Unit 6 The Pace of Life Text A Old Father Time Becomes A Terror.

Unit 6 The Pace of Life

Text A

Old Father Time Becomes A Terror

Lead-in question:

• Do you think nowadays the pace of life is much faster than before?

• If yes, give me some examples to illustrate your opinion…

• And in your opinion, what may be the reasons for this?

• And what will be the result?

• People walking in the street are generally in a hurry?

• You always feel that you can’t keep up with the latest information or news?

• Things are easily getting old-fashioned?

• You always have so many things to do, but you do not have enough time?

• The advancement of technology?• The expansion of people’s desire?• Or the temptation of ever-larger

quantities of goods?• …• People become more busy.• Over-stressed• Be angry easily• ….

As the pace of life in today’s world grows ever faster, we seem forever on the go. With so much to do and so little time to do it in, how are we to cope? Richard Tomkins sets about untangling the problem and comes up with an answer.

Pre-reading:

• Richard Tomkins: a British journalist, editor of Financial Times.

• Financial Times: includes business and financial news and analysis. To know it better, log on the following website: http://news.ft.com/home/europe

Pre-reading:

• Listen to the following passage about “stress”

and answer the following questions:

1. As the pace of change increase, the demand upon us will also increase. That means we will have to _____, _____, ______, _____,______

2. And then list the seven results:

3. If we are to survive in an ever-accelerating world, what should we do?

II ■

Henley Centre -HCHV

• Henley Centre was founded in 1974 by academics associated with the Henley Management College in Oxford shire, notably the economist James Morrell. It was originally known as The Henley Centre for Forecasting, with a focus on business forecasting.

• Three of the original core principles have remained consistent: the importance of understanding consumer behavior, a rigorous approach to analysing data, both quantitative and qualitative, and a focus on the future.

Headlight Vision

• Headlight Vision was established as a global intelligence, research and brand consultancy in 1996. The business vision was focused on being a highly innovative and creative agency at the forefront of consumer understanding and marketing intelligence.

• Headlight Vision has become widely known for the unique way in which it combines qualitative methodologies and unlocks insights to apply to strategic marketing issues.

Part One:

Scan part one and find out three reasons why we feel so time-pressed today. And make a note of the transitional devices used there.

Reasons: ____ ,_____, _____Transitional devices:

______________________

on the go: (infml) very active or busy 繁忙，活动多

e.g. I've been on the go all week, preparing my thesis.

I was on the go all day and went home at about 10 o’clock in the evening.

cope: deal successfully (with sb. / sth. difficult ) vi. （成功地）对付；妥善处理

e.g. Health psychologists study _____ ( 人们如何应付压力）

People who attempt suicide usually suffer from extreme emotional distress and feel unable to cope with their problems.

set about: begin (a task) ; start (doing sth.) (set about sth/doing sth) 开始，着手

e.g. The school authorities must set about finding solutions to the campus security problems.

eat into: gradually reduce the amount of (sth. valuable); damage or destroy 吞噬；侵蚀；毁坏；吃掉；消耗

e.g. All these ear expenses are eating into our savings.

Responsibilities at home and work____ ( 消耗了他大部分的时间） .

___ ( 酸会腐蚀金属） , damaging its surface.

in reality: in actual fact; really 事实上；实际上

e.g. Some famous private schools are theoretically open to the public, but in reality are attended by those who can afford the fees.

He is much smaller in reality than he looks on the television.

multiply: increase in number or quantity; add a number to itself a particular number of times v. 增加，乘 (4X5=20)

e.g. The weeds just multiplied, and before long the garden was a jungle.

fraction: small part, bit, amount or proportion (of sth.) n. 小部分，一点儿

e.g. 只有一小部分学生通过了四级考试。 pour in: go into a place quickly and in

large numbers 大量涌入e.g. Tourists poured into Shanghai on

National Day. _________ ( 许多球迷涌入体育场） to have

a look at their favorite football players. a handful of: a small number of; the

amount of sth. that you can hold in your hand 少数，少量；一把

e.g. Only a handful of graduates have not found jobs so far.

comparative: involving comparison or comparing adj. 比较的；相比的

e.g. Some sociologists have carried out large-scale historical-comparative studies.

Ethology is a science concerned with the comparative study of animal behavior.

amount to: be equal to; add up to 相当于；总计

e.g. The tuition fee amounts to ten thousand yuan.

这就等于要把整件事情重做一遍。

minute: very small in size or amount adj. 极小的；极少的 (pronunciation)

e.g. Only a minute amount of money is needed.

Studies show that________ ( 水含有极少量的铅） .

frontier: (usu. pl) the extreme limit of an area of knowledge or a particular activity; the border between two countries n. （某学科的）知识边缘，（探索活动的）新领域；边境

e.g. To open up the space frontier, NASA will try to lower the cost of access to Earth orbit.

瑞典的边界与挪威、芬兰相连。 stress: pressure or worry resulting

from mental or physical distress, difficult circumstance: etc. (followed by on) n. 压力，重压

e.g. Population growth and pollution place enormous stress on the world's supply of usable water.

vt. put stress, pressure, or strain one.g. A person who is stressed typically

has anxious thoughts and difficulty concentrating or remembering.

