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Unit 1Paper TigersWesley YangAdditional Background Information(About Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother)What follows is a comment on Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Elizabeth Chang, an editor of The Washington Post's Sunday Magazine, which carried the article on January 8th, 2011.The cover of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was catnip to this average parent's soul. Although the memoir seems to have been written to prove that Chinese parents are better at raising children than Western ones, the cover text claims that instead it portrays "a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory" and how the Tiger Mother “was humbled by a 13-year-old.”As a hopelessly Western mother married into a Chinese family living in an area that generates immigrant prodigies as reliably as clouds produce rain, I was eager to observe the comeuppance of a parent who thought she had all the answers.And, in many ways, "Tiger Mother" did not disappoint. At night, I would nudge my husband awake to read him some of its more revealing passages, such as when author Amy Chua threatened to burn her older daughter's stuffed animals if the child didn't improve her piano playing. "What Chinese parents understand," Chua writes, "is that nothing is fun until you're good at it." By day, I would tell my own two daughters about how Chua threw unimpressive birthday cards back at her young girls and ordered them to make better ones. For a mother whose half-Chinese children played outside while the kids of stricter immigrant neighbors could be heard laboring over the violin and piano, the book can be wickedly gratifying. Reading it is like secretly peering into the home of a controlling, obsessive yet compulsively honest mother—one who sometimes makes the rest of us look good, if less remarkable and with less impressive offspring. Does becoming super-accomplished make up for years of stress? That's something my daughters and I will never find out.Chua is a law professor and author of two acclaimed books on international affairs, though readers of "Tiger Mother" get only a glimpse of that part of her life, with airy, tossed off-lines such as "Meanwhile, I was still teaching my courses at Yale and finishing up my second book" while also "traveling continuously, giving lectures about democratization and ethnic conflict." Her third book abandons global concerns to focus intimately on Chua's attempt to raise her two daughters the way her immigrant parents raised her. There would be no play dates and no sleepovers: "I don't really have time for anything fun, because I'm Chinese," one of Chua's daughters told a friend. Instead, there would be a total commitment to academics and expertise at something, preferably an instrument. Though Chua's Jewish husband grew up with parents who encouraged him to imagine—and to express himself, he nonetheless agreed to let her take the lead in rearing the children and mostly serves as the Greek chorus to Chua's crazed actions.In Chinese parenting theory, hard work produces accomplishment, which produces confidence and yet more accomplishment. As Chua note s, this style of parenting is found among other immigrant cultures, too, and I'm sure many Washington-area readers have seen it, if they don't employ it themselves. Chua's older daughter, Sophia, a pianist, went along with, and blossomed, under this approach. The younger daughter, Lulu, whose instrument of Chua's choice was a violin, was a different story. The turning point came when, after years of practicing and performing, Lulu expressed her hatred of the violin, her mother and of being Chinese. Chua imagined a Western parent’s take on Lulu's rebellion: "Why torture yourself and your child? What's the point? (I)knew as a Chinese mother I could never give in to that way of thinking." But she nevertheless allowed Lulu to abandon the violin. Given that the worst Lulu ever did was cut her own hair and throw a glass, my reaction was that Chua got off easy in a society where some pressured children cut themselves, become anorexic, refuse to go to school or worse. No one but an obsessive Chinese mother would consider her healthy, engaging and accomplished daughter deficient because the girl prefers tennis to the violin—but that's exactly the point.And, oh, what Chua put herself and her daughters through before she got to her moment of reckoning. On weekends, they would spend hours getting to and from music lessons and then come home and practice for hours longer. At night, Chua would read up on violin technique and fret about the children in China who were practicing 10 hours a day. (Did this woman ever sleep?) She insisted that her daughters maintain top grades—Bs, she notes, inspire a "screaming, hair-tearing explosion" among Chinese parents and the application of countless practice tests. She once refused to let a child leave the piano bench to use the bathroom. She slapped one daughter who was practicing poorly. She threatened her children not just with stuffed-animal destruction, but with exposure to the elements. She made them practice on trips to dozens of destinations, including London, Rome, Bombay and the Greek island of Crete, where she kept Lulu going so long one day that the family missed seeing the palace at Knossos.Sometimes, you're not quite sure whether Chua is being serious or deadpan. For example, she says she tried to apply Chinese parenting to the family's two dogs before accepting that the only thing they were good at was expressing affection. "Although it is true that some dogs are on bomb squads or drug-sniffing teams," she concluded, "it is perfectly fine for most dogs not to have a profession, or even any special skills." On the one hand, she seems aware of her shortcomings: She is, she notes, "not good at enjoying life," and she acknowledges that the Chinese parenting approach is flawed because it doesn't tolerate the possibility of failure. On the other hand, she sniffs that "there are all kinds of psychological disorders in the West that don't exist in Asia." When not contemptuous, some of her wry observations about Western-style child-rearing are spot-on: "Private schools are constantly trying to make learning fun by having parents do all the work," and sleepovers are "a kind of punishment parents unknowingly inflict on their children through permissiveness."Readers will alternately gasp at and empathize with Chua's struggles and aspirations, all the while enjoying her writing, which, like her kid-rearing philosophy, is brisk, lively and no-holds-barred. This memoir raises intriguing, sometimes uncomfortable questions about love, pride, ambition, achievement and self-worth that will resonate among success-obsessed parents. Is it possible, for example, that Chinese parents have more confidence in their children's abilities, or that they aresimply willing to work harder at raising exceptional children than Westerners are? Unfortunately, the author leaves many questions unanswered as her book limps its way to a conclusion, with Chua acknowledging her uncertainty about how to finish it and the family still debating the pros and cons of her approach (anyone hoping for a total renunciation of the Chinese approach will be disappointed).Ending a parenting story when one child is only 15 seems premature; in fact, it might not be possible to really understand the impact of Chua's efforts until her daughters have offspring of their own. Perhaps a sequel, or a series ("Tiger Grandmother"!) is in the works. But while this battle might not have been convincingly concluded, it's engagingly and provocatively chronicled. Readers of all stripes will respond to "Tiger Mother."Structure of the TextPart I (Paras. 1-2)The author, an Asian living in the United States, introduces himself as a ‘banana’.Part II (Paras. 3-5)The author describes how he believes Asians are generally viewed in the United States and how he views Asian values himself. It is clear that his overall attitude toward his cultural roots is negative. Part III (Paras. 6-8)The author agrees that Asians (especially Chinese) are over-represented in American elite schools and that, percentage-wise, more Chinese earn median family incomes than any other ethnic group in the United States. However, he does not accept the idea that the Chinese are “taking over” top American schools. He particularly ridicules the idea that the United States has to worry about a more general Chinese “takeover”, as Amy Chua’s book seems to suggest.Part IV (Paras. 9-14)In these paragraphs, the author tells the story of a Chinese American whose experience as a graduate of one of the most competitive high schools in the U.S. proves that while Asian overrepresentation in elite schools is a fact, the success of Asian students is not an indication of their higher intelligence but rather of their constant practice of test-taking. The fear that U.S. schools might become “too Asian” (too test-oriented) in response, narrowing students’ educational experience, has aroused general concern.Part V (Paras. 15-22)The author points out that the ethnic imbalance in elite schools is not only resented by white students and educators, but that even Asian students are beginning to raise serious doubts. They are tired of the crushing workload and believe there must be a better way. They envy their white fellow students who finally get to the top - strong, healthy, with a high level of academic achievement, and with time even for a girlfriend or boyfriend. They cannot help but still feel alienated in this society.Part VI (Paras. 23-28)In these Paragraphs, the author tells the story of another Chinese student who describes the subtle influence of his Chinese upbringing, which makes it difficult for him to be culturally assimilated.Part VII (Paras. 29-36)In these Paragraphs, the author discusses the problem of the “bamboo ceiling”—the fact that in spite of high academic achievement, virtually no Asians are found in the upper reaches of leadership. The author believes that this is because Asian upbringing fails to provide children with the requisite skills for leadership.Part VIII (Paras. 37-43)Between Para. 36 and Para. 37 in the original essay, there are many more case studies reflecting vividly the negative effects of Asian culture. But in order to limit the essay to a manageable length, we (the compilers) were unable to include them. Therefore, in this section, the essay comes to a somewhat abrupt conclusion.Interestingly enough, the author feels that the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is well worth reading although he does not agree with Amy Chua, because, in his opinion, the book provides all the material needed to refute what ‘the Tiger Mother’ stands for. More importantly, the author thinks that Amy Chua should be praised for her courage to speak out and defy American mainstream views.Detailed Study of the Text1. Millions of Americans must feel estranged from their own faces. But every self-estrangedindividual is estranged in his own way. (Para. 1)Millions of Americans must feel alienated (separated) from the essence of themselves by their own faces.The author is referring here to ethnic minority people in the United States, especially Asians.Note that “face” here does not refer to skin color or facial features alone, but also to cultural di fferences. His point is that these attributes force him into the category of “immigrant”, though he doesn’t feel like one.2. You could say that I am a banana. But while I don't believe our roots necessarily defineus, I do believe there are racially inflected assumptions wired into our neural circuitry. (Para. 2)A banana is white inside and yellow outside. The term is often used ironically to refer to anAsian American who is like all other non-Asian Americans people except for the color of his skin.The author admits that people can call him a banana, but he does not like it, because he does not believe his Asian roots determine who he is. However, he has to admit that there are racially inflected assumptions wired into many Asian Ame ricans’ neural circuitry.racially inflected assumptions: racially based prejudices, beliefs and ideaswired into our neural circuitry: deeply planted in our brains (in our minds)3. Here is what I sometimes suspect my face signifies to other Americans: An invisibleperson, barely distinguishable from a mass of faces that resemble it. A conspicuous person standing apart from the crowd and yet devoid of any individuality. An icon of so much that the culture pretends to honor but that it in fact patronizes and exploits. Not just people “who are good at math” and play the violin, but a mass of stifled, repressed, abused, conformist quasi-robots who simply do not matter, socially or culturally. (Para. 3) This is how I sometimes guess other Americans look at us. (This is what I sometimesthink my face means to other Americans.)An invisible person: a person much the same as others of the same group; a person who is hardly distinguishable; a person nobody will pay special attention todevoid of any individuality: without any individualityAsian culture is said to stress uniformity or conformity. The individual is encouraged to merge with the collective. Self-promotion or assertiveness is considered in bad taste whereas invisibility is regarded as a sign of modesty.icon：n. 偶像The successful Asian student has become a symbol to be worshipped.to patronize and exploit: to treat somebody in an offensively condescending manner and make use of him or herThe author says that American culture pretends to honor the ‘Tiger Child’ (the successful Asian) as an icon (a symbol of success and everything it represents), but actually it treats Asians in a condescending way and makes use of them.a mass of stifled, repressed, abused, conformist quasi-robots: a large number of peoplewho are not allowed to act or express themselves freely, treated in a harsh and harmful way, and made to behave similarly, like robots.do not matter socially or culturally: do not have much social or cultural importance.4. I've always been of two minds about this sequence of stereotypes. (Para. 4)of two minds: (BrE: in two minds) not decided or certain about something.this sequence of stereotypes: this series of stereotypes. On the one hand the author is angry that Asians should be viewed this way, and he thinks it racist, but on the other hand, he has to admit that these views do apply to many Asians.It is ironic to note that the author himself seems to be especially influenced by these racist prejudices. One may also wonder whether the stereotyped views some people have when they first encounter people of other races necessarily have devastating effects. For example, Chinese thought of Westerners as a mass of blue-eyed, yellow-haired, big-nosed, hairy chested aliens at one time. Fear of the unknown or unfamiliar is a common human reaction.5. Let me summarize my feelings toward Asian values: Damn filial piety. Damn gradegrubbing. Damn Ivy League mania. Damn deference to authority. Damn humility and hard work. Damn harmonious relations. Damn sacrificing for the future. Damn earnest, striving middle-class servility. (Para. 5)Now the author is talking about much more serious things. He is talking about his feelings toward Asian values rather than features or skin color, and his attitude is one of total rejection and condemnation. While we must realize that all cultures or civilizations have drawbacks, and we have every reason to listen to the bitter reactions of angry young Asians toward our shared culture, we should also remind ourselves that y oung people’s judgments may be hasty, imbalanced, and immature.Damn: Note that this word is generally considered extremely offensive and obscene in all its usages, and is therefore avoided, but here the author is so bitter that no other expression seems adequate. Indeed, he may have deliberately chosen this word to shock the Asian community, especially Asian parents.filial piety: love for, respect for, and obedience to one’s parentsgrade grubbing: striving for high academic scoresivy league mania: craze, obsession regarding entry to ivy league universitiesdeference to authority: respect for and submission to authorityhumility and hard work: modesty, humbleness; diligenceearnest striving middle-class servility: Middle-class people usually “hope t o rise and fear to fall” (Bunyan) and therefore work slavishly and behave submissively.One may wonder whether what the author describes here is racially determined or mainly a reflection of social and economic conditions. Many of the values listed above are similar to those of the American Puritans when obedience, respect for the old, diligence, thrift, simple living, family loyalty, discipline, and sacrifice were considered essential virtues.6. I understand the reasons Asian parents have raised a generation of children thisway. …This is a stage in a triumphal narrative, and it is a narrative that is much shorter than many remember. (Para. 6)The author says that he understands why Asian parents have raised their children this way. It is natural for most Asian parents to try to improve their children’s lives through education.a stage in a triumphal narrative: A stage (the beginning stage) of a success story. Andmany Asians have achieved success in a much shorter time than people realize.7. Asian American success is typically taken to ratify the American Dream and to provethat minorities can make it in this country without handouts. (Para. 7)to be taken to: to be considered toto make it: to succeed8.Still, an undercurrent of racial panic always accompanies the consideration of Asians,and all the more so as China becomes the destination for our industrial base and the banker controlling our burgeoning debt. （Para. 7）But there always exists a feeling of racial panic, though it may not be obvious, whenever people think of Asians. This undercurrent is now becoming stronger as more American industrial companies move their manufacturing base to China, and China has become the banker controlling our growing national debt.9. But if the armies of Chinese factory workers who make our fast fashion and iPadsterrify us, and if the collective mass of high-achieving Asian American students arouse an anxiety about the laxity of American parenting, what of the Asian American who obeyed everything his parents told him? Does this person really scare anyone? (Para. 7)The author is pointing out the contradiction here: If…, then what about…? It is clear that he doubts if there is any reason for Americans to be afraid of the Asian American who obeys everything his parents tell him. Children brought up in this submissive culture cannot pose any threat.fast fashion: This is a contemporary term used to refer to products designed and brought to market quickly in order to capture ever-changing fashion trends.10.Earlier this year, the publication of Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother inciteda collective airing out of many varieties of race-based hysteria. But absent from themillions of words written in response to the book was any serious consideration ofwhether Asian Americans were in fact taking over this country. (Para. 8)to incite a collective airing out of many varieties of race-based hysteria: To provoke many people into stating openly various kinds of strong racist opinionsb ut absent from the millions of words…was any serious consideration…: But there wasno serious consideration in all these millions of words…11.I mean, I'm proud of my parents and my neighborhood and what I perceive to be myartistic potential or whatever, but sometimes I feel like I'm jumping the gun a generation or two too early. (Para. 9)The second sentence of this sentence means that I feel like I am changing into a new person a generation or two too early.This shows that the changes he has to make in response to a new cultural environment have come in conflict with his old cultural legacy, and he feels lost.12. I ride the 7 train to its last stop in Flushing, where the storefront signs are all written inChinese and the sidewalks are a slow-moving river of impassive faces. (Para. 10)the storefront signs: 店面招牌Note that Flushing (法拉盛) now has the largest Chinese community in New York city, larger than Chinatown.impassive faces: faces showing no emotionNote that etymologically, the word impassive is related to “passion” rather than “passive”.13. There are no set-asides for the underprivileged or, conversely, for alumni or otherprivileged groups. There is no formula to encourage “diversity” or any nebulous concept of “well-roundedness” or “character.” Here we have something like pure meritocracy. (Para. 12)set-asides: slots set aside for people in special categories 招生的保留名额for the underprivileged: 专为弱势群体（保留的名额）F or alumni or other privileged groups: 为校友及其他享有特权的团体（保留的名额）T here is no formula to encourage “diversity” or any nebulous concept of “well-roundedness” or “character.”