1、Unit two制作：汪曉輝Text IText IIThe fine art of putting things offMichael DemarestText IPre-class work“procrastination is the thief of time” “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done today” Do you personally believe in ?How will the writer explore on the topic of putting things off ?？Lets get on the

2、journeydetailed study of the text Listen 1. “Never put off till tomorrow,” exhorted Lord Chesterfield in 1794,”what you can do today.That the elegant earl never got around to marrying his sons mother and had a bad habit of keeping worthies like Dr.Johnson cooling their heels for hours in an anteroom

3、 attests to the fact that even the most well-intentioned men have been postponers ever. Quintus Fabius Maximus, one of the great Rome generals, was dubbec “Cunctator” (delayer) for putting off battle until the last possible vinum break. Moses pleaded a Detailed study Speech defect to rationalize his

4、 reluctance to deliver Jehovahs edict to Pharaoh. Hamlet, of course, raised procrastination to an art form . 2.The world is probably about evenly divided between delayers and do-it-nowers. There are those who prepare their income taxes in February , prepay mortgages and serve precisely planned dinne

5、rs at an ungodly 6:30 p.m. The other half dine happily on leftovers at 9 or 10 , misplace bills until the apocalyptic voice of Diners threatens doom from Denver. They postpone ,as Faustian encounters , visits to barbershop, dentist or doctor Detailed study 3Yet for all the trouble procrastination ma

6、y incur, delay can often inspire and revive a creative soul . Jean Kerr , author of many successful novels and plays , says that she reads every soup-can and jam-jar label in her kitchen before settling down to her typewriter .Many a writer focuses on almost anything but his task for example, on the

7、 Coast and Geodetic Survey of Mains Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor, stimulating his imagination with names like Googins Ledge, Blunts Pond , Hio Hill an Burnt Porcupine , Long Porcupine , Sheep Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands . Detailed study 4.From Cunctators day until this century, the art of p

8、ostponement had been virtually a monopoly of the military (“hurry up and wait “) , diplomacy and the law. In former times , a British proconsul faced with a native uprising could comfortably ruminate about the situation with Singapore Sling in hand . Blessedly , he had no nattering Telex to order in

9、 machine guns and fresh troops.” A U.S. general as late as World War II could agree with his enemy counterpart to take a sporting day off , loot the villagers chickens and wine and go back to battle a day later . Lawyers are among the worlds most addicted postponers. According t o Frank Nathan , a n

10、onpostponing Beverly Hills insurance salesman , “The number of attorneys who die without a will is amazing.”Detailed study 5. Even where there is no will , there is away . There is a difference , of course, between chronic procrastination and purposeful postponement , particularly in the higher eche

11、lons of business . Corporate dynamics encourage the caution that breeds delay , says Richard Manderbach, Bank of America group vice president . He notes that speedy action can be embarrassing or extremely costly . The data explosion fortifies those seeking excuses for inaction another report to be r

12、ead , another authority to be consulted . “ There is always ,” says Manderbach , “ a delicate edge between having enough information and too much .” Detailed study 6.His point is well taken . Bureaucratization , which flourished amid the growing burdens of government and the greater complexity of so

13、ciety , was designed to smother policymakers in blankets of legalism , compromise and reappraisal and thereby prevent hasty decisions from being made . The centralization of government that led to Watergate has spread to economic institutions and beyond , making procrastination a worldwide way of li

14、fe . Many languages are studded with phrases that refer to putting things off from the Spanish manana to the Arabic bukrafil mishmish (literally “ tomorrow in apricots ,” more loosely “ leave it for the soft spring weather when the apricots are blooming “ ) Detailed study 7. Academe also takes high

15、honors in procrastination . Bernard Sklar , a University Southern sociologist who churns out three to five pages of writing a day admits that “ many of my friends go through agonies when they face a blank page. There all sorts of rationalizations : the pressure of teaching , responsibilities at home

16、 checking out the latest book , looking up another footnote . “Detailed study 8. Psychologists maintain that the most assiduous procrastinators are women ,through Many psychologists are ( at $50 plus an hour ) pretty good delayers themselves. Dr. Ralph Greenson , a U.C.L.A. professor of clinical psy

17、chiatry ( and Marilyn Monroes one-time shrink ) , takes a fairly gentle view of procrastination . “To many people,” he says “ doing something , confronting , is the moment of truth . Al frightened people will then avoid the moment of truth entirely , or evade or postpone it until the last possible m

18、oment .” To Georgis State Psychologist Joen Fagan , however , procrastination may be a kind of subliminal way of sorting the important from the trivial . “ when I drag my feet, theres usually some reason . “ says Fagan . “ I feel it , but I dont yet know the real reason .” Detailed study 9. In fact,

19、 there is a long and honorable history of procrastination to suggest that many Ideas and decisions may well improve if postponed. It is something of a truism that to put off making a decision is itself a decision . The parliamentary process is essentially a system of delay and deliberation . So , fo

20、r that matter , is the creation of a great painting , or an entre, or a book , or a building like Blenheim Palace ,which took the Duke of Marlboroughs architects and laborers 15 years to construct . In the process , the design can mellow and marinate . Indeed , hurry can be the assassin of elegance

