Unforgettable Teachers

1. UnforgettableTeachers Unit Four

2. Objectives • Grasp the main idea and structure of the text; • Learn to develop an essay in chronological order along with comparison and contrast; • Master the key language points and usage; • Conduct a series of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities related to the theme of the unit.

3. Time allotment

4. Questions to Answer 1) Do you still remember some of your teachers when you were at school? 2) Is there any one of them who you admired most? Why? 3) Is there any one of them who you were most afraid of? Why? 4) What do you think a good teacher should be like? 5) Do you think Prof. Agassiz was a good teacher? Give your reasons.

5. Class Activity 1) Divide into groups of 4-5. 2) One of the group will think of something or someone to describe. All the others try to make a drawing according to his/her description. The student who describes should try to give as much detail as he / she could. 3) Give brief reports to the whole class.

6. Cultural NotesSamuel Scudder(1837-1911) He was born in Boston and attended Williams College. In 1857 he entered Harvard where he studied under the noted professor Louis Agassiz. Scudder later held various positions and helped found the Cambridge Entomological Club. He published hundreds of papers and developed a comprehensive catalog of three centuries of scientific publications in mathematics and the natural and physical science. While working for the United States Geological Survey, he named more than a thousand species of fossil insects. Although later scientists would question some of his conclusions, much of Scudder’s work is still admired for attention to detail.

7. Cultural NotesLouis Agassiz(1807-1873) One of the great scientists of his day, and one of the “founding fathers” of the modern American scientific tradition, Louis Agassiz remains something of a historical enigma (谜). A great systematist and paleontologist (古生物学家) , a renowned teacher and tireless promoter of science in America, he was also a lifelong opponent of Darwin's theory of evolution. Yet even his most critical attacks on evolution have provided evolutionary biologists with insights. Click here for for more information:  

8. Cultural NotesHaemulon (石鲈) • Click here to see a species summary of haemulon scudderii: A picture drawn by Scudder

9. Text Organization Part One(§1-8):Scudder’s first morning in the laboratory was characterized by boredom and despair. Part Two(§9-14):By drawing the fish in the afternoon, Scudder discovered new features in the fish but failed to notice its most conspicuous characteristic. Part Three(§14-18): Scudder discovered one new feature after another when he began to work in earnest and saw how just the Professor’s criticism had been. Part Four(§19-24): By the end of the third day, Scudder had learned the best entomological lesson in his life, one that was to guide his subsequent study and research. Part Five(§25-28): The eight months Scudder spent studying haemulons was of greater value to him than years of later investigation into insects.

10. Language learning 1. enroll:put onto the official list; (cause to) enter or join (followed by in / on) e.g. Mrs. Jones has enrolled her daughter in the ballet class. Students desiring to be enrolled as members should send in their names at once.

11. 2. latter:the second of the two people or things just mentioned e.g. There were three young men in the room, and two young women. The latter were Melanie’s flat-mates. We have to decorate the kitchen and the hall – I’d rather do the latter first. a.near to the end, later e.g. By the latter half of July the total was well over two million. Building of the new library should begin in the latter part of next year.

12. 3. ground sb in sth.:teach sb the main points or rules (of a subject) as a base for further study (usually passive) e.g. Every educated man of the 19th century was well grounded in Latin and Greek. She tried to ground her son in arithmetic. 4. by and by:before long, soon e.g. You will find happiness by and by. The pain will go away by and by.

13. 5. entrust:assign the care of; turn over for safekeeping (used in the pattern: entrust sth. to sb.; entrust sb. with sth.) e.g. She entrusted her savings account book to a safety-deposit box. Children are too young to be entrusted with family money. 6. commend:speak favorably of; recommend (followed by for / on) e.g. I was commended by Richards for my report. For a low-budget film it has much to commend it. She commended the steadfast courage of families caring for handicapped children.

14.  commend itself / oneself to sb.:cause to be acceptable or pleasing e.g. This textbook does not commend itself to the students. The emphasis of peace will commend itself to all. 7. haunt:pervade; visit frequently e.g. The woman’s dark face haunted her. Fighting in Vietnam was an experience that would haunt him for the rest his life.

15. 8. look sb. / sth. in the face:meet with a steady look, face bravely or without shame e.g. I could hardly look her in the face after calling her by the wronf name. 9. fringe:decorate with fringe; be a fringe for e.g. Her eyes were fringed with unusually long lashes. She was wearing a fringed leather skirt. n. (decorative) edge e.g. My aunt used to have a rust-colored tablecloth with a fringe around it.