：There are no special provisions to encourage diversity” (referring mainly to ethnic diversity, guaranteed by what was known as ‘affirmative action’) or any vague idea of “well-roundedness” (referring to set-asides for students with special athletic or other talents) or “character” (referr ing to set-asides for students of especially fine character, demonstrated, or example by community service.)Note that, according to the author, this school is different. It operates on the basis of something like pure meritocracy.meritocracy: a system in which advancement is determined only by ability and achievement.Here it refers particularly to a system of education in which admission to an educational institution, evaluation and promotion are all determined by ability and achievement (merit).14. This year, 569 Asian Americans scored high enough to earn a slot at Stuyvesant,a long with 179 whites, 13 Hispanics, and 12 blacks. Such dramatic overrepresentation,and what it may be read to imply about the intelligence of different groups of NewYorkers, has a way of making people uneasy. (Para. 13)to earn a slot: to get admitted into the school; to be allowed to enter the schoolslot: available position; opening; placedramatic over-representation: a disproportionately large percentage of those admitted15.But intrinsic intelligence, of course, is precisely what Asians don't believe in. (Para. 13)But Asians, of course, believe only in hard work. They don’t believe in natural intelligence.16.“Learning math is not about learning math,” an instructor at one called Ivy Prep wasquoted in The New York Times as saying. “It's about weightlifting. You are pumping the iron of math.” Mao puts it more specifically: “You learn quite simply to nail any standardized test you take.” (Para. 13)an instructor at one called Ivy Prep: a teacher at a school called Ivy Prep, meaning a school for preparing students to get into Ivy League universities.pumping the iron of math: lifting the iron of math, rather than an iron weight.Note that the author is playing on the slang expression “pumping iron”: to lift weights.to nail: to fix, secure, or make sure of, especially by quick action or concentrated effort.17. And so there is an additional concern accompanying the rise of the Tiger Children, onefocused more on the narrowness of the educational experience a non-Asian child might receive in the company of fanatically pre-professional Asian students. (Para. 14)an additional concern accompanying the rise of the Tiger Children: an additional worry related to the rise of high-achieving Asian American children.the narrowness of the educational experience: Non-Asian American parents are worried that their children’s education experience will be very narrow because they are surrounded by Asian students who are all obsessively pre-professional.pre-professional: Preparatory to the practice of a profession or a specialized field of study related to it.18. A couple of years ago, she revisited this issue in her senior thesis at Harvard, where sheinterviewed graduates of elite public schools and found that the white students regarded the Asian students with wariness. In 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported on “white flight” from a high school in Cupertino, California, that began soon after the childre n of Asian software engineers had made the place so brutally competitive that a B average could place you in the bottom third of the class. (Para. 14)to revisit the issue：to look at the issue again“w hite flight”: the fleeing (running away) of white studentsa B average could place you in the bottom third of the class: If your grade were no morethan B on average, then you would be quite likely to find yourself in the lowest third of the class.19.You could frame it as a simple issue of equality and press for race-blind quantitativeadmissions standards. In 2006, a decade after California passed a voter initiative outlawing any racial engineering at the public universities, Asians composed 46 percent of UC Berkeley's entering class; one could imagine a similar demographic reshuffling in the Ivy League, where Asian Americans currently make up about 17 percent of undergraduates. (Para. 16)to frame: to express in wordsto press for: to make a strong demand forrace-blind: treating different races equallyCompare: color-blindrace-blind quantitative admissions standards:没有种族歧视的招生名额原则racial engineering:designing a student body to reflect a pre-determined racial mix (the opposite of race-blind quantitative admissions standards)C ompare: social engineering; genetic engineeringto compose 46 percent: to make up/to represent 46 percentUC Berkeley's entering class：加州大学伯克利分校的新生班demographic reshuffling：changing the representation of component groups making up a larger group of people: in this case, changing the ethnic mix within the population of Ivy League undergraduates20.But the Ivies, as we all know, have their own private institutional interests a t stake intheir admissions choices, including some that are arguably defensible. Who can seriously claim that a Harvard University that was 72 percent Asian would deliver the same grooming for elite status its students had gone there to receive? (Para. 16)to hav e their… interests at stake: to have their… interests in danger/at risk/in jeopardy arguably defensible：It can be argued that some of those private interests are defensible.to deliver the same grooming: to give the same preparation for future elite employment and social position. grooming:梳理打扮21. He had always felt himself a part of a mob of “nameless, faceless Asian kids,” who were“like a part of the décor of the place.” (Para. 17)the décor of a place: the way the place is decorated22.“It's l ike, we're being pitted against each other while there are kids out there in theMidwest who can do way less work and be in a garage band or something—” (Para. 18) to pit us against each other: to force us to compete with each otherout there: used to say in a general way that someone or something existsway less: a lot less.Note that the word ‘way’ is an adverb here.or something: used to suggest another choice, etc., that is not specified.23.“The general gist of most high school movies is that the pretty cheerleader gets with thebig dumb jock, and the nerd is left to bide his time in loneliness. But at some point in the future,” he says, “the nerd is going to rule the world, and the dumb jock is going to work in a carwash”. (Para. 19)gist: the general or basic meaning of something said or written。
Unit3What Is NewsNeil Postman and Steve PowersStructure of the TextPart I (Para. 1)In this beginning paragraph, the authors state the purpose of the essay.Part II (Para. 2)Some people might define the news as what television directors and journalists say it is. The authors, however, think that this definition is too simplistic.。
Part III (Paras. 3–5)In these para graphs, the authors explain why the news cannot be simply defined as “what happened that day” or “what happened that day that was important and interesting”.Part IV (Paras. 6–11)In these paragraphs, the authors tell readers that the news is more often made rather than gathered, and it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important. Therefore, every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story.Part V (Paras. 12–15)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that to make sense of the news, the viewer has to know some thing about the journalist’s political beliefs as well as his prejudices, interests, and quirks which are, in turn, influenced by his financial status, the companies he has worked for, the schools he went to, the books he has read, etc.、Part VI (Paras. 16–17)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that the journalist cannot always impose his/her views on the general public because the television channel or newspaper cannot survive unless the news they provide satisfies the needs of the general public. On the other hand, the viewer/reader must also take into account his or her relationship to a larger audience because television and newspapers are mass media and their news is not intended for an audience of one.Part VII (Paras. 18–20)In these paragraphs, the authors discuss some other possible definitions of news: news as something to give people pleasure; news as something instructive that reveals the mores, values, and ideals of a society; news as living history; news as a source of literature; news as a reflectionof human pain, suffering, tragedies and confusion; news as something to inspire people and make them optimistic; news as something to frighten people and make them aware of the seamy side of the reality; last but not least, news as a filler between commercials.Part VIII (Para. 21)In this paragraph, the authors conclude the essay by reiterating their purpose in raising the issue “What is n ews” It is to arouse our interest and help us understand the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and even the delusions of the television news industry.Detailed Study of the Text·1. We turn to this question because unless a television viewer has considered it, he or she is in danger of too easily accepting someone else’s definiti on—for example, a definition supplied by the news director of a television station; or even worse, a definition imposed by important advertisers.(Para. 1)news director: (电视台) 新闻节目负责人advertisers: In many countries in the West, television stations largely depend on selling air time to advertisers for their revenue. Therefore, important advertisers can often impose their views and interests on the news supplied by television stations.viewer：Someone who is watching a movie, a television program, or an exhibitionCompare:audience: a group of people who watch, read, or listen to somethingspectator: a person who watches an event, show, game, or activity2. A simplistic definition of news can be drawn by paraphrasing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of the law. The law, Holmes said, is what the courts say it is… we might say that the news is what television directors and journalists say it is.(Para. 2) Americans generally accept Holmes’ famous definition of the law because they agree that laws must allow for the new interpretations necessary to meet the challenges of a changing nation and a changing world. But to propose a definition of the news by para phrasing Holmes’ definition of the law probably commits the logical error of false analogy. For example, it would not make much sense if we were to say politics is what politicians say it is, or education is what teachers say it is.—simplistic: disapproving too simple; not complete or sufficiently thoroughNothing more. Nothing less. : As simple as that; no more, no less.in similar fashion: in the similar way; likewise; by the similar token3. But if we were to take that approach, on what basis would we say that we haven’t been told enough Or that a story that should have been covered wasn’t O r that too many stories of a certain type were included Or that a reporter gave a flagrantly biased account (Para. 2)The fact that people are often unsatisfied with news reporting implies that people have differentideas about what news should be.flagrantly biased: obviously and unquestionably biased4. In modifying their answer, most will add that the news is “important and interesting things that happened that day.” This helps a little but leaves open the question of what is “important and interesting” and how that is decided.(Para. 3)It is all right to say that news consists of the important things that happened that day. But important to whom In what sense For what reason；but leaves open the question: but does not give an answer to the question5.Of course, some people will say that the question of what is important and interesting is not in the least problematic. What the President says or does is important; wars are important, rebellions, employment figures, elections, appointments to the Supreme Court. (Para. 4)This is an interesting example of hasty generalization. It is true that what important people say or do is often important, but we can’t jump to the conclusion that everything they say or do is always important. On the other hand, sometimes even what happens to someone completely unknown can escalate to a serious crisis. People call that “the Butterfly Effect.”problematic: causing a problem; questionable; uncertain6. Now, there is a great deal to be said for Saran Wrap. (Para. 4)N ow, it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful.7.Saran Wrap is not news. The color of Liz Taylor’s wrap is. Or so some people believe. (Para. 4):Note that the authors are making a word play on the word “wrap,” which has different meanings.8. We shall never learn about these people either, however instructive or interesting their stories may have been.(Para. 5)We will never hear anything about these people either, no matter how instructive or interesting their stories may have been.instructive: providing knowledge or information; educational9.Of course, there are some events—the assassination of a president, an earthquake, etc.—that have near universal interest and consequences. But most news does not inhere in the event.(Para. 6)to inhere in sth.: formal to be a natural part of sth.; to be inherent in sth.10. In fact, the news is more often made rather than gathered. (Para. 6)|In fact, often the news is not something out there for you to pick up; you have to decide what information is newsworthy and make it into news.11．Is a story about a killing in Northern Ireland more important than one about a killing in Morocco(Para. 6)For Americans of Irish background, the answer will most likely be yes. It is said that the relative importance of an event is often determined by the relative distance of its occurrence to the person involved.12．…every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story. The reporter’s previous assumptions about what is “out there” edit what he or she t hinks is there. (Para. 6)If news stories were just facts, and facts speak for themselves, then all news stories, though written by different people, would be the same. But news stories are actually all different because every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story, and every reporter has previous assumptions (beliefs, points of view, and biases) which affect what he/she thinks is there.to edit: to decide what will be included or left out, as editors do in preparing, printing, broadcasting, etc.13．The answers to all of these questions, as well as to other questions about the event, depend entirely on the point of view of the journalist. You might think this is an exaggeration, that reporters, irrespective of their assumptions, can at least get the facts straight. (Para. 7);irrespective of: regardless of; without thinking about or consideringAll government officials, irrespective of their rank, must disclose their property.We pursue the diplomatic policy of the five principles of peaceful coexistence in our relationship with all countries irrespective of their size or political s ystem.to get the facts straight: to find out what the facts are without making mistakesnow-defunct: now-dead; now no longer existing or functioningto feature a story: to give a story a prominent place in a newspaper or television news show14．…who thus earn their 35 rubles a month in lieu of “relief”… (Para. 8)Instead of receiving government relief, they are given jobs by the government so that they can earn their money. (这是以工代赈的政策)in lieu of: instead of；(government) relief：money that is given to poor people by the government (政府)救济15．…it was the policy of the Journal to highlight the contrast between the primitive Russian economy and the sophisticated American economy. (Para. 11)the Journal: This refers to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, mentioned above.to highlight: to make people notice or be aware of somethingsophisticated: (the opposite of primitive) highly developed and complex 高级的，复杂的16．Each of our senses is a remarkably astute censor. We see what we expect to see; often, we focus on what we are paid to see. And those who pay us to see usually expect us to accept their notions not only of what is important but of what are important details. (Para. 11)We have five sense organs, and they are all extremely sharp censors.censor: a person who examines books, movies, newspapers, etc. and removes things considered by the authorities to be offensive, immoral, or harmful to society (Note the personification of the word) .【We do not see or hear everything. We only see or hear what we expect to see or hear because we have been trained that way. We have been paid by our bosses to see or hear what they expect us to see or hear. We have been made to accept our bosses’ notion of what is interesting and important.17．“We’d have complete dossiers on the interests, policies, and idiosyncrasies of the owners. Then we’d have a dossier on every journalist in the world. The interests, prejudice s, and quirks of the owner would equal Z. The prejudices, quirks, and private interests of the journalist Y. Z times Y would give you X, the probable amount of truth in the story.” (Para. 12)Here the French writer Albert Camus, quoted by A. J. Liebling, is using a mathematic formula to express the relationship between the interests, prejudices and quirks of a newspaper owner, and those of the journalists, and the probable amount of truth in a news story.Z x Y = XHere, Z = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the ownerY = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the journalistsX = the truth probability of the newsDossiers (on): files (of); records (of)`18．The host might say something like this: “To begin with, this station is owned by Gary Farnsworth, who is also the president of Bontel Limited, the principal stockholder of which is the Sultan of Bahrain. Bontel Limited owns three Japanese electronic companies, two oil companies, the entire country of Upper Volta, and the western part of Ro mania. …” (Para. 13) The implied suggestion is that this television station is quite likely to be biased in its news reporting, reflecting the interests of those who control its finances.19．“The anchorman on the television show earns $800,000 a year; his portfolio includes holdings in a major computer firm. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas but was a C+ student, has never taken a course in political science, and speaks no language other than English. Last year, he read only two books—a biography of Cary Grant and a book of popular psychology called Why Am I So Wonderful … (Para. 13)The implication here is that the opinions of the anchorman on a television show are strongly influenced by his financial status, his source of income, the education he has received, and the books he has read.anchorman (anchorwoman): (chiefly in the US) a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television news program (电视和广播电台)新闻节目主持人Compare:broadcaster:播音员host：（游戏，访谈节目）主持人portfolio：a range of investments held by a person or organization 全部投资；投资组合|holdings：financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的财产20. “The reporter who covered the story on Yugoslavia speaks Serbo-Croatian, has a degree in international rel ations, and has had a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University.”