Unit 5 straight A illiteracy

Book 6 Unit 5

Unit Five

1. Lead-in

Movie Clip

Watch the following video and then do the exercise. You can find the interpretation of some words and phrases in \ Book 6 Unit 5.mp4 (00:00 – 02:34)

Script

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oh, hello. Oh, hello.

Hi, how are you? Fine.

So do you ladies uh ... Come here often?

Do I come here? I come here a bit. I'm here you know from time to time. Do you go to school yet? Yep.

Yeah, that's it. So I think I had a class with you. Oh, yeah? What class? History. Maybe.

Yes, I think that's what it was. You don't necessarily ... may not remember me. You know I like it here. It doesn't mean I go here. I'm a genius. I am very smart. Hey.

Hey, how's it going? How are ya? Good. How ya doing?

What class did you say that was? History.

Just history. It must have been a survey course then. Yeah, it was. It was surveys. Right.

You should check it out. It's a good course. It'd be a good class. How'd you like that course?

You know, frankly, I found that class, you know, rather elementary.

Elementary. You know I don't doubt that it was. I uh I remember that class. It was ... um ... it was just between recess and lunch. Clark, why don't you just go away? Why don't you relax? Why don't you go away?

I'm just having fun with my new friend. That's all.

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- -

Are we gonna have a problem?

No no no no. There's no problem here. I was just hoping you might give me some insight into the evolution of the market economy in the southern colonies. My contention is that prior to the Revolutionary War, the economic modalities especially in the southern colonies could most aptly be characterized as agrarian pre-capitalist. - Let me tell you something, all right?

- Hang on a sec. You're a first-year grad student. You just got finished reading some Marxian

historian, Pete Garrison probably. You're gonna be convinced of that till next month when you get to James Lemon. Then you're gonna be talking about how the economies of Virginia and Pennsylvania are entrepreneurial and capitalist way back in 1740. That's gonna last until next year. You're gonna be in here regurgitating Gordon Wood, talking about, you know, the pre-revolutionary utopia and the capital-forming effects of military mobilization.

- Well as a matter of fact, I won't because Wood drastically underestimates the impact of ... - \drastically underestimates the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth,

especially inherited wealth.\right? Yeah, I read that, too. Were you gonna plagiarize the whole thing for us? Do you have any

thoughts of your own on this matter? Or is that your thing? You come into a bar. You read some obscure passage and then pretend you pawn it off as your own, as your own idea just to impress some girls? Embarrass my friend? (From Good Will Hunting)

Word Bank

1. elementary:

introductory, fundamental

e.g. I'm only familiar with the subject at an elementary level.

2. recess:

a pause from doing something, break

e.g. The students have a 15-minute mid-morning recess.

3. colony:

the country or district settled or colonized 殖民地

4. modality:

a particular method or procedure

e.g. The students are familiar with the traditional modalities of representing time and space.

5. agrarian:

relating to farming or farmers

e.g. China used to be a typically agrarian country.

6. regurgitate:

repeat after memorization

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e.g. For the exam, you must be able to regurgitate the information.

7. predicate (up)on:

involve as a necessary condition of consequence

e.g. Solving the problem is predicated on understanding it well.

8. plagiarize:

take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech e.g. He accused other scientists of plagiarizing his research.

9. pawn something off:

to persuade someone to buy or accept something of low quality e.g. The man tried in vain to pawn off an old bicycle to some girls.

Exercise

1. Clark interferes in the conversation because he wants to ___________.

A. discuss a problem with the boy B. impress the girl C. show off his history knowledge D. embarrass the boy 2. It seems Clark is ___________.

A. reciting someone's words

B. pretending that he knows more than he does C. seeking a fight

D. interested in the girls

Key: 1. D 2. A

Inspirational Quotes

A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.

— John Ciardi

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Discussion

Do you think it is important for a college student to get A's on all subjects? Why?

II. Text I

Pre-reading Questions

1. You surely know what kind of student a straight-A student is, and you may also know what

\with that of illiteracy? Does \

2. Make a guess as to what kind of illiteracy the author is going to discuss in his essay, and what

made him think of such a subject.

General Reading

I. Which of the following do you think most appropriately describes a straight-A illiterate? A. A well-educated person, typically one with a Ph.D. degree, or working toward it, and with a high I.Q., but disabled by long-term exposure to academic jargon to write in clear, plain English.

B. A college student, usually one working toward a degree, who gets all A's for the courses he takes and is thus a promising candidate for a coveted fellowship, but is unable to verbalize his thoughts clearly because of over-concentration on academic readings.

C. A college student, a university professor, or any person of the academic world, who is an expert in using the academic jargon to express himself but at a disadvantage when communicating in plain everyday English.

Key: A

II. Determine whether the following statements are true or false.

1. In Degnan's opinion, of all those at university many are not able to read or write properly, and

this problem has already become a grave social concern.

2. The sort of writing the straight-A illiterates produce is hardly intelligible to others, but

crystally comprehensible to themselves.

3. If we compare straight-A illiteracy to a disease, as Degnan does, then the virus that causes

such a disease must be no other than the university professors.

4. Straight-A illiteracy is regarded as an important qualification for Ph.D. degrees and

fellowships by university authorities.

5. Although straight-A illiteracy affects fewer people than ordinary illiteracy, Degnan still

thinks it is worse than the latter type.

Key: 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T

Background Notes

1. American Sociological Review: a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all

aspects of sociology. It is published by Sage Publications on behalf of the American

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Sociological Association. It was established in 1936.

2. Malcolm Cowley (1898–1989): U.S. critic, and literary and cultural historian. He established

himself as an important writer in 1934 with the publication of Exile's Return. And in 1965, he was said to be, \to Edmund Wilson (1895–1972), one of America's foremost literary critics, the finest literary historian and critic alive in America\A Second Flowering Works and Days of the Lost Generation (1973).

Text Study Text

Straight-A Illiteracy James P. Degnan

1 Despite all the current fuss and bother about the extraordinary number of ordinary illiterates who overpopulate our schools, small attention has been given to another kind of illiterate, an illiterate whose plight is, in many ways, more important, because he is more influential. This illiterate may, as often as not, be a university president, but he is typically a Ph.D., a successful professor and textbook author. The person to whom I refer is the straight-A illiterate, and the following is written in an attempt to give him equal time with his widely publicized counterpart. 5

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2 The scene is my office, and I am at work, doing what must be done if one is to assist in the cure of a disease that, over the years, I have come to call straight-A illiteracy. I am interrogating, I am cross-examining, I am prying and probing for the meaning of a student's paper. The student is a college senior with a straight-A average, an extremely bright, highly articulate student who has just been awarded a coveted fellowship to one of the nation's outstanding graduate schools. He and I have been at this, have been going over his paper sentence by sentence, word by word, for an hour. \from his paper, \pause to catch my breath. \that statement,\I address the student — whom I shall call, allegorically, Mr. Bright — \his brow furrowed, tries mightily. Finally, with both of us combining our linguistic and imaginative resources, finally, after what seems another hour, we decode it. We decide exactly what it is that Mr. Bright is trying to say, what he really wants to say, which is: \demand.\

3 Over the past decade or so, I have known many students like him, many college seniors suffering from Bright's disease. It attacks the best minds, and gradually destroys the critical faculties, making it impossible for the sufferer to detect gibberish in his own writing or in that of others. During the years of higher education it grows worse, reaching its terminal stage, typically, when its victim receives his Ph.D. Obviously, the victim of Bright's disease is no ordinary illiterate. He would never turn in a paper with misspellings or errors in punctuation; he would never use a double negative or the word \incapable of saying, in writing, simply and clearly, what he means. The ordinary illiterate — perhaps providentially protected from college and graduate school — might say: \down at the shop better stock up on what our customers need, or we ain't gonna be in business long.\and professional journals that are the major sources of his affliction, he writes: \focus of concentration must rest upon objectives centered around the knowledge of customer areas so that a sophisticated awareness of those areas can serve as an entrepreneurial filter to screen what is relevant from what is irrelevant to future commitments.\straight As on his papers (both samples quoted above were taken from papers that received As), and the opportunity to move, inexorably, toward his fellowship and eventual Ph.D.

4 As I have suggested, the major cause of such illiteracy is the stuff — the textbooks and professional journals — the straight-A illiterate is forced to read during his years of higher education. He learns to write gibberish by reading it, and by being taught to admire it as profundity. If he is majoring in sociology, he must grapple with such journals as the American Sociological Review, journals bulging with barbarous jargon, such as \integrative action orientation\actor\(the latter of which monstrous phrases represents, to quote Malcolm Cowley, the sociologist's way of saying \things are never described as being \They are \homologous\or \Nor are things simply \allotropic.\They \dichotomize\bifurcate\

Words and Phrases

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1. plight n. a sad or unfortunate situation

e.g. The plight of the disabled children moved her to tears.