16. 10. arch:provide with an arch; have the curved shape of an arch e.g. She looked at him and her thin eyebrows arched. The rockets arched into the night sky. 11. perplexity:sth. that causes uncertainty, doubt or confusion; feeling of being confused or worried by sth. you can’t understand e.g. She looked at him in some perplexity, trying to work out what he meant. Perhaps we shall find answers to the great perplexity.  perplex:make (sb.) feel confused and worried e.g. The disease, which affects young children of both sexes, has continued to perplex doctors and public health workers.

17. 12. thoroughly:completely e.g. We had not studied the language thoroughly. He went through the report thoroughly but the information he wanted wasn’t given anywhere.  thorough:done or proceeding through to the end; omitting nothing e.g. The vet gave the animal a thorough check-up. They did a thorough search of the area but found nothing.

18. 13. discourse:make a long formal speech (followed by on / upon) e.g. Howard discoursed on a topic he had grown greatly interested in. She discoursed at length upon the relationship between crime and environment. n.a series speech or piece of writing about a particular subject e.g. She embarked on a discourse about the town’s origin. He noticed the discourse upon the nature of life after death on the newspaper.

19. 14. enthusiastically:in an enthusiastic manner e.g. The President was welcomed enthusiastically by a cheering crowd. She admires the film star enthusiastically. enthusiastic:a.having or showing enthusiasm (followed by about) e.g. Sarah was very enthusiastic about learning to read. You don’t seem very enthusiastic about the party – don’t you want to go tonight?

20. 15. leave sb. to one’s own devices:allow sb. to deal with problems unaided e.g. Left to my own devices I’d eat the whole cake. The teacher left us to our own devices in choosing the books for our reports. 16. part with:give away; stop having e.g. She don’t want to part with the money. I’ve never had much success getting him to part with his cash.

21. 17. be engaged (up)on / in:be busy doing; occupied with e.g. The work we’re engaged on is a study of b\heat transfer. She’s part of a team of scientists who are engaged on cancer research. 18. turn to:start doing or becoming involved with (Here to functions as preposition.) e.g. In his desperation, he turned to drink. In 1939 he turned to film earnestly. Click here for additional exercises.

22. Student Presentation Directions: You are required to look up the following words and expressions in the dictionary and give a brief presentation in the class. • Steadfast • Rehearsal • Arch • Conspicuous • Wretched • Cordial • Subsequent • Resemblance • Odor • Fragrant • orderly • Be content with • Reluctance • investigation • Energetic • Specimen • Explicit • Infectious • Sacred • Ardent • Beast

23. Writing Assignment Directions: You are required to write a composition of no less than 150 words on the topic What Makes a Good Teacher. It should be finished in no more than 30 minutes. The composition must be based on the following outline given in English. • The qualities a good teacher should have • An example of a good teacher you have met.

24. Additional Exercises D B A 1. After the 4-day long and tiring journey, all the group members were fit to drop. a. were suitable for a stop b. were in good health c. were ready to have a rest d. were so tired that they almost collapsed 2. Although he has just graduated from school, the young accountant seemed very well grounded in his field. a. experienced in b. knowledgeable about c. familiar with d. promising 3. The mayor commended the young girl for her brave behavior in saving the drowning baby. a. praised b. complimented c. favored d. thanked

25. 4. Knowing what he did was totally wrong, David couldn’t look his mother in the eye when he entered the room. a. look into her eye b. observe her face c. face her without shame d. take a glance at her 5. You really disconcerted me when you talked about my mistakes last night. a. disturbed b. embarrassed c. worried d. confused 6. She gave each of her grandchildren some money, telling them to be sure to use it to good purpose. a. use it to help others b. make a plan of spending it c. use it legally d. spend it on something useful 7. The director said that we still had time for a trial performance before Friday. a. practice b. rehearsal c. preparation d. preview 8. She will have finished writing the book in a month with the full blessing of her parents. a. support b. prayer c. affection d. protection C B D B A

26. 9. Don’t worry about the test: it’s nothing but a measure of how you’re getting on. a. estimate b. rating c. yardstick d. criterion 10. Left to their own devices, some of the young children began to cry for mama. a. Left unnoticed b. Left alone c. Left behind d. Left out of sight 11. The museum promised to pay large amounts of money if the dinosaur fossil _____ are good. a. specimens b. species c. samples d. prototypes 12. She was very _____ about what she thought should be done to improve the plan. a. definite b. explicit c. positive d. distinct 13. His enthusiasm was really _____, and now all of us are filled with anticipation. a. epidemic b. infective c. effective d. infectious C B A B D