(Para. 13)A reporter who speaks the language, has a degree in a related field, and has done research on journalism at a distinguished university can naturally be expected to be more competent to cover the story on Yugoslavia than one without these qualifications.21. What we are saying is that to answer the question “What is news” a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who provide the news. (Para. 15)The point we are trying to make is that a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who supply the news if he/she wants to answer the question “What is news”Note here that the news reporter’s economic situation refers to his/her financial status as well as the way his/her living is made, because a person’s vested interest (his/her personal stake in an undertaking, especially with an expectation of financial or other gain) often affects his/her point of view.22. There is, in fact, a point of view that argues against journalists imposing their own sense of significance on an audience.…What’s our point A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well. (Para. 16)】to keep their own opinions to themselves: To keep their own opinions secret; not to announce their own opinionsto advise them of what is important: to instruct them in what is important; to teach them what is importantNote that with t he verb “advise”, the preposition “of” is used, and “to advise somebody of something” is not to be confused with “to advise somebody to do something”.Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage: This refers to the actress’s unusually numerous marriages, which were a favorite subject of social gossip at the time.A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well: This may be clearer if we repeat the word “what” after “but”.23. Television is a mass medium, which means that a television news show is not intended for you alone. It is public communication, and the viewer needs to have some knowledge and opinions about “the public.”(Para. 17)In defining news it is important for us to remember that a mass medium is not for any single individual alone. It is for the general public, and in a pluralistic society, people’s interests and needs differ. Therefore, viewers must take this fact into consideration and respect the right of other people to be different.24. And this leads to another difficulty in answering the question “What is news” Some might agree with us that Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage do not constitute significant events but that they ought to be included in a news show precisely for that reason. Her experiences, they may say, are amusing or diverting, certainly engrossing. In other words, the purpose of news should be to give people pleasure, at least to the extent that it takes their minds off their own troubles.… (Para. 18)^This is looking at news from a different perspective. It says that many people read the news not for being educated or enlightened, but simply for entertainment. This may not be the most important purpose of the mass media, but we can’t say it is illegitimate. The question “What is news” is now becoming increasingly complicated.they want relief, not aggravation: People want the news to give them some relief–meaning here the removal of something painful or unpleasant rather than its opposite, aggravation, which makes the painful or unpleasant situation even worse.to take their minds off their own troubles: to make them forget their own troubles25. It is also said that whether entertaining or not, stories about the lives of celebrities should be included because they are instructive; they reveal a great deal about our society—its mores, values, ideals. (Para. 18)Even if stories about the lives of celebrities do not amuse or divert us, we still need to read them because these stories tell us a lot about the society we live in.26. Mark Twain once remarked that news is history in its first and best form. (Para. 18) People now more or less agree that today’s news is tomorrow’s history, and today’s history was yesterday’s news. So news can be defined as history to this extent.<27. The American poet Ezra Pound… defined literature as news that stays news. Among other things, Pound meant that the stuff of literature originates not in stories about the World Bank or an armistice agreement but in those simple, repeatable tales that reflect the pain, confusion, or exaltations that are constant in human experience, and touch us at the deepest levels. (Para.18)Ezra Pound relates news to literature. Such things as the World Bank and an armistice agreement, regarded as important today, will sooner or later become history, things of the past. However, we remember and retell stories about people’s pain, confusion, or exaltations because they are part of human experience and touch our emotions. This kind of news is the source of literature.28. What are we to make of it Why him It is like some Old Testament parable; these questions were raised five thousand years ago and we still raise them today. It is the kind of story that stays news, and that is why it must be given prominence. (Para. 18)to make of it: to understand itto be given prominence: to be treated as important; to be stressed29. What about… the fires, rapes, and murders that are daily featured on local television newsWho has decided that they are important, and why One cynical answer is that they are there because viewers take comfort in the realization that they have escaped disaster. At least for that day.(Para. 19)…viewers take comfort in the realization that…: viewers feel relieved or less worried because they know that these terrible things have not happened to them.】30. …It is the task of the news story to provide a daily accounting of the progress of society. …These reports, especially those of a concrete nature, are the daily facts from which the audien ce is expected to draw appropriate conclusions about the question “What kind of society am I a member of”(Para. 19)Another task of the news story is to give a daily accounting of the progress of society so that viewers will understand their society better.31.… heavy television viewers… believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers. Television news, in other words, tends to frighten people. (Para. 19) This paragraph suggests that television news tends to frighten rather than to enlighten people. Heavy television viewers believe their communities are much more dangerous than light viewers do. This leads to the question that whether news stories should concentrate on the brighter side of social reality.heavy (light) television viewers:people who watch many (only a few) hours of television programs in a day.32. The question is, “Ought they to be frightened” which is to ask, “Is the news an accurate portrayal of where we are as a society” Which leads to another question, “Is it possible for daily news to give such a picture” Many journalists believe it is possible. Some are skeptical. The early twentieth-century journalist Lincoln Steffens proved that he could create a “crime wave” any time he wanted by simply writing a bout all the crimes that normally occur in a large city during the course of a month. He could also end the crime wave by not writing about them. If crime waves can be “manufactured” by journalists, then how accurate are news shows in depicting the condition of a society (Para. 19)Is it true that journalists can create events and make them disappear If it were true, wouldn’t that make it very easy to run a country Moreover, if it were true, how could we ever trust news provided by the mass media And wouldn’t that also mean that a country could get along just fine without reliable newsportrayal: depiction; description?33. Besides, murders, rapes, and fires (even unemployment figures) are not the only way to assess the progress (or regress) of a society. Why are there so few television stories about symphonies that have been composed, novels written, scientific problems solved, and a thousand other creative acts that occur during the course of a month Were television news to be filled with these events, we would not be frightened. We would, in fact, be inspired, optimistic, cheerful. (Para. 19)This paragraph raises a very interesting question: Why are many events that actually have great impact on human life not given any prominence - new philosophical theories and academic achievements for example Possible answers are given in the following paragraph.to assess the progress: to measure; to estimate; to evaluate; to appraiseregress: moving back to an earlier, less developed and usually worse state or condition. It is usually used as a verb. The noun form is “regression”.Compare: digress v. digression n.moving away from the main subject under discussion in speaking and writing34. One answer is as follows. These events make poor television news because there is so little to show about them. In the judgment of most editors, people watch television. And what they are interested in watching are exciting, intriguing, even exotic pictures. Suppose a scientist has developed a new theory about how to measure with more exactitude the speed with which heavenly objects are moving away from the earth. It is difficult to televise a theory, especially if it involved complex mathematics.(Para. 20)This paragraph tries to answer the question raised above. According to the authors, one answer may be that television as a means of communication has its limitations. It is good at showing exciting, intriguing, and exotic pictures and events, but not at dealing with ideas, theories, and other abstract things. In other words, i t is a visual medium; it is less effective at engaging viewers’ minds. The second, implied answer is that people watch television mainly to be entertained. They have no time or patience for profound subjects. Lastly, most editors and news directors are incapable of immediately realizing the significance of scientific and theoretical discoveries. The conclusion seems to be: The news media are extremely important, but they are incapable of answering all our needs where news is concerned.…35. Television sells time, and time cannot be expanded. This means that whatever else is neglected, commercials cannot b, which leads to another possible answer to the question “What is news” News, …in its worst form,… can also be mainly a “filler,” a “come-on” to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials come. Certain producers have learned that by pandering to the audience, by eschewing solid news and replacing it with leering sensationalism, they can subvert the news by presenting a “television commercial show” t hat is interrupted by news. (Para. 20)In the United States, television stations are privately owned. These privately owned stations sell air time to business companies to promote their products. Therefore, presenting the news show is not the television st ation’s main purpose: “news” serves merely as “filler” to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials appear, not vice versa. And there is nothing more effective for this purpose than leering sensationalism. This may be an extreme case, but there is certainly some truth in it.36. The purpose of this chapter is to arouse your interest in thinking about the question. Your answers are to be found by knowing what you feel is significant and how your sense of the significant conforms with or departs from that of others, including broadcasters, their bosses, and their audiences. Answers are to be found in your ideas about the purpose of publiccommunication, and in your judgment of the kind of society you live in and wish to live in. We cannot provide answers to these questions. But you also need to know something about the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and, yes, even the delusions of the television news industry.(Para. 21)This paragraph concludes the purpose of the essay. The authors do not intend to give us the answer to the question: “What is news”, because they can’t. The problem is complicated, and each of us has to find his/her own answer. The purpose of the essay is to arouse our interest in answering the question by ourselves, and also to inform us of the important factors we must take into consideration to understand the nature of news.Key to ExercisesI1. a set sequence in a theatrical or comic performance 保留节目（喜剧\歌舞等）2.to correct, condense, or modify material when preparing it for publication or presentation3.\4.in Paragraph 8, financial or practical assistance given to those in need 救济(in Paragraph18, the removal of something painful or unpleasant 减轻痛苦)5. a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television program （电视新闻）男节目主持人6.financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的土地或股票7.the extent to which something is probable 几率8.to consider9.to watch a television show or listen to radio broadcast10.time during which a television show or radio broadcast is being transmitted 播放时间11. a news item, public-service announcement, or music, used to fill time on a radio ortelevision program12.something intended to allure or attract13.to undermine the power and authority of a system or institution'V1 How one defines “the news” depends on what he/she considers interesting and important.2 Now it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful in many ways, and we guess that in the end factswill show that it is more useful for the happiness of most of us… (But…)3 But most news is not an essential part of an event. It becomes news only because, in themidst of the noise and disorder of everything happening around us, a journalist has selected it for our attention.4 … it was the policy of the newspaper to focus on the sharp difference b etween the backwardRussian economy and the advanced American economy. Each of our five senses acts as a censor, screening information. It makes us see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, etc.; and we do so because that is what we have been educated or are paid to do.5 According to Camus, we would have complete records or files on the (newspaper) owners'interests, biases, and peculiar traits. Then we would have similarly complete files on every。
现代大学英语精读6（第二版）参考用书Unit 8 Housewifely ArtsMegan Mayhew BergmanAdditional Background InformationWhat is this story about? One answer is simply thatit is about love. Because of the protagonist’s strong maternal love for her son, Ike, she worries about geic weaknesses she might have passed on to him—―cancer genes, hay fever, high blood pressure, perhaps a fear of math‖, plus being undersized for his age making him an easy target for bullies. Being a single parent, she knows that she is all her son has. She takes care to shelter him from bad exles and possible harm. The desire to be a good mother, to help her child grow up happy, healthy, and productive is so intense that she is sometimes haunted by nightmares.The experience of parenting her child gradually makes the protagonist more aware of her relationship with her mother:Will you love me forever? I think to myself. Will you love me when I’m old? If I go crazy? Will you beembarrassed by me? Avoid my calls? Wash dishes when you talk to me on the phone, roll your eyes, lay the receiver down next to the cat?These were exactly the things she did to her mother. Loving her son, she finally realizes how much her parents also loved her. Her father’s love was easier to understand. He tried his best to give her opportunities in life, but when she failed in the year at a private college, which he had funded for her with considerable difficulty, he did not judge or reproach her. She loved her father, but she regarded her mother as cold and harsh and fought constantly with her, reacting like her former self, the rebellious teenager, being neither mature nor passionate in looking after her mother in old age, understanding her, forgiving her weaknesses, and loving her.But now that her mother is dead, she begins increasingly to miss her, and the decision to drive nine hours with her son for the sake of hearing her mother’s voice again through the imitations of Carnie, the African parrot, shows how much she needs this connection. “I realize how badly I need a piece of my mother. A scrap, asound, a smell—something.” She knows she has not been a good daughter, and the parrot her mother loved and whichshe hated so much, always seemed to e between them. Now, however, Carnie has bee her only avenue to the kind of memory she craves. But the bird does not give her that satisfaction, remaining pletely silent. Perhaps it couldnot forgive her unkind treatment of it in the past.Noheless, the journey proves successful. In thetradition of the American ―road trip‖, a nother way of thinking about this story, the protagonist does notmerely make an actual journey with her son in a car,during which various things happen along the way, shealso makes a personal, emotional journey in which she achieves a measure of enlightenment. It is a typicalfeature of―road trip‖ journeys that they teach the characters things about themselves that they did not previously know.Driving toward home, they stop at the house in whichthe protagonist grew up–- ―a deserted, plain house fo rplain folks…‖…I lead him to the back of the house, down thehallway which still feels more familiar to me than any Iknow…I remove the valances Mom made in the early eighties, dried bugs falling from the folds of the fabric into the sink below. These are the things with which she made a home. Her contributions to our sense of place were humble and put forth with great intent, crafts which took weeks of stitching and unstitching, measuring, cutting, gathering. I realize how much in the home was done by hand and sweat. My father had laid the carpeting and linoleum. Mom had painted the same dinner chairs twice, sewed all the window treatments…I scan the kitchen and picture Mom paying bills, her perfect script, the way she always listed her occupation with pride: homemaker…Recalling how her parents had created a home that she describes to Ike by saying, ―This was a beautiful house‖, she understands that her parents were not demonstrative people, not people who talked about love, but people who had shown it to her in all their actions and these things they had made. And here, also, she finds the clear recollections of her mother that she had been seeking: ―… Now I can hear my mother everywhere—in the kitchen, in my bedroom, on the front porch…‖This visit also helps the protagonist to make a major decision around which one part of the plot is constructed: should she and Ike move to Connecticut, a state to which her firm has offered to transfer her? Ike is reluctant.“…What if we live here forever? He asked. People used to do that, I said. Lived in one house their entire life. My mother, for instance…”In revisiting the house of her childhood, she has grasped the profound sense of home that growing up inthis single place has given her. She concludes: “Together, we can make a solid grilled cheese, prune shrubs, clean house. Together, maybe we’re the housewife this house needs. Maybe our best life is here.”And, significantly, she es, finally, to a true understanding of her mother’s courage and streng th, granting her respect and admiration: “Steamrolled by the world, but in the face of defeat, she threatened usall.‖ And the last three sentences of the story—My heart, she’d said. I can turn it off. For years, I’d believed her.But I know the truth now. What maniacs we are—sick with love, all of us.—make clear her final realization that her mother loves and has always loved her, and that she, too, loves and has always loved her mother.Structure of the TextPart I (Paras. 1-11)The protagonist introduces herself and tells us that she is driving nine hours with her 7-year-old son so that she can hear her mother’s voice again.Part II (Paras. 12-22)The protagonist describes how she had to sell her mother’s house and how the house brought back memories of her dead mother with her African parrot.Part III (Paras. 23-34)On their way to the Zoo, the protagonist and her son e to a rest stop and what she sees makes her think about her responsibilities as a mother.Part IV (Paras. 35-51)The protagonist reminisces about how she first saw the parrot at her mother’s home and how they developed a hostile relationship from the very beginning.Part V (Paras. 52-58)The protagonist tells her son where they are going and for what purpose. We learn from this section what kind of person her son’s father is and how she became a single parent.Part VI (Paras. 59-65)The protagonist’s son, Ike, tells her a story about his classmate Louis’ crazy mother and this once again makes her keenly aware of her desire to protect her son against even the knowledge that such people exist.Part VII (Paras. 66-97)This is a most revealing and touching part of the story in which we learn the reasons for the intense disagreements between the protagonist and her mother. She does not understand why her mother often appears harsh and cold, unlike her father, who was kind and did not judge her, nor can she understand why her mother gave so much of her care and attention to a bird so soon after her father’s death.Part VIII (Paras. 98-110)The protagonist and her son check into an inn and there she remembers how her mother cried over her grandmother’s death. She also hears in the news about apython strangling a toddler, which reminds her of a video of a similar event Ik e’s father showed her. The fearthat this could really happen to her son keeps her awake that night.Part IX (Paras. 111-123)In this section, the protagonist recalls how cruelly she hurt her mother’s feelings over the parrot when it was time to send her mother to a nursing home.Part X (Paras. 124-143)These memories show why the protagonist misses her mother so much and wants so much to hear her dead mother’s voice once again through the imitations of the parrot, but the bird refuses to talk, as though her mother still will not forgive her for the way she treated the bird.Part XI (Paras. 144-150)The protagonist now remembers the day her mother finally had to part with her beloved bird and go to the nursing home. It was a heart-breaking day for her.Part XII (Paras.151-177)As the protagonist revisits her home, happy memories e to her and she recalls her deceased parents. Her sonfeels sorry that his mother has been brought up in this place; in its rundown state, he sees it as miserable, buth is mother tells him that it was ―a beautiful house‖.（提醒：因编辑的疏忽，教材(184页)1-4行漏标了段落序号，造成176-179序号缺失，并非文字缺失，特此说明。
