Unit 3
Preparatory work
1. Deborah Tannen is University Professor and Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University and author of many books and articles about how the language of everyday conversation affects relationships. She is best known as the author of You Just Don ‘t Un derstand: Women and Men in Conversation, which was on the New York Times best seller list for nearly four years, including eight months as No. 1, and has been translated into 31 languages. This is the book that brought gender differences in communication style to the forefront of public awareness. Her most recent book, You Were Always Mom’s Favorite! Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives, also a New York Times best seller, received a Books for a Better Life Award and was featured on 20/20(美国电视节目）and NPR(National Public Radio)'s Morning Edition.
Among her other books, You're Wearing THAT?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation spent ten weeks on the New York Times
best seller list; Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work was a New York Times Business best seller; The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War of Words received the Common Ground Book Award; and I Only Say This Because I Love You: Talking to Your Parents, Partner, Sibs, and Kids When You're All Adults received a Books for a Better Life Award.
In addition to her seven books for general audiences, Tannen is author or editor of sixteen books and over one hundred articles for scholarly audiences. She has also published poems, short stories, plays and personal essays.
Academic interests: gender and language, interactional sociolinguistics, conversational interaction, cross-cultural communication, frames theory, conversational vs. literary discourse, and new media discourse.
Main publications:
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York: Morrow, 1990.
That's Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. NY: William Morrow,
1986.
Gender and Discourse. NY & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
2）Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir (/s??p??r/; 1884–1939) was an American anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics. Sapir studied the ways in which language and culture influence each other, and he was interested in the relation between linguistic differences, and differences in cultural world views. This part of his thinking was developed by his student Benjamin Lee Whorf into the principle of linguistic relativity or the "Sapir-Whorf" hypothesis.
2) John Joseph Gumperz
John Joseph Gumperz (January 9, 1922 –March 29, 2013) was an American linguist and academic. Gumperz was, for most of his career, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. His research on the languages of India, on code-switching in Norway, and on conversational interaction, has benefitted the study
of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, linguistic anthropology, and urban anthropology.
2) E. M. Forster
E.M. Forster, in full Edward Morgan Forster (born January 1, 1879, London, England—died June 7, 1970, Coventry, Warwickshire), British novelist, essayist, and social and literary critic. His fame rests largely on his novels Howards End （霍华德庄园）(1910) and A Passage to India （印度之旅）(1924) and on a large body of criticism. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 13 different years.
2) Robert Kaplan
American applied linguist. His research area covers applied linguistics, discourse analysis, language policy, language planning, and ESL/EFL Teaching. He is most famous for his contribution in Contrastive Rhetoric（对比修辞）, a term he first coined in 1966. Kaplan has authored or edited 32 books, more than 130 articles in scholarly journals and chapters in books, and more
than 85 book reviews and other ephemeral（short-lived) pieces in various newsletters(时事通讯）, as well as 9 special reports to the U.S. government and to governments elsewhere.
3) pragmatics
Pragmatics is a systematic way of explaining language use in context. It seeks to explain aspects of meaning which cannot be found in the plain sense of words or structures, as explained by semantics. As a field of language study, pragmatics is fairly new. Its origins lie in philosophy of language and the American philosophical school of pragmatism. As a discipline within language science, its roots lie in the work of (Herbert) Paul Grice on conversational implicature（会话含义）and the cooperative principle（合作原则）, J. L. Austin and John Searle on speech act（言语行为）, and on the work of Stephen Levinson, Penelope Brown and Geoff Leech on politeness.
4) Cohesion refers to the use of various phonological, grammatical, and/or lexical means to link sentences or utterances into a well-connected, larger linguistic unit such as a paragraph or a chapter. In other words,
cohesion achieves well-connectedness by means of linguistic forms.
Example: Mary is a secretary. She works in a law firm.
