unit 1

Reading and understanding

3 Choose the best summary of what happened in the crab cage.

  3 The cage was full of crabs. One of them was trying to escape, but each time it reached the top the other crabs pulled it back. In the end it gave up trying and started to prevent other crabs from escaping.

 

 

4 Choose the best answer to the questions.

  1 What happened to the students in the fall of the final year?

          (b) They became more serious.

  2 Why did some people have bags under their eyes in the morning?

     (c) Theyd spent all night in the library.

  3 Which students had already planned their future?

     (c) The quieter ones who didnt have the best grades.

   4 Why did the writer go home?

      (d) It was a national holiday.

5  Why did his father take him out to catch crabs?

      (c) He wanted to tell him something about life.

  6  What advice did his father give him?

     (a) Get to know yourself better.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

5 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

  1 achieving good results (productive)

  2 the fact of being present at an event, or of going regularly to school, church etc (attendance)

  3 the refusal to accept something new, such as a plan, idea, or change (resistance)

  4 determined to be successful, rich, famous etc (ambitious)

  5 agreement to a plan, offer, or suggestion (acceptance)

  6 the written words of a play, film, television programme, speech etc (script)

  7 very good, large, or showing great skill (impressive)

6 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 5.

     To be a successful film scriptwriter takes more than training although (1) attendance on a screenwriting course will definitely help you learn the skills. You also need to be very (2) ambitious - the film business is very competitive. You have to be prepared to work hard and be very (3) productive because it takes more than just one good idea to make it big. No matter how (4) impressive your idea is, there will always be (5) resistance from producers because it's too expensive. So make sure you have plenty of others to show them. What are you waiting for? Get on with writing that brilliant (6) script and plan your (7) acceptance speech for when you win your first Oscar!

7 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box.

  1 We've seen a place we like and we're applying for a loan to buy a house. (mortgage)

  2 We stood on the top floor of the boat and watched the coast disappear into the horizon. (deck)

  3 I love to walk along the beach and watch the waves breaking, and the white water hitting the shore. (surf)

  4 In seaside areas in the north-east of the country, life is hard and fishermen have to go against the forces of nature every time they go to work. (coastal; defy)

  5 Agreement was finally reached after a long and heated discussion. (lengthy)

8 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

  1 If you watch an impromptu performance of something, has it (a) been prepared, or (b) not been prepared?

  2 When you map out your future, do you (a) plan it carefully, or (b) draw a sketch of it on paper?

3 If you brace yourself for something unpleasant, do you (a) try not to think about it, or (b) prepare yourself for it mentally and physically?

  4 Do you moor a boat by (a) turning the steering wheel, or (b) tying it to a post with a rope?

  5 Is a rusty piece of metal something that (a) is bright and shiny, or (b) might have been left out in the rain and is covered with brown substance?

  6 If a bowl is brimming with soup, is it (a) very full, or (b) halfempty?

  7 If someone is being held captive, are they (a) free to do as they please, or (b) being kept as a prisoner?

  8 Ifyou have figured out something, have you (a) added numbers together, or(b) understood it?

Reading and interpreting

9 Work in pairs. Look at the sentences from the passage and answer the questions.

  1 In the fall ofourfinal year, our mood changed.

     Why does the passage begin with a time expression?

     The use of the time expression, together with the past tense, is a signal that this is a narrative with a sequence of events. The word our indicates that this is a story of personal experience.

  2 But there was something else.

     What is the purpose of this short sentence?

     This indicates that studying for the final exams was not the only concern of the students. So it is a transition from studying for final exams to the next topic  getting a job after graduation.

  3 I went home at Thanksgiving ...

     Why does the writer change from we to I?

     Because this changes the focus onto the writer as an individual. The we paragraphs are general background to the main narrative about thc individual, which is coming.

  4 "So?" he said.

     What is the effect of the change to direct speech?

     This change to direct speech opens a moment-by-moment dialogue. This slows down the narrative of events but gives a good impression of how the writer found it difficult to say what he wanted to do and how the father made few comments.

  5 Crabs fascinated me.

     How does the focus change with this sentence?

