Text I The Virtues of Growing Older
I. Pre-reading questions
1. What, in your opinion, are the advantages and disadvantages of growing older?
2. What do you think are the virtues of being young?
II. Text analysis and language points
Paragraghs1-2
民部Analysis
Paragraph 1-2 make up the first part of the text. The writer begins by saying that even though youth is something many people desire, being older has distinct advantages
The following questions could be asked:
1) 3d里菜Why do people want to hide their gray hair and delay the effect of aging?
They worship youth and are afraid of growing older, so they try every means to look young.
2) What does the writer mean when she says “it is un-American to say so”?
She means the questions em contrary to the values commonly held by most American people. And the American people would do anything possible to delay aging.
3) Does the writer deny the virtues of being young?
No, she does not. The writer admits the virtues of being young, but what she really wants to talk about is tho advantages of growing older, which are discusd in the subquent paragraphs. So the last ntence of the cond paragraph is both thematic and transitional
Language points.
1. convince v.
1) convince sb / yourlf (of sth) to make sb/yourlf believe that sth is true
e.g. you’ll need to convince them of your enthusiasm for the job.
I’d convinced mylf (that) I was right.
2) to persuade sb to do sth
e.g. I’ve been trying to convince him to e a doctor.
我从凡人到巨星
2. …glaldly sign with the devil just to be young again: Literally, the phra “sign with the devil” means “to sign a contract with the devil, so that the devil would help you become young again”. In the text the phra is metaphorically ud to mean “to be ready to do anything, even to work for the devil just to be young again”.
3. aging: the process of growing old
e.g. our society is full of negative attitudes towards aging and old people.
4. dread
v. to feel great fear or anxiety about
e.g. This was the moment he had been dreading.
[v -ing] I dread being sick.
[vn -ing] She dreads her husband finding out.
[v to inf] I dread to think what would happen if there really was a fire here. [also v that]
n. a feeling of great fear about sth that might or will happen in the future; a thing that caus this feeling
e.g. The prospect of growing old fills me with dread.
5. distinct adj. noticeable; unmistakable
e.g. There was a distinct smell of gas.
His voice was quiet but every word was distinct.
Rap is quite distinct from North American jazz or blues.
Paragraph 3
Analysis
The writer, in this paragraph, offers the first advantage of growing older －not being obsd with one’s appearance. It can be noticed that the technique of contrast is ud to project the difference between adolescents and people in their forties:
“When my brother Dave and I were teens…”
奥林匹克标志
“When Dave and I were young…”
“Now, however, Dave and I are beyond such adolescent agonies.”
“Now my clothes are attractive yet easy to wear.”
“We no longer feel anxious…”
The contrasts are focud on two aspects: the shape of their bodies and clothes. With her own experience, the writer drives home her point that adolescents “feel anxious about what others will think”, while older people are happy “as long as we feel good about how we look”.
The following question could be asked:
Q:小米找回 What is the change in people’s attitude towards their appearance from the writer’s own experience?
A: Old people no longer feel anxious about what others will think. As long as they feel good about what they look, they are happy.
Language points
6. (be) obsd with: to have an unreasonably strong and continuous interest in particular things or persons
e.g.. She became obsd in her old age with what to do with her immen wealth.
为的词语obss (about sth) [v] to be always talking or worrying about a particular thing, especially when this annoys other people
e.g. I think you should try to stop obssing about food.亢阳
obssion n. obssion (with sth/sb)
1) [U] the state in which a person’s mind is completely filled with thoughts of one particular thing or person in a way that is not normal
e.g. The media’s obssion with the young prince continues.
2) [C] a person or thing that sb thinks about too much
短歌行小说e.g. Fitness has become an obssion with him.
7. feverish: adj.
[usually before noun] showing strong feelings of excitement or worry, often with a lot of activity or quick movements
e.g. The whole place was a scene of feverish activity.
a state of feverish excitement
