Section B The Company Man

1. Section BThe Company Man

2. Structure • New Words& Expressions • Detailed Study of the Text • Exercise

3. New words and expressions acquaintance: n. a person that one knows but who is not a close friend 相识的人，熟人 I have a large circle of friends and acquaintances engaged in photography. 我有很多摄影界的朋友和熟人。 He’s not really a friend, just an acquaintance. 他还不是我朋友，只是一个熟人。

4. addicted: a. liking to do sth. so much that one does not want to stop 上瘾的，入迷的 他吸海洛因上了瘾。 He is addicted to heroin. My children are hopelessly addicted to television. 我的孩子都成了电视迷，简直不可救药。

5. conceive: vt. Form an idea of; imagine 构想出，设想 科学家在20世纪30年代首次有了原子弹的构想。 Scientists first conceived the idea of the atomic bomb in the 1930s. He conceived the idea of the novel during his journey through India. 他在穿越印度的旅途中有了写这部小说的念头。

6. spot: n. a position 职位，地位n. a small mark on sth. esp. one that is made by a liquid 污渍，斑痕n. a particular place 地点，场所 • He moved up from the second spot to become the manager of the company. 他从公司的副经理升为经理。 • He should have been removed from his spot at the top of the rankings. 本来应该把他从高级职位上撤下来的。 • There is a spot of milk on the floor. 地板上有奶渍。 • It is difficult to clean the spot of ink on the wall. 墙上的墨渍很难清洗。 • This is our favorite holiday place. 这是我们最喜欢的度假地点。

7. ignore vt. Take no notice of; refuse to pay attention to 忽视，不理睬accurate: a. exactly correct 准确的，精确的 • The government would be unwise to ignore the growing dissatisfaction with its ecomonic policies. 政府对其经济政策的日益增长的不满时不明智的。 • I said hello to her but she totally ignored me. 我跟她打招呼，可她理也不理。 • Is the station clock accurate? 车站的钟准吗？ • He gave an accurate description of the house. 他对房子的描绘很准确。

8. survive: vt. Live longer than someone else, usually someone closely related to you Vt. Continue to live or exist after a difficult or dangerous situation • The old man survived all his children. 那个老人比他的孩子都长寿。 • I am sure she will survive the crisis. 我相信她会度过危机。 Translation

9. odd: a. not regular or fixed 临时的，不固定的 a. strange, unusual 奇怪的，异常的 In order to stay in school, he had to do odd jobs. 为了继续读书，他得干些零活。 it is very odd that she didn’t reply to our letter. 她没给我们回信是很奇怪的事。

10. wind: vt. (up) cause someone t become nervous and worried 使紧张，使不安 Vt turn a part of a machine around and around to make it work 上发条 The girl was too wound up to relax. 那个女孩很紧张，无法放松。 The clock’s stopped; you’d better wind it up. 钟停了，你最好上一下发条。

11. deceased: n. (the deceased) sb. has died 死者，已故者 • The deceased left a large sum of money to his wife. 死者给妻子留下了一大笔钱。 • The deceased were both killed with the same knife. 两名死者都是被同一把刀杀死的。

12. bear: vt. Bravely accept or deal with something unpleasant,;endure 忍受 • She bore the pain with great courage. 她非常勇敢地忍受了痛苦。 • I couldn’t bear to listen any longer, so t left the room. 我再也听不下去了，于是离开了房间。 bear

13. straighten: v. make or become straight (使变直) 经过一道道弯后，路就变得笔直了。 There is a series of bends, then the road straightens out. Next page

14. Detailed Study of the Text • 1. He worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 A.M. Sunday morning. Meaning: He had worked so hard that finally he died exactly at 3:00 A.M. Sunday morning. • Note that in the text “to death” means the company man Phil who worked too hard was actually dead as a result of overwork. Usually “to death” means “too much”. For example: • Your mother will be worried to death about you. 你母亲为你担心死了。 • I was bored to death by his lengthy speech. 他那冗长的讲话把我烦死了。

15. The article about his death didn’t say that, of course. Meaning: The notice of his death didn’t mention that he died because of overwork. Next page

