Unit 6 Women, Half the Sky

1. Unit 6 Women, Half the Sky Text A I’m Going to Buy the Brooklyn Bridge

2. Objectives • grasp the main idea • appreciate how the author achieves coherence for her essay • master key language points and grammatical structures

3. Pre-reading tasks Listen to the song I Am Womanand answer: 1 Why can’t women be ignored? 2 What happens to women if you try to break their will? Answer 1 Because of their huge numbers. 2 You can bend them but you can never break them. It only serves to make them more determined to achieve their final goal.

4. A Questionnaire—How well you know about your mother • Is your mother busy? • What are her main tasks in daily life? • Do you think your mother takes up more responsibilities than your father? • Does your mother show any signs of tiredness in daily life? • How did your mother behave under great stress? • What is your mother’s biggest regret? • Name one of your mother’s ambitions.

5. Cultural Notes • the Brooklyn Bridge: the bridge over the East River in New York City that connects Manhattan with Brooklyn. It was opened in 1883 and has a length of 1595 feet (486 meters). The expression selling the Brooklyn Bridge to sb. means tricking sb. in a deal.

7. Text organization--( Refer to P184 Ex1) 1) P1-3 Despite her friend’s advice, the author falls for superwomen stories again. 2) P4-7 Her encounter with a superwoman and its impact on her. 3) P8-11 She tells about what prevents her from becoming a superwoman herself. 4) P12-14 She analyzes why she is still fascinated by modern superwomen tales. 5) P15 She comes to the conclusion that to her, admiring a heroine is sth. worth doing.

8. Text organization--( Refer to P184 Ex2) • What method does the author mainly employ to explain how difficult it is for her to be a superwoman? • Answer: d. Mainly by personal experience.

9. Text organization--( Refer to P184 Ex2) • Scan the text and give facts to support your choice. • Answer: 1 She is unable to get act together. 2 She can almost expect sth to go wrong as soon as she sets to work. 3 Anything might happen that would take up more of time she puts aside for a certain job. 4 She usually feels exhausted after a busy day.

10. While-reading tasks--Comprehension of the text • Scan the first two paragraphs and tell why a friend said that “if I believed everything in the report, she had a bridge in Brooklyn she’d like to sell me.” Possible answer: Her friend was laughing at her for her believing in all the stories she heard. / Her friend thought she was too gullible if she bought the stories she heard. / Her friend didn’t believe the stories and suggested that the author should not be easily tricked into buying them either.

11. While-reading tasks--Comprehension of the text • Can you give some alternative terms for “a bridge in Brooklyn”? An incredible story, something impossible, etc. Note: Folktales about people who are so gullible they have been persuaded to buy a well-known landmark by confidence tricksters are numerous in America and elsewhere.

12. Language study • undo (L6) 1. (fml) disturb or upset greatly My roommates’ idea about wealth undid me. 2. untie, open ~ the knot/parcel/button... It’s so warm inside. He undid his coat and took it off.

13. Language study • …she had a bridge in Brooklyn she’d like to sell me.(L7-8) • It suggests that she thought the author so gullible that she could be persuaded to buy the bridge from her.

14. Language study • hit/strike home: (of remarks, etc) have the intended effect His criticism hit home. I was really selfish. I could see from her expression that my comments had hit home.

15. Language study • skeptical/sceptical (BE) (L10): doubting that sth. is true, right, etc. ~ about / of He is absolutely ___ that the plan will work, but I’m still a bit ~ about it. (certain / sure / convinced,...) Some scientists think global temperature has risen due to the ____. Others are ____ global warming. ( greenhouse effect, ~ of /about)

16. Language study • But like a dieter who devours a whole box of cookies in a moment of weakness, I found my resolve slipping occasionally. (L12-13) • But like a dieter who eats quickly a whole box of cookies when his determination to go on a diet was not firm, I sometimes found my resolve was not firm either.

17. Language study • consume (L14) 1) eat or drink The children ~d lots of chocolate ice-creams at the party. 2) use up The old car ~d much gasoline. If consumers don’t ~, then workers don’t have to work.

