Unit 12
Disney World: Cities of Simulation as Postmodern Utopias
Consolidation Activities
I. Text Comprehension
1. Decide which of the following best states the author’s purpo
A.To offer a critical view on the illusion created by Disney World and a caution about the impact of technology on humanity.
B.To explain how Disney World caters to human desires and psychological needs.
教育改革C.To point out the wonders of modern technology that could give us power over, and freedom from, the physical world.
Key [ A ]
2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or fal.
在上海买房需要什么条件1). Disney World creates a perfect world which can temporarily enable visitors to forget reality. [ T ]
2). In Disney World, visitors are offered normally unavailable opportunities to e into human motives. [ T ]
3). Disney World reveals the power of technology with which we can now enjoy what ems possible only in the future. [ T ]
4). Disney World differs from other utopias invented by Western civilization in that it is only a place of entertainment and does not tend to mislead people. [ F ]
5). With the help of technology Disney World appeals to visitors’ desire for a better world by bringing them back to their innocent and happy childhood. [ T ]
II. Writing Strategies
It is worth noting that the author us “visitors,” “they,” and “them” in the first two paragraphs, but he us “you” in Paragraph 3 and “we” or “us” in all other paragraphs. Obviously the shift of addressing forms has some specific functions. Find the places where the author address the readers in different forms and explain the functions of such shifts.
When he us “visitors,” “they” and “them,” the author refers exclusively to people who enjoy the fun in Disney World, thus the readers are prented as bystanders. When he us “you” as in “When you put all this together ...” (Paragraph 3), the readers are invited to offer their critical judgment and conquently the shift shortens the distance between the readers and the issue under discussion. When he us “we” and “us,” the author draws the readers clor to the relevant issues, since what is discusd concerns all of us. Thus, the issues are rendered with a wider significance that is not merely limited to “visitors” and “them.”
III. Language Work青菜有哪些
1. Explain the underlined part(s) in each ntence in your own words.
1). On the thrill rides, they defy gravity, moving at speeds and in ways that em to violate what common n tells them should be possible.
refu to obey; act against
2). The effect is not unlike participating in a 365-day-a-year holiday, in which negative emotions are banished from life.
taking part in
3). In Disney World, we transcend the mundane.
go beyond the uninteresting everyday world
4). In all this, Disney undoes 检讨开头the dry “scientism” of the world view of contemporary societies.
works against/revers the effect of; prent-day
5). ... we could realistically hope that technology would usher in an age of affluence ...
lead in/bring in; prosperity
6). Disney World is a place that masquerades as the happy ending, in which progress culminates in a utopia of transcendence that undoes the fallen state of nature, society and ourlves.
disgui itlf as/appears to be; ends in
7). But unlike most others, which were rendered in fiction or put into practice in small communities, in Disney, a perfect world is emingly brought to lifeqq空间克隆器 with simulation and offered as a vacation paradi.
prented; made more real and exciting
8). But it does so by inviting us to regress to a state of happiness before the fall from childhood, with simplified visions of life that filter out the difficult truths of the lf and society.
go back; remove
9). The contradictions inherent in Disney World are deepened by the fact that it is only able to show us its vision of utopia by turning us into passive consumers who are taken for rides.
intrinsic; cheated/deceived
10). In Disney, we e the ultimate attempt to rely on technology, in which even experiences are manufactured for us by machines.
depend on
2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1). The book is a fictionalized (fiction) account of the life of St. Francis.
2). Containment (contain) of crowd violence was the police’s main concern.
3). It was clear that they had not acted in violation (violate) of the rules.
4). She’s perpetually (perpetuate) asking me for money.
5). The best films are tho which transcended (transcendence) national or cultural barriers.
简单生活心态的句子
6). There is a lot of interest in carrying out experiments in the 安全教育手抄报图片简单又漂亮weightless (weight) conditions which are experienced aboard space stations.
7). There is a growing dinchantment (dinchant) with the way the club is being run.
8). What we are eing increasingly is a society of private affluence有关老师的名言 (affluent) and public squalor.
9). The constraints (constrain) of politeness wouldn’t allow her to say what she really thought about his cooking.
