外语课件Unit 11 The Real Truth about Lies.doc

Unit 11 The Real Truth about LiesCourse: Integrated EnglishInstructor: Chen ChenObjectives1. revision 2. grasp the authors purpose of writing and make clear the structure of the whole passage3. learn the writing way and master the key language points and grammatical structures4. appreciate the rhetorical feature of the text key points and difficult points difficult phrases and sentencesgrammar structural analysisrhetorical feature teaching periods: 8 periodsteaching procedure Step I Lead-ini. Greeting and Revisionii. Warm-up questions:Warming up activities1. If your good friend buys a new MP3 or a new mobile phone which you dislike intensely, and asks for your opinion about it, what will you say?2. When do you think people lie?3. Why do people lie?4. To whom do people most likely to lie?5. How would you feel if somebody lied to you for your own good?6. Whats your view of white lies?7. Have you ever lied? Examples.Open discuss1. What topics are husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends likely to lie about? 2. If once a cheater, always a cheater? 3. If you have done something wrong, should you confess or tell a lie or keep it a secret? 4. How do you rebuild, restore or regain trust after it has been destroyed? Quotes readinglie & truthLet sleeping dogs lie.Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies.- - - Ralph Waldo Emerson A lie stands on one leg, truth on two.- - - Benjamin FranklinTruth is completely spontaneous. Lies have to be taught.- - - Richard Buckminster Fuller Jr. Truth is completely spontaneous. Lies have to be taught.- - - Richard Buckminster Fuller Jr. It is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar. - - Jerome K. Jerome Truth is the safest lie. - - - Jewish Proverb Truth never damages a cause that is just.- - - Mohandas K. Gandhi "Non-Violence in Peace and War" Beauty is truth, truth beauty,-that is all - - - John Keats "Ode on a Grecian Urn" It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place. - - - H. L. Mencken I never know how much of what I say is true. - - - Bette Midler Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth- to see it like it is, and tell it like it is- to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth.- - - Richard M. Nixon , Speech, 9 Aug. 1968, Miami, accepting the presidential nomination. Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.- - - Henry David Thoreau Truly, to tell lies is not honorable; but when the truth entails tremendous ruin, To speak dishonorably is pardonable. - - - Sophocles Lying is an act of aggression-against the recipient of the lie. Lies hurt people, they hurt companies and shareholders and they hurt relationships. Lying is also an act of weakness. The liar is unwilling to bear the responsibility of the truth-telling. Lying is the lazy way, the selfish way.Lying is an antisocial act, injuring the person lied to and any relationships binding liar and victim.iii. Background information About text ITopic The Real Truth about Lieswhite liesSelected from Reader's Digest in the November, 1999Journalistic styleShort paragraphs-18 parasArgumentative writingStep II Texti. Words and ExpressionsAsk the students to read the words and expressions, give some explanation.ii. An Integrated Analysis of Text What is your viewpoint of the topic?While-reading questionsHow does the writer begin with the topic?How does he convince the readers “the real truth” of lies?Find out words, phrases, expressions or sentences to indicate the consequences of lies? After-reading questionsWhat is the tone of the author in the text?What is the authors attitude towards lies?What is the authors viewpoint in the text?What are the features of the text?T or F in P161Structural analysis of the text Part 1paras 16Introduce the topic by reporting two survey results.Part 2paras 7-11Telling little white lies is a common practice and the reason for telling such lies by citing an examplePart 3paras 12-15The consequences of telling liesPart 4paras 16-18Discussing whether lies should be voided at all costsiii. Learn the Text in DetailsPart One Questions in para 1-61. What survey is conducted according to para 1? A1.147 people volunteered for an unusual projectkeeping diaries for a week, recording the numbers and details of the lies they told.2. What is the result of Professor Bella DePaulo's survey? What conclusion can we draw from the result?A2. According to the survey done by Professor DePaulo, 140 out of 147 people admitted having told lies. As some of the lies are well-intentioned, people may not regard them as lies. This result shows that telling lies is common.3. What is the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What can we learn from it?A3. According to this