Unit3What Is News?Neil Postman and Steve PowersStructure of the TextPart I (Para. 1)In this beginning paragraph, the authors state the purpose of the essay.Part II (Para. 2)Some people might define the news as what television directors and journalists say it is. The authors, however, think that this definition is too simplistic.Part III (Paras. 3–5)In these para graphs, the authors explain why the news cannot be simply defined as “what happened that day” or “what happened that day that was important and interesting”.Part IV (Paras. 6–11)In these paragraphs, the authors tell readers that the news is more often made rather than gathered, and it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important. Therefore, every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story.Part V (Paras. 12–15)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that to make sense of the news, the viewer has to know somet hing about the journalist’s political beliefs as well as his prejudices, interests, and quirks which are, in turn, influenced by his financial status, the companies he has worked for, the schools he went to, the books he has read, etc.Part VI (Paras. 16–17)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that the journalist cannot always impose his/her views on the general public because the television channel or newspaper cannot survive unless the news they provide satisfies the needs of the general public. On the other hand, the viewer/reader must also take into account his or her relationship to a larger audience because television and newspapers are mass media and their news is not intended for an audience of one.Part VII (Paras. 18–20)In these paragraphs, the authors discuss some other possible definitions of news: news as something to give people pleasure; news as something instructive that reveals the mores, values, and ideals of a society; news as living history; news as a source of literature; news as a reflection of human pain, suffering, tragedies and confusion; news as something to inspire people and make them optimistic; news as something to frighten people and make them aware of the seamy side ofthe reality; last but not least, news as a filler between commercials.Part VIII (Para. 21)In this paragraph, the authors conclude the essay by reiterating their purpose in raising the issue “What is n ews?” It is to arouse our interest and help us understand the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and even the delusions of the television news industry.Detailed Study of the Text1. We turn to this question because unless a television viewer has considered it, he or she is in danger of too easily accepting someone else’s definition—for example, a definition supplied by the news director of a television station; or even worse, a definition imposed by important advertisers.(Para. 1)news director: (电视台) 新闻节目负责人advertisers: In many countries in the West, television stations largely depend on selling air time to advertisers for their revenue. Therefore, important advertisers can often impose their views and interests on the news supplied by television stations.viewer：Someone who is watching a movie, a television program, or an exhibitionCompare:audience: a group of people who watch, read, or listen to somethingspectator: a person who watches an event, show, game, or activity2. A simplistic definition of news can be drawn by paraphrasing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of the law. The law, Holmes said, is what the courts say it is… we might say that the news is what television directors and journalists say it is.(Para. 2) Americans generally accept Holmes’ famous definition of the law because they agree that laws must allow for the new interpretations necessary to meet the challenges of a changing nation and a changing world. But to propose a definition of the news by para phrasing Holmes’ definition of the law probably commits the logical error of false analogy. For example, it would not make much sense if we were to say politics is what politicians say it is, or education is what teachers say it is. simplistic: disapproving too simple; not complete or sufficiently thoroughNothing more. Nothing less. : As simple as that; no more, no less.in similar fashion: in the similar way; likewise; by the similar token3. But if we were to take that approach, on what basis would we say that we haven’t been told enough? Or that a story that should have been covered wasn’t? Or th at too many stories of a certain type were included? Or that a reporter gave a flagrantly biased account? (Para. 2)The fact that people are often unsatisfied with news reporting implies that people have different ideas about what news should be.flagrantly biased: obviously and unquestionably biased4. In modifying their answer, most will add that the news is “important and interestingthings that happened that day.” This helps a little but leaves open the question of what is “important and interesting” a nd how that is decided.(Para. 3)It is all right to say that news consists of the important things that happened that day. But important to whom? In what sense? For what reason?but leaves open the question: but does not give an answer to the question5.Of course, some people will say that the question of what is important and interesting is not in the least problematic. What the President says or does is important; wars are important, rebellions, employment figures, elections, appointments to the Supreme Court. (Para. 4)This is an interesting example of hasty generalization. It is true that what important people say or do is often important, but we can’t jump to the conclusion that everything they say or do is always important. On the other hand, sometimes even what happens to someone completely unknown can escalate to a serious crisis. People call that “the Butterfly Effect.”problematic: causing a problem; questionable; uncertain6. Now, there is a great deal to be said for Saran Wrap. (Para. 4)No w, it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful.7.Saran Wrap is not news. The color of Liz Taylor’s wrap is. Or so some people believe. (Para. 4)Note that the authors are making a word play on the word “wrap,” which has different meanings.8. We shall never learn about these people either, however instructive or interesting their stories may have been.(Para. 5)We will never hear anything about these people either, no matter how instructive or interesting their stories may have been.instructive: providing knowledge or information; educational9.Of course, there are some events—the assassination of a president, an earthquake, etc.—that have near universal interest and consequences. But most news does not inhere in the event.(Para. 6)to inhere in sth.: formal to be a natural part of sth.; to be inherent in sth.10. In fact, the news is more often made rather than gathered. (Para. 6)In fact, often the news is not something out there for you to pick up; you have to decide what information is newsworthy and make it into news.11．I s a story about a killing in Northern Ireland more important than one about a killing in Morocco?(Para. 6)For Americans of Irish background, the answer will most likely be yes. It is said that the relative importance of an event is often determined by the relative distance of its occurrence to the person involved.12．…every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story. The reporter’s previous assumptions about what is “out there” edit what he or she think s is there. (Para. 6) If news stories were just facts, and facts speak for themselves, then all news stories, though written by different people, would be the same. But news stories are actually all different because every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story, and every reporter has previous assumptions (beliefs, points of view, and biases) which affect what he/she thinks is there.to edit: to decide what will be included or left out, as editors do in preparing, printing, broadcasting, etc.13．The answers to all of these questions, as well as to other questions about the event, depend entirely on the point of view of the journalist. You might think this is an exaggeration, that reporters, irrespective of their assumptions, can at least get the facts straight. (Para. 7) irrespective of: regardless of; without thinking about or consideringAll government officials, irrespective of their rank, must disclose their property.We pursue the diplomatic policy of the five principles of peaceful coexistence in our relationship with all countries irrespective of their size or political s ystem.to get the facts straight: to find out what the facts are without making mistakesnow-defunct: now-dead; now no longer existing or functioningto feature a story: to give a story a prominent place in a newspaper or television news show14．…who thus earn their 35 rubles a month in lieu of “relief”… (Para. 8)Instead of receiving government relief, they are given jobs by the government so that they can earn their money. (这是以工代赈的政策)in lieu of: instead of(government) relief：money that is given to poor people by the government (政府)救济15．…it was the policy of the Journal to highlight the contrast between the primitive Russian economy and the sophisticated American economy. (Para. 11)the Journal: This refers to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, mentioned above.to highlight: to make people notice or be aware of somethingsophisticated: (the opposite of primitive) highly developed and complex 高级的，复杂的16．Each of our senses is a remarkably astute censor. We see what we expect to see; often, we focus on what we are paid to see. And those who pay us to see usually expect us to accept their notions not only of what is important but of what are important details. (Para. 11)We have five sense organs, and they are all extremely sharp censors.censor: a person who examines books, movies, newspapers, etc. and removes things considered by the authorities to be offensive, immoral, or harmful to society (Note the personification of the word) .We do not see or hear everything. We only see or hear what we expect to see or hear because we have been trained that way. We have been paid by our bosses to see or hear what they expect us to see or hear. We have been made to accept our bosses’ notion of what is interesting and important.17．“We’d have complete dossiers on the interests, policies, and idiosyncrasies of the owners.Then we’d have a dossier on every journalist in the world. The interests, prejudices, and quirks of the owner would equal Z. The prejudices, quirks, and private interests of the journalist Y. Z times Y would give you X, the probable amount of truth in the story.” (Para.12)Here the French writer Albert Camus, quoted by A. J. Liebling, is using a mathematic formula to express the relationship between the interests, prejudices and quirks of a newspaper owner, and those of the journalists, and the probable amount of truth in a news story.Z x Y = XHere, Z = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the ownerY = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the journalistsX = the truth probability of the newsDossiers (on): files (of); records (of)18．The host might say something like this: “To begin with, this station is owned by Gary Farnsworth, who is also the president of Bontel Limited, the principal stockholder of which is the Sultan of Bahrain. Bontel Limited owns three Japanese electronic companies, two oil companies, the entire country of Upper Volta, and the western part of Romania. …” (P ara.13)The implied suggestion is that this television station is quite likely to be biased in its news reporting, reflecting the interests of those who control its finances.19．“The anchorman on the television show earns $800,000 a year; his portfolio i ncludes holdings in a major computer firm. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas but was a C+ student, has never taken a course in political science, and speaks no language other than English. Last year, he read only two books—a biography of Cary Grant and a book of popular psychology called Why Am I So Wonderful? … (Para.13)The implication here is that the opinions of the anchorman on a television show are strongly influenced by his financial status, his source of income, the education he has received, and the books he has read.anchorman (anchorwoman): (chiefly in the US) a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television news program (电视和广播电台)新闻节目主持人Compare:broadcaster:播音员host：（游戏，访谈节目）主持人portfolio：a range of investments held by a person or organization 全部投资；投资组合holdings：financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的财产20. “The reporter who covered the story on Yugoslavia speaks Serbo-Croatian, has a degree in international relations, and h as had a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University.”(Para.13)A reporter who speaks the language, has a degree in a related field, and has done research on journalism at a distinguished university can naturally be expected to be more competent to cover the story on Yugoslavia than one without these qualifications.21. What we are saying is that to answer the question “What is news?” a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who provide the news. (Para. 15)The point we are trying to make is that a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who supply the news if he/she wants to answer the question “What is news?”Note here that the news reporter’s economic situation r efers to his/her financial status as well as the way his/her living is made, because a person’s vested interest (his/her personal stake in an undertaking, especially with an expectation of financial or other gain) often affects his/her point of view.22. There is, in fact, a point of view that argues against journalists imposing their own sense of significance on an audience.…What’s our point? A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well. (Para. 16)to keep their own opinions to themselves: To keep their own opinions secret; not to announce their own opinionsto advise them of what is important: to instruct them in what is important; to teach them what is importantNote that with the verb “advise”, the preposition “of” is used, and “to advise somebody of something” is not to be confused with “to advise somebody to do something”.Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage: This refers to the actress’s unusually numerous marriages, which were a favorite subject of social gossip at the time.A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well: This may be clearer if we repeat the word “what” after “but”.23. Television is a mass medium, which means that a television news show is not intended for you alone. It is public communication, and the viewer needs to have some knowledge and opinions about “the public.”(Para. 17)In defining news it is important for us to remember that a mass medium is not for any single individual alone. It is for the general public, and in a pluralistic society, people’s interests and needs differ. Therefore, viewers must take this fact into consideration and respect the right of other people to be different.24. And this lea ds to another difficulty in answering the question “What is news?” Some might agree with us that Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage do not constitute significant events but that they ought to be included in a news show precisely for that reason. Her experiences, they may say, are amusing or diverting, certainly engrossing. In other words, the purpose of news should be to give people pleasure, at least to the extent that it takes their minds off their own troubles.… (Para. 18)This is looking at news from a different perspective. It says that many people read the news not for being educated or enlightened, but simply for entertainment. This may not be the most important purpose of the mass media, but we can’t say it is illegitimate. The question “What is n ews?” is now becoming increasingly complicated.they want relief, not aggravation: People want the news to give them some relief–meaning here the removal of something painful or unpleasant rather than its opposite, aggravation, which makes the painful or unpleasant situation even worse.to take their minds off their own troubles: to make them forget their own troubles25. It is also said that whether entertaining or not, stories about the lives of celebrities should be included because they are instructive; they reveal a great deal about our society—its mores, values, ideals. (Para. 18)Even if stories about the lives of celebrities do not amuse or divert us, we still need to read them because these stories tell us a lot about the society we live in.26. Mark Twain once remarked that news is history in its first and best form. (Para. 18) People now more or less agree that today’s news is tomorrow’s history, and today’s history was yesterday’s news. So news can be defined as history to this extent.27. Th e American poet Ezra Pound… defined literature as news that stays news. Among other things, Pound meant that the stuff of literature originates not in stories about the World Bank or an armistice agreement but in those simple, repeatable tales that reflect the pain, confusion, or exaltations that are constant in human experience, and touch us at the deepest levels. (Para. 18)Ezra Pound relates news to literature. Such things as the World Bank and an armistice agreement, regarded as important today, will sooner or later become history, things of the past. However, we remember and retell stories about people’s pain, confusion, or exaltations because they are part of human experience and touch our emotions. This kind of news is the source of literature.28. What are we to make of it? Why him? It is like some Old Testament parable; these questions were raised five thousand years ago and we still raise them today. It is the kind of story that stays news, and that is why it must be given prominence. (Para. 18)to make of it: to understand itto be given prominence: to be treated as important; to be stressed29. What about… the fires, rapes, and murders that are daily featured on local television news? Who has decided that they are important, and why? One cynical answer is that they are there because viewers take comfort in the realization that they have escaped disaster. At least for that day.