1. Conversational Ballgames
21st Century College English: Book 1
Unit 2: Part A
Conversational Ballgames

2. Pre-Reading Activities Intensive Study Exercises Assignment
Unit Two: Part A
Pre-Reading Activities
Intensive Study
Exercises
Assignment

3. Pre-Reading Discussion Pre-Listening
Pre-Reading Activities
Pre-Reading Discussion
Pre-Listening

4. In Korea, what will happen if you drink too much at a friend’s house?
Warming-up Activity: What if?
In France what will happen if you send flowers before visiting a home for dinner. What if you send chrysanthemums(菊花)?
In the UK what will happen if you stick up your big thumb beside a road? What if you go shopping on Sundays?
In the US what will happen if you tip a waiter with some pennies at a restaurant?
In Korea, what will happen if you drink too much at a friend’s house?
In India and Malaysia, what will happen if you use your left hand to pick up food?
In Japan, what will happen if you bring red roses to a friend’s house? What if you do not bring any present?

5. Words & Phrases Pre-reading Activities: Listening conversation
comment on bowling
lane
connect
converse switch
n. an informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts
v. to express an opinion about someone or something
n. an indoor game (保龄球)
n. 球道，车道；胡同，小巷
v. to join two or more things together
v. to talk informally, to have a conversation
vi. to change

6. Listen to the following passage.
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
Listen to the following passage.
First time:
Second Time:

7. 1. What was the main cause of the problem discussed in the listening?
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
1. What was the main cause of the problem discussed in the listening?
A) She was using a Western style in conversations among the Japanese.
B) She insisted on speaking English even though she was in Japan.
C) She spoke the Japanese language poorly.
D) She was an American woman married to a Japanese man.
A) She was using a Western style in conversations among the Japanese.

8. B) The Western style is more athletic than the Japanese style.
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
2. Which of the following comparisons does the listening make about Japanese and Western conversational styles?
A) The Japanese style is like tennis and the Western style is like volleyball.
B) The Western style is more athletic than the Japanese style.
C) The Japanese style is like bowling and the Western style is like tennis.
D) The Japanese style is like singles tennis and the Western style is like doubles.
B) The Western style is more athletic than the Japanese style.

9. 3. The author considers the Western conversational style to be _____ .
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
3. The author considers the Western conversational style to be _____ .
A) more interactive (互动的)
B) louder
C) more personal
D) better
A) more interactive (互动的)

10. 4. The author considers the Japanese conversational style to be _____.
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
4. The author considers the Japanese conversational style to be _____.
A) easier to adjust to (适应)
B) more strictly (严谨地) organized
C) more traditional
D) better
B) more strictly (严谨地) organized

11. 5. The author concludes that _____.
Pre-reading Activities: Listening
5. The author concludes that _____.
A) once you know the differences, it is easy to adjust to them
B) because she is American, she will never really understand Japan
C) life will be much easier for her students than it was for her
D) it remains difficult to switch from one style to another
D) it remains difficult to switch from one style to another

12. Intensive Study Difficult sentences Key words, phrases & usages
Pre-Reading Activities
Intensive Study
Difficult sentences
Key words, phrases & usages
Related information

13. Conversational Ballgames
Intensive Study
Conversational Ballgames
1 After I was married and had lived in Japan for a while, my Japanese gradually improved to the point where I could take part in simple conversations with my husband, his friends, and family. And I began to notice that often, when I joined in, the others would look startled, and the conversation would come to a halt. After this happened several times, it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong. But for a long time, I didn't know what it was.
a conversation about family and friends
They had a short conversation in German and seemed to be disagreeing about something.
It's impossible to carry on a conversation with all this noise in the background.
'Did you have a good journey?' he said, trying to make conversation .
He was silent, no matter how hard Sofia tried to engage him in conversation .
After a while, the conversation turned to a friend's coming wedding.
They were deep in conversation , relaxed and smiling.

14. Conversational Ballgames
Intensive Study
to make someone suddenly surprised or slightly shocked
Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.
be startled to do something
I was startled to see Amanda.
a startled expression
Conversational Ballgames
1 After I was married and had lived in Japan for a while, my Japanese gradually improved to the point where I could take part in simple conversations with my husband, his friends, and family. And I began to notice that often, when I joined in, the others would look startled, and the conversation would come to a halt. After this happened several times, it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong. But for a long time, I didn't know what it was.
slowly, over a long period of time
Jill gradually became aware of an awful smell.
Gradually, my ankle got better.
Something's gone wrong with my watch.
No, no - you've got it all wrong! We're just friends!
Don't get me wrong - I like Jenny.
You can't go wrong with a little black dress, can you?
I couldn't help noticing the bruises on her arm.

