Unit 2 Values  I. Lead-inLead-in  II. Text AnalysisText Analysis  III. Language PointsLanguage Points  IV. Presentation and ExercisesPresentation and Exercises

Background Information Sam Walton:  An American retailing executive, was born in 1918 in Oklahoma. After 17 years of operating franchise retail stores, he opened the first Wal-Mart Discount City in Arkansas, in Walton developed Wal-Mart into a chain of massive centrally controlled stores that were typically sited in small towns and rural areas. The stores featured heavy discounting, smaller profit margins than usual coupled with higher-volume sales, and a customer-oriented staff. Wal-Mart flourished, went public in 1970, and by 1991 had become a multibillion-dollar business and America’s largest retailer with 1,700 stores. Walton, who stepped aside as CEO of the company in 1988 but remained active in its management, was by 1985 the wealthiest person in the United States.

Background Information Forbes  Forbes is an American business magazine. It is noted for its lists of the richest men and women in business. In its November 27, 2000 edition it published one listing the 50 richest businessmen and women in China, headed by Rong Yiren of CITIC with 1.9 billion dollars, followed in second place by Liu Yongxing of the Hope Group with 1 billion dollars. The richest businesswoman on the list was Yang Lan of Sun Television, with 63 million dollars. homehome

Lead-in Discussion  1. If you find a two-year-old boy is trying to put a key into a box, will you help him immediately?  2. Can you recall how your parents taught you in your childhood? Did they like to teach you by holding your hand?  3. Which way did you prefer when you were in trouble with one of your toys in your childhood, turning to your parents for help, or exploring by yourselves? homehome

II. Text Analysis Part Division PartLineMain idea 11 ~ 4 25 ~ ~ 22 The waiter was disappointed to find that the Richest Man in America led so simple a life. Being friendly, easy-going and never flashy, Walton carries on like plain folks and never wants any special treatment. With the Wal-Mart team in mind, Walton devotes himself heart and soul to making the business a great success.

Text Analysis Writing Strategy  To make a character portrait convincing, an author must refrain from telling readers directly what the person is like. Instead, he/she lets readers deduce.  Of all the methods of indirect description, the one used most frequently in Text A is quotation, The author quotes not only Sam Walton himself, but also his townsfolk and colleagues. The text begins with an anecdote: how waiter Jamie Beaulieu had anticipated a lavish mansion at the Waltons, only to find an ordinary-looking household. This kind of beginning lures readers to go on. There are other anecdotes, like how Sam Walton forgot his wallet, and insisted on fetching it to pay the local barber, and how he lost 4 straight games after a Wal-Mart employee asked him a question about pricing. 

Writing Strategy  Sam Walton is a folksy guy, of which a lot of examples are given. Examples of how generous an employer he is are also plentiful.  Jamie Beaullieu ’ s anticipation and the reality he later found out form a contrast. It reveals Sam Walton ’ s down-home characteristics. When retired company president Ferold F. Arend compared Sam Walton with his previous employer, we appreciate further Sam Walton ’ s generosity. home

Language Points Sentences Study  He imagined what surely awaited (line 2):  --- He imagined what he was surely to see.

Language Points Sentences Study  Only in America can a billionaire carry on like plain folks (line 14)...  ---It is only in America that a billionaire can live in the same way as ordinary people... more

Language Points Sentences Study  only: In writing and formal speech, you can put “ only ” at the beginning of a sentence, followed by the word, word group, or clause it modifies, and then you put an auxiliary or “ be ” : followed by the subject of the main clause. Examples:  Only here was it safe to prepare and handle hot drinks.  Only when the injured limb is fully mobile will the runner be encouraged to re- strengthen it.

Language Points Sentences Study  "Look, he's just not that way. “ (line 10):  ---You see, he is not the sort of person to reserve seats for himself.

Language Points Sentences Study  It buried the Forbes list at the bottom of page 2 (line 36):  --- The Forbes list was arranged at the bottom of page 2 in the Benton County Daily Democrat so that it could not be found easily.

