《综合英语》课程教学资源Ⅱ_35340_课程资源_2019级-综合英语II_unit 5 Quick Fix Society_unit 5

⑩nit 5 Text A Quick Fix Society Text B Hooked on the Quick Fix

Contemporary College English Text A Quick Fix Society Janet Mendell Goldstein 1 My husband and I just got back from a week's vacation in West Virginia.Of course, we couldn't wait to get there,so we took the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a couple of interstates."Look at those gorgeous farms!"my husband exclaimed as pastoral scenery slid by us at 55 mph."Did you see those cows?"But at 55 mph,it's difficult to see anything:the gorgeous farms look like moving green checkerboards,and the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror.For four hours,our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again.Getting there certainly didn't seem like half the fun;in fact,getting there wasn't any fun at all. So,when it was time to return to our home outside of Philadelphia,I insisted that we take a different route."Let's explore that countryside,"I suggested.The two days it took us to 114

Unit 5 make the return trip were filled with new experiences.We toured a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill that fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers had tried to take on another hot July afternoon,one hundred and twenty-five years ago,not knowing that half of them would get killed in the vain attempt.We drove slowly through main streets of sleepy Pennsylvania Dutch towns,slowing to twenty miles an hour so as not to crowd the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.We admired toy trains and antique cars in country museums and saved 70 percent in factory outlets.We stuffed ourselves with spicy salads and homemade bread in an"all-you-can-eat"farmhouse restaurant,then wandered outside to enjoy the sunshine and the herds of cows-no little dots this time-lying in it. And we returned home refreshed,revitalized,and reeducated.This time,getting there had been the fun. 3 Why is it that the featureless turpikes and interstates are the routes of choice for so many of us?Why doesn't everybody try slowing down and exploring the countryside?But more and more,the fast lane seems to be the only way for us to go.In fact,most Americans are constantly in a hurry d not just to get from Point A to Point B.Our country has become a nation in search of the quick fix -in more ways than one. Now instead of later:Americans understood the principle of deferred gratification.We put a little of each paycheck away"for a rainy day."If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin,we saved up for it,and the banks helped us out by providing special Christmas Club and vacation Club accounts.If we lived in the right part of the country,we planted com and beans and waited patiently for the harvest.If we wanted to be thinner,we simply ate less of our favorite foods and waited for the scale to drop,a pound at a time But today we aren't so patient.We take out loans instead of making deposits,or we use our credit card to get that furniture or vacation trip-relax now,pay later.We buy our food,like our clothing.ready-made and off the rack.And if we're in a hurry to lose weight,we try the latest miracle diet,guaranteed to take away ten pounds in ten days.unless we're rich enough to afford liposuction. Faster instead of slower:Not only do we want it now;we don't even want to be kept waiting for it.This general impatience,the"-hate-to-wait"attitude,has infected every level of our lives.Instead of standing in line at the bank,we withdraw twenty dollars in as many seconds from an automatic teller machine.Then we take our fast money to a fast convenience store (why wait in line at the supermarket?),where we buy a frozen dinner all wrapped up and ready to be put into the microwave.unless we don't care to wait even that long and pick up some fast food instead.And if our fast meal doesn't agree with us,we hurry to the medicine cabinet for-you guessed it-some fast relief.We like fast 15

