Stay tough (P4)

I. Pre-reading

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

There are usually stereotypes about people from different countries. What are your impressions of typical British people?

What do you think contributes to British stereotypes?

II. Fast reading

Read the article quickly and answer the following questions.

1. What are some common stereotypes about the UK according to the article?

Bad weather, bad food and grumpy people.

2. What does Ricky Gervais think contributes to British people’s being more negative than Americans?

The fact that Americans are told they can become the next president of the United States but British people are told it won’t happen to them.

3. What does “having a stiff upper lip” mean?

It means being cold and not showing any emotion.

4. Why does Michael Caine say that British people are actually not cold?

He thinks they hide their emotions in order not to bother other people.

III. Specific reading

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

1. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article? 

A. To list common stereotypes about the UK.

B. To fight common misunderstandings about the UK.

C. To analyze what makes British people grumpy and negative.

D. To list some differences between Americans and British people.

2. Which of the following statements might Ricky Gervais agree with?

A. Britons like challenging the underdog more than Americans do.

B. Americans are more optimistic and realistic than British people.

C. Britons are more comfortable with life’s losers than Americans.

D. Bad weather in the UK is the main thing that makes Britons grumpy.

3. The underlined phrase “interfere in” in the second-to-last paragraph is closest in meaning to ____.

A. think about              B. benefit from

C. get in the way of        D. have a positive effect on

4. Why does Michael Caine think British people are not cold?

A. They can be heartbroken, and they cry too.

B. They are well-mannered and unwilling to disturb others.

C. They care a lot about what other people think of them.

D. They are taught to face hardships by themselves.

5. With the example of the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, the author intends to ____.

A. explain why British people tend to be cold

B. reveal that Britons don’t intrude on others’ space

C. present a way in which British people hide their emotions and feelings

D. show how not giving in to emotions can help one to get through a tough time

Key:

1. B。本文作者主要是纠正人们对于英国人的一些错误看法，所以答案为B。

2. C。由第三段可知Ricky Gervais认为，美国人一般来说相比英国人更乐观，因为他们从小就被告知他们能成为下一位美国总统，而英国人从小被告知，那样的好事不会发生在他们头上，更现实，他们趋向于支持弱者，故C为正确答案。

3. C。由下文的“If we are heartbroken, we don’t scream in your face with tears – we go home and cry on our own. It’s completely to do with your comfort – we don’t intrude (侵入) on your space.”可知英国人在遇到不愉快的情况时，更多选择独自承受，以免给他人带来不愉快，因此可以推知interfere in在这表示“介入，妨碍，打扰”的意思，故答案为C。

4. B。结合上题解析以及文中的“English people are always known to be well-mannered and cold, but we are not cold – we don’t interfere in your situation.”可以推知B为正确答案。

5. D。最后一段的主旨句是该段首句，举例是为了更好地说明该观点，所以可以推知答案为D。

IV. After reading

Discussion:

Here are five stereotypes about Chinese people: http://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/5-Stereotypes-of-Chinese-that-only-people-who-havent-lived-in-China-believe.

Do you think they are true? Why or why not?

1) Chinese people are quiet.

2) Chinese employees are the hardest workers.

3) Chinese women are obedient.

4) Chinese people are unwelcoming to foreigners.

5) Chinese are the most polite.

Creating new body parts (P5)

I. Pre-reading

Discuss the following question with your partner.

The demand for organ transplants is so large that there is not enough supply available. In China, about 2 million people require organ transplants, but they can only serve about 10,000 per year. In the US, there are more than 100,000 people that require organ transplants, of which about 65% are still waiting to be served in a year or so. What is the major source for organ transplants?

Possible answer: The donation of human organs.

II. Reading

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

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the man with the nose on his arm?

A. His nose has been on his arm since he was born.

B. The new nose didn’t appear on his arm until he got cancer.

C. The new nose will be relocated to his face once it’s fully grown.

D. He is receiving an operation to remove the nose growing on his arm.

2. What is the correct order of steps for making an artificial nose?

a. Make a hollow glass mold of a nose.

b. Implant the object into the patient’s arm.

c. Fill the mold with a special polymer material.

d. Make the stem cells grow in the polymer “nose”.

e. Take the stem cells from the patient’s stomach and grow them in a dish.

