21st Century College English: Book 4

1. 21st Century College English: Book 4 Unit 4: Part A How to Become Gifted

2. Unit 4: Part A • Pre-Reading Activities • Text A: Language Points • Exercises • Assignment How to Become Gifted

3. Pre-Reading Activities • Preview • Pre-Reading Listening

4. Pre-reading Activities Preview Education plays a tremendously important role in all of our lives. It is an ongoing struggle, however, to make the best education possible available to all citizens. The texts in this unit present different ways in which the process of education can be improved. Text A, “How To Become Gifted” reports on a study which revealed that a teacher’s expectations can have a profound effect on the level of success that students achieve.

5. Pre-reading Activities First listening: Before listening to the tape, have a quick look at the following words. 隐藏的困难 catch stereotype troublemaker ethnic 对…形成固定看法 捣乱者 种族的

6. Pre-reading Activities Second listening: Listen to the tape and then choose the best answer to each of the following questions. Check-up

7. Pre-reading Activities 1. What was unusual about the class? A) They was unusual about the class. B) The brought gifts for their teacher. C) The teacher was misled about their abilities. D) They studied the effects of labeling. 1. What was unusual about the class? A) They was unusual about the class. B) The brought gifts for their teacher. C) The teacher was misled about their abilities. D) They studied the effects of labeling.

8. Pre-reading Activities 2. What is the main lesson taught by the experiment? A) Expectations have a strong influence on results. B) Some students are smarter than others. C) A lot of communication is not express in words. D) Racial stereotypes can be damaging. 2. What is the main lesson taught by the experiment? A) Expectations have a strong influence on results. B) Some students are smarter than others. C) A lot of communication is not express in words. D) Racial stereotypes can be damaging.

9. Pre-reading Activities 3. Which of the following is NOT true of labeling? A) It is powerful and can have negative effects. B) Its effects can be positive or negative. C) It is very common throughout society. D) It is only powerful in the classroom. 3. Which of the following is NOT true of labeling? A) It is powerful and can have negative effects. B) Its effects can be positive or negative. C) It is very common throughout society. D) It is only powerful in the classroom.

10. Pre-reading Activities 4. The main purpose of this passage is: A) To report on an experiment and its implications. B) To discuss ways of improving school performance. C) To explain the dangers of racial stereotyping. D) They studied the effects of labeling. 4. The main purpose of this passage is: A) To report on an experiment and its implications. B) To discuss ways of improving school performance. C) To explain the dangers of racial stereotyping. D) They studied the effects of labeling. script

11. Pre-reading Activities One important factor was how the teacher communicated with her class. She had a certain power in her voice when she complimented her students, and she tended to see their mistakes as exceptions rather than evidence of their ‘real’ abilities. Probably, a lot of it had to do with communication that wasn’t even expressed in words. One thing that is certain is that expectations strongly influence results. The practice of labeling people also has a strong impact outside of school. We tend to have different expectations for people from different countries, for people of different races, for men and for women. We even label the members of our own family — one child is the smart one, another is the troublemaker, and so on. The school experiment shows that such labels have a great deal of power. When they are positive, they can lead to good results. When labels are unfair and negative, such as in thestereotyping of a racial or ethnic group, they can be very damaging. Recently, a teacher was assigned a class of “gifted” children. She was told that, since they were all above average in intelligence, she should be getting above-average work from them. And as the semester went on, her pupils did very high quality work, just as expected. However, there was a catch: the teacher had not been told the truth. Her students were not really smarter than others; their actual IQs were all within the normal range. The only thing exceptional about the class was what the teacher thought of them. Did the teacher’s belief that her students were smart somehow make them into better learners? The answer seems to be “yes”: a child will usually live up to the teacher’s expectations when the child believes those expectations are honest.

12. Language Points Text A How to Become Gifted

13. Language Points How to Become Gifted Julius and Barbara Fast 1In a study of educational techniques, a teacher was told that her newclass were all gifted children. “You should get above-average results from them”, she was advised, and by the end of the term she was getting just that, better than average work. 2 The remarkable thing about it all was that in reality the class was not unusual. They were just an average group of students with the IQs within the normal range. The teacher had been deceived about their potential.

14. Language Points 3 This study uncovered many answers to many questions about teaching and children, but it left even more questions unanswered. One pointit didmake with unusual clarity is that a child will usually live up to a teacher’s expectations when the child believes those expectations are honest. 4 An unanswered question was: In what way did the teacher communicatetothe students that they were special and could do superior work? She didn't tell them that in so many words, but obviously something about her attitude convinced the students that they were gifted.

