大学好的专业(完整版)(完整版)现代大学英语精读6(第二版)教师用书Unit1

Unit 1

Paper Tigers

Wesley Yang

Additional Background Information

(About

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

)

What follows is a comment on

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

by Elizabeth Chang, an editor of

The Washington Post's Sunday Magazine,

which carried the article on January 8

th

, 2011.

The cover of

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

was catnip to this average parent's soul. Although

the memoir seems to have been written to prove that Chinese parents are better at raising children

than

Western

ones,

the

cover

text

claims

that

instead

it

portrays

bitter

clash

of

cultures,

a

fleeting

taste

of

glory

and

how

the

Tiger

Mother

“

was

humbled

by

a

13-year-old.

”

As

a

hopelessly

Western

mother

married

into

a

Chinese

family

living

in

an

area

that

generates

immigrant prodigies as reliably as clouds produce rain, I was eager to observe the comeuppance of

a parent who thought she had all the answers.

And,

in

many

ways,

Mother

did

not

disappoint.

At

night,

I

would

nudge

my

husband

awake

to

read

him

some

of

its

more

revealing

passages,

such

as

when

author

Amy

Chua

threatened

to

burn

her

older

daughter's

stuffed

animals

if

the

child

didn't

improve

her

piano

playing.

at it.

cards

back

at

her

young

girls

and

ordered

them

to

make

better

ones.

For

a

mother

whose

half-Chinese children played outside while the kids of stricter immigrant neighbors could be heard

laboring over the violin and piano, the book can be wickedly gratifying. Reading it is like secretly

peering

into

the

home

of

a

controlling,

obsessive

yet

compulsively

honest

mother

—

one

who

sometimes makes the rest of us look good, if less remarkable and with less impressive offspring.

Does becoming super- accomplished make up for years of stress? That's something my daughters

and I will never find out.

Chua is a law professor and author of two acclaimed books on international affairs, though readers

of

abandons global concerns to focus intimately on Chua's attempt to raise her two daughters the way

her immigrant parents raised her. There would be no play dates and no sleepovers:

have time for anything fun, because I'm Chinese,

there

would

be

a

total

commitment

to

academics

and

expertise

at

something,

preferably

an

instrument.

Though

Chua's

Jewish

husband

grew

up

with

parents

who

encouraged

him

to

imagine

—

and

to

express

himself,

he

nonetheless

agreed

to

let

her

take

the

lead

in

rearing

the

children and mostly serves as the Greek chorus to Chua's crazed actions.

In Chinese parenting theory, hard work produces accomplishment, which produces confidence and

yet more accomplishment. As Chua

note

s, this style of parenting is found among other immigrant

cultures,

too,

and

I'm

sure

many

Washington-area

readers

have

seen

it,

if

they

don't

employ

it

themselves. Chua's older daughter, Sophia, a pianist, went along with, and blossomed, under this

approach.

The

younger

daughter,

Lulu,

whose

instrument

of

Chua's

choice

was

a

violin,

was

a

different

story.

The

turning

point

came

when,

after

years

of

practicing

and

performing,

Lulu

expressed her hatred of the violin, her

mother and of being Chinese. Chua imagined a Western

parent’s

take

on

Lulu's

rebellion:

torture

yourself

and

your

child?

What's

the

point? ...

I

knew

as

a

Chinese

mother

I

could

never

give

in

to

that

way

of

thinking.

But

she nevertheless

allowed Lulu to abandon the violin. Given that the worst Lulu ever did was cut her own hair and

throw a glass, my reaction was that Chua got off easy in a society where some pressured children

cut

themselves,

become

anorexic,

refuse

to

go

to

school

or

worse.

No

one

but

an

obsessive

Chinese

mother

would

consider

her

healthy,

engaging

and

accomplished

daughter

deficient

because the girl prefers tennis to the violin

—

but that's exactly the point.

And,

oh,

what

Chua

put

herself

and

her

daughters

through

before

she

got

to

her

moment

of

reckoning.

On

weekends,

they

would

spend

hours

getting

to

and

from

music

lessons

and

then

come home and practice for hours longer. At night, Chua would read up on violin technique and

fret about the children in China who were practicing 10 hours a day. (Did this woman ever sleep?)

She

insisted

that

her

daughters

maintain

top

grades

—

Bs,

she

notes,

inspire

a

hair-tearing explosion

once refused to let a child leave the piano bench to use the bathroom. She slapped one daughter

who was practicing poorly. She threatened her children not just with stuffed-animal destruction,

but

with

exposure

to

the

elements.

