Unit 8

1. Unit 8 On Buying Books

2. Lead-in questions • Do you visit bookshop often? What kinds of books attract you most? • What is usually your purpose of visiting a bookshop, to buy books or just to browse among books? • What makes you browse a book in the shop, the cover or the content? • How much help do you want to get from a bookshop assistant?

3. Writing Style • simple or complex • informal or formal • straightforward or restrained • extravagant or down-to-earth • The type of the text is ____. • Why does the author use “you” in the passage?

4. On Buying Books is a piece of argumentation. The style is informal and it suggests everyday talk. • Generic you is used a great deal to show the informal tone. The writer addresses the reader directly and does not miss the opportunity to give the reader his personal advice. • The first person pronoun is used to express the writer’s personal opinion and to make his subjective assertions. • A subjective point of view is adopted. The passage is written from the point of view of the book-lover who has a limited purse with unlimited interests rather than the bookseller who, of course, wishes to sell as many books in as short a time as possible.

5. Structure • The text can be divided into ____ parts. • Find out the theme of the text. • Sum up the main idea of each paragraph. • The theme (Namely, it is how time spent in a bookshop can be most enjoyable.) is directly established at the beginning of the passage to draw the reader into the essay .

6. Pre-reading Questions • According to the text, for what reason you may find yourself in a bookshop? • Why do people like to go to the bookshop? • What should a bookshop assistant do to help the customer? • What should you be aware of when choosing a book and why? • Why does the author say “Book-sellers must be both long-suffering and indulgent.”?

7. Part 1 • Para.1 • Point out the theme directly.

8. The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust-jacket is irresistible • The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations.

9. The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust-jacket is irresistible, although this method of selection ought not to be followed, … Your wish to obtain a book with a lovely cover is so strong and powerful that you are incapable of resisting it, although this method of selecting a book is not recommended.

10. You soon become engrossed in some book or other • The scene was stunning, and for a time engrossed all our attention. • A great novel engrosses the reader. • I’m engrossed in those O. Henry’s short stores recently. • Engrossed in his task, he wrote straight through until three o’clock. • be absorbed in ; be preoccupied with • For some reason or other I believe he’s going to take it.

11. You soon become engrossed in some book or other Soon, you give all your attention to a book and forget everything else.

12. Part 2 • Para.2

13. You can wander round such places to your heart’s content. You can move about from one place to another until you are completely satisfied.

14. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting: "Can I help you, sir?" • It’s inevitable that doctors will make occasional mistakes. • It’s inevitable that __________ • unavoidable • How to understand the sentence? Why wouldn’t the assistant greet the customer?

15. In English-speaking countries, when a male customer walks into a shop, an assistant often greets him by saying “Can I help you, sir?” This is considered a polite way of serving the customer and the assistant is required to do so. However, if a person goes into a bookshop and wishes to browse through the books before buying any, he does not want to be bothered by the assistant’s greeting. In a good bookshop, the assistant will thus not greet the customer as is usually the case.

16. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. Then, and only then, are his services necessary • How do you understand the sentence? • An assistant should remain relatively inconspicuous until you have finished looking at the books or finished your reading. Only when you have finished browsing and have decided which book or books to buy are you in need of his services.

17. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. An assistant should remain relatively inconspicuous until you have finished looking at the books or finished your reading.

18. Part 3 • Para.3

19. and perhaps a book about brass-rubbing — something which had only vaguely interested you up till then. • Brass rubbing was originally a largely British enthusiasm for reproducing monumental brasses onto paper. Brass rubbings are created by laying a sheet of paper on top of a brass and rubbing the paper with graphite, wax, or chalk, a process similar to rubbing a pencil over a piece of paper placed on top of a coin.

20. something which had only vaguely interested you up till then. … something in which you had previously only had a slight interest.

21. Apart from running up a huge account, • How to understand it? • In addition to getting large bills for the books, …

22. Part 4 • Para.4

23. Book-sellers must be both long-suffering and indulgent. • indulgent grandparents • lenient, permissive, lax • self-indulgent habits • too ready to satisfy one’s own desires

24. he was dismayed to find the book missing from its usual place and was about to leave when he noticed the owner of the shop beckoning to him. • They were dismayed at the cost of the repairs. • Ruth was dismayed to see how thin he had grown. • in dismay • worried, disappointed, and upset beckon (to) somebody to do something • I could see my husband beckoning me. • She beckoned to the waitress to bring more wine.

25. he was dismayed to find the book missing from its usual place and was about to leave when he noticed the owner of the shop beckoning to him. He was very disappointed to find that the book was not in the place where it was usually put and was on the point of leaving; just then, he saw the owner of the shop signaling to him.

26. Expecting to be told off, he went towards him. • Shelley was one of those kids who were always getting told off at school. • My dad told me off for stealing his car. • scold Thinking that he would be scolded, he went up to him.

27. To his surprise, the owner pointed to the book, which was tucked away in a corner • She kept his letter tucked away in a drawer. • tuck away millions • He tucked his chin into his chest. • Why do you tuck your thoughts away from me? • My hometown is tucked away in the hill. • to hide; store in a safe spot; save; contract • She tucked the little boy in. • He tucked into the cold ham. (eat up)

28. Passage Dictation

29. There are several ways you can find out about the countries and places you wish to visit. Reading traveling books is one of them. • It would seem that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective account of travels which the author has actually made himself. If they are informative and have a good index, then they can be useful to you. The second kind are those books whose purpose is to give a purely objective description of things to be done and seen. If a well-read, cultured person has written such a book, then it is even more useful. It can be classified as a selective guide book. The third kind are those books which are called “a guide” to some place or other. If they are good, they will, in addition to their factual information, give an analysis or an interpretation. Like the first kind they can be inspiring and entertaining. But their primary function is to assist the reader who wishes to plan in the most practical way. Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make sure that its content is well presented and the most recent.