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Unit 5 Straight-A Illiteracy
I Teaching objectives
1 Learn to write in a concise and clear way.
2 Develop full consciousness of style
II Teaching time: six class periods III Teaching Procedures Step 1 Warm-up questions
1. What kind of student is a straight-A student? Is a straight-A student admired? For what?
2. Why does the author refer to a straight-A student as illiterate? Explain the paradox.
3. As is indicated in the title, the major concern of the author is the problem of ―straight-A Illiteracy‖. Why do you think the author brings up this subject? What’s the purpose?
4. In the 1st paragraph, the author compares two kinds of illiteracy, what are they? Explain the characteristics of each. Why does the author regard the second type as more infectious and therefore harmful?
5. The author resorts to some rhetorical and linguistic devices to highlight the extreme difficulty in understanding Mr. Bright’s paper. Can you identify such expressions? How would you express otherwise?
6. The author compares Straight-A Illiteracy to a disease. In what sense is this
metaphor appropriate?
7. In ―I address the student—whom I shall call allegorically Mr. Bright‖, what does the word ―allegory‖ mean?
8. From a particular case (Mr. Bright’s writing), the author turns to the general situation (ie. ―many students like him). How could you comment on the rhetorical device that the author has used?
Step 4 Relevant information
The pleasure principle: Man is both biological animal and social being. In keeping with his biological endowment, man tends to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. This truism is known as the ―pleasure principle‖.
1 H.G. Wells (1866-1946)
? literary output vast and extremely varied,
? perhaps best remembered for his scientific romances, among the earliest products of the new genre of science fiction. (e.g. The Time Machine, The First Men in the Moon. A Modern Utopia )
2 Hugh Henry Brackenbridge (1748-1816) ? American novelist, poet, lawyer
? Modern Chivalry (1792, satirical novel, published in installment from 1792-1815, giving a good description of men and manners during the early days of the American republic and manifesting Brackenbridge allegiance to the robust tradition of the English novel in Smollett and Fielding)
3. ―If I’d had more time, I’d have written a shorter book.‖ Mark Twain
4. The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit. ---- Fenelon
Step 5 major language points 1. fuss and bother about sth.:
to make a fuss of sb.: to pay a lot of attention to sb.
? They like to be flattered and made a fuss of. 喜欢受人呵护
to fuss over sb./sth.: to pay too much attention or worry about them too much e.g. -- She was inclined to fuss over her health.
-- A fussy person is one who makes a lot of ado about unimportant things.
2. overpopulate: to have too large a population; (text)their number is very large.
3. plight: difficult situation, full of problems eg. -- the plight of the handicapped
-- The children were in a sorry plight; tired, lost, and hungry.
4. as often as not: in roughly half the instances 多半/往往 at least half the time; frequently
5. interrogate: question sb. closely, thoroughly, formally
6. pry: try to find out about sb. else’ private affairs eg. – I’m not trying to pry.
-- Don’t go prying into my affairs.
7. probe: ask questions; make inquiries into; try to find out eg. – to probe for information
-- to probe the mysteries of the universe
8. exogenous: growing or originating from outside
9. co linearity: in lines
10. be contingent upon: depend upon/be decided by
11. co efficient: (math) 系数 eg. 4x
12. decode: to decode a telegram/a message, to change it into ordinary language
13. fellowship: money given to postgraduate students to allow them to continue their studies at an advanced level
14. gibberish: unintelligible or meaningless speech, nonsense. ie. containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words; meaningless or unintelligible
15. providential: a. lucky b. of or by divine foresight the protective care of God or nature
providence: -- God in this aspect -- timely care or preparation
16. protect/guard/shelter/screen from/against: eg. – May God protect you from harm.
-- You can’t protect him from blame in the accident.
-- It is hopeless trying to protect your child from the harmful effects of TV until the material improves.
-- to protect from sudden attacks
17. afflict: pain/illness/sorrow ~ sb. means to affect them and make them suffer eg. sb. be afflicted with blindness; (text) affliction of the Bright disease