Text I Who Killed Benny Paret?

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Unit 9
Text I Who Killed Benny Paret?
Text II A Piece of Steak
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• Text I
• Text II
• Oral Work
• Guided Writing
• Listening

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Background Knowledge

• Prizefighting(????) and amateur boxing (????)
• Different Purposes
• Different Dressing
• Different Promotional Ways
• Different Holding time
• Different way of getting marks

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Text I
Pre-reading Activity
Before you read the text, think about the
following questions.

1. Now you are told that Benny Paret was a
   prizefighter. What do you think the article is
   about?
2. Have you ever seen a prizefighting in a film or
   on TV? Whats your impression or feeling?gtgtgt

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Text I
Pre-reading Activity
Oral Discussion

• What are the possible causes of the death of a
  prizefighter during a boxing match? gtgtgt
• What do you think the boxing fans like to see? gtgtgt

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The possible causes of a death

1. His opponent
2. The referee
3. Himself (lacking of skills, no energy or power,
   poor health and so on)

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The boxing fans like to see

1. The famous boxing stars
2. The intelligence, speed, power, skill, will,
   self-respect
3. The Violence, to see a man stretched out on the
   canvas, the supreme moment in boxing

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Text I
Pre-reading Activity
2. Listen to the report and try to answer
following questions 1) Russia had boxers reach
the medal rounds here in ____ of the ______weight
classes, and six of them won their _________ on
Friday. 2) Venezuela's Alfonso Blanco defeated
Artayev Bakhtiyar of Kazakhstan, ___________. 3)
Warren considered his winning of bronze medal as
______, and until he got the gold medal around my
neck and saw the American flag going up and
listen to the National Anthem, it would be
_______. 3) In all, boxers from________ countries
will have a chance to be 2007 _________________. 4
) The country with the second most finalists is
America with three. 5) Russian didnt win all the
six semifinalists.
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11
semifinals
15-7
B-plus
A-plus
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World champion
F
T
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Text I
Pre-reading Activity
Now, Listen to the tape and skim through the
text for the main ideas. Before you read the
text, go over the following incomplete sentences
first. After reading the text, fill in the blanks
with relevant information.
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Text I
The Main Structure
Now, please fill in the blanks.

• Paras._____ The writer had an interview with Mike
  Jacobs, who was____________________ Number one in
  the boxing world.
• Paras. ____ The only important element in
  successful boxing promoting is ___________________
  . People come out to see____________________.
• Paras._____ Benny Paret was killed in
  _________. The direct cause of his death
  was_________________________________.
• Para.__ The prime responsibility for his death
  was ___________________________________________.
• Para. __ The blame should be put
  on_______________________
• __________________________________________________
  __.

1-2
the prize fight promoter
3-5
to please the crowd
the knockout
the ring
6-8
a massive hemorrhage in the brain
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the people who pay to see a man hurt
the prevailing mores that regard
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prizefighting as a perfectly proper enterprise
and vehicle of entertainment.
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Magazine Editorial
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Text I
Vocabulary Acquisition
Read the text once and Try to write down the
meaning of following words that best fits the
context.
useless
8. futile (L.40) ____________________________
_______ 9. intervene (L.41)
___________________________________ 10. boo
(L.43) _______________________________________ 11
. squirt (L.48) __________________________________
___ 12. wobble (L. 48) ____________________
_____________
take into action to prevent something from
happening
Express disapproval or strong disagreement by
saying boo
Gush out in a thin fast stream
Move unsteadily from side to side
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Text I
Vocabulary Acquisition
Read the text once and Try to write down the
meaning of following words that best fits the
context.

1. colossus (L.6) ____________________________
   __________
2. adequate (L.28) ______________________________
   ________
3. lacework (L.33) _________________________________
   
4. exquisitely (L.34) _______________________________
   ______
5. intricate (L. 34) _________________________
   ____________
6. encase (L. 34) _______________________________
   ___
7. withstand (L.35) _____________________________
   _________

