Unit 4 Why I Want a Wife

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Unit 4 Why I Want a Wife
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Teaching objectives

• By the end of this unit, you are supposed to
• understand the main idea, structure of the text
  and the authors writing style
• master the key language points and grammatical
  structures in the text
• be able to discuss the roles of women and their
  status

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Teaching Procedure

• 1. Pre-reading Questions 10
• 2. Text I. Tyranny of the Urgent
• Text Comprehension 10
• Main idea of the passage
• Structure analysis
• Language points 120
• sentence studies
• vocabulary studies
• 3. Text II. Of Marriage and Single Life 15
• 4. Exercises 60
• 5. Revision 10

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Pre-reading Questions

• Q1 Is there any change today in womens status
  in China and around the world?
• A Economic status, social status in and out of
  the family, job opportunities
• Feminism (First-wave second-wave)
• Suffrage

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Pre-reading questions

• Q2 Who is Judy Syfers? When and where was this
  article published?
• A This classic piece of feminist humor appeared
  in the premier issue of Ms. Magazine and was
  widely circulated in the women's movement.)
• Read the article and find out why it was so
  popular in the womens movement?

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Background I

• First-wave feminism refers to a period of
  feminist activity during 19th century and early
  20th century in the United Kingdom and the United
  States.
• It primarily focused on gaining the right of
  women's suffrage.
• The term, "first-wave," was coined retroactively
  after the term second-wave feminism began to be
  used to describe a newer feminist movement.

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Background II

• Second-wave feminism
• The movement encouraged women to understand
  aspects of their own personal lives as deeply
  politicized, and reflective of a sexist structure
  of power.
• It was largely concerned with issues of equality
  ranging from the economic to the reproductive.

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Text Comprehension

• 1. What is the main idea of the text?
• The roles of a wife plays
• What is the thesis statement? Does the writer
  state it explicitly? (For later discussion)
• 2. How many parts do you think the article can be
  divided into? Why?
• Part I 1-2 Introduction
• Part II 3-9 All functions and services of a wife
• Part III 10 Conclusion

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Text I Why I Want a Wife
classification

• 1 I belong to that _________ of people known as
  wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether
  incidentally, I am a mother.
• 2 Not too long ago a male friend of mine
  appeared on the scene fresh from a recent
  divorce. He had on child, who is, of course, with
  his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I
  thought about him while I was ironing one
  evening, it suddenly ________ me that I too,
  would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?

occurred to
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Part I Introduction

• 1. Who is the narrator? How does she introduce
  herself? What doesnt she state her position
  directly?
• A house wife. I belong to that classification of
  It is a bitter satire of the disregard of
  women/wives. The opening arouses the interests of
  readers.
• 2. What does it mean by not altogether
  incidentally?
• To bear children is a part of wifes obligations,
  which they cannot escape.

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• Paraphrase Sentence 1
• Recently, one of my male friends, newly divorced,
  became available.
• 2. What is her attitude towards her male friend?
  What is her tone? What does of course indicate?
  
• She shows a slight contempt towards the male
  friend. She pretends to sound objective, but
  actually she hates those self-centered men, who,
  in almost all cases, escape from the
  responsibility of raising their children.

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classification

• C a division within a group
• Job s
• U the act of classifying people or things into
  groups
• eg. ????????????????????????
• The of all the library books took longer than
  wed expected.

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incidentally

• In a way that was not planned, but as a result of
  sth else
• Eg. ?????,???????????
• Quite , I got some information at the party.

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A friend of mine

• Double genitive, to emphasize or express emotions
• Ex. P48 III 1,2,3
• One the ideas of Johns
• Two colleagues of mine
• Some friends of ours

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On the scene

• To be involved in a situation, activity, etc
• Here, the author introduces his male friend, who
  is looking for a wife.

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Fresh from sth

• 1.having just come from a particular place or
  experience
• Eg, ??????????
• The team is fresh from their victory over the
  French.
• 2. having just finished your education or
  training, and not having a lot of experience.
• ?????????????????????
• The company is mainly composed of young people
  fresh from school.

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divorce

• 1. N. C/U the legal ending of a marriage
• ?????????
• Why doesnt she get a
• ?????
• The rise in the rate
• 2. V. T,I
• David???????????
• Davids parents d when he was six.
• ?????????
• She threatened to him.

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Occur to sb.

