1、Unit 7 Surviving an economic crisis,Foreign Languages School, SXNUGeng Liangliang December 9th, 2016,Warm-up Questions,Text Structure,The text is a narrative esssay that touches upon the severe impact of the economic crisis on ordinary working class people through the example of Sue. The author inte
2、nds to provoke among the readers sympathy for ordinary working people and thoughts about the disastrous consequences of the economic crisis.,Text Structure,Part One (paras 1) It is the introduction about the great impact caused by the economic crisis, in which the author sets forth the thesis statem
3、ent many people experienced long months of struggles when the economic slump swept across the nation. Part Two (paras 2-17) It is the body of the essay, containing four sections to expose the severe impact Sue suffered from the loss of her job.,Text Structure,Section 1 (paras 2-6) It is about the be
4、ginning of her migrant life after being evicted from her apartment and foreshadows (预示) the unfolding of Sues story. Section 2 (paras 7-13) It is about how the economic crisis affected every aspect of her life.,Text Structure,Section 3 (paras 14 - 16) It is about how her endeavor to fight the harsh
5、reality only gave way to a feeling of helplessness and the reality which got her in a corner. Section 4 (para 17) It reiterates Sues continuous struggle for a living, and how she continues to look for a ray of hope, despite her hardship.,Key Words (para 1),1. slump (n.) (经济的) 不景气；萧条 E.g. There are n
6、ew concerns that the housing slump is far from over. (para 1) 2. originate (vi.) 发源；开始 (para 1) E.g. The disease is said to have originated in the tropics. 3. regulatory (adj.) (对工商业)具有监管权的；监管的 E.g. Although this government is providing a regulatory framework, it is not regulating the banking and th
7、e insurance industries properly. (para 1),Key Words (para 1),4. oversight (n.) 监管；监督 (para 1) E.g. You need to have oversight of all the management processes and services, including how they work and what they ususally do. 5. subsidiary (n.) 子公司；附属公司 E.g. Shes working for an overseas subsidiary of a
8、 huge multinational corporation. (para 1),Key Words (para 1),6. sizable (adj.) 相当大的 (para 1) E.g. The immigrants were sheltered in temporary housing and later were given sizable sums to help them buy homes. 7. drastic (adj.) 激烈的；严厉的；突然的 E.g. The massive flooding from the recent hurricane caused dras
9、tic crop losses to almost all farmers in the region. (para 1),Key Words (para 1),8. termination (n.) 结束；终止 (para 1) E.g. The job terminations were much more numerous than anyone had expected. 9. rebound (n.) 复兴；振兴 (para 1) E.g. Despite the rebound in the job market, unemployment remains high; many s
10、ectors of manufacturing are suffering from excess capacity, and currency tensions are still on the rise.,Key Sentences (para 1),1. The economic slump (so many people suffered through) originated in the United States, with a regulatory failure of mortgages rated less risky than they turned out to be.
11、 (para 1) Meaning: The economic decline first occurred in the US. The authorities did not properly evaluate the risk of mortgages, which proved to be far more serious than expected. They failed to take effective measures to regulate the mortgages, and a large number of people were severely affected.
12、,Key Sentences (para 1),2. As large number of homeowners proved unable to repay their loans, the companies that had the oversight and those that owned the loans (as well as their subsidiaries and their shareholders) lost sizable amounts of money. (para 1) Meaning: As large numbers of homeowners were
13、 unable to pay back their loans, the companies that were in charge of the loans and those banking institutions that made the loans (as well as their subsidiaries and their shareholders) lost very large amounts of money.,Key Sentences (para 1),3. The effects of those drastic losses soon spiraled (bec
14、ame worse) into the US job market as layoffs and terminations. (para 1) Meaning: The drastic losses soon seriously affected the US job market many people lost their jobs and became unemployed.,Key Words (paras 2-6),1. tenant (n.) 房客；租户 (para 2) E.g. I tried to rent the house by the beach, but it had
15、 already been taken for the season by another tenant. 2. pack up 把打包；把装箱(盒、袋等) E.g. We arrived too late for the concert, just as the musicians were already packing up their instruments. (para 2),Key Words (paras 2-6),3. wind up 以告终(para 3) E.g. In extreme sports (such as sky diving), you take the ri
16、sk that you may wind up seriously injured or even dead. 4. put down 付(订金) (para 3) E.g. We put 10 percent down on the house. 5. scrape sth. together / up (为某目的)勉强筹集；凑足(钱款) (para 3) E.g. He managed to scrape up enough money for lunch.,Key Words (paras 2-6),6. expire (vi.) 失效；终止；到期(para 3) E.g. Their
17、fat contracts are due to expire after the season. 7. migrant (n.) 移民；移居者 (para 3) E.g. The government divides asylum (政治庇护 /政治避难) seekers into economic migrants and genuine refugees.,Key Words (paras 2-6),8. in all likelihood 几乎肯定的；极可能的 (para 4) E.g. If prices keep climbing, consumers will in all li