Contemporary College English pictures,so we buy Polaroid cameras.We like fast entertainment,so we record our favorite TV show on the VCR.We like our information fast,too:messages flashed on a computer screen,documents faxed from your telephone to mine,current events in 90-second bursts on Eyewitness News,history reduced to Bicentennial Minutes.Symbolically,the American eagle now flies for Express Mail.How dare anyone keep America waiting longer than overnight? 6 Superficially instead of thoroughly:What's more,we don't even want all of it.Once,we lingered over every word of a classic novel or the latest best seller.Today,since faster is better,we read the condensed version or put a tape of the book into our car's tape player to listen to on the way to work.Or we buy the Cliffs Notes,especially if we are students,so we don't have to deal with the book at all.Once,we listened to every note of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.Today,we don't have the time;instead,we can enjoy 26 seconds of that famous"da-da-da-DUM theme"-and 99 other musical excerpts almost as famous-on our Greatest Moments of the Classics CD.After all,why waste 45 minutes listening to the whole thing when someone else has saved us the trouble of picking out the best parts?Our magazine articles come to us pre-digested in Readers Digest.Our news briefings,thanks to USA Today,are more brief than ever.Even our personal relationships have become compressed.Instead of devoting large parts of our days to our loved ones,we replace them with something called "quality time,"which,more often than not,is no time at all.As we rush from book to music to news item to.relationship,we do not realize that we are living our lives by the iceberg principlepaying attention only to the top and ignoring lies just below the surface. 7 When did it all begin,this urge to do it now,to get it over with,to skim the surface of life?Why are we in such a hurry to save time?And what are we going to do with all the time we save besides,of course,rushing out to save more time?The sad truth is that we don't know how to use the time we save,because all we're good at is saving time.not spending time. Don't get me wrong.I'm not saying we should go back to growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes.I'm not even advocating a mass movement to cut all our credit cards into little pieces.But I am saying that all of us need to think more seriously about putting the brakes on our"we-want-it-all-and-we-want-it-now"lifestyle before we speec completely out of control.Let's take the time to read every word of that story,hear every note of that music,and enjoy every subtle change of that countryside.Let's rediscover life in the slow lane.(1,204 words)

Unit 5 Notes on the Text 1.About the author and the Text Janet Mendell Goldstein(1940-)received her advanced degrees at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.An educator for thirty years,she now works as an editoria consultant,freelance writer,and textbook author.Her work has appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines,including the English Journal,Faith and Inspiration,and The Philadelphia inguirer.This text is adapted from an essay out of a series that she has writter about contemporary life. 2.Pennsylvania Turnpike and a couple of interstates.(para.1) They are highways that are within the state of Pennsylvania or between states. 3.the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror.(para.1) There are a number of nouns that refer to groups of people or things.They are used with "of+a plural noun,"which indicates what the group consists of.Here"herd"is one of such nouns.Further examples: An army of volunteers is working for the project. A team of specialists has arrived to look into the accident. Herds of cows are grazing in the meadow. These words usually have singular verbs when the group does the same action at the same time and plural verbs when the group do different actions or go different ways.More examples: The herd of deer were wandering here and there through the fields and woods. The group of tourists were enjoying themselves in their various ways-on the swings,on the rocks,on the beach. But today,a plural verb is also acceptable with a singular noun.For example, A bunch of bananas were ordered for the girl. 4.Civil War(para.2) This refers to the American Civil War which was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the Norther and Souther states.The war ended in victory for the Norther industrial states which led to the abolition of slavery in the South. 5.Dutch towns(para.2) This refers to the German-speaking communities that immigrated to Pennsylvania during the 17th and 18th centuries in their search for religious freedom.They were mostly Lutheran( 德教的)and Reformed Protestants(新教改革者)，but also included such unique religious sects as the Amish,who have retained their original culture up to this day.The word"Dutch" actually came from the sound of"Deutsch"which means"German"in German. 117

Contemporary College English 6.slowing to twenty miles an hour so as not to crowd the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.(para.2) "So as not to do sth.,"meaning"in order to prevent sth.from happening."is used to express a negative purpose.More examples: Robert went tiptoeing upstairs so as not to wake his wife He walked as fast as he could so as not to be left behind. 7.in search of the quick fix.(para.3) This means looking for better and more effective ways of getting things done,or easy ways with little effort. 8.If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin,we saved up for it.(para.4) When we talk about a common occurrence in the past,we use either the simple past tense or the modal"would."More examples: If we lived in the right part of the country,we planted com and beans.(para.4) If Grandma felt good,she'd take a walk in the afternoon. And ifwe're in a hurry to lose weight,we try the latest miracle diet.(para.4) When we talk about a common occurrence,we can use the simple present tense or the presen continuous tense in the conditional clause,and use the simple present tense in the main clause.More examples: If a tap is leaking,it needs fixing. If a baby is hungry,it starts crying. If you say to a friend that she looks smart because you don't want to hurt her,you are telling a white lie. 9.the American eagle(para.5) It is a company logo (image for American Federal Express,which is known for its fast and safe postal service across the country 10.Express Mail (para.5) Aspecial postal service in the United States which promises an instant delivery to the clients within 24 hours 11.Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (para.6) Ludwig Van Beethoven(1770-1827)is one of the greatest composers in the world.He composed nine symphonies and numerous other famous works during his lifetime.His Fifth Symphony was produced at the height of his creative career probably around 1816. 12.USA Today (para.6) This is one of the most popular daily national newspapers in the United States.It was launched in 1982 and in the 1990s,reached a circulation of more than 2 million. 18

