新视野大学英语第三版读写教程第二册unit2-College—The Ladder

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授课题目：College—The Ladder to Success?

授课时间：第____周第____周

授课类型：理论课

授课时数：4

教学目的：

After finishing this unit, students will be able to:

1.To talk about the significance of humanities;

2.Get deeper insights into the text;

3.Make creative use of words, phrases and sentence patterns;

4.To master the essay writing skill: focus on an advantage\disadvantage;

5.To read with the skill “reading for major details”.

教学重点和难点：

1.To further understand the text;

2.To apply the words, phrases and sentence patterns;

3.To read with the skill “reading for major details”;

4.To write an essay with the skill “focus on an advantage\disadvantage”.

教学方法和手段：

Various kinds of teaching methods are used:

1.Teaching in class. Explain the profound theoretical knowledge in class;

2.Case study. Provide case study during teaching, and make the students to discuss about the case;

3.Bilingual and full English teaching;

4.Applying modern multimedia teaching technologies;

5.Taking advantage of abundant network teaching resources.

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教学内容和过程：

Section A The humanities: Out of date?

Step One Warming-up Activities 30 minutes

I.Lead-in:

Discuss the following questions:

1.How do you think of your current major? If you were given a second chance to choose your major, what would you select and why?

—If I were given a second chance to choose my major, I would choose …/ I think being a … is …

— accounting, computer science, psychology,

—civil engineering, philosophy, medical technology …

—popular, interesting, enjoyable, promising, practical, meaningful, beneficial, well-paid …

2. What liberal arts / humanities courses do you learn in college? Do you think they are necessary for your education?

— I learn Chinese, English, philosophy, psychology, history … in college. I think they are an essential part of the college education and benefit me a lot.

? gain more insight in life and society

? better understand and predict human behavior

? realize different interpretations of life and history

? understand the past which has created the present

? be aware of cultural and religious differences

II.Cultural background

1. What are the humanities?

The humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative. Therefore, they are distinguished from the approaches of natural sciences. The humanities, called social sciences, include history, anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies, law, linguistics, etc.

2. Why are the humanities important?

Through exploration of the humanities, students learn how to think creatively

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and critically, to reason, and to ask questions. Because these skills allow students to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to business models and politics, humanistic subjects have been at the heart of a liberal arts education. Today, humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring and understanding the human experience.

Step Two Text Study 80 minutes

I.Interactive reading of the text

1. Reading comprehension

1)Why do many students calculate they can’t major in English or history?

2)Why does the author say that a college education is more and more seen as a

means for economic betterment rather than a means for human betterment?

3)How do you understand “These days, labs are more vivid and compelling

than libraries” (Para. 3)?

4)Why does the author say that the inner aspect of our being has captured our

imagination from the very beginning?

5)According to the author, what are the advantages of studying the humanities?

6)What are “well-rounded human beings” (Para. 10) according to the author?

2. Structure of the text

Part 1 (Para, 1-5) Introduction

To improve their future chances of finding a job, college students are now moving away from the humanities and taking accounting or some “hard-skill” courses. The humanities will continue to be in bad shape due to the economic downturn. Nevertheless, the humanities can bring true value to people’s lives, and the basis of study of the humanities is formed by the inner power that has driven human beings to either greatness or destruction.

Part 2 (Para. 6-9) Body: Why the humanities?

This part presents the author’s argument to stand up for the true value that the humanities bring to people’s lives.

Part 3 (Para 10) Concluding part

The humanities help to create human beings with insight and understanding of the passions, hopes and dreams common to all humanity. The humanities will never be out of date. They are as useful and relevant in our modern age as they have always

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been.

3. Summary of the Text

Retell the text according to the following tips.

1）(Part I) When the job market worsens, many students calculate ... Probably, the humanities will continue …. Once …, the humanities now …

2）(Part II) Here, please allow me to … that the humanities add to people’s lives. Studying the humanities improves… Most importantly, studying the humanities invests us with …, thereby… Perhaps the best argument in favor of the humanities is… In fact, increasingly… is seen as the ideal in…

3）(Part III) In summary, the humanities help to create …, teach us to … and… It makes sense to …, our outstanding and remarkable …

nguage Focus

Words and expressions

1. when the going gets tough: when the situation becomes difficult

When the going gets tough, women can get as tough as men.当形势变得严峻时，女人可以变得跟男人一样坚强。

2. calculate: vt.

