新标准大学英语综合教程4课后答案.doc

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包含综合教程4中的一些课文翻译及习题答案
综合教程4课后答案
Handouts and Key to book4 unit1-4
Unit 1
Active reading (1)
Looking for a job after university? First, get off the sofa
Background information
About the passage: This is an article by an Education Correspondent, Alexandra Blair, published in
September 2008 in The Times, a long-established British quality newspaper. In Europe generally, and in
Britain in particular, for a number of years there has been a rising number of students who go to university
and therefore more new graduates seeking employment. However, for many graduates finding a job became
harder in 2008–2009 because the economic downturn – then a recession – meant that many employers werereducing their workforce. After their final exams, some students rested in the summer before looking for jobs
and then they found that it was difficult to find employment in their field or at the level they wanted. The
article addresses the problems of such new graduates who might be stuck at home and advises their parents
to be there for their children (ie to be available if their children want to talk about the problem or if they
need help). The article recommends finding work in a bar or supermarket rather than sitting unemployed
at home since this is more likely to lead to better employment later. The style is partly of a report, but also
of a humorous comment for light entertainment (seen in the jokey language and problem-solving advice to
parents).
Why finding a job in 2008 is so difficult for university graduates?
Universities in Europe, particularly in Britain, have expanded greatly in the last fifteen years (over 45% of
young adults now go on to higher education), so there are more graduates looking for jobs. This competitive
situation became a lot worse in 2008 onwards with the credit crunch and economic depression, which meant
that there were fewer jobs available and a rise in unemployment. Thus new graduates have to be active
to seek a job, they need to fill in many application forms and try to get job interviews: they won’t find
employment by lying on the sofa at home.
Culture points
honours degree: Traditionally, in the British university system, BA and BSc honours degrees are awarded
in different categories: a first class degree (written using Roman numbers as I), a second (divided into two
subcategories, written as IIii and IIii, which are called “a two one” and “a two two”), a third (written III) and
a pass degree. Most people get a second. There are also ordinary degrees with more general courses of study
without these categories.
Generation Y and Grunt: The main idea here is that there is a succession of different generations or
cohorts of adults who come into the workforce in North America which are given different informal names
to characterize them. First, “Baby boomers” were born in the great increase (the boom) of births after World
War II (1946–1960), followed by “Generation X” people (born 1960–1980) who were said to bring new
attitudes of being independent, informal, entrepreneurial, and expected to get skills and have a career before
them. “GenerationY” or the “Millenial Generation” (born 1980s and 1990s and becoming adult in the new
millenium) are now making up an increasing percentage of the workforce; they are said to be spoilt by doting
parents, to have structured lives, to be used to teamwork and diverse people in a multicultural society. In
the passage, this generation is now becoming (morphing into) Generation Grunt, which is an ironic name
referring to repetitive, low status, routine or mindless work – this may be the only work available to some
graduates, who may have to take very ordinary jobs to get experience before they find something more
suitable. “Grunt” also refers to coarse behaviour or bad manners and to the deep sound that is made by a pig;
when people “grunt” they express disgust but do not communicate with words – this may be how the parents
of new graduates think their children communicate with them!
A comprehensive refers to a British type of secondary school which became popular in the1960s. Before that
there were academic “grammar schools” and more general “secondary modern” schools for those who did
not pass the grammar school entrance tests, but the comprehensive schools were designed for all students in
a social philosophy of bringing diverse students together whether they were academic or not. Those students
who went to a comprehensive school probably felt that had to study particularly hard (I worked my backside
off) to get to university, compared to those who went to grammar schools where all students were academic –comprehensive students felt they had to struggle to get to university.
Chicken suit This refers to a large yellow costume that someone wears which makes the person look like a
giant chicken. Before he became a famous actor, Brad Pitt once dressed in such a costume when he had a job
advertising for a restaurant called El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken’ in Spanish) – the job meant that he had
to walk around the streets like a chicken to attract customers to come to the restaurant.
