Unit one

Big Bucks the Easy Way

• Information related to the text

• New words

• Phrases & Expressions

• Language points

• Group discussion

• Exercises

Information related to the Information related to the texttext

1. Montgomery Ward & Company and Sears, Roebuck & Company

Montgomery Ward & Company Is a united states retail and mail-order concern. Across the united states the company has more than 500 retail stores and 700 catalog stores. The company was founded as a mail-order business in Chicago in 1872 by A. Montgomery Ward. The company ranks as the second largest mail-order firm in the world. The world’s largest mail-order concern is Sears, Roebuck & Company

2. Minimum Wage Minimum wage is the smallest amount of money

per hour that an employer may legally pay a worker. It is fixed by law, agreement, or other means. In the U.S.A., minimum wage laws are made by the federal government and state and municipal governments. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, popularly known as the Federal Wage and Hour Law, established a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. By 1997, it had reached $ 5.15

Information related to the textInformation related to the text

New words

buck n. (sl.)U.S.dollar

plastic a. 塑料的 n. 塑料doorknob 门把手leisurely. 从容的，慢慢的leisure. 空闲时间，闲暇lucrative a. 有利的，赚钱的pain vt. cause pain to

panhandle vi. (AmE)beg,esp.

on the streets

delivery n. 投递，送交enthuse vi. show enthusiasm

inquire vt. ask

super a. wonderful, splendid;

excellent

snap vt. 厉声说

• insert n. 插页• normally a. 通常• company n. 公司• echo vt. 附和，

重复• ad. n. (short for) adverti

sement• inform vt. 告知• porch n. 门廊• walk n. 人行道

• unnaturally ad. 不自然地• quaver vi. 颤抖• department store n. 百货

公司 • dime store n. 廉价商品店

，小商品 • 店• drugstore n. 药店• grocery n. 食品杂货店• section n. （文章等的

）段落； • 节；部分

New words

Phrases & Expressions 1. pull up bring or come to a stop ( 使 ) 停下2.a piece of cake (informal) sth. very easy to do

3. even as just at the same moment as

4. know better than be wise or experienced enough not (to do sth.) 明事理而不至于

5. be at be occupied with, be doing

6. make a dent (in) make less by a very small amount; make a first step towards success 减少一点；取得初步进展

7. cut into reduce; decrease 减少

Phrases & Expressions

8. have no business have no right or reason 无权；没有理由

9. settle for accept, although not altogether satisfactory （无可奈何的）满足于

10. settle one’s account 结帐11. for sale intended to be sold

12. for rent available to be rented

Language points1. leisurely, lurative work: work that brings in a lot of money and can be do

ne with ease. leisurely: (moving, acting, or done) without haste Examples: --W hen he lived in the country, he used to tak

e a leisurely walk in the woods before supper. --My father does everything in a leisurely manner.

2. pain: cause physical pain or mental

suffering to Examples: --It pained the mother to watch her son suffering. --It pains me to think of you struggling all alone. --Does your knee still pain you on damp days?3. delivery: the act of delivering (letters, goods, etc) Examples: -- This department store makes prompt delivery. -- Postmen are responsible for the delivery of letters to our houses.

4. … I was comfortably settled in a hotel room …:

settle: place in a comfortable position; arrange to stay or rest in a certain place

Examples: -- The baby was comfortably in his cradle. -- After lunch, the old man settled himself

comfortably in his armchair for a nap.

5. …how my day had gone: … if I had had a good day

6. inquire: ask Examples: -- I inquired (of him) what he wanted /whether he wanted any help. -- He inquired about the times of flights to Beijing. 7. Another truck just pulled up out front: Another truck just stopped outside in front of

our house. pull up: come to a stop; bring to a stop Examples: -- Bob was walking along the street when

suddenly a car pulled up beside him. -- The driver pulled up (his car) at our door.

