Unit 9 What Is Happiness
Text comprehension
I. A
II. 1. T; 2. F; 3. F; 4. T; 5. F. III.
1. He means that one is given the right to pursue happiness, but does not know what it is. 2. Because he believes that commercial advertising not only fails to satisfy our desires, but more importantly it creates them, and it creates them faster than any man’s budget can satisfy them. Such insatiability makes people unhappy.
3. Because he thinks that the products and pursuits advertised on the front pages of women’s magazines are dreamlike and can’t be fulfilled.
4. He set two extremes according to Thoreau, the low level and the high level. The former refers to possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood, while the latter refers to active discipline of heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature. To find balance is to save time and effort on the low levels and spend on the high.
5. The inherent right is not happiness itself, but lies in the pursuit of happiness, in the pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, i.e. in the idea of becoming. IV.
1. Jonathan Swift seemed to share this view when he criticized this idea of happiness as the state of being completely controlled by deception.
2. The active exercise or training to improve one’s understanding of what is of lasting value would have been Thoreau’s idea of the high levels, i.e. spiritual happiness.
Structural analysis of the text
Part 1 (par. 1, 2):The author points out that when we are not sure what happiness is, we tend to be misled by the idea that we can buy our way to it.
Part 2 (par. 3, 4, 5, 6):The author offers a number of examples to show how this misconception of happiness gives rise to the “happiness-market” in a highly commercialized society (the United States).
Part 3 (par. 7, 8, 9): The author suggests striking a balance between what Thoreau called the low levels and the high levels.
Part 4 (par. 10): The author gives his understanding of happiness, in the light of the Founding Fathers’ belief that it is “in the idea of becoming”. Page 172 Vocabulary
I. Phrase
1. un-American: not typical of the attitudes, ways of life, etc., that are approved of or considered normal in the US
2. commercialism: the activities or attitudes of people who think that making a profit is more important than anything else; emphasis on the maximizing of profit 商业主义
3. for that matter: it is also true that … (The phrase “for that matter” is used to emphasize that sth., though mentioned second, is also true, important, or relevant as what has been mentioned earlier.) 就此而论，在这方面, 同样
4. face: aspect
5. in nature: essentially II.
1. perpetual; 2. functions; 3. inherent; 4. cited; 5. approaching; 6. flawless; 7. vaguely; 8. disciplining. Page 173
III. Word derivation
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.
1. A deer suddenly ran across the road, with a hunting dog in hot pursuit (pursue). 2. I’m sure many businessmen use some kind of deception (deceive) at times, to achieve their objectives.
3. The project has been a success, thanks to the dedication (dedicate) of all of our staff. 4. His first commercial (commercialism) venture was opening a small corner shop. 5. The concert ended with the singers and audience singing patriotic (patriotism) songs. 6. It was so convincing that I had to remind myself that they were fictional (fiction) characters, not real people.
7. Not many people are able to indicate their disapproval (disapprove) without causing offence. 8. The homeless and starving (starvation) refugees of the war were flocking to the cities.
1. pursue v. 追捕，追求；继续从事 pursuer n. 追赶者，追求者 pursuit n. 追求，追赶 e.g. 我知道她的追求者很多。
I know she has many pursuers. 我们为追求幸福生活而努力工作。 We work hard in pursuit of a happy life.
2. deceive v. 欺骗
deception n. 骗局，诡计，欺诈 deceptive a. 迷惑的，虚伪的，诈欺的 deceptiveness n. 迷惑
e.g. 他骗我买了一个假冒产品。
He deceived me into paying for the fake product. 他靠欺骗拿钱。
He gets the money by deception.
3. dedicate v. 献出；致力于 dedicated a. 专注的；献身的 dedication n. 奉献
e.g. 她毕生致力于教授英语。
She dedicated her life to teaching English.
我们尊敬他是因为他以无私奉献的精神廉正地为民众服务。 We respect him because he serves the public with dedication and integrity.
4. commercial a. 商业的 commercialize v. 使商业化
commercialism n. 商业主义，营利主义 e.g. 商业电视是有效的广告宣传工具。
Commercial television is an effective medium for advertising. 教育近几年更加商业化了。
Education has become much more commercialized in recent years.
5. patriotism n. 爱国主义，爱国心 patriot n. 爱国者 patriotic a. 爱国的
e.g. 我们都被他的爱国精神深深感动了。 We are all deeply moved by his patriotism. 她热爱她的祖国。
She is a patriot to her country.
6. fiction n. 虚构，杜撰；小说 fictional a. 虚构的；小说的 e.g. 我喜欢读科幻小说。 I enjoy reading science fiction.
7. disapprove v. 不赞成 disapproval n. 不赞成
disapprovingly ad. 不以为然地，不赞成地 e.g. 我母亲不同意我们俩人的婚事。
My mother disapproved of our marriage. 他对你的建议很不以为然。
He showed disapproval of your proposal.
8. starve v. 挨饿，受饿，饿死 starvation n. 饿死，饥饿 starving a. 饥饿的
e.g. 那个可怜的老妇人被饿死了。
The poor old lady died of starvation. 我的钱不够用。 I’m starved for money. IV.
1. C; 2. B; 3. D; 4. B; 5. D; 6. A; 7. C; 8. D. 2. Page 174
V. Synonym / Antonym
Give a synonym or an antonym of the word underlined in each sentence in the sense it is used. 1. And at the same time the forces of American commercialism are hugely dedicated to making usdeliberately unhappy. Hugely--Synonym: enormously, tremendously; Deliberately--Antonym: unintentionally, accidentally
2. These, the flawless teeth. Synonym: perfect, spotless
3. This, the perfumed breath she must exhale. Antonym: inhale
4. Happiness is never more than partial. Antonym: impartial, unbiased
5. Thoreau — a creature of both Eastern and Western thought — had his own firm sense of thatbalance. Antonym: imbalance
6. We are taught that to possess is to be happy, and then we are made to want. Synonym: have, own 7. He sits immobile, rapt in contemplation, free from his own body. Synonym: fixed, stationary, quiet VI. Prefix / Suffix Write in each space one word that has the same stem as underlined in each given word. 1. contain obtain 2. concede precede 3. compel repel 4. suspend depend 5. include conclude 6. insist consist 7. descend ascend 8. evolve revolve Page 175 Grammar Exercises 1. Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to the person who is doing the action or to whom the action affects. In that way we distinguish two types of personal pronouns: Personal “Subject Pronouns” and Personal “Object Pronouns”.
Personal Pronouns
as subject I You he she it we you they We have some