INTENSIVE READING I 1

Unit 4 Turn off TV: A Quiet Hour

Objectives
Skills
1)reading: using context clues for word meanings (Part II)
2)writing: review(combination, contraction and subordination)
Vocabulary development----word power
receptive words: worthwhile, propose/proposal, current, prohibit, gap, typical,
disturb, barely, partly, product
productive words and phrases: communicate with ,generation gap ,free from/of
,in part, come up with, at first glance
Grammar: propose/proposal;if…条件句; It is ….since
I. Global-reading Tasks
1. What do you think of TV?
(There is no doubt that many people enjoy watching television. It has become so
much a part of our modern life that a modern world without television is
unimaginable. / We can never exaggerate the importance of TV. / It has played a
more and more important role in our life. )

2. List the advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:
--- a convenient and cheap source of entertainment.(enjoy movies, TV play serials,
concerts…)
--- offer educational program. (attend open university, receive distance education)
---keep people informed of current events
--- give a great comfort to lonely old people
Disadvantages (side-effects):
---a totally passive activity
---take up/occupy too much of our free time
--- distract people from their work or study
---make children near-sighted
---corrupt children with harmful shows / have a bad influence on children

3. What’s the attitude of the author of this article?

(He is arguing against TV./ is raising his voice against TV, urging viewers to turn
off TV and enjoy a precious quiet hour.)

4. What might the family do within the quiet hour?

(Several activities are suggested to fill the time. They might sit together and talk
to each other to get to know each other better and to like each other better;
They might also take a ride to see the sunset or take a walk to see the
neighborhood for relaxation; They could spend the hour reading good stories
books both for entertainment and for self-education.)

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 2

5. divorce rate: divorce and family breakdown constitutes one of the major social
problems in the USA. It is estimated that a quarter to one third of all American
marriages ended in divorce, and one third of the minor children under 18 were
affected by divorces.

6. The result is emotional difficulty of one kind or another: Various emotional

problems come up.
emotional difficulties: problems relating to one’s feelings or emotions.

7. …rediscover more active pastimes(Para. 4):

An active pastime may involve exercise of body and mind. For instance, playing
basketball or playing bridge. It can be inferred that the author regards
watching TV as an inactive pastime.

8. remember feet?: by saying so, the author mean that instead of watching TV
people don’t have to sit rooted in front of TV, they might go for a walk. On the
other hand, he may imply that Americans are so used to traveling by car rather
than on foot that many people may unable to feel their feet.

9. A more literate….(Para 5): Turning off TV for an hour every day could make the
coming generation better at reading and writing.

10. What do you think of the author’s suggestion ?

(sounds reasonable but hard to be put into practice. No one will give up
something which has become so much a part of his life---not even for an hour.)

II. Detailed study of the text

1. worthwhile a. good enough for the time, effort, etc. that you spend.
e.g. The hard work was worthwhile because I passed the exam.
我考试通过了，所以刻苦努力还是值得的。
这个尝试即使没有达到目的还是值得的。
It was a worthwhile attempt even though it failed to achieve its aim.
CF: worthwhile, worth & worthy
1) Nursing is a very ~ career.
2) The dictionary is worth 100 yuan.
3) His suggestion is worth considering.
4) His suggestion is worthy of consideration/ /of being considered /to be
considered.

Note: worthwhile 作定语用较多；也可作表语，一般不再接其他成分。

worth 只作表语，表示“价值…”或“值得…”， 后多接名词、代词或动名词的主动语态，
不接不定式。
Worthy 表示“值得、相称或配得上”时，作表语用，后接不定式被动语态，或接 of 加名

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 3

词、动名词被动语态；表示“可敬的”时，作定语用。e.g. He is a worthy winner.

2. program:
(n.)
(1) list of items for TV or radio broadcast, concerts, operas and other events
--- What’s the next item on the theater program?
--- Most newspapers carry TV programs for the day.
(2) plan or strategy
--- According to the government report, the reemployment program is
going on well.
(3) set of instructions that a computer follows in order to perform a particular
task
--- Bill Gates built his company by designing software programs.
(v.)
give ( a computer ) a set of instructions to make it able to perform a particular
task
--- The robot is programmed to do dangerous jobs in place of men.
3. current:
a.①of the present time; happening now
-- ~ issues, problems, prices
--the ~ year, ie this year
②in common or general use; generally accepted 通用的；被普遍接受的
--~ opinions, beliefs, etc 普遍的看法、信仰等
--words that are no longer ~ 已不通用的词
--a rumor that is current (ie widely known) in the city
在城里广为传播的谣言
Collectives
~ account (BrE,US checking account) 活期存款帐户
~ affairs 时事
~ assets 流动资产 （fixed assets）
n.①[c] movement of water,air, etc flowing in a certain direction through slower-
moving or still water, air, etc（水，气等的）流，流动
--The swimmer was swept away by the current.
② [u] flow of electricity through sth or along a wire or cable 电流
--Turn of the current.接通电源
③[c] course or movement( of events, opinions, etc); trend 趋向；趋势；倾向
--Nothing disturbs the peaceful current of life in the village.

