Unit 7

Choices in Life

Talking about following questions

1) What is the biggest decision you have ever made? Why did you make that decision?

2) What do you think is the most important decision in your life? Why?

3) Would you like to ask for others’ suggestion when you make a decision?

4) What factors can influence your decision making?

Practice 2

第九届“ 21世纪杯”全国英语演讲比赛亚军——魏香君

English Prepared Speech

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Today I would like to begin with my personal experience.

Before getting enrolled in college, I had been bombarded with suggestions.

"Take courses of different subjects. Broaden your horizon." my high school teacher advised.

Listening Script

"Dive into campus activities. Have fun!" a friend said. She was well seasoned in Student Union affairs.

"Work hard. Get as many A's as possible. Make your transcript look good!" my cousin offered. By the way, she was a senior busy hunting for a job.

As for my mom, she simply said, "Take care. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Dive into campus activities. Have fun!" a friend said. She was well seasoned in Student Union affairs.

Listening Script

"Work hard. Get as many A's as possible. Make your transcript look good!" my cousin offered. By the way, she was a senior busy hunting for a job.

As for my mom, she simply said, "Take care. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Composed but hopeful, I eagerly set out for an exciting life at college. Yet very soon, as I pondered these golden rules, I was overwhelmed and bewildered. Such advice all made perfect sense. Yet I couldn't figure out what should top my priority list.

Listening Script

My first semester at college was stimulating in a somewhat anarchic ( 无政府状态的 ) way. I rushed from library to club, from classroom to tennis court, "enjoying", as it were, the freshness of being a freshman at the expense of my sleep. Little by little, however, I became overtaxed and eventually fell victim to the "Yu Men" syndrome - "Yu Men" being stressful misery. Literally, I was overwrought from the pressures of work and life at college. I wanted to experience and excel. I wanted everything. Emotionally, I was like an insatiable （不知足的） kid whose hand had got stuck in the candy jar with way too many sweets.

Listening Script

Luckily I didn't suffer for too long from my "get-everything" malaise （不舒服） . Recently, Mr. Tom Freston, president of the media company MTV came to my school. His talk inspired me. He proudly told us that the average age of his employees is only 28. What's the secret behind the success of his young team? "Sagacity," （睿智，聪敏） he told us, "In other words, being conscious of what one is doing and what one is able to do."

Listening Script

Exactly! As a freshman about to be a sophomore, I realize now that our time and stamina don't allow us to extend ourselves in all directions. So the moral responsibility of college education is to teach students the art of making important choices. No matter how hard the growing pains are, mastering this art is at the heart of every undergraduate's success, whether in school now or in life later on.

Listening Script

So I am learning to make such choices. Joining this competition, for instance, has been one. I've wanted to fully experience this contest, to make friends, to discover what my age peers believe and to stretch myself in new and unexpected ways. I imagine this is true for most contestants here today. But to do so, we've chosen to set aside pleasures, such as watching TV series "Friends" and karaoke evenings, so we could invest more time in more reading, speaking, and study.

Listening Script

Yet this competition, by forcing us to take charge of our decisions, has surely helped us define our values, find out what we're capable of doing, and learn what best suits our individual development. I believe this knowledge of one's own caliber is the most valuable, integral and longest lasting lesson for students in this increasingly competitive world.

Listening Script

As for the challenges and opportunities for us, they will be determined by how adequately our education trains us to gain a clear perception of ourselves, and thereby to make sensible choices that follow. College education, as British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said, "should be energizing as the poet of our dreams and the architect of our purposes." Such purpose, self-discipline and vision all hinge on the art of choice-making.

Listening Script

As I look back on the advice received those very first days on campus, I no longer feel perplexed, because I now have my own guideline: Make choices that lead to a clearer vision of who I am, what I can do, and how I may best tap my potential. The horizon is now wide but distinct. And the taste already feels sweet.

Thank you!

Listening Script

Appreciate the poem “The Road Not Taken” written

by Robert Frost , and analyze its deep meaning.

The Road Not Taken Robert Frost 1920

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.

The Road Not Taken Robert Frost 1920

And both that morning equally lay, In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

1. Risk

e.g. By criticizing the boss Mr. Smith risked losing his job.

At risk 有危险，冒风险At the risk of doing sth 冒可能（做某事）的风险At the risk to sb/sth 冒失去或殃及某人 /某物的风险Run the risk of doing sth; run risks 冒自身风险做某事Take a risk ; take risks 冒险做可能失败、有危险的事

New Words & Phrases

New Words & Expressions

2. harmDo more harm than good 弊大于利e.g. If we interfere, it may do more harm than good. There is no harm in (sb’s) doing sth/ it does no harm for sb to do sth 做某事并无害处e.g. He may not be able to help but there’s no harm in asking him. Harm set, harm get. / Harm watch, harm catch.害人害己。

New Words & Phrases 3. Injure v.

be slightly / seriously / badly injured in the crash

在事故中受的伤很轻 /很重。Injure one’s health (by smoking, drinking, etc)

( 因吸烟、饮酒等 )损害健康Malicious gossip which seriously injured her reputation

严重损害了她名誉的流言蜚语。

词义辩析 : wound, injure, hurt A person is wounded by a sharp instrument or bullet tea

ring the flesh. Wound 指利器或子弹对肉体造成的伤害。这种伤害是故意的行为，常与作战或战争有关。

People are injured in an accident, eg with a machine or in sport. Injure 通常指人在意外事故中受到的伤害，如由机器制成的或在运动中受到的伤害。

Hurt may be as serious as injure or it may relate to a minor pain. Hurt 指的伤害可与 injure 同样严重，也可指比较轻的疼痛。

New Words & Phrases

4. strategy 策略，战略[经济领域用法 ]：Business strategy 企业战略，经营策略Corporate strategy 公司策略Operating strategy 经营策略

New Words & Phrases

5. alarm n. warning of danger 警报

give/raise/sound the alarm 发出警报

e.g. The outbreak of SARS and bird flu sounds an alarm to human being’s consciousness of environmental protection.

