Unit Three

The generation gap

Quotations about fatherhood: Few things are more satisfying than

seeing your own children have teenagers of their own——Doug Larson

Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare——Ed Asner

Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

——George Orwell

Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.

——Benjamin Disraeli

Part one: pre-reading task

1. Who should be sitting up and taking notice? Why?

2. What does the singer think of his parents’way of doing things?

* Pair interview1. Do you know your parents’ birthdays and

their wedding anniversary?

2. Do your parents celebrate your birthday?How about their own birthday celebration?

3. In your parents’ eyes, what are you interested in?

4. In your eyes, what are your parents interested in?

5. In what areas do your parents want you to improve?

6. In what ways do you want your parents to improve?

7. Tell of an instance when your parents and you disagree over something.

Part two: Something about plays Components of a play:

1.Characters: actors or actress 2.Settings:

in which the play is performed

3. Stage directions: to set up stage properties in the proper place; to direct actors’s movement,gesture, facial expression etc.

4. Language / Line

5.conflicts:the essence of a play, a clash of actions, ideas which may happen in three forms: man v.s. man,man v.s. environment, man v.s. himself

6. Climax: when a conflict develops to the most intensified point, it becomes a climax

7.Theme: main ideas of a play

Stage arrangement:

Up left

Stage left

Down left

Center Stage

Up right

Stage right

Down right

Part three: Family life in America

The average day for many families begins with getting the children up and ready for school. There is usually a rush for everyone to use the bathroom, find clean clothes, eat breakfast, and catch the bus.

The school day usually ends at about 3 p.m. in the US and 4 p.m. in Britain, and the working day at 5 p.m. So many parents have to make arrangements for their children after school.

Children may go to an after-school center or stay with a neighbor’s children. Older children often do activities like sports or music at their school ,or go home and do their homework. They often also have to do chores and may get paid by parents.

Although criticized sometimes, many people believe that it is good for children to learn to be independent. From an early age children are encouraged to decide what they want to do, eat or wear, and their parents try to respect their opinions.

Many American teenagers earn a good portion of their college expenses by working during the summer as waiters or waitress, construction workers, mother’s helpers, gas station attendants, telephone operators or messengers. They are not concerned with status. Being unskilled, they try to find jobs at whatever level they can. They seek not only money but also experience. They learn work habits, responsibility, the ability to take orders and to get along with a boss and different kinds of people.

Part Four: Language studyPart of the playⅠ

1. To direct a speech or writing to a person or group:

e.g. to address a meeting= to deliver a speech at a meeting.

2. To deal with

e.g. The prime minister is trying to address this serious issue/ problem.

Address (as a verb)

Embarrass: make (sb.) feel awkward or ashamed

e.g. It embarrassed him that he had to give a talk in front of a lot of people.

I chose my words carefully in order to avoid embarrassing anyone.

adj. Embarrassed: shy, or ashamed about

sth. e.g. I was really embarrassed when I

knocked the cup of tea over my teacher.

Wait (on) tables: work as a waiter/waitress and serve others with food and even help to clear up the table after dinner;

Dumb:

1. Foolish

e.g. Don’t be so dumb. You can’t ge a loan from the bank if you are laid-off.

Slang: a dumb ass=a very foolish person

2. Unable to speak

e.g. Children born deaf and dumb can nowadays be taught to speak and lip-read.

In unison: acting in the same way at the same time

e.g. The international community is ready to work in unison against terrorism.

consist of: be made up of e.g. The committee consists of scientists

and engineers.

Deserve: to be worthy of; should get sth He deserves it =1) he deserves to be

rewarded 2) he deserves to be punished=it serves him right

Fade: 1) lose color or brightness e.g. All color fades----especially under the

impact of direct sunlight. 2) disappear slowly e.g. Her enthusiasm for early-morning

exercises faded as the weather was getting colder and colder

Overall: 1) in general (adv)

e.g. Overall, I like Marie, despite her faults.

2) total (only before noun)

e.g. The overall length is 15 feet.

