book ii unit 12. contents text one pre-reading i. warm-up questions ii. background information...

ContentsContents

Text OnePre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background informationWhile-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentencesPost-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice

Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text I---The Importance of Moral Text I---The Importance of Moral Intelligence in ChildrenIntelligence in Children

Pre-readingI. Warm-up question

1. What do you think is/are the most important quality/qualities a child should possess?

2. Can parents and the general public help to cultivate integrity in a child? If they can, how? If not, why not?


II. Background information II. Background information

1. About the author

Michele Borba, an internationally recog-

nized author, speaker, & educator on pa-

renting, character education and bullying

prevention. Her work aims to help streng-

then children’s character and resilience,

reduce peer cruelty and create compas-

sionate, just learning cultures. The text is the introduction of her book Building Moral Intelligence published in 2001


2. Ten Parenting Tips for Raising Good Kids1). Commit to Raising A Moral Child Just how important is it for you to raise a moral child? It’s a crucial question to ask, because research finds that parents who feel strongly that their kids turn out morally usually succeed in their quest. And all because they committed themselves to that effort. If you really want a moral child, then make a personalcommitment that you raise one, and don’t stop until he is.


2). Be a Strong Moral Example

Parents are their children’s first and most powerful moral teachers, so make sure the behaviors your children are picking up from you are ones that you want them to copy. Try to make your life a living example of good moral behavior for your kids to see. One simple test is to ask yourself each day: “If my child had only my behavior to watch, what example would he or she catch?” The answer is often quite telling.


3). Know Your Beliefs & Share Them Before you can raise a moral child, you must be clear about

what you believe. Take time to think through your values, and then share them regularly to your child, and then explain why you feel the way you do. Your child will be hearing endless messages that counter your beliefs, so it’s essential that she hear your moral standards. Television shows, movies, newspapers, and literature are filled with moral issues, so use them as opportunities to discuss values with your child.


4). Use Teachable Moments

The best teaching moments aren’t ones that are planned: they happen unexpectedly. Look for moral issues to discuss as they come up. Take advantage of those moments, because they help your child develop solid moral beliefs that will help guide his behavior now, as well as for the rest of his life.


5). Use Discipline as a Moral Lesson Effective discipline helps your child not only recognize why

her behavior was wrong, but also understand what to do to make it right next time. Research shows that posing the right questions helps expand children’s ability to understand the consequences of their behavior. So use discipline as a teaching tool. Ask: “Was that the right thing to do? What should you do next time?” That way your child learns from his mistakes and grows morally. Remember your ultimate goal is to wean your child from your guidance so he acts right on his own because he has internalized right from wrong.


6). Expect Good BehaviorStudies are clear: Kids who act morally generally have parents

who expect them to do so. Your clear moral standards set a guide for your child’s conduct, and also lets her know in no uncertain terms what you value. Review and post your moral standards, and then consistently reinforce them until your child internalizes them as his own rules.


7). Reflect on Behavior Impact

Researchers tell us one of the best moral-building practices is to point out the impact of the child’s behavior on others. Doing so enhances a child’s moral growth: “That made her cry.” Or highlight the victim’s feelings “Now he feels sad.” The trick is to help the child imagine what it would be like to be in the victim’s place so she will be more sensitive to the impact of her behavior.


8). Reinforce Good BehaviorOne of the simplest ways to help kids learn new behaviors is to

reinforce them in context. So catch your child acting right and acknowledge her good behavior. Simply describe what she did and why it deserves acknowledgement so she’ll be more likely to repeat the act


9). Prioritize Virtues Daily

Children don’t learn how to be moral in textbooks, but by doing good deeds. So look for opportunities. Encourage your child to lend a hand to make a difference in his world, and always help him recognize the positive impact the gesture had on the recipient. The goal is for kids to become less dependent on adult guidance by incorporating moral principles into their daily lives and making them their own. That can happen only if parents repeatedly emphasize the importance of virtues and having their kids practice moral behaviors again and again.