Language points
1 Those memories of forking out thousands of pounds a year so that he could eat well and go to the
odd party, began to fade. Until now. (Para 1)
The parents paid a lot of money for their son’s university fees and living expenses (so that he could eat
well) and for occasional social events – at graduation these memories of money were mostly forgotten
because the parents were proud. But now the parents are thinking of money again because the son doesn’t
have a job and doesn’t seem to be actively seeking one.
2 This former scion of Generation Y has morphed overnight into a member of Generation Grunt.
(Para 2)
The distinguished son of Generation X (of the parents’ generation who worked hard, got jobs, and had
good careers and expected their son to do the same) has changed into a member of Generation Grunt – he
doesn’t seem to communicate much, lies around and doesn’t get a job (or can only do a low status routing
job).
3 I passed the exams, but at the interviews they accused me of being ‘too detached’ and talking in
language that was ‘too technocratic’, which I didn’t think possible, but obviously it is. (Para 5)
He passed the entrance exams for a government post, but he was criticized in the selection interviews:
They said he was detached (not personally involved) and too technocratic (he used the language of a
technical expert or high authority). As a new graduate he probably wanted to show his expertise in his
language so he can’t understand this criticism.
4 For the rest it is 9-to-5 “chilling” before heading to the pub. (Para 6)
The others who do not have a routine low status job (like stacking goods on a supermarket shelf) chill out
all day (they spend their time casually relaxing – they don’t look for work) and go to pub for a drink in the
evening.
5 I went to a comprehensive and I worked my backside off to go to a good university …(Para 6)
He went to a school for students of all abilities (not to a special school for academic students) and so he
had to work very hard to enter a good university: Your backside means your bottom – the part of your
body that you sit on – to work your backside off is informal and it means you work very hard indeed.
6 … but having worked full-time since leaving school herself, she and her husband find it tricky to
advise him on how to proceed. (Para 7)
The mother has always had a full-time job (presumably the father is also working full-time), so she does
not have relevant personal experience. For her, it is tricky to give advice (difficult to do).
7 Carry on life as normal and don’t allow them to abuse your bank account or sap your reserve of
emotional energy. (Para 11)
The advice from Gael Lindenfield here is that parents should live as usual. They should neither let theirchildren spend the parents’ money unnecessarily, nor let the problem take away all their energy and
emotions. Sap their reserve means use up their store of emotional energy.
8 After that the son or daughter needs to be nudged firmly back into the saddle. (Para 12)
Then the parents should gently push their children firmly so that they get back into control of their lives.
Reading and understanding
2 Choose the best answer to the questions.
Teaching tips
Go over the correct answers with Ss and ask them to explain why the other answers are wrong (See
below).
1 Why hasn’t Jack Goodwin got a job yet?
(a) He doesn’t have a very good degree.
(No, he has a 2:1 which is considered a good degree. )
(b) He refuses to apply for jobs with low salaries.
(He feels he should get a better job after studying at university.)
(c) It isn’t easy to get a job in the current financial climate.
(This may be true but the passage does not mention this.)
(d) He prefers to stay at home and help his family.
(No, he doesn’t seem to be helping his family: he watches TV and talks to friends.)
2 How does he spend a typical day?
(a) Doing a temporary job.
(No, some of his friends are working in temporary jobs but he doesn’t want to do this.)
(b) Watching television.
(He watches TV a lot.)
(c) Queuing up in the university careers service.
(No, he went there once but he didn’t want to queue so he walked away.)
(d) Preparing for the next job interview.
(No, he doesn’t seem to be preparing for interviews.)
3 How do most of his friends spend the day?
(a) They do nothing all day and go to the pub in the evening.
(All except one of them do nothing except chill, then they go to the pub.)
(b) They do outdoor activities such as sailing.
(No, none of them seem to do outdoor activities; there is no mention of sailing.)
(c) They are forced to work by their parents.
(No, only one of them has been forced out to stack shelves by his parents; the others seem to be like
Jack.)
(d) They do part-time jobs such as working in a bar.
