1、Unit 2 Bards of the InternetConsolidation ActivitiesI. Text Comprehension1. Decide which of the following best states the authors purpose.A. To offer a general view on the merits and demerits of online writing and related matters.B. To express his disapproval of the foolish and trivial writings on t
2、he Internet.C. To give a historical review on netwriting and its impact on younger generations.Key: A 2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.1) Compared with other writings that were also experimental and revolutionary in history, online writings are not
3、only large in quantity, but good in quality as well. F2) The low barriers to entry of the online world makes it possible for many second-rate writings to reach thousands of readers.T3) When engaged in online writing, professional writers can always make themselves welcome without catering to the fas
4、hion of the new medium. F4) It could be inferred that people who produce netwriting are from different walks of life. TII. Writing StrategiesIn this passage the author uses a number of quotations in support of his ideas and opinions. Read Paragraphs 3, 5, 6, and 8, and try to find what sources the a
5、uthor quotes and explain what ideas these quotations are used to support.In Paragraph 3 the author quotes the following persons in support of the idea that E-mail and netwriting could be compared to the writings in history that were experimental and flexible in nature:Jon Carroll, a columnist at the
6、 San Francisco Chronicle;Patrick Nielsen Hayden, an editor at Tor Books;David Sewell, an associate editor at the University of ArizonaIn Paragraphs 5 and 6, the author quotes the following persons to explore the reasons for the poor quality of writing on the Internet:Gerard Van der Leun, literary ag
7、ent based in Westport, Connecticut;Mary Anne Mohanraj, a Chicago-based poet.In Paragraph 8, the author quotes the following persons in his discussion of the criteria to judge the quality of netwriting:Jorn Barger, a software designer in Chicago;Crawford Kilian, a writing teacher at Capilano College
8、in Vancouver, British Columbia.III. Language Work1. Explain the underlined part(s) in each sentence in your own words.1) Which makes whats happening on the computer networks all the more startling. surprising2). Just when the media of McLuhan were supposed to render obsolete the medium of Shakespear
9、e, the online world is experiencing the greatest boom in letter writing since the 18th century. out of date; expansion3). David Sewell, an associate editor at the University of Arizona, likens netwriting to the literary scene Mark Twain discovered in San Francisco in the 1860s. compares . to4). For
10、it can be very bad indeed: sloppy, meandering, puerile, ungrammatical, poorly spelled, badly structured and at times virtually content free. careless; winding/pointless; childish/silly5). Gerard Van der Leun . has emerged as one of the preeminent stylists on the Net. has become known as; the most im
11、portant/superior6). That is not to say that with more time every writer on the Internet would produce sparkling copy brilliant7). Greens Well Met in Minnesota . is now revered on the Internet as a classic. respected and admired 8).Its so competitive that you have to work on your style if you want to
12、 make any impact. make a strong, immediate impression9). Not only has it enfranchised thousands of would-be writers who otherwise might never have taken up the craft, but it has also thrown together classes of people who hadnt had much direct contact before. given the right to; have been engaged in1
13、0).But it would be a mistake to dismiss the computer-message boards or to underestimate the effect a lifetime of dashing off E-mail will have on a generation of young writers. say that it is not important enough to think about or consider; not realize how large or great the effect would be2. Fill in
14、 the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.1). He dismissed the economists as teenage scribblers (scribble) who wanted to get their names in the newspaper.2). Mobile phone technology is developing so quickly that many customers are concerned about obsolescence (obsolete).3). Some unus
15、ual fish have rudimentary (rudiment) legs.4). The trial was a mockery (mock) the judge had decided the verdict before it even began.5). She feels great reverence (revere) for her professors.6). He takes plenty of vigorous (vigor) exercise.7). The presentation was a collaborative (collaborate) effort
16、 by all the children in the class.8). Its about time we democratized (democracy) the organization of this company.9). My brother is a keep-fit enthusiast (enthuse).10). I dont know why he gets so upset about something that is utterly trivial (trivia).3. Fill in the blank(s) in each sentence with a p