5) Pause is a temporary and brief break in the flow of speech, which is often classified into filled pause（有声停顿）and unfilled or silent pause（无声停顿）. The former is taken up or filled by a hesitation form like ah, er, and um. In contrast, the latter is not filled by a hesitation form. In other words, a silent pause is one where there is no vocalization（发声）.
Critical reading
I. Comprehension Check
I. Understanding the text
(1) The main purpose of this article is to illustrate eight levels of cross-cultural differences in non-verbal aspects of communication.
(2) We can understand the nature of language by observing it in communication and in contact with other systems of communication.
(3) Pacing and pausing, listenership. In deciding when to talk and what to say, the speaker usually takes a conscious speech planning, yet in pacing and pausing
and in showing listenership in a conversation, one does not need to stop and think for a decision. Section 2.1 starts with a direct thesis statement. Then the author explains it with an expert’s (Scollon) research findings and examples.
In section 2.2 the author raises a number of questions (in paras 7, 9 and 11) and responds to them with relevant research findings (Goody’s as well as hers) and her own personal experience.
Section 2.3 is also organized in the order of “question-answer”.
Section 2.4 illustrates cross-cultural differences in listenership with two examples, gaze (paras 21 and 22) and loud responses (para 23), and then moves on to the conclusion (para 24).
Section 2.5: example-discussion.
Section 2.6: personal experience and a very brief interpretation.
Section 2.7: the thesis (para 30 “how to be indirect is culturally relative”) and discussion about the cases of American-non-American differences (American men, women, Greek and Japanese).
Section 2.8: definition and illustration.
(5) The experience in a dinner party in paragraph 12 indicates that (1) people from different cultures not only differ in whether compliments should be accepted, rejected or deflected, but also in which compliments should be accepted/rejected/deflected; and (2) every culture has its own conventions about what to say on particular occasions, and without knowledge of these conventions, we can by no means appropriately interpret the messages in cross-cultural communication.
In Para. 29, Tannenrefers to her first visit to Greece to exemplify the cross-cultural difference in formulaicity, i.e., what is novel and what is conventional in different languages.
(6) Generally speaking, the eight levels are arranged in the order of importance, from the core of verbal communication to more peripheral (secondary) factors. The first three levels and the fifth level belong to what is said while the last three center on how it is said. The fourth level, listenership, is the only level examined from the perspective of the hearer.
(7) As has been illustrated in part II, verbal communication involves many hidden rules and conventions that vary from culture to culture. Since every individual has his/her own unique experience, education background,and beliefs, etc., no two interactants would share exactly the same communicative rules and conventions. In this sense all communication is cross-cultural.
II. Evaluation and exploration
1.Evaluating the text
(1)Personal experiences and anecdotes help elucidate （阐明）abstract and difficult terms and add to the vividness of the text. Controlled use of personal experience may also shorten the distance between the author and the reader. But the overuse and misuse of personal stories can also damage the objectivity and credibility of the argumentation.
(2). Falter: to become weaker and unable to continue in an effective way (Longman)
（3）Which levels of communication difference are labeled automatic processing in the text? Why? Pacing and pausing, listenership. In deciding when to
talk and what to say, the speaker usually takes a conscious speech planning（section 2.1&2.2）, yet in pacing and pausing and in showing listenership in a conversation, one does not need to stop and think for a decision
(para. 20).
Why pacing and pausing is automatic because we have got accustomed to it in our daily life and made it a truism or formula after practicing it again and again in our daily communication. We have remembered the subtle change of pacing and pausing（para 19）(2)Beside personal experience, Tannen mentions a lot of academic researches (e.g. in para 4, 7, 8, 10, 21, 23, 38 and 39), which all add weight to her arguments.
(3)It is obviously not an exhaustive list. Cross-cultural communication can vary at many other levels, e.g., proxemics(人际距离学/亲近学) and turn-taking（话语轮次）in a multiparty context.
