Straight-A Illiteracy.ppt

1、Unit 10Straight-A IlliteracyJames P. Degnan,Introduction of the author,James Philip Degnan (1933- ) received his B.A. from Memphis State College, Tennessee, U. S. A., in 1954, and his M.A. from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, U.S. A., in 1956. He has been teaching in the University of Notre D

2、ame, University of Florida and University of Santa Clara, California. He became professor of English at the University of Santa Olara in 1969.,He contributes articles to such journals as Atlantic, Esquire, Nation, and Kenyon Review, to name a few. The present selection first appeared in the Septembe

3、r 1876 issue of Harpers magazine, which is a monthly periodical published in New York City. This periodical is recognized as a leading commentator on political, economic, and social questions. In the essay, Degnan uses personal experience and observation as his source of material to write about a wi

4、despread kind of illiteracy.,The Authors Message,Make you writing clean, clear and concise by avoiding high-sounding, elevated language.,Quotations on conciseness,I write as I walk because I want to get somewhere, and I write as straight as I can because that is the best way to get there. - H.G. Wel

5、ls (1866-1946),literary output vast and extremely varied,perhaps best remembered for his scientific romances, among the earliest products of the new genre of science fiction. (e.g. The Time Machine, The First Men in the Moon. A Modern Utopia ),I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack

6、 the time to make it shorter. Pascal (Provincial Letters (1657),Blaise Pascal (1623-62),French mathematician, physicist, and moralist,as gifted in science as in letters,literary fame resting on two works, Provincial Letters (1656-7) (Les Provinciales ),In order to speak short on any subject, think l

7、ong. Brackenbridge (Modern Chivalry,1792),Hugh Henry Brackenbridge (1748-1816),American novelist, poet, lawyer,Modern Chivalry (1792, satirical novel, published in installment from 1792-1815, giving a good description of men and manners during the early days of the American republic and manifesting

8、Brackenbridge allegiance to the robust tradition of the English novel in Smollett and Fielding),“If Id had more time, Id have written a shorter book.” Mark Twain,The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit. Fenelon (1651-1725) (French theologian and educat

9、or),The Authors Message,Make you writing clean, clear and concise by avoiding high-sounding, elevated language.,1. Avoid hackneyed metaphors,as busy as a bee by leaps and bounds as clear as crystal face the music play with fire as cool as a cucumber etc.,2. Avoid clichs,last but not least lucky dog,

10、 no pain; no gain a piece of cake from the bottom of my heart from every walk of life the other side of the coin few and far between etc.,3. Avoid high-sounding words,Be careful about words that sound grand but have vague meanings. Avoid elevated language if you can say the same thing clearly and pl

11、ainly without it. - endeavor (attempt, try) - repercussions (results / effects) - transmit (send) - materialize ( happen, occur) - terminate (end) etc.,4. Be careful when using jargons.,prior to (before) as per (according to) to facilitate the availability of funds ( to help get money ),5. Guard aga

12、inst lazy wordiness,It is believed by a number of persons in this country that the young people of today do not assume as much responsibility toward society as it might be hoped that they would.(33 words) Today many believe that our young people assume too little responsibility toward society. (13 w

13、ords),Compare the following pairs of expressions,ARCHAIC,SIMPLE,This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter,Thank you for your letter,We are in receipt of your cheque for ,We received your cheque for ,We are crediting your account as per instruction,As you instructed, we are crediting(or: Accordin

14、g to your wishes, we,You will hear from us at an early date,I will write you soon about ,Attached hereto is the agreement for your signature.,Enclosed is the agreement for(or: Please find enclosed the agreement ),Language points,fuss and bother about sth.: to make a fuss of sb.: to pay a lot of atte

15、ntion to sb. They like to be flattered and made a fuss of. (喜欢受人呵护),- to fuss over sb./sth.: to pay too much attention or worry about them too much e.g.,She was inclined to fuss over her health.,A fussy person is one who makes a lot of ado about unimportant things.,overpopulate: to have too large a

16、population; (text) their number is very large.,plight: difficult situation, full of problems,e.g. the plight of the handicapped,The children were in a sorry plight; tired, lost, and hungry.,as often as not: in roughly half the instances 多半/往往 at least half the time; frequently,interrogate: question

