Unit Ten

Profits of Praise

Maxims on praise

Our praises are our wages. --Shakespeare I can live for two months on a good compliment. ---Mark Twain

Contents Introductory Remarks Discussion Useful Expression The Outline of the Text Language Points Post-reading Activities

Introductory Remarks Well-meaning and to-the-point criticism has

long been valued above praise even if the praise is sincere. We often hear it said that the proof of true love is to be unsparing in criticism. However, the author of the article argues from her personal experience, and the experiences of many other people, that praise will bring about more profits than criticism.

Discussion

Do you agree that people are often eager to criticize but reluctant to praise other people?

Give some examples to show the different

results of praise and criticism in your family or in your class?

Useful Expression

stainless steel 不锈钢 Sales manager 销售经理 On sale 打折，甩卖 Bilingual education 双语教

育 Defensive weapon 防御性

武器 Defensive works 防御工事 Previous to 在 - - - 之前 Only too 极其，非常 Earn one’s place 赢得地位

Be tied to one’s apron strings 受某人控制

Bilingual dictionary 双解字典

Glorious tradition 光荣传统 Service / gas station 加油

站 A dreary day 阴沉的一天 Traffic regulation 交通规则 Make out 开出，填写 Shrug off 耸肩表不屑理睬

The Outline of the Text

Part (paras.1-3) a praise changed the author’s Ⅰattitude.

Part (paras.4-6) some statements about praise and Ⅱits power

Part (paras.7-10) praise can bring us something Ⅲunexpected

Part (paras.11-12) an experiment of the scientists Ⅳshows that praise helps people to improve quickly

Part (paras.13-14) the author calls on to pay more Ⅴattention to the power of praise

Language Points1.profit (n.) advantage or good 1 obtained from sth. ;

money gained in businesse.g. Your mother did that for your profit . What's the profit of doing that thing? Unlike nonprofit organizations , we do everything for a

profit . Jim makes profits by buying and selling stocks. (vt.)be of advantage to e.g.The new bus route profits those who do not have c

ars. It will profit you to absorb as much knowledge as possi

ble while at university. .

(vi.) be benefited or helpede.g.I profited a lot by / from the trip abroad. The company profited from having designed the wid

ely applicable computer software

profitable adj. 有利可图的 profitability n. 有利可图 profiteer n. ( 贬 ) 投机商

辨析： profit 和 benefit二个词都可以当“好处”解释，但又各有不同。如

“利润”一意只能用 profit; 而 benefit 则特指政府救济如： unemployment benefit 失业救济金。

2.exhaust (v.) tire out 使筋疲力尽 e.g. The baby soon exhausted itself by crawling all ov

er the floor and fell asleep. We all felt exhausted by the stiff hike. use up 用尽，花光，耗尽 e.g. The hero's strength was exhausted after a long ti

me in prison. You should not stay too long at your friend's; otherwis

e you will exhaust your welcome . (n.) outlet, in an engine or machine, for steam, vapor,

etc. that has done its work 排气管，排气孔；废气，废液

e.g. The young man committed suicide by breathing in car exhaust .

exhausting 为“令人精疲力竭的”After such a long and exhausting day the only thing s

he wanted was a good night’s sleep.

经过这样漫长而疲劳的一天，她只想好好睡一宿。

exhausted 为“精疲力竭的”，修饰人I was so exhausted that I didn’t feel like eating anythi

ng.

我太累了，以至于什么也不想吃。

3.load (v.) put a full amount of things on or in sth. 装满，装载

e.g. The father loaded the family into their old truck and drove west.

The ship will set sailing once the workmen finished loading cargoes on to it.

(n.) that which is to be carried or supported 装载，装载量；负荷，负担

e.g. Your arrival took a load off my mind .

4.weary (adj.) 疲惫的wear ( 穿 )+ y( 形容词后缀 )→weary ( 疲惫的 )

be weary of 对……感到厌烦He began to be weary of the research work.

他开始对研究工作感到厌烦。weary somebody with something 用……使某人厌烦My little brother wearies me with his silly questions.