     The topic shifts to crabs. The sentence also arouses the readers' interest - we expect some fascinating new information ab6ut crabs here. Later, we realize how the topic of crabs,is connected with the son finding a job, and the crabs' behaviour leads the father to give memorable advice.

6 My father started the motor and we set off back home.

     Is this an effective conclusion? Why / Why not?

     Yes, we don't know what happens next, but the implication is fairly clear that the father would support the son's idea of travel and of being a writer. It makes a better conclusion not to say it explicitly, as it leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation.

10 Work in pairs and answer the questions.

1 What sort of relationship do the father and son have?

       The son seems afraid of being criticized for his ideas about a career and expects resistance from his father. However, the father actually supports what his son wants, but he makes him think about it by watching the crabs. So at the beginning we feel their relationship may not be good, but later it becomes clear that they have a good relationship and, in fact, their relationship has improved by catching crabs together.

2 Do you think the son respects his father?

       The son does respect his father, and the crab-catching episode adds to this respect because the father finds a good way of showing support to his son and making him think more about his plans.

3 Do you think the father understands his son?

Yes, because he says, "I kind of wish I'd done that when I was your age." Also, his way of teaching his son - through observing crabs - shows that he understands his son well.

4 What is the father trying to tell his son by showing him the crabs?

       He is teaching his son not to follow conventional expectations and peer pressure. He tells his son not to be pulled back by others, and to find out more about himself- what he enjoys, where his interests and skills are, how he wants to work, because if he doesn't figure these things out, he will never be happy.

5 How successful do you think the "crab story" is?

It is successful in showing the father-son relationship through catching crabs and it makes readers think about not being pulled back by others.

6 Is the father pleased that his son wants to be a writer?

He doesn't say so, but it seems he wanted to travel or write when he was young himself. His use of the words, "Interesting idea" and "Interesting choice", could be ambiguous, or may show support. The way he says "We've never had a writer in the family" does seem to be positive. So he's pleased but he doesn't want to say it directly.

Developing critical thinking

11 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1  How important is it to be ambitious in life?

     It is a complicated question. On the one hand, it seems good to be ambitious because most people want to be successful and having an ambition probably makes you work harder for your goals and that's good. On the other hand, we feel some reservations. Some people are ambitious to be extremely rich, famous or powerful. We really wonder whether these are the most important things, because some ambitious people seem to work only for themselves, so they work against other people rather than for or with others. On balance, we suppose it is important to be ambitious, but it depends on exactly what kind of ambition you are thinking of.

2 Is being ambitious a positive part of personality?

     Well, this is one of those qualities which are OK as long as you don't go to extremes. We think it probably depends on how ambition is related to the rest of your personality. What we mean is this: If a person only focuses on ambition it can get out of proportion - too much ambition can lead to all sorts of negative aspects of a personality. But being ambitious can be very positive if it is related to other positive qualities like wanting to make an effort and do your best with honesty and sincerity, and also to help your family, other people and your country. So our conclusion is: Yes, ambition is a positive part of personality as long as it is related to other positive qualities.

2  How much time should students spend planning their future?

     Well, if you don't spend any time planning a future, it may never happen. If you spend too much time planning it, it won't happen either, because you won't actually be doing anything about it, only thinking.

     We think the father in Catching crabs is right: You need to spend some time thinking about what you enjoy and what interests you, where your skills are, and then plan to try some jobs in those areas in order to discover what you are good at and what makes you happy. We think, as students, this is as much a matter of thinking and planning as of trying out different things, for example, doing part-time jobs and holiday work to get experience. So we conclude by saying that planning and doing go together, really.

     Is it part of a university's role to help students choose a career?

     Universities are supposed to teach students advanced knowledge and skills within different disciplines, to help them develop their thinking, creativity and awareness of citizenship, cultures and peoples in the world. Of course, helping students choose a career is not the same as getting them work. It is more a matter of helping them identify what they are good at and how their majors may prepare them for different professions. We think universities can help us choose a career by providing information about different professions and jobs, and by inviting professionals and employers in different fields to universities to talk to students. So, to conclude, yes, we think this is part of a university's role, a small but important part.

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新标准大学英语课文翻译（第三册）综合教程