16. It said he died of a heart attack, but every one of his friends and acquaintances knew it instantly. • Meaning: The article said that he died because of a heart attack, but all his friends and those who were familiar with him knew immediately the real reason why he died. • The implied meaning of the sentence is that all his friends and colleagues were not surprised to learn about his death because they knew that he had workded himself too much. • Die of: die because of something such as an illness • In a severe winter, wild animals may die of hunger. 寒冬，野生动物可能死于饥饿。 • My grandmother died of grief soon after my grandfather passed away. 我奶奶在我爷爷去世后不久因悲伤而去世。

17. He was a perfect Type A, addicted to working…. • Meaning: He was a man aiming high and working hard, a workaholic. • Type A: a personality type characterized by ambition, impatience, and competitiveness and thought to be susceptible to stress and heart disease • He was a Type A, a workaholic. 他是A型人，工作狂。 • Compare： • Type B: a personality type characterized as easy-going and thought to have low susceptibility to stress

18. This man…--- on his day off --- was at work. • Meaning: This man…was working on the day he died though he was scheduled to have that day free • Note that this sentence is almost the exact repetition of the first one to emphasize the fact mentioned • Off: ad. Away or free from regular work • The babysitter is off today. 保姆今天放假。 • I’m having a day off next week. 下星期我有一天假。 off

19. More precisely, he was one of six vice-president, and one of the three that might conceivably--- if the president died or retired soon enough --- have been promoted to the top spot. Meaning: To be exact, he was one of six vice-president. What's more, people believed that he was of the three vice-president that might have moved to the president’s position if the president died or retired soon enough. Retire: vi. Stop working at one’s job, profession, etc., usually because of age My father retired from his job at the age of 60. 我父亲是60岁退的休。 translation

20. He did not divide his time with outside interests,unless, of course, you consider his monthly game of golf. • Meaning: He did not spend any of his time on other things except you say that he played golf once a month. • Divide: vt. Separate and give out or share • The prize money will be equally divided among the three winners. 奖金将由三名获胜者均分。 • She divided her time between teaching and research. 她把时间分配在教学和科研两方面。 Next page

21. understanding “Missing him all these years,” she had given yp a part of herself, which had cared too much for the man. She would be “well taken care of.” • Meaning: Since she had missed him all these years, she must have given up part of herself, which was devoted to taking too much care of her husband. And now she would be the one to be taken care of. • Note the ironical tone of the sentences. Obviously, the writer of the article is critical of her husband who was a workaholic, caring more for his work than for hiw wife and family. • Care for: look after • She cared for her father in his dying days. 她在父亲临终前的那些天一直看护着他。 Care for

22. Meaning: He asked many people, “Who’s been working the hardest?” Please note the ironic tone that the writer uses in the sentence. The president knew clearly that Phil died of working too hard. On the one hand the president expressed his grief about Phil’s death. On the other hand he was looking for a person who works as hard as Phil to replace him.. Ask around: ask in many places and ask many people If you are looking for a good doctor, you’d better ask around. 如果你想找好医生，最好多问几个人。 I’ll ask around to see if I can help ypu find a job. 我会四处问问，看能否帮你找份工作。 He asked around:” Who ‘s been working the hardest?”

23. …told the forty-eight-year-old widow that the fifty-one-year-old deceased had meant so much to the company and would be missed and hard to replace. Meaning：…told Phil’s wife, who was 48, that her husband, who was 51, had been so important to the company that he would be missed by other people of the company and they would find it difficult to put another man in his place. Text understanding

24. Exercise:Part I. For each italicized word, choose the best meaning below. • 1. In high school, he won several Best Student Awards for his outstanding academic achievements. • A. scholarly B. hardworking C.philosophical D. reasonable • 2. The customer asks the salesman to demonstrate how to use the machine. • A. express B.illustrate C. sample D. protest • 3. Students often find temporary jobs during their summer vacation. • A. interesting B.lasting forever C. lasting for a short time D. professional

25. exercises • 4. I have located a better restaurant in the next street. • A. found B.recognized C. opened D. explored • 5.The people came to my help instantly. • A. closely B. immediately C. happily D. kindly • 6. It is difficult to cross the desert by car, but not absolutely impossible. • A. nearly B. often C. totally D. always • 7. The house was filled with the aroma of coffee. • A. taste B. color C. cover D. smell

