The American Ideal of a Great Leader

There's a hero

If you look inside your heart

You don't have to be afraid of what you are

There's an answer

If you reach into your soul

And the sorrow that you know will melt away

And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you

It's a long road

When you face the world alone

No one reaches out a hand

for you to hold

You can find love

If you search within yourself

And the emptiness you felt will disappear

And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you

When did the American Civil

War break out?

What do you know about

Abraham Lincoln?

What is the main cause of the war?

How long did the war last?

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Born: February 12, 1809, Kentucky  Nickname: "Honest Abe"; "Illinois Rail-Splitter"  Religion: No formal affiliation  Marriage: November 4, 1842, to Mary Todd (1818-1882)  Career: Lawyer  Political Party: Whig; Republican  Died: April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C.

16th President of the United States

Of all figures from America's past Abraham Lincoln is dearest to the hearts of the American people. In fact, the admiration they have had for him borders on worship. Writers note the fact that the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. is not unlike the temples that ancient Greeks built in honor of their gods, and that the annual ceremony of celebrating Lincoln's birthday in schools and other public places has sometimes had characteristics of a religious service.

is much loved by

Whether this last observation is true or not, certainly Lincoln is America's ideal of a great leader. He had many of the qualities of leadership that have appealed to Americans.What is the author going to discuss in the following paragraphs?

First of all also

Furthermore

What is the last observation?

Reasons

for his

popularity:

First of all, Lincoln's career fits a popular American belief that every child can dream of becoming president. In other words, no matter how humble a person's beginning, there is no class system that prevents him or her from becoming a leader in industry, government, or any of the professions if he or she has ambition, brains, and a willingness to work.

What do you know about American dream?

Americans admire the self-made person— the one who, with neither money nor family influence, fights his or her way to the top. Lincoln was born of poor parents. His mother died when he was young. The shack in which he and his father lived one winter had only three walls; the fourth side was open to the weather. He had little opportunity for schooling. Most of his early study was done by himself at night by the light of a

was exposed to

fireplace. He did hard manual labor through the day--splitting rails for fences, taking care of livestock, working on a riverboat or in a store. But as he grew older he studied law in his spare time and set up a practice. He was a good speaker and student of political philosophy. His ability finally made a name for him, and eventually he became president of the United States.

start a business

cause himself well-known

Lincoln is also admired because of his leadership during the difficult period of the Civil War. He dared to do what he thought was right at a time when his beliefs were unpopular with many people. He, in a sense, represents the spirit of union among the states. Before the Civil War, the economy of the South depended upon the plantation system, which made use of slave labor. Reformers in the northern states put so much pressure upon Congress not to

extend slavery to territories destined for statehood that some of the southern states wanted to secede from the United States. They argued that the question of slavery was a matter for the individual states to decide rather than the federal government, and they did not want to submit to its decision. The national government in Washington said that no state had the right to secede, and the Civil War was the result. If the South had won the war, what is now the United States

those areas that the American government planned to turn into new states

might well have been divided into several countries with regional interests and problems. Lincoln dedicated himself to preserving the Union, and the northern states with him at their head were victorious. Americans from both the North and the South now generally feel that keeping the states together as one country has produced long-range benefits, and Lincoln has received much of the credit for holding the Union together.

under his leadership

长距离，长远的

Can you guess the meaning of “credit”?

Furthermore, Lincoln had many personal qualities that made him dear to the hearts of his countrymen. He had infinite patience and tolerance for those who disagreed with him. As president, he appointed the men to his cabinet whom he considered most capable for the job, even though some of them openly scorned him and humiliated him. He bore their discourtesy toward him

with admirable restraint. He was generous to his opponents. There are many stories about his courteous treatment of southern leaders. When the war was over, he bore the South no malice. Since generosity toward a defeated opponent is admired by Americans, Lincoln fitted the national ideal of what is right.

not to hate sb.

“ideal” also appears in the title. What does it mean in both places?

Shortly after the Civil War was over, Lincoln was shot one night while attending a play in a Washington theater. He died within a few hours. Newspapers were edged with black. His funeral procession in Washington was miles long. Lincoln's body was taken by train back to his former home in Springfield,

Find the topic sentence in this Para.