A person or thing of very great size, importance
or ability
just enough ( for the purpose)
a netlike ornamental cloth made of delicate
threads
Almost perfectly
complicatedly
Put into a case
Remain unharmed
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Text I
Who Killed Benny Paret?
1 Sometime about 1935 or 1936 I had an interview
with Mike Jacobs, the prizefight promoter. I was
a fledgling newspaper reporter at that time my
beat was education, but during the vacation
season I found myself on varied assignments, all
the way from ship news to sports reporting. In
this way I found myself sitting opposite the most
powerful figure in the boxing world. 2 There
was nothing spectacular in Mr. Jacobs' manner or
appearance but when he spoke about prizefights,
he was no longer a bland little man but a
colossus who sounded the way Napoleon must have
sounded when he reviewed a battle. You knew you
were listening to Number One. His saying
something made it true.
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Text I
3 We discussed what to him was the only important
element in successful promoting how to please
the crowd. So far as he was concerned, there was
no mystery to it. You put killers in the ring and
the people filled your arena. You hire boxing
artists men who are adroit at feinting,
parrying, weaving, jabbing, and dancing, but who
don't pack dynamite in their fists and you wind
up counting your empty seats. So you searched for
the killers and sluggers and maulers fellows
who could hit with the force of a baseball bat.
4 I asked Mr. Jacobs if he was speaking
literally when he said people came out to see the
killer.
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Text I
5 "They don't come out to see a tea party," he
said evenly. "They come out to see the knockout.
They come out to see a man hurt. If they think
anything else, they're kidding themselves." 6
Recently a young man by the name of Benny Paret
was killed in the ring. The killing was seen by
millions it was on television. In the twelfth
round he was hit hard in the head several times,
went down, was counted out, and never came out of
the coma.
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Text I
7 The Paret fight produced a flurry of
investigations. Governor Rockefeller was shocked
by what happened and appointed a committee to
assess the responsibility. The New York State
Boxing Commission decided to find out what was
wrong. The District Attorney's office expressed
its concern. One question that was solemnly
studied in all three probes concerned the action
of the referee. Did he act in time to stop the
fight? Another question had to do with the role
of the examining doctors who certified the
physical fitness of the fighters before the bout.
Still another question involved Mr. Paret's
manager did he rush his boy into the fight
without adequate time to recuperate from the
previous one?
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Text I
8 In short, the investigators looked into every
possible cause except the real one. Benny Paret
was killed because the human fist delivers enough
impact, when directed against the head, to
produce a massive hemorrhage in the brain. The
human brain is the most delicate and complex
mechanism in all creation. It has a lacework of
millions of highly fragile nerve connections.
Nature attempts to protect this exquisitely
intricate machinery by encasing it in a hard
shell. Fortunately, the shell is thick enough to
withstand a great deal of pounding. Nature,
however, can protect man against everything
except man himself. Not every blow to the head
will kill a man but there is always the risk of
concussion and damage to the brain. A
prizefighter may be able to survive even repeated
brain concussions and go on fighting, but the
damage to his brain may be permanent.
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Text I
9 In any event, it is futile to investigate the
referee's role and seek to determine whether he
should have intervened to stop the fight earlier.
This is not where the primary responsibility
lies. The primary responsibility lies with the
people who pay to see a man hurt. The referee who
stops a fight too soon from the crowd's viewpoint
can expect to be booed. The crowd wants the
knockout it wants to see a man stretched out on
the canvas. This is the supreme moment in boxing.
It is nonsense to talk about prizefighting as a
test of boxing skills. No crowd was ever brought
to its feet screaming and cheering at the sight
of two men beautifully dodging and weaving out of
each other's jabs. The time the crowd comes alive
is when a man is hit hard over the heart or the
head, when his mouthpiece flies out, when blood
squirts out of his nose or eyes, when he wobbles
under the attack and his pursuer continues to
smash at him with poleax impact.
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Text I
10 Don't blame it on the referee. Don't even
blame it on the fight managers. Put the blame
where it belongs on the prevailing mores that
regard prize-fighting as a perfectly proper
enterprise and vehicle of entertainment. No one
doubts that many people enjoy prizefighting and
will miss it if it should be thrown out. And that
is precisely the point.
By Norman Cousins
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For the words in pink, please look at the
explanations in the book on P105-107.
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Some boxing terms and their English equivalents
P105

