Text A

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21???????????? Book I
Unit 5 Life Philosophy
Text A Take a Moment to Really See
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Part I Lead-in A. Describe and comment on the
following pictures.
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• Questions for Discussion
• 1. Have you ever heard of Remember to stop and
  smell the roses? Please explain it in your own
  words.
• Which one do you prefer, to work for life or to
  live for work? Why?
• Is it possible for you to move back to the
  countryside, where life is easier and slower?

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Part II Background Information A. About the
author Jeffrey Michael Thomas This article is
taken from Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack
Canfield and Mark Hansen, a collection of 101
stories. Jeffrey is one of the contributors to
the stories.
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• Cultural notes
• Chicken Soup for the Soul
• First appeared in 1993, a collection of
  inspirational stories that took the world by
  storm. It's like home-made chicken soup that
  warms the chill and heals the ill. This
  collection of 101 stories is based on the belief
  that true testimonies of goodness and loving
  transformations can nourish us to the bone and
  heal the cynicism in our hearts. Indeed, nearly
  every story seeps in deeply. It's hard not to
  shed a tear of gratitude, feeling thrilled to
  have been touched and soothed so easily. (Amazon
  Review)

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Part III Writing Features This article is an
argumentative writing with a typical structure
pattern. The author raises a question in the
beginning to call readers attention to the theme
he puts forward in the middle part through an
event he witnessed, and then he discusses it and
sums up the lessons he learned. The theme take a
moment to really see is repeated in the final
part.
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Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
1 1-2 A question leading to the theme take a moment to really see
2 3-10 The event of a blind couple trying to cross a busy intersection with the help of others
3 11-17 The three lessons learned
4 18 Back to the theme again
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Part IV Difficult Sentences 1. (Line 3, Para 1)
Too often we get caught up in our busy schedules,
thoughts of our next appointment, the traffic or
life in general, to even realize there are other
people nearby. We are often so busy with our
full schedules, thoughts about our next meeting,
the traffic or our life, that we are not even
aware that there are other people around us.
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2. (Line 2, Para 2) I witnessed an event that
showed me how being wrapped up in my own little
world has kept me from being fully aware of the
bigger world picture around me. I saw in person
an event that taught me how involved I was in my
own little world, and that and I failed to see a
bigger world.
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3. (Line 3, Para 3) I can beat the next light if
I race ahead of the pack. I can sail through
the next red light if I drive fast enough to be
the first of all those cars.
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4. (Line 1, Para 6) As I watched from the front
line of traffic (I had the best seat in the
house), I saw a miracle unfold before my eyes.
As I observed from the front, (I was in a
very good position), I saw a miracle present
itself in front of me. The best seat in the
house is a phrase which means the best position
in a place.
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5. (Line 1, Para 8) Never skipping a beat, the
couple adjusted their course as they followed the
coaching. The couple didnt quicken their
steps, but they changed their way as they
followed others instruction.
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6. (Line 3, Para 10) Here were human beings
stepping outside themselves for a moment to help
four people in need. Here are people who do not
consider their own interest for a moment to help
the four needy people.
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7. (Line 1, Para 13) The blind couples goal was
simply to get to the other side of the road
intact. The blind couple just wanted to go to
the other side of the road safely. Here intact
is the subject complement, indicating the state
of the subject, which is, they went to the other
side of the road, and they were safe.
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8. (Line 1, Para 17) As I drove away from that
busy intersection, I did so with more awareness
of life and compassion for others than I had
arrived there with. As I left the busy
intersection, I indeed thought that I understood
more of life and had more sympathy for others
than I first arrived there.
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Part V Language Points 1. be caught up to
become involved in sth. esp. unwillingly
??,?? e.g. Many African women, for reasons of
poverty, get caught up in drug trade.
Before long Max finds himself caught up in a
highly dangerous situation.
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2. tune out to stop paying attention to a
person, situation ignore ???? e.g. Whatever
you are talking about, children rapidly tune out
if you go beyond them. The father was so busy
that he tuned out the childrens screaming.
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3. beat v. to defeat or do better than ??,??
n. a regular movement or sound
??????(?),?? e.g. She has beaten her own record
of three minutes ten seconds. Fresh milk beats
powdered milk any time. My heart missed a beat
when she said, Yes, Ill marry you. You could
hear the steady beat of the drum from the
distance.
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4. clutch v. to take or try to take hold of
something tightly, usually in fear, worry or pain
???? e.g. Silent and pale, she clutched (onto)
her mothers hand. Clutching the money to his
chest, he hurried to the bank.
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5. navigate v. to direct the way that a ship,
aircraft, etc. will travel, or to find a
direction across, along or over an area of water
or land, often by using a map ?? e.g. Sailors
have special equipment to help them
navigate. Radio signals are used for navigating
both ships and aircrafts.
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6. initially adv. at the beginning ??,?? e.g.
Initially, most people approved of the new
scheme. The damage was far more serious than
initially believed.
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7. simultaneous adj. happening or being done at
exactly the same time ?????,??? e.g. There were
several simultaneous explosions in different
cities. They grabbed each others hands in
simultaneous panic.
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8. verify v. to prove that sth. exists or is
true, or to make certain that sth. is correct
??,?? e.g. Are you able to verify your
theory? These figures are surprisingly high and
theyll have to be verified.
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9. in unison together at the same time
??(???)??(?) e.g. The children find it
difficult to play their instruments in
unison. Management and workers must act in
unison to compete with foreign business.
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10. be taken aback to be very shocked or
surprised ???,??? e.g. I was rather taken aback
by her honesty. For a moment, I was completely
taken aback by her request.
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• 11. insurmountable adj. difficult to deal with
  ?????,?????
• e.g. The language difference proved to be an
  insurmountable barrier.
• He is facing the insurmountable problem at this
  stage.

