Unit 4 The Virtual World

1. Unit 4 The Virtual World Text A A Virtual Life

2. Before-Reading 1 While-Reading 2 After-Reading 3

3. Before-Reading Scanning What We Can Do Online Virtual College Warm-Up Questions SOHO E- Vocabulary

4. Scanning • Look at the theme of this unit (The Virtual World) and the title of Text A (A virtual Life), then try to: • find synonyms for “virtual world”. • cyberspace, cyberia, etherworld, virtual reality, Internet world, net world, etc. Back

5. What people can do on the Internet • Searching information • Communicating with people • Shopping • Working • Finding entertainment • Reading • Downloading data • Hacking • Publishing • Education Back

6. Virtual College • Virtual college affords individuals the opportunity to advance in their chosen careers through on-line education. People can complete their education without leaving their home or office. However, they will have the college campus experience through a virtual classroom environment. The virtual classroom will allow them to interact with their instructors and other students in the class. Through the virtual classroom students will share information with their “classmates” from all over the world. The virtual classroom is available 24 hours a day, allowing people to complete the courses at their convenience regardless of their work schedule. Back

7. Writers, program designers, ad-agents, etc., all belong to the group of SOHO. Obviously, the author of Text A is a member of them. SOHO • What do you guess is the meaning of SOHO in information technology? • What kind of people do you think belong to the SOHO group? Back

8. E- Web- Net- Cyber- E-book, e-card, email, e-dictionary, e-commerce, e-business; Computer-related vocabulary Website, webmaster, webpage Netsurf, nethead Cyber-café, cyberculture, cybernut, cyberpet, cyberinteraction, cyberphobia Guess : Cyberdoc, netizen, webzine, webnomics, netpreneur, webcam 网络医生，网民，网络杂志, 网络经济, 网络企业家，网络摄像机， Back

9. Some of us like to live a life in contact with real things and real people, but other favor a virtual existence. Which life is better? • I’m sure you have different opinions. Now let’s read Text A to find out what is Maia Szalavitz’s answer to this question and what she has to say about these two life styles. Warm-up Question Back

10. While-Reading Scanning Text Division Word Web Detailed Text Words to Drill

11. Scanning: Try to finish it by simply reading the first sentence of each paragraph in Text A. Para 1,4-10,13 Para 2-3 Para 11 Para 12 How she feels about it after staying on the Net for a while What she does in trying to return to the real world How she feels about the real day-to-day world Description of the author’s virtual life Back

12. GR-1.part1 Text Division Parts Lines Main Ideas Description of the author’s virtual life. 1 1~16 Her feeling about the virtual life. 2 17~53 Her effort of returning to the real world and her feeling about the real world. 3 54~66 Back

13. Word-web Scan Text A to find out vocabulary items related to computer and the Internet. link virtual life L19 Title cyber-interaction L25 on the net L1 on line L39 telecommuter L8 system crash email L47 L9 click on the modem Internet mailing lists L64 LL9-10 connection L64 computer-assisted LL10-11 password L65 data L18 Back

14. A VIRTUALLIFE After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be ashock. My boyfriend’s Liverpool accent suddenly becomes impossible to interpret after his easily understood words on screen; a secretary’s clipped tone Article1-S seems more rejecting than I’d imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid -- hours become minutes, or seconds stretch into days. Weekends, once a highlight of my week, are now just two ordinary days.

15. For the last three years, since I stopped working as a television producer, I have done much of my work as a telecommuter. I submit articles and edit them via email and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship Article2_S is also computer-assisted. If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food, and manage my money, love and work.

16. In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries. I watched most of the endless snowstorm of ’96 on TV. Article3_S But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though I’ve become one with my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another link in the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms. We start to feel an aversion to outside forms of socializing. We have become the Net critics’ worst nightmare.

17. What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to computer, not worrying about hair, and clothes and face, has become a form of escape, a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber-interaction, coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult. Article4_S I find myself shyer, more cautious, more anxious. Or, conversely, when suddenly confronted with real live humans, I get overexcited, speak too much, interrupt.

