Unit 4 Why I Want a

Wife

Teaching objectives

By the end of this unit, you are supposed to

understand the main idea, structure of the text and the author’s writing style

master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text

be able to discuss the roles of women and their status

Teaching Procedure

1. Pre-reading Questions 10’2. Text I. Tyranny of the Urgent Text Comprehension 10’

• Main idea of the passage • Structure analysis

Language points 120’• sentence studies• vocabulary studies

3. Text II. Of Marriage and Single Life 15’4. Exercises 60’5. Revision 10’

Pre-reading Questions

Q1: Is there any change today in women’s status in China and around the world?

A: Economic status, social status in and out of the family, job opportunities

Feminism (First-wave; second-wave)• Suffrage

Pre-reading questions

Q2: Who is Judy Syfers? When and where was this article published?

A: This classic piece of feminist humor appeared in the premier issue of Ms. Magazine and was widely circulated in the women's movement.)

Read the article and find out why it was so popular in the women’s movement?

Background I

First-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during 19th century and early 20th century in the United Kingdom and the United States.

It primarily focused on gaining the right of women's suffrage.

The term, "first-wave," was coined retroactively after the term second-wave feminism began to be used to describe a newer feminist movement.

Background II

Second-wave feminism The movement encouraged

women to understand aspects of their own personal lives as deeply politicized, and reflective of a sexist structure of power.

It was largely concerned with issues of equality ranging from the economic to the reproductive.

Text Comprehension 1. What is the main idea of the text? The roles of a wife plays

•What is the thesis statement? Does the writer state it explicitly? (For later discussion)

2. How many parts do you think the article can be divided into? Why?

Part I: 1-2 Introduction Part II: 3-9 All functions and services of a

wife Part III: 10 Conclusion

Text I Why I Want a Wife

1 I belong to that _________ of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally, I am a mother.

2 Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had on child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly ________ me that I too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?

classification

occurred to

Part I Introduction

1. Who is the narrator? How does she introduce herself? What doesn’t she state her position directly?

A house wife. “I belong to that classification of …” It is a bitter satire of the disregard of women/wives. The opening arouses the interests of readers.

2. What does it mean by “not altogether incidentally”?

To bear children is a part of wife’s obligations, which they cannot escape.

Paraphrase Sentence 1 Recently, one of my male friends, newly div

orced, became available. 2. What is her attitude towards her male fri

end? What is her tone? What does “of course” indicate?

She shows a slight contempt towards the male friend. She pretends to sound objective, but actually she hates those self-centered men, who, in almost all cases, escape from the responsibility of raising their children.

classification

[C] a division within a group Job ~s; [U] the act of classifying people or things i

nto groups eg. 把图书馆里所有的书分类所花的时间比我

们预料的要长 The ~ of all the library books took longer t

han we’d expected.

incidentally

In a way that was not planned, but as a result of sth else

Eg. 非常偶然的，我在聚会上得到一些信息

Quite ~, I got some information at the party.

A friend of mine

Double genitive, to emphasize or express emotions

Ex. P48 III 1,2,3 One the ideas of John’s Two colleagues of mine Some friends of ours

On the scene

To be involved in a situation, activity, etc

Here, the author introduces his male friend, who is looking for a wife.

Fresh from sth 1.having just come from a particular place o

r experience Eg, 这个队刚刚打败了法国 The team is fresh from their victory over th

e French. 2. having just finished your education or tra

ining, and not having a lot of experience. 这个公司主要是由刚从学校毕业的年轻人组成的 The company is mainly composed of young

people fresh from school.

divorce

1. N. [C/U] the legal ending of a marriage 她为什么不离婚呢？ Why doesn’t she get a ~ 离婚率上升 The rise in the ~ rate 2. V. [T,I] David 六岁的时候他父母离婚了 David’s parents ~d when he was six. 她威胁说要与他离婚 She threatened to ~ him.

Occur to sb.

To come into someone’s mind Cf: 1. Something occurred while passengers

were waiting to board the plane. 2. Something occurred to me while … 3. Something happened to me while… Eg: 我刚要出门，就想起了我忘记了带钥匙 Just as I was leaving the house, it ~ to me th

at I had forgotten my keys.

Part II: Para3-9

1. What is the main focus of each paragraph? (EX III １ )

family; physical needs; emotional needs; social life; sex; faithfulness;

Apart from the roles mentioned in the text, what else do you think a woman can do?

Think: Why is “wife” consistently used throughout the text instead of the pronoun “she” or “her”? (For later discussion)

DiscussDiscuss

3 I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want a wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments. And to ___________ mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who will wash the children’s clothes and keep them mended.

keep track of

I want a wife who is a good nurturing attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while my wife is working.

1.Does it have a topic sentence? What is the main idea?

No. The wife’s duty of taking care of children and working while I am at school

2. What can you infer from the first sentence?

Women were economically dependent on men.

3. Paraphrase S1: I want my wife to work as a servant

and care my children both physically and emotionally. She has to make plans for their school education and make sure that they are well socialized/ keep a healthy relationship with other children.