15. Intensive Study
2 Finally, after listening carefully to many Japanese conversations, I discovered what my problem was. Even though I was speaking Japanese, I was handling the conversation in a Western way.
3 Japanese-style conversations develop quite differently from western-style conversations. And the difference isn't only in the languages. I realized that just as I kept trying to hold western-style conversations even when I was speaking Japanese, so were my English students trying to hold Japanese style conversations even when they were speaking English. We were unconsciously playing entirely different conversational ballgames.

16. Intensive Study
4 A western-style conversation between two people is like a game of tennis. If I introduce a topic, a conversational ball, I expect you to hit it back. If you agree with me, I don't expect you simply to agree and do nothing more. I expect you to add something — a reason for agreeing, another example, or a remark to carry the idea further. But I don't expect you always to agree. I am just as happy if you question me, or challenge me, or completely disagree with me. Whether you agree or disagree, your response will return the ball to me.
something that you say when you express an opinion or say what you have noticed
The Senator denied making the remark .
He was fired for making racist remarks during an interview.

17. Intensive Study
5 And then it is my turn again. I don't serve a new ball  from my original starting line. I hit your ball back again from where it has bounced. I carry your idea further, or answer your questions or objections, or challenge or question you. And so the ball goes back and forth.
6 If there are more than two people in the conversation, then it is like doubles in tennis or like volleyball. There's no waiting in line. Whoever is nearest and quickest hits the ball, and if you step back, someone else will hit it. No one stops the game to give you a turn. You're responsible for taking your own turn and no one person has the ball for very long.
We travel back and forth all the time between Canada and England.
He was pacing back and forth across the room.

18. Intensive Study
7 A Japanese style conversation, however, is not at all like tennis or volleyball, it's like bowling. You wait for your turn, and you always know your place in line. It depends on such things as whether you are older or younger, a close friend or a relative stranger to the previous speaker, in a senior or junior position, and so on.

19. Intensive Study
8 The first thing is to wait for your turn, patiently and politely. When your moment comes, you step up to the starting line with your bowling ball, and carefully bowl it. Everyone else stands back, making sounds of polite encouragement. Everyone waits until your ball has reached the end of the lane, and watches to see if it knocks down all the pins, or only some of them, or none of them. Then there is a pause, while everyone registers your score.

20. Intensive Study
9 Then, after everyone is sure that you are done, the next person in line steps up to the same starting line, with a different ball. He doesn't return your ball. There is no back and forth at all. And there is always a suitable pause between turns. There is no rush, no impatience.
10 No wonder everyone looked startled when I took part in Japanese conversations. I paid no attention to whose turn it was, and kept snatching the ball halfway down the lane and throwing it back at the bowler. Of course the conversation fell apart, I was playing the wrong game.
As soon as I'm done, I'll give you a call.
Are you done with this magazine?
I'll be glad when the exams are over and done with (=completely finished) .
The thief snatched her purse and ran.
Keith snatches toys away from the other children.
I managed to snatch an hour's sleep on the train.

21. Intensive Study
11 This explains why it can be so difficult to get a western-style discussion going with Japanese students of English. Whenever I serve a volleyball, everyone just stands back and watches it fall. No one hits it back. Everyone waits until I call on someone to take a turn. And when that person speaks, he doesn't hit my ball back. He serves a new ball. Again, everyone just watches it fall. So I call on someone else. This person does not refer to what the previous speaker has said. He also serves a new ball. Everyone begins again from the same starting line, and all the balls run parallel. There is never any back and forth.

22. Intensive Study
12 Now that you know about the difference in the conversational ballgames, you may think that all your troubles are over. But if you have been trained all your life to play one game, it is no simple matter to switch to another, even if you know the rules. Tennis, after all, is different from bowling.

23. Translate: Example: to the point where Key words, phrases & usages
— until, to the extent that, up to the time when something develops or is achieved
Translate:
我学日语学到可以流利地讲话的程度。
Example:
He exercised so hard to the point where he couldn't move.
Key:
I studied Japanese to the point where I became a fluent speaker.

24. Translate: Example: come to a halt Key words, phrases & usages
— stop moving; stop completely
Translate:
The economic boom came to a sudden halt.
Example:
The car slowed down and came to a halt in front of the building.
Key:
经济繁荣期嘎然而止。

25. halt – n. Key words, phrases & usages 1 [singular] a stop or pause
Heavy snowfalls brought traffic to a halt (=made it stop moving) .
The World Championship was brought to a temporary halt (=was stopped from continuing) .
Come etc to a halt (=stop moving or continuing)
The whole peace process seems to have come to a halt.
The President has called for a halt to the wave of emigration.
2 call a halt (to something) --- to stop an activity from continuing
I urge those responsible to call a halt to the violence.