2.Exploring beyond the text
(1)Questions for exploration
1)There are altogether 16 questions which help structure the text in part two and they are not equally important. The question in para 2, for example, is a global one that covers all the eight sections in the main body, while the question in para 20, “Now how many milliseconds shall I wait?”, is just an example to illustrate why pacing and pausing is an automatic level.
a. See above.
b. The first question in para 7 is asked to introduce the topic of this section, what to say. It is a transition from section 2.1 to section 2.2.
c. This is a rhetorical question requiring no answer. It is asked simply to reinforce our conviction that questions are basic to the educational setting, which forms a sharp contrast with the case of Gonjans.
2) In all the known languages there are strategies of making indirect requests/apologies/invitations/, etc. In a strict sense, the use of language is an indirect means to achieve communicative ends. How to be indirect differs from culture to culture. For example, in English a request is often put forward as a question of ability
(Can you pass me the salt?).
3) For example, introvert（内向的）people may be more tolerant of silence in face-to-face verbal interaction while extroverts（外向的）usually find silence awkward and uncomfortable. This is primarily an interpersonal difference since in all cultures there are introvert and extrovert people.
Gaze is another example. People with more aggressive personality usually hold longer and steadier gaze when they talk to others, while shy people more likely to diverge in eye contact.
Language enhancement
I. Words and phrases
1. Adverbs and prepositions
(1) off (2) out (3) across (4) away (5) up (6) between, for (7) after (8) out of, into (9) off (10) up (11) out of
2. Verbs
(1) illustrate, vary, discussing, exemplifying, signaling, mean, say
(2) vary
(3) differ
(4) illustrated
(5) exemplifies
(6) expounds
(7) demonstrates
(8) elucidate, interpret
II. Sentences and discourse
1.Paraphrasing
(1)Athabaskan Indians consider that it is inappropriate to talk to people they do not know. According to Scollon, this causes a strange effect when theAthabaskan Indians meet people from other cultures. The non-Athabaskans may want to make acquaintance with the Athabaskans by talking to them, but the Athabaskans will not talk to the non- Athabaskans before they become acquaintances. (2)Gonjans take it for granted that questions are always asked to achieve indirect functions, so they never ask questions for pure information.
(3)The Americans usually take it for granted that in communication people should be direct and say no more or less than needed, and that what people say is exactly what they mean. This is especially true in
business and education and applies more to American men than to women.
(4)No two people have just the same cultural background. Therefore, all communication is cross-cultural to someextent. In this sense, understanding cross-cultural communication can help us understand the nature of language and tackle problems in the world, especially those caused by and related to the use of language, e.g. obstacles in foreign language teaching and learning.
2.Translation
(1)物理学家通过观察物质元素在不同环境中的表现及其与其他物质的相互作用来理解它们的本质。与此相似，我们通过观察交际中的语言以及语言与其他交际符号系统的关联来认识语言的本质。
(2)外语学习者可能会把在一种新的语言中所学的显性的词汇和语法填充到母语交际系统中隐性的副语言外壳和语篇框架里。
(3)社交网络总是区域性而非全球性的，不同社区的人有不同的语言手段来实现交际目标，与其他文化模式一样，人们说话的方式将他们界定为一个“（言语）社区”。
(4) You are very likely to find many people who have stereotyped ideas about the forms and functions of language.
(5) Please let me elaborate on my proposal.
(6) Runaway inflation further plagued the wage/salary-earner.
(7) Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes.
3.Paragraph completion (1)B (2)E (3)C
Intercultural reflection
1.Chinese and American people are different in many aspects of non-verbal communication. Text A and Text B have already made a quite comprehensive list for this, including when to speak, pausing, listenership, intonation, indirectness, cohesion and coherence, eye contact, touch, gestures, and territorial space. In addition to all these, Chinese and Americans also differ in courtesy, use of facial expressions, and participation in group communication, etc.