17、hrase taken from the box in its appropriate e across | make an impression | side effect | liken topress release | confront with | lace up | dash offinherent in | hark back | blow away | weed out1). The Department of Transport has issued a press release about the proposals for the new motorway.2). He
18、s always harking back to his childhood and saying how things were better then.3). She dashed off the letter in five minutes.4). The first round of interviews only really serves to weed out the very weakest of applicants.5). He comes across as a bit of a bore in interviews.6). They blew away the othe
19、r team in the second half of the game.7). Does this drug have any side effects?8). He made quite an impression on the girls at the tennis club.9). She can lace up her shoes and shes only five!10). She seems completely unaware of the contradictions inherent in her professed point of view.11). Shes be
20、en likened to a young Elizabeth Taylor.12). I thought I would remain calm, but when I was confronted with the TV camera, I became very nervous.4. Explain the meaning of the underlined part in each sentence.1). The leisure industry is booming. is developing very fast2). The feeling of intoxication th
21、at followed her victory was cut short by her fathers sudden death. excitement3). The sparkle went out of her after her husband died. She became unhappy4). We havent got a hope in hell of meeting such a tight deadline. We have no hope5). He came out with a gem about the absurdity of the situation. cl
22、ever or pleasing remark 6). And did reason prevail over emotion? overcome/defeat/triumph over7). The speakers aim was to spark the reformers into action. cause the reformers to act8). This web site is currently under construction. being created9). We need to decide this democratically. based on the
23、wishes of most people 10). Ian took up the story where Sue had left off. continued5. Correct the errors in the following passage. The passage contains ten errors, one in each indicated line. In each case, only one word is involved.Corrections should be done as follows:Wrong word: underline the wrong
24、 word and write the correct word in the blank.Extra word: delete the extra word with an “.”Missing word: mark the position of the missing word with a “” and write the missing word in the blank.Dear or Hey? When was the last time you began a message with Dear? Probably in a covered letter to a potent
25、ial employer youd never met before, or perhaps even to your great-grandma harking her for that fruitcake decayed in the re-gift pile. Theres no question that the use of Dear is dwindling and Hey is taking off. As the formal letter dies out, so too has he use of Dear. With E-mail, tweets, IMs and tex
26、ts rapidly exchanged throughout our tech-savvy lives, its only natural that our language and way of communicating has become more relaxed and formal. We live in the age of brevity where 140 characters are just enough, so whos got time for Dear or even any salutation at all? But its not only about th
27、e essence of time, its also semantic. Dear comes to as too formal or simply plain creepy and overly intimate. And between men, the use of it can appear a bit too effeminate. If “Hey” is a pat on the back, then Dear is its masculine cousin with a kiss on the cheek. Most business etiquette experts ove
28、rall say its alright to drop Dear in an E-mail, but it should be used in a formal business letter. Weuse Dear because someone is dear to us, but because we understand the standards of business writing and recognize the standards of intelligent business people. Chris Allison, a 36-year-old internatio
29、nal trade analyst, says he uses “Dear” only when he doesnt mean it: “I find that I am most likely to start a letter with Dear exactly when the recipient is less dear to me, probably because I have never met the person.” So, its “Hey” for friends and colleagues and “Dear” for distant relatives, divor
30、ce lawyers and banks? Got it!(1) cover(2) decaying(3) over(4) informal(5) is(6) semantics(7) across(8) feminine(9) dont(10) least6. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.Net WritingIn the July 4 issue of Time, theres an article (1) entitled “Bards of the Internet” by Phil
31、ip Elmer-Dewitt, subtitled “If E-mail represents the renaissance of prose, why is so much of it so awful?” After reading the article, I wrote to him in a longish E-mail response that what had struck me about (2) writing on the Net was how “good” it is. That (3) difference of perspective is what I wa
32、nt to talk about here.Now, I can recognize crappy writing, what PED is getting at when he (4) describes online writing as often “very bad indeed: sloppy, meandering, puerile, ungrammatical, poorly spelled, badly structured and at times virtually (5) content free.” Thats actually a better characteriz
