Unit 12 Time

Part One: Preparation

Exercise 1 Reading a Poem

Time is too slow for those who wait,

Too swift for those who fear,

Too long for those who grieve,

Too short for those who rejoice,

But for those who love,

Time is eternity.

Question: What are your impressions for the poem?

Exercise 2

Talking about Punctuality

1)Do you usually wear a watch? Why or why not?

2) Are you often late for an appointment or for class? If so, for what reasons?

3)Have you any suggestions for people who are always late?

Part Two: Listening-Centered Activities

Listening 1

Exercise 1

Around the corner I have a friend

In this great city that has no end,

Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,

And before I know it, a year is gone

And I never see may old friend’s face,

For life is a swift and terrible race,

He knows I like him just as well,

As in the days when I rang his bell,

And he rang mine.

It’s true that we were younger then,

And now we are busy, tired men.

Tired of playing a foolish game,

Tired of trying to make a name.

“Tomorrow”, I say, “I will call on Jim”

“Just to show that

I’m thinking of him.”

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,

And distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner! –Yet miles away,

“Here’s a telegram sir-”

“Jim died today.”

And that’s what we get and deserve in the end.

Around the corner, a vanished friend.

If you love someone, tell them.

Remember always to say what you mean.

Never be afraid to express yourself.

Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you.

Seize the day and have no regrets.

Most importantly, stay close

To your friends and family, for they have helped make you

The person that you are today and are what it’s all about anyway.

Pass this along to your friends.Let it make a difference in your day and theirs.The difference between expressing loveAnd having regrets which may stay around

forever.Questions:1)What is the main idea of the poem?2)What can you learn from the poem?

Listening II

Exercise 1

1)Who was giving a speech?

An expert on the subject of time management was giving the speech.

2)Who was the audience?

A group of business students.

3)What was the speaker trying to illustrate?

You have to do the most important things first, otherwise you will never achiever anything.

Exercise 2

Directions: Listen to the passage again and fill in the following table.

Things used to fill the jar

Full or not

First time A dozen fist-sized rocks

Yes

Second time Little stones Probably not

Third time Sand No

Fourth time Water /

Part Three Reading-Centered Activities

In class reading1)Outline of the text:

Dr. Dossey, a pioneer in the emerging science of chrono-biology ( 时间生物学 ), studied the relationship between time and life. He found that some illness are induced by stress in the society. He also pointed out that paying too much attention to time could

result in illness. He noticed that almost all living things in our world carry their own biological clocks synchronized with the rhythms of nature. The mind of the people can alter rhythms of time in various ways.

Cultures differ in how they perceive time. Each view of time has advantages and disadvantages. But the costs can be great. When the people’s natural inner rhythms

are out of synchronization with clock time, stress results. According to the point of view of Dr. Dossey, some illnesses resulted from time-caring can be treated and prevented by changing the way that the people think about time. He applies some simple techniques to change and master one’s own time.

2)Pre-reading

Directions: Discuss the following questions in groups.

1)Have you ever thought of the relationship between time and health? Can you tell in what way they are related?

2)What is a biological clock? Do you think there is a biological clock in you? If so, give examples.

Words to Watch:Alter:vt. （部分的）变更，改造； alter the plan改变计划 , alter the house 改造房子， n. alteration.Emerge:vi. 出现 , ( 同 )appear ， The moon emerged from behind a cloud. 月亮从云后出现。Summon vt. 1. 唤起，鼓起（勇气 ) He summoned his courage and entered the dark house. 2. 召集，传唤， She was summoned as a witness.Survival:n. the state of continuing to live or exist 生存， vt. Survive: 在…之后仍活着；生命比…为长 , 1. She survived her husband. 她比她丈夫后死。 2. Few of the old customs survived the war. 旧习俗很少存留到战后。

4)Phrases and ExpressionsAdjust to: 调整Adjusting to the heat in Africa was more difficult than they had expected.Feel like:1)give you a particular feeling,

*I was there for only two days but it felt like a week. 2)have a particular feeling, *I did not feel like talking to the landlord, so I took

my beer to t he window.Summon up: 鼓起（勇气）We now think of the car as being essential rather than a luxury.

5)Pre-Reading

Directions: Discuss the following questions in groups.

1)Have you ever thought of the relationship between time and health? Can you tell in what way they are related?

2)What is a biological clock? Do you think there is a biological clock in you? If so, give examples.

6)Language Points:

1. They remind me that my life is not ruled by clocks, that I can Choose the time I live by.

本句 remind ：使想起，使记起。后接双宾语 me 和两个 that 引导的宾语从句。 I live by 作定语修饰先行词 time.

汉译：它们时时提醒我，生活不是由时钟控制的，我能自己选择按什么样的时间生活。

2. How a person thinks about time can kill him, according to Dossey, a pioneer in the emerging science of chronobiology, the study of how time interacts with life.从句 How a person thinks about time 作本句的主语， a pioneer in the emerging science of chronobilology 是同位语用于说明 Dossey 的身分，带宾语从句的后置定 the study of how time interacts with life 修饰前面的 chronobilolgy.

汉译：多希博士研究时间生物学，是这门新兴学科的开拓者，该学科研究的是时间与生活是如何相互影响的。据多希博士所说，一个人如何考虑和看待时间可能是生死攸关的事。

3. Pioneering studies in Germany reported that when people were put together in groups isolated from external time cues of light, temperature and humidity, their own complex internal timekeeping rhythms became desynchronized; then they resynchronized in unison.Isolated from 与…隔离，非谓语分词作定语修饰 groups, cue: 提示，暗示

汉译：根据在德国进行的开拓性研究报告说，当人们被分组安置在一起，置身于与光、温度、湿度等外部时间提示因素相隔绝的环境时，他们自身内部的、复杂的时间节奏无法（与外部时间）同步了；但他们的生物钏随后又恢复了相互间一致的同步节奏。

4. Those who have been in a serious accident often report that, as it occurred, everything happened in slow motion; apparently this is a survival tool built into the brain, an ability to accelerate to several times normal perceptual speed, thereby “slowing down” the world and giving the victim “time” to think how to avoid disaster.As it occurred 为插入语，意为“在事故发生的过程中”， it 指 accident; this:everything happened in slow motion, 过去分词 built into the brain作定语修饰 tool; 同位语 an ability to accelerate to several times normal perceptual speed 解释说明 a survival tool.

汉译：那些经历过严重事故的人常具体描述说，在事故发生的过程中，一切都以慢动作的形式进行；这显然是人脑中装有求生工具，也就是一种能力，它能把人对外部世界的感知速度提高到正常状态下的数倍，从而“减慢”了世界运行的速度，使受害者有“时间”来思考避免灾难的对策。

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