Unit 3 Social Problems新编大学英语第二版第三册教案
长春市事业单位招聘-长沙民政职业技术学院分数线
Unit 3 Social Problems
Useful
Information
As societies change and develop,
many problems emerge. Change itself can be a
social
problem if it occurs too quickly. This
is sometimes called the problem of ―future shock‖.
One of the greatest problems of
developing societies is the problem of
overpopulation.
As advances in medicine,
nutrition, and technology increase the average
lifespan, birth
rates do not decrease rapidly
enough, and the result is overpopulation. The
world‘s
current population of about six
billion people is likely to double in the next 20
to 30 years,
and the additional people are
most likely to be found in mushrooming urban areas
where
other social problems abound.
One of the greatest problems of developed
societies is the problem of pollution. As the
rapid production of consumer goods creates
excessive waste products, the disposal of the
wastes becomes more difficult, and the result
is pollution. Factory wastes and emissions
from factories or vehicles add to the problem.
At the same time key resources such as oil
are
rapidly depleted, and some of them cannot be
renewed or replaced.
There are several
problems that affect almost all societies. Poverty
and crime exist in
the most advanced
industrial societies as well as in developing
societies, but they may
take very different
forms. If most of a society‘s members are
relatively poor, it may not
seem as unjust as
it does when homeless people exist alongside
billionaires, and it is hard
to compare a
bicycle thief with a Mafia boss. A society which
gives young people ready
access to drugs,
guns, and cars is more likely to have delinquent
gangs than a society
which has fewer such
temptations or promotes greater parental control.
Some social problems are quite old.
There has always been social inequality, though
the current extent of economic stratification
may be increasing. There has always been
prejudice, though laws forbidding
discrimination against ethnic minorities and
others are
quite recent.
Some
problems are very new. The AIDS virus was
identified in the early 1980s and
the disease
itself emerged only in the 1970s. But its rapid
spread around the world can be
related, in
many countries, to older social problems such as
prostitution and drug abuse.
Information
overload on the internet is an even more recent
phenomenon than AIDS,
and is not yet
sufficiently recognized as a social problem to be
listed alongside the more
tangible types of
pollution. The outbreak of SARS in the year of
2003 showed us a
compelling situation: how
human beings should live in harmony with wild
animals.
Social problems go
through phases of development just as societies
do. Until they are
widely recognized by social
institutions and opinion leaders, they do not
become
full-blown social problems despite
their adverse impact on society. Health problems
caused by smoking were long ignored by
governments and educators despite growing
medical knowledge of the harmfulness of
smoking. Then anti-smoking campaigns began,
followed by anti-smoking legislation and class
action lawsuits against the smoking
industry.
Now the negative effects of both primary and
secondary smoke are widely
acknowledged, and
many countries are moving rapidly toward smoke-
free environments
in most public places.
Another example of a developing but still ill-
defined and ill-recognized problem is
global
warming, which most environmentalists and many
scientists believe is occurring
as the balance
of nature is destroyed by technology. By the time
some problems are
named and recognized, it may
be too late to do much about them, and this may be
the
case if global warming is genuine.
Merely identifying a social problem as such
does not guarantee a solution to the
problem,
but it is usually a prerequisite. There are
several sociological theories about the
causes
and cures of social problems. One of the theories
is functionalism, which says that
social
institutions such as schools and governments are
the key factors in any social
change, either
positive or negative. Since social institutions
change slowly, patience is
needed in dealing
with social problems. Another theory is
interactionism, which says that
social symbols
created at the interpersonal level motivate most
of our behaviors. For
example, young people‘s
behaviors can be changed for the better or worse
by the
desirable or undesirable actions of
their role models, and this may impact problems
such
as drugs or delinquency more than the
actions of schools or governments. Finally,
conflict
theory says that social injustices
embedded in the institutions themselves are a
major
cause of most social problems. So the
best solution is to seek radical and fundamental
change in the institutional framework, such as
the desegregation of the schools and the
military which occurred in the United States
several decades ago.
Sociologists have
various theoretical paradigms, so there is no
clear consensus about
which of these
approaches might work best. Meanwhile, it‘s safe
to say that the social
problems described
above are not likely to go away of their own
accord, and that other
problems will emerge as
societies continue to change.
Part One
Preparation
1. Brainstorming
To the teacher:
The teacher may:
1)
ask the students to work in groups quickly to
prepare a list of at least 20 words they
associate with social problems (problems and
causes);
2) ask the group leader to write the
words generated by hisher group on the
blackboard;
3) erase words that are
repeated in various lists;
4) classify the
words and discuss the questions.