(Para. 19)…viewers take comfort in the realization that…: viewers feel relieved or less worried because they know that these terrible things have not happened to them.30. …It is the task of the news story to provide a daily accounting of the progress of society. … These reports, especially those of a concrete nature, are the daily facts from which the audience is expect ed to draw appropriate conclusions about the question “What kind of society am I a member of?”(Para. 19)Another task of the news story is to give a daily accounting of the progress of society so that viewers will understand their society better.31.… heavy television viewers… believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers. Television news, in other words, tends to frighten people. (Para.19)This paragraph suggests that television news tends to frighten rather than to enlighten people. Heavy television viewers believe their communities are much more dangerous than light viewers do. This leads to the question that whether news stories should concentrate on the brighter side of social reality.heavy (light) television viewers:people who watch many (only a few) hours of television programs in a day.32. The question is, “Ought they to be frightened?” which is to ask, “Is the news an accurate portrayal of where we are as a society?” Which leads to another question, “Is it possible for daily news to give such a picture?” Many journalists believe it is possible. Some are skeptical. The early twentieth-century journalist Lincoln Steffens proved that he could create a “crime wave” any time he wanted by simply writing about all the crimes that normally occur in a large city during the course of a month. He could also end the crime wave by not writing about them. If crime waves can be “manufactured” by journalists, then how accurate are news shows in depicting the condition of a society? (Para. 19)Is it true that journalists can create events and make them disappear? If it were true, wouldn’t that make it very easy to run a country? Moreover, if it were true, how could we ever trust news provided by the mass media? And wouldn’t that also mean that a country could get along just fine without reliable news?portrayal: depiction; description33. Besides, murders, rapes, and fires (even unemployment figures) are not the only way to assess the progress (or regress) of a society. Why are there so few television stories about symphonies that have been composed, novels written, scientific problems solved, and a thousand other creative acts that occur during the course of a month? Were television news to be filled with these events, we would not be frightened. We would, in fact, be inspired, optimistic, cheerful. (Para. 19)This paragraph raises a very interesting question: Why are many events that actually have great impact on human life not given any prominence - new philosophical theories and academic achievements for example? Possible answers are given in the following paragraph.to assess the progress: to measure; to estimate; to evaluate; to appraiseregress: moving back to an earlier, less developed and usually worse state or condition. It is usually used as a verb. The noun form is “regression”.Compare: digress v. digression n.moving away from the main subject under discussion in speaking and writing34. One answer is as follows. These events make poor television news because there is so little to show about them. In the judgment of most editors, people watch television. And what they are interested in watching are exciting, intriguing, even exotic pictures. Suppose a scientist has developed a new theory about how to measure with more exactitude the speedwith which heavenly objects are moving away from the earth. It is difficult to televise a theory, especially if it involved complex mathematics.(Para. 20)This paragraph tries to answer the question raised above. According to the authors, one answer may be that television as a means of communication has its limitations. It is good at showing exciting, intriguing, and exotic pictures and events, but not at dealing with ideas, theories, and other abstract things. In other words, it i s a visual medium; it is less effective at engaging viewers’ minds. The second, implied answer is that people watch television mainly to be entertained. They have no time or patience for profound subjects. Lastly, most editors and news directors are incapable of immediately realizing the significance of scientific and theoretical discoveries. The conclusion seems to be: The news media are extremely important, but they are incapable of answering all our needs where news is concerned.35. Television sells time, and time cannot be expanded. This means that whatever else is neglected, commercials cannot b, which leads to another possible answer to the question “What is news?” News, …in its worst form,… can also be mainly a “filler,” a “come-on” to keep the vie wer’s attention until the commercials come. Certain producers have learned that by pandering to the audience, by eschewing solid news and replacing it with leering sensationalism, they can subvert the news by presenting a “television commercial show” that is interrupted by news. (Para. 20)In the United States, television stations are privately owned. These privately owned stations sell air time to business companies to promote their products. Therefore, presenting the news show is not the television statio n’s main purpose: “news” serves merely as “filler” to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials appear, not vice versa. And there is nothing more effective for this purpose than leering sensationalism. This may be an extreme case, but there is certainly some truth in it.36. The purpose of this chapter is to arouse your interest in thinking about the question. Your answers are to be found by knowing what you feel is significant and how your sense of the significant conforms with or departs from that of others, including broadcasters, their bosses, and their audiences. Answers are to be found in your ideas about the purpose of public communication, and in your judgment of the kind of society you live in and wish to live in. We cannot provide answers to these questions. But you also need to know something about the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and, yes, even the delusions of the television news industry.(Para. 21)This paragraph concludes the purpose of the essay. The authors do not intend to give us the answer to the question: “What is news?”, because they can’t. The problem is complicated, and each of us has to find his/her own answer. The purpose of the essay is to arouse our interest in answering the question by ourselves, and also to inform us of the important factors we must take into consideration to understand the nature of news.Key to ExercisesI1. a set sequence in a theatrical or comic performance 保留节目（喜剧\歌舞等）2.to correct, condense, or modify material when preparing it for publication or presentation3.in Paragraph 8, financial or practical assistance given to those in need 救济(in Paragraph 18,the removal of something painful or unpleasant 减轻痛苦)4. a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television program （电视新闻）男节目主持人5.financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的土地或股票6.the extent to which something is probable 几率7.to consider8.to watch a television show or listen to radio broadcast9.time during which a television show or radio broadcast is being transmitted 播放时间10. a news item, public-service announcement, or music, used to fill time on a radio or televisionprogram11.something intended to allure or attract12.to undermine the power and authority of a system or institutionV1 How one defines “the news” depen ds on what he/she considers interesting and important.2 Now it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful in many ways, and we guess that in the end factswill show that it is more useful for the happiness of most of us… (But…)3 But most news is not an essential part of an event. It becomes news only because, in themidst of the noise and disorder of everything happening around us, a journalist has selected it for our attention.4 … it was the policy of the newspaper to focus on the sharp difference between the backwardRussian economy and the advanced American economy. Each of our five senses acts as a censor, screening information. It makes us see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, etc.; and we do so because that is what we have been educated or are paid to do.5 According to Camus, we would have complete records or files on the (newspaper) owners'interests, biases, and peculiar traits. Then we would have similarly complete files on every journalist in the world.Camus then proposes: Z×Y= X, where:Z stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the owner.Y stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the journalist.X is the probable amount of truth in the story.6 Certain producers of television programs have discovered that, by catering to the low tastesand desires of their audience, by avoiding real news and deliberately replacing it with sensational stories, they can transform television news from programs interrupted by short commercials into one long commercial interrupted by snippets of news.VIPhrases1.一种过于简单化的定义2.一种公然带有偏见的报道/陈述3.就业数字统计4.喜剧保留剧目。
Unit3What Is News?Neil Postman and Steve PowersStructure of the TextPart I (Para. 1)In this beginning paragraph, the authors state the purpose of the essay.Part II (Para. 2)Some people might define the news as what television directors and journalists say it is. The authors, however, think that this definition is too simplistic.Part III (Paras. 3–5)In these para graphs, the authors explain why the news cannot be simply defined as “what happened that day” or “what happened that day that was important and interesting”.Part IV (Paras. 6–11)In these paragraphs, the authors tell readers that the news is more often made rather than gathered, and it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important. Therefore, every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story.Part V (Paras. 12–15)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that to make sense of the news, the viewer has to know somet hing about the journalist’s political beliefs as well as his prejudices, interests, and quirks which are, in turn, influenced by his financial status, the companies he has worked for, the schools he went to, the books he has read, etc.Part VI (Paras. 16–17)In these paragraphs, the authors point out that the journalist cannot always impose his/her views on the general public because the television channel or newspaper cannot survive unless the news they provide satisfies the needs of the general public. On the other hand, the viewer/reader must also take into account his or her relationship to a larger audience because television and newspapers are mass media and their news is not intended for an audience of one.Part VII (Paras. 18–20)In these paragraphs, the authors discuss some other possible definitions of news: news as something to give people pleasure; news as something instructive that reveals the mores, values, and ideals of a society; news as living history; news as a source of literature; news as a reflection of human pain, suffering, tragedies and confusion; news as something to inspire people and make them optimistic; news as something to frighten people and make them aware of the seamy side ofthe reality; last but not least, news as a filler between commercials.Part VIII (Para. 21)In this paragraph, the authors conclude the essay by reiterating their purpose in raising the issue “What is n ews?” It is to arouse our interest and help us understand the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and even the delusions of the television news industry.Detailed Study of the Text1. We turn to this question because unless a television viewer has considered it, he or she is in danger of too easily accepting someone else’s definition—for example, a definition supplied by the news director of a television station; or even worse, a definition imposed by important advertisers.(Para. 1)news director: (电视台) 新闻节目负责人advertisers: In many countries in the West, television stations largely depend on selling air time to advertisers for their revenue. Therefore, important advertisers can often impose their views and interests on the news supplied by television stations.viewer：Someone who is watching a movie, a television program, or an exhibitionCompare:audience: a group of people who watch, read, or listen to somethingspectator: a person who watches an event, show, game, or activity2. A simplistic definition of news can be drawn by paraphrasing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of the law. The law, Holmes said, is what the courts say it is… we might say that the news is what television directors and journalists say it is.(Para. 2) Americans generally accept Holmes’ famous definition of the law because they agree that laws must allow for the new interpretations necessary to meet the challenges of a changing nation and a changing world. But to propose a definition of the news by para phrasing Holmes’ definition of the law probably commits the logical error of false analogy. For example, it would not make much sense if we were to say politics is what politicians say it is, or education is what teachers say it is. simplistic: disapproving too simple; not complete or sufficiently thoroughNothing more. Nothing less. : As simple as that; no more, no less.in similar fashion: in the similar way; likewise; by the similar token3. But if we were to take that approach, on what basis would we say that we haven’t been told enough? Or that a story that should have been covered wasn’t? Or th at too many stories of a certain type were included? Or that a reporter gave a flagrantly biased account? (Para. 2)The fact that people are often unsatisfied with news reporting implies that people have different ideas about what news should be.flagrantly biased: obviously and unquestionably biased4. In modifying their answer, most will add that the news is “important and interestingthings that happened that day.” This helps a little but leaves open the question of what is “important and interesting” a nd how that is decided.(Para. 3)It is all right to say that news consists of the important things that happened that day. But important to whom? In what sense? For what reason?but leaves open the question: but does not give an answer to the question5.Of course, some people will say that the question of what is important and interesting is not in the least problematic. What the President says or does is important; wars are important, rebellions, employment figures, elections, appointments to the Supreme Court. (Para. 4)This is an interesting example of hasty generalization. It is true that what important people say or do is often important, but we can’t jump to the conclusion that everything they say or do is always important. On the other hand, sometimes even what happens to someone completely unknown can escalate to a serious crisis. People call that “the Butterfly Effect.”problematic: causing a problem; questionable; uncertain6. Now, there is a great deal to be said for Saran Wrap. (Para. 4)No w, it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful.7.Saran Wrap is not news. The color of Liz Taylor’s wrap is. Or so some people believe. (Para. 4)Note that the authors are making a word play on the word “wrap,” which has different meanings.8. We shall never learn about these people either, however instructive or interesting their stories may have been.(Para. 5)We will never hear anything about these people either, no matter how instructive or interesting their stories may have been.instructive: providing knowledge or information; educational9.Of course, there are some events—the assassination of a president, an earthquake, etc.—that have near universal interest and consequences. But most news does not inhere in the event.(Para. 6)to inhere in sth.: formal to be a natural part of sth.; to be inherent in sth.10. In fact, the news is more often made rather than gathered. (Para. 6)In fact, often the news is not something out there for you to pick up; you have to decide what information is newsworthy and make it into news.11．I s a story about a killing in Northern Ireland more important than one about a killing in Morocco?(Para. 6)For Americans of Irish background, the answer will most likely be yes. It is said that the relative importance of an event is often determined by the relative distance of its occurrence to the person involved.12．…every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story. The reporter’s previous assumptions about what is “out there” edit what he or she think s is there. (Para. 6) If news stories were just facts, and facts speak for themselves, then all news stories, though written by different people, would be the same. But news stories are actually all different because every news story is a reflection of the reporter who tells the story, and every reporter has previous assumptions (beliefs, points of view, and biases) which affect what he/she thinks is there.to edit: to decide what will be included or left out, as editors do in preparing, printing, broadcasting, etc.13．The answers to all of these questions, as well as to other questions about the event, depend entirely on the point of view of the journalist. You might think this is an exaggeration, that reporters, irrespective of their assumptions, can at least get the facts straight. (Para. 7) irrespective of: regardless of; without thinking about or consideringAll government officials, irrespective of their rank, must disclose their property.We pursue the diplomatic policy of the five principles of peaceful coexistence in our relationship with all countries irrespective of their size or political s ystem.to get the facts straight: to find out what the facts are without making mistakesnow-defunct: now-dead; now no longer existing or functioningto feature a story: to give a story a prominent place in a newspaper or television news show14．…who thus earn their 35 rubles a month in lieu of “relief”… (Para. 8)Instead of receiving government relief, they are given jobs by the government so that they can earn their money. (这是以工代赈的政策)in lieu of: instead of(government) relief：money that is given to poor people by the government (政府)救济15．…it was the policy of the Journal to highlight the contrast between the primitive Russian economy and the sophisticated American economy. (Para. 11)the Journal: This refers to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, mentioned above.to highlight: to make people notice or be aware of somethingsophisticated: (the opposite of primitive) highly developed and complex 高级的，复杂的16．Each of our senses is a remarkably astute censor. We see what we expect to see; often, we focus on what we are paid to see. And those who pay us to see usually expect us to accept their notions not only of what is important but of what are important details. (Para. 11)We have five sense organs, and they are all extremely sharp censors.censor: a person who examines books, movies, newspapers, etc. and removes things considered by the authorities to be offensive, immoral, or harmful to society (Note the personification of the word) .We do not see or hear everything. We only see or hear what we expect to see or hear because we have been trained that way. We have been paid by our bosses to see or hear what they expect us to see or hear. We have been made to accept our bosses’ notion of what is interesting and important.17．