Unit One
Text I
Pre-reading Questions
1.You may have kept in your memory some words, phrases or even whole sentences that are of great wisdom and can serve as guidelines in your life. Share them with your classmates and discuss their value.
2.The two words that, as the author of the text suggests, should be avoided are "if only", and the two be remembered are "next time". Can you guess, before you read the text, what message the author intends to convey to the reader with such a suggestion?
General Reading
I. Judge which of the following best states the purpose of the article.
A. To explain how Freud's psychotherapy works.
B. To demonstrate the power of positive thinking.
C. To call attention to the importance of the choice of words.
Key: B
II. Judge whether the following statements are true or false.
1.That wintry afternoon, the author was in a bad mood and he happened to meet an old friend of his in a French restaurant in Manhattan.
2.The Old Man asked the author to go to his office because he thought that the office was a better place than the restaurant for their talk.
3.The three speakers on the tape had all been unfavorably affected by what had happened to them.
4.In the Old Man's opinion, it was a bad way of thinking always to regret what one had done or had not done.
Key:reaction to a book or an article 1. F   2. F    3. T    4. T
Background Notes
1.Manhattan, an island near the mouth of the Hudson River, is a borough of New York City, in southeastern New York State, U.S.A. Commercial and cultural heart of the city, Manhattan is the site of the Metropolitan Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the City Center of Music and Drama, and numerous other music institutions.
2.Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) is an Austrian physician and the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud explored the workings of the human mind and developed psychoanalysis as a therapeutic technique to treat neurosis or mental disturbances.
Text Study
Text
Two Words to Avoid, Two to Remember
Arthur Gordon
1  Nothing in life is more exciting and rewarding than the sudden flash of insight that leaves
you a changed person — not only changed, but changed for the better. Such moments are rare, certainly, but they come to all of us. Sometimes from a book, a sermon, a line of poetry. Sometimes from a friend ...
2  That wintry afternoon in Manhattan, waiting in the little French restaurant, I was feeling frustrated and depressed. Because of several miscalculations on my part, a project of considerable importance in my life had fallen through. Even the prospect of seeing a dear friend (the Old Man, as I privately and affectionately thought of him) failed to cheer me as it usually did. I sat there frowning at the checkered tablecloth, chewing the bitter cud of hindsight.
3  He came across the street, finally, muffled in his ancient overcoat, shapeless felt hat pulled down over his bald head, looking more like an energetic gnome than an eminent psychiatrist. His offices were nearby; I knew he had just left his last patient of the day. He was close to 80, but he still carried a full case load, still acted as director of a large foundation, still loved to escape to the golf course whenever he could.
4  By the time he came over and sat beside me, the waiter had brought his invariable bottle of ale. I had not seen him for several months, but he seemed as indestructible as ever. "Well, young man," he said without preliminary, "what's troubling you?"
5  I had long since ceased to be surprised at his perceptiveness. So I proceeded to tell him, at some length, just what was bothering me. With a kind of melancholy pride, I tried to be very honest. I blamed no one else for my disappointment, only myself. I analyzed the whole thing, all the bad judgments, the false moves. I went on for perhaps 15 minutes, while the Old Man sipped his ale in silence.
6  When I finished, he put down his glass. "Come on," he said. "Let's go back to my office."
7  "Your office? Did you forget something?"
8  "No," he said mildly. "I want your reaction to something. That's all."
9  A chill rain was beginning to fall outside, but his office was warm and comfortable and familiar: book-lined walls, long leather couch, signed photograph of Sigmund Freud, tape re
corder by the window. His secretary had gone home. We were alone.
10  The Old Man took a tape from a flat cardboard box and fitted it onto the machine. "On this tape," he said, "are three short recordings made by three persons who came to me for help. They are not identified, of course. I want you to listen to the recordings and see if you can pick out the two-word phrase that is the common denominator in all three cases." He smiled. "Don't look so puzzled. I have my reasons."

版权声明：本站内容均来自互联网，仅供演示用，请勿用于商业和其他非法用途。如果侵犯了您的权益请与我们联系QQ:729038198，我们将在24小时内删除。