8. …it will be four thousand of something: … it will be thousand advertising inserts for some other department store or company9. Since you are responsible …: Since you have asked them to do this

delivery work … 10. The company had promised …: Here, the company refers to the newspaper company that doesn't produce their paper because of the strike.11. Just tell the boys to get busy: just tell them to start working

12. A piece of cake: a colloquial phrase meaning “something that can be done or obtained very easily”

The phrase ,ay have come from a comparison between the easiness of doing something and the pleasure of eating a good piece of cake.

Examples: -- The English test yesterday was a piece of cake. Most of us finished it in less than an hour.

-- This job is anything but a piece of cake.

13.echo: repeat (the words, feelings, etc. of sb.) Examples: -- The little boy echoes everything his brother says. -- “The story is really very interesting,” said Tom. “Yes, isn’t it?” echoed Jack.14. inform: tell; give information to Examples: -- Have you informed the company of your wish to leave it (or that you wish to leave it )? -- I’m afraid you were wrongly informed about the matter.

15. Some are whole magazine sections: some ad inserts are as thick as a whole magazine section, that is, 16 or 32 pages. here the word “section” means a sheet of paper which is folded after printing to form 16, 32, or 64 pages of a book or magazine.16. cram: force or press into a small space;

crowd Examples: -- He crammed all his clothes into the bag. -- It’s dangerous for so many people to be crammed into a bus.

17. stack: an orderly pile: Examples: -- In Prof. Wang’s study you can find stacks of books on the floor. -- The whole stack fell over and half the plates were broken.18. … take one each of the eleven inserts: … take one from each of the eleven inserts.19. takeout restaurant :

a restaurant where you can buy food to be eaten away from it. The food to be taken out is usually put in a plastic bag or a paper bag.

20. … as if working its way out of the range of the human ear:

…as if (her voice) rising to such a pitch that it could no longer be heard by the human ear

According to acoustics (the branch of physics that studies sound), the human ear can only hear sounds with frequencies between 16 cps (cycles per second) and 20,000 cps. range: limits within which sth. Various Examples: -- The singer’s voice covers an extraordinary range of pitch.

21. … she asked sweetly : The wife was greatly disturbed by what was going on at home and she was angry with her husband for the suggestion he had made to

his sons. But she sounded sweet so that her husband might tell her the truth.22. marvelous: wonderful Examples: -- the little girl has a good imagination; she

can make up marvelous stories. -- Tom Cruise is certainly a marvelous actor.

23. … but knew better by now that to say so: … but had more sense by know than to speak the truth the husband was well aware of his wife’s anger and he didn’t want to make her even angrier by telling her he was enjoying himself far away from home, while she was suffering. know better than to : be wise or well- trained enough not to Examples: -- You should know better than to play football in the classroom.

24. sour: having a sharp taste like that of vingear or an unripe apple.

Examples: -- The milk has gone sour. -- After failing several times to reach the grapes,

the fox went away, saying to himself: “The grapes are sour.”

25. “… In the language of diplomacy, there is ‘improvement’”:

As diplomats say, there is “movement” (i.e., some progress or advance)

26. They have been at it for hours: They have been doing it (or busy over it) for many hours. at: engaged in, busy over Examples: -- Go and see what your mother is at now. -- Dr. Li is at breakfast. Will you please wait until he has finished?27. It’s almost as if the inserts keep reproducing themselves: It seems that instead of being reduced, the inserts are increasing all the time.

28. … but all this hasn’t made a dent, not a dent, in

the situation ! : … but all this hasn’t made the slightest change

or improvement in the situation ! The word “dent” means “ a hollow in a (hard) surface made by a blow or pressure.” Examples: -- The touch of his finger made a dent in my swollen face. -- The accident left a dent in his new car.

It can also be used figuratively to mean “progress”, “a first step towards success”, esp. in the phrase “make a dent in ”.

Examples: -- It’s already 6 o’clock and we haven’t

made a dent in this file if work. -- Peter studied all evening, but hardly

made a dent in his homework.

