with
e.g. We must replace those old computers with/by new ones.
3.abrupt: a.
(1). (of behavior) rough; offensive
e.g. His attitude was abrupt.
(2). Sudden and unexpected
e.g. The meeting came to an abrupt end.
4.convention: n.
(1). (an example of ) generally accepted practice, esp. with regard to social behavior
e.g. It is a convention for young people to offer seats to old people.
It is a convention for men to wear suits on formal occasions.
(2). meeting
e.g. This is a political convention.
5. interaction: n.
communication; working together
e.g. Increased interaction between the police and the citizens will improve the rate of solving crimes.
interactive: a.
(1). communicating between the user and the machine
e.g. This method will make computer games more interactive than before.
(2). acting on each other
e.g. Student-centered teaching is interactive teaching method in the classroom.
6. assess: vt.
judge or decide the amount, value, quality or importance of
e.g. Jim is so lazy that it’s difficult to assess his ability.
It’s too early to assess the effects of the new law.
7. surroundings: n.
environment
e.g. The house is in beautiful surroundings.
surrounding: a.
e.g. There are many kinds of flowers in the surrounding areas.
8. generally: ad.
(1). usually, in a general sense
e.g. It is generally that smoking is bad for health.
(2). by most people; widely
e.g. The plan has generally been accepted.
9. consequently: ad.
as a result; so
e.g. It rained that day, and consequently the baseball game was called off.
10. significance: n.
meaning; importance
e.g. At that time few people realized the significance of his invention.
What is the significance of this speech?
significant: a. (antonym: insignificant)
e.g. Newspapers print the most significant stories on the first page.
That was a significant event in Chinese history.
11. conduct:
(1). vt.
carry out, direct, manage; act as the path for (electricity, heat, etc.)
e.g. I decided to conduct an experiment.
I conducted her to her seat.
Plastic and rubber can’t conduct electricity, but copper can.
(2). n.
[U] person’s behavior (esp. its moral element)
e.g. His conduct is good.
12. fulfill: vt.
(1). perform (sth.) or bring (sth.) to a completion
e.g. You must fulfill your duties.
They fulfilled their work ahead of time.
(2). satisfy (sth.); answer
e.g. The company must fulfill our requirements for product quality.
The traveling library fulfills an important need for people who live in the countryside.
13. given: prep.
something is not surprising when you consider the situation it happened in
e.g. Given their inexperience, they’ve done a good job.
Given her interest in children, teaching should be the right career for her.
14. result in: have as a result, cause
e.g. I’m sure your efforts will result in success.
Her hard work resulted in (her) winning the scholarship.
result from: because of
e.g. The child’s illness resulted from eating unclean food.
Her headache resulted from the noisy environment.
15. account for: explain the cause of (sth.)
e.g. He has to account to the chairman for all the money he spends.
He could not account his foolish mistake.
Can you account for your absence last Friday?
16. charge for: ask (an amount of money) as a price.
e.g. How much do you charge for a single room one night?
How much do you charge for washing a car?
17. much less: (用于否定句之后) 更何况,更不用说,更不…
e.g. I don’t like mathematics, much less physics.
The old man can hardly walk, much less run.
still less=much less
e.g. She wouldn’t take a drink, still less/ much less stay for dinner.
18. in person: physically present
e.g. I can’t attend the meeting in person, but I’ll send someone to speak for me.
19. race through: do sth. in a hurry
e.g. The child raced through his homework in order to watch the football match on TV.
20. get sth./ sb. doing sth.: make sb. do sth.
e.g. Can you get the car going?
It’s not difficult to get the boy talking; the problem is stopping him.
21.&a, mp;n, bsp;nothing but: only
e.g. He is nothing but an assistant.
IV. Practice
Let the students do the exercises in the text book that are related to the new words.
V. Text Structure Analysis
(1). Let the students read the questions after the text first. Then explain the text to the students.
The following are the difficult sentences;
a. … no one stands still (Line 1)
b. Once the sands have run out of a person’s hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every minute to count. (Lines 8-9)
c. Don’t take it personally. (Line 18)
d. Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over extended small talk; much less do they take them out for dinner, or around on the golf course while they develop a sense of trust. (Lines 27-29)
e. We, therefore, save most personal visiting for after-work hours or for social weekend gatherings. (Lines 35-36)
f. In some countries no major business is conducted without eye contact, requiring face-to-face conversations. (Lines 38-39)
g. Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems in their eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant, not worthy of proper respect. (Lines 49-50)
h. …the more important a task is, the more capital, energy, and attention will be poured into it in order to “get it moving”. (Lines 53-54)
(2). Explain the structure pattern of the text:
a. Introduction (paras. 1-4)
b. Body (paras. 5-7)
c. Conclusion (para. 8)
(3). Discussion: an example of the difference between western and eastern
“If your mother, wife and child fall into a river, and who will be the one that you save? 65% Americans will save child, almost no Americans will save mother. Asians about 40 years old will save mother, but Asians under 40 years old have the same opinion with Americans.”
a. Divide the class into small groups. Each group is about 5-6 students.
b. In the group, one will be appointed group leader, another secretary and a third oral reporter.
c. After the discussions, the oral reporters are required to report the conclusions of their groups.
VI. Practice
Let the students do the other exercises in the test book and check the answers together under the instruction of the teacher.
VII. Listening &Reading Practice
(1). Finish College English Listening units1-2
(2). Finish Fast Reading unit 1-2
VIII. Assignments
Section B Culture Shock
I. Reading Skills
Reading for the Main Ideas in Paragraphs: Writers most frequently use the first sentence of a paragraph to state the main ideas. However, the main idea sentence may also appear in other place: in the middle or at the end of a paragraph. Sometimes, there is no sentence in the paragraph that directly states the main ideas. The main idea is simply left unstated or implied.
II. Teaching Time: five periods
III. New Words & Phrases
1. cultural shock: a term meaning strong feelings of discomfort, fear, or anxiety, which people may have when they enter another culture. Usually when a person moves to live in a foreign country, he/she may experience a period of culture shock until he/she becomes familiar with the new culture.
2. desirable: a. (antonym: undesirable)
worth having; be wished for
* notice: in the structure “It is desirable that…”, the verb in the that-clause is usually in the subjunctive form or “should” is used before the main verb.
e.g. It is desirable that you (should) do it yourself.
It is desirable that he (should) attend the convention.
3. spite: n.
in spite of: not being prevented by (sb./sth.); regardless of
e.g. He went out in spite of the rain.
In spite of great efforts we failed to carry our plans.
in spite of oneself: 不由的,情不自禁;
e.g. She cried out in spite of herself at the sight.
4. clash:
(1). vi.
disagree seriously (about sth.)
e.g. Their interests clashed with ours.
Our ideas clash with theirs.
(2). n.
serious disagreement; arguing; violent contact; fight
e.g. It is a boundary clash between two armies.
There is a clash of interests in this project.
5. familiar: a.
generally known, seen, or experienced; common
be familiar with: having a thorough knowledge. (常“人”做主语)
e.g. Are you familiar with the rules of baseball?
Mary is familiar with this story.
be familiar to: (常“物”做主语)
e.g. The song is familiar to children.
6. evidently: ad.
obviously; it appears that
e.g. The umbrella in her hand was very wet. Evidently it was still raining.
He is evidently not well.
7. excitement: n.
(1). [U] state of strong emotional reaction or feeling, esp. one caused by sth. pleasant
e.g. The old man has a weak heart, and should avoid excitement.
Everyone is in a state of great excitement.
(2). [C] a thing that excites; an exciting event