1、Unit4,Watch the movie clip and answer the following questions.,1. Where is the engine of the 911?,Pre-reading Activities - Audiovisual supplement 1,Audiovisual Supplement,Cultural Information,In the back of the car.,The product and their manufacturing process are one unit. Automation, technology and
2、 skilled human labor combine to build the Porsche 911. And the factory runs like a precision machine.,2. Whats the secret of success of that factory?,Pre-reading Activities - Audiovisual supplement 2,Audiovisual Supplement,Cultural Information,Narrator:,A German factory builds one of the worlds most
3、 famous cars. The 911 is the icon of the sports car industry. Its the shape, its the engine in the back, its the feel it gives you, its the emotion. The factory runs like a precision machine, building hundreds of engines a day. The product and our manufacturing process are one unit, and thats our se
4、cret of success. Automation, technology and skilled human labor combine to build 16 versions of the Porsche 911, including the 911 GT3.,Video Script1,Audiovisual Supplement,Cultural Information,Car culture has been a major niche lifestyle in America. In the 1950s, the post-war boom produced a genera
5、tion of teenagers with enough income to buy their own cars. These cars became so much more than just modes of transportation. They were reflections of a lifestyle. The ability to tune and soup-up muscle cars gave average Joes the opportunity to show off their power, their speed and their style in a
6、way that personified the car as character.,1. 2.,Cultural information 1,Audiovisual Supplement,Cultural Information,We dream of cars as we dream of lovers. Americans have always cherished personal freedom and mobility, rugged individualism and masculine force.,3.,Cultural information 2,Audiovisual S
7、upplement,Cultural Information,4.,5.,6.,Like Granny in Jan and Deans 1964 song “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” we cant keep our foot off the accelerator.,We are crazy about our cars and always have been. “The American,” William Faulkner lamented in 1948, “really loves nothing but his automobile
8、.”,Global Reading - Main idea 1,Text Analysis,Structural Analysis,“Out of Step” is an exposition that presents the absurdity of the Americans dependence on cars. The Americans, being so accustomed to using cars, have almost forgotten the existence of their legs. Wherever they go, they go in their ca
9、rs. As a result, pedestrian facilities are neglected in city planning or rejected by the inhabitants.,Structural analysis 1,Text Analysis,Structural Analysis,The writer introduces his idea with an anecdote.,In this part, the author presents the fact that the Americans are habituated to using cars fo
10、r everything.,In this part, the author shows that pedestrian facilities are neglected or discarded.,After living in England for 20 years, my wife and I decided to move back to the United States. We wanted to live in a town small enough that we could walk to the business district, and settled on Hano
11、ver, N.H., a typical New England town pleasant, sedate and compact. It has a broad central green surrounded by the venerable buildings of Dartmouth College, an old-fashioned Main Street and leafy residential neighborhoods.It is, in short, an agreeable, easy place to go about ones business on foot, a
12、nd yet as far as I can tell, virtually no one does.,Bill Bryson,Out of Step,Detailed reading1,Detailed Reading,1,2,Detailed reading2,Nearly every day, I walk to the post office or library or bookstore, and sometimes, if I am feeling particularly debonair, I stop at Rosey Jekes Caf for a cappuccino.
