Unit ElevenUnit ElevenUnit ElevenUnit Eleven

The Real Truth about The Real Truth about LiesLies

Teaching ObjectivesPre-reading QuestionsGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingExtended knowledge

Teaching Objectives

• Practice reading, writing, listening, speaking and translating about lies;

• Discuss about the commonality of lying ----Why do people lie and how do they feel about telling lies? What kind of lies should be avoided?

Pre-reading Questions• Have you ever told lies? Why did you

lie? What did you lie about?

• Why do you think people lie? If someone lies to you for your own good, how would you feel?

• Do you prefer a home true or a white lie? Why?

Global Reading

Is this text a piece of narration, argumentation, description or explanation? What’s the major point the writer makes in this passage?

What is the prevailing tone of the essay? How many parts can this passage be divided into? What’s the main idea for each part? What major writing techniques are adopted in this passage?

Detailed Reading

Paragraphs 1-6

Paragraphs 7-11

Paragraphs 12-15

Paragraph 16-18

Paragraphs 1--6Questions:How does the writer introduce the topi

c?What’s the result of Professor Bella D

ePaulo’s survey? What conclusion can we draw from the result?

What’s the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What can we learn from it?

Language work: • profess vt. (fm) to declare a personal feeling or belief openly and freely; to ma

ke a claim (of/about)• e.g. Rodin always professed his admiration for Greek and Gothic sculpture.• James professed to know everything about the law.• .• earth-shattering a. surprising or shocking and very important • e.g. The new invention is of earth-shattering importance to the human beings.• After years of hard work, they finally made an earth-shattering discovery.

• feign vt. (fm) to pretend to have a particular feeling or to be ill asleep etc; to put on a false air of

• e.g. He feigned surprise and they all believe him.• She feigned to be ill in order not to do the exercises.

• Compare: pretend, feign, affect, simulate• pretend and feign both imply a profession or display of what is false, the more l

iterary feign sometimes suggesting an elaborately contrived situation• affect is to make a show of being, having, using, wearing, etc., usually for effect

e.g. to affect a British accent• simulate emphasizes the imitation of typical signs involved in assuming an app

earance or characteristic not one’s own profess

• deception: the act of deceiving someone, especially by telling them lies

• e.g. I’m sure many businessmen use some form of deception, at times, to achieve their objectives.

• Compare• deceit: n. a word meaning the act of deceiving

someone, used especially when you strongly disapprove of this

• trickery n. the use of clever plans or actions to deceive someone

• e.g. It’s not so much that he missed school – it’s the deceit that makes me angry.

• The whole thing had been a piece of psychological trickery, and she had been completely deceived.

• Compare• deceitful: a. someone who is deceitful tells lies in order

to get what they want• deceptive: a. something that is deceptive seems to be

one thing but is in fact very different; misleading

spare one’s feelings: to avoid doing sth that would upset sb. e.g. We carefully avoided mentioning the news to spare his feelings.• striking: unusual or interesting enough to be noticed • e.g. a striking contrast between the luxury hotels and the ghettos just

a block away• preoccupation n. the state of constantly thinking or worrying about

sth.• e.g. preoccupation with the public interest • Such preoccupation with your work isn’t healthy.• Cf. preoccupy vt. (fm) if something preoccupies someone, they think

or worry about it a lot • e.g Something’s been preoccupying you – what is it?• preoccupied a. thinking abut something a lot,with the result that yo

u do not pay attention to other things (with) • e.g. Rod’s completely preoccupied with all the wedding preparation

s at the moment.

• prevarication n. the state of avoiding giving a direct answer or making a firm decision

• e.g. When we questioned the authorities on the subject, we were met by prevaricaiton.

• Cf. prevaricate vt. to try to hide the truth by not answering questions directly

• devote vt. to give all or a large part of one’s time or resources for a particular purpose, especially for some important work （ devote … to something/doing something ）

• e.g. He devoted himself to helping the poor. • He devotes himself to philanthropy.

