Unit Five

Text A The Company Man

ContentBackground information

Warming-up activity

Text organization

Text analysis

Sentence study

Words and phrases

Background Information

What do you know about What do you know about

workaholism?workaholism?

WorkaholismWorkaholism

• Workaholism is a modern addiction. Many Workaholism is a modern addiction. Many people have been afflicted by it. people have been afflicted by it.

• The cause of workaholism is that professioThe cause of workaholism is that professional achievements are tied up with self-imanal achievements are tied up with self-image. ge.

Structure of “Structure of “workaholism”workaholism”

• The phenomenon is so widespread and its social consequences so damaging that it has acquired the nickname "workaholism," a combination of the words "work" and "alcoholism".

Can you name some features of a Can you name some features of a

workaholic?workaholic?

• They resist taking breaks or rewarding themselves with vacations. If they must take vacations, they're likely to be highly organized and goal-oriented.

• The workaholic pushes and pushes, and as he is approaching his goal, he needs another one to work towards.

• A workaholic is not able to stop and enjoy his accomplishments.

• Workaholics have high expectations of their work, and their single-minded focus on work negatively impacts other areas of their lives such as family and leisure.

Warm-up Activity

Group work: discussion

How important do you think work is to a person?

• Firstly, a hardworking person doesn’t mean to work hard to death to prove that he is working hard.

• Secondly, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” We should save our energy and time for something more important.

• To do the job is just the means towards a better life. We are working to live rather than living to work. Working is not the only constitute of life. We are working every day to live a better life, so we should not take the job far too seriously.

Why are workers willing to burn midnight oil at risk in most companies?

Most employers want their employees to work longer hours and reward them with higher pay and lots of benefits.

Text Organization

Part Division of the Text

Parts Para(s) Main Ideas

1 1~3 One of six vice-presidents, Phil worked himself to death

2 4~6 Phil completely tied up himself in work regardless of his health.

Part Division of the Text

Parts Para(s) Main Ideas

3 7~12 A typical workaholic, Phil totally neglected those closest to him — his wife and three children.

4 13~16 Phil’s boss said one thing at the funeral and did quite another soon afterwards.

Text Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis

• In colloquial style, the author Goodman depicts ironically the life of a workaholic and his family.

• What devices are adopted to make her writing more effective?

• Repetition

• Parallelism

• Variation of length of sentences

• Find some examples from the text for each.

Part 1 (Paragraph 1-6):

Introductory part. This part reports the sudden death of Phil and his devotion to work.

What can you learn from the first paragraph?

• He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

• What are the functions of the two adverbs “finally and precisely” in this sentence?

• The 1st sentence provides information concerning “who”, “what”, “how” and “when”.

• “Finally” suggests the tragic ending of Phil.

“Precisely” highlights the exact time of Phil’s death, thus stressing his devotion to work.

Part 2 (Paragraph 7-13):

Phil’s role in family, his relationship with his wife and his children is described.

Questions for consideration

• Can you describe the relationship between Phil and his wife and his children?

• Why did Phil's wife try to conceal her bitterness in front of the president at the funeral? – She was concerned about her financial situation after

her husband died. – Phil provided well for his widow.

Part 3 (Paragraph 14-16) The funeral. The writer restates the cause of Phil’s death, and the president’s tendency in his choice of a successor to Phil.

Question

• What effect does the last paragraph achieve? And how?

Sentence Study

1. He was a perfect Type A, a workaholic, a classic, …

【解析及翻译】【解析及翻译】•      Type A: A 型行为者，为 20 世纪美国心脏病专家 Mey

er Friedman 和 Roy H. Roseman 的用语。 A 型行为指一种行为类型，特征为有高度的进取心及急迫感，性情急躁，凡事认真求全，易引发心脏病。

他是一个地地道道的 A 型行为者，一个工作狂，一个典型的工作狂…

2. He is survived by his wife, Helen, forty-eight years old, a good woman of no particular marketable skills, who worked in an office before marrying and mothering.

