2nd week1. Identify the errors in manuscript form in the following paragraph from a paper. Explain the errors in the spaces below.“ the trouble with perfectionists”Of all kinds of people, perfectionists bother me the most. They want to get thins right; that is admirable. They are certainly not like a lot of people who just do not care about their jobs or anything else. But once you get to know a perfectionist, you will feel the same as I.2. Specific and General Words.Classroom Activities one:Read the following sentences, underline the general words in them and see how you can add power to them by replacing the general words with specific ones.Vague -----when I was young, we moved from one area to another.Revised ------ when I was eight years old, we move from Detroit to Ohio.V-----the patient’s wound was treated.V-----your relative is nice to me.V-----John is a good student.Here are some suggestions to help you choose concrete and specific words.a)Use the most specific word you can to describe something. eg: you can use German shepherd instead of dog, usetulips(郁金香) instead of flowers; use Boeing 747 instead of plane; use Uncle Tom instead a relative; use a bad headache instead of sick; use Gone with the Wind i n stead of a book; and use 17 degrees below zero instead of very cold.b)Verbs are among the most expressive words in language;. Using a verb that most vividly describes an action canbring a sentence to life.Weak verbs---- the man did badly in front of a large audience.Revised ----- the man panicked(恐慌) in front of a large audience.W----I don’t care for noodles and choose not to eat them.W----the boy walked into the classroomc)use words that are clear and appropriate for the topic. Don’t use words that aren’t common in conversation, andin particula r, don’t chose big words to impress the readers rather that to communicate ideas clearly.Big verbs------ John displayed an element of delight over the acquisition of a stereo system of unquestionable quality.Revised ---- John was thrilled to buy a high-quality stereo system.B---- my eyesight is getting worse.B----those lately purchased chairs that rock to and fro were of a very steep price.d)whenever possible, show the readers something instead of telling them about it.Telling ----Myrtle has a good sense of humor.Revised:----Myrtle loves to tell funny stories about her childhood and to play practical jokes on her friends.T----the math test was easy.T----Matthew put up a good fight against the bully. Bully(欺凌弱小者)Classroom Activities Two:Classroom Activities ThreeNow can you make the following narration more concrete?It was fine last weekend, so we went to the countryside and had a good time. We saw many things and people there. And we had a wonderful time.3. Textbook P19-20. Idiomatic expression V.S. Chinglish1) Avoid Literal translationHis body is very healthyHe only said a few sentences. He made us very disappointed.His two eyes are blind.Please help us to propagate this new product. （请帮我们宣传一下这个新产品）He is self-concerned and individualistic. (他遇事总是先想着自己，真是太个人主义了)2) Collocation4. Input reading materialsThe PresentIt was the old lad y’s birthday.She got up early to be ready for the post. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came down the street, and the t little boy from the ground floor brought up her letters on the rare occasions when anything came.Today she was sure there would be something. Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, ev en if she seldom wrote at other times. Of course Myra was busy. Her husband had been made Mayor, and Myra herself had got a medal for her work for the aged.The old lady was proud of Myra, but Enid was the daughter she loved. Enid had never married, but had seemed content to live with her mother, and teach in a primary school round the corner.One evening, however, Enid said, “I’ve arranged for Mrs. Morrison to look after you for a few days, mother. Tomorrow I have to go into hospital ----- just a m inor operation. I’ll soon be home.”In the morning she went, but never came back----- she died on the operating table. Myra came to the funeral, and in her efficient way arranged for Mrs. Morrison to come in and light the fire and give the old lady her breakfast.Two years ago that was, and since then Myra had been to see her mother three times, but her husband never.The old lady was eighty today. She had put on her best dress. Perhaps---perhaps Myra might come. After all, eighty was a special birthday, another decade lived or endured just as you chose to look at.Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of color brightened her cheeks. She was excited ---like a child. She would enjoy her day.Yesterday Mrs. Morrison had given the flat an extra clean, and today she had brought a card and a bunch of marigolds when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake, and in the afternoon she was going down there to tea. The little boy, Johnnie, had been up with packet of mints, and said he wouldn’t go out to play until the post had come.“ I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents,” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”“What would she like? A pair of slippers perhaps. Or a new cardigan. A cardigan would be lovely. Blue’s such a pretty color. Jim had always liked her in blue. Or a table lamp. Or a book, a travel book, with pictures, or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.Then clatter, clatter up the stairs. Johnnie knocked at her door.“Granny, granny,” he shouted, “I’ve got your post.”He gave her four envelopes. Three were unsealed cards from old friends. The fourth was sealed, in Myra’s writing. The old lady felt a pang of disappointment.“N o parcel, Johnnie?”