26. Cf. Example: whoever Grammar Focus — no matter who
Whatever, however, wherever, whichever, etc. can be used as conjunctions in the same way as the expressions no matter what, no matter how, and so on.
e.g. Please let us know no matter where you go.
= Please let us know wherever you go.
e.g. Life goes on no matter how upset you are.
= However upset you are, life goes on.
Example:
Whoever comes here will receive a VIP welcome.
More to learn

27. Drill: Rewrite the following two sentences.
Grammar Focus
whoever
— no matter who
Drill: Rewrite the following two sentences.
1. No matter which one you choose, you’ll be disappointed.
2. No matter what reason you have, you should not cheat.
Whichever you choose, you’ll be disappointed
You should not cheat whatever reason you have.
More to learn

28. Drill: Complete the following sentences(P.41, Ex. VIII):
Grammar Focus
whoever
— no matter who
Whoever is most qualified
Drill: Complete the following sentences(P.41, Ex. VIII):
(谁最胜任谁就) _____ should get the job.
(每当天气不好时) _____, he takes whatever umbrella he can find.
He makes a lot of friends (不管他到哪儿) _____.
She could not remember what she had dreamed of, (不管她怎样努力) _____.
Whenever the weather's bad
wherever he goes
however hard she tried

29. take turns Example: Fill in the blank: Key words, phrases & usages
— do something one by one in regular order
Example:
The students take turns answering the teacher's questions.
Fill in the blank:
Hey, don’t jump the queue! You should _____ (等着轮 到你).
wait to take your turn

30. previous Translate: Key words, phrases & usages
— happening, coming, or being earlier in time or order
Translate:
The police asked the suspect where he had been the previous night.
Key:
警察问嫌疑人前一天晚上去了哪里。

31. Example Translate: halfway Key words, phrases & usages
— at the midpoint between two things
Translate:
不要中途放弃，你能成功的。
Example
I was halfway up the stairs when I heard a knock at the door.
Key:
Don’t give up halfway. You can make it.

32. refer to Translate: Example Key words, phrases & usages
— talk about or mention; speak about
Example
Although the newspaper article named no names, everyone knew it was referring to the bad behavior of the voted World Footballer of the Year.
Translate:
The president referred to the economic crisis in Asia in his TV statement.
Key:
总统在电视讲话中提到了亚洲经济危机。

33. Translate: Example now (that) Key words, phrases & usages
— as a result of the fact (that); since
Translate:
既然你成年了，就要对自己的所作所为负责。
Example
Now that I've been to the concert, I understand why young people are so crazy about the superstar.
Key:
Now that you’re coming of age, you should be responsible for what you do.
More to learn

34. Complete the following sentences:(p. 42, Ex. X)
Key words, phrases & usages
now (that)
— as a result of the fact (that); since
Complete the following sentences:(p. 42, Ex. X)
Now that he is getting older, _____.
2. _____ now that the bus has broken down halfway.
he might be more patient
I have to take a taxi home

35. switch Example: Fill in the blank: Key words, phrases & usages
— change, esp. suddenly
Example:
He didn't seem to like any of the programs and kept switching from one channel to another.
Fill in the blank:
It is no good for you to _____ (太经常换工作).
switch jobs too often

36. Text-related information (2)
BOWLING GAME
An indoor game in which you roll a large heavy ball along a wooden track in order to knock down a group of pins (wooden objects shaped like bottles).

37. Text-related information (1)
TENNIS
A game for two people or two pairs of people who use rackets to hit a small soft ball backwards and forwards over a net.

38. 1. Comprehension 2. Word Building • Ex. VI • Ex. VII
Exercises
1. Comprehension
2. Word Building
• Ex. VI
• Ex. VII
3. Listening & Speaking
• Understanding a Conversation
• Note-Taking

39. The Outline of Text A Para. 1~3 Introduction of the topic
Comprehension
The Outline of Text A
Para. 1~3 Introduction of the topic
The author found it difficult to join in a Japanese conversation, and she considered the difference in conversation style as the reason.
Para. 4~9 A comparison
Respective description of the Western and the Japanese conversation styles

40. Comprehension
The Outline of Text A
Para. 10~11 How the two different styles influence conversation
The author was handling the Japanese conversation in a Western way, while her students are always handling the English conversation in a Japanese way.
Para. 12 Conclusion
It is no simple matter to switch from one style to another.

41. Detailed Analysis of Text A
Comprehension
Detailed Analysis of Text A
Focus on the comparison and contrast between the two conversation styles
introducing a topic is like ?
making a proper response is like ?
carrying on a conversation is like
If the conversation involves more than two people, then it is like ?
发球.
In the author’s description, a western-style conversation is like ?
hitting the ball back.
making the ball back and forth.
like a game of tennis.
网球双打.