29. … one does not get the best out of employees by…: … one does not get the greatest possible amount of work out of his employees by…30. harm: injury or damage Examples: -- A lot of harm was done to his reputation by the rumors. -- There’s no harm in your staying up late occasionally; but staying up late every

night - -- that’s quite another story.

31. Obtaining an audience with son No. 1 : Getting a chance to talk to my eldest son The author is being humors in writing so formally, for “audience” means “a form meeting between somebody powerful and somebody less important”, “a form

interview with a person of high rank”. Examples: -- The American reporter request an

audience with the Pope/Queen/King/President

The use of the word “obtaining” may suggest that his oldest son (son No.1) was reluctant to talk on the phone.

And “No. 1” meaning “the chief person in an organization” may have been used as here to imply that the oldest son is the most important person in the delivery business and in the household for the time being.

32. cut into: reduce, decrease Examples: -- The pollution of the river cut into the value of the houses in that neighborhood. -- The owner of the auto plant refused to raise the workers’ wages, saying that it would cut into the profits.

33. work: vt. produce, bring about, cacuse Examples: -- The two-moth military training has worked a change in his living habits. -- It is said that this new drug can work wonders. -- Owning to the precautionary measures they had taken, the typhoon did not work much damage.

34. … the workers had no business settling for $5 and a few competitive bonuses…: … the workers had no reasons to be satisfied with $5 and some bonus for the fastest worker … have no business to do /doing sth. with: have no reason or right to do sth. Examples: -- Mary have no business to be so friendly to such a shameless person. -- You have no business saying such things ‘ about my brother.

settle for : agree to take or accept sth. In place of what is hoped for or demanded; be satisfied

with (less) Examples: -- Bill wanted $1,000 for his used car but settled for $600. -- Beth won’t settle for being an ordinary housewife. She has decided to open a day nursery.

35. In mediatioin, the parities agreed on $2 per hour.: Through the mediation of a third party (most probably the mother), both sides accepted $2 ‘ per hour as the wages of the younger childre

n. agree on : reach an agreement concerning (sth.); find (sth.) which is mutually acceptable Examples: -- Through the mediation of friendly nations, the two sides agreed on a ceasefire.

Cf. agree with : share the same view as (sb.); regard with favor or approval

Examples: -- I quite agree with you on this point. -- I don’t agree with what you say. agree to: accept or give consent to Examples: -- The workers threatened to strike unless the employer agrees to the terms within twenty- four hours. -- He agrees to the proposal though he did not actually agreed with it.

36. … and a like amount for gifts: … and a similar amount of money ($40) for gifts “Like” is used here as an adjective meaning “similar”. Examples: -- It won’t work to give all workers a like bonus. You should give higher bonus to those work harder and better. -- On his birthday Tom received $20 from

his father and a like sum from his mother.

37. … out the front door : out of the front door Here “out” is used as a preposition to show

an outward movement. one more example; -- He went out of the door. = He went out of the door.38. odd: strange; unusual Examples: -- Don’t you think it odd that the famous

pop singer should have committed suicide?

39. I assumed their mother had enlisted them to remove junk for a trash pickup.:

I thought their mother had got their help in carrying out useless things for a garbage truck.

This sentence implies that usually it is the mother who removes the junk to be collected by the garbage truck. That’s why the father first thought the goings-on of his two youngest sons “odd” and then assumed their mother had enlisted them to remove junk for a trash pickup.

40. finance: the management of money; (usu. pl.) money for a business, nation or person

Examples; -- His company needs a man whoa really knows finance. -- Whether it can be done or not depends, of course, on your finances.41. Investigation revealed that were offering “for sale or rent” our entire library.: After I had asked them about it, I learned that they were presenting all our books for others to buy or rent.

42. may/might as well : have no strong reason not to

This phrase is used in an informal style to suggest that one should do something because there is nothing better, mote interesting, more useful, etc. to do. There is no real differences between may and might here. Examples: -- Since it’s such a fine day, we might as well go home on foot. -- We may as well finish the job, now that we’ve got so far with it.