The reaction of the nation to his death was almost unbelievable.

She has a white handkerchief edged with blue.

Illinois, but in all the major cities through which the train passed, the casket was paraded through streets lined with mourning thousands. In the small towns through which the train passed, bells rang in honor of the dead president. Citizens lit torches along the railroad track to show their last respects. It took the train twelve days to reach Springfield.

of people

Thus the circumstances of his death made him a martyr for a cause about which people were already highly emotional. Had Lincoln lived, it might well be that his postwar policies would have brought criticism upon him that would have tarnished his popularity. Instead, an assassin's bullet erased in the minds of Americans any faults he had and emphasized his virtues.

Why does the author say the admiration Americans have had for Lincoln borders on worship?

1. Lincoln Memorial is like the temples ancient Greeks built in honor of their gods.

2. The celebration of Lincoln’s birthday is sometimes like a religious service.

1. Lincoln had courage to do right things.

2. He dedicated himself to preserving the Union.

What qualities of leadership Lincoln had? Can you find

examples?

What are Lincoln’s personal qualities that make him loved

by the American people?

1. Patience and tolerance.

2. Generosity to his opponents.

3. His criterion for selecting

men suitable for the job.

Can you find any examples?

1. Newspapers were edged with black.

2. His funeral procession was miles long.

3. It took the train carrying his casket 12 days to reach his hometown.

Paraphrase

That’s to say, a person who has a strong desire to achieve greatness, is intelligent, and is willing to work hard can become a leader or succeed in any of the professions without depending on social status, money or

family background.

Though some people openly despised / looked down upon him or did things to destroy his dignity, Lincoln still chose them to be his chief or principal advisor of the state if he thought those people were capable.

Paraphrase

Appoint people on their merits.

The virtue of the ruler is like wind and that of the commoner is like grass. The grass bends in the direction of the wind. -----Confucius 君子之德风也，小人之德草也。草上之风，必堰。 When one subdues men by force, they do not submit to him in heart. When one subdues men by virtue, they are pleased and sincerely submit in their heart. ----Mencius 以力服人者，非心服也；以德服人者，衷心悦而诚服也。

Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.-----Norman Schwarzkopf领导是策略和性格的结合。如果非要少一个，就少策略。

    In simplest terms, a leader is one who knows where he wants to go, and gets up, and goes. ---John Erksine用最简单的术语，一个领导人是知道他想要去哪儿，然后起身，去到那儿。

border on / upon

1) touch at the edge or boundary 接壤2) be very much like 近似e.g. 中国西部同缅甸接壤，南部和老挝、

越南毗连 。

China borders on Burma in the south

and Laos and Vietnam in the south.

Such an action borders on madness.

border, boundary, frontier

他站在得克萨斯和俄克拉荷马的边界上，两脚各在一方。

Note: 边界border 指边境地带范围较广的地区boundary 分界线等狭小的部分

He stood at the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma with one foot on either side.

the frontier between China and MongoliaChina’s Mongolian frontierthe border between China and Mongolia

Note: frontier 指某一国单方面提及的边界、边境； border 可以用来指国与国之间的边界、边境。 Frontier 意味着设防的边界，要作护照、签证、海关等项检查。e.g. The frontier is protected by minefields and electric fence.

memorialn. 纪念，纪念堂，纪念仪式；a. serving to preserve the memory

a ～ to the martyrs; a ～ meeting 林肯纪念馆 Lincoln Memorial毛主席纪念堂 the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall人民英雄纪念碑 the Monument to the People’s Heroes

self-made白手起家的；自学成功的

self-testing; self-charging

self-service;   self-defense

self-appointed; self-centered

self-evident; self-exclusive

Can you guess the meanings of

the following words?

ambitionn. strong desire 实现抱负 achieve one’s ～ (s) 胸怀大志 have great ～ s / full of ～ s Little men can never appreciate the hi

gh ～ s of great minds. a. ambitious be ～ to do sth. 热切做某事 be ～ of / for sth. 热望得到某物

望子成龙be ambitious for children

manuala. 用手的，手工做的 n. 手册、指南 manual labor a manual typewriter user’s manual a shorthand manua

lsynonyms ： by hand directory guidebook handbook antonyms ： automatic

Can you guess the meaning of “manuscript”?