26. exercises • 8. The market stretches all the way along the street. • A. extends B. stands C. opens D. walks • 9. Efforts have been made to wipe out poverty in the rural areas. • A. city B. urban C. coastal D. countryside • 10. The coastal areas are having a period of prosperity. • A. change B. success and wealth C. failure and poverty D. improvement • Keys: ABCAB CDADB

27. Translation • 1. 即使你不同意她的观点，她的话也是值得一听的。 • 2. 周教授一生都致力于语言教学事业。 • 3. 这是一次重要的会议，请务必不要迟到。 • 4. 在会上，他们讨论了如何保持师生间的沟通渠道畅通。

28. Keys to the translations • 1. Even if you disagree with her, she is worth listening to. • 2. Professor Zhou is committed to the cause of language teaching all his life. • 3. This is an important meeting, so please see to it that you shouldn’t be late. • 4.At the meeting they discussed how to keep the lines of communication open between teachers and students.

29. Writing • Advantages and Disadvantages of Electronic Dictionary • 1. 电子辞典的优点 • 2. 电子辞典的缺点 • 3. 我的结论

30. The discussion about electronic dictionaries has never stopped in the past few years. Let's have a look at its advantages and disadvantages before drawing the final conclusion. The biggest advantage of an electronic dictionary is its convenience. Whenever you meet new words or expressions, you can know the meaning quickly. What's more, with the development of science and technology, electronic dictionaries are becoming more and more advanced: they can pronounce the words clearly, provide sample sentences to illustrate word usage and store difficult words for special memorization. Last but by no means the least, electronic dictionaries are becoming cheaper and cheaper, and more and more students can afford them. Sample

31. However, the negative effects are also obvious. To begin with, some students rely too much on the electronic dictionary—they never put their heart into learning new words and expressions. In the second place, some explanations are neither complete nor accurate, which are quite misleading. Finally, new technical inventions do not necessarily lead to progress in learning. Diligence is always the decisive factor, because "there is no royal road to learning". Up until now, we can see it clearly that an electronic dictionary is not beneficial or harmful in itself. The key lies in the user—so long as we can make proper use of it, it can be most helpful to us in many respects. sample

32. Supplement 1. When I say I know you,I mean I knew you yesterday. I do not know you actually now.当我说认识你的时，我是说我认识昨天的你。我不认识现在的你。——Kaishnamurti 克里什纳默尔迪2.Wonders are many,and nothing is more wonderful then man.天下奇迹无数，却无一比人更奇妙。--Sophocles3.The proper function of man is to live,but not to exist.人应该生活，而非单纯生存。--Jack London

33. supplement 4.If you smile when one is around,you really mean it.如果你独自一人笑了，那是真心的笑。--Andy Rooney 5.There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.该说话时说话，该沉默时沉默。--Caxton卡克斯顿 6.The worst bankrupt is the person who lost his enthusiasm.最惨的破产就是丧失自己的热情。-- H.W.Arnold H.W.阿诺德

34. supplement 7.It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime,but at night it is another thing.在白天对什么都不动感情是极为容易的，但在夜晚就是另外一回事。--Hemingway 海明威 8. To err is human,to forgive,divine.人皆犯错，你能原谅别人，你就是圣人。 --Pope 蒲柏 9.There is an unconscious heeling process within the mind which mends up in spite of our desperate determination never to forget.心中的伤痛总是不知不觉渐渐愈合，虽然我们也曾痛苦地发誓说永不忘记。——Colleen McCullough 科林·麦卡洛

35. 10.In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. • 在这个世界上只有两种悲剧：一种是得不到自己想要的东西，另一种是得到了。——Oscar Wildle 奥斯卡·王尔德 • 11.Naked came I into this world,and naked must I go out.我赤裸地来到这个世界，也要赤裸地离去。——Cervantes 塞万提斯12.Passion,though a bad regulator,is a powerful spring.激情虽难以驾驭，却是种强大的动力。——Emerson 爱默生 supplement

36. supplement 13.Carve your name on hearts and not on marbles.把你的名字刻在人们的心里，而不是大理石上。——Joseph Addison 　　约瑟夫·艾迪生14. I can resist everything except temptation.除了诱惑我什么都能抵抗。——Oscar wilde 奥斯卡·王尔德15.What is a man's first duty? The answer is brief: To be himself.一个人的首要职责是什么?很简单：做自己。——Henrik Ibsen 　　易卜生

37. Thank you!