Lesson one your college years

About the author and the text Dr. Bob Hartman is a children’s story-teller and part-time pastor. He was born in Pittsburgh, the United Stated, and moved to England in the summer of 2000. This is a text about what students will experience in their “college years”. It is addressed to college students in the United Stated. But with some modifications, what the author says here will also make perfect sense to our students. It is particularly appropriate now as we are just beginning the second academic year, which is considered by many the most important in our college life, because with our first year’s experience we are in a better position to understand the issues involved and the ways to deal with them effectively. Attention should be paid to the special technical terms such as “developmental changes”, “identity crises”, “psychological independence”, “internalizing religious faith” etc without a clear understanding of which the meaning of the whole text will be hard to grasp.

Warm Up 1, What do you think is particularly important for us English language students? 2, Is there generation gap between your parents and you? 3, What are your goals for the college years?

Word Study 1   doing through: experiencing, undergoing, suffering Other uses of this phrasal verb: E.g. HE really believed that by saying those magic words he could go through walls without any trouble. E.g, I don’t think this plan will go through the Security Council. (be accepted by) E.g, We have gone through all these arguments. (go over carefully from beginning to end)

2     to perceive a)       to think of as eg, He perceived himself a loser who could not even support his family. b)      to notice; to discover; to observe eg, Musicians can perceive very small differences in sounds. c)      to understand; to grasp eg, I gradually perceived that culture and language cannot really be separated

3 to relate a) to be able to have a good relationship with people because you understand their feelings and behavior e.g, Some adults can’t relate to children. b)       to give an account of(facts, experiences, etc.); to tell(a story, etc.) e.g, She related to them how it happened.

4 to handle a) to touch, lift or turn with the hands eg, This box contains delicate china. Please handle with care. b)       to operate with the hands eg, This computer is easy to handle. c)       to manage, control or cope with eg, Thank you. But I can handle it myself.

5) to involve: to include as a necessary part or result; to affect a) to involve sb. or sth. b) to involve doing sth. c) to involve sb. in sth. d) to be involved in sth eg , All reforms involve certain risks. This project involves digging a canal between the two rivers. We don’t want to involve too many people in our preparations. He was deeply involved in the power struggle.

6) excessive: much more than reasonable or necessary If somebody has an excessive need for approval, it means that he is too dependent on sb’s approval. Children need their parents to tell them what to do or not to do. They also need to be close to their parents and receive encouragement, love all kinds of emotional support which give them strength. But when y they grow up, this should change. They should no longer have the same needs like babies.

7) freedom(free) from sth: no longer having sth you do not want, e.g. The most important freedom our people should have is the freedom from hunger. Note: it is different from freedom of sth. Compare; The first is freedom of speech and expression---everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way---everywhere in the world.

Detailed discussion of the Text 1)… They are becoming independent from their parents, yet are probably still very dependent on them. (para. 3) Here “yet” functions as a conjunction. It is used to add a fact that contrasts strongly with what you have just said. More examples: e.g. These are exciting times yet frustrating times. e.g. His father had been dead for thirty years, and yet he still waked at four o’clock in the morning.

2)…The way they are relating to whomever they are having a romantic relationship with.(para.5) …the way they are relating to whomever they are having a romantic relationship with. Here “whomever they are having a romantic relationship with” is used as the object of “are relating to”. The relative pronoun “whomever” is the object of the preposition “with”.

3) It may be heightened by their choice to pursue a college education 3) It may be heightened by their choice to pursue a college education.(para.3) “It” here refers to the word “struggle” in the previous sentence. “To heighten” means to become stronger or intensified. The whole sentence therefore means that if they choose to go to college to continue their education, they will face an more serious struggle between the desire to be independent and the need to depend on the financial support of their parents.

4) people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.(para.7) people from many different races Today sociologists often prefer the word “ethnic” to “racial”, and “ethnic group” to “race”.There are differences of course. The Hans and the Tibetans are both Chinese, belonging to the same yellow race, but the belong to two ethnic groups.

5)…they are also acquiring new ways of assembling and processing information. (para.10) They are also finding or learning new ways of arranging, organizing, analyzing or understanding information. It implies that mare information is not scientific truth. Scientific truth requires the processing of information. In college, students will learn new approaches, methods, and theories which will change many of their prejudices

Answers to grammar work 2 1)what yourself what whether it others why which/how everything much 2)feeling to change becoming being; being/to be to go thinking to stay not to see having fallen behind being recognized 4 1) a poet’s way of telling us 2) the only way to learn a foreign language well 3) no easy way to say good-bye 4) the way they all stared at me 5) some aspects of the way we speak

8) a way of delivering the secret message 9) a way to stop the leak 6) ways to get data into a computer 7) The way I judge it 8) a way of delivering the secret message 9) a way to stop the leak 10) the way the children responded to their questions 5 a his a his the an the the/a a the the The the / The his the the 6 dcadb dabdb cbaca

Written work In what ways, according to the writer of the article, is college a time of growth and expansion? Discuss Have you experienced any important changes since you entered our university? Have they all been positive? Do you have a better idea now about your strengths and weaknesses?