2.The different conventions of eye contact between East Asians and Americans may be partly accountable in their history and culture. American culture has a deep evolutionary root in capitalism（资本主义）, which
nurtures an efficient and reasonable social system. In such a culture, directness is encouraged in both verbal and non-verbal behaviors. Eye contact, as a sign of direct ness, helps the speaker get and hold the hearer’s attention and facilitates message conveying.
In East Asian countries Confucianism（儒家学说) has long been the overwhelming ideology. In accordance with this ideology, communicators must strictly conform to the social hierarchy（社会阶级）, and direct eye contact is supposed to be impolite and hence prohibited between social unequals.
3.Since Kaplan’s (1966) ground-breaking research in comparative rhetoric, many scholars have made efforts to validate or falsify his conclusion from different perspectives. Some conclude that Chinese are more indirect in verbal communication in order to show politeness; while others conduct empirical researches (e.g., in writing) to test this finding. Kaplan’s (1966) observation of diff erent ways of thinking between Chinese and English awaits further evidence, yet it is fair to say that cross-cultural differences of thought patterns seem to show in both
verbal and non-verbal communication. (c.f. eye contact in Question 2)
Text A Preparatory Work (1) Experiment: variable, hypothesis, stimulus, control group Survey Research: sampling, questionnaire, interview, close-ended questions, open-ended questions, code sheet, telephone survey Field Research: observation, participant Analysis of Existing Data: content analysis, statistics (2) Hawthorne effect: The Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) is a type of reactivity in which individuals modify or improve an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. The original research at the Hawthorne Works in Cicero, Illinois, on lighting changes and work structure changes such as working hours and break times were originally interpreted by Elton Mayo and others to mean that paying attention to overall worker needs would improve productivity. This interpretation was dubbed “the Hawthorne effect”. (3) (open) Teaching Suggestion You can use the data banks of the two international organizations to check out the world or any particular country’s information in terms of GDP, population, territory area, human development index etc. The United Nations ( : data page: World Bank ( : can also use the website of the Statistical Bureau of China to check out any statistical information about China: Reading I. Understanding the text 1. Thesis: How Sociology Is Done (Research methods/techniques employed in
Unit 4 The Open Window Language Enhancement I Word and Phrases 1. (1) self-centred, self-addressed (2) headfast, headless, headway (3) scornful, respectful (4) unquestionable, unintended (5) tighten, sweeten (6) enable, enrich 2. (1) made an appearance(2) made a mess; make amends(3) make an effort(4) make sense(5) made a scene(6) make a deal 3. (1) put up with(2) went off for(3) give way (4)broke off(5)bolted out/ dashed off(6)dash off (7)undergo (8) discount (9) migrate (10) endeavor (11) mope (12) pursue (13) bustled (14) rattling (15) straying (16) chanted
II Sentences and rhetoric 1.Paraphrase (1)Framton was going to hand one of the letters of introduction to Mrs. Sappleton. He was wondering whether this lady could be categorized into the group of nice persons. / Framton was about to give one of the letters of introduction to Mrs. Sappleton. He wondered whether she could be said as belonging to the nice-person group or division. (2)When the niece felt that the silence was too long to be proper, she asked: “Do you know many of the people around here” / When the niece decided that the silence was awkward for the communication, she asked: “Do you know many of the people around here” (3)Here the child’s voice changed. It was no longer calm and in good control of her emotions, but sounded slightly human. / Here the child’s voice lost its quality of being calm and in control of her emotions, it changed into somewhat human. (4)“The doctors all agree that I should have complete rest, not to have any mental excitement, and avoid anything that can involve forceful physical exercise,”Framton said. He was trying his very best to change the topic, driven by a fairly well-known false idea that total strangers or people you happen to know would be eager to know the smallest detail of your illness and pains, their cause and cure. / He tried very very hard to change the topic, under a false idea, which was rather widespread, that a complete stranger or a person you just know would be interested in knowing the smallest details of your health problems and their cause and cure. 2.Translation (1) 弗兰姆顿?纳特尔努力想说点儿什么得体的话，既能够讨眼前这个小姑娘欢 心，又不至于怠慢她那位待会儿要下来的姨妈。 (2)他竭力想把交谈转向不太瘆人的话题但并不完全成功。他感觉到，女主人对 他心不在焉，她的目光常常略过他，投向那面法式落地窗和远处的草坪。