///“No, G ranny.”Maybe the parcel was too large to come by letter post. That was it. It would come later by parcel post. She must be patient.Almost reluctantly she tore the envelope open. Folded in the card was a piece of paper. Written on the card was a message under the printed Happy Birthday---buy yourself something nice with the cheque, Myra and Harold.The cheque fluttered to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady stooped to pick it up. Her present,her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.5．Writing Task 1) Describe an incident happened in your life, and apply the principle of choosing specific and concrete words. 2) Read from P20 to P21, synonyms3rd Week1. Check Reading Task2. Meaning of Words :Denotation Meaning and Connotative Meaning:I am slender/slim /// my sister is thin. /// my neighbor is skinny.I am plump. /// my sister is fat. /// my neighbor is obese.I am firm /// my sister is stubborn /// my neighbor is pig-headed.Many words have powerful political, sexist, or other social overtones. Because they may cause misunderstanding when used in the unsuitable situation, writers must be certain of their connotations before they decide to choose them.AttitudeIn all kinds of writing, the words you choose may do more than inform. The selection of a word often reveals how your feel about your subject, whether you are please, angry, critical or admiring.Classroom activities one:Classroom activities two:Fill in the blanks with words in the above table:1)He has the most _______ distinction of having written speeches which were effective when delivered.2)Many of the managing posts are filled up by ________ people only because they happen to have the habit of orderingpoor people about.3)I was _______ by your invitation to come to this party.4)He thought his landlady was a mean ________.5)Hurray! End of my single life! Not an old and bad-tempered _________any more!Classroom activities three:Can you detect in the following pairs of sentences how the writer’s attitude changes from the first sentence to the second one? Point out the words that indicate the change.1)Jerry nagged at me to walk the dog.Jerry reminded me to walk the dog.2)Gloria was tall and bony. As she left, she hung a fur jacket around her shoulders.Gloria was tall and slender. As she left, she draped a fur jacket round her shoulders.3)Grandmother said Dad was a mama’s boy all his life.Grandmother said Dad was a devoted son all his life.4. Input ReadingDealing with AIDSDealing with AIDS strengthens the bond of friendship, encourages emotional and mature growth. Before the sixteenth of October 1995, I was the most carefree person in the world. I had no worries and was just living life up. I never thought that anything bad could happen to me or my friends. We were invincible. That is, until the word AIDS came into my life. For 10 years David and I were the best of friends. Then we got to high school and things started to change. We were in different classes, so we didn’t hang out as much. It bothered me but I thought that we were both just growing up, and therewere more friends where he came from. Then I began to notice that he wasn’t in school a lot, and was sick more than usual. So I called him and he hung up on me. I didn’t know what to do, so once again I blew it off. Then one day I was David in the mall and I confronted him as to why we were not friends anymore. He pulled me aside and broke down in tears and said that he was dying. I didn’t believe him. Sure, I had heard about AIDS, but that it was a homosexual disease and it didn’t affect young people, so said that it was a sick joke and left.When I got home, things started to make sense. I ran to my room and cried. David was only 17; he couldn’t die. Then I felt so bad that we had grown so far apart. I called David, asking him to come over so we could talk. When he came over I saw a seriousness in him that I had never seen before. He look so old, too old for his age. I asked how it happened. David had had unprotected sex once and now had to pay with his life. I was so angry. I have never felt so powerless in my whole life. When things had gone wrong before this, I could always rely on my parents to make things better. There was nothing that they could do this time. I had to handle it all on my own.David and I became very close again, and it seemed that I was the only one there for him. David made the decision to tell people about his disease. There was no use in hiding it; sooner or later people would find out. People looked at him as if he had a plague, and our friends from school wanted nothing to do with him. Soon after that they wanted nothing to do with me. All of a sudden I felt that I had the disease. I didn’t know what to do. My whole life was changing so fast that I could keep up. Once again I was growing up and realized that our friendship meant everything to me. Also, I couldn’t turn my back on him when he needed me the most. So I stuck it out and lost most of my friends. The ones that still talked with me didn’t come too close in fear that they would catch the disease. The thing was, I didn’t even have AIDS, so why did my friends treat me like this? I was being treated this way because teenagers are not used to dealing with situations like this, and don’t know how to react. So how could I blame them since I would have done the same thing? As time went on, David became very ill. There was nothing that I could do but watch him die. David found out that he had full blown AIDS, This to me meant death was sure to come and all too quickly. I wasn’t ready to let him die, not yet anyway. There was so many things that I wanted to do and say, but I couldn’t find the words. I went to doctor