A. a, c, e, d, b             B. a, e, d, c, b

C. a, b, e, d, c             D. b, a, c, e, d

3. What is the most difficult part of growing a new body part?

A. Using polymer materials to form the shape of a body part.

B. Implanting the fully-grown part into the patient’s body.

C. Designing a polymer material that will be accepted by the human body.

D. Making the stem cells grow to cover the structure of the mold.

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

A. The procedure of making organs with special polymer materials is simple.

B. These new techniques will soon be used to make different organs for patients.

C. So far, a handful of patients’ bodies have successfully accepted lab-made organs.

D. The new techniques cannot be used to make things like windpipes, lungs or livers.

Key:

1. C。由第三段的“As for the man with a nose on his arm, he is a 56-year-old British businessman who lost his nose to cancer. Seifalian is now trying to grow a new one for him.”可知A、B、D不对，由第六段可知这个新造的鼻子在手臂上长好之后要移植到脸上的，所以C为正确答案。

2. A。由第五六段可知A项为正确排序。

3. C。由倒数第三段的“According to Seifalian, the most difficult thing is designing a polymer material that will be accepted by the human body.”可知答案为C。

4. C。由倒数第二段的“A few patients have received the organs and all have been accepted so far.”可以推知C为正确答案。

III. Language study

1. Simple as Seifalian makes it sound, the procedure is actually extremely complicated.

本句中as引导让步状语从句，相当于Although Seifalian makes it sound simple …，as意为“虽然”。as引导让步状语从句时要用倒装结构，即将表语、状语或动词原形提到as前面。

2. According to AP, Seifalian made the replacement by first creating a hollow glass mold of a nose, which was then filled with a special polymer material that Seifalian designed himself.

本句的主干是Seifalian made the replacement。By first creating …用作方式状语；which引导非限制性定语从句修饰a hollow glass mold of a nose；that引导的定语从句修饰a special polymer material。

Wearing them out (P6)

I. Pre-reading

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

Do you or your family have weird clothing habits? If so, what are they?

II. Reading

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

1. The underlined word “quirks” in the first paragraph probably means ____.

A. art of matching      B. unusual habits   C. special skills           D. something recycled

2. Which of the following was a problem that one of the author’s children had?

A. Her oldest daughter couldn't put up with seams on her socks.

B. Her son didn’t like to wear tennis shoes.

C. Her youngest daughter refused to wear long sleeves, even in winter.

D. Her middle child hated the sound corduroy made when it rubbed together.

3. How did the author’s husband react to the new shirt the author bought for him?

A. He didn't like it at all.

B. He liked its style but not its color.

C. He considered it too expensive.

D. He said it was exactly the type he had wanted.

4. Which of the following statements best describes the author?

A. She is strict with her children.

B. She has good taste in fashion.

C. She is tolerant, thoughtful and good-natured.

D. She doesn’t like to set rules for her children.

Key:

1. B。文中作者列举了她一家人穿着方面的怪癖，结合倒数第四段的“As for my quirk, I can’t stand button-down (领尖钉有钮扣的) shirts under pullover sweaters (套头毛衣).”不难猜出quirks的意思，所以答案为B。

2. A。由第二段可以推知A为正确答案。

3. A。由倒数第五段的“He wore the shirt once and said he was never wearing it again because all those checks in his peripheral vision (周边视觉) annoyed him.”可知作者的老公不喜欢这件衣服的方形图案，所以答案为A。

4. C。由作者对待她儿子穿衣的态度“I figured as long as the kid could still walk, it wasn’t a matter of life and death.”以及倒数第二段可知作者是一个宽容好脾气的人，所以答案为C。

III. After reading

1. List the clothing quirks of the author’s family members

1) Her oldest daughter had issues with socks when she was a toddler. She’d go crazy over socks with seams across the toes.

2) Her son had issues with shoes when he was young. He often did a mix-and-match thing with his tennis shoes.

3) Her husband couldn’t put up with the small black and white checks on his shirt.

4) The author herself can’t stand button-down shirts under pullover sweaters.

2. What is the author’s attitude toward her kids’ clothing quirks?

She is tolerant and doesn’t think they matter much.