She

made

them

practice

on

trips

to

dozens

of

destinations,

including London, Rome, Bombay and the Greek island of Crete, where she kept Lulu going so

long one day that the family missed seeing the palace at Knossos.

Sometimes, you're not quite sure whether Chua is being serious or deadpan. For example, she says

she tried to apply Chinese parenting to the family's two dogs before accepting that the only thing

they

were

good

at

was

expressing

affection.

it

is

true

that

some

dogs

are

on

bomb

squads or drug-sniffing teams,

is perfectly fine for

most dogs not to have a

profession, or even any special skills.

shortcomings:

She is, she notes,

approach

is

flawed

because

it

doesn't

tolerate

the

possibility

of

failure.

On

the

other

hand,

she

sniffs

that

are

all

kinds

of

psychological

disorders

in

the

West

that

don't

exist

in

Asia.

When

not

contemptuous,

some

of

her

wry

observations

about

Western-style

child- rearing

are

spot-on:

work,

and

sleepovers

are

kind

of

punishment

parents

unknowingly

inflict

on

their

children

through permissiveness.

Readers will alternately gasp at and empathize with Chua's struggles and aspirations, all the while

enjoying her writing, which, like her kid-rearing philosophy, is brisk, lively and no- holds-barred.

This

memoir

raises

intriguing,

sometimes

uncomfortable

questions

about

love,

pride,

ambition,

achievement and self-worth that will resonate among success-obsessed parents. Is it possible, for

example, that Chinese parents have more confidence in their children's abilities, or that they are

simply willing to work harder at raising exceptional children than Westerners are? Unfortunately,

the

author

leaves

many

questions

unanswered

as

her

book

limps

its

way

to

a

conclusion,

with

Chua acknowledging her uncertainty about how to finish it and the family still debating the pros

and cons of her approach (anyone hoping for a total renunciation of the Chinese approach will be

disappointed).

Ending

a

parenting

story

when

one

child

is

only

15

seems

premature;

in

fact,

it

might

not

be

possible

to

really

understand

the

impact

of

Chua's

efforts

until

her

daughters

have

offspring

of

their

own. Perhaps

a

sequel,

or

a

series

(

is

in

the

works.

But

while

this

battle might not have been convincingly concluded, it's engagingly and provocatively chronicled.

Readers of all stripes will respond to

Structure of the Text

Part I (Paras. 1-2)

The author, an Asian living in the United States, introduces

himself as a ‘banana’.

Part II (Paras. 3-5)

The author describes how he believes Asians are generally viewed in the United States and how he

views Asian values himself. It is clear that his overall attitude toward his cultural roots is negative.

Part III (Paras. 6-8)

The author agrees that Asians (especially Chinese) are over-represented in American elite schools

and that, percentage-wise, more Chinese earn median family incomes than any other ethnic group

in the United States.

However, he does not accept

the idea that the Chinese are “taking over” top

American schools. He particularly ridicules the idea that the United States has to worry about a

more general Chinese “takeover”, as Amy Chua’s book seems to suggest.

Part IV (Paras. 9-14)

In these paragraphs, the author tells the story of a Chinese American whose experience as a

graduate of one of the most competitive high schools in the U.S. proves that while Asian

overrepresentation in elite schools is a fact, the success of Asian students is not an indication of

their higher intelligence but rather of their constant practice of test-taking.

The fear that U.S.

schools might become “too Asian” (too test

-

oriented) in response, narrowing students’ educational

experience, has aroused general concern.

Part V (Paras. 15-22)

The author points out that the ethnic imbalance in elite schools is not only resented by white

students and educators, but that even Asian students are beginning to raise serious doubts. They

are tired of the crushing workload and believe there must be a better way. They envy their white

fellow students who finally get to the top - strong, healthy, with a high level of academic

achievement, and with time even for a girlfriend or boyfriend. They cannot help but still feel

alienated in this society.

Part VI (Paras. 23-28)

In these Paragraphs, the author tells the story of another Chinese student who

describes the

subtle influence of his Chinese upbringing, which makes it difficult

for him to be culturally

assimilated.

Part VII (Paras. 29-36)

In

these Paragraphs, the author discusses the problem of the “bamboo ceiling”—

the fact that in

spite of high academic achievement, virtually no Asians are found in the upper reaches of

leadership. The author believes that this is because Asian upbringing fails to provide children with

the requisite skills for leadership.