Words related
to social problems:
crime, overpopulation,
pollution, unemploymentlayoffs, housing, water
supply,
transportation, poverty, generation
gap, beggars (children and adults), littering,
widening
gap between rich and poor, rape,
smuggling, fake products, trafficking（拐卖）of
children
and women, corruption,
graffiti（在公共场所，建筑物的墙上涂画或写字）, gambling,
prostitution, domestic violence, juvenile
delinquency（少年犯罪）, high divorce rate, racial
discrimination, drug abuse, bribery, piracy,
etc.
Possible social problems in China:
overpopulation, housing, water supply,
transportation, littering, theft, robbery,
murder, mugging, rape, pollution, smuggling,
fake products, trafficking （拐卖）of children and
women, bribery, corruption,
graffiti（在
公共场所，建筑物的墙上涂画或写字）, gambling,
prostitution, domestic violence, layoffs,
computer crime, piracy, etc.
Social
problems that people associate with foreign
countries: juvenile delinquency,
high divorce
rate, unemployment, racial discrimination, drug
abuse, generation gap,
crime, graffiti,
violence, drunk driving, single-parent family,
computer crime, gun control,
etc.
Note:
Many problems exist both in China and in foreign
countries. The aim of this
activity is to
elicit problem vocabulary from the students. This
is a way of generating
vocabulary and helping
the students learn more about this topic.
Causes for social problems:
1) poverty,
unemployment, etc.
2) high divorce rate, etc.
3) lack of communication
etc.
4)
pollution, littering
5) overpopulation
2. Describing the Pictures
To the teacher:
In conducting this activity, the teacher
should encourage the students to use the
phrases in the model. The following is a
description of the four pictures:
worsening
environment, health problems. etc.
poverty,
unemployment, housing problems, etc.
theft,
robbery, murder, beggars, etc.
juvenile
delinquency, single-parent family, etc.
mental problems of various kinds, generation gap,
Picture A: Last night, Mr. Lester,
a middle-aged widower, was walking along a dark
Birmingham street. He was carrying a briefcase
in one hand and an umbrella in the other.
There was nobody else in the street except two
men. They were standing in a dark
side-street.
One of them was very big with curly hair, and the
other was thin with a bald
head.
Picture
B: They waited for a few seconds and then walked
slowly and silently towards Mr.
Lester. The
big man held Mr. Lester from behind and the thin
one tried to snatch Mr.
Lester‘s briefcase.
Picture C: Suddenly, Mr. Lester threw the big
one over his shoulder. He collided with
the
thin one and they both landed on the pavement.
Without speaking, Mr. Lester struck
both of
them on the head with his umbrella, and walked
calmly away.
Picture D: The two astonished men
were still sitting on the ground when Mr. Lester
crossed the road towards a door with a painted
sign above it. Mr. Lester stopped, turned
round, laughed at the two men and walked into
the Central Birmingham Karate Club.
3.
Stop Littering
Possible ways to stop
littering:
-- raising people‘s awareness of
public health;
-- having public role models
appear in commercials and advertisements putting
rubbish into rubbish bins;
-- putting more
garbage cans along the streets, in the parks, and
in other public
places;
-- calling on
people to bring plastic bags with them for
rubbish.
Part Two Reading-Centered
Activities
-Reading
Case study: What would
you do?
To the teacher:
You may:
1)
Prompt (if necessary) the students to think about
practical issues like child-care,
location of
the school, location of the apartment, work place,
etc.
2) Encourage the students to justify why
both parents (or just one) accept the jobs.
Samples
1) It depends. If I were the wife,
I would persuade my husband to accept the job. As
for me, before making a final decision, I
would take into consideration such factors as
child-care facilities, location of the school,
location of the apartment, etc.
2) Both of us
will accept the jobs. On the one hand, the jobs
are challenging, which is
good for our
personal fulfillment. On the other, with the money
we get, we could find a
babysitter
for our child or send him to a private school,
where he may get better
education.
3)
Neither of us will take the job. I think parents
should spend more time with their
children. A
challenging, high-salary job means less time with
your child. If we move to a
city where we
don‘t have any relatives, it would be even worse.
A child who grows up with
little care from
parents or family is very likely to become a
problem kid.
II. Passage Reading
Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points
1.
…and they feel that their mothers should ‗be
there‘ for them. (l. 14-15)
―be there‖ here
means ―be at home.‖ Traditionally the mother‘s
role is to be the
homemaker, raising children
and taking care of other household affairs.
2.