Unit5Dream and Faith Part I:Learning the Skills Activity1: Match the themes with the following stories. A.The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful. B.Idleness brings want. C.Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness. D.Unity is strength. E.Fine feathers don’t make fine birds. Story1：C Story2:B Story3:A Story4:E Story5:D Activity2: Review the texts you have read in the previous units and figure out the theme(s)revealed in each text.Discuss with your partner how these themes are developed and revealed in the texts,and comment on the techniques that the authors use to develop the themes. Text Theme(s)How the theme(s)is(are) revealed Comments The Story of My Life(Chapter4)One could overcome a problem that seems to be insurmountable --Offered background information about herself at the beginning --Described the skillfulness and patience of Ann Sullivan --the key moment of epiphany “The Diamond Necklace”Vanity and pride can be expensive A great contrast between what life is and what life Mathilde fancies at the beginning Mathilde borrowed a necklace and had a moment of her fancied life, Madame Loisel’s vanity causes her to want to live beyond her means and her pride that prevents her from telling Madame Forestiere the truth. “After Twenty Years”Justice is higher than friendship “The Selfish Giant”Sharing can bring joy “Too Soon a Woman” True courage is love
Unit 4 Organization and Institution Text A Preparatory Work (1) a. Institutionalization: refers to the process of embedding some conception (for example a belief, norm, social role, particular value or mode of behavior) within an organization, social system, or society as a whole. The term may also be used to refer to committing a particular individual or group to an institution, such as a mental or welfare institution. b. Solitary confinement: is a form of imprisonment in which an inmate is isolated from any human contact, often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is mostly employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, usually for violations of prison regulations. However, it is also used as an additional measure of protection for vulnerable inmates. In the case prisoners at high risk of suicide, it can be used to prevent access to items that could allow the prisoner to self-harm. c. Parole: is the provisional release of a prisoner who agrees to certain conditions prior to the completion of the maximum sentence perio d. A specific type of parole is medical parole or compassionate release which is the release of prisoners on medical or humanitarian grounds. Conditions of parole often include things such as obeying the law, refraining from drug and alcohol use, avoiding contact with the parolee’s victims, obtaining employment, and maintaining required contacts with a parole officer. d. Rehabilitation: is the re-integration into society of a convicted person and the main objective of modern penal policy, to counter habitual offending, also known as criminal recidivism. Alternatives to imprisonment also exist, such as community service, probation orders, and others entailing guidance and aftercare towards the offender. (2) Main publications: Influencing Attitudes and Changing Behavior (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison Wesley., 1977, Psychology(3rd Edition), Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing Co., 1999, Psychology And Life, 17/e, Allyn & Bacon Publishing, 2005, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Random House, New York, 2007 Main research interests: social psychology, particularly prison study, social intensity syndrome study (related to discharged soldiers).