1)make a judgment about what is likely to happen using the available information 估计，预测，推测

It is difficult to calculate the long-term effects of these changes in the law.

这些法律上的变化带来的长期影响是难以预测的。

2）find out how much sth. will cost, how long sth. Will take计算，核算

Let me calculate the cost of the journey. 让我计算一下旅途的用费。

3. boost：increase or improve sth. to make it more successful 促进，推动，使兴旺These changes will help to boost share prices.

这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

4. prospect：n. sth. that is possible or likely to happen in the future, or the possibility itself 可能的事情，前景

The prospect for East Asia’s economic development is promising.

东亚经济发展的前景是光明的。

5. persist

1）continue to exist 继续存在，持续

If the bad weather persists, the farmers will suffer great losses this year. 如果恶劣天气持续，农民今年将遭遇巨大的损失。

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2）continue to do sth., although this is difficult, or other people oppose it 坚持，执意Students must persist in their efforts if they wish to do well. 学生如果想取得好成绩就必须坚持努力。

persist, insist

1 persist可用于表示“继续存在；持续”,尤其用于不好的事情，而insist没有此意。Contact your doctor if the cough persists.如果咳嗽持续，请联系您的医生。

2 persist和insist容易混淆主要是当两者均表示“坚持”时。

persist用于表示“坚持” 时，表示“坚持反复做同一件事”，后接介词in，多用于褒义，指“坚持继续做某事”，有时用于贬义，指“不听劝告；顽固坚持”。

Her mother tried to persuade her to go to bed early, but she persisted in working until the

small hours.她的母亲劝她早点睡，但她仍坚持工作到凌晨。

insist用于表示“坚持”时，表示“坚持做某件事（尤指麻烦或令人讨厌的事）”，后接介词on。

She insisted on washing her hair just when I wanted to have a bath.当我想泡个澡时，她

还在那洗头。

3 insist还可用于表示“对意见、主张等的坚持”。insist用于此意时，后可接介词on，也可以接that引导的从句（是否用虚拟语气，视情况而定，即看从句内容是否为事实），而persist

无此意。

The doctor insisted that she (should) take the medicine, but she insisted that she was not

ill.医生坚持让她服此药，但她坚持自己没病。

6.succession：一连串，一系列

After graduation, he took a succession of low-paid jobs.

In succession: 持续发生地，接连发生地

She is an accomplished athlete and won the championship four times in succession. 7.liberal: a.

1)~ arts 文科

The liberal arts are college or university subjects such as history, languages and literature but not sciences. 文科是学院或大学的如历史、语言和文学之类的学习科目，而不是理科学科。

2）心胸开朗的，开明的

She is known to have liberal views on porce. 人们知道她对离婚持有开明的观点。

pel: vt. force sb. To do sth,

As a school boy, he was compelled to wear shorts even in winter.

当他还是一个在校的小男孩时，即使在冬天他也被迫穿短裤。

compelling：interesting or exciting enough to keep your attention completely 有吸引

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力的

Steven Jobs’ life makes a compelling story.

9.speculate: v. consider or discuss why sth. has happened 思索，推测Archeologists speculate that people first reached the islands over 1,000 years ago.

考古学家们推测人类第一次到达这些岛屿是在一千多年前。

speculate about/on: 猜测，推测

It is too early to speculate about the relationship between Mary and George.

现在推测玛丽和乔治的关系，还为时过早。

10.fertile：a.

1)able to produce good ideas or results 富有成果的，富有想象力的

A poet must have a fertile imagination. 诗人必须有丰富的想象力。

2）able to produce good crops or plants 肥沃的，富饶的

Fertile soil helps Canada rank among the world’s leading wheat producers.

肥沃的土壤帮助加拿大跻身世界主要小麦生产国。

11.elegant：a.