• To come into someones mind
• Cf 1. Something occurred while passengers were
  waiting to board the plane.
• 2. Something occurred to me while
• 3. Something happened to me while
• Eg ?????,???????????
• Just as I was leaving the house, it to me that
  I had forgotten my keys.

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Part II Para3-9

• 1. What is the main focus of each paragraph? (EX
  III1)
• family physical needs emotional needs social
  life sex faithfulness
• Apart from the roles mentioned in
  the text, what else do you think a woman can do?
• Think Why is wife consistently used throughout
  the text instead of the pronoun she or her?
  (For later discussion)

Discuss
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• 3 I would like to go back to school so that I can
  become economically independent, support myself,
  and if need be, support those dependent upon me.
  I want a wife who will work and send me to
  school. And while I am going to school I want a
  wife to take care of my children. I want a wife
  to keep track of the childrens doctor and
  dentist appointments. And to ___________ mine,
  too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat
  properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who
  will wash the childrens clothes and keep them
  mended.

keep track of
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• I want a wife who is a good nurturing attendant
  to my children, who arranges for their schooling,
  makes sure that they have an adequate social life
  with their peers, takes them to the park, the
  zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes care of the
  children when they are sick, a wife who arranges
  to be around when the children need special care,
  because, of course, I cannot miss classes at
  school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work
  and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in
  my wifes income from time to time, but I guess I
  can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will
  arrange and pay for the care of the children
  while my wife is working.

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• 1.Does it have a topic sentence? What is the main
  idea?
• No. The wifes duty of taking care of children
  and working while I am at school
• 2. What can you infer from the first sentence?
• Women were economically dependent on men.
• 3. Paraphrase
• S1 I want my wife to work as a servant and care
  my children both physically and emotionally. She
  has to make plans for their school education and
  make sure that they are well socialized/ keep a
  healthy relationship with other children.

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Keep track of

• To have accurate and up-to-date information about
  something all the time
• Eg. ?????????????????
• How do you manage to the latest economic
  development?
• Cf. lose track of

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Be around

• If someone or sth is , they are somewhere in the
  place where you are
• Eg. ??????????????????????
• Why is there never a policeman when you need
  one?
• ??????
• Is your dad ?
• The list is somewhere .

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• 4 I want a wife who will take care of my
  physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my
  house clean. A wife who will pick up after my
  children, a wife who will pick up after me. I
  want a wife who will keep my clothes clean,
  ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who
  will _________ that my personal things are kept
  in their proper place so that I can find what I
  need the minute I need it. I want a wife who
  cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I
  want a wife who will plan the menus, do the
  necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals,
  serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning
  up while I do my studying. I want a wife who
  will care for me when I am sick and ____________
  with my pain and loss of time from school. I want
  a wife to go along when our family takes a
  vacation so that someone can continue to care
  for me and my children when I need a rest and a
  change of scene.

see to it
sympathize
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• 1. What is the main idea?
• Physical needs of the husband and children
• 2. What details does the author mention in the
  paragraph?
• House cleaning-cooking-sickness-outing
• 3. Paraphrase
• She will make sure that my personal things are
  kept orderly, so that I can find them right away.

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Pick up after

• Informal, to tidy things that someone else has
  left untidy
• ??????????
• Im tired of ing up after you!

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See to it

• To make sure or check that something is done
• ???,?????
• Dont worry, Ill .
• ?????????????????????
• The hotel owners see to it that their guests are
  given every luxury

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Care for

• 1. look after take care of
• He thanked the nurses who had d for him while he
  was sick.
• 2. rather formal, like sth
• Would you sth?
• ???????????
• I dont much his parents.

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sympathize

• To feel sorry for someone because you understand
  their problems
• ????????????
• I can with those who have lost loved ones.

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• 5 I want a wife who will not bother me with
  ________ complaints about a wifes duties. But I
  want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the
  need to explain a rather difficult point I have
  come across in my course of studies. And I want a
  wife who will type my papers for me when I have
  written them.

rambling
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Para 5

• 1. What is the main idea?
• The requirements about their communication
• 2. Come across
• Meet, discover or find by chance