10). Incorporate the Golden Rule

Teach your child the Golden Rule that has guided civilizations for centuries, “Treat others as you want to be treated.” Remind your child to always ask himself before acting: “Would I want someone to treat me like that?” Doing so helps kids think about their behavior and possible consequences on others. Make the rule become your family’s over-arching moral principle.


I. Structural analysis

This passage is a piece of argumentative writing. It can be divided into six sections:

Part I (Para.1): It presents the crisis and the reasons why it needs to be tackled immediately.

Part II (Para. 2): It supplies some official data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and statistical evidence to prove the acuteness of the crisis.

While-reading


Part III (Para.3): It provides many signs of children’s misconduct which the author calls “equally horrifying” at the end of the preceding paragraph.

Part IV (Para.4): It tells the reader that the nation is really alarmed.

Part V (Para.5): The author points out what is further needed.

Part VI (Para.6): It projects the prospect of our effort to tackle the crisis and reiterates the importance of enhancing children’s moral intelligence.


II. Comprehension questionsII. Comprehension questions

1. According to the author, how serious is the American children’s problem that worries the American people?

---According to the author, the problem is so serious that it has left them shaken, deeply worried, and in search of answers. All the people, from lawmakers, doctors, clergy, businesspeople, educators, parents to the general public alike, have voiced their concerns


2. What are the other signs that the author describes as ‘horrifying’ about American children?

---Refer to Para 3. the other signs that horrify the author include steadily increasing cruelty, substance abuse among younger children; the growing disrespect for parents, teachers, and other legitimate authority figures; the rise of incivility; the increase of vulgarity; and widespread cheating and commonplace dishonesty.


3. What are people's reactions to the alarming statistics on children’s misconduct

---Refer to Para 4. the nation is reacting in alarm: it has tried various administrative, judicial and educational strategies; psychologists have also developed new theories on child behavior.


4. Why does the crisis remain even though people have made frantic efforts?

---Refer to Para 5. the author believes they have missed one critical fact, i.e. the moral side of children’s lives. It is moral strength that children need most to keep their ethical bearings in this often morally toxic world.


5. According to the author, how can we best protect a child’s moral life now and forever?

---Refer to Para. 6. according to the author, the best way to protect a child’s moral life now and forever is to enhance his moral intelligence.


III. Language pointsIII. Language points

cherish v. look after sb. or sth. because you love them very much

--- The old man cherished the girl as if she were his daughter.

Derivation:

cherishable a.


commit v. do sth. illegal or morally wrong --- The study aims to find out what makes people commit

crimes. Collocation: commit oneself on sth. give one’s opinion openly so that

it is difficult to change it commit sb. for sth. send sb. to a higher court to be tried


suffocate v. die or cause to die from lack of air or inability to breathe

--- Don’t let your child play with plastic bags which could suffocate him.

Synonym:

choke; stifle


conscience n. the idea and principles of moral behaviour that the members of a community or group share

--- After she had committed the crime, her conscience was troubled.

Collocation:

in all conscience by any reasonable standard

on one’s conscience making one feel one has done wrong, or left sth. undone


vulgarity n. vulgar quality or behavior

--- He hated that world of money and vulgarity.

Synonym: rudeness; misbehavior

distress v. make sb. feel upset

--- We are distressed to find that the children had not returned.


call for say publicly that sth. must happen

--- The situation calls for prompt action.

Collocation:

call sb. / sth. off order to stop attacking, searching, etc.; cancel or abandon sth.

call on / upon sb. formally invite or request sb. to speak, etc.; appeal to or urge sb. to do sth.

call up telephone sb.; bring sth. back to one’s mind


opt v. make a choice or decision from a range of possibilities

--- Fewer students are opting for science courses nowadays.

Collocation:

opt for to make a choice

opt out to choose not to do something or take part in something


address vt. speak publicly to a group of people

--- The chairman will now address the meeting.

reflection n. careful thought about sth.

--- On reflection I think it would be better to cancel the meeting.

Collocation:

on reflection (an idea or statement resulting from) deep and careful thought


crucial a. extremely important

---The crucial factor in their relationship was their unshakeable faith in each other.

