unit4研究生英语.ppt

Unit 4 The No-child Family: Going Against 100,000 Years of Biology,Background Information,Introduction to the author Rita Kramer grew up in the Midwest. After graduation with honors from The University of Chicago she studied English literature at Columbia University and began a career as a free-lance editor for several New York publishing firms. Her writing career has combined topical journalism with books on subjects ranging from the crisis in Americas schools to the drama of resistance in the Second World War. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Newsday, the International Herald Tribune, American Heritage, Commentary, The Public Interest, City Journal and other newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and abroad. She has also published short stories in various literary magazines.,Picture of Rita Kramer,Introduction to the Text With the continued advancement of society, many traditional ideas which have been taken for granted are being challenged now. Just three or four decades ago, it was never heard of that married couples would not have a child, unless they could not. Things are totally different now. More and more married couples tend to remain childless. “What lies behind this decision which seems to fly in the face of biology and society?” The reasons are various. In this text, the author has elaborated some reasons given by a number of specialists in the field of human behavior. Generally, they fall into two categories. One is that some women are aware of the dangers of overpopulation, crowding, pollution and nuclear war, which makes them feel reluctant to bear children. The other is that those who want to remain childless are narcissisticthey have been used to being cared for. They are more concerned about their own future and dont want to worry about the future of children in a world full of problems. To conclude, the author thinks that it does not matter whether one chooses to have children or not. What matters is that one is comfortable about what he or she does.,Structure Part1: the reasons for the change that more and more young married couples are deciding not to have children(para.1 to para.2) Part 2: Ideas of childless couple( para.3 to para.6.) part3: Opinions of experts on human behavior( para.7 to para.14) Part4: Conclusion of Rita Kramer.( para.15 to para.17),Language Points,Para.1 Start a family (line 3, para. 1): Have or bear a child,Para.2 2. A recent survey showed that in the last five years the percentage of wives aged 25 to 29 who did not want children had almost doubled and among those 18 to 24 it had almost tripled. (lines 2-5, para. 2): A recent survey showed that in the past five years the wives between the ages of 25 and 29 who did not want to have children had increased by almost two times and those between the ages of 18 and 24 who did not want children had grown by almost three times.,3. What lies behind this decision which seems to fly in the face of biology and society?(line 5-6, para. 2): What is the real reason for such a decision which seems to go against biology and social development? lie behind: be the cause of e.g. What lies behind the old mans determination to learn English? The parents are trying to find out what lies behind the childs telling lies again and again. fly in the face of: go against; be opposite to what most people would expect e.g. Doing this means that youre flying in the face of the local authority. You cant fly in the face of good business rules and expect to be successful.,Questions to para.1 and 2,What do the first two paragraphs play in the whole essay? The first two paragraphs are topic paragraphs, showing a changing aspect of human behavior-more and more young married couples, like Cathy and Wayne N., are deciding not to have children. At the Same time, the main topic of the essay is raised: the reason for this change.,Para.3 4. Perhaps the most publicly outspoken childless couple are Ellen Peck and her husband William (lines 1-2, para. 3): Maybe Ellen Peck and her husband William, a childless couple, express their opinions more openly in public than any other childless couple.,5. The Pecks (line 4, para. 3): William Peck and Ellen Peck,6. Our grandchildren may have to buy tickets to see the last redwoods or line up to get their oxygen ration. (lines 5-7, para. 4): Our grandchildren may have to pay for tickets to see the last redwoods or stand in a line to obtain their limited amount of oxygen. This implies that the continuity of life on earth is threatened and the quality of life is becoming worse. line up: be in a line; get into a line e.g. The soldiers quickly lined up. The policeman lined up the suspects.,7. but cant make the association between the children and the traffic jam. (lines 8-9, para. 4): but cant see the causal relationship between the children and the traffic jam.,8. Too many children are born as a result of cultural coercion. (lines 12-13, para. 4): Too many children are born because of social pressure. Cultural coercion refers to socially accepted ideas, beliefs and customs that married couples should have children.,9. And the results show up in the statistics on divorce and child-abuse. (lines 13-14, para. 4): And the results of having children because of social expectations rather than personal desire are shown clearly in the number of