4.social:
1)[attrib 作定语] of or in society; of or concerning rank and position within society
社会上的，社会阶层的；社会地位的
e.g. one’s social equals, ie people of the same class as oneself in society
social advancement, ie improvement of one’s position in society
collective:

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 4

a social climber, ie sb who constantly strives to improve his social position

2)Of or designed for companionship and recreation 社交的；联谊的；联欢的
e.g. a social evening 联欢晚会
a busy social life 繁忙的社交生活

5.be+ v-ing 进行时代一般现在时，表经常性的动作，表达作者的态度。

e.g. 1) He is constantly thinking of others.
She is always complaining about the poor working conditions.

6. propose: suggest, put forward for consideration followed by an object clause in

the subjunctive form)
--I proposed a short rest before setting off again.
--Mr. Smith proposed that we (should) set up a special board to look into the
scandal.
--I propose an early start / to make an early start / making an early start tomorrow.
Pattern:

{that …(should) do
propose {doing
{to do

Cf. proposal n. plan or schedule

~ ( for sth/doing sth); ~ (to do sth)-
--The committee agreed to my proposal that the meeting (should) be put off.
--a proposal to offer a discount to regular customers 对老主顾予折扣优惠的方案
--a proposal for uniting the two companies
Note: propose 后常跟虚拟形式的宾语从句。动词要求用原形。
有一些表示“提议”、“主张”、要求、命令、紧要等概念的词语，本身隐含说话者的主观意
见，认为某事“该……或不该……。因此这些词语后面的 that-clause 应用假设语气，而且
that-clasue 中以 should 表示这种语气。 Should 常被省略。
类似的动词还有：
提议：suggest, propose, recommend, move
主张：insist, maintain, hold, urge
要求：ask, request, require, demand, desire, stipulate
命令：order, command

7.prohibit: forbid (esp. by rules or law)

~ sth/sb ( from doing sth)
e.g. 1) The law prohibits club from selling wine to children.
2) In some countries women are prohibited from walking out without a veil.
3) Minors are prohibited from smoking and drinking.
Cf. forbid (pt forbade or forbad, pp forbidden)
Her father forbade (to command someone or something not to do something) her to
stay out late at night.

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 5

8. Without the distraction of TV, they might sit around together after dinner and
actually talk to one another.:
The prepositional phrase “without the distraction of TV” functions as a
conditional clause --- “ if they had not the distraction of TV “.
Another example:
With free time and no TV, children and adults might rediscover reading. --- If
they had free time and no TV, children and adults might rediscover reading.
distraction n.
①[u] distracting or distracted
e.g.His questions drove me to distraction.
②[c]noise, sight, etc that distracts the attention and prevents concentration
--He found the noise of the photographers a distraction.
distract vt. draw away (mind, attention, etc.)分心；分散（注意力）
e.g. Don't distract my attention.
The noise in the street distracted me from my readin
Collection:
distract one's mind from a task 使人不能专心工作
distracted(a.) with / by sth
to distraction: almost to a state of madness 几乎到了疯狂的地步
e.g. He loves her to distraction.
Note: 条件句
1) 一般条件句 以“现在或未来不确定的事”为条件，然后再提出“可能成为事实之结
论”。所谓“不确定”即：该事可能发生，也可能不会发生。事先难以确定。条件与结论
均采用“直述语气”，动词时态一般采用现在式。
2) 假设句 必须是假设语气，所有动词时态一律不得用现在式。大致有以下四种情况：
a) 与现在事实相反的假设
If + S + 过去式动词， S + would/should/could/might + 原形动词
（条件子句里的 be 动词，不管主语的人称和单复数，一律用 were）
--If I knew his address, I would write to him.
--If I had enough money, I could buy that car.
b) 与过去事实相反的假设
If + S + had + pp…, S + would/should/could/might + have + pp…
--If it had not rained yesterday, I would have gone fishing.
c) 以未来不太可能发生的事为条件的假设
If +S + should + 动词原形 …, S + would/should/could/might + 原形动词…
( 条件句中，无论人称为何，一律接 should; 所提条件虽然不大可能发生，但尚有些许可能
性，因此结论子句，可用祈使句。)
--If he should come tomorrow, we would be greatly surprised.
--If you should meet him tomorrow, give him the note.
d) 与未来事实相反的假设( 此类用法较少，一般用 c 取代)
If + S + were to + 原形动词…, S + would/should/could/might + 原形动词…
--If the sun were to rise in the west, I would follow you.
Note：特殊情况下，b 的条件子句可以连接 a 的结论子句，表示“假如过去……的话，现