大学思辨英语精读备课 U n i t5 -CAL-FENGHAI.-(YICAI)-Company One1
Unit 5 Knowledge and Ignorance Words and phrases expected of students to understand palpitate five days straight wiggle leaf v. prop up on pillows/against the wall Dawn broke on the doctor’s face rule out social milieu in a huddle a suggestion of… I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks. in due course Preparatory Work The following are just for your reference The Inadequencies of Modern Orthodiagramatic Techniques in Demonstrating Minimal Left Ventricular Hypertrophy 当代影像技术在显示微小左心室肥厚方面的不足之处 the Diagnostic Clinic (诊断科) vs. the Therapeutic Clinic (治疗科) vs. the Functional Clinic(功能科)//Mitral Valve Clinic (二尖瓣科) vs. Aortic Valve Clinic (主动脉瓣科) (allthe clinics are made up for satirical effect) psychoneuroticist神经心理医生（a made-up word, possibly coined from Psychoneurosis
Unit 3 Bereavement and Grief Preparatory Work (1) According to Britannica, Luigi Pirandello was winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. With his invention of the “theatre within the theatre”in the play Seipersonaggi in cercad’autore(1921; Six Characters in Search of an Author), he became an important innovator in modern drama. Influenced by his catastrophic personal experiences, he developed a literary style characterized by “the exploration of the tightly closed world of the forever changeable human personality”(Britannica). “War”reflects this style of psychological realism, for instead of depicting external circumstances of the Great War, it chooses to underline the cruelty of war from the perspective of the soldiers’anxious, grieving parents. (2) The story was set in a train carriage at dawn. The war referred to in the story is most probably World War I, for during this war the author himself was a psychologically tormented father, both of whose sons were captured as prisoners of war. The World War I was an international conflict that resulted from clashes of interest among the world’s economic great powers assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies (including the United Kingdom/British Empire, France and the Russian Empire) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, though it did not join the Central Powers (Willmott 15). It is generally believed by historians that World War I was “virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused”(Britannica). It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties (Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.
Unit 3 Verbaland Non-verbal Communication Unit overview Both Units 1 and 2 mention a key word “communication”.As Thomas Payne points out in Text B of Unit 2, most of us, linguists or non-linguists, have the common-sense notion that “the main purpose of human language is communication”. Thus to develop a deeper understanding of the nature and function of language, we need to take a close at human communication. This unit examines this topic from a cross-cultural perspective, illustrating the similarities and differences in verbal and non-verbal communication between different cultures, which lays a foundation for further exploration into the interface between language and culture in the following units. Text A People in different communities demonstrate different perceptions and rules of both verbal and non-verbal communication. The way they interact is culturally relative in almost every aspect, including when to talk, what to say, pacing and pausing, listenership, intonation and prosody, formulaicity, indirectness, and coherence and cohesion. Text B Some non-verbal behaviors are practically universal and have the same meaning wherever you are (e.g., smiling and facial expressions of anger, surprise, fear, sadness, and so on). But for cultural and historical reasons, there have also developed great differences and variations in such aspects as eye contact, touch, gestures, and territorial space, etc. Without an awareness of respect and accommodation for people from a different background, these differences are likely to cause misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. The two texts supplement each other in that Text A illustrates cross-cultural differences in both verbal and non-verbal communication while Text B focuses on non-verbal behaviors and addressesboth differences and similarities. Teaching objectives This unit is designed to help students develop their reading skills, communicative competence, critical thinking, intercultural reflection and abilities of autonomous learning in the following aspects. Reading skills: Use context to understand a new word Identify cohesive devices Predict the content of an upcoming sentence/paragraph Communicative competence: Develop a coherent and cohesive oral/written discourse