18. Language study • care for(L16) 1) take care of The old man had a stroke a month ago. His son hired a nurse to ~ him. 2) like or love (in negative or interrogative sentences) I don’t ~ much for country music. “Would you ~ dessert?” asked the hostess.

19. Language study • a Swiss watch (L24) Switzerland is famous for producing watches which are very precise. • I wondered aloud (L31) If you wonder aloud, you express your thoughts as they occur to you rather than thinking first and then speaking.

20. Language study • reproach (L35): criticize (sb.) for failing to do sth. • ~ sb. for sth. She loved her boyfriend so much that she didn’t reproach him for breaking his promise.

21. Language study • by nature (L41): as a result of inborn or inherent qualities; innate I am not ~ a violent man, but these insults were more than I could bear. He is ~ rather an aggressive person.

22. Language study • get one’s act together (L41): (infml) organize oneself and one’s activities so that one does things in an effective way Steve will have to get his act together if he is going to pass the exam. He can’t just sit about doing nothing all day. Come on, you two, get your act together or we’ll miss the bus.

23. Language study • put pencil/pen to paper (L46): start to write When I ~ yesterday, vivid memories came flooding back of my first day in school. The instant he ~, his four-year-old son would sit beside him quietly.

24. Language study • remainder (L48): the remaining time, people or things Having finished the work, I spent the ~ of the day reading novels. Three potatoes will be enough; the ~ we can use for a salad. * remains: the ~ of a meal 残羹剩饭

25. Language study • at intervals (L48): 1) sth. that happens ~ happens occasionally 2) sth. that exists ~ exists here and there The interview continued, with Smith breaking off ~ to consult his notes. Trees have been planted ~ along the waterfront.

26. Language study • set aside (L51): put (time or money) away for a special purpose I have a little money ~ for emergencies. My brother sets ~ half an hour every morning to do sports.

27. Language study • … a Martian bank (L54) It refers to a bank which is alien to shop assistants. • Only the manager can OK the matter. ( L54) Only the manager can give his approval for accepting the woman’s check.

28. Language study • race the clock (L58): do sth. quickly in order to finish it in the available time The semester is coming to an end. We have to ~ every day to prepare for our final exams. The deadline will be due tomorrow. We have to ~.

29. Language study • bide one’s time (L65): wait patiently for a chance I’m planning to change my job, but I’m just biding my time until the right opportunity comes up. She bided her time, planning revenge.

30. Language study • take in (L67): (usu. passive) cheat She was so smart that she couldn’t be taken in by her colleagues. The students played a trick on their teacher. Unfortunately he was taken in completely.

31. Language study • achieve/have one’s heart’s desire(s) (L73): get sb./sth. you want very much He was making great efforts to achieve his heart’s desires. When she agreed to marry him he felt he had achieved his heart’s desire.

32. Language study • a piece of cake (L74): sth. that is very easy to do Shopping on line is ~ for the five-year-old. Getting in touch with his overseas friends via email is ~ for the old man.

33. Language study • sophisticated (L78): 1) worldly-wise; showing knowledge of the world Richard was still young, but he was ~ enough to know when people were not telling the truth. 2) advanced or complicated The missile has a sophisticated guidance system.

34. Language study • move on to (L84): stop doing one thing and begin dealing with the next She ran this shop for ten years before deciding to ~ the real estate business. Moving ~ the question of the concert, we still need volunteers to sell tickets.

35. While-reading tasks--Comprehension of the text • Then I’ll tell her a story: the tale of a woman who bought her own version of that bridge in Brooklyn and found that it was a wise investment after all. (L86-88) Then the author will tell her friend a story about her choice to follow her dreams and her discovery that following her dreams was a good choice.

36. Post-reading tasks--Comprehension of the text • Scan the text and underline sentences containing the word “bridge”. • Para 12: Despite my friend’s warning against being taken in, despite everything I’ve learned, I find that I’m not only willing, but positively eager to buy the bridge she mentioned. • Para 15:Then I’ll tell her a story: the tale of a woman who bought her own version of that bridge in Brooklyn and found that it was a wise investment after all.