33、ation of freshman composition (which I used to teach) than of the Net. Fact is, people write (6) better here than they do in (7) class. In class, youre writing up, to an artificial (8) audience, an authority figure who enforces rules that you had no (9) part in drafting; on the (10) Net, youre writi
34、ng to a vast audience of peers who are collaborating with you in creating an entirely new set of (11) rules. You can still “fail” because theres still a hierarchy, but as John Barger suggests, its an emergent one, generated by all the readers and (12) writers who make up a newsgroup audience, confer
35、ence, or whatever. IV. Translation1. Translating SentencesTranslate the following sentences into English, using the words or phrases given in brackets.1). 她一直努力把自己重新塑造成一位演员。(reinvent as) She kept trying to reinvent herself as an actress.2). 导演的新片回归到早期的电影风格。(hark back to) The directors latest film ha
36、rks back to the early years of cinema.hark back to something 3). 教授指出了那位博士提出的新理论中一些内在的缺陷。(inherent) The professor pointed out some of the inherent defects of the new theory proposed by that doctor.4). 即便在今天，有些传统风俗在农村地区仍然流行着。(prevail) Even today some of the traditional customs still prevail in rural
37、areas.prevail vi. to exist at a particular time or in a particular situation5). 禁烟运动对年轻人产生了不小的影响。(make an impact on) The anti-smoking campaign made quite an impact on young people.6). 她的报道文章言简意赅。(terse) Her newspaper articles are terse and to the point.7). 这一事件引发了一场两国之间的外交争端。(spark) The incident spa
38、rked a diplomatic controversy between the two countries.8). 他的英语作文错误很多，因为他是在截止日前匆匆写出来的。(dash off) There were many mistakes in his English composition, because he had dashed it off just before the deadline.9). 所有的售货员似乎都带着同样假惺惺的微笑。(phony) All salespeople seem to have the same phony smile.10). 你有没有想过从事
39、工程师这一行？(take up) Have you ever thought of taking up engineering?2. Translate the following passage into Chinese. Fifteen years ago, computer experts expanded the Internet system. This expansion was called the World Wide Web. It permits computer users to find and exchange written material and picture
40、s much quicker than the older Internet system. The Internet and the World Wide Web have become vehicles for speedy information exchange for most people who can use a computer. Much of the information on the Internet is very valuable. As a research tool, the Internet has no equal. Almost any kind of
41、information can be found through the Internet. There are electronic magazines that deal with ghost stories, poetry, or childrens stories. There are areas within this electronic world where you can play games, discuss politics, science, history, farming, or just about anything that interests you. You
42、 can look at and collect the beautiful color pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. You can listen to music or watch videos. You can watch musicians perform their latest songs. You can even join a group that meets electronically to discuss the music of their favorite rock and roll music group
43、参考译文： 15年前，计算机专家们扩展了因特网系统。这个扩展后的系统被叫做万维网。万维网使计算机用户以比以往的因特网系统快得多的速度来寻找并交换书面材料和图片。 对大多数能够使用计算机的人来说，因特网和万维网已经成为快速交换信息的工具。因特网上大多信息都很有价值。作为一种研究工具，没有什么能比得上因特网。 通过因特网几乎可以找到任何种类的信息。网上有专门刊登鬼怪故事、诗歌或儿童故事的电子杂志。在这个电子世界里有供你玩游戏的地方，也有讨论政治、科学、历史、农耕或者任何你感兴趣的话题的地方。你可以浏览或者搜集哈勃太空望远镜拍摄到的精美彩色图片。你可以听音乐或看录像。你可以看到音乐家演奏他们的最新歌
44、曲。你甚至可以加入一个小组，通过电子手段和他们聚会并讨论他们最喜爱的摇滚乐队。V. Oral Activities1. Giving A TalkThe Internet now has a great impact on our daily life, which almost establishes a virtual world apart from our real life. In this virtual world, everything seems to be easier and simpler, including the way words are used. This
45、produces a shock to the traditional media and influences the way we use language in our daily life.But it is very hard to say whether online writings influence on traditional writing is positive or negative. Whats your opinion on this question?You could probably begin the talk with “The Internet has
46、 influenced our daily life in this way and that way. To some extent, weve benefited from the way we use it during online surfing. I would like to give some examples ”(For reference) The Internet has influenced our daily life in this way or that. To some extent, weve benefited from the way we use it
47、during online surfing. However, it is really hard to say whether it is positive or negative. For example, E-mail is widely used nowadays, which does help us a lot to keep up with our quickened pace of life. In many workplaces and universities, E-mail is used as a time-saving communication tool, a practical liaison between colleagues, professors and students, rather than just an electronic means of sending letters. Thus, we try every way to speed up this process, such as using acronyms and abbreviations. They are both convenient and fashionable. Whats