“We’d have complete dossiers on the interests, policies, and idiosyncrasies of the owners.Then we’d have a dossier on every journalist in the world. The interests, prejudices, and quirks of the owner would equal Z. The prejudices, quirks, and private interests of the journalist Y. Z times Y would give you X, the probable amount of truth in the story.” (Para.12)Here the French writer Albert Camus, quoted by A. J. Liebling, is using a mathematic formula to express the relationship between the interests, prejudices and quirks of a newspaper owner, and those of the journalists, and the probable amount of truth in a news story.Z x Y = XHere, Z = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the ownerY = the interests, prejudices, and quirks of the journalistsX = the truth probability of the newsDossiers (on): files (of); records (of)18．The host might say something like this: “To begin with, this station is owned by Gary Farnsworth, who is also the president of Bontel Limited, the principal stockholder of which is the Sultan of Bahrain. Bontel Limited owns three Japanese electronic companies, two oil companies, the entire country of Upper Volta, and the western part of Romania. …” (P ara.13)The implied suggestion is that this television station is quite likely to be biased in its news reporting, reflecting the interests of those who control its finances.19．“The anchorman on the television show earns $800,000 a year; his portfolio i ncludes holdings in a major computer firm. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas but was a C+ student, has never taken a course in political science, and speaks no language other than English. Last year, he read only two books—a biography of Cary Grant and a book of popular psychology called Why Am I So Wonderful? … (Para.13)The implication here is that the opinions of the anchorman on a television show are strongly influenced by his financial status, his source of income, the education he has received, and the books he has read.anchorman (anchorwoman): (chiefly in the US) a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television news program (电视和广播电台)新闻节目主持人Compare:broadcaster:播音员host：（游戏，访谈节目）主持人portfolio：a range of investments held by a person or organization 全部投资；投资组合holdings：financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的财产20. “The reporter who covered the story on Yugoslavia speaks Serbo-Croatian, has a degree in international relations, and h as had a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University.”(Para.13)A reporter who speaks the language, has a degree in a related field, and has done research on journalism at a distinguished university can naturally be expected to be more competent to cover the story on Yugoslavia than one without these qualifications.21. What we are saying is that to answer the question “What is news?” a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who provide the news. (Para. 15)The point we are trying to make is that a viewer must know something about the political beliefs and economic situation of those who supply the news if he/she wants to answer the question “What is news?”Note here that the news reporter’s economic situation r efers to his/her financial status as well as the way his/her living is made, because a person’s vested interest (his/her personal stake in an undertaking, especially with an expectation of financial or other gain) often affects his/her point of view.22. There is, in fact, a point of view that argues against journalists imposing their own sense of significance on an audience.…What’s our point? A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well. (Para. 16)to keep their own opinions to themselves: To keep their own opinions secret; not to announce their own opinionsto advise them of what is important: to instruct them in what is important; to teach them what is importantNote that with the verb “advise”, the preposition “of” is used, and “to advise somebody of something” is not to be confused with “to advise somebody to do something”.Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage: This refers to the actress’s unusually numerous marriages, which were a favorite subject of social gossip at the time.A viewer must not only know what he or she thinks is significant but others believe is significant as well: This may be clearer if we repeat the word “what” after “but”.23. Television is a mass medium, which means that a television news show is not intended for you alone. It is public communication, and the viewer needs to have some knowledge and opinions about “the public.”(Para. 17)In defining news it is important for us to remember that a mass medium is not for any single individual alone. It is for the general public, and in a pluralistic society, people’s interests and needs differ. Therefore, viewers must take this fact into consideration and respect the right of other people to be different.24. And this lea ds to another difficulty in answering the question “What is news?” Some might agree with us that Liz Taylor’s adventures in marriage do not constitute significant events but that they ought to be included in a news show precisely for that reason. Her experiences, they may say, are amusing or diverting, certainly engrossing. In other words, the purpose of news should be to give people pleasure, at least to the extent that it takes their minds off their own troubles.… (Para. 18)This is looking at news from a different perspective. It says that many people read the news not for being educated or enlightened, but simply for entertainment. This may not be the most important purpose of the mass media, but we can’t say it is illegitimate. The question “What is n ews?” is now becoming increasingly complicated.they want relief, not aggravation: People want the news to give them some relief–meaning here the removal of something painful or unpleasant rather than its opposite, aggravation, which makes the painful or unpleasant situation even worse.to take their minds off their own troubles: to make them forget their own troubles25. It is also said that whether entertaining or not, stories about the lives of celebrities should be included because they are instructive; they reveal a great deal about our society—its mores, values, ideals. (Para. 18)Even if stories about the lives of celebrities do not amuse or divert us, we still need to read them because these stories tell us a lot about the society we live in.26. Mark Twain once remarked that news is history in its first and best form. (Para. 18) People now more or less agree that today’s news is tomorrow’s history, and today’s history was yesterday’s news. So news can be defined as history to this extent.27. Th e American poet Ezra Pound… defined literature as news that stays news. Among other things, Pound meant that the stuff of literature originates not in stories about the World Bank or an armistice agreement but in those simple, repeatable tales that reflect the pain, confusion, or exaltations that are constant in human experience, and touch us at the deepest levels. (Para. 18)Ezra Pound relates news to literature. Such things as the World Bank and an armistice agreement, regarded as important today, will sooner or later become history, things of the past. However, we remember and retell stories about people’s pain, confusion, or exaltations because they are part of human experience and touch our emotions. This kind of news is the source of literature.28. What are we to make of it? Why him? It is like some Old Testament parable; these questions were raised five thousand years ago and we still raise them today. It is the kind of story that stays news, and that is why it must be given prominence. (Para. 18)to make of it: to understand itto be given prominence: to be treated as important; to be stressed29. What about… the fires, rapes, and murders that are daily featured on local television news? Who has decided that they are important, and why? One cynical answer is that they are there because viewers take comfort in the realization that they have escaped disaster. At least for that day.(Para. 19)…viewers take comfort in the realization that…: viewers feel relieved or less worried because they know that these terrible things have not happened to them.30. …It is the task of the news story to provide a daily accounting of the progress of society. … These reports, especially those of a concrete nature, are the daily facts from which the audience is expect ed to draw appropriate conclusions about the question “What kind of society am I a member of?”(Para. 19)Another task of the news story is to give a daily accounting of the progress of society so that viewers will understand their society better.31.… heavy television viewers… believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers. Television news, in other words, tends to frighten people. (Para.19)This paragraph suggests that television news tends to frighten rather than to enlighten people. Heavy television viewers believe their communities are much more dangerous than light viewers do. This leads to the question that whether news stories should concentrate on the brighter side of social reality.heavy (light) television viewers:people who watch many (only a few) hours of television programs in a day.32. The question is, “Ought they to be frightened?” which is to ask, “Is the news an accurate portrayal of where we are as a society?” Which leads to another question, “Is it possible for daily news to give such a picture?” Many journalists believe it is possible. Some are skeptical. The early twentieth-century journalist Lincoln Steffens proved that he could create a “crime wave” any time he wanted by simply writing about all the crimes that normally occur in a large city during the course of a month. He could also end the crime wave by not writing about them. If crime waves can be “manufactured” by journalists, then how accurate are news shows in depicting the condition of a society? (Para. 19)Is it true that journalists can create events and make them disappear? If it were true, wouldn’t that make it very easy to run a country? Moreover, if it were true, how could we ever trust news provided by the mass media? And wouldn’t that also mean that a country could get along just fine without reliable news?portrayal: depiction; description33. Besides, murders, rapes, and fires (even unemployment figures) are not the only way to assess the progress (or regress) of a society. Why are there so few television stories about symphonies that have been composed, novels written, scientific problems solved, and a thousand other creative acts that occur during the course of a month? Were television news to be filled with these events, we would not be frightened. We would, in fact, be inspired, optimistic, cheerful. (Para. 19)This paragraph raises a very interesting question: Why are many events that actually have great impact on human life not given any prominence - new philosophical theories and academic achievements for example? Possible answers are given in the following paragraph.to assess the progress: to measure; to estimate; to evaluate; to appraiseregress: moving back to an earlier, less developed and usually worse state or condition. It is usually used as a verb. The noun form is “regression”.Compare: digress v. digression n.moving away from the main subject under discussion in speaking and writing34. One answer is as follows. These events make poor television news because there is so little to show about them. In the judgment of most editors, people watch television. And what they are interested in watching are exciting, intriguing, even exotic pictures. Suppose a scientist has developed a new theory about how to measure with more exactitude the speedwith which heavenly objects are moving away from the earth. It is difficult to televise a theory, especially if it involved complex mathematics.(Para. 20)This paragraph tries to answer the question raised above. According to the authors, one answer may be that television as a means of communication has its limitations. It is good at showing exciting, intriguing, and exotic pictures and events, but not at dealing with ideas, theories, and other abstract things. In other words, it i s a visual medium; it is less effective at engaging viewers’ minds. The second, implied answer is that people watch television mainly to be entertained. They have no time or patience for profound subjects. Lastly, most editors and news directors are incapable of immediately realizing the significance of scientific and theoretical discoveries. The conclusion seems to be: The news media are extremely important, but they are incapable of answering all our needs where news is concerned.35. Television sells time, and time cannot be expanded. This means that whatever else is neglected, commercials cannot b, which leads to another possible answer to the question “What is news?” News, …in its worst form,… can also be mainly a “filler,” a “come-on” to keep the vie wer’s attention until the commercials come. Certain producers have learned that by pandering to the audience, by eschewing solid news and replacing it with leering sensationalism, they can subvert the news by presenting a “television commercial show” that is interrupted by news. (Para. 20)In the United States, television stations are privately owned. These privately owned stations sell air time to business companies to promote their products. Therefore, presenting the news show is not the television statio n’s main purpose: “news” serves merely as “filler” to keep the viewer’s attention until the commercials appear, not vice versa. And there is nothing more effective for this purpose than leering sensationalism. This may be an extreme case, but there is certainly some truth in it.36. The purpose of this chapter is to arouse your interest in thinking about the question. Your answers are to be found by knowing what you feel is significant and how your sense of the significant conforms with or departs from that of others, including broadcasters, their bosses, and their audiences. Answers are to be found in your ideas about the purpose of public communication, and in your judgment of the kind of society you live in and wish to live in. We cannot provide answers to these questions. But you also need to know something about the problems, limitations, traditions, motivations, and, yes, even the delusions of the television news industry.(Para. 21)This paragraph concludes the purpose of the essay. The authors do not intend to give us the answer to the question: “What is news?”, because they can’t. The problem is complicated, and each of us has to find his/her own answer. The purpose of the essay is to arouse our interest in answering the question by ourselves, and also to inform us of the important factors we must take into consideration to understand the nature of news.Key to ExercisesI1. a set sequence in a theatrical or comic performance 保留节目（喜剧\歌舞等）2.to correct, condense, or modify material when preparing it for publication or presentation3.in Paragraph 8, financial or practical assistance given to those in need 救济(in Paragraph 18,the removal of something painful or unpleasant 减轻痛苦)4. a man or woman who presents and coordinates a television program （电视新闻）男节目主持人5.financial assets; land, property, or shares in a company 拥有的土地或股票6.the extent to which something is probable 几率7.to consider8.to watch a television show or listen to radio broadcast9.time during which a television show or radio broadcast is being transmitted 播放时间10. a news item, public-service announcement, or music, used to fill time on a radio or televisionprogram11.something intended to allure or attract12.to undermine the power and authority of a system or institutionV1 How one defines “the news” depen ds on what he/she considers interesting and important.2 Now it’s true that Saran Wrap is very useful in many ways, and we guess that in the end factswill show that it is more useful for the happiness of most of us… (But…)3 But most news is not an essential part of an event. It becomes news only because, in themidst of the noise and disorder of everything happening around us, a journalist has selected it for our attention.4 … it was the policy of the newspaper to focus on the sharp difference between the backwardRussian economy and the advanced American economy. Each of our five senses acts as a censor, screening information. It makes us see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, etc.; and we do so because that is what we have been educated or are paid to do.5 According to Camus, we would have complete records or files on the (newspaper) owners'interests, biases, and peculiar traits. Then we would have similarly complete files on every journalist in the world.Camus then proposes: Z×Y= X, where:Z stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the owner.Y stands for the prejudices, eccentric habits and private interests of the journalist.X is the probable amount of truth in the story.6 Certain producers of television programs have discovered that, by catering to the low tastesand desires of their audience, by avoiding real news and deliberately replacing it with sensational stories, they can transform television news from programs interrupted by short commercials into one long commercial interrupted by snippets of news.VIPhrases1.一种过于简单化的定义2.一种公然带有偏见的报道/陈述3.就业数字统计4.喜剧保留剧目。
Unit 10Thoughts on Reclaiming the American DreamBarack ObamaStructure of the TextPart I (Paras. 1-7)It must be remembered that Obama wrote this book shortly before he declared his intention to run for the White House; it was obviously meant to serve as a public statement of his political platform. Obama must have been well aware that there were formidable obstacles on his road to becoming President. Not only was he an African-American—even the fact of his being American-born was challenged by his opponents. In some quarters, there was suspicion that he was actually a black Muslin. Therefore, for people to accept him as their President, it was a matter of vital importance for Obama to prove his deep understanding of and great faith in the American heritage. With this in mind, it is clear that he could not have chosen a better way to start his essay than by quoting the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, generally regarded as the nation’s most important political document.Part II (Paras. 8-12)In this section, Obama points out that Americans are not just individualistic: they also have communal values, which they treasure as well. These two differing sets of values are always in tension, but America has been lucky that the tension has not been as serious as in other countries. When their values collide, Americans have always tried to use these countervailing values to hold excesses in check.Part III (Paras. 13-24)In this section, Obama suggests that sometimes finding the right balance is easy, but sometimes it can be difficult. He explains the reasons and discusses how to solve the problem in the face of competing values.Part IV (Paras. 25-33)In this section, Obama presents his position on the relative importance of cultural factors vs. government policy in determining individual success and social cohesion. He refuses to take an “either-or” attitude, preferring to place himself more or less in the middle. However, he still defines himself as a democrat because, unlike conservatives, he still believes government has a vital role to play—although he admits there is sometimes a danger of government intervention making things worse.Detailed Analysis of the Text1.“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they areendowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”(Para. 1)These simple words by Thomas Jefferson are familiar to us, but it is not easy to see all their implications. Perhaps the teacher could ask his/her students to explain how they understand this paragraph.2.Those simple words…describe not only the foundation of our government but thesubstance of our common creed.(Para. 2)Question: Why does Obama say that these simple words describe the fundamental principle on which U.S. government is based?Because these words state that the government cannot take away people’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because God has given people these rights, not the government.They also state that, since people are all created equal, their natural rights must be equally protected. Government is an institution formed by people to protect their natural rights.These words further imply that government must not exploit or oppress the people and that if government fails to serve the interests of the people, the people have the right to overthrow it.When political scientists talk about popular sovereignty, rule by popular consent, government as a necessary evil, democracy, equality, freedom, civil rights, etc., these concepts are all related to the simple words in this first paragraph. Therefore, Obama refers to these words as “the substance of our common creed” —the basis of our common belief.3.…few… could tra ce the genesis of the Declaration of Independence to its roots in theeighteenth-century liberal and republican thought. (Para. 2)to trace the genesis to its roots: to follow back the origin/beginning to its roots. See Notes to the Text.4.… through ou r own agency we can, and must, make of our lives what we will…(Para. 2)… by relying on our own efforts we can, and must realize our dreams (for God means us to build a Christian commonwealth on earth and therefore it is our duty to succeed). 是否可删除5.It or ients us, sets our course… (Para. 2)It guides us and shows us the way…6.…the value of individual freedom is so deeply ingrained in us that …it is easy to forgetthat at the time of our nation’s founding this idea was entirely radical in its implications, as radical as Martin Luther’s posting on the church door. (Para. 3)Question: Why does Obama say this?He wants to show how proud he is of the great American tradition and of America’s founding fathers.7.In fact, much of my appreciation of our Bill of Rights comes from having spent part ofmy childhood in Indonesia and from still having family in Kenya…, fishing off the island of Lamu. (Para. 4)Here, Obama cleverly turns his family background into a political asset. He is telling the nation that having spent part of his childhood in Indonesia and still having relatives in Kenya have, if anything, made him more profoundly American, not less.visiting my grandmother up-country: visiting my grandmother who lives inland (rather than in the centre of the country)fishing off the island of Lamu: fishing a little way from the island of Lamu8.… Michelle saw how suffocating the demands of family ties and tribal loyalties could be,with distant cousins constantly asking for favors, uncles and aunts showing up unannounced.(Para. 5)米歇尔发现那些亲戚和族人提出的要求真让人受不了，总有那些八杆子打不着的表兄弟姐妹没完没了地要求得到点好处，还有叔叔阿姨会突然不请自来。
