Contents

1. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentences Post-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

2. Text I--- The Virtues of Growing Older • Pre-reading I. Warm-up question 1. What, in your opinion, are the disadvantages of growing older? 2. What do you think are the virtues of being young? 3. Most people are afraid of death and therefore afraid of getting older, but are there any virtues of old age that you can observe and appreciate?

3. II. Background information 1. Population and age (2010) • 全国总人口:1370536875人 • 年龄构成 大陆31个省、自治区、直辖市和现役军人的人口中，0- 14岁人口为222459737人，占16.60%； 15-59岁人口为939616410人，占 70.14%；60岁及以上人口为177648705 人，占13.26%，其中65岁及以上人口 为118831709人，占8.87%。

4. 同2000年第五次全国人口普查相比，0-14岁人口的比重下降6.29个百分点，15-59岁人口的比重同2000年第五次全国人口普查相比，0-14岁人口的比重下降6.29个百分点，15-59岁人口的比重 上升3.36个百分点，60岁及以上人口 的比重上升2.93个百分点，65岁及以 上人口的比重上升1.91个百分点

5. 2. Quotes on Old Age • Age is an ugly thing, and it goes on getting worse. • As we grow older we grow both more foolish and wiser at the same time. • The spiritual eyesight improves as the physical eyesight declines. （Plato） • The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity. (Mark Twain)

6. While-reading I. Structural analysis • This text is a piece of exposition, which tells us a number of distinct advantages of growing old with examples. The text is mostly organized and developed by means of ideas. • The whole passage can be divided into three sections:

7. Part I (Para.1-2): The writer airs her view about growing older. Part II (Para.3-5): The writer discusses three distinct advantages of growing older. Part III (Para.6): The writer winds up her discussion with reference to her parents’ life to reaffirm that growing older would be “a better phase” of her life.

8. II. Comprehension questions 1. What is the Americans’ attitude toward the problem of growing older? And how is this attitude expressed in their daily life? ---The answer to this question can be found in the first two paragraphs. The beginning statement tells readers about the fact that Americans worship youth. In other words, they are afraid of growing. This fear is manifested in their efforts “ to delay the effects of age” with the passion for cosmetics and physical exercises.

9. 2. How many aspects does the author list to show the distinct advantages of growing older? What are they? ---The writer mentions three aspects to show distinct advantages of growing older. i.e. less concern of one’s appearance (paragraph3), less uncertainty about the unknowns in the future ( paragraph4) and self-identity( paragraph5).

10. 3. Why are young people often confused, uncertain and troubles despite their carefree façade? ---Refer to Paragraph 4, in which the writer says, “when you are young, major decisions await you at every turn.” This suggests that they feel uncertain about what would happen to them and what they would do in the future.

11. 4. How does the author contrast young people with older ones in terms of self-identity? ---Refer to Para 5. The writer presents the distinct difference between young people and forty-year-olds by the repeated use of ‘Being young means..’ or ‘It means…’ in contrast with ‘I…now’ or ‘I no longer…’

12. 5. What significance does the author draw from her parents’ contentment in their sixties? ---The writer learns the significance from her parents contentment that the newer is not necessarily better, and she can be happier than before as she grows older.

13. III. Language points • aging n. the process of becoming old --- People want to figure out whether doing sports can influence aging in the body. Comparison: elderly a. a polite word meaning old senior citizen: a polite expression meaning old people

14. dread vt. feel great fear or anxiety about ---The little girl dreads sleeping alone. • be obsessed with: have an unreasonably strong and continuous interest in particular things or persons ---The new president was obsessed with the thought of being watched.

15. perfect vt. make sth. perfect --- Nowadays, more and more foreigners come to China to perfect their Chinese. Comparison: improve vt. cause sth. to become better refine vt. improve sth. by removing defects and attending to details

16. diet vi. eat less in order to lose weight ---The doctor told the patient to diet and take some exercise. n. the type of food that a person regularly eats ---Exercise and a well-balanced diet keeps you fit and healthy. Collocation: a diet of sth. so much of sth. that you feel boring or unpleasant ---a constant diet of soap operas on TV

17. plead vi. make an urgent, emotional statement or request for sth. ---The little girl pleaded with her parents not to leave her in her uncle’s home. Comparison: begvi. ask sb. very strongly in a way that makes one feel ashamed or makes other people lose respect Collocation: plead with sb.for sth. make repeated urgent requests to sb. for sth.

