1、Unit 7The Art of Smart GuessingConsolidation ActivitiesI. Text Comprehension1. Decide which of the following best states the author* s purpose.A.To introduce an effective method of interviewing candidates.B.To decide on a new quiz to find out how resourceful a thinker might be.C.To provide an access

2、 to gaining necessary information.D.To recommend a creative model of thinking in decision-making.Key: D 2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.1) The author asked the readers to pay close attention to the method to be usedinsolving the quiz question. T 2)

3、 The best way to know the number of phone stores" in the United States is togoto the local library to do statistical research. F 3) To illustrate the smart guessing approach, the author has cited all togethersevenexamples. F 4) The law of averages is partly responsible for the accuracy of our g

4、uessworkbecause our assumptions at the two extremes usually balance out. T 3. Answer the following questions.1) Refer to Paragraph 1. The author, onthe one hand, intended to find out howintelligent the interviewee might be; on the other hand, he was tired of the clich ?! inquestioning candidates dur

5、ing interviews.solution is to risk an approximation since2) Refer to Paragraphs 4 and 5. The best there isn't enough information for you to come up with an exactly correct answer.3) Refer to Paragraph 6. It means a great deal for business or creativity as we frequently need to make decisions whe

6、n full information does not exist.4) Refer to Paragraph 9. They call them Fermi problems, named after Enrico Fermi, aNobel Prize winner. He used such problems to teach his students how to make an approximalion when relevant information is inadequate.5) Refer to Paragraphs 16 and 17. It looked like a

7、 mushroom cloud. He had followed a smart way, watching unpopped popcorn kernels in the microwave oven, to approximate the hot spots for cooking instead of using scientifically sophisticated testing equipraent.6) In decision-making, when the necessary relevant information is not available, guessing b

8、ecomes inevitable. Smart guessing, i.e. guessing based on approximations is recommended in suchcircumstances, and it may often, if not always, prove to be effective and fruitful.4. Explain in your own words the following sentences taken from the text.1) Did you get so tied up in these complex math f

9、igures that you were unable to give the "exactly right" answer?2) Did you focus all your attention on the two most important problems, and then make an estimation which may not be exactly right? e.4) The black cloth absorbed the sunrays could not reach it.3) Your mistakes will often averag

10、e out, i. e. the extremely high estimations and the extremely low estimations which you make will eventually become equal in amount, value, or effect.heat of the sun most. So, it sank so deep below that theIL Writing StrategiesThis text is a typical pieceof exposition developed byexemplification. Th

11、e title, Theintroduction, which presents the the body of the text, athe theme of the text. TheArt of Smart Guessing, points out background of the text, is very appealing to the readers. InFermi problem is defined and illustrated with specific examples. The examples are provided to show what a Fermi

12、problem is, to tell us how it can be solved, and to suggest the significance of the art of smart guessing. It is worth noting that the conclusion echoes the beginning, contributing to the formation of the organic unity of the essay. The writer has incorporated descriptions, anecdotes, opinions, and

13、facts into a highly individual expository essay.The two questions below are worthy of our attention: (1) In what way is the introduction connected with the conclusion?In the beginning a one-question quiz is described, in which an interesting question is asked, and in the conclusion its answer is off

14、ered, with the smart guessing process presented. Thus, the beginning and the conclusion are naturally connected with each other.(2) In the body of the essay the author gives some typical examples to illustrate a Fermi problem. How many examples are presented? What do you think of the examples?Altoge

15、ther, four examples are provided to explain a Fermi problem. They are verytyp ical exa mples that best illustrate what a Fermi p rob1era is.IIL Lan guageWorkExplain the underl ined part in each sentence in your own words.1) Did you makea compi etely wild guessa simplygroun dless p redicti on far fro

16、m being correct Did you get swer?2)too bogged down in the details trying to come up with the "exactly right" anStu mpedor baffled; work out3) Or4)ageablequesti ons.did you zero in on the two most important problems?come to concen trate on and deal with To answer the question, he recommende

17、d breaking it down into smaller, more mandividi ng it i nto5) Because of the law of averages, your mistakes will freque ntly bala nee out.be of little imp orta nee in terms of nu raberin their2. Fill in each blank with one of the two words from each pairapprop riate forms and note the differe nee of