18、kelihood need to be more careful about their purchases and tighten their belts. 9. a roof over ones head a place to live E.g. Finding a roof over their head has become a real problem for thousands of young people seeking a home of their own. (para 5) 10. tumble fall down quickly and suddenly (para 6
19、) E.g. The statue came tumbling down during the riots.,Key Sentences (paras 2-6),1. Facing tenant eviction after several months of unpaid rent, Sue Johnson packed up whatever she could fit into her two-door automobile and drove out of town. (para 2) Meaning: As Sue Johnson hadnt paid the rent for se
20、veral months, she was forced to leave her apartment. She put all her belongings into boxes and tried to fit as many as possible into her two-door automobile, and then drove out of town.,Key Sentences (paras 2-6),2. She wound up at a motel, putting down the $260 (she had managed to scrape together fr
21、om friends and from selling her living room set.) Meaning: She finally stayed at a motel where she had to pay a deposit of $260 for a room. She had managed to collect the money from friends and from selling the set of furniture in her living room. (para 3),Key Sentences (paras 2-6),3. She faced life
22、 as a migrant, a previously unimaginable situation for a woman who, not that long before, had held a corporate job in a large metropolitan city and was enrolled in a graduate school. (para 3) Meaning: She had to live a life as a migrant. It was impossible for her to imagine such a situation before b
23、ecause she had a job in a company in a big city and was a student in a graduate business school not long before.,Key Sentences (paras 2-6),4. She was part of a hard-luck group of jobless people who called themselves “99ers”, because they had exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance b
24、enefits that they could claim. (para 4) Meaning: She was one of a miserable group of jobless people. They called themselves “99ers” because they were no longer allowed to claim unemployment insurance benefits which they could only receive for 99 weeks.,Key Sentences (paras 2-6),5. Modest payments of
25、 unemployment benefits were a lifeline that enabled people who were out-of-work to maintain at least an appearance of normalcy (常态), keeping a roof over their heads, putting gas in their cars, paying electric and phone bills. (para 5) Meaning: Although the unemployment benefits were small in amount,
26、 they helped jobless people to survive and to keep at least a normal appearance, provide them with shelter, put gas in their cars, and pay their electric and phone bills.,Key Words (paras 7-13),1. deteriorate into become worse (恶化) E.g. There are fears that the situation might deteriorate into a ful
27、l-scale war. (para 7) 2. be on the verge of - 濒于; 即将 E.g. Too many regions around the world where fighting has become the daily routine are on the verge of serious humanitarian crises. (para 7),Key Words (paras 7-13),3. certification (n.) 证书 (para 9) E.g. He spent 20 minutes looking over our passpor
28、ts and identity cards, as well as our letters of certification from the university. 4. spectrum (n.) 范围；幅度 (para 9) Meaning: We shall hear views from across the political spectrum.,Key Words (paras 7-13),5. evict (vt.) legally force sb. to leave the house they are living in, usu. because they have n
29、ot paid their rent (para 9) E.g. A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 6. catch up with sb. 抓住并惩罚（某人） E.g. The law caught up with him for 10 years of failing to pay child support to his ex-wife for his two children after he moved to Canada. (para 10),Key Words (paras 7-13),7
30、. council (n.) (美国的) 市议会 (para 10) Meaning: Joe was very proud of his mom when she became elected as a member of the local city council. 8. comply (vi.) 服从；遵守 (para 10) E.g. Johns boss put a lot of pressure on him to comply with the new company rules about safety at the workplace.,Key Words (paras 7
31、-13),9. reclaim (vt.) 恢复；夺回 (para 11) E.g. All fans were happy because their soccer team reclaimed the World Cup title from their rivals. 10. refuge (n.) 避难；庇护 (para 12) E.g. We brought no proper clothing for the rain, but we found refuge from the storm in a nearby barn.,Key Words (paras 7-13),11. b
32、e in a position to do sth. (因为有能力、金钱或权力而) 能够做某事 (para 13) E.g. I would like to shorten your long working hours, but I am afraid I am not in a position to help you right now.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),1. And, the constant harrassment of the financing company for her car added to her daily stress. (p
33、ara 7) Meaning: Moreover, the financing company kept bothering her about her car loan. This increased her daily stress.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),2. Each day, like a ping pong ball, Sue went back and forth between resolve and despair. Meaning: Every day, Sues mood was changing between hopeful deter
34、mination and despair. (para 7),Key Sentences (paras 7-13),3. It was a sickening plunge considering that only a short year and a half before, Sue was earning $56,000 a year at her old job, enjoyed vacationing in places like Mexico and the Caribbean, and had started business school at an excellent uni