Collocation:

crucial to / for sth. very important; decisive

--- The success of this experiment is crucial to the project as a whole.


aptitude n. natural ability that makes it easy for one to do sth. well; talent; capacity

--- Does she show any aptitude for games?

Collocation:

aptitude for sth. / doing sth. natural ability or skill

--- She showed great aptitude for learning languages.


miraculous a. extremely lucky and unexpected

--- It’s miraculous how much weight you’ve lost!

Synonym: wonderful; marvelous


And concerned as all should be.

--- Here “concerned as all should be” is an elliptical sentence. The complete sentence is: “And all are concerned as they should be.”


IV. Difficult sentences

Each day’s news adds a growing litany of shocking tragedies and statistics about American kids, and they’ve left us shaken, deeply worried, and in search of answers.

---Every day we read an increasing number of news reports on tragedies and statistics about American children, which have shocked us, made us deeply worried and compelled us to look for solutions.


… settled a schoolyard score … ---… tried to get even for an old disagreement or grudge that

had arisen in school …

Howard Gardner revolutionized our understanding of children’s cognitive capacities with his view of multiple intelligences, as Daniel Goleman did in transforming our awareness of emotional intelligence.

---Howard Gardner drastically changed our traditional understanding of children’s mental capability with his view that a child’s intelligence should involve several dimensions, just as Daniel Goleman changed our understanding of intelligence in the emotional dimension.


… the true measure of character rests in our action — not in mere thoughts.

---… the reliable way of measuring one’s character is by what one does rather than by what only exists in one’s mind.


I. Grammatical ItemsUse of subject-verb agreement Use of comparatives and superlatives

Post-readingPost-reading


By subject-verb concord is meant agreement between subject and predicate verb with regard to number. There are three principles guiding subject-verb concord; they are principles of grammatical concord, notional concord and proximity.

1) The principle of grammatical concord refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. If the subject is plural, the verb should take the plural from; if, on the other hand, the subject is singular or is a mass noun, the verb should take the singular form.


e.g. Two girls were standing on the corner.

He is a good student.

2) The principle of notional concord refers to the rule that the verb can sometimes agree with the subject according to the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that notion.

e.g. The government have asked the country to decide by a vote.


3) The principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb with a closely preceding noun phrase in preference to agreement with the head of the noun phrase that functions as subject.

e.g. Either my brothers or my father is coming.


Exercises A: Use the proper form of the verbs given to complete the sentences

1. As most sports magazines can attest, playing sports such as tennis and basketball (require) not only mental ability but also physical strength.

2. Despite the bad weather we have had in the past days, there

(be) no doubt that the tournament will go on.

3. Meat pie and peas (be) Tom’s favourite at the moment.


4. That she should oppose these ideas (be) quite natural.

5. Fifty-six dollars (be) stolen from the cash register.

6. No one except his own supporters (agree) with him.


Adjectives have two forms. One is the positive degree and the other is the comparative degree and the superlative degree. The comparative degree or the superlative degree is formed by adding -er or -est to the adjective with one syllable or a few adjectives with two syllables, such as taller, bigger or tallest, biggest. The comparative degree or the superlative degree is formed by adding more or the most before the adjectives with two or more than two syllables, such as more careful, the most careful, more active, the most active. For the irregular adjectives, the forms of their comparative degree or superlative degree are different.


e.g. good — better — best

bad — worse — worst

far — farther — farthest

little — less — least

much, many — more — most


Exercise B: Complete the sentences, using the proper forms of the adjectives in brackets.

1. He is the boy I have ever met. You don’t often meet anyone that young who is so . He is much than other children I’ve known. (considerate)

2. The stock market was very today, than it was yesterday. In fact, it was the day of the year. (busy)


3. Is Hicksville from Brooklyn? No, it’s not. Jonesville is a little , and Montauk is the of all. (far)

4. Mary is very , but May is than her and Lily is the of all. (active)

5. Of all his plays this one is perhaps the . (great)

6. The the questions are, the I am able to answer them. (difficult, likely)


II. Translation exercises 他九岁时父亲去世，全家顿时陷入了完全靠别人施舍的境地。（ leave sb+adj. complement）

His father died when he was only nine years old, leaving the whole family helplessly at the mercy of others.