1)very intelligent yet simple 巧妙的，简洁的

the document impressed me with its elegant simplicity. 该文件给我留下了精辟简明的深刻印象。

2）beautiful, attractive and graceful 优美的，高雅的

Patricia looked beautiful and elegant as always. 帕特里夏看上去总是那么美丽优雅。

12.undertake：vt. (undertook, undertaken) agree to be responsible for a job or project and do it承担，着手做

Dr. Johnson undertook the task of writing a comprehensive English dictionary.

约翰逊博士着手写一本详尽的英语词典。

13.liable：(be ~ to do sth.) likely to do sth. in a particular way because of a fault or tendency 可能（易于）做某事

Many parts of the country are liable to suffer from flooding. 该国的许多地方易遭水灾。

14.reservoir：n.[C]

1) a large quantity of sth. that can be used 积蓄；储备

Colleges are a reservoir of talents for companies. 大学是企业的人才库。

2）an artificial or natural lake where water is stored so that it can be supplied to the houses in an area （人造的）水库；（天然）蓄水湖

If it rains heavily, the reservoir will overflow. 如果下大雨，水库里的水就会溢出来。

15.in the company of: in sb’s company; with sb. 和某人在一起

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She caught sight of her grandson, in the company of three other boys of similar age, going into the narrow alley which led to the railway.

她看见她的孙子与其他三个年龄相仿的男孩一起，进入了那条通向铁路的狭窄小巷。

16.outstanding：a. extremely good or impressive 杰出的；出众的；显著的

His performance in charitable activities was outstanding. 在公益活动方面，他的表现非常出色。

Difficult sentences:

1. The data show that as students have increasingly shouldered the ever-rising cost of tuition, they have defected from the study of the humanities and toward applied science and “hard” skills that they bet will lead to employment. (Para. 2) Meaning:The facts and information show that as students have spent increasingly more money on tuition, they have turned away from studying the humanities to some practical courses that they believe will enable them to get a job more easily.

2. In other words, a college education is more and more seen as a means for economic betterment rather than a means for human betterment. (Para. 2) Meaning:In other words, a college education is more considered as a method to improve students’ future economic status rather than improve human nature or behavior.

Meaning beyond words:The quality of a college education is increasingly questionable because the trend among many colleges is to become more like a business and less like an academic setting.

3. Once the dominant pillars of university life, the humanities now play little roles when students take their college tours. These days, labs are more vivid and compelling than libraries. (Para. 3)

Meaning: The humanities that once dominated university life now play a trivial role when students have their college visits; nowadays, labs are more eye-catching and fascinating than libraries.

Meaning beyond words:Libraries were once the only place where students spent much time reading materials, doing research and writing papers. However, as more students are taking science courses, labs where students do scientific experiments play a more important role for learning than traditional libraries.

Note:A “college tour” is a series of campus visits to a number of colleges or

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universities by a prospective student. College tours may be taken inpidually or by school groups and educational programs as a way for a large number of people to visit several schools over a short period of time. In addition, many colleges now offer virtual tours on the Internet.

4. Historians, architects, authors, philosophers and artists have captured the words, images and meanings of this inner struggle in the form of story, music, myth, painting, architecture, sculpture, landscape and traditions. (Para.5) Meaning:Our historians, architects, authors, philosophers and artists have successfully caught the words, images and meanings of this mysterious inner force by way of story, music, myth, painting, architecture, sculpture, landscape and traditions.

5. Most importantly, studying the humanities invests us with great insight and self-awareness, thereby releasing our creative energy and talent in a positive and constructive manner. (Para. 7)

Meaning:The most important advantage for us to study the humanities is that it enables us to become more analytical and self-aware; therefore, our creativeness and talent are brought out in a positive and constructive way.

6. Famous people who studied the humanities make a long list indeed. It’s easy to see that the humanities can prepare us for many different careers and jobs we can undertake, whether medicine, business, science or entertainment.(Para. 8) Meaning:It is true that famous people who studied the humanities can make up a long list. Obviously, the humanities enable us to engage in many different careers and jobs, no matter whether they are medicine, business, science or entertainment. Note:“Whether medicine, business, science or entertainment” is an elliptical clause. It can be understood as “Whether they are medicine, business, science or entertainment”. In an elliptical clause some words are left out. Because it’s within a context, it is usually clear what is missing. As a rule, elliptical sentences consist of two clauses, one containing the grammar elements the other has left out. For example: 1)Jessica had five dollars while Monica (had) one.