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 6

在就……了”
--If you had studied last night, you could answer this question.
--If it had not rained last night, the ground would not be so muddy this morning.

9. …many of our problems … are caused at least in part by failure to

communicate. We do not tell each other what is disturbing us.”
The sentence “we do not tell each other what is disturbing us” is a sort of
amplification or elaboration. It is used to help the readers know what it is
meant by “failure to communicate”.
cause:
(vt .)
lead to , be the cause of
--- What cause him to fly into a rage?
--- The newly purchased car caused him a lot of trouble.
( n.) (直接导致的原因)
--- the cause of the accident
--- The cause of the global warming is the burning of fossil fuels.

in part: partly, to some degree

--- You have to admit that the driver was in part responsible for the accident.
--- The air crash was caused at least in part by the carelessness of the pilot
and the bad weather..
--- His good memory is in part due to the basic principles that help memory.

mental: of the mind

--- His trouble was found to be mental, not physical.
--- A mental test may show whether one is qualified for a certain job.
--- The old lady was sent to a mental hospital because she was suffering
from mental illness.

communicate: vt/vi. share or exchange opinions, ideas / pass on information, news

--- The officer communicated his orders to the men by radio
--- It’s the duty of the mass media to communicate news.
--- Young people sometimes complain of not being able to communicate with their
parent. It seems that there exists the generation gap.
--- We can communicate with people in most parts of the world.
--- How do deaf people communicate ? ( sign languages)
Cf. communicative communication

disturb: (1) make worried;

--- She was disturbed by her son’s not coming home in time.
--- I was disturbed to hear there had been another murder the night before.
(2) break the peace or order of

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 7

--- She doesn’t like being disturbed while working.

--- A light wind disturbed the smooth surface of the lake.
--- When do you dislike others to disturb you?

10.emotional difficulty of one kind or another: various problems relating to

one’s feeling or emotions

11. get to : begin by chance; begin to do sth. gradually with the passing of time.
--- We got to know the professor at the party.
--- I was getting to like John when he left.

12. on evenings when … :

The most common “prep. + n.” constructions to express periods of the day are: in
the morning / afternoon / evening, and at night; but if we have a particular
morning, afternoon, etc. in mind, the preposition “on” is used instead of “in” or
“at”.
--- See you on Monday morning.
--- On a cold afternoon in January the old man was found dead in his house.
--- I don’t like to receive visitors on a night when I have to work late.

11. more active pastimes:

When we watch TV, we take in passively whatever is being shown on the screen.
Compared with watching TV, many other pastimes call for a more vigorous
exercise of the mind and are therefore more active. Reading, for instance, can
be active. Dancing is physically active, too.

14. free … from/of: relieve…from

--- He will be freed from prison soon because it turned out that he was
innocent.
--- Finally he freed himself from debts.(difficulty, danger)
--- Could you free me from duty for half a day? I've got something urgent to
handle.

15. take a ride: make a trip on an animal or vehicle

To take a ride in a car
To take a ride in the bus

16. remember feet?

Do we ever remember that we can travel on foot?

17. see the neighborhood with fresh, new eyes.

See the neighborhood as for the first time.

18. rediscover reading

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 8

Reading as a habit has been thrown into oblivion or disuse, and modern man needs to
start cultivating it as if for the first time.

19. entertainment n.
[u] entertaining or being entertained
[c] things that entertains; public performance ( at a theatre, cinema, circs, etc) 娱乐；
（在剧场，电影院，马戏团等的）演出。
e.g. The local entertainments are listed in the newspaper.
报纸上登有本地的娱乐活动。
CF: entertainment 是 pastime 的同义词，除了有“消遣, 娱乐”的意思外，还指“表演会
”、“文娱节目”、“招待，请客”及“乐趣”。
This play is frequently produced at school entertainments
这部话剧经常在学校的游艺会上演出。
She played the piano for our entertainment.
她弹钢琴为我们助兴。

20. typical: (of) representative or characteristic

--- We had some warm weather and quite a lot of rain--- It was a typical
English summer.
--- Such a roof is typical of buildings in Southern China.( 只有华南的大楼才有这
样的屋顶)。
--- As a historian, he was most typical of the times in which he lived.

