Unit 4 Me and My Big Mouth

1. Unit 4 Me and My Big Mouth Terry Bradshaw with David Fisher

2. Terry Bradshaw

4. Structure analysis • Part One (para1) • main idea : to give reasons for his job transfer. • function: to provide the setting of the story (introductory information about whom, where, when, and why. ) • Part Two (para 2-13) • main idea: to recount his frustrating experiences as a toupee model. • function: to raise the first conflict and its climax.

5. Part Three ( para 14-27) • main idea: to describe his problems, his progress and success in broadcasting • function: to develop the second conflict, build up the climax and reach the solution. • Part Four (para 28) • main idea: to comment on his successful career transition. • function: to elicit the theme of the story (conclusive remark)

6. Para. 1 • fumble one’s way to do sth. • fumble (-bled, -bling) vt.: to feel or make (one‘s way) awkwardly 摸索；笨拙地做 e.g. He fumbled the door open. • fumble about 瞎摸 e.g. The blind man fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. e.g. Blinded by the soap, he had to fumble about for his glasses. • fumbler n. 摸索者, 笨手笨脚的人, 工作拙劣的人

7. Para.1--Questions: • 1. What is the meaning of “fine tradition ” mentioned in the text? • The expression “fine tradition” refers to people’s social value. Terry Bradshaw lives in a society that worships idols. It is common practice to follow the idols’ life-styles. People try to imitate them, such as wearing the same brand of jeans, having the same hair style, etc. In this way they feel they are more or less accepted as successful people too.

8. 2. Why does the writer talk about the “fine tradition ” of this country in this paragraph? • The writer’s mentioning of the fine tradition serves to justify his acceptance of the job as a toupee model.

9. supposedly想象上, 大概, 臆测 e.g. He was supposedly an American. 人们猜想他是个美国人。 e.g. Supposedly we should leave school before 9 and catch the 9: 30 bus to the hospital. Similar words: Luckily: it is lucky that… Hopefully: it is hoped that…

10. suppose: to assume to be true • suppose (that) 假定 • supposing (that) 假定 e.g. Supposing we're right, what should we do? 假设我们是正确的，我们应怎么办? e.g. Let's suppose (that) the news is true. 让我们假定这消息是真的。 • be supposed to (do): be expected or required to do; should 被期望或要求; 应该 e.g. You’re supposed to finish the job next Monday.

11. Part 2 The frustrating experiences (para2-13) • Questions: • 1. What is the company’s marketing strategy in hiring the writer as its model? • The toupee company attempts to make use of the writer’s fame to attract potential customers.

12. 2. Why were the parents bothered when they received their son’s modeled head? • 2. The story does not provide an explicit reason. Presumably it was because they wondered how their son’s head could be duplicated like this.

13. 3. Which of the following statements is true when Terry Bradshaw says it is the worst product endorsement he ever did? • A) He feels physically tired working as a model. • B) His parents are troubled by the toupee company. • C) He feels embarrassed having to wear the wig whenever he appears in public • D) He feels that he is losing his self-esteem (n. 自尊, 自负) and control of the situation.

14. get/be involved in:to take part in an activity or event, or to be connected with it in some way e.g. The President was involved in the political scandal.(丑闻) • the interests involved 涉及的利益 all governments involved 各有关政府 • endorsement: the act of signing your name in a contract; support 认可；签署 • spokesman: a man who speaks on behalf of another or others. • spokeswoman

15. Para. 3 • he-man (infml, humor) : a strong man with powerful muscles masculine • be embarrassed(to do sth; by sth ): to cause to feel self-conscious or ill at ease 使尴尬；使窘迫 e.g. She was embarrassed when they asked her age. Translation: 他被很多债务弄得焦灼不安。 He was embarrassed by many debts.