survey, among 20,000 students surveyed, 92 percent professed to have told lies and meanwhile, 91 percent never doubted about their own ethics or character. Again, this result shows that telling lies is common and people seldom relate telling lies to morality.Language work 1. volunteer : v. to give or offer willingly or without being paidn. a person who gives help willingly2. Profess: v. to make a claim (of / about) James professed to know everything about sculpture. He professed the greatest respect for the law.3. earth-shattering: of the greatest importance to the whole worldAfter years of hard work, they finally made an earth-shattering discovery. The new invention is of earth-shattering importance.4. feign: v. to pretend to have or be; to put on a false air of She feigned to be ill in order not to do the exercises. He feigned surprise and they all believed him.5. spare one's feelings : to avoid doing something that would upset somebody He simply wished to minimize the fuss and to spare her feelings. We carefully avoided mentioning the news to spare his feelings.6. preoccupation: n. the state of constantly thinking or worrying about somethingBecause of his preoccupation with his books, he didn't realize we were already back. Such preoccupation with your work isn't healthy.7. Might that, too, be a lie? Is it possible to consider that a lie?"Might" here means "possibility." Note that "may," when used to mean "possibility," is normally not used in a question.8. prevarication: n. the state of avoiding giving a direct answer or making a firm decision After months of prevarication, a decision was finally made. When we questioned the authorities on the subject, we were met by prevarication.9. ethics: n. moral correctness; moral principles10. consultant: n. a person who gives specialist professional advice to others11. devote . to: to give all or a large part of one's time or resources to (a person, activity, or cause) I want to devote more time to my family. He devotes himself to philanthropy.12. profession: n. a form of employment, especially one that is possible only for an educated person and that is respected in society as honorable She intends to make teacher her profession. According to the report, forty percent of the lawyers entering the profession are women.13. pundit: n. a person who is an authority on a particular subject; an expert Mr. Johnson is a well-known political pundit. We've invited a foreign-policy pundit to give us a lecture.14. shape or spin the truth: to modify the truth15. client: n. somebody who pays for services or advice from a person or organization eg. a solicitor and his clientcf: a shopkeeper and his customer16. Specialize in17. Step outPart Two Detailed study of Paras.7-11Questions :1. What are little white lies?AI: Little white lies are those harmless lies that are told so as not to hurt someone else.2. According to the writer, what could be considered "nice lies"?A2: According to the writer, all these could be considered "nice lies": complimenting people on their appearance, expressing appreciation for gifts or food.3. What does this sentence mean: "What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive"?A3: When we tell a fib, very likely we will have to tell more lies to cover up the lie we have told. One lie will lead to more lies. Then we will get ourselves entangled with the web we weave.18. ubiquitous: a. seeming to be everywhere By the end of last century, the computer had become ubiquitous. We are now confronted with the ubiquitous spread of English.19. fib: n. a small unimportant lie Have you ever told fibs! She told innocent fibs like anyone else.20. invariably: ad. alwaysIt's invariably wet when I take my holidays. She invariably forgets to take her keys.21. blurt out : to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because one is nervous or excitedTo our surprise, he blurted his secret out at table. John blurted out that he dreamed of becoming a computer programmer. 22. lubricant :n. a substance such as oil which causes a machine to operate more easily23. tangled: a. complicated or made up of many confusing parts After listening to his speech I thought his ideas and opinions were so tangled that I couldnot vote for him.The floor of the forest was covered with tangled growth.Part Three Paras 12-15Q: What is the grave consequence of telling lies?A: The ubiquitousness of lies may cause people to be distrustful of each other, thus leading to the collapse of the whole society.Language work 24. wear down: v. to reduce or become weaker until uselesseg: Heavy traffic and variable weather can wear down the surface of the road. Your back tyres are badly worn down; you should fit new ones.25. Perception: n. the ability to see, hear and understandperceive : v. 26. warp : v. to (cause to) turn or twist out of shapeeg: Left in the garage where it was damp, the wooden frame had warped. The door must be warped. It won't close properly.27. think highly of : to have a good opinion of We think highly of yow suggestion. I can assure you that the management thinks very highly of you.28. proliferation : n. a rapid increase in the amount or number of something Smoking triggers off cell proliferation. Over the past two years, we have witnessed the proliferation of TV channels.29. cynicism: n. the belief that people always act selfishly30. falter: v. lose power or strength in an uneven way, thus no longer making much progressPart FourParas. 