现代大学英语精读6课后答案Unit11. Virtue is ... self-centered.By right action, we mean it must help promote personal interest.2.... (Poverty) was a product of their excessive fecundity...The poverty of the poor was caused by their having too many children.3. ...the rich were not responsible for either its creation or its amelioration.The rich were not to blame for the existence of poverty so theyshould not be asked to undertake the task of solving the problem.4. It is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God.It is only the result or effect of the law of the survival of thefittest applied to nature of to human society. 5. It declined in popularity, and references to its acquired a condemnatory tone.People began to reject Social Darwinism because it seemed to glorify brutal force and oppose treasured values of sympathy, love andfriendship. Therefore, when it was mentioned, it was usually the targetof criticism. 6. ...the search for a way of getting the poor off our conscience was not at an end; it was only suspended.The desire to find a way to justify the unconcern for the poor hadnot been abandoned; it had only been put off. 7. ...only rarely given to overpaying for monkey wrenches, flashlights, coffee makers, and toilet seats.Government officials, on the whole, are good; it is very rare that some would pay high prices for office equipment to get kickbacks.8. This is perhaps our most highly influential piece of fiction.It is a very popular story and has been accepted by many but it isnot true.9. Belief can be the servant of truth---but even more of convenience.Belief can be useful in the search for truth, but more often thannot it is accepted because it is convenient and self-serving.10. George Gilder... Who tells to much applause that the poor must have the cruel spur of their own suffering to ensure effort...George Gilder advances the view that only when the poor suffer from great misery will they be stimulated to make great efforts to change the situation, in other words, suffering is necessary to force the poor to work hard. Phrases1. to reflect on a problem严重思考一个问题2. intellectual preoccupation有思想有学问的人孜孜不倦思考探索的问题3.to take on the modern form具有现代形式4.to come up with the formula提出了这样一种准则5.survival of the fittest适者生存6.substantial measure of responsibility在很大程度上负有责任7.unemployment insurance失业保险8.Medicare and Medicaid医疗照顾和医疗补助9.weapons procurement武器采购10.supply-side economics供应学派经济学11.corporate executives企业经理人员12.food stamps食品劵13.Workers’ Compensati on工人(失业)补助金14.subsidized housing住房补贴15.disability insurance伤残保险16.social tranquility社会安定1. An imbalance between the rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of republics 贫富不均乃共和政体最致命的宿疾2. Their poverty is a temporary misfortune, if they are poor and meek, they eventually will inherit the earth 他们的贫穷只是一种暂时性的不幸，如果他们贫穷但却温顺，他们最终将成为世界的主人3.Couples in love should repair to R H Macy’s not their bedroom热恋的夫妇应该在梅西百货商店过夜，而不是他们的新房4.The American beauty rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it.and so is in economic life. It’s merely the working out of the a law of the nature and a law of god美国这朵玫瑰花以其华贵与芳香让观众倾倒，赞不绝口，而她之所以能被培植就是因为在早期其周围的花蕾被插掉了，在经济生活中情况亦是如此。
Unit 1一、词汇短语estranged[ɪˈstreɪndʒd] adj. 分居的；疏远的，不和的；（与某事物）脱离的，决裂的v. 使疏远，使离间；使隔离（estrange的过去式和过去分词）【例句】She felt estranged from her former existence. 她感到自己已脱离了过去的生活方式。
inflected [ɪnˈflektɪd]adj. 屈折的；字尾有变化的v.弯曲；曲折（inflect的过去式）【例句】L atin is a more inflected language than English. 拉丁语比英语词尾变化多。
circuitry [ˈsɜːkɪtri] n. 电路；电路系统；电路学；一环路【例句】The computer’s entire circuitry was on a single board. 电脑的全部电路都在一块板上。
neural [ˈnjʊərəl] adj. 神经的，神经系统的【词组】n eural pathways in the brain大脑里的神经通路icon[‘aɪkɑn]n.图标；肖像；偶像；象征；圣像【搭配】cultural, national icon 文化偶像、国家象征patronize [ˈpætrənaɪz]vt.惠顾；赞助【例句】I’ll never patronize that store again.我再也不去光顾那家商店了。
【派生】patronizing adj. 要人领情的；屈尊俯就的exploit [ɪkˈsplɔɪt] vt.剥削；利用；开发；开采n. 业绩；功绩；功勋【例句】Television advertisers can exploit a captive audience. 电视广告商能利用被动观众。
【派生】exploitative adj.剥削的；利用的；开发资源的exploitation n.开发，开采；利用；广告推销filial [ˈfɪliəl] adj. 子女（应做）的，孝顺的【例句】My husband is a filial son.我丈夫是一个孝顺的儿子。
Unit 2A Rose for EmilyWilliam FaulknerAdditional Background Information on William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner was born and brought up in the American South and lived there for almost all his life. On November 14, 1888, the local newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi reported a news story: “A terrible tragedy was enacted at Ripley on Tuesday afternoon of last week—the widely and well-known Col. W. C. Falkner being the victim.” Col. Falkner had run for the Mississippi legislature and had been elected. But before he took office he was shot dead by his rival. Col. Falkner had been a local hero and a legendary figure. He was a pioneer in Mississippi, organized a regiment to fight for the South in the Civil War, practiced law after returning from the battlefields, bought a large plantation, built the first railroad in his hometown, and wrote a novel, which became a national best-seller. This “widely and well-known” Col. W. C. Falkner was William Faulkner’s great-grandfather.On September 25, 1897, Faulkner was born in this distinguished family. He spent his youth in Oxford, a small town in Mississippi. Although the old colonel had died before Faulkner came into this world, the boy grew up listening to all sorts of stories about his great-grandfather and other people in his hometown. The stories that his Negro nanny told him and the gossip he heard from the townspeople resting and chatting in the small downtown square provided Faulkner with an oral tradition of storytelling as an important part of his education.During World War I Faulkner served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the armistice in 1918 he returned to Oxford, and for some time he led his life in a rather listless way. He attended the University of Mississippi but left the university within a year; he tried his hand at poetry but without much success; he went north to the cultural metropolitan city of New York, but was driven back home soon by loneliness. He became a postmaster, but after three years at most, he resigned from this post. All this time, Faulkner had been reading, first, whatever interested him, and, later, the great poets and novelists. In New York, Faulkner met Sherwood Anderson, a famous writer, and then when he traveled to New Orleans in 1925, he gained entry into this artistic center through Anderson. Inspired by Anderson, Faulkner began to write novels.Faulkner wrote 19 novels and nearly a hundred short stories. The setting of 15 novels and the majority of the short fiction is the American South. In his third book Sartoris (1929), he created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. In the same year, he published The Sound and the Fury (1929), one of his masterpieces. This novel owes much to James Joyce and the stream ofconsciousness technique. In another major work As I Lay Dying (1930), Faulkner relates a terrifying comic story to a ritualized burial journey. In this novel he experiments with multiple-point-of-view narration. Light in August (1932) is also one of Faulkner’s major novels. The high point of Faulkner’s development is th e brilliant Absalom, Absalom! (1936). His other major works include The Unvanquished, The Wild Palms, The Hamlet, The Town, The Mansion, Go Down Moses, A Fable, etc.As the setting of most of his works is the American South, Faulkner is regarded as a regional writer. But the word “regional” is misleading because Faulkner deals with some of the major universal themes in literature so profoundly that his work is read and recognized nationally and internationally. As far as writing techniques are concerned, Faulkner is among the great experimentalists of the 20th century novel. His effective use of stream of consciousness, multiple points of view, symbolism and imagery, places him among the rank of outstanding modern writers along with James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. In 1950, Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature.The Themes and Writing Techniques of “A Rose for Emily”Although “A Rose for Emily” is one of his most frequently anthologized short stories and is widely used in the American classroom, Chinese students may find it difficult to understand and appreciate. Some of them may think it is a bizarre story about an old eccentric lady in an American Southern town. It’s true that the setting of the story is the American South. Yet, the theme of the story is universal, transcending the boundaries of time and space. Like many other works of great literature, this short story tells about love, death, honor, pride, change, and loss.In “A Rose for Emily” we can see how the author tells the good story skillfully; how he creates the requisite atmosphere for telling the story; how he maintains the suspense and unfolds the conflict bit by bit; and how he digs deep into the social world of his characters. This story is a rich and modern 20th-century literary text. Those who are not very familiar with modern American literature may therefore encounter obstacles in reading this story: vague references, ambiguities, symbolism, imagery, experimental point of view, jumbled time sequences, avoidance of clear transition s, withholding of vital information, etc. By exploiting those “tricks,” Faulkner hopes to invite readers to participate in the process of seeking the truths of the inner life of the characters in the story. Once we do, we will surely enjoy reading the stor y. It’s like working at a puzzle: the more parts we start to figure out, the more interesting the puzzle will become.The 1950 Nobel Prize presentation speech called Faulkner as the “unrivaled master of all living British and American novelists.” He is regarded as a “deep psychologist.” “A Rose for Emily” lives up to that high praise.Implicit Chronology (approximate)The narration of “A Rose for Emily” does not follow a normal chronological order. Instead, it shifts in time frequently and gives out bits of information about the main character, Miss Emily, in such a way that the reader has to piece them together by himself/herself. The following implicit chronology has been worked out on the basis of the information from the text.ca. 1855: Miss Emily was born to the richest family of slave-owners in the town.1861: The American Civil War broke out; Confederate troops from the town were commanded by Col. Sartoris.1865: The American Civil War ended.1870s: Mr. Grierson, Miss Emily’s father, had the family house built in the Gothic revival style. ca. 1886: Mr. Grierson died; Miss Emily’s inheritance was only the house; she was over thirty.ca. 1887: Homer Barron, Northern construction foreman, arrived; he and Miss Emily started courting.ca. 1888: Homer Barron could be seen no more; the smell in the house was noticed.1894: The Young Colonel Sartoris, as mayor of the town, exempted Miss Emily from taxes for life.ca. 1919: The Young Colonel died.ca. 1927-1928: The tax delegation visited Miss Emily.ca. 1929-1930: Miss Emily died at the age of 74.Notes: “ca.” is short for circa, meaning “about” used before an approximate date or figure. We must remember that Faulkner is not always accurate about the exact time of a certain event. The purpose of working out this chronology is to give students a rough idea of the time frame in which the story took place.Structure of the TextP art I (Paras. 1-14)This part begins with the death of Miss Emily, the daughter of an eminent Southern family and indicates who Emily was.➢When Miss Emily died, all the people in the town went to her funeral. (Para. 1)➢Miss Emily lived in a big old house on one of the best streets of the town. (Para. 2)➢When Miss Emily was alive, the older generation treated her as a tradition, a duty, a care anda sort of hereditary obligation. The mayor remitted her taxes. (Para. 3)➢When a new generation came along, its members wanted her to pay taxes like everyone else.A deputation visited her, but she firmly dismissed them. (Paras. 4-14)Part II (Paras. 15-28)In this part, there is a time shift to thirty years before the visit of the deputation.➢There was a bad smell from Miss Emily’s house. That was two years after her father’s death and a short time after her sweetheart disappeared. (Para. 15)➢The neighbors complained about the bad smell, but the town authorities didn’t want to embarrass Miss Emily by telling her straightforwardly. (Paras. 16-23)➢So, one night, four men secretively crossed Miss Emily’s lawn and sprinkled lime, and soon after that the smell was gone. (Para. 24)➢The townspeople felt sorry for Miss Emily because her father was so proud that he drove all her suitors away, and when he died, he left her almost nothing apart from the house. (Paras.25-26)➢The day after her father’s death, people came to offer their condolences, but Miss Emily refused to let them in the house, telling them that her father was not dead. (Paras. 27-28)P art III (Paras. 29-42)It describes how a construction foreman named Homer Barron, a Yankee, courted Miss Emily and how she behaved after her sweetheart disappeared.➢Because Miss Emily was courting a day laborer, a Northerner, people began to pity her.(Paras. 29-33)➢One day Miss Emily went to the drug store and bought poison. When asked what it was for, she refused to answer. (Paras. 34-42)➢P art IV (Paras. 43-53)This part describes in more detail how Emily and Homer Barron were seen together and what happened to Emily after his disappearance.➢When people saw Emily and Homer Barron together without any signs of their getting married, they thought she was providing a bad example to the young and asked Emily’s relatives to persuade her to get married. They were relieved to see that there were preparations for a marriage. (Paras. 43-45)➢Homer Barron went away and came back, and was admitted into the house one evening. That was when he was last seen. (Para. 46)➢Miss Emily did not appear on the streets for a long time. She grew older and her hair grew grayer. She died at the age of seventy-four. (Paras. 47-53)P art V (Paras. 54-60)This part describes what happened after Emily’s death—in an upstairs room, which no one had entered except Miss Emily herself, the dead body of Homer Barron was found. It had been lying in that bed for forty years.Detailed Study of the Text1.What is the meaning of the title “A Rose for Emily?”The meaning of the title is ambiguous, and can be interpreted in various way. A rose is a cliché, symbolizing love and a pledge of faithfulness. From the story, we can see Miss Emily was denied by love. So, in this sense, the title has an ironic meaning. A rose can also mean a kind of memorial or an offering in memory of someone. Then, who offered a rose to Emily? Faulkner intentionally leaves the answer for the readers to find out. But different readers may arrive at different answers. Ambiguity is one of the characteristics of this story. Students should be encouraged to give their own interpretations and give answers to questions that may arise during their reading and class discussion.2.Who is telling the story?You learn a lot about many 20th-century literary text by asking, “who is telling the story?” That is not a very important question as regards 18th-century fiction or even 19th-century fiction because the narrator in stories written in those periods is usually a person who knows everything at any given moment. This is called “the omniscient (all-knowing) narrator”. Modern writers of the 20th-century, such as Faulkner, like to experiment with different narrative voices. In his long fiction, Faulkner often uses several narrative voices. In “A Rose for Emily”, he chooses to use “we”, the people of the town, as the collective narrator. The first sentence of the story is, “When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral...” In the following sections, “we” frequently appears as the narrator.3.Why did the author choose to use this collective narrator?“We” are the ordinary people of the town, representing the gossip of the town. They are, m ost of the time, not participants but observers of events. They are detached from Miss Emily, and therefore different from the “ladies” or “older people” mentioned in paragraph 31, who are more socially involved with Miss Emily, thus tending to be more judgmental. The townspeople are mainly interested in keeping track of events and sharing the information with people coming from outside the town. Yet, as people living in a small town in the South, they have their own values and attitudes. On the whole “we” should be regarded as a reliable narrator. However, “we” are unable to tell the story in a straightforward and systematic manner. As non-participants in the major events, this collective narrator does not know everything, hence this narrative point of view is limited. For example, none of “us” had been inside Miss Emily’s house until her death. So inevitably there are gaps in the narration that are bound to cause confusion among readers or listeners. That leaves a lot of room for readers to participate. As readers, we have to fill in the gaps and piece together the scattered bits of information by ourselves. This is the burden the author places on us, and at the same time, it is part of the enjoyment in reading such a story.4. When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant—a combined gardener and cook—had seen in at least ten years. (Para. 1)save: prep.formal except for. e.g.: She answered all the questions save one.Translation:埃米莉·格里尔森小姐去世时，全镇的人都去送葬了。