42. Detailed Analysis of Text A
Comprehension
Detailed Analysis of Text A
Focus on the comparison and contrast between the two conversation styles
waiting your turn to speak is like waiting your turn to ?
when and how an opinion is to be voiced depends mainly on ? A
Japanese-style conversation is like ?
（保龄球）投球.
one's age
bowling .
how well one knows the previous speaker
one's social position

43. Detailed Analysis of Text A
Comprehension
Detailed Analysis of Text A
Focus on the comparison and contrast between the two conversation styles
In the author’s description, a western-style conversation is like a game of tennis. A
Japanese-style conversation is like bowling.
The typical feature of the conversation:
every one has to wait for his turn
no back and forth
interactive
back and forth

44. Suffixes -ance -ence to replace: -ant -ent to mean: having the quality
Word Building
The suffix -ance and -ence can replace -ant and -ent in certain adjectives to form nouns with the meaning having the quality or being in the condition of the root word.
《读写教程 I》: Ex. VI, p. 33
Suffixes
e.g. different  difference
= the quality of being different
important  importance
= the quality of being important
-ance
-ence
to replace:
-ant
-ent
to mean:
having the quality
being in the condition

45. Word Building
VI. The suffix -ance and -ence can replace -ant and -ent in certain adjectives to form nouns with the meaning having the quality or being in the condition of the root word. A.
1) absent  8) confident 
2) convenient  9) evident 
3) independent  10) intelligent 
4) patient  11) present 
distant  12) violent 
excellent  13) significant 
silent  ) different 
absence
confidence
convenience
evidence
independence
intelligence
patience
presence
distance
violence
excellence
significance
silence
difference

46. Word Building B.
1. __________ in sports requires both talent and hard training.
2. Since gaining its ____________ from Great Britain in 1947, India has sought to develop a modern, comprehensive school system.
Educators agree that there are no tests that accurately measure ___________.
4. The return of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997 was a historical event of great ___________.
5. He doesn’t have enough _________ to be a good teacher.
Excellence
independence
intelligence
significance
patience

47. Word Building
6. There was a long __________ after Bob had finished speaking.
7. Many parents worry that if their children see too much __________ on TV they’ll believe that fighting and killing are normal behavior in daily life.
8. English and German are sister languages, but there’re a lot of __________ between them.
9. The __________ from Detroit to Chicago is about two hundred and eight miles.
10. If you never praise her, she’ll never gain self- __________.
silence
violence
difference
distance
confidence

48. Prefix dis- to mean: without not no 《读写教程 I》: Ex. VII, p. 34
Word Building
The prefix dis- can be added to verbs, nouns or adjectives to make the meaning of a word just the opposite.
《读写教程 I》: Ex. VII, p. 34
Prefix
e.g. agree  disagree
= not agree
order  disorder
= without order
honest  dishonest
= not honest
dis-
to mean:
without
not no

49. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
Word Building
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
disappear disadvantage disagree disbelief dislike
disorder dishonest discomfort disobey dissatisfied
1. Not every ship or plane crossing the Bermuda Triangle has _____.
 disappeared
2. There’s far too much _____ in this classroom; now everybody sit down and be quiet!
 disorder

50. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
Word Building
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
disappear disadvantage disagree disbelief dislike
disorder dishonest discomfort disobey dissatisfied
3. The previous secretary was dismissed because her _____ report to the manager.
 dishonest
4. Would you _____ your parents if you believed they were wrong?
 disobey

51. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
Word Building
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
disappear disadvantage disagree disbelief dislike
disorder dishonest discomfort disobey dissatisfied
5. To what extent do you agree or _____ with the familiar saying: “More haste, less speed.”
 disagree
6. Living in a big city has both advantages and _____.
 disadvantages

52. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
Word Building
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
disappear disadvantage disagree disbelief dislike
disorder dishonest discomfort disobey dissatisfied
7. It can be fun sharing a bedroom with five classmates, but sometimes you have to put up with the _____ of such limited living space.
 discomfort
8. After his illness, the old man began to take a _____ to many of the foods he’d previously enjoyed.
 dislike

53. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
Word Building
Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the words given below.
disappear disadvantage disagree disbelief dislike
disorder dishonest discomfort disobey dissatisfied
9. After hearing his adventurous story, they all looked at him in _____.
 disbelief
10. What’s the matter with your brother? He seems to be _____ with everything and everyone.
 dissatisfied

54. Assignment 1. Ex. IV, p. 32 Ex. V, p. 33 Ex. XI, p. 35 Ex. XII, p. 36
Preview Text B