2. as often as not: quite frequently; at least half the time

e.g. As often as not, he would go to the old woman's home and help her clean up the place.

3. articulate adj. able to express thoughts and feelings clearly and effectively

e.g. She is among the few articulate children in the nursery.

4. coveted adj. eagerly wished for or desired

e.g. She won the coveted first prize at the speech contest, much to our surprise.

5. decode v. change a coded message into intelligible language

e.g. Straight-A illiterates' writings are like coded messages difficult to decode.

6. affliction n. 1) (in this context) trouble

2) (literal meaning) sth. that causes pain or suffering e.g. A feeling of isolation is his chief affliction.

7. inexorably adv. inescapably

e.g. New technology marches on inexorably.

8. profundity n. profoundness; great depth of knowledge or thought

e.g. We didn't realize that the modest and unassuming man who talked to us a while ago was a scholar of great profundity.

9. grapple with: try hard to deal with; solve a difficult problem

e.g. As he will soon graduate from college, he is now grappling with the problem of whether to find a job or to pursue further studies.

10. monstrous adj. frightening, shocking

e.g. How could he ever have told such a monstrous lie!

11. homologous adj. 1) a biological term meaning \

not necessarily in function\

2) having the same or a similar relation

12. allotropic adj. being of several forms of a chemical element in the same state but with

different physical or chemical properties

13. dichotomize v. divide or separate into two parts

14. bifurcate v. divide into two branches

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Notes

1. the current fuss and bother: the present-day worry and anxiety

fuss — a show of unnecessary anger, anxiety, excitement, interest, etc. e.g. Don't make a fuss over that careless spelling mistake. Why did you make such a fuss about a small matter like that?

2. to give him equal time with his widely publicized counterpart: to give as much attention as

has been paid to those illiterates like him, who are widely known to the public publicize — bring to public notice

e.g. The scientist does not want to have his experiment publicized before it is completed. The new dictionary sold quite well even though it was not publicized.

3. I am interrogating, I am cross-examining, I am prying and probing for the meaning of a

student's paper.: I am asking questions thoroughly, for a long time, and in detail; I am trying very hard to find out the meaning of a student's paper. Note how the author uses four different verbs to express the same idea forcefully.

interrogate — question formally for a special purpose, esp. for a long time and sometimes with the use of threat

e.g. The police interrogated the suspect for hours on end.

cross-examine — question sb. about the evidence he has already given in order to find out whether it is true or not

e.g. John was cross-examined on what he knew about the bribery scandal.

pry and probe — ask questions inquisitively and try to uncover some information e.g. It is objectionable to pry and probe into others' personal affairs.

4. \

derivations of certain multiple correlation coefficients.\: According to the author, this sentence is gibberish and its meaning is: \the sentence that the subject \choice ... multi-colinearity\corresponds to demand, the verb phrase \contingent upon\means \dependent on\and the noun phrase after upon \derivations ... coefficients\corresponds to supply. We must guard against this kind of gibberish in our own writing.

5. his brow furrowed: A more usual way of saying this is \knitted his brows\or \

frowned\

6. Bright's disease: There is actually a disease by this name, but the term here has no relation to

that disease at all. Here, the term refers only to \

7. the critical faculties: the natural mental power that makes sound judgment

8. irregardless: Regardless is sometimes misspelt as irregardless, a double negative that is

incorrect.

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9. providentially protected from college and graduate school: kept safe from college and

graduate school by divine interference

This is an example of irony. It is actually unfortunate for the ordinary illiterate to be kept out of institutions of higher learning.

providentially — involving divine interference; fortunately. Providential is the adjective form of providence, a divine force.

10. \

gonna be in business long.\: \people in the shop had better stock enough goods to meet the need of us customers; otherwise we are not going there to buy things any longer.\This is an example of ungrammatical English used by the ordinary illiterate.

11. Taking his cue from years of higher education: Following the examples or advice he has

been given for many years at college

take one's cue from ... — follow the advice or example of ...

e.g. Tom remained quiet at the discussion, and his sister took her cue from him.

