Unit Five Unit Five The Real Truth about The Real Truth about

LiesLies

A. Text oneI. Pre-reading::

warm-up questions (II). Background informationII. While-reading: Text Analysis (I) Structure analysis

(II) Comprehension questions (III) Language points (IV) Difficult sentencesIII. Post-Reading:(I) Grammatical items(II) Translation Exercises

(III) Oral activities(IV) Writing practice

B. Text two （I）Questions for text comprehension

（II）Language points

Contents

I. Pre-readingI. Pre-reading:: warm-up questionswarm-up questions

1. If your friend is in a new dress or buys a new mobile phone which you dislike intensely, and asks for your opinion about it, what will you say?

2. If somebody lies to you for your own good, how would you feel?

The text is of journalistic style. The whole passage is divided into 18 paragraphs, with the shortest paragraph consisting of only one or two sentences. The writer introduces the topic by giving the results of two surveys. Then he airs his opinion on the consequences of telling lies. In the end, he discusses which lies are to be avoided.

II. While-reading: Text Analysis (I) Structure analysis

Text Structure

Part 1— Para 1—6 Introducing the topic by reporting two survey results. Part 2— Para 7-11 Telling little white lies is a common practice and the

reason for telling such lies by citing an example Part 3— Para 12-15 The consequences of telling lies Part 4— Para 16-18 Discussing whether lies should be voided at all costs

Text AnalysisText Analysis

Introduction: Para.1-6

Comprehension1. What is the result of Professor Bella DePaulo’s

survey? What conclusion can we draw from the result?

2. What is the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What can we learn from it?

Language Points

profess

earth-shattering

feign

spare one’s feeling

profess: v. to make a claim (of / about)James professed to know everything about sculpture. He professed the greatest respect for the law.

earth-shattering: a. of the greatest importance to the whole worldAfter years of hard work, they finally made an earth-shattering discovery. The new invention is of earth-shattering importance.

feign: v. to pretend to have or be; to put on a false air of She feigned to be ill in order not to do the exercises. He feigned surprise and they all believed him.

spare one's feelings: to avoid doing something that would upset somebody

He simply wished to minimize the fuss and to spare her feelings.

We carefully avoided mentioning the news to spare his feelings.

Part Two Para.7-11

Comprehension1. What are little white lies?2. According to the writer, what could be

considered “nice lies”?3. What does the sentence mean: “what a tangled

web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”?

Language Points

ubiquitous

fib

blurt out

tangled

ubiquitous: a. seeming to be everywhere By the end of last century, the computer had

become ubiquitous. We are now confronted with the ubiquitous spread

of English.

fib: n. a small unimportant lie Have you ever told fibs? She told innocent fibs like anyone else.

blurt out : to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because one is nervous or excited

To our surprise,he blurted his secret out at table. John blurted out that he dreamed of becoming a computer

programmer.

tangled: a. complicated or made up of many confusing parts

After listening to his speech I thought his ideas and opinions were so tangled that I could not vote for him.

The floor of the forest was covered with tangled growth.

Part Three Para.12-15

Comprehension1. What is the grave consequence of telling lies?2. Paraphrase “Psychological barriers wear down; the ability to

make more distinctions can coarsen; the liar’s perception of his chances of being caught may warp”(P.12)

Once they’ve become common enough, even the small untruths and are not meant to hurt encourage a certain cynicism and loss of trust. (P.15)

Language Points

warp: something becomes bent or twisted, and loses its original shape; to influence sb. in a way that has a harmful effect on how they think or behave

proliferation: a sudden increase in the amount or number of sth.

Cynicism---Cynics, members of a school of Greek philosophers founded during the second half of the 4th century bc.

Part Four Para.16-18

Comprehension1. Are all the white lies unacceptable? What is the

yardstick of acceptable lies?2. Paraphrase “The most understandable and forgivable lies are an

exchange of what ethicists refer to as the principle of trust for the principle of caring.” (P.16)

Language Points

undermine

rule of thumb

confound

astound

undermine: v. to gradually make sb. Or sth. less strong or effective

She jealously tried to undermine our friendship. Lack of food has undermined his health.

rule of thumb : a rough method of calculation, based on practical experience

I never weigh anything when I'm cooking — I just do it by rule of thumb.

As a rule of thumb, a cup of filter coffee contains about 89mg caffeine.

confound : v. to confuse and surprise people, causing them to be unable to explain or deal with a situationHis choice may confound us all.The dancer confounded the critics who said she was finished by giving the best performance of her life.

astound : v. to make somebody very surprised or shockedIt astounds me that anyone could ever consider declaring war. He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance.

Rhetorical Feature

The author tries his best to convince the reader of “the real truth”, employing various means, one of which is the citing of an example where one can see an organization, or a specific person, usually an authority in some fields, or one or more than one definite figures, or two elements or even three elements.

III. Post-Reading:(I) Oral activities(II) Translation Exercises

1. Do you agree with the author?2. Can you tell a story of moving lying?

1.1.他主动提出他主动提出 ,,只要他做得到的只要他做得到的 ,,他都愿意为社区他都愿意为社区做做 ..事实上事实上 ,,他确实是不遗余力地实践了他的若言他确实是不遗余力地实践了他的若言 ..

He volunteered to do whatever he could for the community. And virtually, he did spare no efforts to keep his promise.

2.他曾打算掩盖事故真相 ,但他的妻子却在一次宴会上不慎说出了秘密 .

He had planned to cover up the truth of the accident,but his wife blurted out the secret at a party.

3. 3. 他转换话题他转换话题 ,,对妻子的新发型称赞了一番对妻子的新发型称赞了一番 ,,以此以此搪塞过去搪塞过去 ..

As a means of prevarication, he changed the topic and complimented his wife on her new hairstyle.

4.布朗夫人试图装疯来破坏警察的调查 . Mrs.Brown intended to undermine the

policemen’s investigation by feigning to be mad.

5.5.他起初专门演奏小提琴他起初专门演奏小提琴 ,,后来从事小提琴方面的教后来从事小提琴方面的教学学 ..

He specialized first in playing the violin and later in teaching about it.

6. 粗略地讲 ,一个 10岁儿童每天需要的营养大约是一个成年人的 70%.

As a rule of thumb, a 10-year-old needs to take in 70% as much nutrition as that for an adult on a daily basis.

Thank You