【解析及翻译】【解析及翻译】 从句法上看， a good woman of no particular marketable s

kills, 是个省略句，可补全为 Helen is a good woman of no particular marketable skills . 句中的 be+ of +adj. 结构，作定语放在所修饰的名词 woman 后面。

他去世后留下自己的妻子海伦。这个四十八岁的女人在结婚和生孩子前曾在一个办公室工作，没有什么特别的适应人才市场的本领。

3. At the funeral, the sixty-year-old company president told the forty-eight-year-old widow that the fifty-one-year-old deceased had meant much to the company……

【解析及翻译】【解析及翻译】 句中的 the fifty-one-year-old deceased 的用法是

“ the+ 形容词或名词”表示一类人或一类东西，谓语用复数。

在葬礼上，六十岁的公司总裁对四十八岁的寡妇说五十一岁的死者对公司来说举足轻重。

4.You could have picked hime out in a minute from a lineup.

【解析及翻译】【解析及翻译】 句中包含了一个暗喻，把句中包含了一个暗喻，把 Phil Phil 比作比作 a lineupa lineup ，形容其，形容其

非常容易被辩认出来（从非常容易被辩认出来（从一排为接受检查而一排为接受检查而列队的人）。列队的人）。

你能在一排人中立马认出他来。你能在一排人中立马认出他来。

Words and Phrases

1.precise a. exact, clear, and correct 精确的，准确的

• precise sales figures

It was difficult to get precise information.

--“She's a lot older than you, isn't she?'

--“Fifteen years, to be precise .”

precisely ad. precision n.

2.conceivable a. imaginable, that can be believed 可想到的，可想象的

It is conceivable that you may get full compensation, but it's not likely.

We were discussing the problems from every conceivable angle.

conceivably ad.

conceivably, interest rates could rise very high indeed.

conceive v. conception n.

3. executive a. [only before noun]

1) relating to the job of managing a business or organization and making decisions a commission with executive powers executive body/committee etc (=a group of people who have the power to make decisions)2) for the use of people who have important jobs in a company the executive dining-room3) expensive and designed for people who earn a lot of money executive cars/homes etc; executive toys (=objects to play with at work)

4. survive v. continue to live or exist; live longer than; remain alive after比…活得长， 经…幸存

She survived her sons. 她的儿子都去世了，她还活She survived her husband by three years. 她丈夫早她三

年去世。It is a narrow escape that the whole family survive the eart

hquake.

这次地震中一家人都幸免于难 , 真是九死一生。

CF: survive, continue, remain & last 这些词都是动词，都含有“继续存在”、“经受住”的意思。

• survive 可作及物和不及物动词，含有“幸免于难”、“平安度过”之意。

• continue 为中性词，且不带任何感情色彩，指从开始到结束之间的任何延伸过程。

• remain 指人或物移去、分离或毁坏后仍留在原地。• last 即“持续”、“经受住”之意，特指某事物继续存在，

或最为普通意义上的时间持续。

5.compete vi. try to win sth. by defeating others who are trying to do the same与… 竞争，与…对抗

Although there were only four horses competing, it was an exciting race. 虽然只有四匹马竞争，但比赛很精彩。

Pattern:• compete against (with) 与…竞争• compete for 为…竞争• compete in 在…中竞争

6.day off ： day on which one does not have to work 休息天

Yesterday was my day off. 昨天是我休息的日子。

I’m taking a week off over Christmas.

圣诞节期间我会休假一星期。

7.look sb. in the eye: look directly and without fear at someone who is near直视某人

He is a person of high moral principles, who can look anyone straight in the eye.

他是个有高度道德原则的人，无论对谁都可以问心无愧。

CF:

in the eyes of

have an eye for

keep an eye on

see eye to eye

have one’s eye on

在某人的心目中 ; 在某人看来

有眼力 ,

照料，照看

同意

希望（或计划）获得