杰西卡有五美元，而莫妮卡只有一美元。

(The verb had is dropped from the second clause, but the meaning is still clear.)

2) Leave quickly when (you are) ready.准备好就赶紧离开吧。

(In the sentence, you are is understood though omitted.)

7. If we study only mathematics, it’s likely we will be a candidate only for jobs as

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a mathematician. (Para. 8)

Meaning: If we study only mathematics, very possibly we will be a person who only competes for jobs as a mathematician.

Meaning beyond words:We can be more competitive if we study the humanities, together with mathematics.

8. If I were the Dean of Admissions at a medical school and two people applied to our school, both having the required basic scientific courses, one a philosophy major and the other solely a pre-med student, the philosophy applicant would be chosen. (Para.9)

Meaning: Suppose I am the Dean of Admissions at a medical school and I’m recruiting two applicants. Both of them took the required basic scientific courses, but one is a philosophy major and the other just premed. I would surely choose the one with the philosophy background.

Note:In American culture, the “dean” is usually the head of a “pision” or “college” within the larger unit of the university.

pre-med: a. (AmE) relating to classes that prepare a student for medical school, or to the students who are taking these classes医学院预科的；针对医学院预科生的

My sister wants to become a doctor, and she is now a pre-med student.

我妹妹想成为一名医生，她现在是医学院的预科生。

Step Three Language application 45 minutes

1. focus on an advantage/disadvantage essay

Generally speaking, the outline of writing an advantage/disadvantage essay falls in one of these three formats: 1) advantages and disadvantages; 2) advantage only; 3) disadvantages only. When you write such an essay, remember that you are giving information, a method that is called exposition or expository writing.

Begin your essay by introducing your topic and explaining that you are exploring the advantages or disadvantages of the topic. Mention in your thesis statement the advantages and disadvantages you will discuss in the essay. Use transitions to make your ideas flow smoothly. The following transitional words are very common when writing an advantage/disadvantage essay: firstly, in other words, this means that…, finally, in conclusion, to sum up…

2. Sample appreciation (Text A Para 4-10)

Introduction----Body (advantages of studying the humanities) ----Conclusion

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3. Writing practice

Directions: Write an essay of no less than 150 words on one of the following topics. One topic has an outline you can follow.

Topic: Advantages of taking physical education (P.E.) courses

Introduction:

Thesis statement: Taking P.E. courses can be advantageous to all college students Body:

Advantage 1: Learn valuable communication and teamwork skills

Advantage 2: Handle heavy coursework more effectively

Conclusion: Taking P.E. course at college can benefit students in developing useful social skills as well as better coping skills for their stress at school.

More topics:

? Advantages of taking liberal arts courses

? Disadvantages of majoring in liberal arts

Step Four Summary 5 minutes

1.Revision of the useful expressions

in succession

speculate about/on

stand up for

in the form of

in favor of

in the company of

2.Revision of the functional patterns

Step Five Reading Skills and Comprehension（阅读技巧和阅读理解）20 minutes I. Reading Skill: Reading for major details

II. Reading Comprehension: Go through Text B and answer the relative questions after Text B on page 54

III . Language points: explain important language points in Text B.

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课后作业：

1.Exercises after Text A & Text B

2.Essay writing: Advantages of taking physical education (P.E.) courses

3.Oral reproduction:

Write a letter to the Curriculum Committee and present it to the class

4.Preview Unit 2.

参考文献:

郑树棠. 新视野大学英语读写教程（第三版）第二册[M]. 北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2015.

郑树棠. 新视野大学英语读写教程（第三版）第二册教师用书[M]. 北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2015.

夏纪梅. 现代外语课堂设计理论与实践[M]. 上海：上海外语教育出版社，2003.

课后小结：

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