15. Language Points 5 Further studies showed that the special “something” in the teacher’s attitude was, in part, the type of work she gave the class, and in part how she presented it. But the strongest “something” was the teacher herself and her attitude toward the class and toward their ability. 6 There was an extra amount of confidence and interest in her voice that said, “You’re bright children.” There was a constant reassuring tone that told them they would do well, very well. The children picked up these signals and reacted positively to them.

16. Language Points 7 When a student’s work did not measure up to the teacher’s expectations, as often happened, the students was not treated with disappointment, anger, or annoyance. Instead, the teacher assumed that this was an exception, an accident, a bad day, a momentary slip — and the student believed her and felt reassured. The next time around, he tried harder, determined to live up to what the teacher knew he could do.

17. Language Points 8 The exact part of communication that tells a child, “I expect the best,” is difficult to pinpoint. In part it consists of a level tone showing assurance, a lack of verbal impatience, an absence of negative qualities such as irony, put-downs, and irritation. The teacher who expects the best asks her questions with conviction, knowing the answers she gets will be right, and the child picks up that conviction. 9 Most of this is transmitted through the voice, but a surprising amount is in the attitude, in touch, and in facial expression.

18. Language Points 10 An experiment similar to the one done with “gifted” children was done with “gifted” mice. A scientist was given a group of ordinary mice, but told that they were a special breed, trained to run a maze in record time. Working with these mice, the scientist found that they did learn faster than other mice and did run the maze more quickly.

19. Language Points 11 But mice know nothing of our language. How was the scientist able to communicate his expectations to them? An examination of all the variables in the test concluded that the unusually good results were due to the way he had handled the mice, the way he talked to them and the tone, the confidence, the reassurance, and the certainty in his voice. They absorbed all the messages and performed accordingly!

20. Language Points 12 In a broader view of both these experiments, the teacher and the scientist used a principle common to all societies at all levels — the principle of labeling. All our expectations are prejudiced, and we have very different expectations for different people, even on a national level. We think of people in terms of national characteristics. We expect Americans to be greedy, after the big buck, and we label them that way in our minds. We label Germans neat and orderly, English cold, distant, and reserved, Italians emotional, Japanese polite — and so it goes. We pin a very narrow label on a very broad, far from homogeneous group. We do it on racial levels too. Blacks are musical, Indians are stoic, Orientals inscrutable. We even label the sexes — men are aggressive, women passive.

21. Language Points 13 On a family basis, the labels are sometimes attached by the neighbors. “Those Joneses are trash … always on welfare.” Or the label may be attached by the family itself. “We Smiths would rather go hungry than ask for government help! ” The Smith boy, growing up with this label of awesome independence, lives up to it as readily as the Jones girl lives up to her label. “They all think we’re trash? I’ll act like trash!”

22. Language Points 14 The label may be less inclusive, even sexist. One family might say proudly, “The men in our family are always professionals.” When Bill, a son in this family, finds that carpentry is the work he loves best, he faces a family conflict — and a conflict with himself. His inner strength may allow him to go through with his own desires and become a carpenter, but then he knows that he hasn’t lived up to the family label and he goes through life with a sense of guilt. He may even create his own label. “I’m a failure, really.” It doesn’t matter that Bill is a success in his field, that in time he owns his own business and makes more money than his brother Bob, who became a lawyer. Bill is still not a professional man, and as a result his inner label still readsfailure.

23. Language Points 15 Labeling within a family starts very early. Before the baby understands verbal language, he responds to body language and indirect communication. He senses the love in his parents’ voice before he understands the words, and he also senses the rejection, indifference, fear, or hostility, and he reacts to those emotions too.

24. Language Points 16 If he’s treated with love and gentleness, he responds with both emotions. Later, when he understands speech, he accepts his label. Jimmy is the nice one in the family, or Sally, who’s been a difficult baby, earns the label of troublemaker. Each child, along with his given name, picks up a label. She’s the clever one. He’s the pushy one. Norman is always late. Betty is so hard to love. Barbara is cold. Jack is wild. Natalie is sweet, and so on. The labels may reflect reality. Natalie may be sweet, but as often as not the reality has been imposed on the child by the label. If Natalie hears that she is sweet often enough, she begins to act sweet. You tend to live up to your label

25. Language Points 17 In the same way, the students in the teaching experiment were labeled bright, and they managed to be bright, to work beyond their ordinary ability.

26. gifted — a. very intelligent or talented; more intelligent than average, esp. used of children • Examples: • Even gifted children fail to progress without good teaching. • She is gifted — she is a wonderful athlete, she writes beautifully and plays the guitar and so on.

27. deceive — deliberately mislead somebody (about something) • Example: • The leader had been deceived about their performance. Translate 他骗她，使她相信他会开汽车。 Key He deceived her into thinking he could drive a car.

