Letter to a B Student

1. Unit 11 Letter to a B Student Letter to a B Student Text text text text text text text text text text text. BULLETED TEXT • Bulleted item here • Bulleted item here • Bulleted item here

2. Lesson 1: Overview • New words and expressions • About the author and the text • The grading system in American schools • Pre-reading Questions

3. New Words & Expressions • Reading aloud (page 152) • Getting to know the new words • Word derivation • Word differentiation

4. Norm [n.] • Europe’s varied cultural, political and ethical norms（an accepted standard or way of behavior or doing things that most people agree with 规范，标准，准则） • Prof. Wang will determine the norm for the test. (level of achievement most students are expected to reach)

5. Shift[v.] • The wind shifted to the north. (to move or change from one position or direction to another) • Peter is on the dayshift and I am on the night shift. (上白班，上夜班) [n.]

6. Eligibility [n.] • The eligibility rules prevent the under-18s being in the team. • Are you eligible for early retirement/maternal leave? • Only people over 18 are eligible to vote.

7. Repute [n.] • He was a writer of repute. (repute: FORMAL = reputation） • My father was held in high repute by his colleagues. (=respected) • a place of ill / low repute

8. Offset [v.] • He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials. (= compensate for) • The extra cost of traveling to work is offset by the lower price of houses here. (= cancelled out.) • Higher mortgage rates are partly offset by increased tax allowances.

9. Proficiency [n.] • It said in the job ad that they wanted proficiency in at least two languages. • She is proficient in two languages.

10. Retain [v.] • The police retained control of the situation. (=continue to have) • English new words are hard to retain, especially for an aged man. (=to keep in mind, remember)

11. Humor [n.] • You seem in a very good humor today. • She is in an ill ~ today. • Just ~ her and she’ll be quiet. 只要哄哄她，她就会安静的。 • The meeting dissolved in ill ~. 不欢而散

12. Frequent [v.] • Tourists frequentthe old temple at the suburbs of the city. • Many foreign ships frequentthe new port. • I know him, but I don’t frequenthim much.

13. Flunk [v.] • He flunked mathematics. (informal, = fail) • Mr. Jackson flunked me in English. • He flunked out at 16. (to be dismissed from school/college because of failure) • He flunked out of college after four semesters.

14. Resent [v.] • He bitterly resents being treated like a child. • She ~ed him/his making all the decisions. • I deeply ~ her criticism.

15. Gear [n.] • reverse/first/second/low/high/top/bottom ~ 倒车/一/二/低速/高速/最高/最低挡 • change/shift ~ • Careless use of the clutch may damage the ~s. • He drove wildly, crashing through the ~s like a maniac.

16. Coercive [a.] • The president relied on the coercive powers of the military. • The court heard that the six defendants had been coercedinto making a confession. [v.]

17. Hew [v.] • hew a path through a jungle (To make or shape with or as if with an ax) 丛林中开辟中一条路 • He hewed out an important position for himself in the company. (开辟，闯出了)

18. Word Derivation resentment normalize assume coordinate assumed coordinate resentful normal correspondence coercion fuzz frequency fuzz coerce correspondent/corresponding frequent

19. Word Derivation shift transcribe gear offset shrug hewer knit/knitter

20. Word Derivation eligible inadequate proficient reputed/reputable aptness ritual

21. Words humor repute offset retain proficiency apt Synonyms disposition reputation/fame counterbalance keep skill likely Word Association

22. Word Differentiation • We’ve had three sets of prospectivebuyers looking round the house. • They are worried about the prospective changes in the law. • The editor is obviously writing on market economy from a socialist/Marxist perspective. • His experience abroad provides a wider perspective on the problem. • Try to keep these issues inperspective.

23. Word Differentiation • Mysteriously, the transcript of what was said at the trial went missing. • The full transcript/transcription of the interview is attached. • Bruce Robinson wrote the script for “The Killing Fields”. • That line isn’t in the original script. • She admired his neat script.

24. Word Differentiation • Company losses were 50 per cent worse than in the corresponding period last year. • A change in the money supply brings a corresponding change in expenditure. • Given each picture a number corresponding to its position on the page. • The election result was correspondent with the government’s wishes in the matter.

25. Word Differentiation • She retained her tennis title for the third year. • The stunt man swayed the long pole to retain the balance. • The roads around the town have been very poorly maintained. • Few planets can sustain life. • The love and support of his family sustained him during his time in prison.

26. Word Differentiation • You can pick up a lot of stations on the car radio but the sound is usually a bit fuzzy. • He answered the question with a somewhat fuzzy definition of ‘in the national interest’. • “Where do you want to go for lunch?”“I’m not fussy.” • You should avoid patterned wallpaper and fussy ornaments.

27. Word Differentiation • Coffee and the newspaper are part of my morning ritual. • She objects to the ritual of organized religion. • Sunday lunch with the in-laws has become something of a ritual. • You have to go through an invitation rite before you become a full member.