(No, the text mentions bar work but none of Jack’s friends seem to do this work.)
4 How are Jack’s parents helping him?
(a) By looking for jobs for him.
(No, Jack has tried to get a job himself; there’s nothing here about his parents helping him look for a
job.)
(b) By paying for a trip to South America.
(No, although he is going on a three-week trip to South America, the passage does not say that
Jack’s parents have paid for this.)
(c) By gradually making him more financially aware.
(The passage does not say so explicitly, but this is the implication about the cut-off point after the
trip when he may be expected to pay rent and contribute to the household bills.)
(d) By threatening to throw him out of the house.
(No, they haven’t threatened to do this, but they definitely want him to work after he gets back from
his trip.)
5 What does Gael Lindenfield say about Jack’s parents?
(a) They have not really understood Jack’s problems.
(No, she doesn’t say this; she says they must balance being positive with not making life too
comfortable. This doesn’t mean they haven’t understood Jack’s problems.)
(b) They have made life too comfortable for Jack.
(No, she says they must balance comfort with being positive. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they
have already made life too comfortable for Jack.)
(c) The approach they have chosen is the right one.
(She says they have struck exactly the right note.)
(d) They need help from a psychologist.
(No, she doesn’t say this.)
6 What do Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt have in common?
(a) They all did bar work before going to university.
(No, we don’t know from the passage if any of them did this.)
(b) They took part in protests against nuclear power plants.
(No, we don’t know is any of them did this)
(c) They learnt to act by dressing up as giant chickens.
(No, only Brad Pitt did this.)
(d) They all did temporary jobs at one stage in their lives.
(This is right, although they all had completely different temporary jobs.)
Dealing with unfamiliar words
3 Match the words in the box with their definitions.
1 to make progress by moving to the next stage in a series of actions or events (proceed)
2 the process of changing from one situation, form or state to another (transition)
3 not feeling involved with someone or something in a close or emotional way (detached)
4 referring to something which will happen soon (upcoming)
5 to be sitting still in a position that is not upright (slump)
6 to return to a previous state or way of behaving (revert)
7 to say what happened (recount)

4 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 3.
It isn’t easy to make the (1) transition from a busy university student to an unemployed young adult
(2) slumped on a bar stool or half watching a mindless television show, wondering if and how their career
is going to (3) proceed. Many people who have experienced a long period of inactivity like this, when
(4) recounting how they felt at the time, refer to the same strange psychological effect. As the days pass,
they begin to feel (5) detached from any sense of pressure to go and look for a job, and tend to regard
(6) upcoming interviews as if they were not very important. Typically, back at home after three or four
years away, they (7) revert to old habits, start seeing old friends, and, in many cases, become dependent
again on their parents.
5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box. You may need to make
other changes.
1 I went to a mixed-ability secondary school just outside London. (comprehensive)
2 I got stopped by a policeman who asked to see my driving licence. (cop)
3 Have you seen this beautiful from the air view of Oxford? (aerial)
4 Isabel tightly her bag as she walked down the corridor towards the office. (clutched)
5 You should speak to Toby; he’s an supporter of flexible working hours. (advocate)
6 I hurt my leg badly a couple of months ago, and it still hasn’t got better completely. (healed)
6 Answer the questions about the words.
1 Is a dead-end job one with (a) exciting prospects, or (b) no future?
2 Is a tricky problem (a) difficult, or (b) easy to solve?
3 If an activity saps all your energy, do you feel (a) tired, or (b) more active than usual?
4 Does a pushy person try to (a) persuade you to do something you don’t want to, or (b) help you by
listening to what you have to say?
5 If you feel apathy, do you want to (a) change the world, or (b) stay at home and do nothing?
7 Answer the questions about the phrases.
1 Is fork out (a) a formal, or (b) an informal way of saying to pay for something?
2 If you are in the same boat as another person, are you (a) making the same journey together, or (b) in
the same difficult or unpleasant situation?
3 If you feel you have come full circle, do you (a) feel you are back where you started, or (b) feel a sense
of satisfaction b