Unit 3 Born to Win新编大学英语第二版第二册教案

Unit 3 Born to Win

Useful Information

It would be convenient if a ―good birth‖ meant that a person was born to win. In fact, rather than being born to win, most successful people have been educated or trained to win. Winning requires adequate skills, opportunity to use these skills productively, and most of all, an attitude which guarantees that the winning individual will work hard and stay with a task until it is completed. There are countless examples which could be given: Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Mahatma Ghandi, Deng Xiaoping etc. For each of these winners it is clear that good habits and a good attitude were at least as important as good inherited skills. The fact is that a good set of inherited skills is as likely to occur in a person born into poverty as it is in a person born into wealth. Comfort has often been the curse of the wealthy, and there is little support for the idea that a life of ease will lead to a life as a winner.

In nearly every field of work or profession there are winners who have come from humble beginnings. In the United States, this was so evident to many people that there have been many books written in praise of the individual who struggles early in life to become a winner or a person widely known as successful. In the early part of the last century, one of the favorite series of books for young people was written by the author, Horatio Alger. The titles of the books tell you the theme of most of them: Rags to Riches, Risen from the Ranks, Facing the World, the Young Explorer etc. In each of these books the hero figure comes from a humble beginning, but through hard work, serious study, attention to the rules, and good virtue, he becomes a winner in life. Indeed, these books became the introduction for many young Americans to the concept that ―When the going gets tough, the tough get going.‖ It may be true that virtue is not always rewarded, but most persons behave as if in fact this is usually true. Sayings like, ―Honesty is the best policy,‖ ―Nothing succeeds like success,‖ ―Genius is more often due to perspiration than inspiration,‖ ―Winners never lose, losers never win‖ are so common that they sometimes are not appreciated for the influence they have on young persons.

In addition, there are many stories of athletes, artists, musicians and actors etc., who have overcome great handicaps to become winners in their fields of performance. You may have heard of Michael Jordon and Pete Marovich (Basketball), Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle (Baseball), Wilma Rudolph and Pavo Nurmi (Track), Beethoven and Mozart (Music), Rembrandt and Picasso (Art). All of these people were winners in their own way, and all are respected for their contributions to society.

The next time when you see a person who is a winner in life, remember that it is not that they were ―born to win.‖ The usual case is that they had formed good habits of

learning and living, and they had an attitude which caused them to succeed and never to consider defeat or loss as an acceptable outcome.

Part One Preparation

1. What Does Winning Mean? STEP ONE Samples

―Winning means being happy.

―Winning means being No. 1 or one of the best in your field. ―Winning means being able to make great contributions to society. ―Winning means being able to overcome great difficulties that others can’t. ―Winning means making a lot of money.

―Winning means doing what you enjoy and being good at it. ―Winning means having good health and a happy family. ―Winning means that you can be the kind of person you want to be.

STEP TWO Samples

―From the answers we got, we can see that most students think winning doesn’t mean having a lot of money or being someone important. Most students think that being able to do what one likes and do well in it is winning. What’s more, health and a happy family are also considered very important for a winner.

―According to what we got from our interviewees, the brightest and the best in different fields or professions are winners. Most students admire and respect them very much and hope they can be one of them some day. They say these people are the great contributors to our society, and also the driving force for the development and progress of human beings.

2. Winners in My Eyes Samples

―I think Helen Keller is a winner. Even though she became blind and deaf at a very early age, she didn’t give up. With the help of her teacher, she became a teacher, writer and lecturer. She couldn’t see or hear, but she learned to read and write by touch and feeling. Helen also learned several foreign languages: French, German, Latin and Greek. Helen always wanted to try what others could do.

―For me, my father is a winner. He was born into a very poor family. He hardly had enough to eat. Every week he had to walk 20 kilometers to school. Though he dropped

out later due to the lack of money, he taught himself and became a teacher at a village school. He sent my brothers and me to school. Now my brothers and I are all studying in national key universities. For others, my father may be a very ordinary person. But to me, he is a real winner.

―In my eyes, Deng Xiaoping was a real winner. He experienced a lot of ups and downs during his whole life. He had been dismissed from office at least three times and when people didn’t believe he would be able to resume his political power he came back stronger than before. Especially during the last 20 years of his life, he became the most powerful person in China and won tremendous admiration and respect of Chinese people. His strength and intelligence made him a unique politician and national hero. He was the toughest leader of his time.

3. What accounts for success? Samples

―I think intelligence and hard work are the most important things. First you must be intelligent. You won’t be able to succeed if you are stupid. But intelligence alone is not enough. You also need to work hard. Success is something you have to earn painstakingly.

―In my opinion, the most important thing is to be prepared and perseverant. Opportunities only favor those who are prepared. Many people complain that they don’t have the opportunity to succeed. That is not true. The fact is that they are not ready and don’t see the opportunity, not to say how to seize it. Then perseverance is also very important. Once you start a thing, you shouldn’t give up when you face difficulty. You have to try again and again to figure out a way to solve the problem. There are a lot of stories about how winners persist on the way to success.

―I think your dreams and the determination to pursue them are two vital factors for your success. Once you make up your mind to follow your dreams, you will become very independent and diligent. Besides, physical fitness is also important to success. As the old saying goes: ―Health is the capital to revolution.‖ Then to succeed, you also need outside support such as social relationships and family influence. They will contribute to your success if you can use them properly.

Part Two Reading-Centered Activities

In-Class Reading

I. Pre-Reading 1) Open No. 1.Open Yes.

2.Open No. 3.Open Yes. 4.Open Yes. 5.Open No.

II. Passage Reading

Words, Phrases and Grammatical Points

1. capability (l. 3) capacity (l. 12) capability

1) the quality of being able to do something, ability 能力，才能，性能 e.g. I) You have the capability of doing this job well.

II) Does the company have the capability to change to meet market needs? 2) capabilities (plural) undeveloped gift or quality 潜在能力，素质 e.g. I) He has great capabilities as a writer.

II) I can speak French, but simultaneous translation is beyond my capabilities. capacity

1) ability to hold or contain something 容量，容积 e.g. I) This bottle has a large capacity.

II) The room has a seating capacity for about 80. 2) power to produce something 产量，生产力 e.g. I) All factories are working at full capacity.

II) The company has the capacity to build 1500 trucks a year.

3) ability to produce, experience, understand or learn something 能力，才能 e.g. I) Our capacity for giving care, love and attention is limited. II) Children have a remarkable capacity to learn language. 4) a particular position or duty 职位，身份

e.g. I) She is employed by them in an advisory capacity.

II) I attended the meeting in my capacity as chairman of the safety committee. 2. limit (n. ) limitation (l. 4) limit

1) the point, edge, or line beyond which something cannot or may not proceed 限度，界限

e.g. I) No fishing is allowed within a twenty-mile limit.

II) He has not been outside the limits of the prison walls for 20 years.

2) the greatest or least amount, number, speed, etc. that is allowed or possible 限额 e.g. I) The speed limit on this road is 70 mph.

II) He borrowed money up to the limit that the bank allowed. limitation

1) the act of limiting or the state of being limited限制，限度