18、 raea ning betwee n them.hazardven ture1) I wouldhazard a guess that they will do well in the next elect ion.2) After acasual chat about the local fami ne, the woma n ven tured to answer our cautiousquestio ns.3) Patrolling the US border with Mexico is as far as he has ven tured into geo politics.4)

19、 He could not believe that, had the En glishraa n known how much he was at risk, hewould have hazarded his grandson.conven tio nal traditi onal1) When most subscribed to the conventional wisdom that soccer is a minor sport inAmerica, the victory had a real impact on the whole popu lati on.2) The sec

20、retary of defe nse argued that conventional wea pons will soon be the least ofour worries as weapons of mass destructionhave found their way into the hands ofindividuals.3)n These two p arties, which are traditional rivals, describe the elect ion as a war betwee n1 1T*Jeo-liberalism and com muni sm

21、.4)tocon tainin elude The local peopie are still very traditional in many ways, refusing to send their daughters school.1)2) The envelope contained a t yped, un sig ned letter dema nding one millio n in cash.3) The dead in eluded six peopleatte nding a religious cere mony.4) Seem in gly incon seque

22、ntialdetails can sometimes con tain signified nt clues.guesssupposeSuppose some one gave you an egg and asked you to describe what exactly was in side.2) Ask the children to guess what is in each container by dip ping their hands in.3) The author* s inten ti on is to kee p every one guessing un til

23、the bitter end.4). Every one was supposed to dance with the bride and pin money on her dress.3. Fill in the bla nk in eachsentence with a word or p hrase take n from the box, using its appropriate form.resourcefulhazardinten sity outlet mercha ndiseestimate1)trenchkernel This figure is five times th

24、e origi nal estimate.2)3)4)visualquizn auticalapp roximate They have no way to dis pose of the hazardous waste they p roduce. Brita in is intensifying its efforts to secure the release of three British hostages. Tran slati on must always be a p rocess of app roximatio n and comp romise.5) quizzes. T

25、here* s a sizzling summer of soccer aheadwe re kicking it off with a series of crack ing Trans port is not in eluded but can be arra nged.6) Turning that vision into a reality is not easy.7) I don't envisage I will take an executive role, but rather become a consultant on merchandise and marketi

26、ng.8). Surely it is econo mic nonsense to depl ete the world of n atural resources.4. Make a sentence of your own for each of the give n words with mea nings other tha n those used in the text. You may cha nge the part of sp eech of these words.1) wildAs the Super Girls came on stage they went wild.

27、2).elega ntThe article imp ressed me with its elega nt simp licity.3) raiseAll funds raised will be used for childre n with leukaemia.4) figureJanet was a n atural blonde with a good figure.5) strokeIt did n't rain, which turned out to be a stroke of luck.6) kernelThe kernel of that message is t

28、hat p eace is a source of adva ntage for the poor.5.Combine each pair of simple sentences into a complex sentence, using proper subord inators.1) My wife was mowi ng the law n. I was tryi ng to liste n to music.While my wife was mowi ng the law n, I was tryi ng to liste n to music.2) The weather rem

29、ai ns fin e. I see no reas on why the village fete should not be a success.If / Provided that the weather rema ins fin e, I see no reas on why the village fete should not bea success.3) He lost his cell-phone somewhere. The lecture hall might be the p lace.The lecture hall might be the p lace where

30、he lost his cell-phone.4) The travelers were trapped in the cave. One of them has already bee n brought out.One of the travelers who was trapped in the cave has already bee n brought out.5) He was lying. That is quite obvious.It is quite obvious that he was lying.6) An Australia n friend is coming t

31、o see me. I made his acqua intance in Sydney last year.An Australia n frie nd whose acqua intance I made in Sydney last year is coming to see me.Sick ness kept him away from school. He did n't get the p rize.He did n't get the p rize because sick ness kept him away from school.You p romise t

32、o come back in time. You shall not go to the party toni ght.You shall not go to the party toni ght uni ess you p romise to come back in time.9). Lucy sp oke En glish fast. I could n t un dersta nd her.I could n t un dersta nd Lucy because she sp oke En glish too fast.10) His wife waited up. He came