27. 14. Members on the radical _____ of the party would like to see more protest marches being organized. a. margins b. frontiers c. verges d. fringes 15. Her voice sounds like her mother’s, but there the _____ ends. a. likelihood b. conformity c. resemblance d. sameness 16. The family live in a _____ section of town where the houses are falling apart. a. wretched b. disserted c. barren d. desolate 17. People who are ______ for a quick cure are likely to be disappointed. a. fervent b. eager c. ardent d. earnest 18. They lay on the green grass, chatting and sleeping, in peaceful ______. a. content b. contention c. comfort d. complacency 19. As far as I know, gambling is prohibited within the ______ of our university. a. campus b. vicinity c. boundaries d. precincts D C A B A D

28. 20. We could see that one of the old Rome aqueducts, which were stone channels to carry the water supply to Rome, was supported by ______. a. arches b. arcs c. domes d. vaults 21. Scientists believe that these fossils belonged to the prehistoric ______ of the horse. a. ascendants b. predecessors c. anecdotes d. antecedents 22. Quarrel happens every time he enters into ______ with his colleagues. a. account b. negotiation c. correspondence d. discourse 23. The old man stared at the instruction booklet in ______, trying to work out how to make it run. a. anxiety b. uncertainty c. perplexity d. doubt 24. The hounds had been on the ______ of the fox for several miles, but they lost it near the river. a. perfume b. fragrance c. odor d. scent A D D C D

29. 25. I was going to give away these books, but it was really hard for me to bring myself to _____ them. a. break up with b. come apart with c. tear myself of d. part with 26. She realized ______ that her husband and best friend had cheated her. a. to a large extent b. by and by c. by and large d. by the by 27. The smell of the cigarette smoke ______ in the large empty room. a. lingered b. haunted c. plagued d. lagged 28. He was ______ by his absence on the first day of the new semester. a. evident b. manifest c. conspicuous d. obvious 29. The boy’s curiosity was ______ by the locked box in the basement. a. irritated b. provoked c. piqued d. stimulated 30. The professor seems rather ______ at the moment – I think he’s worried about the result of the experiment. a. frustrated b. confused c. distracted d. harassed D B A C C C

30. A 31. His great grandfather became rich after his ______ in the steel industry 70 years ago. a. venture b. adventure c. endeavor d. enterprise 32. Despite the _______ of the union leaders, the angry workers decided to go on a strike by voting. a. mediation b. exhortation c. determination d. prohibition 33. For some news reporters, in their search for a good news story, nothing was ______. a. holy b. sacred c. solemn d. divine 34. Her teacher sent letters to Jenny, ______ her improve her mind with good books. a. bidding b. asking c. recommending d. advising 35. When he first came to China many years ago, his colorful shirt looked out of place against the ______ grey and blues of the Chinese. a. popular b. regular c. pure d. muted 36. Despite total ______ of 3 million, the takeover bid valued at only 2.5 million was successful. a. property b. assets c. wealth d. possessions B B A D D

31. A 37. Security defined ______ of the term means getting at the root causes of trouble and helping to reduce regional conflicts. a. in the broad sense b. in the best sense c. in a very real sense d. in the literal sense 38. She started to ______ the local newspaper so that she could adapt herself to the local life more easily. a. contribute to b. ascribe to c. subscribe to d. submit to 39. The manager has been constantly ______ about the terrible financial situation of the company in the past several months. a. panicking b. fretting c. frightened d. hysterical 40. Soon after he entered the university, he became _______ the activities of the Students’ Union. a. committed to b. consumed with c. preoccupied with d. immersed in 41. The appearance of young soldiers ______ the army with new hope and morale. a. infuse b. implant c. instill d. inspire C B D A

32. 42. I thought it should be a fairly sober party so I did not wear anything too ______. a. scandalous b. shameful c. abominable d. outrageous 43. The rude words his son said in the presence of his boss really put him ______. a. to death b. at ease c. to shame d. right 44. Many people proclaim adherence to a religious ethic but do not ______ it. a. live for b. live by c. live up to d. live with 45. This experience was later to become the _______ for many of his best-known novels. a. inspiration b. insight c. stimulus d. genius 46. The local government should face up to the present situation and ______ of it. a. say the least b. make the most c. come to the worst d. get the better of D C B A B

33. 47.Though the book has worn the prize, it does not ______ most young people. a. recommend itself to b. commend itself to c. advocate itself to d. propose itself to 48. Laughter _______ through the audience, but I didn’t realize that I said the wrong thing. a. rippled b. circulated c. prevailed d. conveyed 49. Though it is the first time I met his girlfriend, I felt an instant ______ to her. a. dislike b. disgust c. repulsion d. aversion 50. The travelers complained that the treatment they had received in the customs had completely ______them of their dignity. a. denied b. humiliated c. deprived d. refused B A D C The End