Language Points Sentences Study  cut prices and margins to the bone (line 62):  --- reduce prices and margins considerably or dramatically

Language Points Sentences Study ... who was stunned at such generosity after the stingy employer he left to join Wal-Mart (line 75):... who, having left his stingy employer to join Wal-Mart, was shocked at such generosity by Walton

Language Points Vocabulary  1. remote: far away in space or time Examples:  The supply of electricity to remote mountainous villages is one of the local development projects in Yunnan province.  Taming the deserts is no longer a dream of the remote future but a practical human endeavor.

Language Study Vocabulary  2. discount: amount of money which may be taken off the full price Examples:  Traditional retailers who've opened cyberstores may offer special discounts to online shoppers.  Though online bookstores usually offer discounts, don't expect to save much.

Language Study Vocabulary  3. carry on: behave or conduct oneself in a specific way Examples:  There's nothing unusual about them. They carry on just like everybody else.  He carries on as if he were a millionaire, spending money left, right and centre.

Language Study Vocabulary  4. get away with: do sth. wrong or risky without being caught or punished Examples:  They claimed that they knew how to play the system and get away with it.  Eric has been getting away with tax fraud for years.

Language Study Vocabulary  by/from all accounts: according to what everyone says Examples:  Tom, by all accounts, is a superb teacher.  The Chinese football team will play the Koreans tonight. It should be a match worth watching, by all accounts.

Language Study Vocabulary  6 ． blend in/into: If sb. blends into a particular group or situation, or if they blend in, they seem to elong there or are not noticeable, because their behavior is similar to that of the other people involved, (used in the patterns: blend in; blend into sth.; blend in with sth.)

Language Points Vocabulary Examples:  What he said reinforced my determination to blend in with my surroundings.  As a newly-appointed manager, he was not sure whether he could blend in.  The painter blended in with the crowd at the art sale.

Language Study Vocabulary  7 ． throw one's weight around: behave in an aggressively arrogant way Examples:  Mr. Smith is not much of a manager. He always throws his weight around.  Folks don't like their chairman as he always throws his weight around.

Language Study Vocabulary  8. reserve: 1) order or book (a seat, book, room, table, etc.) Examples:  The service at that five-star restaurant is excellent. I'll reserve a table for five there.  Demand will be huge, so ask your friends to reserve tickets for the concert.

Language Points Vocabulary  2) keep for a special use (used in the pattern: be reserved for sb./sth.) Examples:  In the United States lanes are reserved for cars with more than one occupant.  Some seats on the buses are reserved for the old.

Language Study Vocabulary  9 ． on the run: continuously active and moving about; try to avoid being captured Examples:  I have been on the run all day and I am exhausted.  He has to be on the run from one office to another to get the permit to open a take ­ away restaurant.  He is on the run from the police.

Language Study Vocabulary  10 ． and the like: and other things of the same sort If you mention particular things or people and then add "and the like", you are indicating that there are other similar things or people that can be included in what you are saying. Examples:  Many students are also keeping fit through jogging, aerobics, weight training, and the like.  Always carry your passport, money and the like with you while you are traveling abroad.

Language Study Vocabulary  11. cultivate: 1) make a special effort to establish and develop (sth.) Examples:  They encourage students to cultivate special interests in theoretical physics.  Some students try to cultivate a love of art.

Language Points Vocabulary Cultivate 2) prepare land and grow crops on it Examples:  They cultivated 500 acres in the suburb.  The remote area has barely been cultivated for decades.

Language Study Vocabulary  12. come/get aboard: (AmE, infml) join Examples:  New employees who came aboard in the last six weeks have not been tested.  This is her second promotion since coming aboard. home

Presentation and Exercises Role Play Carry on dialogues with your partner based on the following situations: 1.Suppose you are a Wal-Mart executive and your partner a Wal-Mart salesman. You are talking about your boss, Sam Walton. 2.Imagine one of you is Sam Walton and the other his friend. Now Sam is inviting his friend to his 50th birthday party on the phone.

AF-Sy Presentation and Exercises Synonyms Find out in Text A synonyms or synonymous phrases for “down- home”. Para 5 Para 6 Para 7 Para 11 carry on like plain folks folksy ways friendly, cheerful, a fine neighbor who does his best to blend in, never flashy, never throwing his weight around not a front-page person