16-18Q: Should all white lies be avoided at all costs? What does "an exchange of . the principle of trust for the principle of caring" mean?A: No, not necessarily. The rule of honesty is violated so as to establish the principle of showing love and care. Language work 31. at all costs : under any circumstances32. associate : n. somebody whom you work or do business with He is not a friend, but a business associate.33. undermine: v. to gradually make sb. Or sth. less strong or effectiveShe jealously tried to undermine our friendship. Lack of food has undermined his health.34. rule of thumb : a rough method of calculation, based on practical experience I never weigh anything when I'm cooking I just do it by rule of thumb. As a rule of thumb, a cup of filter coffee contains about 89mg caffeine.35. confound : v. to confuse and surprise people, causing them to be unable to explain or deal with a situationHis choice may confound us all.The dancer confounded the critics who said she was finished by giving the best performance of her life.36. astound : v. to make somebody very surprised or shockedIt astounds me that anyone could ever consider declaring war. He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance.vi. Text comprehensionTone : objectiveView: negativeWay of convincing: scientific research; example; scholarly quotationv. Further Understanding of the TextAnswer the following questions (page161)1. What does Professor Bella DePaul's study indicate about lying? What do most people think about lying?A: The study suggests that lying is a common phenomenon and most of the lies we tell are small, insignificant. She also points out that different sexes lie for different reasons, but nobody that lies suffers from a guilty conscience2. Why do people tell white lies? Do you think the lies will be well received once they are exposed?A: According to the passage, the nature of white lies is to seek self-interest: People tell white lies basically for self-promoting purposes. White lies may have different receptions in different cultures. In western cultures as is illustrated by the example, white lies may not be well received as the people value honesty and integrity more than caring and face value; but in the eastern cultures, they may be received as a sign of concern and respect for each others face.3. What, according to the author, would be the consequences of lying?A: The consequences of lying fall into three aspects: The deceived may feel cheated and won't trust the liar any more; the liar will lose trust from the deceived and get entangled in the lies he fabricates; and the society as a whole would falter and collapse as its members do not trust each other any more.4. Are all white lies unacceptable? What is the yardstick of acceptable lies?A: Not all white lies are unacceptable. Some falsehoods like setting somebody up for a surprise party or telling children about the tooth fairy can be justified. However, you have to consider the attitude of the deceived towards lying and the consequences, i.e. whether your act will undermine his trust in you.Explain the sentences in your own words1. “Psychological barriers wear down; the ability to make more distinctions can coarsen; the liars perception of his chances of being caught may warp.” (para12)One is less inhibited from lying; his ability to tell the truth from the falsehood is dulled;he may become less cautious against being caught.2. Once theyve become common enough, even the small untruths that are not meant to hurt encourage a certain cynicism and loss of trust. (para.15)When it becomes common enough to tell small lies, even the small unharmful ones will induce doubt and distrust.3.The most understandable and forgivable lies are an exchange of what ethicists refer to as the principle of trust for the principle of caring. (para. 16)Those lies that are most understandable and acceptable are based on what moralists call the principle of love and care rather than that of trust.III. ExercisesTranslation exercises: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words or phrases given in the brackets