Unit 7Unit 7In Other WordsIn Other Words

Unit 7Unit 7In Other WordsIn Other Words

Joseph GongJoseph Gong

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

Linguistic knowledge:• Have a general knowledge of English

synonyms, idioms, proverbs, slang and euphemisms;

• know how to use such language appropriately in different situations;

• understand the difficulty of rendering English idioms into Chinese and vice versa;

• describe the functions of slang words or phrases in native speakers' daily talk, and have an idea of what 'rhyming slang' is.

Culture awareness:

• describe the characteristics of English proverbs and the cultural background of certain proverbs;

• compare the similarities and differences between English and Chinese proverbs by translating some English proverbs into Chinese and vice versa

Learning difficult points and key points

• compare the similarities and differences between English and Chinese proverbs by translating some English proverbs into Chinese and vice versa

• describe the functions of slang words or phrases in native speakers' daily talk, and have an idea of what 'rhyming slang' is

• know how to use such language appropriately in different situations

Step1 Warming up• Task1: Explain the word synonym and

give some examples.Items meaning example

Synonym Lexical items which have the same meaning but differ from one another in several ways.

Idioms

Proverbs Popular short sayings containing words of advice or warning—are an important part of the language and culture of a society.

Slang

Euphemisms

Step2 Reading comprehension

• Task 1 Why Are There Different Words for the Same Thing?

• Read the following passage and write the main idea of the text here. And write on the lines provided below the three ways in which words with the same meaning may differ from one another. The main idea of the above passage is that English is a language particularly rich in synonyms and these synonyms differ from one another in several ways. The three ways that similar words differ from one another mentioned in the text are:

• It may be a difference in regional variety.

• 2. There may be stylistic differences.

• 3. There may also be differences in the emotional connotations of words.

Task 2 Close-reading

• Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true or false. Write 'T' in front of those which are true and 'F' in front of those which are false.

• 1. English is a language that has a profusion of synonyms.

• 2. There has been a tradition in English, particularly in written English, that one should try to use different words to refer to the same thing.

• 3. English people have an enthusiasm for playing with words. Actually there are quite a number of pairs of words which are exactly identical.

• 4. 'Snack' and 'baggin' provide an example to show the difference between formal and informal language.

• 5. 'Sodium chloride' is a synonym of 'salt' but is less frequently used in daily life.

• 6. The same word, such as 'republican', can suggest different meanings different people.

Step 3 Idioms

• An idiom functions as a unit of meaning which cannot be predicted from the literal meaning of its member words.

Task 1 Reading comprehension

• Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

• 1. What do the two English idioms mentioned in the text mean? .

• 2. In giving the example of 'He put his foot in his mouth' and 'He put his wallet in his coat', what point is the author trying to make?

• 3. What is an idiom? How do idioms differ from ordinary phrases?

Task 2 Translation

• 1. Translate the following ten English idioms into Chinese.

English Idioms Chinese Translation

lick somebody's boots

sit at somebody's feet

have a big mouth

a piece of cake

carry coals to Newcastle

at sixes and sevens

the pot calling the kettle

Dutch courage

(build) castles in Spain

the kiss of death

2. Translate the following ten Chinese idioms into

English.Chinese Idioms English Translation

守口如瓶

打退堂鼓

雷声大雨点小

大海捞针

半斤八两

张三李四

Step4 Proverbs• Task 1 Different Cultural

Background, Similar Views What you read below are English

proverbs in the left column and Chinese ones in the right column. Both lists of proverbs are in essence providing us with the similar advice or warning, even if some are expressed in different ways. Now match them by drawing lines between the equivalent ones.

English Proverbs Chinese Proverbs

1. Many hands make light work. a. 甘瓜苦蒂，物无全美。2. It's no use crying over spilt milk. b. 覆水难收。3. Where there is smoke there is fire. c. 失之东隅，收之桑榆。4. Birds of a feather flock together. d 十里不同俗。5. Idleness is the root of all evil. e. 无风不起浪。6. There is no rose without a thorn. f. 众人拾柴火焰高。7. All good things must come to an end. g. 种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。8. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. h.一懒生百邪。9. Live and let live. i. 天下没有不散的宴席。10. As you sow, so you reap. j. 物以类聚。11. Other countries, other manners. k. 得饶人处且饶人。12. What we lose on the swings l. 亲身下河知深浅。13. gain on the roundabouts. m.亲口尝梨知酸甜。

Task2 Translate the following proverbs into

Chinese in the competition way

1. Empty-headed persons are always the most talkative and noisy.2. No one except he who is experiencing it knows the cause of a difficulty. His behaviour is

not understood by others because they are unaware of the motive behind it.3. Anyone who claims more than he is already receiving is very likely to get nothing at all

in the future.4. People whose own conduct is open to criticism should not criticise the conduct of others,

who may retaliate by accusing their accusers.5. A thing may be small enough, yet it may produce at last the feeling of being intolerable

when it comes after many other troublesome things.6. If too many people try to do the same thing at the same time, chaos will reign.7. Even when things seem at their very worst, they may shortly improve.8. It is better to accept something small than to reject it and hope to get more later on.9. If we attempt to do too much at once, we shall not do anything properly.10. When two adversaries are of equal strength of character, the contest of wills is certain to

be long and hard-fought.

Step 5 Slang, Taboo Words and Euphemisms

• Task 1 Different Situation and Different Styles

• The words or phrases in the box below are some descriptions of the different language characteristics of the two passages that follow. Read the two passages and then choose the words describing each passage from the box and list them below. The first two have been entered for you as an example.

formal casual straight from the heart well-prepared written spoken

using some technical terms parallel constructions long sentences

short, simple sentences using the most common everyday words informalusing slang words and 'four-letter' words loose

constructions

• Passage 1 Passage 2• formal

informal(casual)• _______ _______• _______ ________• _______ ________

Task 2 Styles and SlangDefinitions Examples theory

Styles

Slang

Task 3 Euphemisms• What you read below are euphemistic

terms in Colum A that are used to refer indirectly to the words in Column B. This indirect way of referring to something Is sometimes used to avoid embarrassment and sometimes to achieve a humorous effect.

• Now match them by drawing lines between them.

Column A Column Ba 、 casket h 、 cancerb 、 push up the daisies g 、 mentally

subnormalc 、 little girls' room j 、 drankd 、 spend a penny k 、 rat catchere 、 on the heavy side l 、 lief 、 physically handicapped m 、 crippledg 、 no tall there n 、 dismiss

Homework

• Finish the exercises of Unit7• Think of a case which matches this

unit and try to do a case analysis