综合教程Unit1~3

Unit 1

1. What were the author and his wife doing in Nanjing

in the spring of 1987

？

They

were

studying

arts

education

in

Chinese

kindergartens

and elementary schools in Nanjing.

2. What was their son Benjamin fond of doing during

their stay at the Jinling Hotel?

Their

18-month-old

son

Benjamin

was

fond

of

trying

to

place

the key into the slot of the key box during their stay at the

Jinling Hotel.

3.

How

would

Chinese

staff

members

of

the

hotel

respond

to Benjamin's attempt to place the key into the slot?

They

would

come

over

to

watch

Benjami,

and

then

try

to

teach

him how to do it properly.

4. Why did the author decide to work the key-slot

anecdote into his discussions with Chinese educators?

Because he realized that this anecdote was directly

relevant

to

their

assigned

tasks

in

China:

to

investigate

early

childhood education and to throw light on Chinese attitudes

toward creativity.

5.

What

did

his

Chinese

colleagues

think

of

the

key-slot

incident?

Most of them displayed the same attitude as the staff at

the Jinling Hotel.

6.

What

did

the

author

emphasize

in

presenting

his

views

about the incident?

He

emphasized

that

the

most

important

thing

is

to

teach

the

child that one can solve a problem effectively by oneself.

7. What does the author mean by saying this incident

was key in more than one sense?

He means that this incident pointed to important

differences in educational and artistic practices between

China and the USA.

8. In what way does the author associate the key-slot

incident with

The

manner

in

which

the

Chinese

staff

saw

the

need

to

teach

the child by guiding his hand is characteristic of a broader

attitude to education, one that stands in contrast to the

Western preference for leaving the child to explore and learn

unaided.

9. What examples does the author give to illustrate

childhood education in the arts in China?

One example is of children at the age of 5 or 6 painting

flowers, fish and animals skillfully and confidently; in a

second

example,

calligraphers

9

and

t

0

years

old

are

producing

excellent works; and in a third, young artists work on

perfecting their: craft for several hours a day.

10. How do Americans and Chinese differ in their

attitudes to creativity?

Americans

think that unless

creativity

has

been

acquired

early, it

may never

emerge,

and skills

can

be

picked

up

later.

Chinese think that if skills are not acquired early, they may

never

be

acquired,

and

there

is

no

hurry

to

promote

creativity.

11. What makes them take different positions on the

question of creativity?

This is mainly due to the difference in their way of

thinking.

12.

What

suggestion

does

the

author

make

about

seeking

a better approach to fostering skills and creativity?

The author makes the suggestion that we should strike a

better balance between the poles of creativity and basic

skills.

Unit2

1. What is the Salvation Army? What does a Salvation

Army bell ringer do?

The

Salvation

Army

is

a

religious

charitable

organization.

A

Salvation

Army

bell

ringer

is

a

volunteer

who

helps

it

collect

donations.

2. What did the boy ask the writer? What do you think

made him raise such a question?

The boy asked him: Are you poor? He did it simply out of

confusion and curiosity. Obviously he knew nothing about the

Salvation Army bell ringer.

3. How did the writer answer? What does the writer's

answer to the boy's question mean?

He said,

others.

4. Why did the boy's mother scold him?

The

boy's

mother

scolded

him

because

the

question

was

socially

inappropriate,

especially

to

a

person

who

looked

poor.

5.

Is

the

writer

poor

or

not

in

terms

of

material

possessions? Give facts to support your conclusion.

H's, economically he is poor. He lives in a small basement

apartment. He doesn't even have a color TV. He falls into the

lowest income category And so on.

6. Does the writer feel poor? Why or why not?

No, the writer does not feel poor. This is because he has

enjoyed

good

health

and

creativity

which

he

thinks

are

much

more

important than material goods.

7.

In

what

situation

does

the

writer

feel

out

of

place?

He

feels

out

of

place

among

people

who

ate

primarily

interested in material things.

8. What did the girl tell him before her visit to his

basement apartment? And what happened after?

She

told

him

that

she

was

interested

in

what's

on

the

inside.

But after he Wok her to his poorly furnished apartment, she

changed her mind completely.

9.

How

ought

one

to

understand

such

seemingly

abrupt

change in her priorities

It

only

shows

that

to

her

the

most

important

thing

was

still

material goods rather than what she had claimed before.

10. Can we infer from the essay what role commercials

can play in society?

Commercials

can

put

people

under

pressure

to

purchase

more

than is really necessary.

11. Why does the writer say

year I feel wealthiest

Because December

is the time for him to

work for the

Salvation

Army

as

a

bell

ringer,

which

gives

him

a

genuine

sense

of belonging and brings him happiness in helping others.

12. How has the boy's question affected the writer?

The boy's question has helped the writer realize that,

despite his lack of expensive possessions, he is rich in many

other ways and should be thankful for that.

Unit4

1. What did the author do three years ago and what is

she doing now?

She

was

a

television

producer

three

years

ago

and

now

she

works

as a telecommuter.

2. How does the author work nowadays?

She

submits

articles

and

edits

them

via

emails

and

communicates

with colleagues on Internet mailing lists.

3. How does the author manage her daily life?

She could almost do anything on the net: she can order food,

and manage her money, love and work.