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• 6 I want a wife who will take care of the details
  of my social life. When my wife and I are invited
  out by our friends, I want a wife who will take
  care of the baby-sitting arrangements. When I
  meet people at school that I like and want to
  __________, I want a wife who will have the house
  clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to
  me and my friends. I want a wife who will have
  arranged that the children are fed and ready for
  bed before my guests arrive so that the children
  do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of
  the needs of my guest so that they feel
  comfortable, who makes sure that they have an
  ashtray, that they are passed the hors doeuvres,
  that they are offered a second helping of the
  food, that their wine glasses are ___________
  when necessary, that their coffee is served to
  them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows
  that sometimes I need a night out by myself.

entertain
replenished
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Para 6

• 1. What is the topic sentence? Main idea?
• The first sentence social life
• 2. Which details has the author mention in this
  paragraph?
• Housekeeping Children take care of my guests
  freedom

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entertain

• 1. to invite people to your home for a meal,
  party etc, or to take your companys customers
  somewhere to have a meal, drinks etc
• ????????Mark??
• Mark usually does the cooking when we .
• 2. to amuse or interest people
• ?????????
• A museum should aim to as well as educate.

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replenish

• Formal, to make sth full again, esp. with
  supplies of sth such as water or food
• ?????,?????????????????
• In an emergency, water can be pumped in this way
  to the irrigation canals.
• Cf. refill
• As soon as she emptied her glass, the waiter ed
  it.
• Can I have a , please?

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• 7 I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual
  needs, a wife who makes love passionately and
  eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes
  sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want
  a wife who will not demand sexual attention when
  I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who
  assumes the complete responsibility for birth
  control, because I do not want more children. I
  want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to
  me so that I do not have to clutter up my
  intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a
  wife who understands that my sexual needs may
  entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I
  must, after all, be able to relate to people as
  fully as possible.

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Para 7

• 1.What is the main idea?
• Their sex life
• 2. Paraphrase
• I want a wife who will be faithful to me in sex
  so that my intellectual life will not be
  adversely affected by jealousies. I also want a
  wife who understands that I need at times to have
  some affairs outside wedlock so as to have my
  sexual needs fully satisfied.

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Assume

• To start to have control, responsibility etc or
  to start in a particular position or job
• Whoever they appoint will responsibility for
  all financial matters.
• Jim Paton will the role of managing director.

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entail

• To involve sth as a necessary part or result
• ??????????????
• Writing a history book s a lot of work.

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• 8 If, by chance, I find another person more
  suitable as a wife than the wife I already have,
  I want the liberty to replace my present wife
  with another one. Naturally, I will expect a
  fresh, new life my wife will take the children
  and be solely responsible for them so that I am
  left free.

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Para 8

• 1. What is the main idea?
• Double standards, which push the argument to
  extremes and sound absurd

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• 9 When I am through with school and have a job,
  I want my wife to quit working and remain at home
  so that my wife can more fully and completely
  take care of a wifes duites.
• 10 My God, who wouldnt want a wife?

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Para 9

• 1. Main idea?
• Wives are supposed to work at home and be
  housewives. They are deprived of their
  independent social status at the will of their
  husbands.

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Part III Para 10

• 1. How does the author end the article?
• Rhetorical question.
• 2. Do you think there is any better way to
  conclude the article? Discuss with your partners.
• Succinct and powerful, bitter satire to reveal
  the ridiculous demands of husbands

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Discussion

• 1. Does the writer state the thesis explicitly?
• Wives are not respected as an individuals of an
  intellectual but only nurses and attachment to
  their husbands.
• 2. Why is wife consistently used throughout the
  text instead of the pronoun she or her?
• In their eye, wives equal duties and
  responsibilities. Her sex is ignored.

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Writing Skills

• 1. The style
• Free (examples? No rigid form), informal
  (examples? Phrasal verbs but not long words)
• 2. Rhetorical devices
• Repetition P3 lose time
• wife instead of her/she
• Rhetorical question

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Text II Discussion

• 1. According to Bacon, who is more likely to make
  great contributions to the public, a married man
  or single man?
• 2. What role does a wife play at different stages
  of a mans life?

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Exercises

• TRANSLATION
• 2.It never occurred to me that he would ever do
  such a thing.
• 3.If need be, I will try my best to persuade him.
• 4. After graduation, it is difficult to keep
  track of my fellow students.
• 5. Who is going to see to the desserts?
• 6. Dont bother your boss with such trifles.
• 7. My job was to replenish our stock from time to
  time.
• 8. He often clutters up his study.

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Quick revision

• 1. Thesis revisits
• 2. Writing skills
• 3.. Language points

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Assignments
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Thanks!