Unit 1 Thinking Sociologically Text A Preparatory Work (1) Micro-level sociology: a b e Macro-level sociology: c d (2) Sociology is the study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. Like sociology, psychology, economics, history, demography are all related to the study of society and human activities. In this way they share similarities. The differences lie in the follows: ●Psychology is the study of human behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and unconscious experience as well as thought of the human beings. ●Economics focuses on the behavior and interactions of economic agents and how economies work, that is the economic activities of the human kind. ●History is the study of the past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events, particularly how it relates to humans. ●Demography is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. As a very general science, it can analyze any kind of dynamic living population, i.e., one that changes over time or space. (3) (open) Teaching suggestion: You can refer to the following textbooks: John J. Macionis & Nijole V. Benokraitis ed., Seeing Ourselves 7th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007) James M. Henslin ed., Down to Earth Sociology: Introductory Readings 14th ed. (New York: Free Press, 2007) (4) (open) Teaching suggestion: You can refer to the last two parts of the text: “What Work Do Sociologists Do” and “How is Sociology Useful to Me and to the World” (paragraph 19-26) for positive reasons. Negative reasons vary (why not choose a career related to sociology), for instance, no interest (in social sciences), character reasons (not cut out for dealing with people), and practical reason (no high pay). Critical Reading I. Understanding the text
Unit 1 Life and Value Pre-class Exploration 1 Make up your own story with the following words. 1) apple, 2) alligator, 3) angry, 4) ambulance, 5) apologize When I was enjoying my apple pie in the park, I heard a cry for help. It looked like an angry alligator was going to attack a naughty boy who got too close, now frightened. The police and ambulance were called but fortunately the alligator swam away. The boy thanked everyone and apologized for his misbehavior. The ambulance left and the parents were still angry with the naughty boy who could have been killed by attacking the alligator with an apple core. The boy apologized to his parents that he would never do it again. 2 Read the fable “Hare and the Tortoise” on Page 5 and 6 and complete the following outline. 1. Introduction of characters _Hare&Tortoise ______________ 2. The bet _Tortoise challenged Hare to have a race.__________ 3. The beginning of the race _Hare raced off while Tortoise crawled slowly behind._____ 4. The middle of the race _Hare stopped to took a nap while Tortoise kept going._ 5. The end of the race When Hare woke up, he ran as fast as he could, but Tortoise passed the finishing line first.__ 6. The moral of the story _Perseverance is the key to success.__________________________ Part I: Learning the Skills Activity 1 Read the following passage and analyze it in terms of character(s), setting, plot, point of view
Unit 3 Preparatory work 1. Deborah Tannen is University Professor and Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University and author of many books and articles about how the language of everyday conversation affects relationships. She is best known as the author of You Just Don ‘t Un derstand: Women and Men in Conversation, which was on the New York Times best seller list for nearly four years, including eight months as No. 1, and has been translated into 31 languages. This is the book that brought gender differences in communication style to the forefront of public awareness. Her most recent book, You Were Always Mom’s Favorite! Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives, also a New York Times best seller, received a Books for a Better Life Award and was featured on 20/20(美国电视节目）and NPR(National Public Radio)'s Morning Edition. Among her other books, You're Wearing THAT?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation spent ten weeks on the New York Times
Thesis: Among its multiple purposes, language is good at interaction and persuasion but poor at information talking. 1.The transfer of information is not the only purpose of using language. In greetings and some pointless chitchat, communicators use language primarily, if not exclusively, for constructing or maintaining certain social relationship. Even when information is the major concern, the speaker and hearer must take into consideration some other factors, such as politeness and aesthetics (cf. Para. 22-22). 2. In Paragraph 6, Aitchison divides the question “what is language for”
into two sub-questions: “For what purpose did language develop?” and “For what purpose is language used nowadays?” Since there are so many purposes of using language and the original one is difficult to identify, she argues in paragraph 8 that we can find clues by looking at what language is good at and what it finds difficult to express. The rest of the text (paras.9-28) provides discussion about and answers to these two questions. 3.According to Aitchison, the list of language functions in paragraph 7 is not exhaustive(complete), and it is not clear which one is the most basic. Aitchison discusses in some detail the following four functions, providing information, expressing feelings, influencing others and social talking, which are roughly organized in the order of importance in the traditional view. 4. Aitchison suggests that the early functions of language can be traced in the way we use language today to some extent. The assumption behind is that the origin of language is accountable(responsible) in its early function(s) and that the early function(s) must be reflected in what language is good at today. In other words, if language was created to perform a particular function, it must still be good at it nowadays. Evaluating the text (2) Exemplifying An utterance may serve more than one purpose simultaneously. Donking is used metalinguistically(元语言）in example (6), but the whole sentence