divorces and the frequency of child-abuse.,Para.5 10. Every friend, relative and business associate is pressuring you to have kids and find out what youre missing. (lines 1-2, para. 5): All your friends, relatives and colleagues are trying hard to persuade you to have children so that you can realize what you are missing. Every is a determiner used when referring to all the members of a group of three or more.,11.Too many people discover too late that what they were missing was something they were totally unsuited for. (lines 2-4, para. 5): Too late, many people find out that what they didnt have was something that was really not suitable for them at all.,Para.6 12. From the first doll to soap operas to cocktail parties, the pressure is always there to be parents. (lines 1-2, para. 6): From the time children begin to play with their first doll, to the time they watch television dramas or chat at cocktail parties, there is always pressure on them to have children.,Question to para.3,4,5,and 6,The outspoken couple William Peeck and Ellen Peck bring forward their reasons for deciding to remain childless. What are the reasons? a.They attach more importance to freedom,spontaneity, privacy and leisure. b.They want to give efforts to the community. c. They fear that the younger generation will sufer from overpopulation as they do now. d. They are afraid of divorce and child abuse. e. they are not sure whether they can become good parents.,Para.7 13. Men often drift into fatherhood without ever making a deliberate choice. (lines 2-3, para. 7): Men often become fathers without careful consideration and mental preparation.,14. For many women pregnancy can be a way to escape from unresolved conflicts, to achieve instant identity or strengthen a poor self image, to gratify a need for the attention and affection they feel they never had as children. (lines 3-7, para. 7): Many women regard being pregnant as a means to avoid unsolved conflicts, to achieve immediate recognition of their status or improve their self images, to satisfy their need for the attention and love they feel they never had when they were children.,The young couple with pregnancy,Question to para.7,Professional observers use facts to back up their argument in para.7. what is the argument? What are the facts? Argument:Many young people have children for the wrong reasons, sometimes for no reasons at all. Facts: a. Many men attained fatherhood without knowing if they really want to become fathers b. Many women have pregnancies to escape from conflicts, to achieve instant identity, to improve self image, or gain attention and affection.,Para.8 15. Family therapist (line 3, para. 8): Someone specializing in giving counsel on family problems,16. implying that something like the herd instinct in animals was operating as a response to the dangers of overpopulation, crowding, pollution and nuclear war, causing women to feel a reluctance to reproduce and leading them to seek new ways of realizing themselves outside of family life. (lines 5-9, para. 8): suggesting that something like the animal instinct of following the herd was functioning as a reaction to the dangers of too large a population, crowding, pollution and nuclear war. As a result, women feel unwilling to have children and they are more inclined to seek new ways to realize their value outside the family.,Question to para.8,Why, according to family therapist, do people decide not to have children? According to him, people decide not to have children as a reaction to the dangers of overpopulation, crowding, pollution and nuclear war.,Para.9 those who want to remain childless are narcissistic making a virtue out of necessity by rationalizing their inner conflicts about giving care vs. being taken care of. (lines 1-4, para. 9): those who do not want to have children only care about themselves-making something admirable out of their unwillingness to move from being taken care of to giving cares by giving a rational explanation for their inner opposing thoughts. (In Greek mythology, a handsome young man scorned all women. Consequently, he was made to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool by the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Later he turned down Echos proposal and thus suffered punishment. When he died, he turned into the narcissus flower. So if people have excessive concern only for themselves, they are sometimes called narcissistic or narcissists.),Make a virtue out of necessity: make something praiseworthy out of a situation you cannot change / make the best out of a given situation e.g. After Mr.Wilson lost all his money, he made a virtue out of necessity and found a new and interesting life as a teacher. Vs.: a written abbreviation of the preposition versus used when comparing the advantages of two different things, ideas, etc. e.g. The Finance Minister must weigh the benefits of a tax cut vs. those of increased public spending.,18. These are people who cant tolerate the idea of caring for children, who have no margin of love to spare them. (lines 4-5, para. 9): These people cant put up with the idea of taking care of children; being too self-loving, they have no extra love to give them.,19. Youre going against something with 100,000 years of biology behind it. (lines 6-7, para. 9): You are opposing something that has a history of 