• area a building in which boxing matches are held
  and which provides accommodation for the
  spectators and facilities (such as dressing and
  shower rooms) for the participants
• 2) bout a contest between two boxers which
  consists of a specified number of rounds and
  which usually ends in a decision by the judges in
  a knockout
• 3) canvas the canvas-covered mat which forms the
  floor of the ring
• 4) clean hit a fair and honest hit a blow that
  is dealt by conforming to the rule
• 5) count out (a boxer) (a referee) counts to ten
  before the boxer can get up, so that the boxer
  loses the match

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Some boxing terms and their English equivalents
P105
6) dance move with ones feet or body to dodge
the blows of the opponent but seldom attack 7)
dodge avoid (the opponent) by moving suddenly
aside 8) feint deceive the opponent by making
a feint, that is, by making a quick movement of
the hand as if to punch, thus causing the
opponent to move away or try to block, and thus
leave an opening for a real punch 9) fight
prizefight 10) fight manager person who
manages the training and other activities of a
prizefighter 11) jab make a quick straight
punch usually on the head
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Some boxing terms and their English equivalents
P105
12) knockout the termination of a match when
one boxer has been knocked unconscious or has
been knocked down and is unable to rise and
resume boxing within 10 seconds 13) mauler the
boxer who handles his opponent roughly 14)
mouthpiece a rubber or a plate or strip of
soft waxy substance used by boxers to protect the
teeth and gums 15) parry block a thrust or
blow by an opponent in boxing 16) prizefight a
public boxing match for a money prize 17)
prizefighter boxer 18) prizefight promoter
an individual or organization that organizes a
boxing match, and that guarantees the purse (sum
of money offered as a prize) for professional
boxers
25
Some boxing terms and their English equivalents
P105
19) referee judge in charge of a
prizefight 20) ring the small square space
closed in with ropes in which a boxing match is
conducted 21) round one of the periods of
actual boxing into which a match is divided. A
round generally lasts for three minutes with a
one-minute rest between rounds 22) (boxers)
second the person who helps a boxer 23)
slugger a boxer who depends mostly on the
strength of his punch and little on defence and
boxing skill also called a puncher 24) weave
move from side to side to present a moving target
to ones opponent
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fledgling
n. 1) A young bird that has recently acquired its
flight feathers. ????????????? 2) A
young or inexperienced person.
???????????? adj. New and untried or
inexperienced ???????? E.g. a
fledgling enterprise a fledgling skier. Please
translate the following sentence ????????????????
????????????????
The fledgling reporters successful interview
with the Hollywood movie star was telecast.
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I found myself on varied assignments, all the way
from ship news to reporting.
Please paraphrase the sentence
I found I was given different kinds of
assignments, ranging in variety from ship news to
sports reporting.
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spectacular
Adj. very impressive ?????, ??? n. a lavishly
produced performance E.g. a spectacular
achievement in science Please translate the
sentence ?????????????
This new play was a spectacular success.
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colossus gtgtgt
n. a person or thing of very great size,
importance or ability Translate ????????????
Mozart is a colossus among the composers.
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There was nothing spectacular in Mr. Jacobs
manner or appearance but when he spoke about
prizefights, he was no longer a bland man but a
colossus gtgtgt
Please paraphrase the sentence
There was nothing in Mr. Jacobs appearance and
manner that would attract public attention, but
when he talked about prizefights, he was not
ordinary any more, he looked like a giant
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who sounded the way Napoleon must have sounded
when he reviewed a battle.
What is the implied meaning of the sentence
When he spoke, he was no longer mild-mannered and
gentle-looking. Instead, he had the authoritative
tone and commanding voice of Napoleon, the famous
military leader in French history, when he
inspected a battle
32
So far as he was concerned, there was no mystery
to it.
Please paraphrase the sentence
He saw nothing mysterious in boxing.
???,???,???????
Where there is a will, there is a way, and there
is no mystery to it.
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you wind up counting your empty seats
Please paraphrase the sentence
you end up with few people coming to watch the
prizefight
What is the implied meaning?
the end result (of hiring boxing artists) is that
you have few spectators, because boxing fans are
not interested in watching boxing artists.
????????????????
Professor Zhang wound up the lesson with a humor.
34
adroit adj.
1) Dexterous deft. ?????? 2) Skillful and
adept under pressing ??? n. adroitness
Phrase be adroit in at ??
35
literally adv.