21. grow up: become adult

e.g. --- what are you want to be when you grow up?
--- The little girl has grown up into a pretty young woman.

22. barely: hardly, scarcely (几乎没有，仅仅)

--- John had barely/hardly been seated when the bell rang.
--- Barely did he remember what had happened a week before.

23. A more literate new generation could be a product of the quiet hour.
If we had a quiet hour from TV each evening and spent it reading good books, we
would produce a more literate new generation. In other words, if our children
formed the habit of reading worthwhile books instead of watching TV for at least
one hour each day, they would certainly be better cultured than they are now.
CF: product, produce& production
这三个词(n.)都表示“产品、产物、产量”。
product 一般指工业产品；亦指脑力劳动、体力劳动的成果。
produce 特指“农产品（总称）”，是不可数名词。
production 指生产的动作或产量。

24. A different form of reading might be done, as it was in the past.:

“As” in this sentence is used as a conjunction expressing a comparison or

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 9

similarity. “It was “ in the as-clause can be omitted.

Further examples:
--- We ate turkey for Christmas dinner, as we had before the war.
--- Mary is a fine singer, as her mother used to be.
--- Olive oil is used in cooking in Greece as ( it is) in Italy.

25. Few pastimes bring a family closer together than gathering around and
listening to mother or father read a good story:
We may express this comparison otherwise as follows:
--- Gathering around and listening to mother or father read a good story brings a
family closer together than other pastimes.
--- What could bring a family closer together than gathering around and listening
to mother or father read a good story?

26. come up with: produce, think of (a plan, an answer, a reply…)

--- The student came up with a good excuse for being absent.
--- Young people are always coming up with new ideas.

27. at first glance / sight: when seen or examined ( often quickly) for the first
time
--- At first glance the problem seemed easy.
--- They fell in love at first sight.
--- They looked the same at first glance but in fact they were different.
CF: glance , stare & peer 这三个动词都有“看，瞧”之意。(PPT)
glance 指匆匆地或粗略地一看，侧重心不在焉地、匆忙地看一眼。
stare 侧重因惊奇、好奇、粗鲁无礼等而睁大眼睛看。
He stared the visitor up and down.
peer 指眯着眼睛仔细地或略为吃力地看。
She peered at the tag to read the price.

28. the electronic babysitter --- the TV set:

This is a clever metaphor in that a TV set is an electronic toy that can attract and
hold the attention of children whom parents can leave unattended while the
machine is on.

29. It has been only twenty-five years since television came to control
American free time.:
“It has been (is) … years / months / weeks since …” is a useful sentence pattern.
Further examples:
--- It has been two months since he left for Beijing.
--- Living here for years. She has come to know the city well.
( Ex. 10, model 3)

come to: grow to; arrive at mentally

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 10

--- John has come to realize his own mistake.

--- Living here for years, she has come to know the city well.

30. involve:
(1).
have as a part or result; cause to be mixed up in sth.
--- To apply for university involves taking the College Entrance Examination.
--- Learning English well involves a lot of work , previewing, taking notes,
reviewing etc.
--- I don’t expect that the children are involved in/with the danger.
--- To get there involves crossing a number of mountains.
involve 侧重必须牵涉到的情况或结果。
include 包含，宾语只是整体的一部分。

31. invent:
(1) produce sth. for the first time
--- Thomas Edison invented the first light bulb.
--- The Chinese invented the compass（指南针）.
(2) make up
--- He invented a story to explain why his watch was missing.
--- What explanation can we invent?

32. It wasn’t that difficult. Honest. The truth is we had a ball.:

It wasn’t so difficult for people to occupy their spare time without the help of TV.
I’m telling you the truth: we Americans used to have a very good time before TV
came into our life.
The word “honest” is used colloquially, meaning “honestly” or “truly”, for example:
--- I saw a UFO last night. Honest.
“Have a ball” is an American slang expression, which means “ have a lot of fun” or “
have a good time.”

After –reading

Test
1. A snail is an animal which moves at a very slow _____.
a. scale b. rate c. walk d. step
2. My success is ________ owing to his help.
a. in part b. above price c. of value d. beyond hope
3.Scientists will have to _____ new methods of
increasing the world’s food supply.
a. put up with b. stand up with
c. grow up with d. come up with
4.To accept the appointment would ______ living in
London.