13、Occasionally, in the evenings, my wife and I stroll up to the Nugget Theatre for a movie or to Murphys on the Green for a beer, I wouldnt dream of going to any of these places by car. People have gotten used to my eccentric behavior, but in the early days acquaintances would often pull up to the cur
14、b and ask if I wanted a ride.“Im going your way,” they would insist when I politely declined. “Really, its no bother.”,Detailed Reading,3,4,Detailed reading3,“Honestly, I enjoy walking.”“Well, if youre sure,” they would say and depart reluctantly, even guiltily, as if leaving the scene of an acciden
15、t without giving their name.In the United States we have become so habituated to using the car for everything that it doesnt occur to us to unfurl our legs and see what those lower limbs can do. We have reached an age where college students expect to drive between classes, where parents will drive t
16、hree blocks to pick up their children from a friends house, where the letter carrier takes his van up and down every driveway on a street.,Detailed Reading,5,6,7,Detailed reading4,We will go through the most extraordinary contortions to save ourselves from walking. Sometimes its almost ludicrous. Th
17、e other day I was waiting to bring home one of my children from a piano lesson when a car stopped outside a post office, and a man about my age popped out and dashed inside. He was in the post office for about three or four minutes, and then came out, got in the car and drove exactly 16 feet (I had
18、nothing better to do, so I paced it off) to the general store next door.,Detailed Reading,8,Detailed reading5,Detailed Reading,And the thing is, this man looked really fit. Im sure he jogs extravagant distances and plays squash and does all kinds of healthful things, but I am just as sure that he dr
19、ives to each of these undertakings.An acquaintance of ours was complaining the other day about the difficulty of finding a place to park outside the local gymnasium. She goes there several times a week to walk on a treadmill. The gymnasium is, at most, a six-minute walk from her front door.,9,10,Det
20、ailed reading6,Detailed Reading,I asked her why she didnt walk to the gym and do six minutes less on the treadmill.She looked at me as if I were tragically simple-minded and said, “But I have a program for the treadmill. It records my distance and speed and calorie burn rate, and I can adjust it for
21、 degree of difficulty.”I confess it had not occurred to me how thoughtlessly deficient nature is in this regard.,11,12,13,Detailed reading7,Detailed Reading,According to a concerned and faintly horrified 1997 editorial in the Boston Globe, the United States spent less than one percent of its transpo
22、rtation budget on facilities for pedestrians. Actually, Im surprised it was that much. Go to almost any suburb developed in the last 30 years, and you will not find a sidewalk anywhere. Often you wont find a single pedestrian crossing.I had this brought home to me one summer when we were driving acr
23、oss Maine and stopped for coffee in one of those endless zones of shopping malls, motels, gas stations and fast-food places. I noticed there was a bookstore across the street, so I decided to skip coffee and head over.,14,15,Detailed reading8,Detailed Reading,Although the bookshop was no more than 7
24、0 or 80 feet away, I discovered that there was no way to cross on foot without dodging over six lanes of swiftly moving traffic. In the end, I had to get in our car and drive across.At the time, it seemed ridiculous and exasperating, but afterward I realized that I was possibly the only person ever
25、to have entertained the notion of negotiating that intersection on foot.,16,17,Detailed reading9,Detailed Reading,The fact is, we not only dont walk anywhere anymore in this country, we wont walk anywhere, and woe to anyone who tries to make us, as the city of Laconia, N.H., discovered. In the early
26、 1970s, Laconia spent millions on a comprehensive urban renewal project, which included building a pedestrian mall to make shopping more pleasant. Esthetically it was a triumph urban planners came from all over to coo and take photos but commercially it was a disaster. Forced to walk one whole block
27、 from a parking garage, shoppers abandoned downtown Laconia for suburban malls.,18,Detailed reading10,Detailed Reading,In 1994 Laconia dug up its pretty paving blocks, took away the tubs of geraniums and decorative trees, and brought back the cars. Now people can park right in front of the stores ag
28、ain, and downtown Laconia thrives anew.And if that isnt sad. I dont know what is.,19,20,What kind of town is it?,Detailed reading1-Quesion 1,It is a small, pleasant and agreeable town. The inhabitants are friendly and willing to help. But although the town is compact, few people go about on foot.,De
29、tailed Reading,Detailed reading1-Quesion 2,What is considered the authors “eccentric behavior”?,Instead of riding a car, the author walks around the city, doing his shopping, going to the movies or visiting the caf or bar. To people who are used to going everywhere in a car, he is an eccentric.,Deta
30、iled Reading,Detailed reading1-Quesion 3,Why would drivers “depart reluctantly, even guiltily” when their offer was declined?,With cars becoming the basic essentials of their life, people are so habituated to using the car for everything. The scene of somebody walking around seemed so unusual to the
31、m that they would naturally show their concern to him. When their offer to give him a ride was declined, they were sorry for not being able to help him out.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1-Quesion 4,Why did the author say “Actually, Im surprised it was that much”?,When the author found that the n