33、home.His wife waited up un til he came home.5. Put a word in each bla nk that is approp riate for the con text.6).樂隊調試好音準后，指揮走上了舞臺。(tune up)After the orchestra had tuned up the conductor walked up onto the stage.7).現代軍用飛機使用計算機瞄準目標。Modern military aircraft use computers to zero in on their targets.8)

34、.她想出了一個絕妙的主意來勸說老板給她雙份工資。(come up with)She's come up with a brilliant idea to persuade her boss to double her income.2. Translating PassageTranslate the following into English.使自己擺脫某些教條的好辦法之一是了解自己生活圈了以外人們所持的觀點。你要是覺得人們和報紙失卻常理，顛倒是非，甚至邪惡，這時你就得提醒自己，在他們眼里你沒有什么兩樣。這么思考雙方都可能是對的，卻不可能都是錯的。這樣的反思可以給人一個警覺。想像力

35、豐富的人可以設想自己跟一個不同見解的人進行辯論，這不失為一個好辦法。相比真正的辯論，這樣做有一個好處，也僅有一個好處，那就是它不受時空的限制。參考譯文:A good way of ridding yourself of certain kinds of dogmatism is to become aware of opinions held in social circles different from your own. If the peopie and the newspaper seem mad, perverse, and wicked, remind yourself that

36、 you seem so to them. In this opinion both parties may be right, but they cannot both be wrong. This reflection should generate a certain caution.For those who have enough psychological imagination, it is a good plan to imagine an argument with a person having a different bias. This has one advantag

37、e, actual conversation with opponents; this one advantage is that same limitations of time and space.and only one, as compared with the method is not subject to theVI. WritingWrite an essay of about 400 words on the following topic.ON THE PROS AND CONS OF CELL PHONESyour thesis statement. Then in ea

38、ch of the paragraphs that follow, focus on one of them for elaboration. In the final paragraph, summarize what you have written and re-assert your opinion.In the first paragraph of your writing you should presentThe transitional devices in listed in Unit 6 can be used to introduce the pros and the f

39、ollowing can introduce the cons:1. moreserious, even worse, to make matters worse; and2. mostserious of all, worst of all.Betweenthe pros and the cons, it is necessary to add one or two transitionalsentences. You would probably find the sentences below useful:1. However, every coin has two sides. Wh

40、ile we are discussing the merits of ，cannot forget its/their demerits.2. Now, let's look at the reverse side of the3. But merits usually go hand in hand with demerits.Further EnchantmentIL Text IIEDUCATIONE.B. WhiteIIL Text ComprehensionL Answer the following multiple-choice questions:1). Which

41、of the following quotations from the text can best justify the author fsirst commenton his son s teacher in the country school, i.e. a third -grade scholar?A.The incident of being kicked in the shins by another boy.B.Relief of himself in the washroom.C.The large number of peers.D.The Christmas perfo

42、rmance.2). The teacher does many things in the country school EXCEPTA.designing the kidsschool uniformsB.abusing the kids that fail to behave themselvesC.doing the cleaning of the schoolD.enjoying the kidstrust and friendshipKey: B 3) The word scholar is used time and again in the text. Besides refe

43、rring to the teacher in the phrase a third-grade scholar, it is used to refer toA. the other teacher of the schoolB.the author himselfC.the authors sonD.somebody not specifiedKey: C 4) According to the authors description, which of the following didnt the school bus do?sentencegot his laconic report

44、All rightA. happyB. merryC. brief D indifferentA. Waiting for the pupils at bus sto psC. Arriving at the bus stop on time.D Picking up the pupils on the way to school.Key: A 5). Of thefollowing four words, which can best substitute the underlined word in the “ WeKey : C teacher outside class?learnin

45、g styles master the material. They like succeed. Good teachers make learning enjoyable2. Questions for Discussion 1). In the country school, what are the duties of theShe has a variety of duties in addition to her teaching responsibilities. She manages to function quietly and effectively as a guardi

46、an of their health, their clothes, and their habits. She supervises lunchrooms, playgrounds, and study sessions. She even cooks for the children. She remains concerned with the feelings and individual progress of each student.2). How does the author use humor to narrate his son's school experiences?Much of the humor in the passage comes from the author's narration of his son s school experiences. He stretches the truth to make his narrative larger and funnier than life normally is. For example, he calls his son Christma