新世纪英语专业本科生教材（修订版）综合教程2（第2版）电子教案 Unit 2
Unit 2 The Virtues of Growing Older
Structural analysis1. Divide the text into parts by completing the table. Paragraphs 1-2 3-5 6 Main ideas The writer airs her view about growing older. The writer discusses three distinct advantages of growing older. The writer winds up her discussion with reference to her parents’ life to reaffirm that growing older would be “a better phase” of her life. 2. What techniques does the author adopt to present the advantages of growing older? The author illustrates them with examples and by contrast (being young and being old).
Section Four Consolidation Activities
I . Vocabulary Analysis 1 Phrase practice
1. be apt to be likely to 易于??，有??的倾向
e.g. Infants are apt to put their hands into their mouths. 婴儿爱把手往嘴里塞。
2. in general as a whole 通常，大体上；总的来说，从总体上看
e.g. In general, this company’s products are very reliable. 这家公司的产品通常是很可靠的。
In general, this paper is a bit difficult for these students to finish in an hour. 总的来说，让学生在一个小时内完成这份试卷有些困难。
3. at the mercy of powerless against; completely controlled by 对??无能为力；任??处置，任由??摆布
e.g. Some people are born with the belief that they are masters of their own lives. Others feel they
are at the mercy of fate. 有些人天生相信自己是生命的主宰，另一些人则觉得他们受到命运的支配。
I don’t want to put myself at the mercy of others. 我不希望任由他人摆布。
4. no wonder not surprising / only too natural 不足为奇，并不奇怪
e.g. It is no wonder that it is so wet in the south. 南方这么潮湿，并不奇怪。
No wonder you’re so tired, you’ve worked three hours without a break. 难怪你这么累，你已经连续工作了三个小时。
It is no wonder that he failed his final exam. 他没能通过期末考试，这是不足为怪的。
2 Word derivation
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1. She has got this obsessive (obsess) fear of losing control, so she never shows her emotions. 2. People under a lot of stress at work will often experience moodiness (mood), irritability and a loss of confidence.
3. They wanted a tolerable (tolerate) existence — more food, better shelter, and peace.
1
新世纪英语专业本科生教材（修订版）综合教程2（第2版）电子教案 Unit 2
4. In the end, the company and its investors came to a mutually beneficial (benefit) arrangement. 5. Working with the mentally handicapped can be a satisfying (satisfy) and rewarding experience. 6. Frogs can search for food underwater, hidden (hide) from birds of prey.
7. When I asked her about where she wanted the meeting to be held, she didn’t express any particular preference (prefer).
8. The committee has made four specific criticisms (critical) of the government’s transportation policy.
3 Synonym / Antonym
Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense it is used.
1. Advertisements convince us to buy Grecian Formula and Oil of Olay so we can hide the gray in our hair.
Synonym: conceal, disguise
2. My legs were too heavy, my shoulders too broad, my waist too big. Antonym: narrow
3. Their contentment holds out great promise for me as I move into the next — perhaps even better — phase of my life.
Synonym: satisfaction, happiness, joy
4. The Virtues of Growing Older Synonym: merits, advantages
5. My rounded figure seems fine, and I don’t deny myself a slice of pecan pie if I feel in the mood. Synonym: fat, plump
6. Dave lifted weights, took megadoses of vitamins and drank a half-dozen milk shakes a day in order to turn his wiry adolescent frame into some muscular ideal. Synonym: well-built
7. The two of us enjoy wearing fashionable clothes, but we are no longer slaves to style. Antonym: old-fashioned, outdated
8. Obviously, I still have important choices to make about my life, but I have already made many of the critical decisions that confront those just starting out. Synonym: clearly, evidently
4 Prefix
Write in each space one word that has the same prefix as underlined in each given word. 1. preface prepare 5. periphery perimeter 2. prologue progress 6. dialogue diameter 3. foresight foresee 7. semifinal semiconductor
2
新世纪英语专业本科生教材（修订版）综合教程2（第2版）电子教案 Unit 2
4. paralysis
parallel 8. devaluate decelerate II Grammar Exercises
1. concrete nouns & abstract nouns Practice:
Complete the following sentences with the appropriate forms of the nouns given. 1. My children are ________________ to me. (great, help)
2. The boy had ____________________ of mathematics. (good, knowledge) 3. He is looking for ____________. (work)
4. The more _____________ (difficulty) we encounter, the harder we should work.
5. To be middle-class is to have license to indulge more freely in creating ____________ (comfort).
6. Like millions of other Americans, I often have ____________ (trouble) with insomnia.
Key:
1. a great help
2. a good knowledge 3. work
4. difficulties 5. comforts 6. trouble
2. quantifiers & determiners (every, each, everyone, every one, all)
Practice:
Complete the following with every, each, everyone, every one or all. 1. The pavement on ________ side was crowded with neat smiling people. 2. The girl is very popular. ____________ likes her. 3. A: He had eaten _______ the biscuits. B: What? _____________? A: __________ single one.
4. ___________ sex has its own physical and psychological characteristics. 5. The bus leaves ___________ hour.
6. She nursed him with ___________ her heart.
Key: 1. each 2. Everyone
3. all, Every one, Every 4. Each 5. every 6. all
3. dangling participles
3
新世纪英语专业本科生教材（修订版）综合教程2（第2版）电子教案 Unit 2
Practice:
Correct errors in the following sentences.
1. When planting these flowers, care must be taken not to damage the roots. 2. Reading the letter a second time, the meaning becomes clearer. 3. The teacher walked behind the kids eating their lunches. 4. Crossing the room, her foot bled all over the carpet. 5. While cleaning his gun, it went off unexpectedly.
6. Relieved, although half-naked, Mom handed me the catalog.
Key:
1. When planting these flowers, care must be taken not to damage the roots. you must take care
2. Reading the letter a second time, the meaning becomes clearer. When you read
3. The teacher walked behind the kids eating their lunches. who were eating 4. Crossing the room, her foot bled all over the carpet. When she crossed the room
5. While cleaning his gun, it went off unexpectedly. he was cleaning
6. Relieved, although half-naked, Mom handed me the catalog. When I was relieved
III. Translation exercises
1. 如今很多爱慕虚荣的年轻人，尽管还不富裕，但却已经迷上了漂亮的小汽车。（vain, be
obsessed with） Translation:
Many vain young people are obsessed with fancy cars despite the fact that they are not yet
rich enough to afford them. Practice:
被工作迷了心窍的人和酒鬼、吸毒者或惯赌都一样瘾头很大。
The man who is obsessed with his job is just as hooked as the alcoholic, the junkie, or the compulsive gambler.
你们这一代可能会因为感情关系的频繁变化而产生困扰。
Your generation may seem to be obsessed with relationships that change continually.
2. 地震切断了这个城市和外界的联系，人们的食品也许捱不过冬天了。（hold out） Translation:
The earthquake isolated this city from other areas. I’m afraid their food supplies will not hold
out through the winter. Practice:
如果供给品充裕的话，我们将在此继续露营一个星期。
4
