Lesson13—Blueprint for Success BTLEW Part Three ENTER

Lesson13—Blueprint for Success

B T L EW

Part Part ThreeThree

ENTER


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Text Text AppreciatiAppreciationonI. Text Analysis

1. Theme2. Structure3. Further Discussion

II. Writing DeviceClimax

III. Sentence Paraphrase


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I.I. Text AnalysisText Analysis

This text is about an American philanthropist who devotes his life to building houses for the poor and the needy. Such people can be found in any society or culture. But in the United States, they are often influenced by the religious tradition, in which Christians are told that the wealth they have is put in their hands by God in their trust, and they should give it back to God through donations and charities. Anyone who dies rich dies in shame.

Theme

The end of Theme.


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Part 1 (Paras. 1-3 ):

Part 2 (Paras.4-13 ):

Part 3 (Paras.14-32):


Structure

Millard Fuller started off as a whiz with money and had every promise of becoming an unusually successful businessman. To him, life was full.

When crisis occurred to his marriage due to his too much devotion to work, Millard Fuller gave away all his fortune and began to work as a fund-raiser to maintain the family.

Millard has found a mission that will summon all his energy and idealism- Habitat for Humanity, a house–building project for the poor, and he is successful again.

The end of Structure.


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I.I. Text AnalysisText AnalysisIn Para. 5

To be continued on the next page.

Question: How do you understand the sentence “How could I have miscalculated so badly?”

How could I have been so stupid? How could I have made such a wrong judgment? Millard was considered a whiz with money, and therefore must have been very good at calculation. But he had only calculated monetarily. In a more important sense he had actually miscalculated.


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Question: What do you think is the reason that made Millard give away all the money he had earned?


We all know how difficult it is to resist the temptation of money. And to give away money you already have is more difficult. But Millard did it. He did it because he suddenly discovered that money actually stood between him and his wife. It had not brought happiness to his life. It had not brought any meaning.



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Question: Why would people say that “A planned life can only be endured”?

In Para. 7

Perhaps they feel that a planned life offers no excitement, no drams, no romance. A planned life is a life that has already fallen into a rut.



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Question: Do you think that when difficulty comes, a couple can face it together?

For a couple truly in love, yes.

It is a view shared by many people that the best time of married life is the time when husband and wife can stand shoulder to shoulder, fight the same difficulties, defy the same challenges, and struggle for the same goal, rather than live in comfort together.

In Para. 11



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In what way was Millard Fuller different from other boys?

How did he manage to pay his way through university?

When his wife said that she didn’t think she loved him any more, was it stupid on her part, since she already had money, a beautiful house, an expensive car, and two luxurious boats?

Fuller finally chose family and health over wealth. Do you approve of his choice?


Further Discussion

The end of Further Discussion.


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He gave away his fortune for a hammer,a saw—and a dream.

II.II. Writing Writing DeviceDevice

Climax, as a figure of speech, is derived from the Greek word for “ladder”, and implies the progression of thought at a uniform or almost uniform rate of significance or intensity, like the steps of a ladder ascending evenly. The right words must be chosen to convey the thought in an ascending order of force and intensity, from weak to strong, from light to weighty.

Climax


More examples


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II.II. Writing Writing DeviceDevice

• I came, I saw, I conquered.

• Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

• Reading makth a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Climax: more examples

The end of Writing Device.


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III.III. Sentence Sentence Paraphrase 1Paraphrase 1

As a boy, Millard was a whiz with money. (Para. 1)

a person with amazing skill or accomplishment

go to 2

As a boy, Millard was a boy with an amazing skill to make money.


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Starting with a pig his father gave him, Millard became a livestock trader during his teens, netting enough to pay his way through Auburn University. (Para. 1)

go to 3

making a net profitto pay for everything without having to depend on anyone else until one finishes…

Starting with a pig his father gave him, Millard became a person who bought and sold livestock when he was in his teens, and he made a net profit enough to pay for his education without depending on anyone else until he finished studies at Auburn University.

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How could I have miscalculated so badly? (Para. 5)

How could I have been so stupid? How could I have made such a wrong judgment? Millard was considered a whiz with money, and therefore must have been very good at calculation. But he had only calculated monetarily. In a more important sense he had actually miscalculated.

go to 4

to make a wrong calculation


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When Linda called and agreed to his pleas

to meet him in New York… (Para. 7)

go to 5

prep.

infinitive phrase used as an attribute modifying “pleas”


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Whatever he settled on, his new life would have to mean something, have a positive effect on others. (Para. 9)

go to 6

No matter what he finally decided to do, his life must be meaningful, must benefit or have a good effect on others.


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As a stopgap measure, he became a New York-based fund-raiser. (Para. 12)

As a temporary measure, he became a person whose job is to raise fund mainly in New York.

go to 7

temporary


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Millard commuted to Manhattan by bus. Their tight

budget was made even tighter by the birth of their

third child. But they didn’t mind their scaled-down

life-style. (Para. 13)

go to 8

to travel a long distance regularly, usu. for work

not enough money

less than before


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… but he still yearned for a mission that would summon all his energy and idealism. (Para. 14)

… but he still longed to find something important to do which would require/call forth/rouse all his energy and would realize his noble dream.

go to 9


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The buyers would make a minimal down

payment and monthly interest-free mortgage

payments that would go back into the fund for

more houses. (Para. 16)

go to 10

The buyers would only pay a very small part of

the cost when they bought their houses and

pay the rest every month without interest. The

money they pay would then be reinvested for

more houses.


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Millard wondered if the idea blossoming in Georgia might flower elsewhere. (Para. 21)

go to 11

Millard wondered whether the idea working

wonderfully in Georgia might work elsewhere.

to thrive; to be successful


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Millard had a mental blueprint for an

international assault on poverty housing. He

called it Habitat for Humanity. (Para. 22)

Millard developed a plan in his mind. He wanted

to carry out the difficult project of building

houses for poor people in other countries. go to 12

an attempt to achieve sth. difficult

the natural home


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… tap a reservoir of good will. (Para. 26)

go to 13

Millard believed that people are all kind-hearted

and willing to help others. Therefore, if he could

make use of this, he would be able to carry out

his plan.

to draw upon; to use

a large amount of sth. that has not yet been used


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“I was looking for a way to measure myself in terms other than money.” (Para. 26)

“I was looking for a way to find out the meaning of my life or to judge my value from other angles, not from the monetary point of view.”

except

go to 14


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The man looks dubious. “Folks don’t do this sort of thing for nothing.” (Para. 30)

The man looks doubtful or unconvinced. “People don’t do this kind of thing without pay.”

go to 15


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“The most dynamic people I know are concerned about something beyond themselves.” (Para. 30)

“The most energetic people I know care about other things and other people.”

The end of Sentence Paraphrase.


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Lesson13—Blueprint for Success BTLEW Part Three ENTER