A false alarm 虚假的警报，虚惊e.g. The rumors of a petrol shortage turned out to be a false alarm.

New Words & Phrases

New Words & Expressions

6. advancement n.

[ 谚语 ]：He who does not advance loses ground.逆水行舟，不进则退。Knowledge advances by steps not by leaps.

知识的获得是循序渐进而不是突飞猛进的 . [ 经济领域含义 ] ：预付、贷款、垫款

New Words & Expressions

7. career n.

career woman

career counseling

career planning

职业妇女职业咨询职业规划

Career adj. e.g. career diplomats; a career criminal.职业外交官；职业罪犯

词义辨析词义辨析 ::careercareer , occupationoccupation , professional occupprofessional occupationation , jobjob

Career ~ the type of work that you do or wish to do for most of your working life, especially where this involves several similar jobs over a long period of time 职业，生涯，一生的事业e.g. Like his father, Tom chose a career in the army.

Occupation ~ a word used especially in an official context meaning someone's usual full-time job 工作，职业e.g. Please fill in the details of your present occupation.

Professional occupation (=profession)

~ a type of work which people usually regard with respect, for which you need special training and have to pass special examinations. 专业，职业

e.g. Teaching is a profession that requires total commitment.

词义辨析词义辨析 ::careercareer , occupationoccupation , professional occupprofessional occupationation , jobjob

Job ~ the particular activity that someone does regularly in order to earn money, especially when they are employed by someone else 工作，职业e.g. The factory closed down last month and 1,800 people lost their jobs.

New Words & Expressions

8. excessive adj.Excess n.

To excess 过度，过分，无度e.g. He drunk to excess. 他嗜酒无度[ 经济领域用法 ] ：Excess baggage charge 超重行李费Excess fare 补差费，补票费Excess profit 超额利润

New Words & Expressions

9. failure n.e.g. Failure is the mother of success.

失败是成功之母。 [经济领域用法 ]：1) 无支付能力，无偿债能力，破产

e.g. a bank failure 银行倒闭2) ( 尤指在某个重要处）失灵，缺乏

e.g. crop failure 农作物歉收 market failure 市场失灵

Passage Reading

Take Risks When There’s No Danger

1. Many of us have grown up with warnings to be careful. (l. 1)

译文 :

我们许多人从小到大一直被提醒要小心谨慎。

注意本句的翻译方式英文主动转换为汉语中的被动

2. Imagine how differently you might have developed if your friends and family said to you, “Take risks.” (l. 3)

Might have done something本来可能……

这确实非常危险，你有可能会使他严重受伤。

e.g. It was really very dangerous; you might have injured him seriously.

3. Or does the thought cross your mind that you might become physically injured or harmed? (l. 6)

• that you might become physically injured or harmed 是 thought 的同位语从句。• 同位语从句是名词从句的一种。它往往放在名词后面，对名词作进一步补充说明。•翻译时可根据情况运用以下不同方法：重复先行词法，先行词转化表语解释法，从句关系转换法；也可译为汉语同位语或外位语。

译文 : 或者，你是否想过这样你的身体可能会受伤这样你的身体可能会受伤？

4. If you color your thoughts about the future with alarming thoughts, … (l. 16)

Color v. ~ influence, especially in a negative way.

影响某事物（尤指不良方面）e.g. His attitude to marriage has been color

ed by an unhappy childhood.

译文 : 倘若你在思想上给未来抹上惊恐的色彩…

5. Risk is when an outcome is uncertain. Danger is when your flesh will be torn. (l. 27)

Tear one’s flesh肉体受到严重伤害

译文 : 当结果不确定时就有风险，而当你肉体要受到严重伤害时就有危险。

Risk exists when an outcome is uncertain. Danger exists when your flesh will be torn.

6. I know a manager who used to be frightened by the thought of speaking in front of an audience. (l. 32)

相关的词组： at the thought of … 一想到 ······the very (mere) thought of … 只要一想起 ······ 就 ······

译文 : 我认识一位经理，他以前一想到要面对公众演讲就十分害怕。

7. With his new skill, he has developed into a more positive, successful leader. (l. 39)

注意英文中的介词短语转化为汉语中的动词短语

译文 : 由于具备了演讲这一新技能，他成了一位更积极、更成功的领导者。

Salt-free foods

A trouble-free journey

A worry-free girl

8. You can use these danger-free, risk-taking strategies immediately. (l. 57)

后缀 -free ~ free of /from

无…的，免除…的

不含盐的食物

一次非常顺利的旅行

无忧无虑的女孩

Text Structure para. 1-2

“Take risks” may make people extremely successful. para. 3-9

Most people confuse “risks” with “danger”. para. 10-13

Risk is different from danger. Taking risks may bring people success, while danger should be avoided.

para. 14-16People should separate risk from danger and take risks when there is no danger.

Group Discussion Do you agree with the author to take risks

when there is no danger? Do you think yourself a risk-taker or safe-

player? What factors can influence people’s

character to be a risk-taker or safe-player? Have you had any experience of taking

risks? If yes, share with your classmates.