The-Plot-against-People

ThePlotagainstPeople—RussellBakerBriefIntroductionoftheauthor•RussellBaker(bornAugust14,1925)isanAmericanPulitzerPrize-winningwriterknownforhissatiricalcommentaryandself-criticalprose,aswellasforhisautobiography,GrowingUp.Pre-readingBrainstorming1)Whatareinanimateobjects?Howdoyouclassifytheseobjects?2)Accordingtoyourownexperience,cantheobjectsthateasilygetlostorbeeasilybroken?learningobjectives•Toappreciatethehumoroustoneintheessay.Andlearntousecertainlinguisticdevicessuchusexaggerationandtalkingabouttrivialmattersinseriousterms,toachievehumorouseffects.•Inanimateobjectsareclassifiedscientificallyintothreemajorcategories-thosethatbreakdown,thosethatgetlose,andthosethatdon’twork.无生命的物体在科学上主要可以分为三类，发生故障的，自动消失的和不能运转的。•Inanimateadj.无生命的；无生气的Manychildrenbecomeattachedtosomeinanimateobject,suchasablanketorsofttoy.很多儿童都对一些诸如毯子或柔软玩具这样没有生命的物品产生依恋。•Thegoalofallinanimateobjectsistoresistmanandultimatelytodefeathim,andthethreemajorclassificationsarebasedonthemethodeachobjectusestoachieveitspurpose.Asageneralrule,anyobjectcapableofbreakingdownatthemomentwhenitismostneededwilldoso.Theautomobileistypicalofthecategory.capableof•有...能力的；可...的Showyourteacherwhatyouarecapableof.向你的老师表现出你能干什么。•Withthecunningpeculiartoitsbreed,theautomobileneverbreaksdownwhileenteringafillingstationwhichhasalargestaffofidlemechanics.Itwaitsuntilitreachesadowntownintersectioninthemiddleoftherushhour,oruntilitisfullyloadedwithfamilyandluggageontheOhioTurnpike.Thusitcreatesmaximuminconvenience,frustration,andirritability,therebyreducingitsowner’slifespan.cunning•adj.狡猾的；巧妙的；可爱的Theywerecunninglydisguisedingolfclothes.他们狡猾地穿上高尔夫球服把自己伪装起来。peculiar•adj.特殊的；独特的；奇怪的；罕见的•n.特权；特有财产Mr.Kennethasaratherpeculiarsenseofhumour.肯尼特先生有一种相当不寻常的幽默感。breed•vi.繁殖；饲养；产生•vt.繁殖；饲养；养育，教育；引起•n.[生物]品种；种类，类型Helivedalone,breedinghorsesanddogs.他独自生活,养殖马和狗。intersection•n.交叉；十字路口；交集；交叉点Wecrossedatabusyintersection.我们穿过了一个繁忙的道路交叉口。•Washingmachines,garbagedisposals,lawnmowers,furnaces,TVsets,taperecorders,slideprojectors-allareinleaguewiththeautomobiletotaketheirturnatbreakingdownwheneverlifethreatenstoflowsmoothlyfortheirenemies.inleaguewith•workingtogether(with),oftensecretlyorforabadpurposeWeareinleaguewithoneanother,andnotinconflict.我们与他人联系着，而不是相互矛盾。irritability•n.过敏性；易怒；兴奋性Sadnessandirritabilitycanoccuratanyagefrominfancytoveryoldage.悲伤和易怒可能出现在任何年龄层，从婴儿到白发苍苍的老人。•Manyinanimateobjects,ofcourse,finditextremelydifficulttobreakdown.Pliers,forexample,andglovesandkeysarealmosttotallyincapableofbreakingdown.Therefore,theyhavehadtoevolveadifferenttechniqueforresistingman.•Theygetlost.Sciencehasstillnotsolvedthemysteryofhowtheydoit,andnomanhasevercaughtoneofthemintheact.Themostplausibletheoryisthattheyhavedevelopedasecretmethodoflocomotionwhichtheyareabletoconcealfromhumaneyes.intheact(ofdoing)•whiledoing;atthemomentofdoingShehadababyanddiedintheact.她在生孩子过程中死去。plausible•adj.貌似可信的，花言巧语的；貌似真实的，貌似有理的Amoreplausibleexplanationwouldseemtobethatpeoplearefedupwiththeadministration.一个更合理的解释似乎是人们对行政机关感到厌倦。locomotion•n.运动；移动；旅行Flightistheformoflocomotionthatputsthegreatestdemandsonmuscles.飞行是对肌肉要求最高的运动形式。•Itisnotuncommonforapairofplierstoclimballthewayfromthecellartotheatticinitssingle-mindeddeterminationtoraiseitsowner’sbloodpressure.Keyshavebeenknowntoburrowthreefeetundermattresses.Women’spurses,despitetheirgreatweight,frequentlytravelthroughsixorsevenroomstofindhidingspaceunderacouch.burrow•vi.探索；挖地洞；•vt.挖掘，挖出；•n.（兔、狐等的）洞穴，地道；藏身处，住处Weburrowedapaththroughthecrowd我们从人群中拱出一条路来。mattresses•n.床垫，底垫（mattress的复数)Heflipsthemattressesandshakesoutthebooks,butfindsnothing.他翻动床垫，四处摸索，展开书本抖落，但什么也没找到。Structureofthepassage•(p1)Thesisstatement:classification;•(p2-5)Aboutthosethatbreakdown(p6-10)Aboutthosethatgetlost(p11-14)Aboutthosethatdon’tworkThethreecategories•thosethatbreakdown（不给力）•thosethatgetlose（捉迷藏）•thosethatdon’twork（罢工族）BreakingdownThosethatgetloseThosethatdon’tworkMainIdeaofthepassage•Inanimateobjectsareclassifiedscientificallyintothreecategories---thosethatbreakdown,thosethatgetlost,andthosethatdon’twork,andthegoalofallinanimateobjectsistoresistmanandultimatelytodefeathim.Organizationanddevelopmentofthetext•para.1.Threecategoriesofinanimateobjects——thosethatbreakdown,thosethatgetlost,andthosethatdon’twork.para.2-4:Objects(automobiles,washingmachines,lawnmowers,furnaces,TVsets,taperecorders,slideprojectors,etc)andcharacteristics(breakdownwhentheyaremostneeded)ofthefirstcategory.•para.5:transitionalparagraph.para6-10.:Objects(keys,gloves,pliers,women’spurses,etc.)andcharacteristics(developasecretmethodoflocomotionbywhichtheyareabletohidefromhumaneyes/)ofthesecondcategory.•Thetoneofthistextisclearlyhumorous•E.G....initssingle-mindeddetermination(para.7)TheendThankYou