patiencebe out of patience with 对…耐不住lose patience with sb.exhaust sb.'s patience 使某人忍无可忍Our patience has worn out.His rudeness drove me beyond the limit

of my patience.synonyms ： endurance indulgence perseverance persistence tolerance antonyms ： impatience

tolerance n. 容忍 , 宽容 , 耐性 ；公差 , 容 ( 许间 ) 隙show tolerance towards sb.

have a limited tolerance to / of coldThe bridge was built to a tolerance of 1o

millimeters tolerant: His own mistakes made him ~ towards others. Leaders should be ~ of opinions different from their own.tolerable: The pain was severe but ~ .

I won’t ____ your rudeness. He has ____ great pain for a number of

years. She can’t ____ the noise in the room.

A. bear B. stand

C. endure D. tolerate

D

C

D

cabinet

储藏橱，陈列柜；内阁a filing cabinet; medicine cabinet

The cabinet meet / meets tomorrow to discuss this problem.

This will be discussed in cabinet(=in a meeting of the cabinet).

a shadow cabinet

restraint 1) the quality of being restrained or restraining

oneself; 2) control ; 3) restriction

e.g. without ~ 无拘无束 ;

be kept under ~;

~s on the power of the president

cf. restrict: He ~s himself to (smoking) two cigarettes a day.

restrain, refrain

restrain=hold back from, control vt.

refrain=hold oneself from, avoid vi.

----Doesn’t your wife restrain you from smoking? ----I have refrained from smoking ever since our wedding.

Translation ：忍住不笑 ;请勿吸烟（ poster ）！

restrain laughterrefrain from laughing

KINDLY REFRAIN FROM SMOKING!

opponent= oppone (oppose) + ent 对手，敌手；反

对者 oppose vt. 反对 , 使对立 , 使对抗 , 抗

争 vi. 反对 opposite adj. / n. 完全不同或相反的；

对面的，对过的 e.g. Mary’s mother was opposed to her

marriage to George. He lives in the dorm opposite (mine).

proponent

reaction1) an action in response to some

influence2) an action in the opposite direction

to progress (+ against)vi. react e.g. The eyes react to light. The audience reacted to his speech. Applause reacts on / upon the

speaker.

dedicate

devote

contribute

……to (doing) sth.

Translation: 我决心把我的一生献给教育事业。 I am determined to devote / dedicate my whole life to the cause of education.

奉献

Note: 在表示贡献或贡献出力量、时间、金钱等意思时，三者可以互换。但在表示“献身于某一事业或目标”时，不能用 contribute ，即 contribute 后不可接one’s life 或 oneself 。

in honor of :as a celebration of; show respect to

e.g. They had a ceremony in honor of those killed in battles.

A banquet was given in honor of his arrival.

do honor to ：向……表示敬意； 给……带来荣誉All honors go to the collective.

fight one’s waymove along by struggling hard 奋斗前进e.g. She fought her way to the top of th

e company.

He fought his way to the front of the line.

类似结构： make one’s way

shoulder one’s way

elbow one’s way

be born of + sb. (parents); + sth. ( 事物的起源、起因 )

e.g. It’s said that crime is born of poverty.

His wish to become a doctor was born of the desire to help the sick.Thomas Jefferson was born into

wealth.

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

He was born to succeed.

set up 1) to establish or arrange (an organization,

business, plan, etc.)e.g. ～ a council; ～ a fund2) to put into positione.g. ～ the roadblocks3) to establish (oneself or someone else) i

n business) as 从事某种职业e.g. His parents set him up as a dentist. He set (himself) up as a lawyer.

be unpopular with / amongbe dislike, unfavored, etc. by sb.

Translation:

这些手工艺品很受外国朋友的欢迎。

These artistic handicrafts are very

popular with foreign friends.

submit to + n. / doing sth.to cause to yield or agree; to obey

e.g. They try to submit themselves to discipline.

Ex. All these topics should ____ the committee for a discussion.

A. be subjected to B. be stumbled

C. be suppressed to D. be submitted to

D

Walt Whitman 1965

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we

sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all e

xulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel gri

m and daring; But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head!

It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores, and ring O bells! But I with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.