37. Post-reading tasks--Comprehension of the text • What do these two sentences mean? • Para 12: Although my friend had warned me not to believe in the stories about any incredibly successful woman, I am still willing to believe that they are true. • Para 15: Then I will tell her about myself: how I believed in superwomen tales and how this belief had encouraged me to attain my own goals.

38. Post-reading tasks-- an essay question • In the text, the author writes “Men have been assured that achieving their heart’s desires would be a piece of cake. Women, of course, have always believed that we can’t have our cake and eat it too.” How do you understand it? • Possible answer: Men are encouraged to achieve their goals in life, but women know that they can only achieve some goals at the expense of other goals.

39. Post-reading tasks-- essay questions • What does the title “I’m Going to Buy the Brooklyn Bridge” mean? • What is the tone of the article? Give facts to support your view.

40. Text analysis --- how to achieve coherence • Ways of achieving coherence: • the use of transitional words and phrases; • The repetition of key words and phrases; • The use of parallel structure. (Refer to Writing Strategy on page 202.)

41. How to achieve coherence---the use of transitional words/phrases • But, however, yet, etc. • a good example (paras. 8-10) --a mini-essay the topic: (the last sentence of para 8) No matter how carefully I plan my time, the plan always goes wrong. Para 9: Sth. must go wrong with the kids when “I” make schedules of military precision. Para 10: “Other days, every item on my sche- -dule will take three times the number of minutes set aside.”

42. How to achieve coherence---the repetition of key words and phrases Brooklyn Bridge/ the bridge Scan the text and find out the words/phrases that serve the following functions. 1) The occurrences of the phrase that weave the essay into a coherent piece; 2) Synonyms used to remind readers of the topic of this essay; 3) the phrase (5 instances) used to emphasize the amazing fact that some super-capable women can still find spare time in their tight schedule; 4) synonymous phrases used to point out the fact that many people do not believe in super-women stories. Superwoman/women, (super)heroines, supersisters in her spare time modern fairy tale, fantasy, dream, incredible achievements, extraordinary deeds

43. How to achieve coherence---the use of parallel structure • No strictly parallel structure in this essay. Comparison(some may regard it as parallel): “my” daily struggle and the achievements of Kate L., the daughter of a politician, the woman executive, etc.

44. “Getting to” know a structure • get + infinitive(refer to P190 ExIII for practice) 1) used to mean one has the opportunity to do sth. or is allowed to do it (L56)… they don’t ~ to be superwomen that way. I got to do a little work in GM when I was in Detroit. 2) used to mean one gradually acquires sth. or gradually becomes aware of sth. Sam is nice when you ~ to know him.

45. Grammatical structures • If only(L60): to mean that we would like things to be different. If only often stands alone without a main clause, which means the same as I wish. e.g. If only there were forty-eight hours in every day. ( Refer to P191 Ex1 for more practice.)

46. Are you a careful reader?--- vocabulary related to food • Scan the text and find out the words and phrases related to food. • a piece of cake(L74), you can’t eat the cake and have it too(L75), strawberry jam(L27), a whole box of cookies(L12), soup, juice and tea(L49), a dieter(L12), a diet without treats(L77), the old low-dream diet(L75), to devour(L12), to bake cakes(L40),…

47. Are you a careful reader?--- vocabulary related to food • Do these food-related words/phrases serve any purpose in the text? • Possible answer: They reflect the traditional role of women as food-providers.

48. Are you a good listener? 1. The sight of the animal’s suffering ___ me. (undid) 2. He presented his thesis at the conference, but some professors were ___ about his findings. (skeptical) 3. Jim ___ nearly a pound of cheese per day. (consumes)

49. Are you a good listener? 4. The college students volunteered to ___ the elderly in their community. (care for) 5. He ___ himself constantly for not having visited his sick mother before she died. (reproached) 6.We’re about to __ the 2nd stage of the project. (move on to)

50. Are you a good listener? 7. We can’t afford to waste even one minute. __ or we’ll never finish it. (Get your act together) 8. The trains leave the station ___ of half an hour. (at intervals) 9. Each week she tried to ___ a few dollars. (set aside)