1、新标准大学英语综合教程4教师用书外研社Handouts and Key to book4 unit1-4Unit 1Active reading (1)Looking for a job after university? First, get off the sofaBackground informationAbout the passage: This is an article by an Education Correspondent, Alexandra Blair, published inSeptember 2008 in The Times, a long-establish
2、ed British quality newspaper. In Europe generally, and inBritain in particular, for a number of years there has been a rising number of students who go to universityand therefore more new graduates seeking employment. However, for many graduates finding a job becameharder in 20082009 because the eco
3、nomic downturn then a recession meant that many employers werereducing their workforce. After their final exams, some students rested in the summer before looking for jobsand then they found that it was difficult to find employment in their field or at the level they wanted. Thearticle addresses the
4、 problems of such new graduates who might be stuck at home and advises their parentsto be there for their children (ie to be available if their children want to talk about the problem or if theyneed help). The article recommends finding work in a bar or supermarket rather than sitting unemployedat h
5、ome since this is more likely to lead to better employment later. The style is partly of a report, but alsoof a humorous comment for light entertainment (seen in the jokey language and problem-solving advice toparents).Why finding a job in 2008 is so difficult for university graduates?Universities i
6、n Europe, particularly in Britain, have expanded greatly in the last fifteen years (over 45% ofyoung adults now go on to higher education), so there are more graduates looking for jobs. This competitivesituation became a lot worse in 2008 onwards with the credit crunch and economic depression, which
7、 meantthat there were fewer jobs available and a rise in unemployment. Thus new graduates have to be activeto seek a job, they need to fill in many application forms and try to get job interviews: they wont findemployment by lying on the sofa at home.Culture pointshonours degree: Traditionally, in t
8、he British university system, BA and BSc honours degrees are awardedin different categories: a first class degree (written using Roman numbers as I), a second (divided into twosubcategories, written as IIii and IIii, which are called “a two one” and “a two two”), a third (written III) anda pass degr
9、ee. Most people get a second. There are also ordinary degrees with more general courses of studywithout these categories.Generation Y and Grunt: The main idea here is that there is a succession of different generations orcohorts of adults who come into the workforce in North America which are given
10、different informal namesto characterize them. First, “Baby boomers” were born in the great increase (the boom) of births after WorldWar II (19461960), followed by “Generation X” people (born 19601980) who were said to bring newattitudes of being independent, informal, entrepreneurial, and expected t
11、o get skills and have a career beforethem. “GenerationY” or the “Millenial Generation” (born 1980s and 1990s and becoming adult in the newmillenium) are now making up an increasing percentage of the workforce; they are said to be spoilt by dotingparents, to have structured lives, to be used to teamw
12、ork and diverse people in a multicultural society. Inthe passage, this generation is now becoming (morphing into) Generation Grunt, which is an ironic namereferring to repetitive, low status, routine or mindless work this may be the only work available to somegraduates, who may have to take very ord
13、inary jobs to get experience before they find something moresuitable. “Grunt” also refers to coarse behaviour or bad manners and to the deep sound that is made by a pig;when people “grunt” they express disgust but do not communicate with words this may be how the parentsof new graduates think their
14、children communicate with them!A comprehensive refers to a British type of secondary school which became popular in the1960s. Before thatthere were academic “grammar schools” and more general “secondary modern” schools for those who didnot pass the grammar school entrance tests, but the comprehensiv
15、e schools were designed for all students ina social philosophy of bringing diverse students together whether they were academic or not. Those studentswho went to a comprehensive school probably felt that had to study particularly hard (I worked my backsideoff) to get to university, compared to those
16、 who went to grammar schools where all students were academic comprehensive students felt they had to struggle to get to university.Chicken suit This refers to a large yellow costume that someone wears which makes the person look like agiant chicken. Before he became a famous actor, Brad Pitt once d