12. \: This is the straight-A illiterate's

version of what an ordinary illiterate might say about stocking goods as shown in the preceding quotation. To put it in simple English, the sentence may read: \shopkeeper must know what the customers need so that he can tell what they really want from what they don't want when getting new supplies of goods.\

an entrepreneurial filter to screen what is relevant from what is irrelevant — a commercial device to tell what is suitable from what is unsuitable

future commitments — what the shopkeeper has to do in future, i.e. stocking goods

13. the stuff: This word has a derogatory tone, referring here to \

14. journals bulging with barbarous jargon: journals filled with outrageously unintelligible or

meaningless writing

bulge with — be so full of sth. as to swell in size e.g. His briefcase bulged with confidential documents.

15. orientation toward improvement of the gratificational deprivation balance of the actor:

make adjustment to improve the balance between satisfaction and dispossession

Questions

1. What is the purpose of Degnan's writing?

Key: To find the cause of straight-A illiteracy.

2. Why does Degnan say that a straight-A illiterate is more influential? (para. 1)

Key: He is usually one who occupies a position at the top of the academic hierarchy; the way he writes is considered exemplary, and his judgment of what is appropriate is directive.

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3. Do you think Degnan's comparison of straight-A illiteracy to a disease is appropriate? Explain.

(para. 3)

Key: Yes. Like a disease, it victimizes healthy persons; it has its symptoms, and its agent.

4. What rhetorical and linguistic devices does Degnan use in para. 2 to highlight the extreme

difficulty in understanding Mr. Bright's paper?

Key: Repetition of the same structure: \emphasize the difficulty of the task; use of a periodical sentence: \we decode it.%use of cleft-sentence structure: \decide what exactly it is that ...\italicizing the word \

5. Why does Degnan insert the word \

Bright\

Key: The student given the name of Mr. Bright thus becomes a symbol.

6. Make complete the elliptical sentence \

Key: \and with it Degnan turns back from one type to the other.

7. What does Degnan's choice of the word \

Key: An attitude of contempt and disapproval.

8. Try to explain why the following pairs of sentences are the same in meaning. (para. 2)

a. The choice of exogenous variables in relation to multi-colinearity is contingent upon the derivations of certain multiple correlation coefficients. b. Supply determines demand.

Key: As intended by the student, \while \the derivations ... coefficients\corresponds to \This is a very abstruse sentence to unravel.

9. Reword the following sentences so that they are more easily understood. (para. 3)

a. The focus of concentration must rest upon objectives centered around the knowledge of

customer areas so that a sophisticated awareness of those areas can serve as an entrepreneurial filter to screen what is relevant from what is irrelevant to future commitments.

b. Them people down at the shop better stock up on what our customers need, or we ain't

gonna be in business long.

Key: a. You must focus your attention on what your customers need so that you are able to tell what is necessary from what is unnecessary when you replenish your stock.

b. The shop assistants had better have in stock what our customers need, or we won't be in business long.

10. Compare briefly the two types of illiteracy. Which type in your opinion presents a graver

problem to society?

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9. \: unnecessary words. Deadwood literally means \

also refers to \

10. City Hall: the administration building of New York City

11. resorted to long Latinate words and involved syntax: made use of words of Latin origin

and complicated rules of grammar. Illumination, require, extinguish, and premises are all words of Latin origin.

12. the King James Version of the Bible: an English version of the Bible prepared in England

under King James I (1603–1625) and published in 1611. It is also called the Authorized Version.

13. flourish, flamboyance, or grandiloquence: elaborate, showy, or pompous expression

14. \said, let there be light: ... darkness he called Night.\: This is from Chapter I of

Genesis, Old Testament.

15. Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865): the sixteenth president of the U.S.A. (1861–1865). His

second Inaugural Address was made on March 4, 1865.

16. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963): the thirty-fifth president of the U.S.A. (1961–1963).

His Inaugural Address was made on January 20, 1961.

17. speak to each other across the span of a century: speak alike in spite of the long stretch of

one hundred years between the two presidents

18. Ludwig (Josef Johann) Wittgenstein (1889–1951): one of the leading figures in

twentieth-century philosophy

19. Suffice it to say ... that ...: It is enough to say that ...

This phrase is used to indicate that one is saying enough to make one's meaning clear while withholding something for reasons of brevity.

20. Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957): Greek poet and novelist. Sorba the Greek is one of his

works.

21. Cretan: of the island of Crete, a Greek island in the Mediterranean, to the southeast of

mainland Greece

22. a manly austerity: a gentlemanly simplicity

23. between the severe lines: between the plain and simple lines (of trees)

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24. \: the person who is curious to get some information

25. that defy a memorable turn of phrase: that oppose an impressive or extraordinary style of

writing

Comprehension

I. Answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. According to Berke all the following are basic qualities of good writing EXCEPT

_________. A. clarity B. economy C. explicitness D. simplicity

2. The language of the poster produced by an anonymous civil servant at City Hall during

WWII was characterized by all the following EXCEPT _________. A. the use of long words instead of short ones

B. the use of words of foreign origin instead of native ones C. the use of complicated sentence structures D. the use of the direct, imperative mood

3. Technical writing bears all the following features EXCEPT _________.

A. obvious B. emotional C. direct D. human

4. For a writer to be human in his writing, it is of primary importance that he _________.

A. make his writing as readable as possible B. have a clear idea who he is writing for C. know what he is writing about

D. maintain a good relationship with his readers

Key: 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. B

II. Discuss the following questions.

1. What, according to Berke, are the three major qualities of good writing? How does she

explain each of them?

2. How do you interpret the human nature of writing, which Berke emphasizes so much in

para. 10?

3. Berke's article ends with a list of five questions which she thinks a writer should keep in

mind while writing. What do you think her own answers to these questions were when she was writing this article?

4. How would you assess your own writing in the light of the qualities which Berke says

good writing is to possess?

Key:

1. Economy (Refer to para. 4).

Simplicity (Refer to paras. 5, 6, and 7). Clarity (Refer to para. 8).

2. Whatever is written, it is written by a human being to be read by another human being or

other human beings. Thus writing is interpersonal by nature. 3. Probably her answers to these questions would be:

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(1) A professor of English, an instructor of writing.

(2) Those who have a relatively high level of education but nevertheless need help to improve their writing.

(3) To provide some guidelines concerning writing in an essay to be read by the public.

(4) Specialized, someone who is in the field.

(5) Implement the principles in their own writing practice. 4. Individual assessment.

IV. Paragraph Writing

Writing Technique

Process

What Is Process Writing?

When you want to learn how to operate a dish-washer, you may probably have a knowledgeable person show you how or give you a clear explanation of the process. In a process, the writer describes a series of steps or stages by which something is accomplished.

What Is Process?

Baking cookies, following instructions to install a smoke alarm and refinishing a table are all processes. The recipe for a chocolate cake, for instance, presents a classic formula for process writing. It is composed of a list of ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, butter, eggs, chocolate, etc.), followed by a detailed list of instructions for incorporating these materials, step by step, to produce the desired end product: a chocolate cake. A process, therefore, answers the question of how something operates or how something happens.

Characteristics of Process

One major characteristic of a process is that it is composed of different steps, aided by an account of each of the steps so as to direct the readers to go along with the explanation. If one step is omitted or even poorly presented, then the string of connections snaps apart.

Example

Read the excerpt that follows. Notice how the writer describes the steps of the process in the order as they occur.

The ancient pyramids of Egypt continue to fascinate and amaze people nearly five thousand years after the Egyptians built them. Constructing each massive pyramid was difficult and dangerous labor, requiring thousands of workers and years of toil. First, heavy limestone blocks were taken from quarries located near the Nile River. Then, the blocks were transported by wooden boats to a point as close as possible to the intended building site of the pyramid. Next, the blocks were unloaded and slowly hauled to the actual site by means of sledges positioned atop wooden rollers. As construction proceeded, the Egyptians moved each successive block into position using ramps made of bricks of dried mud. Incredibly, the huge pyramids were completed without the aid of bulldozers, cranes, trucks, or other modern-day construction equipment. Even

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so, the tallest pyramid rose higher than a forty-story building! Equally remarkable, numerous pyramids still stand today, almost fifty centuries since their construction.

Techniques of Process Writing

In organizing a process, the first necessary part is to list the series of steps, which are to be arranged in their correct order. Most processes are performed step by step in a chronological order: step 1 is usually completed before step 2 is undertaken. A good process should reflect the sequence in which the process is undertaken in order to make the procedure logical and easy for readers to follow.