after doctor with him, and saw him go through so much. Everyone said that I must keep a position attitude for his sake, because attitude means everything. So, in times of stress I was the one that had to keep thins together. I pushed all my emotions aside and was strong for him.My mom had had a trip planned for the whole family for some time now, and still wanted to go. She thought that the trip would do me good; she said that I was not the one that was dying. I couldn’t believe that she said that to me, but to make her happy I went. We were gone for 2 weeks, and when I came back the first thing I did was go to see David. That was when I saw AIDS for the first time. I didn’t even recognize him. David had lost weight, had purple lesions all over his body, and was very pale. He couldn’t even get up when he saw me. He was bedridden. I still had to be the strong one and keep everything in. I had brought him stuff from the ocean, his favorite place. We talked about my trip and anything else we could think of. Then he fell asleep because he could no longer stay awake for long periods of time.On the second of May 1996, David was put in the hospital. This gave him the feeling that there was no more hope left, that he was going die, I still had to maintain my positive outlook for him. He needed that in me. One day he looked at me and said. “Faye I am dying; let’s accept that and deal with it. I know what I did was wrong and now I have to deal with it. All I want you to do is to remember me, enjoy life and be careful.” For the first time in front of him, I cried. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he was gone forever. He shouldn’t have to deal with this at such a young age.Towards the end of May he became so sick that the hospital staff had a bubble around him, so he wouldn’t catch our bad germs. I hated to see him like that, and every day it became worse. I had come to realize that any day now he would die. At night I would wonder if he would make it through. School was over now, so I spent every hour I could in the hospital. He was everything to me. If felt bad for the times that we had los and how I wasn’t even going to fight for our friendship.The fifth of June, 1996 marked the end of my best friend David’s life. He went peacefully. That was a comfort all in its own. In a way I was glad it was over, for he was no longer in pain. All the emotions that I had held in came rushing out as I realized that I would never see David again. His mother said that I had kept him alive and that she was grateful that I was her son’s last friend. It hasn’t been a year yet, but I have done so much since then that I am no longer that carefree teenager. I now educate people about AIDS which to me is keeping David’s memory alive. Even though David is gone, heis still with me and always will be, in mind and spirit.5. Writing Task My Family (apply the principle of choosing specific and concrete words.)6. Reading Task Read from P17-184th WeekCockroach ConflictBefore coming to Xiamen University, I had never seen so many people living in one room, let alone cockroaches, the number of which is even greater. So our dormitory is always overcrowded. Fights between us eight girls and those small ugly-looking dark creatures are continually breaking out.I still remember my first encounter with cockroaches. It was deep in the night. All of my roommates had fallen into a sound sleep except me, for I had some clothes to wash. When I came back and opened the door, I heard a strange noise, faint abut clear. I looked towards the source of the noise. To my horror, I saw a small shadow at the tip of a bed pole, with two spots glittering in the dark. It could only be a cockroach. With the help of the dim light from the corridor, I confirmed my assumption. The cockroach was conducting his “beetle band” playing beetle music for their beetle party. I did not like this. So I quietly picked up a book and tiptoed to the pole. Holding my breath, I tried hard not to make any noise. Then, close enough, I slowly lifted up the book. “hit it!”I cried in silence. But unfortunately, I missed. It seemed that the cockroach had been ready for my attack. Before my book reached him, he had run away. The whole band scattered out of sight in a second.This is only one scene of the numerous fights that went on. We, the two masters of the dorm, live under the same roof, breathe the same air, and sometimes even share the same food. But we live a totally upside-down life from each other. During the day, they enjoy a sound sleep in corners; when the night falls, they wake up. They may run a 100-meter-race on the table, have a picnic in the plastic bag where food is kept, “read” some books or even fall in love with each other and have many babies. To the cockroaches, all this is fantastic. But for us it is a disaster. Every night we are disturbed in our sleep, and from time to time we wake up only to find our books rag-eared, food nibbled, candy boxes decorated with their excrement, or even a cockroach walking on your bed…Oh God! How can a girl bear this? So whenever this happens, a fight is unavoidable. We use pesticide, beat them or tread on them, trying to get rid of these nuisances. But somehow they just become more agile, “read” more books and have more children in return.Even now, the fights are continuing. There seems to be no effective ways for us to wipe out our enemy. As a result, we have to live in a continual fight with them, day after day. Who would be our savior?Meaning of Words :Classroom Activities OneThe following three excerpts are taken from different types of business writing. Please answer the questions after reading. a. What is the style of each excerpt? Is it