Unit 7 Section ALighten Your Load and Save Y

our Life

Background informationText structure analysisSummary of the passageGrammar & Language pointsDifficult sentences & translationWritingAfter-reading discussion

New Horizon College English §Book 2

I. Background Information

Dr. Robert S. Eliot, the author of the book: From Stress to Strength: How to Lighten Your Load and Save Your Life.

Dr. Robert S. Eliot

Benjamin (Ben) FranklinI. Background information

Benjamin (Ben) Franklin, a very famous American of the 1700’s best known for his experiments with electricity and nature, using kites, which led to his innovation of lightening rod( 避雷针 ).

Quotable Ben Franklin Eat to live, and not live to eat. Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

If you would not be forgotten as you are dead and rotten, either write things worthy of reading, or do things worth the writing.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

I. Backgroud Information:

A country man between two lawyers, is like a fish between two cats.

Glass, china, and reputation, are easily crack'd, and never well mended.

There are three faithful friends—an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.

Famous saying from Franklin:The worst wheel of a cart makes the most noise.

I. Background Information:

II. Text analysis --- main idea

Stress exerts great impact upon people both physically and psychologically. According to the research done by Dr. Robert S. Eliot excess stress may cause tremendous and rapid increases in blood pressure and then bring damage to the heart. In fact these problems may be attributed to such FUD factors as fear, uncertainty, doubt and lack of control. To cope with stress, we should take charge of our life, lighten the load and learn to fit in with the life.

What is the main idea of the text?

How is the text organized?

The passage is broadly put into four parts. Part I (paras 1-3): A brief introduction to the stress in life By citing quotations from Robert S. Eliot, the autho

r exchanges his opinion with the readers in a form of conversation — If you often feel angry and overwhelmed, then you may be hurting your heart…If you don’t want to break your heart, you need to…

II. Text Analysis --- structure

Part II (Paras. 4-6) How the stress threatens one’s life: To make his idea more convincing, the author ado

pts the findings of researchers to explain how excess stress affects one’s heart through a sort of chain of causes and effects as well as exemplification.

Part III (Paras. 7-11) Major causes of the stress in life:

To help the reader gain a better insight into the root of stress — anger, the author adopts such methods as question-asking, exemplification, and cause-and-effect.

Part III (Paras. 12-20) Measures to cope with the stress in life: By quoting directly from Eliot’s book and giving t

ypical examples, the author puts forth several suggestions and some effective measures to cope with the problem of stress.

III. III. Summary

You should learn to take charge of your life and recognize many things are beyond your control. For those who are “___ reactors”, being tense may _____ tremendous and rapid increases __ blood pressure. Studies show _____ alarm or stress chemicals ___ literally burst heart muscle fibers, _______ many short circuits ____ causing crazy heart rhythms. ____ main factors causing harmful _____ of stress are fear, __________ and doubt, together with the lack of control. For ___________ women and people

hotcause

in excesscan

creating andThe

professional

levels uncertainty

III. III. Summary

who _______ direction in life, _____ authorities

believe anger is ___ root of their stress. The NICE

factors—new, interesting, __________

experiences—are recommended _________ calm

yourself down. _____ Ben Franklin, you have __

set your priorities. In order to face all the

problems _____ which you have _____ control,

you can’t fight or flee. You have to learn how to

flow.

thechallenging

in order toLike to

over little

have no some

This type of expression describes the behavior or a minor event which goes together with the major event in the clause.

The man sat in the front row, his hands on the table. 那男子坐在前排是，手放在桌子上。

He fell to the ground, blood streaming from his nose. 他跌倒在地，血从鼻子里流了出来。

spin out of control: get out of control (L1)

spin: turn round and round quickly I feel faint and the room is spinning. 我感觉晕晕乎乎的，觉得房子也在旋转。

The airplane spun out of control and crashed. 飞机旋转着失去了控制，坠毁了。

beyond control: out of control

He lost position through situation beyond his control.

他因无法控制局势而丢了乌纱帽。

IV. Grammar & Language points

under control: the opposite of “out of control”

It took months for the teacher to bring his class under control.

这个老师用了几个月的时间才把他教的班级调教好。

The fire fighters finally brought the big fire under control.

消防队员终于控制住了火势。

So says Dr. Robert S. Eliot, … (L5) “So” refers to what is talked about in Para 2. When

the subject is too long and it bears noew information of the whole sentence, “so” is used at beginning of the sentence to keep the sentence in balance, to achieve end-weight (that is: leave the complext structure towards the end of the sentence) and end-focus (that is: leave the new information towards the end of the sentence),

So goes the story. 故事如此云云。

IV. Grammar & Language points

hot reactor: people who are hot temptered (L8)

Here ， “ reactor” is. used in its figurative sense.More examples: The heart beats like a bag of worms instead of a pump. (=i

rregularly and without much power) Others are angry because they have no compass in life.

(L32) 有些人生气是因为他们在生活中没有自己的方向 / 目标。 Stop where you are on your trail and say …(43-44) 在你人生道路上停下来，对自己说：‘我要把指南针拿出来，弄

明白自己究竟想要干什么’。

IV. Grammar & Language points

among other things (L11)

among other things: used to say that you are only mentioning one or two thongs out of a much larger group.