21、. As T. H. White , author of Sword in the stone , once wrote, time “ is not meant to be devoured in an hour or a day , but to be consumed delicately and gradually and without haste .” In other words, Pace Lord Chesterfield , what you dont necessarily have to do today , by all means put off until tom

22、orrow Detailed study Main idea Through depicting popularity of procrastination in nearly all the fields, the writer wanted to prove that “delay can often inspire and revive a creative soul” and “to put off making decision is itself a decision” and therefore it can be a fine and useful art. Introduct

23、ion: (P1-2) The world is probably divided between delayers and do-it-nowers;Body: (P3-7) Delay is not without its advantages: it can often inspire and revive a creative soul;Conclusion: (P8-9) Explanation and conclusion of procrastination;Organization and Development:Purpose of writing and ToneIn ha

24、lf serious and half-joking manner and humorous tone, Demarest expresses his view on procrastination that while in some cases it is irrational and encumbering to delay, it is justified and fruitful.Rhetorical device Parody( where there is a will , there is a way）Pun （will )Example (para.1)Exaggeratio

25、n (para.4 the number of attorneys who )Irony (para.1 that elegant earl never got around to ) Metaphor (para.6 blankets of legalism ) Writing skill coherence 1.The use of the word yet at the beginning of para. 3 indicates that in this paragraph the reader will find something contrary to what he has r

26、ead about in the preceding one. (Para. 2 illustrates the trouble procrastination may incur while para. 3 tells the reader that delay can often inspire and revive a creative soul. )2.At the beginning of para. 4, the word cunctator is repeated, its first occurrence being in para.13.Para. 5 begins with

27、 the parody of the proverb Where there is a will, there is a way. The word will in the parody repeats the word will in the last sentence of para. 4.4.His point at the beginning of para. 6 refers to what Manderbach says in the preceding paragraphs.The use of the word also in the first sentence of par

28、a. 7 refers to a similar situation mentioned previously.l. In what sense is the word “art” used in the title?2. How does Demarest begin his essay? Is it an effective beginning? 3. Why does Demarest refer to visit to the barber, the dentist, and the doctor as “Faustian encounters”(para.2)? 4. How do

29、you understand the word “blessedly” used in para.4?Comprehension Questions: method, skillFaustian encounters refer to Fausts encounters with the devil Mephistopheles. Naturally they are undesirable. Most people are unwilling to visit barbers, doctors, and dentists. He begins with the famous saying o

30、f Chesterfields and instances of non-compliance of some historically well-known figures. Yes. This effectively reminds people that procrastination is not under all circumstances a non-recommendable practice: sometimes people do have a good reason to wait before they take action.It means fortunately.

31、 The nattering Telex would have facilitated the supply of weapons and dispatch of troops, depriving the proconsul of the excuse to delay action.Language point1.exhort - (formal) to urge or advise strongly. Examples:The teacher exhorted her students to do their own research work.We are exhorted not t

32、o waste our time on the chat room online.paraphraseDr. Ralph Greenson takes a fairly gentle view of procrastination Dr. Ralph Greenson is not very critical of postponement Take a view of sth. have ideas (attitude of ) about sth.For example :She takes a pretty poor vies of her sons recent behavior 2.

33、rationalize - attempt to explain or justify ones action with plausible reasons, even if they are not true or appropriate. Example:Dont rationalize your incompetence by finding fault with the method. Language point 3.do-it-nowers - those who act promptly-er is a suffix that denotes a person who does

34、something. Reminder: Do-It-Yourselfer in Book 5, Unit 10, Text II.Language point4. at an ungodly 6:30 p. m. at an unusually early hour. The author thinks 6:30 p. m. is rather too early for a planned formal dinner.Language point5.all the trouble procrastination may incur all the trouble that a person

35、al delay in action may bring upon himincur become subject to (something unpleasant) as a result of ones own action招致. Example:The company incurred a heavy loss due to mismanagement.Language point6.the art of postponement had been virtually a monopoly of the military . . . , diplomacy and the law -th

36、e practice of putting things off had almost been exclusively done by the military, etc. The implied meaning is that the military, diplomacy, and the law are almost the worst delayers.Paraphrase 7.ruminate - (formal) think deeply and carefully. Examples:He ruminated over on the situation before he ma

37、de the final decision.She ruminated for a long time before she expressed her opinionLanguage point8.the worlds most addicted postponers the worlds worst postponers who just could not free themselves from postponingAddicted (adj.) literally means dependent on something (usually a drug) and unable to

38、stop having it. Example:He is addicted to cocaine heroin.Addicted may also mean enthusiastically devoted to a particular thing or activity, e. g., be addicted to computer games, television, etc.The person who is addicted to something is an addict /a-dikt/, e. g., a drug addict, a computer/TV addict.