Trade (sth) for (sth else): exchange sth for sth else

e.g. 1)The farmers traded farm produce for manufactured goods and money.

2) I will trade my stamp collection for your model boat.

What do you think may father’s mistake lies in and will the similar situation be supposed to happen around yourself in China.

Consider it while enjoying the following episode in a soap opera and pay attention to both father and mother’s words as well as their pride and love for their son. Do you think this may also embarrass their son?

Language study:

Play part Ⅱ Keep /leave (sb.) in suspense: delay telling

(sb.) what they are eager to know

e.g. 1)I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. Here are the results of the mid-term exam.

2)The audience is kept in suspense to the very end of the play.

Interrupt: stop (sb.) from continuing what they are saying or doing

e.g. 1)My daughter kept interrupting me whenever I spoke.

2)I’m sorry to interrupt, but you’re not really answering my question.

Bet: 1) an agreement to risk money on the result of a future event

e.g. We made a bet on the outcome of the next election.

2) be sure:

e.g. I bet he will change his mind again.

=I am sure he will change his mind again.

* You bet.=Of course/ Certainly

e.g. A: Will you tell her?

B: You bet. (means ‘I will’ )

Distract: take (sb.’s attention) away from sth. Esp. for a short time.

This word is used in the pattern: distract sb./sth; distract sb./sth. from)

e.g. 1)Tom admits that playing computer games sometimes distracts him from his homework.

2) Passengers are requested not to distract the driver’s attention while he is driving.

My treat: means that Father is going to invite Dan to dinner and pay for it.

e.g. A: How about going to Starbucks tonight?

B: I really want to, but I am broke (have no money).

A: It’s ok, my treat today. (=I will pay/foot the bill).

Very short with her: If you are “short with sb.”,you speak briefly

and rather rudely to them because you are impatient or angry

Glorious: wonderful e.g. 1)To most Chinese, China has a long

and glorious history. 2) Vivid memories came flooding back

of the glorious, romantic sophomore year.

Hand down: give or leave to people who are younger or come later

e.g. 1)The art of story-telling is handed down from mother to daughter.

2) The haunted mansion has been handed down from his grandfather.

At any rate: whatever may happen; in any case

* You use at any rate to indicate that the important thing is what you are saying now, and not what was said before.)

e.g. 1)At any rate, you survived the car accident.

2) Well, at any rate, let me thank you for all you did for me.

Community:

the people living in one place, district, or country, considered as a whole

e.g. 1)Police work to prevent crime and to protect the lives and property of the people in a community.

2) College students have learned a lot in community service.

Welfare: good health, happiness, prosperity,etc of a person or group

e.g. 1)Parents are responsible for the welfare of their children.

2) Employers should be concerned with the welfare of their employees.

Narrow down

e.g. 1) Over a hundred applicants will be narrowed down to a short list of five candidates.

e.g. 2) The police department attempted to narrow down the list of suspects.

Exhaust:

1) make (sb.) very tired, either physically or mentally

e.g. a.Four hours’ work almost exhausted her.

b.I feel exhausted/tired after a day’s walk around the Shanghai.

exhaust 2): use up completely

e.g. a. What will we do, now that we’ve exhausted our reserves of oil?

b. After exhausting all her ready excuses, she could think of nothing else to say.

• Exhaust pipe: 排气管• Automobile exhaust: 汽车废气（尾气） e.g. Measures have been taken to reduce the

noxious gas from exhaust pipes of automobiles(=automobile exhaust) in order to protect the environment.

Repeatedly: again and again

e.g. We have repeatedly requested that staff should not be allowed to smoke in the office.

Come over: (of a feeling) affect

e.g. 1)A great sense of calm/relaxation came over me when I realized that I was no longer responsible for the situation.

2) He has never been so rude to me. What has come over him?(means: what kind of emotion/feeling has he been affected by;maybe he is angry about sth.)

Why back in my day… means: Well, when I was young, we didn't

behave like that (implies a generation gap) Here ‘why’ doesn't necessarily indicate a

question, it just implies a tone that may be interpreted as ‘I cannot understand you kids’

Swallow: 1) 吞，咽 e.g. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry.