我的小弟弟总是问些愚蠢的问题让我心烦。

5.pat (n.) tap with the open hand 轻拍 e.g. He gave the dog a pat. The little boy wiped the blackboard because he want

ed a pat on the back from his teacher. (v.) tap gently with the open hand or with sth. flat 轻

拍 e.g. She patted the seat next to her for him to sit dow

n. Johnny was patting a bal l in the backyard.

6.convey (v.) (1) make (ideas, views, feelings, etc.) known to another person 转达 , 传达，表达

e.g. I can hardly convey my gratitude in words.

Please convey my best wished to your wife.

take; carry 运送，运输，传送 e.g. A wire conveys an electric current.

7.hand (v.)

Eg.You must hand in your essay before June 19.

He’s handing out copies of the article.

On July 1 1997, the British government handed over Hong Kong to the Chinese Government.

1997 年 7 月 1 日，英国政府把香港交还给了中国政府。

8.apply v. ①申请②应用③涂④适用apply for 申请He is trying to apply for scholarship offered by that uni

versity.

be applied to 被应用于This new technique has been applied to industrial pro

duction.

apply oneself 努力，勤奋You could have got a better grade. Why didn’t you ap

ply yourself?

9.pleasure (n.) 喜悦 pleasant adj. 招人喜欢的 please v. 使……高兴 pleased adj. 高兴的 pleasing adj. 令人愉快的，令人满意的 pleasur

able adj. 令人享受的take pleasure in ( 较正式 ) 从……得到满足I take great pleasure in traveling around the world.

with pleasure 乐意效劳Would you please pick up my laundry on your way b

ack? With pleasure.

10. drown (v.)cover completely with water

淹没，浸湿；使（某人）淹死 e.g. At breakfast she drowned her cereal ( 谷类食物 ) in milk.

Most part of the town was drowned by the floods .

(cause to) die in water because unable to breathe 淹死，溺死

e.g. Ophelia drowned in a river .

The peasant drowned the newborn baby because

he was too poor to raise it.

11.make out:write out 开出；填写 e.g. The shop assistant made out a receipt for the cu

stomer who bought a camera.

The teacher was busy making out the students' report cards at the end of the term.

12.lonely (adj.) 孤单的，寂寞的联系记忆： lone adj. 孤单的，单独的alone adj. 一个人的，没有伴的lonesome adj.( 非正式 ) 感觉寂寞的alone 既不表示好，也不表示坏He likes playing video games when he’s alone.

他一个人的时候喜欢玩电子游戏。He lives alone. 他一个人住。

solitary 和 lone 表示东西时，就是“只有一个”的意思如： There is a solitary/lone chair in the room.屋里只有一把椅子。

但是用于人的时候，这两个词和 lonely, lonesome 一样，有“寂寞”，“愁闷”的意味。

Do you have time to come over for a chat? I am feeling a bit solitary/lonely/lonesome.

forlorn 和 desolate 的词意则更加强烈，表示因为孤独一人而感到非常的愁苦和寂寥。

The death of his family in the flood left him completely desolate.

在大洪水中他家人丧失使他孤苦伶仃。

13.gracefully (adv. )大大方方地；优美地分割记忆： grace (优美，雅致 )+ful ( 形容词后缀 )+ly(副词后缀 )→gracefully 辨析： graceful 和 graciousgraceful 一般用来描述身体的动作或形状，意即

“优美的”，“优雅的”，如： She dances gracefully. 她的舞姿优美graceful 也可用来形容人的风度，尤其是在失败或道歉的时候表现出的宽宏大度 .

gracious 一般是用来形容人的风度，意即“谦和的”，“仁慈的”，多表示上级对下级，如上帝、皇室成员等的“仁慈”如：

The queen thanked them graciously.女王以谦和的态度感谢了他们。

14. Flatter (v.) praise too much; praise insincerely

e.g. I feel greatly flattered by your invitation to adress the meeting.

e.g. Are you trying to flatter me?

Phrases:

(1)flatter oneself: 自以为是；自鸣得意e.g. He flatters himself that he speaks French well.

(2)flatter sb. On/about sth.奉承某人的…e.g. She flattered her husband about/on his cookin

g.