• admit vt. to say that you have done something wrong, especially something criminal; confess

• admit (to) doing sth: • e.g. A quarter of all workers admit to taking time off when they

are not ill. • After being questioned for an hour, admitted to the murder. • Cf. admission n. a statement in which you admit that somethi

ng is true or that you have done something wrong• e.g. The Senator’s admission that he had lied to Congress s

hocked many Americans.

• Compare: admittance n. (fm) permission to enter a place • e.g. Gaining admittance to his private club was no easy matter.

• characterize vt. 1 ） to describe the character of someone or something in a particular way; portray

• characterize sb as sth• e.g. I would characterize Captain Hill as a born leader. • 2 ） to be typical of a person, place, or thing • e.g. Bright, vibrant colours characterize his paintings. • The camel is characterized by the humps on its back and an abilit

y to go without water for days at a time.

• profession: a form of employment, esp. one that is possibly only for an educated person and that is respected in society

• as honorable• e.g. She intends to make teacher her profession.• According to the report, forty percent of the lawyers entering t

he profession are women.• Cf. professional a. n.

• pundit n. a person who is an authority on a particular subject; an expert

• e.g. We’ve invited a foreign-policy pundit to give us a lecture.

• specialize (in) vi. To limit all or most of your study, business etc to a particular subject or activity

• e.g. After qualifying, Zelda decided to specialize in contract law.

• speciality n. a subject or skill that you know a lot about or have a lot of experience of

• specialized a. trained, designed, or developed for a particular purpose or type of work

• e.g. Don’t try repairing it yourself – it requires specialized knowledge.

• spin vt. 1) to make cotton, wool etc into thread by twisting it• 2 ） to tell someone a story that is not true in order to de

ceive them• e.g. beggars spinning hard-luck stories

• client n. sb who pays for services or advice from a person or organization

• e.g. a solicitor and his client• Cf. a shopkeeper and his customer

Paragraphs 7-11Questions

What are little white lies? According to the writer, what could be

considered “nice lies”? What does this sentence mean: “What a

tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive?

Language work ubiquitous a. (fm or hmr) seeming to be everywhere e.g. By the end of last century, the computer had become ubiquit

ous. We are now confronted with the ubiquitous spread of English.• Cf. ubiquity n.

• fib n. a small unimportant lie• E.g. Have you ever told fibs?• She told innocent fibs like anyone else.

invariably adv. If something invariably happens or is invariably true, it almost always happens or is true, so that you expect it; always

• e.g. It’s invariably wet when I take my holidays.• She invariably forgets to take her keys.

• blurt out vt. To say sth suddenly and without thinking, usu. Because one is nervous or excited

• E.g. To our surprise, he blurted his secret out at table.• John blurted out that he dreamed of becoming a computer progr

ammer.• • lubricant n. a substance such as oil which causes a machine to oper

ate more easily• Cf. lubricate vt. To put a lubricant on something in order to make it

move more smoothly• e.g. Lubricate all moving parts with grease.

• tangled a. 1) twisted together in an untidy mass • e.g. The telephone cord is all tangled up. • 2 ） complicated or made up of many confusing parts• e.g. After listening to his speech I thought his ideas and opini

ons were so tangled that I couldn’t vote for him.• tangle vi/t. to become twisted together or make something

become twisted together in an untidy mass

Paragraphs 12-15

Questions:

What ‘s the main idea of these paragraphs?What would be the consequence of lying?

What’s the grave consequence of telling lies?

Language work

• slope n. a piece of ground or a surface which is higher at one end than the other

• e.g. a steep/gentle slope• be on the slippery slope: (infm) to have

begun a process or habit which is hard to stop and which will develop into something extremely bad

• e.g. Once you start taking soft drugs you’re on the slippery slope to becoming an addict.

• wear down: vi/t. to gradually become smaller or make something smaller, for example by rubbing it or using it a lot

• e.g. Heavy traffic and variable weather can wear down the surface of the road.

• Your back tyres are badly worn down; you should fit new ones.

• Cf. wear away: vi/t. to gradually damage something or make it get thinner or weaker by using it, rubbing it etc.

