Unit 2
Part I Pre-Reading Task
Script for the recording:
The song you are going to listen to is called Abraham, Martin & John, sung by Dion.
Abraham, Martin & John
Dion
Has anybody here, Seen my old friend Abraham, Can you tell me, where he's gone, He freed a lotta people, But it seems the good die young, I just loohed around, And he's gone, Has anybody here, Seen my old friend John, Can you tell me, where he's gone, He freed a lotta people, But it seems the good die young, I just loohed around,
And he' s gone,
Has anybody here, Seen my old friend Martin,
Appendix I
Can you tell me, where he's gone, He freed a lotta people, But it seems the good die young, I just looked around,
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And he's gone,
Didn't you love the things they stood for, Didn't they try to find some good for you and me, And we'll he free,
Someday soon it's gonna be one day, Has anybody here, Seen my old friend Bothy, Can you tell me, where he's gone,
I thought I saw him walhin' up over the hill, With
Ahrah am, Martin and John.
The unit we are going to study is all about civil-rights heroes. The song you have just heard is about four of them. Can you guess who they are? All are American. All are dead, all, as the song says, \when she quotes the proverb: \Dion has in mind Abraham Lincoln, the American president who freed the slaves and was assassi-nated. How about John, another leader who helped people to free themselves? He too died young. Can you guess who it might be? President John F. Kennedy seems most likely. He too supported civil rights. He too died young, assassinated like Lincoln.
Now who could Martin be? Another civil-rights leader who died young, once again assassi-nated. A great speaker comes to mind. Who do you think? Martin Luther King, surely. And finally, Bobby. Bobby who? Probably Dion is thinking of Bobby Kennedy, John Kennedy's brother, another supporter of civil rights. He was running for president when, like his brother before him, he too was gunned down.
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Part II Text A
Text Organization
1.
Parts Part One Paragraphs Paras 1-5 Main Ideas It is high time to honor the heroes who helped liberate slaves by forging the Underground Railroad in the early civil-rights struggles in America. By citing examples the author praises the exploits of civil-rights heroes who helped slaves travel the Un-derground Railroad to freedom. Part Two Paras 6-23 2. Story 1 (Paras 6-10): After winning his own freedom from slavery, John Parker helped other
slaves to escape north to Canada to get freedom.
Story 2 (Paras 11-15): Supported by a strong religious conviction, the white man Levi Coffin
helped black slaves to escape at huge risk to himself.
Story 3 (Paras 16-23): By traveling the Underground Railroad, Josiah Henson reached his desti-nation and became free at last. Vocabulary
I. 1. 1) decades
3) imposed 5) slender 7) settlement 9) mission 11) terminal 13) exploits 15) on the side 2. 1) pass for 3) laid down
2) historic 4) racial
6) closing in on 8) site
10) authorized
12) make the best of 14) religious 2) stood up for 4) take on
Appendix I - 97 -
5) let (us) down 6) draw on 7) come up 8) given up
3. 1) The Europeans are fully confident that the Americans will not be able to justify their mea-
sures to protect the struggling American steel industry.
2) Clinton is, in the eyes of Joe Klein, staff writer of the New Yorker and author of The Natural, the most talented politician of his generation and the most compelling.
3) There's not much you can do if people are really intent on destroying themselves with drugs.
4) A different experience of the world could forge a completely different approach to life. 5) It is our conviction that cloning of human beings is bound to cause many ethical and social problems in the long run.
4. 1) As for the protection of these endangered species, many countries do not compel fisher-
men to report accidental capture of small cetaceans (H § %}$}) in their nets, so signifi-cant catches may go unnoticed for years. To deal with this problem, animal protectionists have forged an international alliance. On the other hand they have urged the United Nations to lay down more specific laws to save these animals.
2) It was reported that food supplies would soon run out and most of the victims of the earthquake would starve to death. At huge risk, a group of volunteers from the Red Cross took on the mission to transport food, clothes and medicine to the most seriously hit areas. 3) A rally was going to be held in honor of the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln who abolished slavery in 1863 and liberated the slaves in the South. In the eyes of many African-Americans, Lincoln was America's greatest president thanks to his outstanding exploits. II. Words with Multiple Meanings
1. I'll tell you about my research project in a minute, but first let's hear about your French trip. 2. Most McDonald's look almost the same on the outside, but actually there are about 16 differ-ent basic designs.
3. Loaning money from the banks is but one of the methods we can use to get through a financial crisis.
4. This second-hand car has been nothing but trouble; it's always breaking down. 5. In your resume you've mentioned everything but one vital point.
6. Our technicians have discovered a simple but effective solution to the problem. 7. I am sorry, but I think you shouldn't have delayed your homework.
8. The bankruptcy of the company was not caused by evil, but by simple ignorance.