18. beyond prep. outside the range or limit of ---The radio is beyond repair. 这台收音机已经不能修理了。 Collocation: be beyond sb.: be impossible for sb. to imagine, understand or calculate ---It’s beyond me why she wants to marry Burton. 我不明白她为什么想嫁给伯顿。

19. deny oneself: not do sth. that one enjoys doing or have sth. one desires to have, because he thinks that will be good for him ---He denied himself all small pleasures and luxuries in his effort to live a holy life. Comparison: ---do without be able to manage without sth. one really wants to have

20. worth a. deserving of ---The scheme is well worth a try. 这个计划倒值得一试。 Collocation: not worth a straw: worthless worth its weight in gold: extremely helpful, useful, etc; invaluable

21. phase n. stage of development ---Usually, spring is a significant phase of a lot of illness. ---Childhood is an enlightening phase for a child. Collocation: in phase: being in the same state at the same time out of phase: not being in the same state at the same time ---The two subsidiary corporations’ operations were out of phase so that the headquarters could not handle the problems timely.

22. IV. Difficult sentences • And women, I’m embarrassed to admit, eve more than men, have always seemed to be at the mercy of fashion. ---I am embarrassed to admit that women are less capable than men of resisting the temptation of fashion. • It means trying on new selves by taking up with different crowds. ---It means trying behaving differently from their usual selves by associating with different people.

23. Their contentment holds out great promise for me as I move into the next — perhaps even better — phase of my life. ---Their contentment makes me believe that I’ll be as happy as they are when I am their age. 在我迈向生命的下一个阶段，或许是更好的一个时期时，我父母的幸福感给我提供了这样一个保证：我也许会幸福的。

24. Post-reading • Grammatical Items • concrete nouns & abstract nouns • quantifiers & determiners • dangling participles

25. Concrete nounsare words we use for people, places, or things that we can observe with at least one of our five senses.The abstract classis the opposite — we can never experience these nouns according to our senses. While this distinction is sometimes useful, the boundary between concrete and abstract is not always clear. Some nouns can be used as uncountable nouns when they refer to a thing in general and countable nouns when they refer to a particular instance of it, consider, for example, the noun art, which usually refers to a concept:

26. ---Art is an important element of human culture. But it can refer to a specific artwork in certain contexts: ---I put my daughter’s art up on the fridge. This is the problem of context within sentences.

27. Exercises A: Complete the following sentences with the appropriate forms of the nouns given. 1. My children are to me. (great, help) 2. The boy had of mathematics. (good, knowledge) 3. He is looking for . (work) 4. The more (difficulty) we encounter, the harder we should work.

28. 5. To be middle-class is to have license to indulge more freely in creating (comfort). 6. Like millions of other Americans, I often have (trouble) with insomnia.

29. every, each, everyone, every one, all Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings. each = every one separately every = each, all Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning: ---Prices go up each year. ---Prices go up every year. But often they are not exactly the same. Each expresses the idea of “one by one”. It emphasizes individuality. ---Each artist sees things differently.

30. Every cannot be used for two things whileeachcan: ---Every soldier saluted as the President arrived. Eachcan be used in front of the verb: ---The soldiers each received a medal. Each can be followed by “of”: ---The President spoke to each of the soldiers. Every cannot be used for two things. For two things, while eachcan be used: ---He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

31. Every is used to say how often something happens: ---There is a plane to Bangkok every day. Everyone means “everybody” and is used when you want to refer to all the people in a group: ---Everyone in my family likes spaghetti. But if you’re referring to the individuals who make up a group, then the phrase is every one. “Each and every one” you should never substitute everyone, for everyone as singular or plural: ---We wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas.