28. uncover — to remove the thing that covers something else; to find out about something, esp. what has been kept a secret. Cf. uncover and discover uncover means “to find out about something, esp. what has been kept a secret.” discover means “to find out about something that one did not know about before and one finds it either by accident or because he has been looking for it.” • Examples: • Digging in her garden she uncovered a hoard of gold dating back to the 9th century. • These reasons can easily be uncoveredwith little inquiry. • Gravity was discoveredby Newton when an apple fell on his head. • The boss discovered him stealing money.

29. make a point — express an idea • Examples: • This is the first pointI want to make. • You madesome interesting pointsin your speech.

30. live up to — (also measure up to) to keep to the high standards of 量入为出， 配合， 回应， 实践， 配得上 • Exercises: • His work lived up to his reputation. • He lives up to his income. • Did the film live up to your expectations? 量入为出 回应 配得上

31. communicate sth to (sb or sth) — make something known; convey something • Examples: • This poem communicates the author’s despair. • Writers communicate their ideas to the readers by writing.

32. superior — good or better in quality or value • Example: • This western restaurant is superior to the one we went to last week. Translate 这台机器在很多方面比那台好。 Key This machine is superior in many respects to that.

33. in part — to a certain extent; partly • Example: • His success was due in part to luck.

34. The children picked up these signals and reacted positively to them. Paraphrase : — the children got the information ( conveyed by the teacher’s voice and tone) into their minds and performed well in response to this information.

35. consists of — be composed of, be made up of Translation: 1) This is a mixture consists of flour and water. 这是面粉和水的混合物. 2) 委员会由十人组成. The committeeconsists often members.

36. conviction — firm opinion or belief • Examples • It’s my conviction that complacency is at the root of our troubles. • Do you always act in accordance with your convictions.

37. In record time — in the shortest time record — best performance or highest or lowest level ever reached, esp. in sport • Examples: • Unemployment was at a record high. • The bank rate was increased to a record 8%. • A record number of people attended the concert

38. due to — caused by; because of • Examples: • He was late due to/owing to the very heavy traffic. • Accidents due to driving at high speed were very common that weekend. It is generally considered that due to is a synonym for owing to.However, they are used differently.Due to can be used immediately after a noun.

39. due to —caused by; because of It is generally considered that due to is a synonym for owing to.However, they are used differently.Due to can be used immediately after a noun.

40. accordingly — in a manner that is appropriate to the particular circumstances • Examples: • He had loved her and had been, accordingly, good to her. • When we receive your instructions we shall act accordingly.

41. In terms of — with regard to the particular aspect specified; as regards • Examples: • Think of it in terms of an investment. • The figures are expressed in terms of a percentage.

42. would rather … than — more willingly, = would sooner…rather，would as soon … as • Exercises: • I would rather you ________________ here. • I would sooner ___ at once than ____ in this agony • I would just as soon ____ at home as _____. A. remained B. would remain C. had remained D. remain A. died, lived B. dying, living C. die, living D. die, live A. staying, go B. stay, go C. stay, going D. to stay, to go

43. inclusive — including sth.; including much or all • Example: • The monthly rent is 500 yuan inclusive of everything.

44. go through with — to complete; carry out; • Exercises: • Do you intend to go through with this wedding? • I can’t go through with this performance, I’m so nervous. • I will go through with my plan whatever the opposition?

45. a sense of guilt — 犯罪感 Exercises: 名誉心 责任感 有理智的人 方向感 通情达理 a sense of honour a sense of duty/ responsibility a man of sense a sense of locality/direction good sense

46. in time — after a certain amount of time • Examples: • In time you’ll forget him. • I will see him in time. • She will be back in time to prepare dinner. 来得及 经过一段时间以后 早晚, 总有一天

47. read —可读（作…），写着… Translation: 1)The sign reads “Stop.” 2) The book reads well. 3) The rule reads in two ways. 那个牌子上写着“止步”。 那本书写的不错。 这项规则可做两种解释。

48. difficult — not easy to please or satisfy; unwilling to co-operate Examples: a difficult boy a difficult customer a difficult boss Don’t be difficult, just lend us the money. 难哄的小孩 难对付的顾客 难讨好的上司 别难为我们了, 快把钱借给我们吧.

49. pushy—粗鲁的；固执己见得 bossy —专横的，霸道的；爱指挥人的 nosy —爱打听的, 爱管闲事的 airy —轻浮的，做作的 cranky —易发脾气的，暴躁的

50. as often as not — fairly often; very frequently • Examples: • As often as not the buses are late on foggy days. • In the evening, as often as not, we sit down to watch our favorite programs.