Keep track of

To have accurate and up-to-date information about something all the time

Eg. 你如何做到掌握最新经济发展动态的？ How do you manage to ~ the latest ec

onomic development? Cf. lose track of

Be around

If someone or sth is ~, they are somewhere in the place where you are

Eg. 为什么当你需要的时候就总是看不到一个警察呢？

Why is there never a policeman ~ when you need one?

你父亲在吗？ Is your dad ~? The list is somewhere ~.

4 I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will _________ that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and ____________ with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and a change of scene.

see to it

sympathize

1. What is the main idea? Physical needs of the husband and

children 2. What details does the author mention

in the paragraph? House cleaning-cooking-sickness-outing 3. Paraphrase She will make sure that my personal

things are kept orderly, so that I can find them right away.

Pick up after

Informal, to tidy things that someone else has left untidy

我烦透了给你收拾东西 I’m tired of ~ing up after you!

See to it

To make sure or check that something is done

别担心，包在我身上 Don’t worry, I’ll ~. 酒店老板确保他们的客人能享受到一切豪华设

施 The hotel owners see to it that their guest

s are given every luxury

Care for

1. look after = take care of He thanked the nurses who had ~d for

him while he was sick. 2. rather formal, like sth Would you ~ sth? 我不怎么不喜欢他的父母 I don’t much ~ his parents.

sympathize

To feel sorry for someone because you understand their problems

我很同情那些失去亲人的人 I can ~ with those who have lost loved

ones.

5 I want a wife who will not bother me with ________ complaints about a wife’s duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.

rambling

Para 5

1. What is the main idea? The requirements about their

communication 2. Come across Meet, discover or find by chance

6 I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited out by our friends, I want a wife who will take care of the baby-sitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like and want to __________, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guest so that they feel comfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that they are passed the hors d’oeuvres, that they are offered a second helping of the food, that their wine glasses are ___________ when necessary, that their coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a night out by myself.

entertain

replenished

Para 6

1. What is the topic sentence? Main idea?

The first sentence; social life 2. Which details has the author

mention in this paragraph? Housekeeping; Children; take

care of my guests; freedom

entertain

1. to invite people to your home for a meal, party etc, or to take your company’s customers somewhere to have a meal, drinks etc

我们请客时常常是 Mark 炒菜 Mark usually does the cooking when we ~. 2. to amuse or interest people 博物馆应当寓教于乐 A museum should aim to ~ as well as educat

e.

replenish

Formal, to make sth full again, esp. with supplies of sth such as water or food

紧急情况下，可以用这种方法抽水来补充到引水渠中

In an emergency, water can be pumped in this way to ~ the irrigation canals.

Cf. refill As soon as she emptied her glass, the waiter

~ed it. Can I have a ~, please?

7 I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all, be able to relate to people as fully as possible.

Para 7

1.What is the main idea? Their sex life 2. Paraphrase I want a wife who will be faithful to me

in sex so that my intellectual life will not be adversely affected by jealousies. I also want a wife who understands that I need at times to have some affairs outside wedlock so as to have my sexual needs fully satisfied.

Assume

To start to have control, responsibility etc or to start in a particular position or job

Whoever they appoint will ~ responsibility for all financial matters.

Jim Paton will ~ the role of managing director.

entail

To involve sth as a necessary part or result

编写一本历史书需要很大的功夫 Writing a history book ~s a lot of work.

8 If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.

Para 8

1. What is the main idea? Double standards, which push

the argument to extremes and sound absurd

9 When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife’s duites.

10 My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?

Para 9

1. Main idea? Wives are supposed to work at

home and be housewives. They are deprived of their independent social status at the will of their husbands.

Part III: Para 10

1. How does the author end the article?

Rhetorical question. 2. Do you think there is any better

way to conclude the article? Discuss with your partners.

Succinct and powerful, bitter satire; to reveal the ridiculous demands of husbands

Discussion

1. Does the writer state the thesis explicitly?

Wives are not respected as an individuals of an intellectual but only nurses and attachment to their husbands.

2. Why is “wife” consistently used throughout the text instead of the pronoun “she” or “her”?

In their eye, wives equal duties and responsibilities. Her sex is ignored.

Writing Skills

1. The style Free (examples? No rigid form),

informal (examples? Phrasal verbs but not long words)

2. Rhetorical devices Repetition; P3 lose time “wife” instead of her/she Rhetorical question

Text II Discussion

1. According to Bacon, who is more likely to make great contributions to the public, a married man or single man?

2. What role does a wife play at different stages of a man’s life?

Exercises

TRANSLATION 2.It never occurred to me that he would ever

do such a thing. 3.If need be, I will try my best to persuade

him. 4. After graduation, it is difficult to keep

track of my fellow students. 5. Who is going to see to the desserts? 6. Don’t bother your boss with such trifles. 7. My job was to replenish our stock from

time to time. 8. He often clutters up his study.

Quick revision

1. Thesis revisits 2. Writing skills 3.. Language points:

Assignments

Thanks!