The second part, then, is to specify the relationships between these steps. Unless we make such relations clear, our readers will be left with the impression that the various steps occur far apart in time and space, or that there is no necessary causal link between them. Since much of the process writing is concerned with how one event or idea leads to another, we can imagine how important it is to be able to show these relationships.

When describing a process, we may use appropriate transitional words and phrases such as first, then, and next (as is done in the above short selection) to link the steps.

What Makes Good Process

The purpose of an essay that describes a process is usually to inform, but the purpose may also be to persuade readers that a process is preferable. Whichever the purpose, a successful process must be clearly explained, with language precisely used, all the important details included, all the steps presented in their exact order of execution, and reasons for steps of the process given, where necessary.

Exercise

Structure an essay that describes a process using chronological order, to show the sequence in which the steps must be performed or the sequence in which the steps occur.

Hints:

An effective way to structure your essay is to list all the steps in their natural order, and use explicit transitional expressions to begin each \

Writing Practice

Write an essay of about 300 words on the topic of \Week\

Hints:

You can focus on one Internet service or tool to tell the process of making online friends. If you choose weibo, for example, include all the necessary steps, including setting up an account, getting to know others, inviting people to become friends, staying in touch with them, sending birthday or holiday blessings, etc.

V. Comprehensive Exercises

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Listening Audio Clip

Book 6 Unit 5.mp3 (00:00 – 01:39)

Exercise

Listen to the following talk and fill in the following blanks with information from the talk.

For years, I have listened to students and faculty talk about their (1) _______ program experiences. Recently (2) _______ undergraduate student from Oregon State University talked about their Taiwan (3) _______. According to their (4) _______, Taiwan parents have more (5) _______ over their college student children than American parents. They decide universities, (6) _______ of study, jobs and careers, and even (7) _______ relationships. Female Taiwan students use less (8) _______ than American students, but use (9) _______ more often to (10) _______ themselves.

Key:

(1) exchange (2) three

(3) experience (4) impression (5) influence (6) areas (7) romantic (8) make-up (9) clothes (10) express

Translation

English-Chinese Translation

1. The person to whom I refer is the straight-A illiterate, and the following is written in an

attempt to give him equal time with his widely publicized counterpart.

译文：

我指的是一个全A文盲，写下下面这段文字，让大家同样多地了解到他们不广为人知的一面。

讲解： 原文中的give him equal time with ...如果直译成“给予他们同样??”，将令人费解。这里可以加一个词“大家”，同时在忠于原文意思的基础上，对widely publicized加上否定词并移位，令译文组织起来更为流畅。

2. It attacks the best minds, and gradually destroys the critical faculties, making it impossible

for the sufferer to detect gibberish in his own writing or in that of others.

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译文： 这种状况侵害了最聪明的头脑，而且渐渐损伤了批判性思维的能力，令受害者无从发现自己文章或他人文章中的胡言乱语。

讲解： 正确的理解是翻译的前提。在上下文中，句首的it指的是Bright's disease，而making it impossible ...中的it指代to detect gibberish in his own writing or in that of others。

3. For writing such gibberish he is awarded straight As on his papers (both samples quoted

above were taken from papers that received As), and the opportunity to move, inexorably, toward his fellowship and eventual Ph.D.

译文： 因为这些一窍不通的文字，他的论文都得了A（上面引用的两个例子都来自得A的论文），而且他能势如破竹地获得奖学金、最终被授予博士学位。

讲解： 在原文中，he is awarded的宾语包括straight As on his paper和the opportunity ...。翻译时由于一处转换了主语（“他”转为“他的论文”），要注意在另一处做相应的调整。成语“势如破竹”也较好地传达了move, inexorably, toward ...的意思。

4. As I have suggested, the major cause of such illiteracy is the stuff — the textbooks and

professional journals — the straight-A illiterate is forced to read during his years of higher education. He learns to write gibberish by reading it, and by being taught to admire it as profundity.