At the meeting they discussed, among other things, recent events in Middle East.

他们讨论了中东最近发生的事情和其他一些事情。

She is very keen on sports. Among other things, She played tennis twice a week.

她非常喜欢体育运动。除了其他活动，她每星期还打两次网球。

IV. Grammar & Language points

blow one’s topblow one’s top ：： (L31)

(slang): lose one’s temper; explde with anger

My father will blow his top when he sees what happened to the car.

我爸爸要看到车子这个样子了，一定会大发雷霆。

When he told her how much it cost, she blew her top.

当他告诉她东西的价钱时，她大发脾气。

IV. Grammar & Language Points

……if you stir in your own juice with no safety outletif you stir in your own juice with no safety outlet ：： (L34) …if you suffer from your own feelings of anger but f

ind no proper means to set free your anger …

stir in one’s own juice: suffer from unpleasant feelings 受煎熬；生闷气； 自己跟自己过不去

For example:

IV. Grammar & Language Points

When their favorite team met its Waterloo and lost the hope of getting into the finals, the devoted fans were stirring in their own juice as if it were the end of the world.

当自己最喜爱的球队兵败麦城 从而无望打入决赛时，这些铁杆球迷在痛苦中煎熬，仿佛天都要塌下来了。

Stir ：1. move in a round motion through a liquid 搅拌 Use a spoon to stir the sauce. 用调羹来搅拌调料。2. move slightly 轻轻地动 Not a breath of air stirred. 一点儿风都没有（空气丝纹不动）。3. make active; excite 使激动 The story stirred the boy’s imagination. 故事撩拨起男孩的想象力。 The news stirred the anger of the people. 消息激起了人们的愤怒。

blow apartblow apart: : break into pieces by an explosionbreak into pieces by an explosion (L37) They are likely to blow apart with some heart problems.

(=break down physically) 他们可能因心脏病而垮下来。

The company, which once achieved a roaring success, is now about to blow apart with the lack of money and efficient management.

这家公司曾经获得巨大成功，可是由于缺乏资金和有效管理，现在行将跨塌 (破产 ) 。

That jerry-built cabin will blow apart in a strong wind.

那间草草建起的小屋一阵强风就会吹散架。

IV. Grammar & Language Points

priority : : (L50)

1) sth that needs attention, consideration, service, etc. before others

2) the state or right of coming before others

• Her priority is to finish college. 她的首要任务就是完成大学学业。

• The badly wounded take priority for medical attention over those only slightly hurt.

重伤员较之轻伤员优先治疗。

IV. Grammar & Language Points

Set one’s priority: 定优先做的事情 Whatever you do, priorities should be set because it i

s unwise to try to attend to big and small matters all at once.

无论做什么事情都应该有个轻重缓急，因为眉毛胡子一把抓是不明智的。

V. Difficult Sentences & Translation

They feel forced to play all the roles their lives demand of them and, therefore, do all of these different things to the extent of being perfect.

译：她们觉得要让人人感到她们无所不能，而且要把样样事情都做得完美无缺。她们认为：“我应该 ( 这样 ) ，我必须 ( 这样 ) ，我不得不 ( 这样 ) 。”　追求完美永无止境。

（对意义的增补）

They have to be all things to all people and do it all perfectly. … (L28-29)

to be all things: 样样都行 As is opposite to the reality, some parents expect the

ir children to be all things, thus urging them to learn this and that after class.

一些家长不切合实际地希望自己的孩子十全十美，因此逼迫他们在课余时间学这学那。

V. writing ----structure analysis

When you explain in writing the reasons why something happens, you are having a cause and effect writing. Read the following passage and tell the cause and effect.

Paragraph writing: cause and effect

A typical example is:

Do you know why winter is colder than summer? One reason is that there are fewer hours of sunlight in winter.

But there is another reason. Winter sunlight is cooler. It is the same sun, and it shines just as bright as in the summertime, and yet the earth gets less heat from it.

(结果 )

(先果后因，多因一果 )

(原因1)

(原因2)

Samples

V. Writing—Structure Writing

Commonly used words and expressions for effect:

The effect is evident/obvious…

It will exert a profound influence…

It may cause a sweeping change…

It leaves some serious consequences…

It may give rise to a host of problems…

The immediate result it produces is...

V. Writing—Structure Writing

Develop one of the following topic sentences by supporting it with cause or effect.

1. Now there’s a large gap between rich and poor in China.

2. If people eat too much sugar, the effect is obvious.

Your Task

Now there’s a large gap between rich and poor in China. The cause lies in three aspects. First the gap is the result of the economic reform. Some become millionaires by working hard and seizing the opportunities. Meanwhile the slow development in agriculture and the closedown of many state-owned enterprises hinder the farmers and workers from greatly raising their living standards. Second, the current distribution of income is not scientific enough, thus widening the income difference. Third, while most make money honestly, there are some dishonest businessmen and government agents who have accumulated large fortunes through illegal ways.

Sample

VII. After-reading discussion

List Your “Six Things” in Your Life

Ben Franklin wrote down six things in his life that he wanted to achieve most. Then what are your “six things”? Decide what things you can/can’t control. What will you do with the out-of-control problems?

Topics for after-reading discussion: