Passage A
Before Reading
Activity 1
Please read the famous quote below, understand the quote by consulting the reference and then recite it.
Crafty men contempt studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation.
— Francis Bacon
Activity 2
Please enjoy a video clip “Door to Door” which is relevant to the passage we are going to learn.Fill in the blanks while watching.
A Door-to-door Salesman
I am Montana Mithels, a door-to-door salesman, and I am trying to sell things.At the first time, I 1) that everyone needs a spoon but he slammed the door.At the second time, “Wanna buy some silver ware?” I asked and 2) again.At the third time, I began to add 3) on the stuff, but the result was still the same.I started to reflect on myself and 4) myself.The continuous refusal did not make me depressed.I changed the tactic.The master of the fourth house is a 5) .He said he did not need any plates.I deliberately mentioned those plates were handcrafted in Sweden, and he finally bought six plates from me.
Activity 3
Please conduct a survey by completing the questionnaire below.
Activity 4
Please report to the classmates the result of the survey in reference to the following suggested sentence structures.
To introduce:
■ The purpose / aim of this report
■ As requested
■ This survey was carried out / conducted by means of
■ The questionnaire consisted of
■ ...
To generalize:
■ In general
■ Generally
■ On the whole
■ ...
To refer to a fact:
■ The fact is that
■ In fact
■ In practice
■ ...
To conclude / summarize:
■ In conclusion
■ All things considered
■ To sum up
■ All in all
■ It is not easy to reach any definite conclusions
■ If any conclusions may be drawn from the data
■ It is clear that
■ The survey shows / indicates / demonstrates
■ ...
Play with Words
Challenge Your Classmates
Before you start to read the passage, please complete the questionnaire below.
Use this questionnaire to interview your classmates, and then report your f indings in class.
Develop Your Understanding
Success Hides behind the Next Bend in the Road
Try to f ind answers to the following questions.
1.What’s the purpose of this marketing competition?
2.Who is the first customer to buy the author’s candle?
3.What kind of requirement did the host mom have to buy candles?
4.What excuses did the neighbors use to refuse the author?
5.What’s the result of the author’s marketing competition?
On my first marketing class in Imperial College, my teacher, Mr.Jonathan held a marketing competition; in the following week,we were asked to raise money for National Animal Foundation by selling candles.
At the beginning, I tried to sell some candles to my host mom.She said that if I could show confidence and do a wonderful sales presentation, she would certainly buy some.I started my presentation with a firm handshake.Then I introduced all the different kinds of candles and the special sales I could offer and convinced her that our candles were the best choices for gifts and home decorations.Finally she bought three candles.
imperial / ɪm'pɪərɪəI / a.皇家的；帝国的
raise / reɪz / v.筹集；募集
National Animal Foundation 国家动物基金会
presentation / ,prezn'teɪʃn / n.陈述；展示
special sales 特价销售
convince / kən'vɪns / v.说服；使信服
decoration / ,dekə'reɪʃn / n.装饰品；装饰
Greatly encouraged, I decided to sell my candles around the neighborhood.I knocked at the door of my first potential buyer.“I’m a student at Imperial College and we are raising money for NAF.I’m trying to sell...” “Not today, sorry.” The man interrupted me and shut the door.
Embarrassed, I walked away and said to myself the worst thing that might happen was being refused like that again.I couldn’t even count how many times I was refused.However, I stick to the faith that failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road.After each little success I couldn’t even hide my happiness and get a better understanding about what marketing is.
In the end, I turned in my $408.It was the first time that I had realized that learning by doing does work.This experience also let me know that worrying about difficulties was only wasting time and a barrier in my way to success.
potential / pə'tnʃI / a.潜在的
interrupt / ,ɪntə'rʌpt / v.打断；打扰
stick to 坚持；粘住
encounter / ɪn'kaʊntə /v.遇见；遭遇
bend / bend / n.拐弯；弯道
turn in 上交；归还
work / wəːk / v.起作用；有效
barrier / 'bærɪə / n.障碍
Check Your Study
Activity 1
Choose the best answers according to the passage.
1.In this marketing competition, students were asked to raise money for ________.
A）National Museum
C）National Volunteer Association
B）National Animal Foundation
D）Imperial College
2.At the beginning, the author tried to sell some candles to ________.
A）her host mom
C）her teacher
B）her neighborhood
D）her classmate
3.The author was refused by the first potential buyer, feeling ________.
A）encouraged
C）embarrassed
B）indifferent
D）scared
4.The author kept trying after several failures, because she knew ________.
A）there would be hope to succeed
B）the candles were excellent in quality
C）the profit would be great
D）the sales activity was just a game
5.Throughout the activity, the author realized ________.
A）she won the competition and earned $408
B）worrying about difficulties was useless
C）learning by doing is a way to acquire knowledge
D）how many times she was refused by her neighbors
Activity 2
Read the passage quickly, and f ill in the blanks.
Success Hides behind the Next Bend in the Road
The main idea:
The experience of market competition helped the author get a better understanding about what 1）___________ is, build up the idea that success hides behind the next bend, and realize that learning by 2）___________ does work.
Course:Marketing
Task:To raise money for NAF by 3）___________.
Completion of the task:
First try, the author successfully sold three candles to her 4）___________.
Later, the author was refused for many times, but she continued.
In the end, the author raised 5）___________.
Activity 3
Read the passage carefully and f ill in each blank with proper words or phrases.Then try to recite it.
At the beginning, I tried to sell some candles to my host mom.She said that if I could show 1）_____________ and do a wonderful sales 2）____________, she would certainly buy some.I started my presentation with a firm 3）___________.Then I introduced all the different kinds of candles and the special sales I could offer and 4）____________ her that our candles were the best choices for gifts and home 5）____________.Finally she bought three candles.
Activity 4
Work with your partner according to the clues given below.
The student has a different way of studying in college.Discuss with your partner how to make better use of class in college.
Suggested questions:
■ What are the differences between the way of learning in high school and that in college?
■ What can we learn from the class?
■ What kind of other activities may help us to do better on our studying?
■ ...
Useful expressions:
■ self-learning / teacher-centered / student-centered
■ show yourself / express yourself
■ broaden our view / open our mind
■ time management / subjective initiative / self-regulation / autonomy
■ combined with practice
■ ...
Useful sentence paは erns:
■ The class provides us with…
■ We should make the best use of…
■ We should integrate theory with practice.
■ The most obvious difference between high school and college is…
■ It is a good chance for me to…
■ The more… the more…
■ As for me, I think…
■ ...
Further Your Skills
Exercise 1
Match the words in Column A with those in Column B, and then fill in the blanks with proper expressions.Remember that each may be used only once.
1.Students communicate their information via an and a written report.
2.We help our client and competence to success in the English world.
3.Don’t on computer games.
4.Every year we have charity days to for unfortunate people.
5.As long as you work hard, you can overcome the .
Exercise 2
Fill in each blank with the proper form of the word given in brackets and rewrite the sentence according to the requirement written below.
1.She wrote some famous sayings on the wall as（decorate） .
（被动句）___________________________________________________________________________________.
2.A few Western media’s attacks on China were too groundless to（convince） people.
（so...that...从句）____________________________________________________________________________.
3.We have full（confident） that we shall succeed.
（we改为he）________________________________________________________________________________.
4.I believe he can make a wise（choose） .
（过去时）____________________________________________________________________________________.
5.Her success（encourage） me to try the same thing.
（将来时）____________________________________________________________________________________.
6.Traffic was（interrupt） by the dense fog.
（主动句）____________________________________________________________________________________.
7.She was（embarrass） when she arrived at the party an hour early.
（现在分词作时间状语）_______________________________________________________________________.
8.It is（surprise） that the cumulative number of COVID-19 infections exceeds 20
million in the US.
（主语从句+动词+表语）_______________________________________________________________________.
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences by translating the given Chinese into English.
1.You must （上交）your uniform when you leave the army.
2.Reporter should （坚持）investigating the facts.
3.（缺少）confidence is the biggest barrier to be a good sales person.
4.Heavy duties on imports and exports are a （障碍）to international trade.
5.If you persevere with work, you’ll succeed （最终）.