Part VIII (Paras. 37-43)

Between Para. 36 and Para. 37 in the original essay, there are many more case studies reflecting

vividly the negative effects of Asian culture. But in order to limit the essay to a manageable length,

we (the compilers) were unable to include them. Therefore, in this section, the essay comes to a

somewhat abrupt conclusion.

Interestingly enough, the author feels that

the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

is well worth

reading although he does not agree with Amy Chua, because, in his opinion, the book provides all

the material needed to refute what ‘the Tiger Mother’ stands for. More importantly, the author

thinks that Amy Chua should be praised for her courage to speak out and defy American

mainstream views.

Detailed Study of the Text

1.

Millions of Americans must feel estranged from their own faces. But every self-estranged

individual is estranged in his own way. (Para. 1)

Millions

of

Americans

must

feel

alienated

(separated)

from

the

essence

of

themselves

by

their own faces.

The author is referring here to ethnic minority people in the United States, especially Asians.

Note that “face” here does not refer to skin color or facial features alone, but also to cultural

di

fferences.

His

point

is

that

these

attributes

force

him

into

the

category

of

“immigrant”,

though he doesn’t feel like one.

2.

You could say that I am a banana. But while I don't believe our roots necessarily define

us,

I

do

believe

there

are

racially

inflected

assumptions

wired

into

our

neural

circuitry. (Para. 2)

A banana is white inside and yellow outside. The term is often used ironically to refer to an

Asian American who is like all other non-Asian Americans people except for the color of his

skin.

The author admits that people can call him a banana, but he does not like it, because he does

not

believe

his

Asian

roots

determine

who

he

is.

However,

he

has

to

admit

that

there

are

racially inflected assumptions wired into many Asian Ame

ricans’ neural circuitry.

racially inflected assumptions:

racially based prejudices, beliefs and ideas

wired into our neural circuitry:

deeply planted in our brains (in our minds)

3.

Here

is

what

I

sometimes

suspect

my

face

signifies

to

other

Americans:

An

invisible

person,

barely

distinguishable

from

a

mass

of

faces

that

resemble

it.

A

conspicuous

person standing apart from the crowd and yet devoid of any individuality. An icon of so

much that the culture pretends to honor but that it in fact patronizes and exploits. Not

just people “who are good at math” and play the violin, but a mass of stifled, repressed,

abused, conformist quasi-robots who simply do not matter, socially or culturally. (Para. 3)

This

is

how

I

sometimes

guess

other

Americans

look

at

us.

(This

is

what

I

sometimes

4.

I've always been of two minds about this sequence of stereotypes. (Para. 4)

of two minds:

(

BrE

: in two minds) not decided or certain about something.

this sequence of stereotypes:

this series of stereotypes. On the one hand the author is angry

that Asians should be viewed this way, and he thinks it racist, but on the other hand, he has to

admit that these views do apply to many Asians.

It is ironic to note that the author himself seems to be especially influenced by these racist

prejudices. One may also wonder whether the stereotyped views some people have when they

first

encounter

people

of

other

races

necessarily

have

devastating

effects.

For

example,

Chinese

thought

of

Westerners

as

a

mass

of

blue-eyed,

yellow-haired,

big-nosed,

hairy

chested aliens at one time. Fear of the unknown or unfamiliar is a common human reaction.

5.

Let

me

summarize

my

feelings

toward

Asian

values:

Damn

filial

piety.

Damn

grade

grubbing. Damn Ivy League mania. Damn deference to authority. Damn humility and

hard work. Damn harmonious relations. Damn sacrificing for the future. Damn earnest,

striving middle-class servility. (Para. 5)

Now the author is talking about much more serious things. He is talking about

his

feelings

toward Asian values rather than features or skin color, and his attitude is one of total rejection

and condemnation. While we must realize that all cultures or civilizations have drawbacks,

and we have every reason to listen to the bitter reactions of angry young Asians toward our

shared culture, we should also remind ourselves that y

oung people’s judgments may be hasty,

imbalanced, and immature.

Damn:

Note that this word is generally considered extremely offensive and obscene in all its

usages,

and

is

therefore

avoided,

but

here

the

author

is

so

bitter

that

no

other

expression

seems

adequate.

Indeed,

he

may

have

deliberately

chosen

this

word

to

shock

the

Asian

community, especially Asian parents.

filial piety:

love for

, respect for, and obedience to one’s parents

think my face means to other Americans.)

An invisible person: a person much the same as others of the same group; a person who is

hardly distinguishable; a person nobody will pay special attention to

devoid of any individuality:

without any individuality

Asian

culture

is

said

to

stress

uniformity

or

conformity.

