Unit 1  Changes in the Way We Live

Part II Text A Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life 

Text Organization

1. 

Part One   Paras 1-3      The writer views his life in the country as a self-reliant and satisfying one.

Part Two   Paras 4-7       Life in the country is good yet sometimes very hard.

Part Three  Paras 8-11    After quitting his job, the writer's income was reduced, but he and his family were able to manage to get by.

Part Four    Paras 12-15   A tolerance for solitude and a lot of energy have made it possible for the family to enjoy their life in the country.

2.

Happy Moments and Events                            Hardships

1)growing nearly all their fruits and vegetables      1)working hard both in winter and in summer

2)canoeing, picnicking, long bicycle rides, etc.      2)harsh environment and weather condition

3)keeping warm inside the house in winter         3)anxious moments after the writer quit his job

4)writing freelance articles                     4)cutting back on daily expenses

5)earning enough money while maintaining a happy family life      5)solitude

Vocabulary

 I. 1.1) insurance      2) On balance        3) aside from resist       4) cut back    5) resist

6) haul             7) supplemented      8) sprayed             9) wicked     10) illustrated

11) budget       12) digest           13) boundary             14) get by     15) at that point

2. 1) cut back / down      2) pickup      3) get by           4) get through

5) face up to        6) turn in        7) turning out      8) think up

3. 1) While farming, Benneker pursued his mathematical studies and taught himself astronomy. 

2) Misused words often generate misleading thoughts.

  3) Lafayette Hotel is patronized by international celebrities drawn to its French food and service.

4) A person who thinks that money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

5) A person surely has to face a good many bitter disappointments before he gets through life. 

4. 1) Seeing that more and more people are concerned about the quality of their indoor environments, John is considering starting an interior decoration business. It seems certain to earn a profit, but he does not yet have enough money to invest in it.

2) This device is primarily used for the improvement of the sound quality of electronic media. It was invented in the US, but now it is used on a global scale.

3) When the first settlers came to America, their household utensils consisted of a few pots, pans and some bowls stacked in one corner of the house. There wasn't much material temptation around them. They never dined out in a restaurant as we often do nowadays.

II. Confusable Words

1. 1) house        2) Home         3) home, family            4) household

 2. 1) doubt      2) suspected     3) doubted       4) suspected       5) suspect

III. Word Formation

1) rise           2) final          3) regular            4) cash         5) hows, whys 

6) upped       7) yellowed     8)bottled              9) lower          10) search

Structure

1.1) when it comes to changing your life

2) when it comes to such matters as keeping the room tidy

3) when it comes to emotional intelligence

4) when it comes to managing minor matters

2. 1) Not everyone agrees on what is right and what is wrong

  2) but, unfortunately, money isn't everything

  3) not all Americans like them

  4) Not all people share the same interests

Comprehensive Exercises

I. Cloze(A)  1. gets by          2.temptation       3. get through    4.picked up

         5. improvements    6.aside from         7. suspect            8.supplement

         9. profit         10.primarily     1. spraying                12. stacking

(B)  1. While     2. escape     3. begin    4.Because/As  5 quit          6. start 

    7. on    8.but (also)   9. be   10.close    11.have        12.cutting

13. cook/prepare      14.cities            15.however       16.family

II. Translation

A decade ago, Nancy did what so many Americans dream about. She quit an executive position and opened / set up a household equipment store in her neighborhood. People like Nancy made the decision primarily because of/owing to/due to their desire to improve the quality of their lives.

But, to run a small business is by no means an easy job. Without her steady income, Nancy had to cut back on her daily expenses. Sometimes she did not even have the money to pay the premiums for the various kinds of insurance she needed. Once she could not even pick up the phone bill and had to ask her parents to loan her some money.

Fortunately, through her own hard work, she has now got through the most difficult time. She is determined to continue pursuing her vision of a better life.