她的故事唤起了我珍藏在心里的许多儿时回忆。 (cherish)

Her story stirred many beautiful memories of my childhood, which I have always cherished in my heart.


这两个国家举行了几轮谈判，以解决它们之间的分歧。 (settle)

The two countries held several rounds of negotiation

to settle their differences.

他幽默风趣，富有激情，教学效果显著，因此越来越多的学生选修他的课程。 (opt)

More and more students are opting for his course because of

his humor and energy as well as his effective way of

teaching. 海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

总理在他的讲话里发誓解决严重的失业问题，提高普通老百姓的收入。 (address)

In his speech the premier vowed to address the serious problem of unemployment and to boost the income of the common people.

那个去年在阿根廷被捕的前纳粹军官因他在第二次世界大战中所犯的罪行遭到了起诉。 (prosecute, commit)

The former Zazi officer who was arrested last year in Argentina was prosecuted for the crimes that he had committed during World War II.


本书的价值在于它影响了整整一代青年，鼓舞他们投身反对帝国主义和封建主义的斗争 (rest in)

The great value of this book rests in the fact that it has influenced and encouraged a whole generation of young people in their struggle against imperialism and feudalism.

对那些沉默的学生，教师应该努力提高他们的自信心，鼓励他们在课堂上发表自己的想法。 (enhance)

With regard to the silent students, the teacher should try to enhance their self-confidence and encourage them to voice their ideas in class.


II. Oral activitiesII. Oral activities

Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics.

In the text, the author describes the moral crisis in the United States, which has resulted in widespread youth crime, violence, drug abuse, homicide and suicide, as well as common-place cheating and dishonesty. Experts have pointed out a similar tendency, though to a lesser degree, in China. Now please give a talk on the issue, in which you can describe what you have observed in China with concrete examples, analyze the underlying causes, and propose a recipe for this problem.


Ideas for reference:Some underlying causes — Some young people put the pursuit of pleasure and sensual

gratification before everything and can not resist the temptation.

— The decline of values and moral levels of our society directly has a great impact on the young generation.

— Children can not get proper care and love from family, and there is lack of communication between parents and children, so that they may have psychological problems which may lead to the involvement in crime.


Some suggestions

— Laws and policies concerning youth crime prevention should be made.

— Schools and families should unite together to guide and help youth.

— Some youth crime prevention programs or youth growth centers or youth mental health remedy centers should be established to attach more importance to youth growth.


III. Writing practiceIII. Writing practice

Write an essay of no less than 250 words on the topic given below:

Home is where the heart is

海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text II---Text II---Across America, Grief and HorrorAcross America, Grief and Horror

Lead-in questions

1. What do you think of the individual’s right to own a gun for self-defense and maintain order?

2. According to you, what measures can be taken to prevent campus shooting?


II. Questions for comprehension1. How did the shootings affect people in the U.S.?

---Frightened, people reacted strongly to them. They talked of little else and were trying to help in tightening gun control. Even at the Pentagon, the topic of conversation was also the shootings; and flags flew at half-staff in Washington.


2. How do you understand the last sentence?

---The safety of children in schools people used to take for granted is no longer there.

3. What, according to the text, are the major causes of increasing campus violence in the U.S.?


II. Language points

sawed-off shotguns: shotguns with a short barrel, often carried as weapons by criminals

Mothers started Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and they took it federal …: The mothers were so angry about children being killed by drunk drivers that they started a campaign and took up the issue at a national level with the federal authorities …


outside of: except

… she could not remember a busier day.: … this was the busiest day she could remember in her life.


Good Bye!

book ii unit 12. contents text one pre-reading i. warm-up questions ii. background information...

Documents

moral child

moral issues

moral standards

solid moral beliefs

powerful moral teachers

strong moral example

right questions

warmup questions