Unit 5 Glossary advocate/'aedvakeit/ v.to support an idea or a plan amusement/a'mju:zmant/ n.enjoyment antique/aen'ti:k/ adj.being old and therefore valuable automatic/:to'matik/ ad.Automatic Teller Machine(ATM自动取款机 battlefield/'baetlfi:ld/ n.a place where a battle is being fought or has been fought bicentennial adj.of or relating to the two-hundredth anniversary of a /baisen'tenial significant event brake/breik/ n.a device for slowing or stopping a vehicle;put the~s on 刹车 briefing/'bri:fin/ n.a meeting or document in which people receive information or instructions;:news~新闻发布会 burst/b3:st/ n.a short period of a particular activity or strong emotion that often starts suddenly cabinet/'kabinit/ n.a piece of furniture with doors,shelves or drawers for storing things,medicine~药 carriage/'kaerid3/ n.a wheeled vehicle,esp.a private horse-drawn vehicle CD/,si:'di:/ n.abbreviation for compact disk.a small disk on which sound or information is recorded checkerboard/'tfekabo:d/n.a board on which chess and checkers are played,divided into 64 squares of two alternating colors棋盘：方格图案 classic/'klaesik/ adj.accepted or deserving to be accepted as one of the best or most important of its kind经典的 compress/kam'pres/ ,to force into less space压缩 condense/kan'dens/ v.to put into a smaller or shortened form紧缩：缩小 confederate/kon'fedorat/ adj.belonging to a political union of states;the Confederate Amy美国内战时期的南方军队 consist/kan'sist/ v.of:to be formed from the things or people mentioned 组成 constantly/'konstantl/ ad(AmE)all the time;repeatedly始终，一直地 convenience n.the condition of being suitable to one's needs and easy to /kan'vi:njans/ reach;~store便利店 credit/'kredit/ n.~card:a small plastic card that you can use to buy goods or services and pay for them later信用卡 current/'kArant/ ad.(4mE)of the present time;~events时事 defer/dr'f3:(r)/ ,to delay until a later date;~red gratification延期的满足（先苦 后甜) 119

Contemporary College English diet/'darot/ n.a limited range and amount of food you eat when you want to get thinner诚肥食谱 digest/'daid3est/ n.a short piece of writing that gives the most important facts from a book,report,ctc.文摘 dots/dpts/ n.(pl)small round marks小点 excerpt/'eks3:pt/ n.ashort piece of writing,music,film,etc.taken from a longer whole exit/'eksit/ n.a way out of a public building or vehicle explore/iks'pl:(r) v.to travel to or around an area in order to learn about it express /Iks'pres/ ad山.traveling very fast;~mail快递邮件 eyewitness/'al,witnis/ n.a person who has seen a crime,accident,etc.and can describe it afterwards目ti人 fax/facks/ v totransmit(printed matter or an image)by electronic means发传真 featureless/'fi:t fols/ adj.uninteresting,without noticeable features fix /fiks n.(infinl)a solution to a problem esp.an easy or temporary one: quick~即时解决方案 flash/flae[/ v.to pass very quickly gorgeous/'go:d3as/ adj.(infiml)very beautiful gratification n.satisfaction /,graetifr'keifan/ gratify /'graetifal/ v.to please or satisfy guaranteed adj.be~to:to be certain to /,garan'ti:d/ herd/h3:d/ n.a large group of animals of one kind which live and feed together iceberg/'aisb3:g/ n.a large piece of ice floating in the sea,most of which is below the surface ignore/ig'n:(r)/ v.not to take notice of infect/n'fekt/ v.to pass on a disease to sb.;to corrupt interstate/,nt(:)'stert/ n.a very wide road for long distance between US states lakeside /'leiksaid/ n.the area around the edge of a lake lane /lein/ n.the two or three parallel areas on a main road which are divided by painted lines to keep fast and slow traffic apart;the fast~ 快车道 latest/'lertrst/ a.the most recent or newest最新的 lifestyle/'larfstal/ n.the way a person or a group of people lives and works linger/'lig(r)/ v.to stay a little longer because you do not want to leave;~over 非何于平. liposuction n.the removal of fat from sb.'s body by means of suction脂肪抽 /larpau,sAkfan/ 及术) 120