• e.g. The cliff face is being worn away by the sea.• wear out: vi/t. to cause a lot of damage to something by s

ing it a lot or for a long time so that it can no longer be used

• e.g. I’ve worn out the soles of my shoes. • wear off vi. If pain or the effect of something wears off,

it gradually stops• e.g. the effects of the anesthetic were starting to wear off.

• warp vi/t. 1) to bend or twist and to be no longer in the correct shape, or to make something do this

• e.g. P125TB• 2) to have a bad effect on someone so that they think str

angely about things• e.g. Henry’s view of women had been warped by a painful

divorce.• think highly of/think a lot of sb: to admire or respect someo

ne; to have a high/good opinion of sb. • think badly of sb: to disapprove of someone or what they h

ave done; to have a low/bad opinion of sb. • e.g. Please don’t think badly of me. I had no choice.• not think much of: to think that someone or something is b

ad, useless etc.• e.g. I don’t think much of that new restaurant.

• cover up vt. 1) to put something over the top of something in order to hide it or protect it.

• e.g. He covered the child up with a blanket.• 2 ） to prevent mistakes or unpleasant facts from being kno

wn about • e.g. She tried to cover up her nervousness as she waited to

make her speech. • Cf. cover for : vt.to prevent someone from getting into trou

ble by lying, especially about where they are or what they are doing

• e.g. Cover for me, will you? Just say I’m at the dentist’s.

• proliferation n. a rapid increase in the amount or number of something

• e.g. Smoking triggers off cell proliferation.• Over the past two years, we have witnessed the proliferat

ion of TV channels.• Cf. proliferate vi. To increase and spread to many different

places • syn: multiply, increase• e.g. The Nuclear Non-proliferation Pact has banned any nu

clear exports that risk proliferating nuclear weapons. • prolific a. 1 ） a prolific artist, writer etc. produces many wo

rks of art, books etc • 2 ） an animal or plant that is prolific produces many babies

or many other plants

• cynicism n. the belief that people always act selfishly • Cf. cynical a. unwilling to believe that people have good, hones

t, or sincere reasons for doing something (about)• syn: skeptical, sarcastic• e.g. Yes, he’d grown cynical. He was disillusioned about every

one and everything. • cynic n. someone who is not willing to believe that people have

good, honest, or sincere reasons for doing something• falter vi. 1) to speak in a voice that sounds weak and uncertain,

and keep stopping• syn: stammer, mumble• e.g. the suspect faltered out a few words when questioned by t

he police.• 2) to move unsteadily because you suddenly feel weak or afraid• e.g. The sick man faltered a few steps then fell.• 3) to become weaker and unable to continue in an effective way • e.g. The economy is showing signs of faltering.

•

Questions:

What ‘s the writer’s attitude towards lies?Are all white lies unacceptable? What’s the

yardstick of acceptable lies?What is the implied meaning of Mark Twain’s

sentence?

Paragraphs 16-18

• at all costs: whatever happens• e.g. We must arrive there at all costs before midnight. • set up vt. to make the necessary arrangements so that something c

an happen, such as a meeting, an event, or a system for doing something

• e.g. There was a lot of work involved in setting up the festival. • undermine vt.1 ） to gradually take away the earth from under som

ething• e.g. The dyke is unsafe since the foundation were undermined by fl

oods.• 2) to gradually make somebody or something less strong or effectiv

e • rule of thumb n. a rough method of calculation, based on practical

experience• E.g. As a rule of thumb, a cup of filter coffee contains about 89mg caf

feine.

• confound vt. to confuse and surprise people, especially by being unexpected

• e.g. The patient’s unusual symptoms confounded the doctor. Compare: confuse vt. to make someone worried or uncertain, for example about what something means or what is the right thing to do, especially because there are several possible meanings or several things that could be done etc.

• e.g. Many young people are confused about what career to choose – there are so many possibilities.

• bewilder vt. to make someone very confused, and often having a surprised expression on their face, because you do not know why something is happening, or because things are happening very quickly

• e.g. Customers stood, bewildered, as the bank robber made off with a stash of money.