formal, informal, or colloquial? Mark the words that give you the impression. b. What is the possible relationship between the writer and target reader of each excerpt? Are they colleagues or a superior and subordinate? Or are they friends?Excerpt 1I think your proposal to Smith and Sons is great. If we get the contract, I owe you a lunch! I’ve marked a couple of places where we could cover ourselves on the schedule. See what you think.Except 2I think your proposal to Smith and Sons is excellent. I have marked a couple of places for your consideration where we could ensure that we are not committing ourselves to schedule we might not be able to keep. If I can help in any other way, please let me know.Excerpt 3The Smith and Sons’ proposal appears complete and thorough, based on our department’s evaluation. Several small revisions, however, would ensure that Acme is not committing itself to an unrealistic schedule. These are marked on the copy of the report being circulated.Specific features that distinguish informal and formal English P286-2911)Contractions likes don’t, mustn’t, he’s,I’ve, etc, are generally used in informal writing. In formal writing the fullforms are preferred: do not, must not, etc.2)for indefinite reference you is often used informal English while one is often used in formal English.You never know what new measures the President will take.One never knows what new measures the President will take.3)In informal English who can be used instead of whom as an object in questions.Who (Whom) did you see in that room?Who is the secretary talking with?With whom is the secretary talking? (Formal)4)In informal English that can often be left out before an object clause, especially after verbs of saying or thinking, e.g.She said (that) she would come. He told me (that) he liked the house.5)in informal style they is often used as a pronoun referring to everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone,anybody, no one, nobody, e.g.Has everyone finished doing their exercises?6)when the subject is I or he( she, it), was can be used in stead of were in the subjunctive mood in informal style:The old lady treated him as if he was her own son.I wish he was here with us.7)Participial phrases are generally used in formal style:Having been warned of the impending(即将发生的) storm, the captain decided to put off the voyage.When the captain heard a storm was coming, he decided to put off the voyage.( less formal)Badly defeated in the match, the team returned in low spirits.The team was badly defeated in the match, and they returned in low spirits. (less formal)She decided to go home at once, knowing that her mother was anxiously waiting for her.She decided to go home at once. She knew her mother was anxiously waiting for her. (less formal)8)Nominative absolute constructions are generally used in formal style:The weather being fine, a large number of people went to climb the Western Hills.As the weather was fine, a large number of people went to climb the Western Hills. (less formal)9)Adjectival and adverbial phrases placed before the subject often make the sentence formal:A famous professor of biology, Dr. Jones was the new president of the university.Eager to finish the work, he continued to do it until midnight.10)parenthetical remarks often make a sentence formal:This village has built, in less than ten years, several small factories that bring in more income than the farm produce every year.He shaved very slowly and carefully, as was his custom, in front of the mirror above the sink.All the people present------ Chairman Smith, Professor Brown, James and Williams, and the secretary----supported the motion. (动议)11)A series of nouns, verbs, or adjectives may make a sentence sound formal:His anger prevented him from doing, saying, and listening to anything.She has experienced love and hate, grief and happiness.12)the following types of sentences are often used in formal style:long sentences; compound-complex sentences; sentences with parallel constructions;balanced sentences; and periodic sentences. Passive voice.Eg: She decided to study English though she was interested in music.Although she was interested in music, she finally decided to study English.The main idea of both sentences is the fact that she decided to study English. The idea is put at the beginning of the first sentence and at the end of the second, thus making one a loose sentence and the other a periodic one. Besides, the first part of the first sentence is complete in structure, but that of the second is only an adverbial clause and cannot be called a sentence without the second part.13)As for vocabulary, everyday words are mainly of Anglo Saxon origin, while words of Greek, French and Latin originsare mostly formal or learned words ( see chapter two, p17-18). It would be helpful, when you learn a formal word, to remember an informal word with the same or nearly the same meaning, for example:不正式（informal ）正式(formal)so therefore, consequently, accordinglybut howeververy extremelydeep profoundlucky fortunateenough sufficientend terminateraise elevatesame identicallearned erudite14)Phrasal verbs are colloquial and often used in conversational style.Go on continuelook into investigate15)Shortened words like photo, ad, bike, gym, prep and pop are commonly used in everyday conversation. They are notoften used in formal writing.16)Slang words and expressions are often too casual and informal to be used in formal writing.Slang commonMighty very, extremelyNeat, cool fine, pleasantIn hot water in troubleMake a hit succeed in doing something17)use concrete words and expressions: avoid vague or imprecise terms, eg. Avoid bit, thing, stuff, etc.4. WritingTask: Rewrite the