100,000 years of biological reproduction.,20. “Well, we all rationalize our deficits, and these people probably shouldnt have children whatever their real motives are, for the same reason there ought to be liberal abortion laws.” (lines 7-10, para. 9): Well, we all try to give proper reasons for our shortcomings, and these people probably shouldnt have children no matter what reason they have for their choice. Because of this, there should be free and generous abortion laws.,Question to para.9,Some psychiatrists say that those who want to remain childless arenacissitic. Why are these people called nacissitic? Because they love themselves so much that they are unwilling to take care of children, much less love them.,Para.10 21. while some people have always opted not to have children, the increased frequency we are seeing is in those children of the nineteen-forties and fifties (lines 1-3, para. 10): though there have always been some people who have chosen not to have children, we are seeing more and more people born in the 1940s and 1950s make the decision not to have children ,22. David Riesman (line 5, para. 10): an American social scientist (1909-). He once taught as a professor in sociology at Chicago University (1946-1958) and Harvard University (1958-1981). Since 1967, he has been a member of Carnegie Committee on Future Advanced Education.,23. inner-directed adj. (line 5, para. 10): Directed in thought and action by ones own values,24. other-directed adj. (line 5, para. 10): Directed in thought and action primarily by external norms rather than by ones own values,25. One was to give them a greater feeling of “narcissistic entitlement” what one expects from life. (lines 7-8, para. 10): One was to let them feel more certain that they have the right to focus on themselves to get what they desire from life.,26. The other was the loss of a sense of certainty. They are more open to self-doubt, he says, more preoccupied with their bodies, their life-styles, less able to maintain stable attachments to others. (lines 8-11, para. 10): The other effect that these parents had on their children was the loss of self-confidence. They are more likely to doubt themselves, he says, more concerned about their bodies, their life-styles and less capable of maintaining firm relationships (esp. marital relationships) with others.,27. It cant be modified, cant be undone. (line 13, para. 10): The condition cant be changed / improved / made better and it cant be restored to how it was originally.,Para.11 28. Many of the young adults are ambivalent about relinquishing the role of the one who is cared for and taking on that of the one who does the caring (lines 1-3, para. 11): Many of these young married couples are not sure whether they want to give up being the one who is taken care of and shoulder / assume the responsibility of looking after others ,Qestions to para.10 and 11,In paragraph 10 and 11, the characteristics of the young adults born in 1940s and 1950s are mentioned . What are their characteristics? a.they are more open to self-doubt. b. they are more occupied with their bodies and life-style. c. they are less able to have stable relationships with others d. they are ambivalent about making the transition from being cared for to caring for others.,Para.12 29. co-author n. (line 2, para. 12): A person who shares the writing of a book,30. In the past there was always a feeling implicit in the culture that parenthood was something very significant, attractive, enriching, creative. (lines 6-8, para. 12): In the past people accepted and shared the opinion that being parents was very meaningful, attractive, enriching and creative.,31. Now it seems to be going by the board. (line 8, para. 12): Nowadays people seem to have given up the idea. Go by the board: be given up or abandoned e.g. His proposal that every employee should receive further training went by the board. It is definite that such a hope cant go by the board.,32. There seem to be so many other opportunities for women to express themselves creatively and family life requires them to give up so many things that the emphasis on family life as a good and creative thing, a way to contribute to the future of the world doesnt really ring a bell with many young people. (lines 8-13, para. 12): Women seem to have many other chances to show their creativity, whereas family life demands that they abandon so many things. Consequently, the stress on family life as a good and creative thing, a way to make contribution for the future of the world, doesnt arouse a response in many yound people.,Question to para.12,According to a professor of child psychiatry, there are three reasons why many young people are not interested in family life as parents? a.Parenthood life requires them to give up many things. b.There are many opportunities for women to find meaning in their lifes. c.They are concerned about their future and the future of their children.,Para.13 33. a pain in the neck (line 4, para. 13): somebody or something that is very annoying e.g. Reading so many philosophy books is a pain in the neck. That man is really a pain in the neck.,Question to Para.13,In paragraph 13, Rita Kramer quotes what Dr. Antony said in a recent conversation, “children are a great of trouble, and.all loom problems.” Is this opinion held only by Dr. Anthony? How d