16. be [feel] embarrassed 局促不安 • embarrassing • embarrassed • embarrassment • to ease one's embarrassment

17. potential:capable of being but not yet in existence; latent e.g. a potential problem • potential customer:a person who may become a customer in the future • distributev. (~+to) to give out or deliver (the same thing to many people) 分；分发 e.g. He distributed written material about the election to every voter. • distributionn. the act of distributing or the condition of being distributed 分发；分配

18. Para. 4--6 • Holiday Inn假日酒店 • straw: 1)a slender tube used for sucking up a liquid. 用于吸液体的软管 2) stalks of threshed grain 麦杆 • It doesn't matter a straw. 一点也没有关系。 • It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. [谚]最后添加的一根稻草压断骆驼背脊; 最后凑上的一个细小因素引发一场大祸。

19. have trouble / difficulty (in) doing sth. : e.g. The factory is so noisy that they have trouble hearing each other. • in the meantime — meanwhile, during this time e.g. Please find a taxi, and in the meantime I’ll pack some food. • suffocatev. to (cause to) lose one’s life because of lack of air 使窒息；窒息而死

20. duplicate 1) vt: to copy e.g. duplicate a letter Translation:他又犯了和以前一样的错误。 He duplicated his former mistakes. 2) adj.双重的；两个一样的 • a duplicate key 两把完全一样的钥匙 • a duplicate copy 副本 3) n. (图画、相片等的)复制品; 副本; 抄件 原稿的副本 a duplicate of one's manuscript • duplication gene duplication 基因复制 sound tape duplication 录音带复制 duplicating machine 复印机

21. …while getting your head duplicated… : while an exact copy of your head is being made. • …is high on the list: is near the top of the list. Here it means that “being suffocated by plaster while getting your head duplicated for a toupee display” was one of the worst ways to die.

22. 9. figure of speech • Hyperbole: [修辞]夸张法 • synonyms(同义词): exaggeration ; overstatement • A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in “I could sleep for a year”. or “This book weighs a ton”. • 夸张法一种比喻，使用夸张来强调或产生某种效果，比如在 “我能睡一年.”或 “这书有一吨重中”.

23. More examples of hyperbole A : Have you asked your brother to do the dishes? B: ---1)Yes, many times.(很多遍了。) ---2)Yes, a thousand times.(无数次了。) Q: What is the difference? Origin: Hyperbole一词源于希腊语的huperbole，意思是exceed(超过)，是一种故意夸大其词(overstatement)或言过其实的修辞手法；其特点是对表达对象进行有违常识或不合逻辑的夸张性描写，以达到强烈的修辞效果。如：a river of tears (泪河)、a mountain of coal (煤山)、oceans of people (人海)...

24. 1)You are my lifesaver.(你是我的“救命恩人”。) • 2)You are 100% right.(你“百分之百”的正确。) • 3) A drop of ink may make a million think. (George G. Byron)(一滴墨水写成的文字可让千万人思索。) • 4)You make me feel guilty. • 5)I haven't seen you for ages. (好久不见了呀！) • 6)I could sleep for a whole year. (我太困了。) • 7)We're all tired to death. (我们快累死了。) • 8)One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. • 9) It's a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day.(今天阳光明媚，躲在家中实在太遗憾了。) • 10) He spent a lot of money, like water.

25. Para. 7--9 • mass-produce: to manufacture in large quantities often by or as if by assembly-line techniques. • mass production n. 大规模生产 • bother 1)打扰；烦扰 e.g. I'm busy, don't bother me. 2) （常与about, with, to连用）麻烦 e.g. Don't bother with/about it. 别为此操心。

26. Para. 10 • deal n. : agreement • make / do a deal with sb. • 我们来订个协议。 Let's make a deal. • That's a deal. • It's a deal. 就这么办, 一言为定。

27. commercial 1) n. an advertisement on television or radio. 2) adj. 商业的 • robust adj. 1) healthy and strong e.g. a robust young man一个精力充沛的年轻人 2) laborious 费力的(运动等) e.g. robust work 强体力劳动 3) dense e.g. robust coffee • surface: vi. to move to the surface

28. Para. 11--13 • tournament n. a series of contests 比赛, 锦标赛, 联赛 • take ( infml): bear; stand e.g. John can’t take his girlfriend’s complaint any more. • rip off : tear away quickly and violently e.g. The angry man ripped off the picture on the wall.

29. shove: to push (forward) rudely e.g. to shove a boat into the water 把船推到水里 • shove sth. in/into/under e.g. He bundledthe papers together and shoved them into a drawer.