35、versity. (para 8) Meaning: The suddenly worsening conditions made Sue feel upset, compared to the life of comfort and respect she enjoyed only a short year and a half ago, when she was earning $56,000 a year in her old job, spent holidays in places like Mexico and the Carribbean, and had started bus
36、iness school at an excellent university.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),4. Initially, Sue had tried to finish her university certification remotely, but finally dropped out because of the stress from her sinking finances. (para 9) Meaning: At first, Sue had tried to finish her university certification b
37、y distance education, but she finally dropped out because of her worsening financial situation.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),5. Sue should have been evicted from her two-bedroom apartment for non-payment several months before she was, but thankfully, the process was delayed by paperwork and bureaucarc
38、y. (para 10) Meaning: Sue would have been forced to leave her two-bedroom apartment several months before because she had failed to pay the rent. Fortunately, she didnt have to move out of her apartment right away because her eviction was delayed by the lengthy processes for documentation and ineffi
39、ciency of officials.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),6. Eventually, the bureaucracy caught up with her and a municipal council gave her 10 days to leave her apartment for good. Meaning: Finally, the officials found that she had not paid the rent, and a municipal council gave her 10 days to leave her apar
40、tment for ever. (para 10),Key Sentences (paras 7-13),7. Sue even considered turning the steering wheel of her car into a tree and ending her life story right now. (para 11) Meaning: Sue even thought of bumping her car against a tree and killing herself right there. This implies that Sue had nearly l
41、ost her hope for life.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),8. But Sue worried there wouldnt be any more charity for the money and gas she desperately needed. (para 12) Meaning: But Sue worried that no one would help her out with money and gas any longer which she needed very much.,Key Sentences (paras 7-13),
42、9. And, Sue knew that none of her three adults were in a position to help her. Meaning: Moreover, Sue knew that none of her three adult sons were able to help her because they might also be severely affected by this economic slump that swept across the nation. (para 13),Key Words (paras 14-16),1. pa
43、rasite (n.) 靠他人为生的人；寄生虫 E.g. Instead of helping his aging parents with money, he often returned to them asking for money like a parasite. (para 14) 2. subsistence (n.) (勉强的)维持生活，生存，生计 (para 15) E.g. Jenny worked a 16-hour day, at two minimum-wage jobs, and only for subsistence of herself and her two
44、 children.,Key Words (paras 14-16),3. index (n.) (尤用于图书馆的)卡片(资料库)索引 (para 15) E.g. The card catalog is an index to the materials in the library.,Key Sentences (paras 14-16),1. I dont want to be seen as a parasite. Meaning: I dont want to depend on others for a living. (The metaphor that she does not
45、 want to be a parasite is employed to indicate Sues determination to live on her own. (para 14),Key Sentences (paras 14-16),2. Lining the shelves underneath the television were her food supplies: rice and noodles that she mixed with water in the motels ice bucket and heated up in a microwave; peanut
46、 butter and jelly; a loaf white bread the subsistence of a desperate person. (para 15) Meaning: All her food supplies were put on the shelves under the television. They were rice and noodles (she mixed with water in the motels ice bucket and heated up in a microwave), peanut butter and jelly and a l
47、oaf of white bread. For Sue, a person in despair, this food was only enough to stay alive. It suggests that Sues condition was simply a catastrophe.,Key Sentences (paras 14-16),3. Sues days were spent surfing Internet job indexes, applying for jobs where the silent “No.” “No.” “No.” gave way to a fe
48、eling of helplessness. Meaning: Sue stayed online all day searching the job lists for employment opportunities. As she was applying for jobs, she always met with flat refusals that made her feel increasingly helpless. In other words, Sue had made every endeavor to fight against the reality, hoping t
49、o find a job and live on her own. But the reality was so harsh that it destroyed her hope. (para 15),Key Sentences (paras 14-16),4. She worried about what would happen when her cell phone was cut off for non-payment, and calls to her number would disappear into an invisible world she couldnt reach.
50、(para 16) Meaning: She worried about what would happen if her cell phone was cut off for not paying the phone bill, and she could not answer any calls to her number.,Key Words (para 17),1. brutal (adj.) 无情的；残酷的；野蛮的；凶残的 (para 17) E.g. The movie theater shooter was an exceptionally cold-hearted and brutal killer.,
