2020-2021学年度第4期总第722期
From trashman to grad (P3)
吉林省吉林毓文中学 刘媛

Lead-in
Listen to the song and complete its lyrics.
I will run I will climb I will soar
I’m ________
Jumping out of my skin, pull the chord
The past is_____________, don’t make us _________
So I’ll _______ until I make it _____and all I see is _______
It’s not until you fall that _________
When your dreams come alive you’re unstoppable
Take a shot _________ find the beautiful
We will _____ in the dark turning dust to _____
And we’ll dream it ________

Key：

What do you learn from this song?

Predicting
When reading the title “From trashman to grad”, what do you think the article might be about?
 
Scanning
Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.

1. Who is the trashman?
Staton, a 24-year-old former sanitation worker.

2. Why did he become a trashman?
He had to help support himself and his family.

3. How did he first get admitted into a university?
The son of the company’s owner helped him contact a professor at Bowie State University and finally he was accepted.

4. What does he dream of being?
He dreams of becoming a sports agent.

Detailed reading
Read his experiences and put the sentences in the right order.

He had difficulty doing well in school.
His workmates encouraged him to go to college.
His mother abandoned him and his family.
He worked at a consulting firm.
He transferred to the University of Maryland.

Key：

Summary
Read the article again and find the following information.

1. What lesson do you learn from Staton?

2. How do you understand his words “You can always see the light in any dark situation, and you need to hold on to that light”?

Language focus
1. … until a series of setbacks impacted his family life and studies.
 impact  v. 对……发生影响
        n. 强烈的影响、冲击   + on
eg. The war has impacted the area greatly.
The incident had a strong impact on the residents.

2. His brother Reggie then brainstormed ways to boost his grades.
boost   v. 提高、增加
eg. boost production/price/confidence
      
3. … he transferred to the University of Maryland to continue pursuing his undergraduate degree.
pursue    v. 追求、继续
eg. pursue pleasure/fame
She pursued her dream with determination.

4. Go to college, and come back if it doesn’t work out.
work out 有满意的结果、进展顺利  
eg. Things just didn’t work out as planned.

翻译下列句中work out的含义
1. It took me some time to work out what was causing this.
2. It is hard to work out the total expense.
3. The price per pound works out to be $3.
4. Work out at a gym or swim twice a week to keep fit.

Key：

5. … a teacher even recommended that he be placed in special education classes.
recommend翻译成“推荐”，后面的宾语从句使用虚拟语气。从句中的谓语结构为“(should) do” 。  
eg. My mother recommended that we (should) read the novel.
      He recommended that another man (should ) be sent abroad.

6. Staton’s grades did improve and he became an honor student.   
did用于强调句子中的谓语，同样起
强调作用的还有do, does
eg. She does look nice today.
      Please do be careful while crossing the road.

Expressions
lose sight of
a series of
free of charge
get dressed
struggle to do
apply for
major in
pursue one’s dream
hold on to

Key：

Homework
Reread this article and write an article about what you have learned from Staton.