28. Word Differentiation • I flunked my second year exams and was lucky not to be thrown out of college. • Mr. Jackson flunked me in mathematics. • He lost the next page of his speech and floundered (about/around) for a few seconds. • She was floundering around in the deep end of the swimming pool.

29. Word Differentiation • The baskets are woven from strips of willow. • The biography weaves together the various strands of Einstein’s life. • My granny knitted me a cardigan for me. • Knit one row, purl one row. • Society is knit together by certain commonly held beliefs. • Can you sew a button on for me? • They think they have the election sewn up.

30. About the Author • Robert Oliphant is an English professor at California State University at Northridge. • The text is an excerpt of a sensitive and thoughtful letter to a student on keeping a sense of perspective on grades.

31. The Grading System in the U.S. • Grades are given on an A-F system where A is best and F is worst. • In some cases, plus and minus modifiers are applied to grades to provide intermediate recognition of performance. (e.g. A-, B+)

32. Questions for Discussion • Do you like exams and tests? • Is it necessary to test students? • What do you think is an ideal way to test students? • Should students be graded? • What do you think is an ideal way to assess students’ learning?

33. Group Work • Each group is to decide on something that you would like to teach in a 10-minute period. • Work out a teaching plan and get ready to practice teaching. • Think of a way to assess the learners’ performance.

34. Thank you! To be continued.

35. Lesson 2: Overview • Word Review • Structure of the text • Analysis of text

36. Word Review • Short term contracts are now the n______ with some big companies. • Maddie’s a real expert on art, so I feel completely i____________ whenever I talk to her about it. • Her attitude lends a fresh p__________ to the subject. norm inadequate perspective

37. Word Review correspond • Does the description c__________ with the fact? • Coffee and the newspaper are part of my morning r________. • He used to f________ the town's bars and night-clubs. • They won the election through a mixture of bribery and c_________. ritual frequent coercion

38. Word Review • Government officials visited the earthquake zone on Thursday morning to c_________ the relief effort. • He is a_____ to get excited over trifles. • You’re a father and you can’t simply s____ off your responsibility for your children. • I took their offer at f__________ and did not suspect at all that they were trying to trick me. coordinate apt shrug face value

39. Word Review coordination • There is absolutely no _________ (coordinate) between the different groups – nobody knows what anyone else is doing. • You are well advised to buy your car through a _________ (repute) dealer. • While some patients can be __________ (inadequacy) cared for at home, others are best served by care in a hospital. reputable adequately

40. Word Review eligible • Almost half the population are ________ (eligibility) to vote in today’s election. • She is ________ (knit) her husband a sweater. • He watched them, envious and ________ (resent). • There are many trees ______ (hew) down by the storm. knitting resentful hewn

41. Word Review Go under; Go round; God broke • There are not enough desks and chairs to __________ in the classroom. • A lot of small businesses ____________ in the recession. • The firm will ____________ unless business improves. go round went broke go under

42. Structure of the Text • What are characteristic of a letter? • What particular characteristics does this text have? • How many parts does the text fall into? • What is the main idea of each part? • Are there any key words?

43. Structure of the Text • Part I (para.1): • An introduction to the topic • Part II (para.2-5): • Grades do not mean everything. • Part III (para.6-8): • Getting a B in class does not mean one will always be a B performer in life. • Part IV (para.9-10): • In a complex society like ours, labels are necessary but they should be kept in perspective.

44. Note (para.1) • Gentleman’s C (pa.1): a decent grade, for a gentleman is supposed to be a man of decency • He is rather fat, but he has a decent face. • A few years ago the Gentleman’s C prevails in universities.

45. Note (para.1) • Fractions (para.1): • Two out of twenty-five=2/25 one out of ten (1/10); five out of eight (5/8) • One-tenth (1/10); five-eights (5/8) • One in ten (1/10); five in eight (5/8)

46. Note (para.2) • Zero-sum game: a form of no-win policy; If the winner isN, the loser will be–N, which means their sum total is0. • All money games fall into three categories:positive sum game; zero sum gameandnegative sum game. From the winner’s point of view, positive sum game offers the best chance.

47. Note (para.2) • A zero-sum game:零和游戏; 双方利益针锋相对、不可能达到妥协的局面，如一方胜，另一方则败。(Cf: a win-win situation) • In a zero-sum game, the winner’s gain is exactly the loser’s loss. So the total sum of the gain and loss is zero, and the winner’s happiness is accompanied by the loser’s disappointment. In such a game, the sense of success only belongs to the winning party, so there is not enough success to go round. It’s impossible for both parties to share it.

48. Note (para.7) • GI-Bill: Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (<退伍军人权利法案>). • Adopted in 1944, this act offers special allowances for the retired soldiers to enter post-secondary educational institutions for higher education.

49. Comprehension Check • What is the change about grades? • What has caused the change? • What is the essence of success? • Is winning important in our society? • What does a grade mean and what does it not mean?

50. Language Points • Serve as (para.1): perform a particular function as • One room had to ~ as both bedroom and living room. • This incident ~s as a reminder of how dangerous these weapons really are.