• puzzle: to make someone confused about something, especially because they have no experience of it and cannot understand it

• e.g. We were both puzzled at the appearance of a horse in the street.

• astound vt. if someone’s behavior or something that has happened astounds you, you are very surprised by it because it is completely unexpected and often very bad

• e.g. If I told you the size of the budget deficit it would astound you.

• Compare: amaze vt. to make someone surprised, especially by doing something impressive

• e.g. Dave amazed his friends by leaving a well-paid job to travel around the world. Dave

• astonish vt. if someone’s behavior or something that has happened astonishes you, you are very surprised because you never thought you would see it happen

• e.g. Tammy astonished her teachers by learning to walk again so soon after the accident.

Extended knowledgeIdioms

consisting of set phrases and short sentences which are peculiar to the language in question and loaded with the native cultures and ideas;

strickly speaking, idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meaning of individual elements;

in forms idioms may include colloquialisms, catchphrases, slang expressions.

1) the structure of an idiom is to a large extent unchangeable. first , the constituents of idioms cannot be replaced. e.g. " in a brown study" ( deep in thought ) " lip service" ( support only in words, not in fact )" kick the bucket " ( die) " bury the hatcher" ( come to friendly or peaceful terms)

2) Secondly, the word order cannot be inverted or changed. e.g. twos and threes; tit for tat; the lion’s share

3) Thirdly, the constituents of an idioms cannot be deleted or added to , not even an article. e.g. out of the question ( impossible) in question ( being considered)

4) Finally , many idioms are grammatical unanalysable, e.g. diamond cut diamond ( two parties are equally matched ) like cures like

(as) sure as eggs ( quite certainly ) stepped up ( improve or enhance) in the raw ( naked ) turn over a new leaf ( begin a new life ) draw the curtain ( end or conceal )

Idioms may be classified into five groups:

1) Idioms Nominal in Nature

2) Idioms Adjectival in Nature

3) Idioms Verbal in Nature

Difference between can and may:(1) In the possibility sense, may is commonly used to refer to something that is actually possible, that is, it indicates that the possibility actually exists in real life. Can, generally expresses a different kind of possibility, one that exists in theory rather than in actuality.(2) May not indicates that it is possible that something is not the case. Can’t indicates the impossibility of a state of affairs and is the negative version of must in the predictive sense. (3) In questions, predictive may is rare, which is usually replaced by can. (4) May is marked for formality while can is preferred in informal situations.

The differences between “should” and “ought to” in meaning: (1) As expressions of obligation should is more subjective on the basis of his judgment.(2) Ought to is more objective on the basis of moral and social principles(3) Ought to expresses warning, disagreement (4) Should offers friendly advice

Post-reading practice

I. Fill in the blanks with the proper forms of the words given in the brackets.

1. I contradict the existence, or infiniteness, or _______ of God. I am therefore accused of atheism. (ubiquitous)

2. Whether _______ euthanasia should be made legal or not is still in dispute. (volunteer)

3. Constant _______ of exercise is unhealthy. (avoid)4. The _______ predicament of our time imposes itself with

an urgency which suggests that even the question “Have we anything to eat?” will be answered not in material but in ________ terms. (ethic)

5. She is getting hard and more _______ about life. (cynicism)

II. Prepositions and adverbs1. As the drugs began to wear _______, the pain began

to take hold again.2. All these years spent in prison have worn ______ the

prisoner’s resistance. 3. My niece has worn ________ her welcome at our house

because she never wants to go back to her home.4. Women should not be complimented ________ their

physical appearance alone.5. Although the NASDAQ has been climbing since 2001,

some analysts fear the market is being set _______ a fall.

6. Those half-drunken are believed to have greater chances of blurting _____ the truth.

III. Translation

1. 不要混淆手段与目的 . (confound)2. 即使身处逆境 , 我们的信心也不会动摇 . (falter)3. 小心别卷进法律纠纷 . (tangle /entangle)4. 这个老水手经常编造些离奇的故事讲述他在海上的冒险 . (spin)5. 一旦下定决心 , 李将军对南方的忠诚便从未动摇 . (falter)