Group discussion What are the advantages and disadvantages ofCollege students doing part-time jobs?Reference:Advantages:1) They can make some money for their own use – to buy

books, to go travelling, etc.2) They can learn some practical skills or techniques and f

orm a sound attitude toward labor, either manual or mental.

3) They can learn some practical skills or techniques and form a sound attitude toward labor, either manual or mental

Disadvantages:

1) with less time for their studies, some students may fall behind

2) With more money in their pockets, some students may form the bad habit of spending money freely

3) A few students may become interested in nothing but money and profits and even break the law in order to make more money.

Exercises

I. Replace the italicized parts in the following sentences with words or expressions from the

text. 1. A visiting scholar asked how long it would take a Chinese factory worker to save up for a refrigerator. A visiting scholar inquired how long it would take a Chinese factory worker to save up for a refrigerator.

2. The general manager’s telegram told the Seattle branch when he was due to arrive at the city.

The general manager’s telegram informed the Seattle branch when he was due to arrive at the city.

3. It’s very silly of Nancy to be always repeating

what her husband says. It’s very silly of Nancy to echoing what her

husband says.

4. At first the man demanded two hundred dollars

for the used bike but eventually he had to

accept half that amount.

At first the man demanded two hundred dollars

for the used bike but eventually he had to

settle for half that amount.

5. One of the greatest problems facing the 21st

century will be what to do with all the rubbish

produced in the world.

One of the greatest problems facing the 21st

century will be what to do with all the trash

produced in the world.

6. The manager’s office was filled with customers complaining about the poor quality of the washing-machines they bought in his store.

The manager’s office was crammed with customers complaining about the poor quality of the washing-machines they bought in his store.

7. Ordinarily farmers welcome the rain seasons, but If there is too much rain, the flood will destroy the crops.

Normally farmers welcome the rain seasons, but If there is too much rain, the flood will destroy the crops.

8. It may be an easy task to learn to drive an automobile but many new drivers area afraid to drive on crowded city streets until they have more experience.

It may be a piece of cake to learn to drive an automobile but many new drivers area afraid to drive on crowded city streets until they have more experience.

9. An unpleasant task like this needs to be finished with as quickly as possible.

An unpleasant task like this needs to be done with as quickly as possible.

10. Mr. Green is of the opinion that to gain as much as possible from your subordinates you should treat them as your equals. Mr. Green is of the opinion that to get the best out of your subordinates you should treat them as your equals.11. Although Tibet is very famous for its natural sights, the high altitude may damage the health of some visitors. Although Tibet is very famous for its natural sights, the high altitude may harm the health of some visitors.

II. Translation

1. 我们接到通知，财政部长将于次日接见我们。 We were informed that the Minister of Finance was to give us an audience/receive us the next day

2. 我觉得很奇怪，他似乎不记得自己的生日。 I thought it odd that he didn’t seem to remember his own birthday.

3. 学期论文最迟应在下星期二交来 ，可是大部分学生 却至今几无进展。 Next Tuesday id the deadline for handling in the term papers, but mist students have hardly made a dent in the work so far.

4. 看到学生人数不断减少，校长心里很难受。 It pained the headmaster to find the number of the

students shrinking.

Translation

5. 在那个国家一般用现金付账 ，但支票变得普遍起来了，不久将会代替现金作为人们结帐的一种方式。

Cash is commonly used in paring bills in that country, but checks are becoming more and more popular and will, in a short while, replace cash as a way for people to settle their accounts.

6. 很立即与让母亲知道他在果园里，所以当她一到听得见的距离内他就叫了起来。

Anxious to let his mother know he was in the orchard, Henry started to shout as soon as she came within range.

Translation

III. Dictation

Many American teenagers earn a good portion of their college expenses by working during summer as waiters or waitresses, construction workers, mother’s helpers, gas station attendants, telephone operators or messengers. They are not concerned with status. Being unskilled, they try to find jobs at whatever level they can. They seek not only money, but also experience. They learn work habits, responsibility, the ability to take orders and to get alone with a boss and different kinds of people.

Thank you !