17、sb. closely, thoroughly, formally,pry: try to find out about sb. else private affairs,e.g. Im not trying to pry.,Dont go prying into my affairs.,probe: ask questions; make inquiries into; try to find out,e.g. to probe for information,to probe the mysteries of the universe,exogenous: growing or origi

18、nating from outside,co-linearity: in lines,be contingent upon: depend upon/be decided by,co efficient: (math) 系数 e.g. 4x,decode: to decode a telegram/a message: to change it into ordinary language,fellowship: money given to postgraduate students to allow them to continue their studies at an advanced

19、 level,gibberish: unintelligible or meaningless speech, nonsense. i.e. containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words; meaningless or unintelligible,providential: (formal) lucky because it happens at the right time, but without being planned (天缘巧合的、适时的）- A providential wind carried the raf

20、t to the shore.,providence n.,-,- to trust in divine providence相信上帝,protect/guard/shelter/screen from/against: eg.,May God protect you from harm .,You cant protect him from blame in the accident.,It is hopeless trying to protect your child from the harmful effects of TV until the material improves.,

21、to protect from sudden attacks,afflict: pain/illness/sorrow sb. means to affect them and make them suffer eg.,sb. be afflicted with blindness; (text) affliction of the Bright disease,entrepreneur: a person who undertakes an enterprise or business with the chance of profit of loss,filter: a porous de

22、vice for removing impurities or solid particles from a liquid of gas passed through it,inexorable: a. relentless b. (of a person or attribute) that cannot be persuaded by request or entreaty eg.,to wage an struggle against fascism 对坚决的斗争,an law 不可抗拒的法律,History is . 历史是无情的。,grapple with: a. to fight/

23、struggle with sb. usu. with ones hands b. to struggle with/deal with (a difficulty) eg.,to grapple with a thief/the enemy,It will take a brave politician to grapple with the inequalities in the tax laws.,bulge with: be full of eg.,His stomach bulged out. 他大腹便便。,His pockets were bulging with money. 他

24、口袋里的 钱鼓鼓囊囊。,exile: 流放 eg.,In some periods of history, a government could punish a citizen by exiling him. (forcing him to leave the homeland),self-exiled to Paris/exiled themselves to Paris,banish: forcible removal eg.,The judge ordered the suspect banished from the courtroom. 带下去/押下去,TV commercials

25、 that promise their products can banish washday drudgery.,deport: official sending away of someone who is not a citizen驱逐出境 e.g.,When a government deports a foreigner, he is sent out of the country because he has committed a crime or has no official permission to stay.,expatriate: it refers to the s

26、tripping of citizenship from sb. either by his own choice or by the nations choice,expatriate oneself 移居国外，放弃原国籍,extradite: 引渡,eject: a. to push, send sth. out, usually with force eg.,The machine ejected a handful of cigarettes.,sb. to eject sb. from a place, to force him to leave eg.,We reserve the

27、 right to eject away objectionable person.,inaccessible: a. difficult/impossible to reach eg,the most inaccessible part of the jungle,b. unable to understand/appreciate eg.,The music of Bartok is considered inaccessible by many people.,cursory: eg. a cursory glance/examination; that is, a brief one,

28、not pay attention to details,bear out: to support (sb. or the truth of what sb. says) eg,The prisoners story was borne out by his wife,If I tell the judge that I wasnt there, will you bear me out?,bear up: a. remain strong/brave eg.,Alice bore up well under the news of her husbands death.,b. to help

29、 sb. to continue living in a time of trouble eg.,How could I have lived through Mothers illness without you to bear me up.,stagnant: business/society/economy stagnant 社会/经济/生意惨淡,secluded: quiet, private, undisturbed,secluded beaches/corner of the garden 幽静的,motionless: not moving at all,to sit motio

30、nless; queues of motionless cars,come through:,A feeling of sadness comes through his music. (can be seen or felt),All my family came through the war. (survive the danger),sustain:,They do not have enough money to sustain a strike.,They had nothing to sustain them all day except two cups of coffee.,

31、It is his belief in God that sustains him.,catch on: (not formal) to become popular,I dont think this strange new fashion will catch on.,Would you mind repeating that? I didnt quite catch on. (understand what one said),catch out: (not formal),The examiners will try to catch you out, so have all your answers prepared. (to discover one unable to answer) 难倒你,Im sure t