Unit4 The Virtual World
Part II Reading Task Comprehension Content Question Pair Work
1. She used to be a television producer, but now she is a writer.
2. She writes and edits articles online, submits them via email, and communicates with
colleagues via the Internet, too.
3. She could stay computer-assisted at home for weeks, going out only t get mail, newspapers
and groceries.
4. They feel as if they had become one with the computer, and life seems to be unreal.
5. That people who grew used to a virtual life would feel an aversion to outside forms of
socializing.
6. She gets overexcited, speaks too much, and interrupts others.
7. She is bad-tempered, easily angered, and attacks everyone in sight, all because she has long
become separated from others and lacks emotional face-to-face exchanges with people.
8. She fights her boyfriend, misinterpreting his intentions because of the lack of emotional cues
given by their typed dialogue.
9. Because we rely on co-works for company.
10. She calls people, arrangers to meet the few friends remaining in the City, gets to the gym,
arranges interviews for stories, doctor’s appointments---anything to get her out of the house and connected with others.
11. No, she doesn’t feel happy. She feels being face to face is intolerable.
12. She makes her excuses and flees, re-enters her apartment, runs to the computer, clicks on the
modem, and disappears into the virtual world again. Text Organization
Working On Your Own 1.
1. 2-3
2. 1,4-10,13 3. 11 4. 12 2.
The first paragraph describes the consequences of living a virtual life and the last tells of the author’s escape back into it. Together, they bring out the dilemma people at present are in: Because of modern technology, we have a choice between a virtual life and real life, but find both unsatisfactory.
Language Sense Enhancement 1.
(1) routine (5) drug abuse (9) set apart (2) for company (6) restore (10) appointments (3) unemployment (7) fled (4) externally (8) gym Vocabulary
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I 1.
1) 2) 3) 4) 2.
1) 2) 3) 4)
conversely but then symptom spitting 5) 6) 7) 8) abusing tone
took。 in editing 9) 10) 11) 12) have arranged in sight stretched data
3.
I. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. II. 1. 2. III. IV. 1.
2.
smoking cigarettes jars on me. find themselves getting sucked in.
has arranged for a technician from the computer store to check and repair it.
fled their country to avoid military service/fled to other countries to avoid military service.
5) restore people’s confidence in it.
1) the virtual。 on line。 via
2) nightmare。 routine。 any appointment。 arrange for 3) cue。 remarks。 his tune Collocation
We came here all the way on foot.
Private cars are not allowed on campus. They are on vacation in Florida.
Mary has been talking to her friend on the phone for an hour. Don’t worry, Lucy is always on time. Industrial demand on fuel is on the rise. Usage hard 3. impossible 5. hard difficult 4. tough 6. easy Comprehensive Exercises cloze
(1) Internet (7) annoying (13) sucked into (2) click (8) connection (14) At times (3) virtual (9) crawls (15) flee (4) routines (10) take in (16) on line (5) arrange (11) spit (6) nightmare (12) data
(1) companion (8) small (2) deliver (9) remote (3) access (10) information (4) enables (5) customers (6) delights (7) provides
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V. Translation 1.
1) Research shows that laughter can bring a lot of health benefits. 2) A show Internet connection speed is really annoying.
3) As the law stands, helping someone commit suicide is a crime.
4) In her report, Mary tries to interpret the data from a completely different angle.
5) Sue is a girl of great talent. Her amazing memory sets her apart from her classmates. 2.
Perhaps you envy me for being able to work from home on the computer. I agree that the Internet has made my job a lot easier. I can write, submit and edit articles via email, chat with my colleagues on line and discuss work with my boss. With a click of the mouse, I can get all the data I need and keep up with the latest news. But then, communicating through the Net can be frustrating at times. The system may crash. Worse still, without the emotional cues of face-to-face communication, the typed words sometimes seem difficult to interpret.
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