译文： 就如我曾提到的，造成这种文盲的主要原因是全A文盲在接受多年高等教育期间被迫读的那些东西——教科书和专业期刊。他先是读这些东西，又被教导要对这些东西敬若深义，然后自己也学会了写这些文理不通的东西。

讲解： 在这段话的第一句中，the straight-A illiterate is forced ...是修饰the stuff的定语，鉴于前面还有一个破折号隔开的补充说明部分，建议先译后面的定语从句，而把破折号部分后置。第二句中有两个by引导的动名词短语，在翻译时要处理好这里的逻辑关系。

Chinese-English Translation

1. 尽管他曾经有过光辉的过去，但到了晚年他又穷又病，境况可怜。(plight) Translation:

Despite the fact that he had had a glorious past, in old age he was in a piteous plight, poor and ill.

2. 为了找到解决这个问题的方法，已经做了很多的实验。(in an attempt to) Translation:

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Book 6 Unit 5

Many experiments have been made in an attempt to find a solution to the problem.

3. 女孩一般比男孩发音清晰。(articulate) Translation:

A girl tends to be more articulate than a boy.

4. 这本手册旨在解读肢体语言。(decode) Translation:

This handbook is intended to decode body language.

5. 我发觉她对这件事的看法有了变化，虽然十分微妙。(detect) Translation:

I detected a change in her opinion on this matter, subtle as it was.

6. 垂危病人的病房在一号楼。(terminal) Translation:

The wards for terminal cases are in Building One.

7. 我们必须设法解决那个难题。(grapple with) Translation:

We must grapple with that knotty problem.

8. 不管到那里，他总是拿着一只塞满文件的手提包。(bulge with) Translation:

No matter where he goes, he always carries a briefcase bulging with documents.

Error-correction Exercise

The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proofread the passage and correct it in the following way:

For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a \∧\you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a dash \—\blank provided at the end of the line.

EXAMPLE:

When ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, it never buys things in finished form and hangs them on the wall. When a natural history museum wants an exhibition, it must often build it.

1. an 2. never 3. exhibit

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Book 6 Unit 5

The British love to think of themselves as polite, and everyone knows how fond they are of their \yous\requires at least seven and eight of these. Another sign of our good manners is the queue. New-comers to British could be forgiven for thinking that queuing rather than football is the most superior national sport. Finally, of course, motorists generally stop at crossings. But does all these mean that the British should consider themselves more polite than their European neighborhood? I think not. Take forms of address for example. The average English person — when he happens to work in a hotel or department store — had rather die than call a stranger \some European countries this is the most basic of common address. Our universal \democratic, but it means that we are forced to seek out complicating ways to express politeness. Actually, I am all for return to the use of \thee\thou\Thee and thou are old-fashioned poetic words for \for strangers and professional relationships. And of course, the English find touching and other show of friendship truly terrifying. Have you noticed how the British hardly ever touch? Personally, I find the Latin habit of shaking hands or a friendly kissing quite charming. Try kiss the average English person, and they will take two steps backwards in horror, or, if their escape is assured, you will find your lips touching the back of their heads. Now what could be more frightening than that? 1. ___________ 2. ___________ 3. ___________ 4. ___________ 5. ___________ 6. ___________ 7. ___________ 8. ___________ 9. ___________ 10. ___________ Key:

1. and: or （seven和eight是选择而不是并列的关系） 2. British: Britain （Britain表示“英国”） 3. most: most （superior不能用最高级修饰） 4. these: this （用单数this统称上述这些情况）

5. neighborhood: neighbors （neighbors是“邻居”的意思）

6. had: would （would rather ... than ...表示“宁可??也不??”）

7. complicating: complicated （形容词complicated是“复杂的”的意思） 8. return: returning （需要动名词短语）

9. show: shows （show是可数名词，前面有other）

10. kiss: kissing （try doing something表示“尝试做某事”）

Skill Development

动名词短语的用法

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Book 6 Unit 5

英语的动名词形式上由动词加ing构成，兼具动词（后面可以接宾语）和名词（本身可作主语或宾语）的特点。改错题对动名词短语的考查往往体现在，是否在需要用动名词短语的地方用了恰当的动名词短语。 要判断一个动词是否该用它的动名词形式，需要结合语法、词汇知识考虑是否其所在的动名词短语在句中充当名词短语的角色（作主语、宾语，等等）。例如练习的第8项，return to ...应该是I am all for（我完全赞同）的对象，即充当介词宾语。那么，return应当为returning。在一般情况下，两个行为动词不会连用，因此第10项的Try kiss是有问题的，应该把后面的kiss改为kissing。动词结构try doing something表示“尝试做某事”。

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