18. I constantly worry if I am dressed appropriately, that perhaps I’ve actually forgotten to put on a skirt and walked outside in the T-shirt and underwear I sleep and live in. At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to talk away in the background, something that I’d never done previously. The voices of the programs are comforting, but then I’m jarred by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather. “Dateline,” “Frontline,” “Nightline,” CNN, New York 1, every possible angle of every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves into the background. I decide to check my email. Article5_S

19. On line, I find myself attacking everyonein sight. I am bad-tempered, and easily angered. I find everyone on my mailing list insensitive, believing that they’ve forgotten that there are people actually reading their wounding remarks. I don’t realize that I’m projecting until after I’ve been embarrassed by someone who politely points out that I’ve attacked her for agreeing with me. Article6_S When I’m in this state, I fight my boyfriend as well, misinterpreting his intentions because of the lack of emotional cues given by our typed dialogue. The fight takes hours, because the system keeps crashing. I say a line, then he does, then crash! And yet we keep on, doggedly.

20. I’d never realized how important daily routine is: dressing for work, sleeping normal hours. I’d never thought I relied so much on co-workers for company. I began to understand why long-term unemployment can be so damaging, why life without an externally supported daily plan can lead to higher rates of drug abuse, crime, suicide. Article7-S To restore balance to my life, I force myself back into the real world. I call people, arrange to meet with the few remaining friends who haven’t fled New York City. I try to at least get to the gym, so as to set apart the weekend from the rest of my week.I arrange interviews for stories, doctor’s appointments -- anything to get me out of the house and connected with others.

21. But sometimes being face to face is too much. I see a friend and her ringing laughter is intolerable -- the noise of conversation in the restaurant, unbearable. I make my excuses and flee. I re-enter my apartment and run to the computer as though it were a place of safety. Article8-S I click on the modem, the once-annoying sound of the connection now as pleasant as my favorite tune. I enter my password. The real world disappears.

22. After-Reading Talking about the pictures Discussion Writing Strategy Spot Dictation Useful Expressions Proverbs

23. Talking about the pictures Back

24. Discussion • What do you do on your computer nowadays? How much do you rely on it for company? Back

25. Writing Strategy:Inductive generalization 归纳总结P125 Example Back

26. Writing Strategy:Inductive generalization 归纳总结P125 Back

27. Writing Strategy:Inductive generalization 归纳总结P125 • Analyze Model paper on P 298, and see how the author uses inductive generalization. • Then write an essay entitled The Internet Will Isolate Us from One Another . Back

28. Spot Dictation 2000 SK Telecom Internet Survival Contest for Physically Challenged Youth was held on ____________. Myself, and all the other physically challenged youth who successfully finished the 72 hours of the Internet Survival Contest overcame our handicaps well, and ___________________ to a life lived only by using the Internet. In the award session it was ____________ to everybody because all of the award prizes were _______________. Through this opportunity, I gained valuable knowledge, and ___________ . It gave me self-assurance of the real world of information era. I also experienced _____________________________ and cheers from net-citizens. This is also one of the most ____________. Listen to the following passage and fill in the missing words. October 30, 2000 adapted ourselves proudly more meaningful made by participants real life experience enormous amounts of encouragements precious gifts Back

29. 难以听懂 clipped tone a highlight of the week 投稿 有时 take data in 对…感到厌恶 一种逃避 a lack of discipline be dressed appropriately be jarred by the commercials wounding remarks 误解别人的意图 日常事务 按时就寝 长期失业 吸毒 恢复生活的平衡 面对面 找借口 the once-annoying sound impossible to interpret 2 快速的语调 3 一周中最好的时光 6 submit articles 8 at times 13 接收数据 18 feel an aversion to 20 a form of escape 23 一种缺乏自律的表现 24 穿着得体 28 对商业广告恼火 33 刻薄伤人的言辞 41 misinterpret one’s intentions 45 daily routines 49 sleep normal hours 50 long-term unemployment 51 drug abuse 53 restore balance to one’s life 54 face to face 60 make an excuse 62 曾经让人心烦的声音 64 Useful Expressions Back