32. All is more often used with plural verb forms, though sometimes it is used with singular verbs. However, if we wish to specify the things or people under discussion, we can use all or all of with nouns and pronouns and the correspondingly correct singular or plural verb forms. ---Has all (of) the cake been eaten? ---Have all (of) the presents been distributed? ---All of us are going to Sam’s party next week. We’re all going.

33. Exercise B: Complete the following with every, each, everyone, every one or all. 1. The pavement on side was crowded with neat smiling people. 2. The girl is very popular. likes her. 3. A: He had eaten the biscuits. B: What? ? A: single one. • sex has its own physical and psychological characteristics.

34. Dangling participles is a participle that is not grammatically linked to the word it is intended to modify. In “Driving down the street, the house came into view,” “driving” is a dangling participle. Though they are not rare in speech, dangling participles are avoided in formal writing because of the possibility of misunderstanding. ---The burglar was about 30 years old, white, 5'10'',with wavy hair weighing about 150 pounds. ---If properly installed, you shouldn’t be able to open the door without first pressing the safety button.

35. Exercise C: Correct errors in the following sentences. 1. When planting these flowers, care must be taken not to damage the roots. 2. Reading the letter a second time, the meaning becomes clearer. 3. The teacher walked behind the kids eating their lunches. 4. Crossing the room, her foot bled all over the carpet. 5. While cleaning his gun, it went off unexpectedly. 6. Relieved, although half-naked, Mom handed me the catalog.

36. II. Translation exercises • 他们都看着我—— 说真的，在我一生中为感到如此的窘迫。（embarrassed） They were all staring at me --- honestly, I had never felt so embarrassed in my whole life. • 在做出真正选择之前，你需要更多的信息。（make a choice） Before you can make the right choice, you need a lot more information.

37. 该党未能使多数选民相信他们能够治理国家。（convince）该党未能使多数选民相信他们能够治理国家。（convince） The party failed to convince the majority of the voters that it was capable of governing the country. • 为了保持苗条的身材，她克制自己不吃冰淇凌。（deny oneself） To keep slim, she denied herself ice-creams.

38. 最近他和两个坏孩子混在一起，这让他的父母非常生气。（take up with） Recently he had taken up with two bad boys, which makes his parents really angry. • 你看了那些报纸的报道了吗？完全是自相矛盾。（contradict） Have you read these newspaper reports? They totally contradict each other.

39. 在一些失业中，超过退休年龄而继续工作是可能。 （beyond） In a number of professions it is possible to continue working beyond the retirement age. • 他心情好的时候，就会唱起他最喜欢的那首歌。（in the mood） When he was in the mood, he would sing his favorite song.

40. II. Oral activities Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics. • Who are they?

41. Shirley Temple

42. 2. The advantages and disadvantages of being old. ---In a hostage situation, you are likely to be released first. ---No one expects you to run into a burning building. ---Things you buy now won’t wear out. ---Your eyes won’t get much worse. ---Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off. ---Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service. ---Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

43. 3. The role that the old play both in China and abroad.

44. III. Writing practice • Write a 250-word composition about the possible advantages of an elderly person living in a special residential house. In the first part, present your point of view. In the second part, use examples from your life experience to support your claim. In the third part, reiterate your viewpoints. 海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室

45. Text II---Closing the Gap Lead-in questions 1. Do you find it more pleasurable to be with the people of similar age? Why or why not? 2. What do you think about living with your grandparents?

46. II. Questions for comprehension 1. Do you believe in the reconnection of age groups? Explain your opinion. 2. Do you think senior-citizen homes are a good place for the aged? Why / Why not? 3. Can you tell something from your memory about your grandparents?

47. II. Language points • Baby boomers: A baby boom is a period of greatly increased birth rate and usually within certain geographical bounds, especially the one following the Second World War. People born during such a period are often called baby boomers. • In the flesh: with reference to specific people

48. My children have never been less lonely: My children have never enjoyed so much company of the people in the neighborhood. • And I have witnessed the incredible calculus of old age: I have seen with my own eyes how old age is calculated, which is unbelievable (because it is contrary to the normal rules of mathematics.

49. ..as more is taken, there is more for what remains: …as the greater part is spent, more love there is for the rest of it. In other words, the older one is, the more love there is for the remaining part of his life.

50. Good Bye!