Unit 5 microwave/maikrauwerv/n.a high-frequency electromagnetic wave微波（炉） miracle/'mirakl/ n.(infiml)an event that cannot be explained according to the laws of nature;:~diet速效减肥食谱 mph /'matlzpa'aua/ n.abbr.for miles per hour outlet/autlet/ n.a shop or a place where a particular product is sold;:这里指(T 厂附设的)门市部 overnight/'auvanait/ adv.during the night;(here infinl)suddenly pastoral/'pa:stral/ ad.typical of the simple peaceful life in the country田园风光的 paycheck/'peitfek/ n.a salary check Pennsylvania n.a state of the eastern United States宾夕法尼亚州 /pensil'veinia/ Polaroid/'paularDrd/ n.a trademark"宝丽来”，一次成像的照相机 predigested/,pri:dr'd3est/ ad.(of information)put in a simple form经过简化、压缩的 quality/'kwplot/ ad.of a high standard;~time(和孩子一起度过的)宝贵时光 最佳时间 rack/raek/ n.货架，off the~(AmE)随手从货架上取下来的 rear/rI(r)/ -view mirror:a mirror in which a driver can see the traffic behind后视镜 reduce/rr'dju:s/ v.to make sth.less or smaller in size,be-dto缩小成 refresh/rr'fref/ v.to make you feel you have more energy again and not so tired or hot relief/rr'li:f/ n.the act of removing or reducing pain,.anxicty;for fast~快速通便 revitalize/,ri:'vartalaz/ v.to put new strength and power into route/raut/ n.the way from one place to another on a map salad/'salad/ n.a mixture of raw vegetables or fruit scale/skerl/ n.an instrument for weighing people or things scenery/'si:nari/ n.natural surroundings in beautiful and open country screen/skri:n/ n.the surface of a computer display电i屏幕 skim/skrm/ v to move through(life)quickly,hardly touching the surface slide/slaid/ v.to pass by quietly without being noticed;~by speed/spi:d/ v.to make sth move or happen faster,~out of control疯狂加速 到失去控制 spicy /'spaist/ ad.(food)having a pleasantly strong taste辛辣的 stuff/staf/ y(infml)to fill a container or space with sth.:(here)to eat a lot of food or too much food subtle/'sAtl/ ad.hardly noticeable unless you pay careful attention微妙的 superficially/,su:pa'ffol/ adv.on the surface;not deeply or thoroughly 心

Contemporary College English symbolically/sm'bolkal/adk,relating to,or expressed by means of or symbols象征牲地 symphony/'simfoni n.a musical work for a large group of instruments交响乐 theme/0i:m/ n.a short simple tune that is repeated and developed in a piece of music(乐曲)主题 tour/tua(r)/ .to visit for pleasure turnpike/'to:npaik/ n.(AmE)a large road for fast traffic,esp.one that drivers have to pay to use收费公路 urge/3:d3/ n.a strong wish for sth. VCR/,vi:si:'a:/ n,abbr.for video cassette recorder录像机 version/'v3:fan/ n.a slightly different form of sth.(book,film,story,etc.)from the original版本 wander/'wonda(r)/ v.to walk slowly without a purpose West Virginia n.a state of the western United States西弗吉尼亚w /westva(:)'dsinia/ Preview Listen to the recording of the text and then fill in the blanks in the following sentences. 1.The author believes that people in the United States are now becoming. They can't wait for things to. .They are always in a 2.The author says that today people in the US usually travel by the lane,eat take _enjoy fast read fast fast relief.The whole society has become a society and its motto is: skim the surface of life. 3.The author says that the people in the US are good at time but not at _time.Today the question is not to save time,but to know what to do with the time they have saved.If they use the time they have saved just to then the urge for speed or efficiency will become an obsession. 4.Americans usually believe that faster is The author thinks that there has to be a There has to be a serious effort to _on this impatient lifestyle.People should so that they will have the time to read,to enjoy music,to develop personal relationships,to enjoy beautiful scenery,to rediscover life 122