following passage by using formal English.Studying AbroadMany of our best students are going abroad nowadays to study. Why do they go? We have very good universities and colleges in our own country. Our teachers know our local situation, and so what they teach is relevant to local problems.When our students go abroad, they meet many problems. They find that their teachers know nothing about the countries from which they come. As a result our students learn a lot of useless information. Sometimes they are confused because the foreign teachers tell them things which are different from what they learned at home.Our students have to study in a foreign language. Therefore they have language problems. Whatgood is studying in English if they are going to work in their own language when they come back?There is also the question of cost. It is very expensive to send a student to study abroad. Because of this our government has less money to spend on education at home. In my opinion, it would be better to spend the money on improving our own colleges and universities.Finally, our students come back with many immoral ideas. For this reason studying abroad is corrupting our culture and way of life. I think this is disastrous. So, I believe that students should stay at home to study and not go abroad.5th Week1. Comments on Students’ Writing My FamilyWhen I think back through good memories of my life, most of them are in some way associated with my family. Family is the one constant that has always been a part of me, my rock against the storms of life. I can’t imagine life without my Mom and Dad, and I hope they’re around for a long, long time.The one thing my folks always had for me, as well as for my brother, was time. I was on a swim team from the time I was ten years old through high school, and I don’t ever remember them missing one of my meets. They were always there rooting me on, congratulating me when I did well and consoling me when I did poorly. It was the same with all my activities: volleyball, basketball, school plays, back-to-school nights, you name it. I never had to worry about my folks not showing up or not caring about what I was doing. I could count on them.I’ve also done my share of leaning on their shoulders over the year. I never felt there was anything I couldn’t tell my Mom and Dad, and I am the kind who has to get it all out when I have a problem. Over the years they’ve heard it all: the time in junior high when one boy was constantly bugging me, the time in high school when I got caught drinking, the time I wrecked their V olkswagen Rabbit, rough times with my former boyfriend, and on and on. They always listened to me, helped me any way they could, gave me good advice when I needed it, and always showed they cared. Even getting through my freshman year of college away from home with a “roommate from hell”was something I couldn’t have survived without many, many long-distance calls home and some timely visits from the folks.We’ve done our share of fun too. We traveled all over the state and spent lots of good times together. We loved going to movies and eating out as a family, and we still do when I get home on breaks. We also have fun just sitting around the house watching TV and eating popcorn. My parents are fun-loving people and I still have as much with them as I do with my friends. Well almost as much…….The greatest thing about family, at least about mine, is I know nothing is going to change. Whether I am twenty, thirty, or forty, I will have two very special people who care for me and want the best for me. Friends may come and go, good times and bad times lie ahead, and there are lots of uncertainties in this world. Through all of this it is really great to know that family is forever, the one constant in my life. I hope I am someday able to pass on the same sense of security and love to my own children.2.objectivity objectivity is achieved in the following ways.a)Avoid the first person pronoun I and the second person pronoun You .If the first person pronoun cannot beavoided, use we instead of I, or use third person reference like, the writer, the present author, e tc.b)when expressing an opinion or belief, try to use impersonal constructions. Eg:it can be seen that …..instead of youcan see;it is commonly believed that … in stead of I believe ,it is said… instead of I hear…. Other examples of impersonal constructions include: it is argued; it is found through research // research has found/ studies have revealed; it is estimated; it is contended. Etc. .Classroom Activities Two Rewrite the following sentences in more objective English.1)I failed to get the results I wanted 2）You can easily see that I have proved my theory.3）I can’t agree with this idea. 4) If you read Krashen ( 1981), you will learn a lot about his theory of language acquisition. acquisition 5) We all believe that a person who wants to learn will have a certain amount of success with the learning experience. 6) Williamson (1981) like me, believes that there is a clear distinction between language learning and language acquisitions.Classroom Activities Four Rewrite the following sentences in more formal English.1)In the way the economy is at present, many small businesses are beginning to feel the pinch. (difficulty, hardship)2)The first thing to do is to sort out the results.3)Don’t go over the top with this idea because it doesn’t hold water.4)This bit of the experiment didn’t quite come up to expectations.5)Several things must be borne in mind when evaluating EFL textbooks.6)More than half of the teachers in the developing world are fed up with large classes and very limited resources.3..Reading task read from P43—57, correct sentences。