2) hide or suppress a feeling e.g. Susan had to restrain herself and

swallow hard in her position as a housemaid.

Frank:showing one’s thoughts and feelings openly (followed by with/about)

e.g. 1)To be frank with you, I think you are making a mistake.

2) Our discussions were frank and fruitful

Interference: unwanted or unnecessary involvement in sth.

e.g. Her parents’ continual interference in our affairs irritated me.

v. interfere in sth./ interfere with sb.

e.g. 1) We are not expecting any foreign countries to interfere in our internal affairs.

2) Don’t interfere with him. He is preparing for the final exams.

c.f. interrupt/interruption: to stop the action or continuity of sth by breaking in.

e.g. Rain interrupted our baseball game.( 中断）

Traffic in the city was interrupted by a snowstorm.

“Don’t interrupt”, he said.( 别插话）

Constant:

1)without stopping

e.g. I have had a constant headache for three days.

He left the office because he could no longer stand the constant gossip.

Working out the difference between constant/continuous/continual by yourself

2) unchanging

e.g. Driving at a constant speed saves gas.

The temperature in the museum is maintained at a constant 16 degree Celsius.

The price of the product is not constant but varies with supply and demand.

Enjoying a section of the soap opera while paying attention to mom’s words ‘There is sth that every parents should go through. They see their baby leave the nest and doesn't eat anything from them anymore’. And ponder over this yourself.

(Setting: Mike has just moved out of the house into the garage after quarrelling with his father)

Language study Part Ⅲ In charge of

e.g. A:Who is in charge of the shop?

B: Mr. Smith was left in charge of the shop while the manage was away/ The shop is in the charge of Mr. Smith now./ Mr. Smith took charge of the shop.

Exceptional: unusual

e.g. Beethoven showed exceptional musical ability at the age of four.

Fill out: complete (a document or form) by supplying required information

e.g. Please fill out/in the application form and send it back by January 10.

The Policeman filled out a report of the accident.

The old man filled out the form and singed it at the bottom.

Proof:evidence or facts that are sufficient to establish a thing as true or believable.

v. prove e.g. Her fingerprints left on the scene were a

proof of her guilt. The executive produces documents in

proof of his claim. Researchers in America have found

proof that non-smokers can develop cancer by working in smoky rooms.

• A water-proof watch=this watch is proof(adj.) against water. ( 防水）

Junior:

1) younger (followed by to)

*Its abbreviation Jr. or jr. can be used after the name of a person who has the same name as his father, e.g. George W. Bush,Jr.

e.g. Jane is several years junior to her husband.

Do you want John Brown Senior or John Brown Junior, the father or the son?

2) lower in rank than others

e.g. Having worked for five years, Jack is still a junior clerk in the office.

Michael had been a junior clerk for three years before he was promoted to senior clerk.

Post-reading activity What do you think constitutes the good

makings of a father: enjoy the following film episode and pay attention to how the father in that episode try to comfort his daughter and note the words and talking manner of him. (his daughter also loves a guy and his father comfort her by giving her some advice: this is what really means ‘father knows better’)

Identify all places with the sentence ‘father knows better’ and ‘father, you know better than that’ and explain their meanings and functions. Also what does the last few words ‘uh, I do?’ mean.

Text B Glossary: try consulting the meaning of the

following words and sentences, read them, give your interpretation of the sentences and try to give examples of the words.

Prizefighter Rain down 19 blows in a row Difference between a judge and a referee Overestimate In the face of clear evidence to the contrary

Succeed (as the meaning in ‘succeed him as champion)

Hold the crown through his son Justify See the red sox play the Oakland a’s Ball park He’d be fresh for the game/I remembered my

own first game Fire strike after strike Hit a home run

Polish off But I knew better Ruin Measure up to one’s expectation What’s the meaning of ‘out of line’ here Life-sized Hold out for something Referring to the last few sentences, what

does ‘this time, anyway’ mean. * Pay attention to the underlined sentences

and do the translation work.