The

individual

is

encouraged

to

merge with the collective. Self- promotion or assertiveness is considered in bad taste whereas

invisibility is regarded as a sign of modesty.

icon

：

n.

偶像

The successful Asian student has become a symbol to be worshipped.

to patronize and exploit:

to treat somebody in an offensively condescending manner and

make use of him or her

The

author

says

that

American

culture

pretends

to

honor

the

‘Tiger

Child’

(the

successful

Asian)

as

an

icon

(a

symbol

of

success

and

everything

it

represents),

but

actually

it

treats

Asians in a condescending way and makes use of them.

a mass of stifled, repressed, abused, conformist quasi-robots:

a large number of people

who are not allowed to act or express themselves freely, treated in a harsh and harmful way,

and made to behave similarly, like robots.

do not matter socially or culturally:

do not have much social or cultural importance.

grade grubbing:

striving for high academic scores

ivy league mania:

craze, obsession regarding entry to ivy league universities

deference to authority:

respect for and submission to authority

humility and hard work:

modesty, humbleness; diligence

earnest striving middle-class servility:

Middle-

class people usually “hope t

o rise and fear to

fall” (Bunyan) and therefore work slavishly and behave submissively.

One may wonder whether what the author describes here is racially determined or mainly a

reflection of social and economic conditions. Many of the values listed above are similar to

those of the American Puritans when obedience, respect for the old, diligence, thrift, simple

living, family loyalty, discipline, and sacrifice were considered essential virtues.

6.

I

understand

the

reasons

Asian

parents

have

raised

a

generation

of

children

this

way. …This is a stage in a triumphal narrative, and it is a narrative that is much shorter

than many remember. (Para. 6)

The author says that he understands why Asian parents have raised their children this way. It

is natural for

most Asian parents to try to improve their children’s lives through education.

a

stage

in

a

triumphal

narrative:

A

stage

(the

beginning

stage)

of

a

success

story.

And

many Asians have achieved success in a much shorter time than people realize.

7.

Asian American success is typically taken to ratify the American Dream and to prove

that minorities can make it in this country without handouts. (Para. 7)

to be taken to:

to be considered to

to make it:

to succeed

8.

Still,

an

undercurrent

of

racial

panic

always

accompanies

the

consideration

of

Asians,

and

all

the

more

so

as

China

becomes

the

destination

for

our

industrial

base

and

the

banker controlling our burgeoning debt.

（

Para. 7

）

But

there

always

exists

a

feeling

of

racial

panic,

though

it

may

not

be

obvious,

whenever

people

think

of

Asians.

This

undercurrent

is

now

becoming

stronger

as

more

American

industrial

companies

move

their

manufacturing

base

to

China,

and

China

has

become

the

banker controlling our growing national debt.

9.

But

if

the

armies

of

Chinese

factory

workers

who

make

our

fast

fashion

and

iPads

terrify us, and if the collective mass of high-achieving Asian American students arouse an

anxiety about the laxity of American parenting, what of the Asian American who obeyed

everything his parents told him? Does this person really scare anyone? (Para. 7)

The author is pointing out the contradiction here: If…, then what about…? It is clear that he

doubts

if

there

is

any

reason

for

Americans

to

be

afraid

of

the

Asian

American

who

obeys

everything his parents tell him. Children brought up in this submissive culture cannot pose any

threat.

fast fashion

: This is a contemporary term used to refer to products designed and brought to

market quickly in order to capture ever-changing fashion trends.

10.

Earlier this year, the publication of Amy Chua's

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

incited

a collective airing out of many varieties of race- based hysteria. But absent from the

millions of words written in response to the book was any serious consideration of

whether Asian Americans were in fact taking over this country. (Para. 8)

to

incite

a

collective

airing

out

of

many

varieties

of

race-based

hysteria:

To

provoke

many people into stating openly various kinds of strong racist opinions

b

ut absent from the

millions of words…was any serious consideration…:

But there was

no serious consideration in all these millions of words…

11.

I mean, I'm proud of my parents and my neighborhood and what I perceive to be my

artistic

potential

or

whatever,

but

sometimes

I

feel

like

I'm

jumping

the

gun

a

generation or two too early. (Para. 9)

The second sentence of this sentence means that I feel like I am changing into a new person a

generation or two too early.

This shows that the changes he has to make in response to a new cultural environment have

come in conflict with his old cultural legacy, and he feels lost.

12.

