1、Unit 7Learning objectives:By the end of this unit, you are supposed to:1.understand the main idea, structure of the text and the authors writing style;2.master the key language points and grammatical structures in the textTeaching procedures:1.Pre-leading questions2.Text I: Letter to a B Student

2、3;comprehension questions·main idea of text I·structural analysis·language points3.Text II: College Pressure·main idea of text II·questions for discussionPre-leading questions:1. What grades do you mostly get for the English courses you have been taking? Are you happy or are

3、 you disappointed with the grades you get?2. Imagine yourself to be a teacher and that you are to write a letter to a student who is disappointed with the grade he gets. What would you say to him in the letter?Text I: Letter to a B Student1. Comprehension questions:1) What has brought about the chan

4、ges in peoples opinion on B grade?There are mainly two reasons: the norm has shifted upward, and in the current society winning has come to assume unprecedented importance. 2). Where in the text is the purpose of writing the letter made clear? In the first sentence of the 3rd paragraph, i.  e.

5、, "to put your disappointment in perspective by considering exactly what your grade means and doesn't mean. "3). does the author take entirely negative attitude towards the grading system in question? No. This is made clear by the last few sentences of the 9th paragraph. Grades are nec

6、essary as labels to distinguish people of various status. But these distinctions should never be taken seriously in human terms. 2. Main idea of text I:Through a discussion about the significance of B Grade the writer of the passage tries to put the students disappointment in perspective.3. Structur

7、al analysis: This passage can be divided into 4 parts:1) Part 1 (paragraph 1): This first paragraph serves as an introduction.2) Part 2 (paragraphs 2-5): These four paragraphs constitute the first main part of the letter. The writer has made clear his purpose of writing in the first sentence of the

8、3rd paragraph: to put your disappointment in perspective by considering exactly what your grade means and doesnt mean.3) Part 3 (paragraphs 6-8): What the writer aims to do in this part is to show that there is a distinction between the student as a performer in the classroom and the student as a hu

9、man being. He uses his personal experience to illustrate this distinction.4) Part 4 (paragraphs 9-10): The focal point of this part is “perspective”, i.e. the way we should regard grades.4. Language points:1) far superior to: better in quality thanThe visiting team turned out to be far superior to t

10、he host team in teamwork.2) Gentlemans C: a decent grade. A gentleman is supposed to be a man of decency, i. e. decent in speech and behavior, so Gentlemans C simply means a decent grade. A few years ago the Gentlemans C prevailed in universities.3) remove: to take awayReference books are not to be

11、removed from the library.The doctors decided to operate on him immediately to remove the tumor on his liver.Do you mind if I ask you to remove your hat so that I can have a better view of the screen?4) eligibility: the qualifications or abilities required for doing something eligibleadj.to be eligib

12、le to do something: to be able or allowed to do somethingCitizens above the age of 18 are eligible to vote and to be voted. Only those who have worked in this company for at least three years are eligible for housing allowance.5) offset: to counterbalance or compensate forThe extra cost for travelin

13、g to work is offset by the lower rent here.What the company donates to charity can be offset against tax.6) take something at face value: to accept something for what it appears to beI took their offer at face value and did not suspect at all that they were trying to trick me.You should never take w

14、hat he says at face value.7) be apt to: to have the tendency toThe river is apt to overflow when there is a heavy rain.He is apt to get excited when people start to talk about football.apta. He made an apt comment that nicely summed up what every one of us had in mind.This year we had quite a few ap

15、t student students in our class.8) correspond to: to match, to be similar or equal toThe American FBI corresponds to the British M15.This story of what happened that night does not correspond to the witnesss version.The date written on the letter does not correspond to that stamped on the envelope.c

16、f. correspond with: to communicate with by writing lettersFor many years they have never stopped corresponding with each other.9) handle: to deal with something or someone; to control with hands; to be in charge ofHe knows best how to handle a problem of this type.He found great fun in handling a ya

17、cht.We have got to speak to the person who handles the companys accounts.10) make a point of doing something: to take particular care to do somethingHe makes a point of jogging 6 miles every morning, rain or shine.To prevent loss of data, I always make a point of making a copy on a floppy disk of wh

18、at I have done during the day.11) resent: to feel bitter or indignant atHe resented having to get up early to catch the first train.I strongly resent his snobbish manner in dealing with different people.12) make a distinction: to say what the difference is between two or more similar persons or thin

19、gsMost societies make a distinction between the status of an unmarried woman and a married one.In the governments education proposals there is a clear distinction made between academic and practical training.13) hamper: to cause difficulty in activitySearch efforts were hampered by strong winds and

20、fifteen-foot waves.Staff problems are seriously hampering the work of the government central computers.Text II: College Pressures1. Main idea of text II: The author analyzed why students have to burden various kind of pressures at college in order to bound for their destination and property expectat

21、ions and how these pressures form. He also presents his suggestions that most of the successful people do also experience side trips on the road to success.2. Questions for discussion:1) How do you interpret the last sentence of the first paragraph “But there are no villains, only victims”?No one is

22、 really to blame for the pressures working on college students, not the colleges, or the professors, or the parents, or the students themselves. In fact, they (the colleges, the professors, the parents and the students) are all victims.2) From Zinssers quotation of a certain dean in the 2nd paragrap

23、h, what idea do you get of the difference between the students in the late 1960s and students of the time when the article was written (presumably in the 1970s-1980s)?The students in the late 1960s seemed to be more concerned with what was happening in the world as a whole, and what they could do to

24、 make our world a better place to live. The college students of the time when the article was written were more concerned about their own future and career, and they seemed to be more egoistic.3) Why do students, both of those who want to enter graduate schools and those who just want to graduate an

25、d get a job, attach so much importance to grades?To both of them, a good transcript will serve as a passport to security. They want to look better so that they can be either enrolled by a graduate school or find a good job.4) Zinsser obviously holds a different opinion from many of the parents with regard to the courses the students should take. Describe this difference and voice your own opinion.Most parents want th