17、ressed in such a costume when he had a jobadvertising for a restaurant called El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken in Spanish) the job meant that he hadto walk around the streets like a chicken to attract customers to come to the restaurant.Language points1 Those memories of forking out thousands of pou
18、nds a year so that he could eat well and go to theodd party, began to fade. Until now. (Para 1)The parents paid a lot of money for their sons university fees and living expenses (so that he could eatwell) and for occasional social events at graduation these memories of money were mostly forgottenbec
19、ause the parents were proud. But now the parents are thinking of money again because the son doesnthave a job and doesnt seem to be actively seeking one.2 This former scion of Generation Y has morphed overnight into a member of Generation Grunt.(Para 2)The distinguished son of Generation X (of the p
20、arents generation who worked hard, got jobs, and hadgood careers and expected their son to do the same) has changed into a member of Generation Grunt hedoesnt seem to communicate much, lies around and doesnt get a job (or can only do a low status routingjob).3 I passed the exams, but at the intervie
21、ws they accused me of being too detached and talking inlanguage that was too technocratic, which I didnt think possible, but obviously it is. (Para 5)He passed the entrance exams for a government post, but he was criticized in the selection interviews:They said he was detached (not personally involv
22、ed) and too technocratic (he used the language of atechnical expert or high authority). As a new graduate he probably wanted to show his expertise in hislanguage so he cant understand this criticism.4 For the rest it is 9-to-5 “chilling” before heading to the pub. (Para 6)The others who do not have
23、a routine low status job (like stacking goods on a supermarket shelf) chill outall day (they spend their time casually relaxing they dont look for work) and go to pub for a drink in theevening.5 I went to a comprehensive and I worked my backside off to go to a good university (Para 6)He went to a sc
24、hool for students of all abilities (not to a special school for academic students) and so hehad to work very hard to enter a good university: Your backside means your bottom the part of yourbody that you sit on to work your backside off is informal and it means you work very hard indeed.6 but having
25、 worked full-time since leaving school herself, she and her husband find it tricky toadvise him on how to proceed. (Para 7)The mother has always had a full-time job (presumably the father is also working full-time), so she doesnot have relevant personal experience. For her, it is tricky to give advi
26、ce (difficult to do).7 Carry on life as normal and dont allow them to abuse your bank account or sap your reserve ofemotional energy. (Para 11)The advice from Gael Lindenfield here is that parents should live as usual. They should neither let theirchildren spend the parents money unnecessarily, nor
27、let the problem take away all their energy andemotions. Sap their reserve means use up their store of emotional energy.8 After that the son or daughter needs to be nudged firmly back into the saddle. (Para 12)Then the parents should gently push their children firmly so that they get back into contro
28、l of their lives.Reading and understanding2 Choose the best answer to the questions.Teaching tipsGo over the correct answers with Ss and ask them to explain why the other answers are wrong (Seebelow).1 Why hasnt Jack Goodwin got a job yet?(a) He doesnt have a very good degree.(No, he has a 2:1 which
29、 is considered a good degree. )(b) He refuses to apply for jobs with low salaries.(He feels he should get a better job after studying at university.)(c) It isnt easy to get a job in the current financial climate.(This may be true but the passage does not mention this.)(d) He prefers to stay at home
30、and help his family.(No, he doesnt seem to be helping his family: he watches TV and talks to friends.)2 How does he spend a typical day?(a) Doing a temporary job.(No, some of his friends are working in temporary jobs but he doesnt want to do this.)(b) Watching television.(He watches TV a lot.)(c) Qu
31、euing up in the university careers service.(No, he went there once but he didnt want to queue so he walked away.)(d) Preparing for the next job interview.(No, he doesnt seem to be preparing for interviews.)3 How do most of his friends spend the day?(a) They do nothing all day and go to the pub in th
32、e evening.(All except one of them do nothing except chill, then they go to the pub.)(b) They do outdoor activities such as sailing.(No, none of them seem to do outdoor activities; there is no mention of sailing.)(c) They are forced to work by their parents.(No, only one of them has been forced out to stack shelves by his parents; the others seem to be likeJack.)(d) They do part-time jobs such as work