I ride the 7 train to its last stop in Flushing, where the storefront signs are all written in

Chinese and the sidewalks are a slow-moving river of impassive faces. (Para. 10)

the storefront signs:

店面招牌

Note that Flushing (

法拉盛

) now has the largest Chinese community in New York city, larger

than Chinatown.

impassive faces:

faces showing no emotion

Note that etymologically, the word impassive is related to “passion” rather than “passive”.

13.

There

are

no

set-asides

for

the

underprivileged

or,

conversely,

for

alumni

or

other

privileged

groups.

There

is

no

formula

to

encourage

“diversity”

or

any

nebulous

concept

of

“well

-

roundedness”

or

“character.”

Here

we

have

something

like

pure

meritocracy. (Para. 12)

set-asides:

slots set aside for people in special categories

招生的保留名额

for the underprivileged:

专为弱势群体（保留的名额）

F

or alumni or other privileged groups:

为校友及其他享有特权的团体（保留的名额）

T

here

is

no

formula

to

encourage

“diversity”

or

any

nebulous

concept

of

“

well

-

roundedness”

or

“character.”

：

There

are

no

special

provisions

to

encourage

diversity”

(referring

mainly

to

ethnic

diversity,

guaranteed

by

what

was

known

as

‘affirmative

action’)

or

any

vague

idea

of

“well

-

roundedness”

(referring

to

set

-asides

for

students

with

special

athletic

or

other

talents)

or

“character”

(referr

ing

to

set- asides

for

students of especially fine character, demonstrated, or example by community service.)

Note

that,

according

to

the

author,

this

school

is

different.

It

operates

on

the

basis

of

something like pure meritocracy.

meritocracy:

a system in which advancement is determined only by ability and achievement.

Here

it

refers

particularly

to

a

system

of

education

in

which

admission

to

an

educational

institution, evaluation and promotion are all determined by ability and achievement (merit)

.

14.

This year, 569 Asian Americans scored high enough to earn a slot at Stuyvesant,

a

long with 179 whites, 13 Hispanics, and 12 blacks. Such dramatic overrepresentation,

and what it may be read to imply about the intelligence of different groups of New

Yorkers, has a way of making people uneasy. (Para. 13)

to earn a slot

: to get admitted into the school; to be allowed to enter the

school

slot:

available position; opening; place

dramatic over- representation: a

disproportionately large percentage of those admitted

15.

But intrinsic intelligence, of course, is precisely what Asians don't believe in. (Para. 13)

But Asians, of course, believe only in hard work. They don’t believe in natural intelligence.

16.

“Learning math is not about learning math,” an instructor at one called Ivy Prep was

quoted in

The New York Times

as saying. “It's about weightlifting. You are pumping the

iron

of

math.”

Mao

puts

it

more

specifically:

“You

learn

quite

simply

to

nail

any

standardized test you take.” (Para. 13)

an

instructor

at

one

called

Ivy

Prep:

a

teacher

at

a

school

called

Ivy

Prep,

meaning

a

school for preparing students to get into Ivy League universities.

pumping the iron of math:

lifting the iron of math, rather than an iron weight

.

Note that the author

is playing on the slang expression “pumping iron”: to lift weights

.

to nail:

to fix, secure, or make sure of, especially by quick action or concentrated effort.

17.

And so there is an additional concern accompanying the rise of the Tiger Children, one

focused more on the narrowness of the educational experience a non- Asian child might

receive in the company of fanatically pre-professional Asian students. (Para. 14)

an

additional

concern

accompanying

the

rise

of

the

Tiger

Children:

an

additional

worry related to the rise of high-achieving Asian American children.

the

narrowness

of

the

educational

experience:

Non- Asian American

parents

are

worried

that their children’s education experience will be very narrow because they are surrounded by

Asian students who are all obsessively pre-professional

.

pre-professional:

Preparatory to the practice of a profession or a specialized field of study

related to it.

18.

A couple of years ago, she revisited this issue in her senior thesis at Harvard, where she

interviewed graduates of elite public schools and found that the white students regarded

the Asian students with wariness. In 2005,

The

Wall Street Journal

reported on “white

flight” from a high school in Cupertino, California, that began soon after the childre

n of

Asian software engineers had made the place so brutally competitive that a B average

could place you in the bottom third of the class. (Para. 14)

to revisit the issue

：

to look at the issue again

“

w

hite flight”:

the fleeing (running away) of white students

a B average could place you in the bottom third of the class:

If your grade were no more

than B on average, then you would be quite likely to find yourself in the lowest third of the

class.

19.

You

could frame

it

as

a

simple

issue

of

equality

and

press

for

race-blind

quantitative