我必须强调我在这所说的都是机密。 prosperity: state of being economically

successful; state of being successful or rich n. （经济的）繁荣；成功，富足

e.g. War brings no prosperity to the great mass of ordinary citizens.

有些人认为全球化只给发达国家带来了繁荣。

oblige: do sth. for (sb.) as a favor or small service (used in the pattern: oblige (sb.) (with sth./by doing sth.) v. （为…）效劳，帮（…的）忙

e.g. We are happy to oblige.

Please oblige me by leaving me alone.

be obliged to do : have to do e.g. I feel obliged to leave after the

quarrel. abundance: quantity that is more than

enough; plenty (followed by of) n. 丰富；丰裕

e.g. The visitor to Oxford has an abundance of sights to see.

in abundance:e.g. By the mid- 15th century paper was

available in abundance. There was good food in abundance,

far more than we could ever hope to eat.

confusion: bewilderment or embarrassment n. 惶惑；迷乱

e.g. There is still confusion about the number of casualties.

I explained the question to him three times, _____ ( 但他还是一脸迷惑）

Part II• 1. It is convenient to say we are all lacking in

time. ( )• 2. About 50 percent of people will tell you

they never have enough time to get things done. ( )

• 3. In the U.K., working hours have risen only slightly in the last 10 years. ( )

• 4. The gains of free time were unevenly distributed only because different groups of people gained different amount of free time.( )

• forecast: tell in advance; predict vt. 预报；预测

e.g. The means of forecasting natural disasters, such as floods, and hurricanes, have improved immensely as science and technology have advanced.

n. a statement of future events, based on some kind of knowledge or judgement

e.g. 你听收音机里的天气预报了吗？Forecast/predict/foretell

• perception: way of seeing or understanding sth.; ability to notice and understand things n.看法，观念，感知，感觉

e.g. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the essence and perception of beauty and ugliness.

Our teachers also taught us _____ ( 如何提高我们的感知力） .

• nurture: care for and educate (a child); encourage the growth of (sth.): nourish vt. 养育；培育；滋养

e.g. Parents want to know the best way to nurture and raise their child.

The local government has taken measures to nurture the state-run factories.

• distribution: the way in which people, buildings, etc. are arranged over a large area; the act of giving things to a large group of people or delivering goods to companies n.分布；分配

e.g. The study of animal distribution is called zoogeography.

Distribution of the goods is handled by local companies.

他负责分发信件。

Part III

Find out the reactions provoked by the perception of the time famine and the trouble with all these reactions:

______________________ ______________________ ______________________ Trouble:_____________________________

__________________________________

famine: (instance of) extreme scarcity of food in a region n. 饥荒

e.g. To eliminate famine and reduce malnutrition, attention needs to focus not only on food production but also on food distribution, consumption, and family planning.

世界上有些地区经常遭受饥荒。 widespread: found or distributed over a large

area adj. 遍布的，大面积的e.g. 酸雨对环境造成了大面积的破坏。 There was a widespread belief that the

newspaper had not told the truth.

provoke: cause (sth.) to occur or arouse (a feeling, etc.) vt. 使产生；引起某种情感

e.g. They argued that NATO enlargement could provoke Russian hostility and lead to regional instability.

provoke a debate

His rude remarks provoked her into slapping his face.

a variety of: a lot of a particular type of things that are different from each other 各种的；各种各样的

streamline: make (sth.) more efficient and effective; give a streamlined form to (sth.) vt. 使合理化，使效率更高；使成流线型

e.g. Corporate mergers can result in job losses because management combines and streamlines departments within the newly merged companies.

他们把赛车改成流线型，使他们跑的更快。

domestic: of the home. household or family; of or inside a particular country. adj. 家庭的；家务的；国内的

e.g. Police and hospital records indicate that the majority of victims of domestic violence are women.

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. spring up: appear, develop, grow, etc. quickly or

suddenly 迅速发展（或生长）；突然出现e.g. Fast food restaurants are springing up all

over the city.

futile: producing no result; useless; pointless adj. 无效的；无用的；无意义的

e.g. It was futile to continue the negotiations.

I knew that ______ ( 一旦她做了决定再试图劝她也没用） .

divert: turn (sb. / sth.) aside from a course, direction, etc. into another vt. 使转向；转移

e.g. The money that might be spent on cities has been diverted into other projects.

由于交通事故，车辆行人得绕道而行。

arise: appear; become evident vi. 出现，呈现e.g. Some birds attack crops when the

opportunity arises.

His illness arose from malnutrition. be doomed to: (sth.) be certain to happen, and

you can do nothing to prevent it (used in the pattern: be doomed to sth.; be doomed to do sth.)命定；注定

e.g. Their plan seemed to be doomed to failure. He thought that _____ . （他注定要在轮椅上度过余生）

Post-reading

• 1. Look at the caricature, and

• A. describe the picture according to a

• certain order.

• B. think about the possible morals.

• 2. Write a composition of about 200 words,

• titled “Health or Wealth?”, based on the

• following Chinese outline.

• 1) 提出两种对健康和财富取舍的不同观点。• 2) 列举出支持这两种观点的理由。• 3) 你的观点。