Tech and pop culture turn ‘geek’ positive (P5)

I. Pre-reading

What kind of people do you think of as “geeks”?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

Choose the best answer:

1. The underlined word “makeover” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ____.

A. evolution         B. result

C. influence         D. response

2. When did the word “geek” begin to have a positive meaning?

A. In the 19th century.

B. In the 1980s.

C. In the late 20th century.

D. When Collins Dictionary changed its definition this September.

3. According to the article, “geek” now mainly refers to ____.

A. someone who is addicted to computing

B. someone who is boring and unfashionable

C. someone who is smart but awkward in social situations

D. someone who is well-informed and devoted to a certain field

4. What helped to transform the meaning of “geek” from negative to positive according to the article?

a. The impact of technology.   

b. The news media’s promotion.

c. The influence of Collins Dictionary.         d. The popularity of the US movie The Social Network.

A. a, b            B. b, c        C. a, d             D. c, d

Key:

1. A。从下文谈到的geek含义的演变可以推知makeover在这里意为“转变，演变”，故选A。

2. C。由第四段的“However, from the late 20th century, due to the increasing importance of technology in society, the word has come to mean a clever, switched-on and cool person,” noted The Scotsman.”可知答案为C。

3. D。由倒数第三段可知柯林斯辞典对于geek的最新含义是“a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a specific subject”，所以可以推知答案为D。

4. C。由最后两段可知geek含义的演变主要是受到技术改革以及电影《社交网络》的影响，所以答案为C。

III. After reading

Fill in the blanks with the proper words.

The word “geek” originally 1. _______ in the 19th century. Until recently, it referred to people wearing glasses with a 2. _______ for the pointless. In the 1980s, the word still had a 3. _______ meaning, referring to someone who was boring and socially 4. _______. However, from the late 20th century, due to the increasing importance of 5. _______ in society, the word has come to mean a 6. _______ and cool person. In September the Collins Dictionary changed the main definition of “geek” from “someone preoccupied with computing” to “a person who is very 7. _______ and enthusiastic about a specific 8. _______”.

Besides the influence of technology on people’s lives, the Telegraph’s John Bingham believes the US movie The Social Network also helped the 9. _______ of the word. “Commentators said the film showed that it had become 10. _______ to be a geek”, Bingham wrote.

Key:

1. appeared        2. passion           3. negative    4. awkward         5. technology

6. clever              7. knowledgeable       8. subject            9. transformation      10. fashionable

Can aspirin stop anger? (P5)

I. Pre-reading

Ø  Do you have a short temper?

Ø  What are the problems that people with short tempers might have?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

Choose the best answer:

1. According to the article, those who have short tempers ____.

A. don’t necessarily suffer from IED

B. are likely to hurt themselves and people around them

C. have mental illnesses but don’t need medical treatment

D. usually get addicted to alcohol or drugs during their teenager years

2. What have researchers discovered from their recent studies?

A. People with IED were found to have a smaller number of two specific blood proteins.

B. It is the increase of two specific blood proteins that causes people to get inflammatory.

C. When people get aggressive, there is an increase of two specific blood proteins in their bodies.

D. The sign of inflammation that appears within people with IED might have something to do with their aggression.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

A. It will not be long before people with IED find a simple cure.

B. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin have been proven to be effective for treating IED.

C. People with IED are advised to seek professional help from doctors rather than taking aspirins on their own. 

D. Besides anti-inflammatory drugs, exercise can also help people with IED reduce their aggression.

Key:

1. B。从第三段首句可知暴脾气的人不仅伤害自己的健康，也对周围人产生不好的影响，所以B为正确答案，故选A。

2. D。由第六至九段，尤其是倒数第二段的“Now that the connection between IED and inflammation has been found”可知研究人员研究发现，间歇性暴躁症患者身上所出现的炎症可能与他们的敌对行为有一定联系，所以答案为C。

3. C。由最后一段可知C为正确答案。

III. After reading

Why did the researchers think aspirin might be used to treat IED?

Key:

Because the researchers discovered from their tests that there is a connection between IED and inflammation. It therefore raises the possibility that anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin might help calm down people with short tempers.

Reducing your use (P6)

I. Pre-reading

Discussion:

Are you an environmentalist?

What do you think we should do to protect the environment?

II. Reading

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions:

Choose the best answer:

1. When the author was a child, her father ____.

A. knew a lot about various food toxins

B. tried to teach her to live a simple and green life

C. was against her sending gifts to friends during Christmas

D. used to give out the socks that he would no longer use to others

2. How did the author like the compact fluorescent lamps when her father started to use them?

A. She thought they were cool.

B. She didn’t think they were convenient.

C. She didn’t mind using them.

D. She thought they were too expensive. 

3. What can we conclude from the last three paragraphs?

A. The author eventually identified with her father’s lifestyle.

B. The author’s father took an active role in the slow food movement.

C. Wordsworth was one of the poets that the author’s father loved most.

D. The author’s father was proud that his daughter was an environmentalist like he was.

4. Which of the following best describes the author’s father?

A. Strict and optimistic.

B. Modest and economical.

C. Passionate and responsible.

D. Humorous and green.

Key:

1. B。从第二段作者父亲的种种做法，比如买邻居家的鸡蛋、反对从商店购买圣诞卡等可以看出，作者的父亲努力通过自己的行动影响孩子，让他们也学习过一种简单、环保的生活，所以答案为B。

2. B。由第三段的“I complained that it took 15 minutes for the light to come on in the bathroom. It took me several more years and a couple of academic degrees to switch out my own bulbs.”可知作者认为这种灯不方便，所以答案为B。

3. A。由倒数第三段“Recently, a light switched on in my own consciousness (觉悟): I was not the environmental hero of the family. My dad was!可知作者最后认同了父亲的观点，所以答案为Ａ。

4. B。从文中不难看出作者的父亲非常注重环保，过着简单的生活，从首段的“My father is saving the world, but he’d never call himself an environmentalist.”以及最后一段的“He agreed to no such thing, arguing that the clams he dug himself simply tasted sweeter.”还可以看出他为人谦逊，所以答案为B。

III. After reading

1. Recently, a light switched on in my own consciousness (觉悟): I was not the environmental hero of the family.

释义：最近我突然醒悟到：家里的环保英雄并不是我（而是父亲）。

分析：句中a light switched on的引申用法，跟中文有异曲同工之处，值得学习。

2. While I was there, I watched my dad bring items he no longer needed to our church’s basement, take his own mug (杯子) to the diner and pick chives (小葱) from the garden for lunch. With the air in the kitchen rustic (有乡村风味的) and salty with the smell of clams, I told him he was part of the slow food movement.

释义：厨房里飘出有乡村风味的咸咸的蛤蜊的味道，我告诉他，他做的事情实际就是慢食运动。

分析：本句中作者描写了味觉和嗅觉两方面的印象，更立体地反映了当时的场景特征，丰富了客观画面，使读者有身临其境之感。slow food movement: 慢食运动，它由意大利人卡尔洛佩特里尼提出，目的是对抗日益盛行的快餐。如今，该运动已发展至全球122个国家，有超过83000名会员。