• 1) In a literal manner word for word
  ????,???
• E.g. translated the Greek passage literally.
  ????????
• 2) (Abbr. lit.) In a literal or strict sense
  ???,?????????????
• E.g. Don't take my remarks literally.
  ???????
• Really actually ??????

Translate ????????????????.
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he was hit hard in the head several times, went
down, was counted out, and never came out of the
coma.
coma unconsciousness due to injury
Please paraphrase the sentence
He was beaten fiercely in the head several
times, fell to the floor, didnt stand up when
the referee counted the seconds from one to ten,
and never regained consciousness.
37
The Paret fight produced a flurry of
investigations.
flurry 1) a sudden sharp rush of wind or rain
or light fall of snow E.g.
Snow flurries are expected this evening.
2) (of) sudden confusion or excitement
E.g. A flurry of excitement went
round the hall as the party leader came in.
Please paraphrase this sentence
The Paret fight resulted in a great deal of
fervent public interest and several
investigations.
??????????,?????????????
A flurry of excitement went among the audience as
the popular singer stars arrived.
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Solemnly adv.
Adj. solemn 1) Deeply earnest, serious, and
sober. ??????,??? 2) Somberly or gravely
impressive. ??? 3) Performed with full ceremony
??? E.g. a solemn High Mass. ?????? 4)
Invoking the force of religion sacred ???
E.g. a solemn vow. ????? 5) Gloomy somber.
??????
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Hemorrhage n v.
n. 1) Excessive discharge of blood from the blood
vessels profuse bleeding. ????????????????
2) A copious loss of something valuable
????,???????????????? E.g. a hemorrhage of
corporate earnings ????????? v.intr.(?????) 1)
To bleed copiously. ???,???? 2) To undergo a
rapid and sudden loss ??????????????
40
encase v.
To enclose in or as if in a case. ?????????? enc
asement n.(??)
41
No crowd ever brought to its feet screaming and
cheering at the sight of two men beautifully
dodging and weaving out of each others jabs.
Please paraphrase the sentence
When the crowd saw two boxers exquisitely move
from side to side to avoid the opponents quick
straight punch to the head, nobody would not get
to his feet, crying out in a shrill voice and
shouting in great joy.
42
The time the crowd comes alive is when a man is
hit hard over the heart or the head, when his
mouthpiece flies out, when blood squirts out of
his nose or eyes, when he wobbes under the attack
and his pursuer continues to smash at him with
poleax impact.
Please paraphrase the sentence
The time when the crowd is brought to a cheerful
and excited mood is when a boxer receives hard
blows over his heart and head, when his gumshield
falls off, when blood oozes from his nose or
eyes, when he moves unsteadily from side to side
under the attack, and his opponent chases him and
goes on with his heavy blows and hard punches
with the force of a poleax.
43
Put the blame where it belongs --- on the
prevailing mores that regard prize-fighting as a
perfectly proper enterprise and vehicle of
entertainment.
Please paraphrase the sentence
Find out where the responsibility really lies ---
it lies in the dominant and controlling social
customs and standards that look upon
prize-fighting as a completely suitable
understanding (for making money) and a form of
recreation.
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Text II
Extensive Reading Questions
A Piece of Steak

• 1. Where did the story take place? (in Australia)
• 2. What feature or features of Tom King tell
  people that he was a prizefighter?
• 3. Describe Tom Kings personality.
• 4. Why did tradesmen no longer agree to let Tom
  King buy anything on credit?
• 5. What did Tom King do to support his family
  between fights?
• 6. What do you think were the causes of Tom
  Kings defeat?

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Text II
Practice
Workbook, Page 130, Comprehension
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Oral Work

• What Do People Come Out to See in a Boxing Match?
  
• Nathan Caldwell is a newspaper reporter. He is
  now interviewing Micheky Jackson, the prizefight
  promoter. They are discussing the question What
  do people come out to see in a boxing match?

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Oral Work
A Discussion on the Nuclear Power Station Here
are some expressions which can be used to make
suppositions

• I am afraid Im not quite clear about what you
  mean by
• Im sorry, I dont understand what you mean by
• Im sorry, but could you explain what you mean
  by ?
• Well, the point Im trying to make is that
• All Im trying to make is that ...
• All Im trying to say is that
• Well, what Im trying to say is that

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Guided Writing

• Précis Writing
• Paragraph Writing
• Letter Writing

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Précis Writing
Practice write précis of Atomic Cars

1. Working in groups of two or three, choose the
   opening sentence from among the following on
   P116.
2. Working in groups, write the précis according to
   the outline and the main points.