All too often, however, the mothers arrive home
exhausted… (l. 16-17)
在这个句子中，―exhausted‖
是过去分词作形容词用，表示伴随状况。类似的结构，如：
I) He came home
very much depressed.
II) She sat at the window
sewing.
III) He is lying at home sick.
3. For some youngsters, it is a productive
period of private time, while for others it is
a frightening, lonely void. (l. 21-22)
The
word ―while‖ is used here to emphasize the
difference between two situations,
activities,
etc.
I) The first two services are free, while
the third costs $$35.00.
II) In 1961 just over
2 persons divorced per 1000, while in 1981 it was
12.
4. … for being made to live in this
fashion. (l. 35)
―make‖在用作―force somebody to
do something‖这一意思时，主动语态为―make
somebody do
something‖，但在被动语态中则应该为―be made to do something‖。
She is made to look much older in the photo
than she really is.
同样的用法也适合其他动词，如―see
+宾语+不定式做宾语不足语‖时：
主动语态：We saw him go into the
pub with a two other guys the other night.
被动语态：He was seen to go into the pub with two
other guys the other night.
5. Whatever the
reason, it is a compelling situation with which
families must cope. (l.
45-46)
―Whatever‖
in this sentence means no matter what. The whole
sentence means: No
matter what the reason is,
it is a situation all families must cope with.
6. Given the reality of the situation … (l.
47)
―Given‖ here is used as a preposition
meaning ―taking something into account
(考虑
到，鉴于)‖。
I) Given that there was so
little time, I think they‘ve done a good job.
II) Given that the patients have
some disabilities, we still try to enable them to
be as
independent as possible.
―Given‖ can
also be used as an adjective meaning ―specified,
fixed (规定的，特定的)‖.
I) The work must be done
within the given time.
II) The rules are to be
followed in any given situation.
7. Of
supreme importance is the quality of the
relationship between parents and
children. (l.
54)
经常与―of‖连用的其他名词有：value, use, significance,
help等。如：of great much
little no + value use
significance help。
IV. Post- Reading
Reading Comprehension
1. What the Text
Discusses
1) financial 2) career 3) later
4) guilty 5) hurt 6) resentful
7)
productive 8) independence 9) responsibility
10) trusted
11) frightening 12) resentment
13) abandoned 14) factors 15) quality
2.
Understanding Specific Information
1) T 2) F
3) T 4) F 5) T 6) F 7) F 8) F 9) F 10) F
3. Comparing Experiences
Sample 1
In
our group, two of us were latchkey children, two
were taken care of by their
grandparents, and
one was taken care of by his mother because his
mother did not work.
The two who were once
latchkey children had felt very much the same as
the children
mentioned in the passage. They
felt lonely and watched TV a lot. But compared
with the
other students in our group, they are
more independent. So in a way, it is good to leave
children alone for some time every day.
Sample 2
In our group, only one person was
once a latchkey child. Both her parents were
working far away from home and she had to be
on her own for most of the time on
weekdays.
The rest of us were taken care of either by our
grandparents or by our parents.
Every day when
we came home after school, there was always
somebody there waiting for
us and taking care
of us. We could also go out and play with other
children after we
finished our homework. But
sometimes we did wish we were alone so that we
could spend
the time as we wished.
Vocabulary
1. 1) c 2) h 3) g 4) a 5) e
6) k 7) i 8) d 9) l 10) b 11) j 12) f
2.
1) constantly 2) impact 3) burden 4) Candidly 5)
fulfillment 6) salaried 7)
resentment 8)
assistance
9) perfect 10) suppress
3. 1) successfully 2) resentment 3)
security 4) necessity 5) advisable
6)
accessaccessibility 7) athletic 8) maturity
9) emotional 10) effectively
4. Sentence-
Making Game
Suggestions for teachers:
Step
1: Write on the blackboard about 20 words or
phrases that appear in the text. An
even
number is desirable since the students will be
divided into 2 groups.
A possible list:
rise decade expense financial affect
on the other hand priority
engage range
forbid isolate stimulate express claim
widespread
given work out take into
consideration in case of secure arise
cope with demand provide
Step 2:
Divide the students into two groups.
Step 3:
The students make sentences using the words on the
blackboard. Each
sentence can include more
than one word and must be meaningful and
grammatically
correct. One point is awarded
for each correctly used word. The teacher crosses
out the
word which has been correctly used. If
the word is crossed out, it cannot be used again.
Step 4: Students are encouraged to work
quickly and raise their hands as soon as they
come up with a sentence. The teacher works as
a judge; the group that gets higher points
wins.