Unit 4一、词汇短语mink [mɪŋk] n. 水貂，貂皮【例句】I’ll trade you my genuine leather jacket for your mink coat. 我用我的真皮夹克换你的貂皮大衣。
ranger [ˈreɪndʒə(r)]n. 皇家园林、地产等的管理员；担任巡逻和警戒任务的护林员；武装骑警，突击队员【例句】We were pretty much lost when we met the forest ranger. 在遇到护林员的时候我们几乎快要迷路了。
skunk[skʌŋk]n.臭鼬【例句】This is the second skunk we’ve got. 这已经是我们捉到的第二只臭鼬了。
scummy[ˈskʌmi] adj. 下流的；满是浮渣的；浮渣一般的【例句】Although you wear some cologne, I can still vaguely smell a scummy whiff out of you. 虽然你身上喷了古龙水，但我还能隐约闻到一股人渣的味儿。
plow [plau] n. 犁；犁形工具v.犁；耕【例句】The ground was plowed and planted with corn.地翻耕后种上了玉米。
【搭配】put one’s hand to the plow开始工作under the plow <土地>耕种中，在耕作下zing [zɪŋ] n. 活力；生命力；精力；子弹声vt. 对……挑剔vi.发尖啸声【例句】He just lacked that extra zing. 他就是缺少那么一点儿活力。
landslide[ˈlændslaɪd] n. [地质]山崩；大胜利vi.发生山崩；以压倒优势获胜【例句】Their house was buried by a landslide. 他们的房子被一次山体滑坡掩埋了。
Unit 10一、词汇短语reclaim [] vi. 要回；开垦（荒地）；回收【例句】This land was reclaimed from the sea. 这块土地是填海开垦出来的。
【词组】beyond reclaim不可救药，没有悔改【助记】re（回来）+claim（喊）→喊回来→收回orient [] vt. 使适应；使熟悉情况（或环境等）；使朝向；以…为方向（目标）【例句】①The orient has been playing an active role in the world economy. 亚洲一直在世界经济中发挥积极作用。
②We must orient our products to the needs of the market. 我们必须使我们的产品适应市场的需要。
【词组】orient oneself to适应，顺应（新环境等）ingrained [] adj. 根深蒂固的，一成不变的，积深难除的【例句】These people have an ingrained superiority complex in them. 这些人有一种根深蒂固的优越感。
whim [wɪm] n. 奇想；一时的兴致；怪念头；幻想【例句】We decided, more or less on a whim, to sail to Morocco. 我们多少有些心血来潮地决定乘船去摩洛哥。
up-country [ˌʌp ˈkʌntri] adv. 在内地；内地地adj. 内陆地区的；内地的；偏远的n. 内地【例句】I hired a car to take us up-country. 我租了辆车带我们去内地。
temperance [ˈtempərəns] n. 戒酒；节欲；（气候等的）温和adj. 温暖的；有节制的【例句】Temperance should be applied not only to food and drink, but to work and play. 不仅在食物饮酒方面，而且在工作与游戏上，也要有节制。
现代大学英语精读6课后答案Unit11. Virtue is ... self-centered.By right action, we mean it must help promote personal interest.2.... (Poverty) was a product of their excessive fecundity...The poverty of the poor was caused by their having too many children.3. ...the rich were not responsible for either its creation or its amelioration.The rich were not to blame for the existence of poverty so theyshould not be asked to undertake the task of solving the problem.4. It is merely the working out of a law of nature and a law of God.It is only the result or effect of the law of the survival of thefittest applied to nature of to human society. 5. It declined in popularity, and references to its acquired a condemnatory tone.People began to reject Social Darwinism because it seemed to glorify brutal force and oppose treasured values of sympathy, love andfriendship. Therefore, when it was mentioned, it was usually the targetof criticism. 6. ...the search for a way of getting the poor off our conscience was not at an end; it was only suspended.The desire to find a way to justify the unconcern for the poor hadnot been abandoned; it had only been put off. 7. ...only rarely given to overpaying for monkey wrenches, flashlights, coffee makers, and toilet seats.Government officials, on the whole, are good; it is very rare that some would pay high prices for office equipment to get kickbacks.8. This is perhaps our most highly influential piece of fiction.It is a very popular story and has been accepted by many but it isnot true.9. Belief can be the servant of truth---but even more of convenience.Belief can be useful in the search for truth, but more often thannot it is accepted because it is convenient and self-serving.10. George Gilder... Who tells to much applause that the poor must have the cruel spur of their own suffering to ensure effort...George Gilder advances the view that only when the poor suffer from great misery will they be stimulated to make great efforts to change the situation, in other words, suffering is necessary to force the poor to work hard. Phrases1. to reflect on a problem严重思考一个问题2. intellectual preoccupation有思想有学问的人孜孜不倦思考探索的问题3.to take on the modern form具有现代形式4.to come up with the formula提出了这样一种准则5.survival of the fittest适者生存6.substantial measure of responsibility在很大程度上负有责任7.unemployment insurance失业保险8.Medicare and Medicaid医疗照顾和医疗补助9.weapons procurement武器采购10.supply-side economics供应学派经济学11.corporate executives企业经理人员12.food stamps食品劵13.Workers’ Compensati on工人(失业)补助金14.subsidized housing住房补贴15.disability insurance伤残保险16.social tranquility社会安定1. An imbalance between the rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of republics 贫富不均乃共和政体最致命的宿疾2. Their poverty is a temporary misfortune, if they are poor and meek, they eventually will inherit the earth 他们的贫穷只是一种暂时性的不幸，如果他们贫穷但却温顺，他们最终将成为世界的主人3.Couples in love should repair to R H Macy’s not their bedroom热恋的夫妇应该在梅西百货商店过夜，而不是他们的新房4.The American beauty rose can be produced in the splendor and fragrance which bring cheer to its beholder only by sacrificing the early buds which grow up around it.and so is in economic life. It’s merely the working out of the a law of the nature and a law of god美国这朵玫瑰花以其华贵与芳香让观众倾倒，赞不绝口，而她之所以能被培植就是因为在早期其周围的花蕾被插掉了，在经济生活中情况亦是如此。
Unit 7一、词汇短语perilously [ˈperələsli] adv. 危机四伏地；充满危险地【例句】We came perilously close to disaster. 我们险些出了大乱子。
ailment [] n. 轻微的病痛【例句】I don’t have even the slightest ailment. 我什么毛病也没有。
【词组】economic ailment经济失调trifling ailments轻症，微症augment [] vi. 增大；增加【例句】He augmented his income by teaching in the evenings. 他晚上教书来增加收入。
【派生】augmentation n. 增加，增大；增加物divine []adj.神的，上帝的，神圣的；非凡的，极好的【例句】①That play we saw last night was just simply divine! 我们昨晚看的那出戏实在是太好了！②At last I divined the truth. 最后我发现了事情的真相。
【词组】divine comedy神曲（意大利诗人但丁作的叙事诗）【助记】div（联想dive）＋（v）ine（葡萄藤）→能在葡萄藤中潜水是非凡的、超人的stockbroker [ˈstɑːkbroʊkər] n. [金融]股票经纪人【例句】My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me. 我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。
fecundity [] n. 多产；富饶；丰富【例句】The boy’s fecundity of imagination amazed his teacher. 男孩丰富的想象力让教师感到惊异。
amelioration [əˌmiːliəˈreɪʃn] n. 改进，改善【例句】Progress brings with it the amelioration of the human condition.进步改善了人类生存状况。
现代大学英语精读(第二版)第二册课后练习答案参考答案（Unit 1—8）Unit OneKey to ExercisePreview:1 True or false1F 2T 3F 4F 5T 6F 7T 8T 9T 10TVocabulary4. Complete the sentences by translating the Chinese in the brackets1. differ2. differently, different3. difference4. serious, serious, seriously5. seriousness, seriously polluted6. Fortunately/ Luckily, pollution, seriously, pollute1. 他们利用我们求助无门的困境把我们公司接管了。
They took advantage of our helpless situation and took over our company.2. 虽然我们面前仍有困难，但我肯定我们中国人有智慧靠自己实现国家的和平统一。
Although there are still difficulties ahead of us, I am sure that we Chinese people will have the wisdom to bring abou t the peaceful unification of our country on our own.3. 只强调国内生产总值是错误的，它会引起很多严重问题。
It is wrong to put emphasis on nothing but GDP. It will give rise to manyserious problems.4. 他喜欢炫耀他的财富，但是这完全是徒劳的，人们仍然像躲避毒药那样躲避他。
Unit 2A Rose for EmilyWilliam FaulknerAdditional Background Information on William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner was born and brought up in the American South and lived there for almost allhis life. On November 14, 1888, the local newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi reported a news story: “A terrible tragedy was enacted at Ripley on Tuesday afternoon of last week—the widely andCol. Falkner had run for the Mississippi well-known Col. W. C. Falkner being the victim.” legislature and had been elected. But before he took office he was shot dead by his rival. Col. Falkner had been a local hero and a legendary figure. He was a pioneer in Mississippi, organized a regiment to fight for the South in the Civil War, practiced law after returning from the battlefields, bought a large plantation, built the first railroad in his hometown, and wrote a novel, which became a national best-seller. This “widely a nd well-known” C ol. W. C. Falkner was Wi lliam -grandfather.Faulkner’s greatOn September 25, 1897, Faulkner was born in this distinguished family. He spent his youth in Oxford, a small town in Mississippi. Although the old colonel had died before Faulkner came intothis world, the boy grew up listening to all sorts of stories about his great-grandfather and other people in his hometown. The stories that his Negro nanny told him and the gossip he heard fromthe townspeople resting and chatting in the small downtown square provided Faulkner with an oral tradition of storytelling as an important part of his education.During World War I Faulkner served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the armistice in 1918he returned to Oxford, and for some time he led his life in a rather listless way. He attended the University of Mississippi but left the university within a year; he tried his hand at poetry but without much success; he went north to the cultural metropolitan city of New York, but was driven back home soon by loneliness. He became a postmaster, but after three years at most, he resigned from this post. All this time, Faulkner had been reading, first, whatever interested him, and, later,the great poets and novelists. In New York, Faulkner met Sherwood Anderson, a famous writer,and then when he traveled to New Orleans in 1925, he gained entry into this artistic center through Anderson. Inspired by Anderson, Faulkner began to write novels.Faulkner wrote 19 novels and nearly a hundred short stories. The setting of 15 novels and the majority of the short fiction is the American South. In his third book Sartoris (1929), he created the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. In the same year, he published The Sound and the Fury (1929), one of his masterpieces. This novel owes much to James Joyce and the stream ofconsciousness technique. In another major work As I Lay Dying (1930), Faulkner relates aterrifying comic story to a ritualized burial journey. In this novel he experiments withmultiple-point-of-view narration. Light in August (1932) is also one of Faulkner’s major novels.development is the brilliant Absalom, Absalom! (1936). His otherThe high point of Faulkner’smajor works include The Unvanquished, The Wild Palms, The Hamlet, The Town, The Mansion,Go Down Moses, A Fable, etc.As the setting of most of his works is the American South, Faulkner is regarded as a regionalis misleading because Faulkner deals with some of the majorwriter. But the word “regional” universal themes in literature so profoundly that his work is read and recognized nationally andinternationally. As far as writing techniques are concerned, Faulkner is among the greatexperimentalists of the 20th century novel. His effective use of stream of consciousness, multiplepoints of view, symbolism and imagery, places him among the rank of outstanding modern writersalong with James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. In 1950, Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature.The Themes and Writing Techniques of “A Rose for Emily”is one of his most frequently anthologized short stories and isAlthough “A Rose for Emily” widely used in the American classroom, Chinese students may find it difficult to understand andappreciate. Some of them may think it is a bizarre story about an old eccentric lady in anAmerican Southern town. I t’s true that the setting of the story is the American South. Yet, thetheme of the story is universal, transcending the boundaries of time and space. Like many otherworks of great literature, this short story tells about love, death, honor, pride, change, and loss.the good story skillfully; how he creates theIn “A Rose for Emily” we can see how the author tellsrequisite atmosphere for telling the story; how he maintains the suspense and unfolds the conflictbit by bit; and how he digs deep into the social world of his characters. This story is a rich andmodern 20th-century literary text. Those who are not very familiar with modern Americanliterature may therefore encounter obstacles in reading this story: vague references, ambiguities,symbolism, imagery, experimental point of view, jumbled time sequences, avoidance of cleartransitions, withholding of vital information, etc. By exploiting those “tricks,” Faulkne invite readers to participate in the process of seeking the truths of the inner life of the characters inthethe story. Once we do, we will surely enjoy reading the story. It’s like working at a puzzle: more parts we start to figure out, the more interesting the puzzle will become.The 1950 Nobel Prize presentation speech called Faulkner as the “unrivaled master of all living“A Rose for Emily” He is regarded as a “deep psychologist.” British and American novelists.” lives up to that high praise.Implicit Chronology (approximate)does not follow a normal chronological order. Instead, itThe narration of “A Rose for Emily” shifts in time frequently and gives out bits of information about the main character, Miss Emily, insuch a way that the reader has to piece them together by himself/herself. The following implicit chronology has been worked out on the basis of the information from the text.ca. 1855: Miss Emily was born to the richest family of slave-owners in the town.1861: The American Civil War broke out; Confederate troops from the town were commanded byCol. Sartoris.1865: The American Civil War ended.had the family house built in the Gothic revival style.1870s: Mr. Grierson, Miss Emily’s father,was only the house; she was over thirty.ca. 1886: Mr. Grierson died; Miss Emily’s inheritanceca. 1887: Homer Barron, Northern construction foreman, arrived; he and Miss Emily started courting.ca. 1888: Homer Barron could be seen no more; the smell in the house was noticed.1894: The Young Colonel Sartoris, as mayor of the town, exempted Miss Emily from taxes forlife.ca. 1919: The Young Colonel died.ca. 1927-1928: The tax delegation visited Miss Emily.ca. 1929-1930: Miss Emily died at the age of 74.figure. We Notes: “ca.” is short for circa, meaning “about” used before an approximate date or must remember that Faulkner is not always accurate about the exact time of a certain event. Thepurpose of working out this chronology is to give students a rough idea of the time frame in whichthe story took place.Structure of the TextPart I (Paras. 1-14)This part begins with the death of Miss Emily, the daughter of an eminent Southern family andindicates who Emily was.When Miss Emily died, all the people in the town went to her funeral. (Para. 1)Miss Emily lived in a big old house on one of the best streets of the town. (Para. 2)When Miss Emily was alive, the older generation treated her as a tradition, a duty, a care anda sort of hereditary obligation. The mayor remitted her taxes. (Para. 3)When a new generation came along, its members wanted her to pay taxes like everyone else.A deputation visited her, but she firmly dismissed them. (Paras. 4-14)Part II (Paras. 15-28)In this part, there is a time shift to thirty years before the visit of the deputation.There was a bad smell from Miss Emily’s house. That was two years after her father’s de and a short time after her sweetheart disappeared. (Para. 15)The neighbors complained about the bad smell, but the town authorities didn’t want toembarrass Miss Emily by telling her straightforwardly. (Paras. 16-23)So, one night, four men secretively crossed Miss Emily’s lawn and sprinkled lime, and soon after that the smell was gone. (Para. 24)The townspeople felt sorry for Miss Emily because her father was so proud that he drove allher suitors away, and when he died, he left her almost nothing apart from the house. (Paras.25-26)death, people came to offer their condolences, but Miss Emily The day after her father’srefused to let them in the house, telling them that her father was not dead. (Paras. 27-28)Part III (Paras. 29-42)It describes how a construction foreman named Homer Barron, a Yankee, courted Miss Emily andhow she behaved after her sweetheart disappeared.Because Miss Emily was courting a day laborer, a Northerner, people began to pity her.(Paras. 29-33)One day Miss Emily went to the drug store and bought poison. When asked what it was for,she refused to answer. (Paras. 34-42)Part IV (Paras. 43-53)This part describes in more detail how Emily and Homer Barron were seen together and whathappened to Emily after his disappearance.When people saw Emily and Homer Barron together without any signs of their gettingmarried, they thought she was providing a bad example to the young and asked Emily’srelatives to persuade her to get married. They were relieved to see that there werepreparations for a marriage. (Paras. 43-45)Homer Barron went away and came back, and was admitted into the house one evening. Thatwas when he was last seen. (Para. 46)Miss Emily did not appear on the streets for a long time. She grew older and her hair grew grayer. She died at the age of seventy-four. (Paras. 47-53)Part V (Paras. 54-60)in an upstairs room, which no one hadThis part describes what happened after Emily’s death—entered except Miss Emily herself, the dead body of Homer Barron was found. It had been lyingin that bed for forty years.Detailed Study of the Text1.What is the meaning of the title “A Rose for Emily?”The meaning of the title is ambiguous, and can be interpreted in various way. A rose is a clich,symbolizing love and a pledge of faithfulness. From the story, we can see Miss Emily was deniedby love. So, in this sense, the title has an ironic meaning. A rose can also mean a kind of memorialor an offering in memory of someone. Then, who offered a rose to Emily? Faulkner intentionallyleaves the answer for the readers to find out. But different readers may arrive at different answers.Ambiguity is one of the characteristics of this story. Students should be encouraged to give theirown interpretations and give answers to questions that may arise during their reading and classdiscussion.2.Who is telling the story?You learn a lot about many 20th-century literary text by asking, “who is telling the story?” Tha not a very important question as regards 18th-century fiction or even 19th-century fiction becausethe narrator in stories written in those periods is usually a person who knows everything at anyM odern writers of thegiven moment. This is called “the omniscient (all-knowing) narrator”.20th-century, such as Faulkner, like to experiment with different narrative voices. In his longfiction, Faulkner often uses several narrative voices. In “A Rose for Emily”, he chooses to use“we”, the people of the town, as the collective narrator. The first sentence of the story is,Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral...” In the following sections, “we” frequently appears as the narrator.3.Why did the author choose to use this collective narrator?“We” are the ordinary people of the town, representing the gossip of the town. They are, most ofthe time, not participants but observers of events. They are detached from Miss Emily, andparagraph 31, who are moretherefore different from the “ladies” or “older people” mentioned insocially involved with Miss Emily, thus tending to be more judgmental. The townspeople aremainly interested in keeping track of events and sharing the information with people coming fromoutside the town. Yet, as people living in a small town in the South, they have their own valuesareshould be regarded as a reliable narrator. However, “we” and attitudes. On the whole “we” unable to tell the story in a straightforward and systematic manner. As non-participants in themajor events, this collective narrator does not know everything, hence this narrative point of viewhad been inside Miss Emily’s house until her death. Sois limited. For example, none of “us” inevitably there are gaps in the narration that are bound to cause confusion among readers orlisteners. That leaves a lot of room for readers to participate. As readers, we have to fill in the gapsand piece together the scattered bits of information by ourselves. This is the burden the authorplaces on us, and at the same time, it is part of the enjoyment in reading such a story.4. When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through asort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to seethe inside of her house, which no one save an old manservant—a combined gardener andcook—had seen in at least ten years. (Para. 1)save: prep.formal except for. e.g.: She answered all the questions save one.Translation:埃米莉·格里尔森小姐去世时，全镇的人都去送葬了。