30. Quotations & Proverbs • Lack of work brings a thousand diseases. • 一闲生百病 • Time and tide wait for no man. • 时光如流水, 岁月不等人 • Don’t burn the candle at both ends. • 蜡烛不可两头点./ 别操劳过度 • People need to know one another to be at their honest best. –Robbins Staca, British writer • 人们需要相互了解才能达到最诚实的境界. ---英国作家 R. 斯达卡 • When one loves one’s art no service seems too hard. --O. Henry, American novelist • 一旦热爱自己的工作, 什么奉献也不难. ---美国小说家 欧. 亨利 • No matter how strong you are, how notable your attainments, you have enduring significance only in your relationship to others. ---Ziegler Edward, American writer • 不管你有多么强大, 你的成就多么辉煌, 只有保持你与他人之间的关系, 这一切才会有持久的意义 ---美国作家 Z. 爱德华 Back

31. TEXT Line 1 …even a phone call can be a shock. • The noisy traffic is a continual annoyance. • 车辆噪音不断真是烦人。 • 那个没礼貌的孩子让他父母难堪。 • That rude child is an embarrassment for his parents. • The new neighbors play heavy metal music all the time and it’s making our lives a misery. • 新来的邻居一直放重金属音乐，让我们的生活苦不堪言。 • a shock吓一跳 • a(n) disappointment / embarrassment / disturbance / annoyance / misery / bliss • 一件…的事（失望、尴尬、分心、恼人、痛苦、幸福）

32. TEXT Line 2 … suddenly becomes impossible to interpret… • 难以（被）理解 • adj. + to do 表示被动 • eg. Idioms are sometimes difficult to figure out. • 习语有时很难猜着。 • See Ex.III Page 113

33. TEXT Line 4 Time itself becomes fluid – hours become minutes, or seconds stretch into days. Weekends, once a highlight of my week, are now just two ordinary days. • Translate into Chinese: • 时间本身变得捉摸不定，几小时变成几分钟，几秒钟延伸为几天。周末， 原本是我一周的黄金时间， 现在却不过是平平常常的两天。

34. TEXT Line20 We feel an aversionto outside form of socializing. • aversion n. a feeling of strong dislike or unwillingness • To have/feel an aversion to • She has an aversion to cats. 她厌恶猫。 • 我觉得周五晚上做作业很讨厌。 • I feel an aversion to doing the housework on Friday evening.

35. find oneself + doing/a./pp. Find more examples in the text. (Para 7 -- Line 33, Para 8) I got caught in the shower and in less than two minutes I found myselfwet through. 我被雨淋着了，不到两分钟，我就全身都湿透了。 如果你再继续这样花钱如流水，你一个月就会身无分文的。 If you go on spending money like water, you will find yourself penniless in a month. See Structure Ex. Page 114 TEXT Line 26 I find myself shyer, more cautious, more anxious.

36. TEXT Line 31 At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to talk awayin the background,… • 动词 + away all the time; continuously • They work away all day. • 他们整天不停的工作。 • I heard him hammering away. • 我听见他不停的用锤子敲打 。

37. TEXT Line 37 …even when they areof no possible use to me. Work moves into the background. • 一点儿用处也没有 • Of + n. (use, value，importance，significance, etc) • Say the following using the structure above. • They are useless. • They are of no use. • They are very useful. • They are of great use. • See Structure Exercise 1 P114

38. TEXT Para 9：Translate into Chinese： • 在这种精神状态下，我也和我男朋友吵架，常因键出的对话缺乏情感暗示而误解他的本意。 由于系统常出故障，两人一争就是几个小时。我写一句，他回一句，接着系统失灵！可是我们俩还是锲而不舍的接着吵。

39. TEXT Line 62 I make my excuses and flee. I re-enter my apartment and run to the computer as though it were a place of safety. • Does the author think the virtual world safer than the real world? • No. • …as though it were a place of safety.