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12. intact adj. not broken, damaged, or spoiled
(not before noun) ????? e.g. Only the medieval
tower had remained intact. His reputation
survived intact.
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• 13. intuition n. the ability to understand or
  know something because of a feeling rather than
  by considering the facts ??
• e.g. Intuition told her that it was unwise to
  argue.
• All my intuitions were against it.

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14. insight n. a sudden clear understanding of
something or part of something, esp. a
complicated situation or idea ( into) ??? e.g.
The article gives us a real insight into the
causes of the present economic crisis. The
research provides new insights into the way we
process language.
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15. incredible adj. too strange to be believed
or very difficult to believe ????? e.g. I find
it almost incredible that no one noticed these
errors. Its incredible how much Tom has
changed since he met Sally.
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16. compassion n. a strong feeling of sympathy
for someone who is suffering, and a desire to
help them ??,?? e.g. Did he feel any compassion
for the victim of his crime? I was shocked by
the doctors lack of compassion.
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• Part VI Practice
• Translation skills
• A short time ago, however, I witnessed an event
  that showed me how being wrapped up in my own
  little world has kept me from being fully aware
  of the bigger world picture around me.
• ???????,?????????????,????????????????????????????
  ?

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???????event??????,????? ????????,????????????
?? ??being wrapped up in my own little
world, ??????kept me from,?????????? ??,?????,????
?????????? ?????,????event???,?????keep me from
doing sth. ??????????, ????????,???????? ???
?,be wrapped up in sth.?????, ???,???????
??
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2. My mind and car were in auto pilot, ready to
go when suddenly my trance was broken by an
unforgettable sight. ????????????????,??????,????
??????????????????
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????????????????????????????????????,????????????
????, ????????,???????,??????????????????,?????
????????????,??????,????? ??,?????????????
???????????????,?????????,????????????????????????
???????????????,??????????,?????????,???????????
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3. My thought was quickly interrupted by horror
when I saw that the couple was not walking in the
crosswalk, but was instead veering diagonally,
directly toward the middle of the
intersection. ???????????,????????????????,??????
?,????????????????

????? when ????, ?I was just getting into the
bath when the telephone rang.(??????,????????)????
???????????
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4. Never skipping a beat, the couple adjusted
their course as they followed the
coaching. ?????????????,?????????,?????????
?????????????,???????????????????,????????????????
,?????????????,???????????????????????,????????
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5. Do this and you will realize that this moment
is all there is, more importantly, this moment is
all that you have to make a difference in
life. ????????,????????????????,?????,????????,??
??????????
??????,???????????????and you will????????????????
??????,????????Task 4 Structure
?????????,?????this moment,??????,?????, this
moment is all there is,??????????,?make a
difference ????????
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• Writing techniques
• Particles and infinitives can be used to
  simplify sentences. Many clauses can be turned
  into participles or infinitives, making the
  sentence shorter and more informative. This is
  true especially to clauses introduced by
  that/which is.
• a novel which is written by a university
  student
• ? a novel written by a university student
• a university student who is writing a novel
• ? a university student writing a novel
• a novel which should be finished this month
• ? a novel to be finished this month

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Error Reminder Dangling Modifiers (1) A
modifier will be dangling in midair if it does
not have a proper relation with the sentence
subject. This is because the implied actor of the
participles or infinitives (sometimes referred to
as logical subject or logical object) is not
really the subject of the sentence. Look at these
examples 1. Seeing from the window, a beautiful
pond lies in front of our house. 2. Made by
hand, I find these biscuits very delicious. 3. To
better understand the meaning, the article was
read again.
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Error Reminder Dangling Modifiers (2) To
correct these mistakes, we need to study the
relationship between the modifying verb and the
sentence subject, and use a proper form (active
or passive) to show the relation. The above
sentences can be improved in the following
way 1. Seeing from the window, we found a
beautiful pond lies in front of our house. 2.
Made by hand, these biscuits are very
delicious. 3. To better understand the meaning,
we read the article again.
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• Assignment
• 1. Oral Practice Make comments on You can do
  what you want to do. You can be what you want to
  be.
• 2. Questions for Text B
• 1) In what sense does the author say life
  is a journey? Do you agree with the author?
  Why?
• 2) Complete the sentence Life is ________.
  and justify your view about what life is.

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The End