Unit 10 The New Immorality

Unit 10

Text I The New Immorality

TEXT EXPLANATIONS The New Immorality, a revealing argumentative essay, exposes, analyzes, and criticizes the new immorality prevalent in our age. This eleven-paragraph argumentation may be divided into three parts. The first three paragraphs, the beginning part, illustrate a paradox of our age. Paragraphs 4-10, the body of the text, first illustrate an interesting tendency to accept and take for granted personal dishonesty, and next analyzes the social and psychological ground for the behavior, attitude, and defense of the dishonest people.

Then, the writer presents his own opinions about the great significance of the concept of personal honor. The last paragraph, the conclusion of the essay, presents the writer's idea of what an honest and honorable person ought to do no matter how bad the world may become.

1. What is the paradox referred to in the beginning part of the essay?The paradox mentioned and illustrated in the text is our seemingly great growth in social morality has oddly enough taken place in a world where private morality -- a sense of the supreme importance of purely personal honor, honesty, and integrity -- seems to be declining."

2. What is the new immorality the writer criticizes?The new immorality the writer criticizes is that many people tend to accept and take for granted personal dishonesty, and as a result, they are not likely to feel ashamed when they are caught cheating or doing something dishonest, but claim that they have a strong social conscience and social morality.

1. provost n. a high-ranking administrative official of a university The provosts of some colleges of the university were present at the graduation ceremony. The provost presided over the faculty meeting yesterday. 2. reprehensible adj. deserving to be reprehended; deserving to be criticized or rebuked Plagiarism was a morally reprehensible act. It was reprehensible of him to steal from his mother.

3. rig vt. to arrange the outcome of sth. dishonestly They claimed that the result of the election was rigged. Some stockholders rigged the stock market. 4.Yet most of these five, like most of the college cheaters, would probably profess a strong social consciousness. + However, most of these five people, like a majority of the college students who commit cheating on examinations, would probably claim that they have a strong sense of responsibility for society. 5. profess vt. claim sth. often falsely; state openly that one has a belief, feeling, etc.

I don't profess expert knowledge of this subject. How could you profess to be an expert in this area? He professed that he knew nothing about the plot. She professed herself satisfied with the progress made.

6. integrity n. honesty, moral uprightness; wholeness or soundness We admire her greatly for her integrity. They make great effort to keep their cultural integrity intact. The two nations have mutual respect for their territ

orial integrity. We should maintain the integrity of our brain function.

7. Beneficent and benevolent social institutions are administered by men who all too frequently turn out to be accepting "gifts." + Charitable social organizations are managed or controlled by men who very often prove to be easily bribed. beneficent adj. showing active kindness; generous, charitable Many rich businessmen have become beneficent patrons. The orphan was looked after by a beneficent old lady. benevolent adj. willing or wishing to be kind, friendly and helpful; charitable, doing good rather than making profits I am deeply impressed by his benevolent manner. The feminist established a benevolent institution when she retired.

8. rock v. (cause sb. or sth. to) move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side; (cause sth. to ) shake violently; (fig) disturb or shock sb. or sth. greatly Mother rocked her baby to sleep. Our boat was gently rocked by the waves. The whole house rocked when the bomb exploded. The scandal rocked the government. 9. ghost writer: a person who writes sth. for sb. else and allows him to publish it under his own name It turned out that all his articles were actually bought from ghost-writers. Most ghost-writers are driven by money to ghostwrite for others.

10. prevalent adj. existing or happening generally or universally; being widespread The prevalent opinion is in favor of reform. Is malaria still prevalent among the population here? Anti-government sentiments are still prevalent in that war-ravaged country. 11.I have no way of making a historical measurement. + I am not able at all to judge personal dishonesty from the angle of history.

12. mores n. (fml) customs or conventions considered typical of or essential to a group We must observe social mores. Every society has its own mores. 13.revealing adj. making facts, etc. known; causing or allowing sth. to be visible It was a revealing slip of the tongue. The X-ray was very revealing. She is wearing a rather revealing dress.

14. abstraction n. a general idea or theory developed from specific concrete examples of events I expect some examples to illustrate your talk that is, by and large, an abstraction. 15.The harm it did the bribe-taker and the cheater isn't important; it is purely personal. + The harm it did the bribe-taker and the cheater is insignificant, because it is merely the person concerned that bears the consequence.

16. persona n. (psychology) the image of character and personality that one wishes to show the outside world She has a hot temper, which is an undesirable persona of her personality. The comic personae in her writings are jocund and humorous.

17. decency n. quality of being or appearing as respectable people would wish; (pl) accepted standards of behavior or propriety in society; avoidance of obscenity; the requirements of correct behavior Appearing

naked in public is an offence against decency. Have the decency to apologize for what you did. You must observe the decencies when you are present at a ceremony.

18. reverse n. sth. that is the contrary or opposite to what is expected; change for the worse Children's shoes are not cheap, but quite the reverse. You were the very reverse of politeness. The patient suffered some serious reverses.

19. What social morality and social conscience leave out is the narrower but very significant concept of honor -- as opposed to what is sometimes called merely "socially desirable conduct." + What the definition of social morality and social conscience fails to include in its scope is the narrower but very important notion of honor;rather, it lays much more emphasis on what is sometimes referred to merely as "socially desirable conduct." 20.dishonor vt. to bring disgrace on sb. or sth. What he did dishonored his family. It was a cowardly act that dishonored his memory.

21. social usefulness: According to the context, this phrase means being useful or helpful to a particular group of people with shared interest, etc. 22. ultimate adj. beyond which no other exists or is possible; from which everything else is derived, basic or fundamental; that cannot be surpassed or improved upon The management must take ultimate responsibility for the strike. Nuclear weapons are the ultimate deterrent. These are the ultimate principles of philosophy and science. The ultimate luxury of the trip was flying on the Concorde.

23. No one who is dependent on anything outside himself, upon money, power, fame, or whatnot, is or ever can be secure. + No one who does not rely on himself but just on money, power, fame, etc. is or ever can be free from danger. 24. Only he who possesses himself and is content with himself is actually secure. + Whoever is his own master and happy with his achievements is indeed secure.

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