39、Language point.The number of attorneys who die without a will is amazing. It is a usual practice for people to make a will, an official statement of the way they wish their property to be shared out after their death before they die. And it is generally the attorneys or lawyers who administer the wi

40、lls. But attorneys themselves postpone making their own wills.Language point10.the caution that breeds delay the great care that causes delayLiterally, breed refers to either animals producing their offspring. e. g., Rats breed rapidly, or people who keep animals or plants for the purpose of produci

41、ng and developing young animals or new plants.Language point11.flourish - develop rapidly. Example:Postmodernism made its first appearance in the late twentieth century and continues to flourish now.Flourish, when speaking of a person. an animal. etc. means grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous w

42、ay. Examples:The trees planted on the school campus are flourishing.Were happy to see these disabled children flourish in their foster-homesLanguage point12.Many languages are studded with phrases- Many languages are provided with phrases . . .A stud is literally a small piece of metal which is atta

43、ched to a surface as a decorationBe studded with literally means be covered with something like studs, e. g., the sky studded with stars; a sea studded with islands. So when languages are studded with phrases . . . . you find phrases . . . in languages just like studs.Language point13. churns out th

44、ree to five pages of writing a day produces three to five pages a day; churn out, which means produce something routinely or mechanically, especially in large quantities, is used by the author ironically and jokingly here. Three to five pages of writing cannot be considered as a large quantity.Langu

45、age point14. checking out the latest book examining the latest book carefully; borrowing the latest book from the libraryLanguage point15.assiduous - showing great care and perseverance; hard-working. Examples:John is assiduous in doing research work.He is known as an assiduous scholar, always explo

46、ring new fields of studyLanguage point16.confront - face up to and deal with a problem or a difficult situation. Example:He confronted the difficult task with courage and optimism.Language point17.evade - find a way of not doing something that must be done. Examples:He tried to evade the questions a

47、bout his past.The problem is perhaps difficult to solve, but it should not be evaded.Language point18.deliberation 1) long and careful consideration or discussion2) slow and unhurried movementAccording to the context, the second meaning of the word is most probably what the author meantLanguage poin

48、tfor that matter - This phrase is used to emphasize or indicate that a statement made by a person in one case is also true in another case.The meaning of the two consecutive sentences with this phrase as the connective is:The creation of a great painting, etc., like the parliamentary process, is als

49、o a system of delay and deliberation.An example sentence showing the use of for that matter follows:The construction workers suffered greatly from intense heat, so do the dockers, for that matter.Language pointExplain Demarests distortion of the proverb “where there is no will, there is a way” at th

50、e beginning of para.5.Rhetorical device The author is playing / punning on the word will. The repetition of the word serves as a cohesive tie between the two paragraphs. But mind that the word is used in different senses in the two instances. In the preceding paragraph, will means a statement in wri

51、ting saying how someone wishes his property to be distributed after his death. In the distorted version of the old saying, the word will is used in the sense of volition. Thus it means Even when there is no will to procrastinate, there is a way to do so. He goes on to illustrate his point by giving

52、examples.1) pun 雙關; 2) parody 詼諧模仿How do you explain the parenthesis (at 50-plus an hour)?This is a humorous touch. This refers to what the psychologists (more exactly psychiatrists or psychoanalysts) charge their clients for the consultations. This explains why they always delay curing their patien

53、ts.Comprehension While the points Demarest makes about his subject matter are serious, the tone of his writing is a mixture of the serious and humorous. Identify his shift in tone from one to the other.Analysis While the statement at the beginning of para. 3 delay can often inspire and revive a crea

54、tive soul is a serious one, the following illustrations do not sound to be so. But remember Jean Kerr was a humorist. What he says about the procrastination in the army, though a bit overstated, may still be seriously meant. The two illustrative examples, especially the one of the U.S. generals taki

55、ng a sporting day off to delay the battle, are instances of humor at the cost of credibility. In the last paragraph the inclusion of the creation of an entree adds a humorous touch to other serious illustrations such as the creation of a great painting, a book and a building.Moses pleaded a speech d

56、efect to rationalize his reluctance to deliver Jehovahs edict to Pharaoh.(L.6-7)Moses justified his unwillingness to pass Jehovahs order to Pharaoh, saying that he was slow of speech.paraphraseYet for all the trouble procrastination may incur, delay can often inspire and revive a creative soul. (L.1

57、5-16)Delay leads to problems. However in many cases, it can often stimulate the creativity in an artist.Paraphrase He notes that speedy action can be embarrassing or extremely costly. (L.34-35) It points out that hastiness may give rise to decisions which turn out to be humiliating or expensive.para

58、phraseBureaucratization, being made.Excessive red-tape developed because public administration was expanding in scope and because society was growing more and more complicated. In this sense, red-tape helped those in charge of policy to be fully engaged in enormous amount of paperwork and judgment,

59、thus making it impossible for an immature decision to resultparaphrasemany of my friends go through agonies when they face a blank page. many of my friends have a hard time the moment they attempt to put pen to paper.paraphraseLanguage pointGet around to find the time to do, or to finally do sth tha

60、t you have been intending to do for some tine .For example :We finally got around to answering her letter Keep sb cooling his/her heels keep sb waiting For example: the receptionist kept me cooling my heals for at least an hour Language point Language pointYou plead something ( such as illness, igno