30. Para. 14--16 • …because I gave them good sound bites • sound bite: (新闻节目中的）简短精要的讲话录音 • The sentence means when Terry Bradshaw was a football-player, reporters liked to talk to him because he always said something brief but interesting and sensible. This is a much needed talent in broadcasting.

31. executive: 1) (n.) a person or group having administrative or managerial authority in an organization. 执行者; 行政长官, 行政部门 e.g. financial executive财务主管 CEO: Chief Executive Officer 执行总裁,首席执行官 2) adj. 决策和执行的 e.g. a man of great executive ability 决策与执行能力强的人

32. team v. 1) team sb. with sb.: let sb work together with sb. e.g. The officer teamed the rookie with an experienced soldier. • team up with : work together for a shared purpose e.g. I teamed up with Jane to do the job.

33. veteran: 1）n. a person who is long experienced or practiced in an activity or a capacity:老手；老兵; 退伍军人 2) adj.资格老的；经验丰富的; e.g. a veteran actor资深演员

34. Para. 17--18 • quarterback n. [橄榄球] 四分卫 • “the big picture” refers to the general situation of the game (i.e. whether the team is winning or losing). • “the small frames” refers to a series of actions taking place at particular moments (i.e. details) • assignment: a position

35. Paraphrase As a player I only cared about the winning of the game, while as a broadcaster I soon learned it was the details, i.e. the series of actions taking place on the field that make up the whole view of the game.

36. Para. 20--21 • understate: to state with less completeness or truth v. 没有充分表达实情地陈述, 有意识地轻描淡写地陈述 e.g. They understate the seriousness of the crime. • in addition to: besides • that (distance): (usu. in negatives) so ; to such a degree e.g. He can’t walk that far.

37. Para. 23--24 • sweat through: 全身汗湿 e.g. She was sweating as she reached the top of the hill. • viewer: someone who is watching a particular television program电视观众 • co-host prefix: co- :together co-worker. co-operation, co-author

38. on the air:正在广播; 开始播送 • smack vt.打；击中 e.g. Put that down or else I'll smack you. • knock sb. out: to hit someone so hard that they fall down and become unconscious; defeat 打晕；击败 e.g. Jack hit Brian hard with his left fist and knocked him out instantly. e.g. Our team was knocked out early.

39. Para. 25 • brand-new: (a.) completely new e.g. a brand-new car • to talk hurt: to talk when I was hurt

40. Para. 26 • entertainern. 表演娱乐节目的人,演艺人员 e.g. He’s a popular television entertainer. • release 1）v. to set free; to issue for performance, sale, publication, or distribution释放；发布;上映；公演 e.g. release a prisoner release a report 2）n. the act of issuing something 发布 e.g. news release发布的新闻

41. offensive 1)a. causing anger or displeasure 令人不快的,侮辱的,粗鲁的 e.g. offensive words 2) n. military attack e.g. military offensive • offend v. violate; to cause anger or displeasure 违反；冒犯；令不愉快 • offense n. violation; the act of offending 违反; 冒犯 e.g. criminal offenses • all of a sudden: (ad.) suddenly

42. Para. 27 • lure n. 饵,诱惑v. 引诱,诱惑 e.g. the lure of fame/power/moneyShe was lured into the job by the offer of a high salary. • when the defensive isn’t biting: when the defensive is not deceived… • bite: to be taken in by a ploy or deception 上当，被骗：被策略或诡计所欺骗：

43. Para. 28 • inflated ellipsoid: is a substitute term for American football with the shape of an ellipsoid椭圆体that is inflated膨胀的with air. • inflatedadj.膨胀的；夸大的 e.g. an inflated ego

44. inflate vt. 1) to fill (something) with air or gas so as to make it swell. to inflate a tire 给轮胎打气 to inflate a balloon 给气球充气 inflate with pride 骄傲而得意洋洋 2) to cause (a currency or an economy) to undergo inflation. 使（一种货币或经济）通货膨胀 • inflation n. 通货膨胀

45. Paraphrase I thought my only talent was to play football, but in job transition I have come to realize what I can do best.