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Paragraph Writing
Argument 117

1. Writings usually begin with the narration of an
   event to which the writer relates his views,
   which are usually found in news paper
   commentaries or editorials.
2. Read the passage and decide which is the topic
   sentence, events and viewpoint.

51
Letter Writing
Borrowing a Book P118
Write a letter with the following
information. Writer Addressee Relationship Intro
duction Purpose Conclusion Ending
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Listening

• Listening Comprehension
• Dictation

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Listening
Workbook Page 136
B True or False?

1. In a wrestling contest, each wrestler tries to
   knock his opponent down and keep him lying on the
   ground with his face downward for one second.
2. Wrestling contests are usually held on a hard
   floor and the participants easily get injured.
3. Wrestling was part of the ancient Greek Olympic
   Games.
4. The Greeks adopted and formalized Roman
   wrestling.
5. Wrestling was a popular sport in Egypt as far
   back as 5000 B.C.

F
F
T
F
F
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Listening
Workbook Page 137
Complete the following sentences

1. Greco-Roman wrestling the wrestler is not
   allowed to use ___________________________________
   _______________________.
2. Catch-as-catch-can holds are allowed on
   __________________ but kicking,
   ___________________ and other such injurious
   tactics ______________________.
3. Sumo the object of a sumo contest is to
   ______________________ ___________________________
   ________________________.
4. Professional wrestling professional wrestlers
   perform stunts and muscular feats for
   ________________________ _________________.

his legs on his opponent and cannot hold him
below the waist.
all parts of the body
striking
are strictly prohibited
push an opponent out of the ring or force him to
the floor
the benefit of an audience
55
Useful Expression

• 1. dipper n . ????
• 2. compass n. ??, ???, ??v. ??
• 3. pedometer n. ???, ???
• 4. head vt. ??, ??????????
• E.g. head south????
• Were heading home. ????????
• Where are you heading for???????
• 5. figure out v. ???, ???
• 6. GPS abbr. Global Position System
• ??????
• 7. orbit n. ?? v. ?????
• 8. receiver n. ???

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Listening
Dictation
Finding the Direction and Location How can you
tell which direction? By day, look for the Sun.
It is in the east in the morning and the west in
the afternoon. At night, use the Big Dipper to
help you find the North Star. It would be better
to bring a compass because its needle always
points north. How do you know how far you have
gone? You could count every step. Each step is
about two feet. Youd better wear a pedometer
which is a tool that counts steps. If you know
where you started, which direction you are
heading, and how far you have gone, you can use a
good map to figure out exactly where you are.
Today there is a new way for travelers to figure
out where they are. It is the GPS. It has 24
satellites that orbit the earth and constant
broadcast their positions. Someday you may carry
a small receiver as you hike and use GPS to find
out if you are there yet!
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Useful Expression

• 1. matter n. ??????
• reading matter ????
• This is a matter of no account. I have an
• urgent matter to attend to.
• I have an important matter to talk to you
• 2. destructive adj. ??(?)?
• 3. seismic adj. ? ???
• seismic waves ??
• 5. bounce v. (?)??, ??
• bounce back ??
• 6. vacuum n. ??

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Listening
Dictation
Waves How does light get from the sun to
the earth? How does music get from the stage to
the audience? They move the same way --- in
waves! Light and sound are forms of energy. All
waves carry energy, but they may carry it
differently. Light and sound travel through
different kinds of matter. For example, light
waves cannot move through walls, but sound waves
can. That is why you can hear people talking in
another room even though you cannot see them. The
energy of some waves is destructive. An
earthquake produces seismic waves. Catch a
wave. Ask a friend to stand a few feet away from
you. Stretch a spring between you. Shake the
spring to transfer energy to it. What happens?
The spring bounces up and down in waves. When the
waves reach your friend, they bounce back to
you! Light waves travel 300,000 kilometers (186,
00 miles) per second! They can also travel
through a vacuum. That is why light from the sun
and distant stars can travel through space to the
earth!