40. Virtual Interpret Stretch Submit At times Take in In sight Remark Cue Abuse Restore Flee Interview Words to Drill Quiz on the words Word Completion Back

41. TEXT Virtual a. created and existing only in a computer • I can visit a virtual store and put what I want in my basket at the click of a mouse button. • 我可以去网上商店，然后鼠标一点，就能把我想要的东西放进篮子里。 • 有些人花太多时间逃避现实，活在他们在电脑屏幕上构造的虚拟世界里。 • Some people spend too much time escaping from reality into the virtual world conjured up on their computer screens.

42. TEXT Stretch v. 伸展，拉伸 • To stretch your arms and legs 伸展四肢 • My working hours stretch from nine a.m. to five p.m. • 我的工作时间是朝九晚五。 • The sea stretches out as far as I can could see. • 大海一望无边。 • He promised to repay me in three days. But the days stretched into months and I never got a cent back from him. • 他答应三天还我钱。但是几个月过去了，我一分钱也没从他拿到。

43. TEXT Interpret v. to understand, explain or translate • His presence at the party was interpreted as showing that he wished to make up for the quarrel. • 他出席了聚会被当作是他愿意为争吵弥补的表现。 • 他把我的沉默当作是拒绝。(interpret … as) • He interpreted my silence as refusal. • No one in the tour group spoke Spanish so we had to ask the guide to interpret. • 旅游团里没人说西班牙语，所以我们不得不请导游翻译。

44. TEXT Submit v. 提交，呈递 • You should submit your report to the committee. • 你应该把你的报告提交至委员会。 • 我打算提交一份网上申请表，申请微软的那份工作。 • I am going to submit an online application for that job in Microsoft. • 他把简历发给多家公司，期待能有面试。 • He submitted resumes to various companies, expecting an interview.

45. TEXT At times sometimes • She has been away from her home for about a year. At times she wishes she had never left. • 她离家已经大约一年了，有时，她希望从没离开过。 • 通过网络交流有时会令人沮丧。 • Communication through the net can be frustrating at times. • Similar phrases: • Pass me the apples on the desk. Two at a time. • 把桌上的苹果递给我，一次两个。 • At one time Emily was my best friend. • 艾米莉一度是我最好的朋友。 • The movie was set at the time of the Russian revolution. • 这部电影以俄国革命时期为背景。

46. TEXT Take in to absorb or understand • The earth takes in heat and light from the sun. • 地球从太阳那里吸收光和热。 • Fish take in oxygen through their gills. • 鱼通过鳃吸取氧气。 • 起初，他几乎无法理解教授说的话。（take in） • At first he could hardly take in what the professor was saying. • Other phrases with take: • Take over (family business) • Take to (winter sports) • Take up (half the space) • Take after (his father) • Take down (what I say in class) • Take …for granted • Take on (an air of seriousness) 接管 喜欢 占据 长相相似 写下 想当然 有点儿…(气氛)

47. TEXT In sight visible, likely to come soon • As the train pulled into the station, my parents standing on the platform were soon in sight. • 火车慢慢进站，我父母的身影随之出现在月台上。 • It was early in the morning and there wasn’t a soul in sight on the campus. • 一大清早，校园里连个鬼影儿也没有。 • 我们胜利在望。 • Our victory is in sight. • 经济噩梦的终点还是看不见。 • The end of the economic nightmare is still nowhere in sight. 反义词：out of sight消失不见 Proverb：Out of sight, out of mind. 眼不见，心不烦。

48. TEXT Remark n. v. 评论 • His rude remark about my book jarred on me. • 他关于我书的粗鲁言语使我不舒服。 • 评论别人的外貌是不礼貌的。(remark upon) • It is not polite to remark upon other’s appearance.

49. TEXT Cue n. anything that serves as a signal about what to do or say • When I nod my head, that’s your cue to give flowers to him. • 我一点头，就是你去送花给他的信号。 • 我们商量好，挠头就是让我喝酒的信号。 • We agreed scratching the head was the cue for me to drink. • Emotional cues 表情提示

50. TEXT abuse v. n. wrong or bad use or treatment • Drug abuse 吸毒 • To make an investigation of child abuse • 展开虐待儿童的调查 • To abuse drugs/children • To abuse money/power 滥用金钱/权力