世纪大学英语读写教程第三册unit.pptx
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1、The Titanic Puzzle Should a good feminist accept priority seating on a lifeboat?By Charles Krauthammer1Youre on the Titanic II. It has just hit an iceberg and is sinking. And, as last time, there are not enough lifeboats. The captain shouts, “Women and children first!” But this time, another voice i
2、s heard: “Why women?”第1页/共99页2Why, indeed? Part of the charm of the successful movie Titanic are the period costumes, the period extravagance, and the period prejudices. An audience can enjoy these at a distance. Oddly, however, of all the period attitudes in the film, the old maritime tradition of
3、“women and children first” enjoys total acceptance by modern audiences. Listen to the audience boo at the bad guys who try to sneak on the lifeboats with or ahead of the ladies.第2页/共99页3But is not grouping women with children a raging anachronism? Should not any self-respecting modern person, let al
4、one feminist, object to it as insulting to women?4Yet its usage is as common today as it was in 1912. Consider these examples taken almost at random from recent newspapers:5“The invaders gunned down the Indians, most of them women and children .”6“As many as 200 civilians, most of them women and chi
5、ldren, were killed .”第3页/共99页7“At the massacre in Ahmici 103 Muslims, including 33 women and children, were killed .”8At a time when women fly combat aircraft and run multi-national corporations, how can one not wince when adult women are routinely classed with children? In Ahmici, it seems, 70 adul
6、t men were killed. And how many adult women? Not clear. When things get serious, when blood starts to flow or ships start to sink, youll find them with the children.第4页/共99页9Children are entitled to special consideration for two reasons: helplessness and innocence. They have not yet acquired either
7、the faculty of reason or the wisdom of experience. Consequently, they are defenseless (incapable of fending for themselves) and blameless (incapable of real sin). Thats why we grant them special protection. In an emergency, it is our duty to save them first because they, helpless, have put their liv
8、es in our hands. And in wartime, they are supposed to be protected by special immunity because they can have threatened or offended no one.第5页/共99页10 The phrase “women and children” attributes to women the same dependence and moral simplicity we find in five-year-olds. Such an attitude perhaps made
9、sense in an era dominated by male privilege. Given the disabilities attached to womanhood in 1912, it was only fair that a new standard of gender equality not suddenly be proclaimed just as lifeboat seats were being handed out. That deference a somewhat more urgent variation on giving up your seat o
10、n the bus to a woman complemented and perhaps to some extent compensated for the legal and social constraints placed on women at the time.第6页/共99页11 But in our era of extensive social restructuring to grant women equality in education, in employment, in government, in athletics, what entitles women
11、to the privileges and reduces them to the status of children? 12 Evolutionary psychologists might say that ladies-to-the-lifeboats is an instinct that developed to perpetuate the species: Women are indispensable child-bearers. You can repopulate a village if the women survive and only a few of the m
12、en, but not if the men survive and only a few of the women. Women being more precious, biologically speaking, than men, evolution has conditioned us to give them the kind of life-protecting deference we give to that other seed of the future: kids.第7页/共99页13 The problem with this kind of logic, howev
13、er, is its depressing reductionism. Its like a serious version of the geneticists old joke that a chicken is just an eggs way of making another egg. But humans are more than just egg-layers. And traditional courtesies are more than just disguised survival strategies. So why do we say “women and chil
14、dren”? 14 Perhaps its really “women for children.” The most basic parental bond is maternal. Equal parenting is great, but women, from breast to cradle to reassuring hug, can nurture in ways that men cannot. And thus, because we value children, women should go second. The children need them.第8页/共99页
15、15 But kiddie-centrism gets you only so far. What if there are no children on board? You are on the Titanic III, and this time its a singles cruise. No kids, no parents. Now: Iceberg! Lifeboats! Action!16 Heres my scenario. The men, out of sheer irrational heroism, should let the women go first. And
16、 the women, out of sheer feminist self-respect, should refuse.17 Result? Stalemate. How does this movie end? How should it end? Hurry, the ships going down. 第9页/共99页Paraphrase?Key Suppose you find yourself in a similar situation to that of the Titanic.Youre on the Titanic II.第10页/共99页At 2:20 AM on A
17、pril 15, 1912, the Titanic, then the worlds largest and most luxurious ocean liner, disappeared into the icy depthsof the North Atlantic. With hershe took the lives of some 1,500men, women, and children more casualties than in anyother marine disaster inpeacetime history. Many movieswere shot about
18、this event, but the one that came out in 1998 was the biggest hit.the Titanic II第11页/共99页the period costumes, the period extravagance, and the period prejudicesParaphrasing?Key the costumes, the extravagance, and the prejudices of that time in history第12页/共99页the period costumes, the period extravag
19、ance, and the period prejudicesExamples period furniturea period cottageperiod a. typical of an earlier time in history, either dating from that time or deliberately made in the style of that time 过去某段时期的过去某段时期的第13页/共99页at / from a distance from a place that is not very close; a long time after sth.
20、 happened Its wise to stay at a distance from the cobras (眼镜蛇眼镜蛇).Some people are more respectable if admired from a distance.Remembering the disaster at a distance, I now feel sure that it was not his fault.第14页/共99页But is not grouping women with children a raging anachronism? 但是,将妇女和儿童归为一类的做法难道不是一
21、种但是,将妇女和儿童归为一类的做法难道不是一种与时代既不相称的行为吗?与时代既不相称的行为吗?第15页/共99页let alone (to indicate that a particular situation is even less likely or possible) not to mention; without consideringExamplesI was too tired to walk, let alone running.There wasnt enough room for us, let alone three dogs and two cats.Should n
22、ot any self-respecting modern person, let alone feminist, object to it as insulting to women? 第16页/共99页Should not any self-respecting modern person, let alone feminist, object to it as insulting to women? object to oppose; be againstExamples The embassy objects to their requests to take refuge there
23、.Professor Hawking objects to being treated like someone special.第17页/共99页at random: without method or conscious choice Examples His clothes were scattered about the room at random. The specimens to be analyzed were taken at random. Cf.random: a. usu attrib done, chosen, etc. without method or consc
24、ious choiceHis random walk led him to a beautiful view of the town. He chose an apple randomly.第18页/共99页civilian: a person who is not a member of the armed forces 平民;百姓 Examples The officer told all civilians to leave the area. Several innocent civilians were killed by the bombs. Cf.citizen: a perso
25、n who lives in a particular city or town, esp one who has certain voting or other rights in that place 居民;市民居民;市民national: a person, esp someone abroad, who belongs to another usu stated country 国民国民 subject: a person who owes loyalty to a certain country or royal ruler 国民,子民,臣民国民,子民,臣民第19页/共99页第20页
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