Translation
Directions:
Translate the following sentences into English,
using the expressions in
brackets.
1)
Because of an emergency, the doctor will not be
available for several hours.
2) How will taxes
affect people with low incomes?
3) My mother
always told me that in the long run I would be
glad I didn‘t give up
practicing the piano.
4) The books range in price from $$10 to $$20.
5) It seems to me that you don‘t have much
choice.
6) Given their inexperience, they have
done quite a good job.
7) For such a big house
the price is fairly cheaplow, but you‘ve got to
take int
o consideration the money you will
spend on repairs.
8) Can we begin by
discussing questionsproblems arising from the last
meeting?
Part Three Further Development
1. Enriching Your Word Power
1)A 2)B 3)A
4)C 5)A 6)A 7)C 8)B 9)C 10)A 11)A 12)C
13)B 14)C
2. Directions:
Complete the following text with the appropriate
word.
1) creates 2) individuals 3) makes
4) combination 5) however 6) fall
7)
responsible 8) which 9) difference 10)
that 11) tempted 12) used
13) lowest
14) died 15) reducing 16) quick 17)
reason 18) principle
19) minor 20)
message
3. Putting the Paragraphs in
Order
STEP ONE
Directions: Read the
following paragraphs carefully and put them in the
right order.
The right order should be:
E—B—F—C—A—G—D
4. Graffiti -- Is it good
or bad?
STEP One
Answers for reference:
Political :
We want work.
End violence
to women now.
Tourists yes troops no.
Make
love not war.
Funny:
Pat John.
Once I could never finish anything, but now I…
Mickey Mouse is a rat. (This could also be
political – a criticism of the whole Disney
Empire.)
Poetic:
Roses are red,
violets are blue, why can‘t black be beautiful
too?
Geography is everywhere. (This could be
silly.)
(These are only for your reference,
there are no definite answers.)
STEP TWO
Reasons for reference:
--- show ―innocent‖
hearts and signs of love;
--- desire to
express anger against someone or something;
--- express a political or social message;
--- desire to be destructive;
--- manifest
boredom, frustration, or delinquency.
--- show
one‘s talent as a graffiti artist
5. For or
Against
Sample Answers:
For:
-- The originals are too expensive, especially
for low-income people or students;
-- Piracy
enables the books, CDs, VCDs or tapes to be
available to more people, which
is good for
promotional purposes;
-- Piracy helps to make
the authors of the books, CDs, VCDs, or tapes
better known or
more popular.
Against:
-- Piracy is against the Copyright Law or
violates the intellectual property right;
--
Both the authors and the publishers may suffer big
losses;
-- Piracy is an act of disrespect for
the authors;
-- Piracy gives rise to low-
quality books, etc. and it is difficult to trace
the sources;
-- Piracy damages our country‘s
image and puts our country in a disadvantageous
position in some international negotiations.
Part Four Translation and Writing
1..
Translation Practice
1) 孩子最好离开毒品
一个电话报警者打来
三个电话，报告毒品交易。他还对交易场所的小孩子的健康表示了
关注。有二人被发现因吸入过量毒品而
重度昏迷，现场还发现大量被使用过的注射器。屋内
情况非常糟糕，孩子们立即得到了照料。
2）法律追上在逃的武装抢劫犯
四名武装抢劫犯在逃离现场时，开枪并打伤一名警察。警察抓
住了二名罪犯，但是不能
确认二名逃走的罪犯。打进报警热线的一个电话准确地详细描述了这起事件和其
中一个逃走
的罪犯。不久，一名男子被抓获，他被指控企图谋杀及武装抢劫。
g
Last night at about 11 o‘clock, my brother and
I came home from a movie. As I was
opening the
door to our apartment, I heard cries of babies
from next door. A couple with
three kids lived
there. The couple didn‘t seem to have any job and
they spent most of their
time at home. The
kids ranged in age from one year to five years
old. They were one girl
and two boys and they
were pretty. I knocked at their door but nobody
answered. The
cries went even louder. I
figured there was something wrong. My brother
reminded me of
the Crimestopper number and I
called. Within ten minutes, the police came. There
were
three of them. They knocked at the door
but still no one came to it. They called the
superintendent and he opened the door with the
master key. Inside we could see three
kids
crying over the couple who were lying on the
floor, unconscious. There were about a
dozen
used syringes beside them. The room smelled
terrible. Ambulances came after
fifteen
minutes, taking the couple to the hospital. The
police took the kids under care
immediately. It has been said that they will
be staying at the Interval House for women
and
children for a while.