32、ewly planned suburbs totally overlooked pedestrian needs, he assumed there was no budget for pedestrian facilities at all. So he says he was surprised to learn that there actually was less than one percent of budget on it. Here the author writes with a touch of irony.,Detailed Reading,Detailed readi
33、ng1-Quesion 5,Why did Laconia change its downtown pedestrian mall to one with parking lots?,Although the pedestrian mall was well decorated, shoppers were unwilling to walk to the stores from a parking garage. As a result, it was a commercial failure. The government had to compromise with the public
34、 preference.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 Activity 1,Class Activity Group discussion: What does the title mean? With the use of this title, the writer seems to suggest,Detailed Reading,people no longer walk in America; the few people who do walk seem to be old-fashioned and “eccentric”.,sedate
35、 a. calm, serious and formal,Detailed reading1 sedate,e.g.,She is a sedate old lady; she is caring but never talks much. The fight against a nuclear power station site has transformed a normally sedate town into a battlefield.,Derivation:,sedately (ad.), sedation (n.), sedative (a., n.),v. make calm
36、 or sleepy, esp. with a drug,e.g.,The patient was heavily sedated and resting quietly in bed.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 eccentric,eccentric a. (of people or behavior) unconventional and slightly strange,e.g.,The old gentleman, who lived alone all his life, was said to have some eccentric ha
37、bits.,n. a person of unconventional and slightly strange views or behavior,e.g.,The old gentleman enjoyed a colorful reputation as an engaging eccentric.,Detailed Reading,curb n. (British English: kerb) a line of raised stones separating the footpath from the road v. / n. (place) a control or limit
38、on sth. undesirable,Detailed reading1 curb,e.g.,Poor nutrition can curb a childs development both physically and mentally. There will be curbs on drunk-driving from next month.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1- habituate,habituate v. accustom by frequent repetition or prolonged exposure,e.g.,You m
39、ust habituate yourself to reading aloud. By the end of the school term, the students had been habituated / accustomed / used to rising at five oclock.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 contortion 1,contortion n. a twisted position or movement that looks surprising or strange,e.g.,The spectators can
40、not but admire the contortions of the gymnasts.,Derivation:,contort (v.) cause sth. to twist out of its natural shape and looks strange or unttractive,Detailed Reading,The human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly distorts and discolors the nature of things by min
41、gling its own nature with it. (Francis Bacon).,Detailed reading1 contortion 2,e.g.,Comparison:,distort, twist, deform, contort the term also applies to verbal or pictorial misrepresentation and to alteration or perversion of the meaning of sth.,distort:,Detailed Reading,Great erosion deformed the la
42、ndscape. The earlier part of his discourse was deformed by pedantic divisions and subdivisions.,Detailed reading1 contortion 3,a mouth twisted with pain He accused me of twisting his words to mean what I wanted them to.,e.g.,Comparison:,twist: Twist applies to distortion of form or meaning.,e.g.,def
43、orm: If you deform sth., or if it deforms, its usual shape changes so that its usefulness or appearance is spoiled.,Detailed Reading,The floorboards had warped over the years.,e.g.,Detailed reading1 contortion 4,a face contorted with rage a contorted line of reasoning,e.g.,Comparison:,contort: If yo
44、u contort sth., or if it contorts, it twists out of its normal shape and looks strange or unattractive.,warp: Warp can refer to a turning or twisting from a flat or straight form.,Detailed Reading,It also can imply influencing sb. in a way that has a harmful effect on how they think or behave.,Preju
45、dice warps the judgment.,e.g.,Detailed reading1 bring sth. home to sb. 1,bring sth. home to sb. make sb. realize sth.,e.g.,The professor drove home to them that they must finish the writing assignment by Friday.,Comparison:,drive sth. home to sb., hit / strike home drive sth. home to sb.: make sb. r
46、ealize sth., esp. by saying it often, loudly, angrily, etc.,e.g.,The news report has brought home to us all the plight of the prisoners of war.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 bring sth. home to sb. 2,e.g.,You could see from his expression that her sarcastic comments had hit / stricken home.,Comp
47、arison:,hit / strike home: (of remarks, etc.) have the intended (often painful) effect,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1- entertain,entertain v. consider an idea, etc. or allow yourself to think that sth. might happen or be true,e.g.,He refused to entertain our proposal. entertain ideas, doubts, et
48、c.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 negotiate 1,negotiate v. get over or past (an obstacle, etc.) successfully; manage to travel along a difficult route,e.g.,The only way to negotiate the path is on foot. Frank Mariano negotiates the dessert terrain in his battered pickup.,Detailed Reading,Detaile
49、d reading1 negotiate 2,那攀登者得攀越一陡峭岩石。 那马轻易跳过了栅栏。,Practice:,The climber had to negotiate a steep rock face.,The horse negotiated the fence with ease.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 coo,coo v. speak in a soft, gentle, and loving way, esp. when expressing surprise,e.g.,“How wonderful to see you again, darling,” she cooed. The little girl is always cooing over those parrots of hers.,Detailed Reading,Detailed reading1 anew,anew adv. (fml.) again or one more time, esp. in a different way,e.g.,The scientists started the experiment anew. The film tells anew the story of her rise to stardom.,
