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Unit FourUnit Four

American Dream

Background Information1

Language Points2

Writing Strategy – Exposition

3

4

Text Analysis

American Dream: the belief of Americans that their country offers opportunities for a good and successful life. For minorities and immigrants, the dream also includes freedom and equal rights.

Immigrants: Apart from “native Americans”------Indians------who were living in North America when people first arrived there from Europe, all Americans have ancestors who were immigrants. In the U.S. the word immigrants is often used with a positive meaning. People are proud to say that their ancestors were immigrants who came with very little and built a better life fro themselves.

Most Americans have a clear idea of what life was like for the immigrants: they left home because they were poor and thought talent and hard work could take them from log cabin to White House.

Once in the US, life was not easy. Many immigrants had to work for little money in factories where conditions were hard and dangerous and lived in crowded buildings. But slowly they improved their lives and many wrote home to encourage others to come.

Depression days: the period of severe economic failure in most countries of the world that lasted from 1929 until World War II. It began in the US when the New York Stock Exchange fell on 29 October 1929, known as Black Tuesday. Many businessmen and banks failed and millions of people lost their jobs. President Franklin D. Rooselvelt improved the situation with his New Deal policy, but the Great Depression was only ended by industrial production for the war.

Word StudyWord Study

do with: (used in questions or negative sentences with what)

Ex: -- The teacher didn’t know what to do with the class.

-- What are you going to do with the food left over from the

party?

-- What shall do with the drunken sailor?

-- “What are you going to do with it?”

Ex: -- He showed great determination by continuing to play after hurting his foot.

-- Her determination to do well made her keep on studying.

-- That girl has great determination; I am sure she will do well.

-- approach the task with determination and energy 坚决努力地致力于这项任务

-- return to school with a determination to finish 带着完成学业的决心回到学校

determination: the ability to continue trying to achieve what you have decided to do even when this is difficult (uncountable noun, often followed by infinitive to)

for sale: available to be bought

Ex:

-- Reluctantly my parents put a “For Sale” sign on the

house.

-- Her former home is for sale at $495,000.

-- Not for Sale 非卖品 -- That house is for sale. 那座房子待售。 -- a sale on cash [credit]现金出售 [赊销 ]

-- a clearance sale清仓拍卖

call on: visit sb. for a short time

Ex: -- I’d like to call on my former professor while I

am on business in Beijing.

-- He wanted to call on his girlfriend after work,

and then go to see a movie with her.

More phrases

Ex:

call back 回电话call for 叫（某人）来；要求，需要call in 叫…进来，召来call off 取消call on / upon 1.访问，拜访； 2.召集，要求call up 1. 打电话（给）； 2.召集； 3.使人想起

character: the particular collection of qualities that make sb. a particular kind of person

Ex:

-- He has a strong but gentle character. 他有坚强但温柔的性格。 -- The new buildings have changed the character of the village. 新建筑改变了这个村庄的特点。 -- be different in character 有着不同的性质 -- the characters in Charles Dickens' novels 狄更斯小说中的人物

odds and ends

这种词组在英语中叫对词。 back and forth 来回地，反复地 black and blue 青一块紫一块 by and by 不久，迟早 by and large 大体上，总的来说 day and night ebb and flow 兴衰，起伏 far and wide 到处 few and far between 稀疏的，稀少的 first and foremost 首要的是，首先 here and now 此时此刻

abandon: give up completely or forever

Ex: -- My car broke down and I had to abandon in on the main road. --- abandon one's idea 放弃自己的想法 -- abandon the search for the missing hiker 放弃搜寻走失的远足者

-- abandon one's home 离弃家园

-- He abandoned his wife and went away with all their money. 他抛弃了妻子还带走了两人所有的钱。 

property:

(1) land, building or both together

Ex:

-- With more and more people purchasing houses,

property prices have been on the rise.

-- A lot of property in the city center was destroyed in the war.

(2) the thing or things that sb. owns

Ex:

-- Policemen searched the criminal’s home and

found weapons and stolen property in the

basement.

-- That’s my personal property/ leave it alone.

Sentence StudySentence Study

… hard to comprehend his broken English:

If someone talks in broken English, they speak slowly and make a lot of mistakes because they only know a little of the language.

My wife and I were delighted with what we felt was a satisfying end of the story:

My wife and I were delighted with what Tony has

achieved, and thought that the whole thing had

thus been settled.

Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the ladder. He began in the basement:

Tony had nothing when he arrived in the United States and he built up from nothing.

 

Parts Lines Main ideas

1 1 - 82 Life story of Tony Trivisonno.

2 83- 95 The author’s reflections on the story of Tony.

Part Division of the Text

ExpositionExposition

What is classification?Classification is the method of grouping objects, people, or ideas systematically.

What is classification used for?

→to organize and perceive the world around us

→to present a mass of material by means of some orderly system

→to deal with complex or abstract topics by breaking a broad

subject into smaller, neatly sorted categories

How to write a good classification essay? →identify your purpose and audience

→choose a single, logical principle for sorting items into types, and stick to it

→make sure that your principle of classification is significant

→make sure that the categories or parts you choose do not overlap, that is, a particular item or person should fit into no more than one category.

For example:

goods to be stocked up in a shop

vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers

dairy: butter, yogurt, milk

kitchen wares: table-spoons, tea-spoons, knives,

forks

What is division?

Division involves taking a single unit or concept, breaking it down into parts, and then analyzing each part and connection among the parts and between the parts.

Note: in division, we emphasize the distinctions of

different parts.

Ex: Essay writing

Each has its own features and functions in ensuring the success of the whole essay. On the other hand, they must be closely related to each other so as to make the essay coherent.

essay

beginning body conclusion

More Samples: something about teachers:1. Classify teachers into those who wear ties to

class and those who don’t 2. Divide them according to their teaching

methods into those who use a lecture-and question format and those who rely on open discussion

(philosophies and attitudes towards the subject and students)

Useful ExpressionsUseful Expressions

结结巴巴的英语 broken English 重整业务 rebuild one’s business   夏去秋来 summer passes into fall 培训工人 train laborers 徒工学校 an apprentice school 精密加工工作 precision work 减薪水 take a cut in pay

人品贷款 loan money on character 没门 no sale 人品端正 a man of character 首付 down payment 零星杂物 odds and ends 样子自信 have a look of confidence

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