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 11

a. prefer b. involve c. include d. ensure

5.I can’t follow your advice . _____ thank you for
giving it.
a. Nevertheless b. Therefore
c. However d. Not withstanding
6.Picking flowers in the park is _______ .
a. refused b. prevented
c. prohibited d. controlled
7.It has been nearly twenty years ___ the Smiths
settled down in China.
a. before b. until c. when d. since
8.Vesta also spent much time with her grandfather, for
she had ______ to love him dearly.
a. agreed b. come d. admitted d. happened
9.While he was in prison he was not allowed to
______ with his family.
a. quarrel b. connect
c. communicate d. consult
10.This mountain scenery is ___ of Scotland.
a. attractive b. natural
c. inspiring d. typical
11.It was proposed that this matter ________ at the
next meeting.
a. would be considered
b. was going to be considered
c. be considered d. were to be considered
12.I hope you will forget all the unhappiness I’ve ___
you.
a. bothered b. suspected
c. caused d. interfered
13.At least 80 persons were injured, ___ five
policemen.
a. concerning b. including
c. regarding d. involving
14.He ___ a story to explain why he was late.
a. invented b. stated
c. expressed d. produced
15.We went out into the street again and took a ___ at
the Cathedral.
a. sight b. glimpse c. liik d. notice
16.Fairy-tales often help to develop a child’s ___.
a. appearance b. concentration
c. delight d. imagination
17.He said that he regretted their failure ___ an

YCIT 张延晏 Yan

INTENSIVE READING I 12

agreement.
a. in reading b. to reach
c. to have reached d. to be reaching
18.He hung the “Don’t” sign around the door handle
on the outside.
a. hurry b. disturb c. invade d. offend
19.The paint is still wet ___ .
a. Be sure not touch it b. sure not to touch it
c. Don’t be sure to touch it
d. be not sure to touch it

Key:
1-5 b a d b a 6-10 a c d b c
11-15 d c c b a 16-20 c d b b b

Ex. V(P79)
零冠词的用法
1) 国 名 ， 人 名 前 通 常 不 用 定 冠 词 ： England ， Mary ；
　 2 ） 泛 指 的 复 数 名 词 ， 表 示 一 类 人 或 事 物 时 ， 可 不 用 定 冠 词 ；
　 　 They are teachers. 他 们 是 教 师 。
　 3 ） 抽 象 名 词 表 示 一 般 概 念 时 ， 通 常 不 加 冠 词 ；
　 　 Failure is the mother of success. 　 失 败 乃 成 功 之 母 。
　4）物质名词表示一般概念时，通常不加冠词，当表示特定的意思时，需要加定冠词；
　 　 Man cannot live without water. 　 人 离 开 水 就 无 法 生 存 。
　5）在季节、月份、节日、 假日、日期、星期等表示时间的名词之前，不加冠词；
　 We go to school from Monday to Friday. 　 我 们 从 星 期 一 到 星 期 五 都 上 课 。
　 6 ） 在 称 呼 或 表 示 官 衔 ， 职 位 的 名 词 前 不 加 冠 词 ；
　 The guards took the American to General Lee.
　 士 兵 们 把 这 个 美 国 人 送 到 李 将 军 那 里 。
　 7 ） 在 三 餐 、 球 类 运 动 和 娱 乐 运 动 的 名 称 前 ， 不 加 冠 词 如 ： have breakfast ， play chess
　 8 ） 当 两 个 或 两 个 以 上 名 词 并 用 时 ， 常 省 去 冠 词 ；
　 　 I can't write without pen or pencil. 　 　 没 有 钢 笔 和 铅 笔 ， 我 就 写 不 了 字 。
　 9 ） 当 by 与 火 车 等 交 通 工 具 连 用 ， 表 示 一 种 方 式 时 ， 中 间 无 冠 词 ； by bus ， by train ；
　 10 ） 有 些 个 体 名 词 不 用 冠 词 ； 如 ：
　 school，college，prison，market，hospital，bed，table，class，town，church，court 等个体名
词 ， 直 接 置 于 介 词 后 ， 表 示 该 名 词 的 深 层 含 义 ；
　 　 　 go to hospital 　 　 去 医 院 看 病
　 　 　 go to the hospital 　 去 医 院 ( 并 不 是 去 看 病 ， 而 是 有 其 他 目 的 )
　 11) 不 用 冠 词 的 序 数 词 ；
　 a. 序 数 词 前 有 物 主 代 词
　 b. 序 数 词 作 副 词 　 He came first in the race.
　c. 在固定词组中　 at (the) first,first of all,　　from first to last

YCIT 张延晏 Yan