15. Comment n. opinion, explanation or judgment written or spok

en about an event, book, person, state of affairs, ect.

e.g. The scandal caused a lot of comment.e.g. The famous critic made no comment upon her p

erformance in his column next day.v. Give opinion, explanation or judgmente.g. The State Department spokesman refused to c

omment on the recent political situation in East Europe.

e.g. Asked about the date of the election, the Prime Minister commented that no decision had yet been made.

16. When one thinks of the speed with which spiteful remarks are conveyed, it seems a pity that there isn’t more effort to relay pleasing and flattering comments.

Paraphrase: When one considers how quickly offensive remarks are passed from one to another, it seems a pity that we don’t make efforts to pass on compliments that will bring pleasure and satisfaction to others.

17.Reward (n.) recompense for service or merite.g. Honour is a reward of merit.e.g. Freedom never yet was gven to nations as a gift,

but only as a reward, bravely earned by one’s own exertions.

v. reward: 指某人因干了好事或有益的事而得到“回报”

reward sb. for sth. 因…奖赏某人reward sb. with sth. 用…酬劳某人 （不接双宾语）award: give sth to sb ( 后可接双宾语 ) award sb a medalrewarding: worhtwhilee.g. She finds her work with the needy children very

rewarding.

18. It’s especially rewarding to give ptaise in areas in which effort generally goes unnoticed or unmentioned.

Paraphrase: It is particularly beneficial to praise those who do unexciting routine jobs and whose effort is usually ignored or overlooked.

19. When the shirts are done just right.

Paraphrase: When the shirts are washed or cleaned exactly as expected.

20. glorious (adj.) splendid

glory n.

e.g. The glory that goes with wealth is fleeting and fragile; Virtue is a possession glorious and eternal.

与财富相连的光荣是短暂脆弱的，美德才是永恒光荣的财富。

21.routine: adj. not unusual or exciting; regular

e.g. Tony is bored to do routine works.

n. fixed and regular way of doing things

e.g. They did it as a matter of routine.

22.appreciate (v.)(1) understand and enjoye.g. Her abilities are not fully appreciated by her e

mployer.appreciate 表“欣赏”时指对事物有深入的了解并

能鉴赏。enjoy “ 使快乐”因而表示“欣赏”时不像 appreciat

e那样需要较高的修养，仅指从中得到快乐。e.g. 一个人能 appreciate京剧，就必须对京剧有所

了解；而 enjoy却不然。一个外宾到中国来，第一次看京剧，可以说他 enjoy京剧，但不能说他是 appreciate京剧。

（ 2） be thankful for

appreciate doing=appreciate it +if/when 从句当他主动帮助我们时，我们确实很感激。e.g. We really appreciated his offering to help.

e.g. We really appraciated it when he offered to help.

appreciate + sth.

Thank +sb for sth

e.g. She appreciated his kindness.

e.g. She thanked him for his kindness.

adj. Appraciative

e.g. I am appreciative of your help.

23. measure v. find the size, extent, volume, degree, ect. of sthn. (1) step, proceeding take measures 采取措施e.g. The mayor says he will take tough measures to

control food prices. (2) extentbeyond measure 极度，过分e.g. The pride he felt was beyond measure.他感到无比的自豪。

24. Instinct (n.) n. (1) natural tendency (2) impulsee.g. Trust your instincts.e.g. He has an instinct for art. by instinct: 出于本能e.g. Birds build their nests by instinct. on instinct: 凭直觉e.g. When I saw the flames I acted on instinct and th

rew a blanket over them. adj. instinctive adv. instinctivelye.g. Most animals have an instinctive fear of fire.

25. An ounce of praise is worth a pound of scolding.

Paraphrase: praise is far more valuable than scolding.

perceive: v. become aware of

perceptive: able to perceive 有理解力的，感灵敏的perceptible: that can be perceived 可感知的 e.g. The most perceptive of the three, she was the fir

st to realize the potential danger of their situation.

e.g. He wrote a good perceptive article.

26.We are not always as perceptive as we might be about applying the rule.

Paraphrase: now and then we are liable to overlook the importance of putting the rule into practice.

27. favor: (n./v .)treat with partiality 宠爱support 帮助，赞成favorable (adj) helpful, showing approvalfavorite (adj/n) (person or thing) best liked e.g. The boat will go fast if the wind is favorable. 顺风的话这艘船可以走很快。 e.g. My favorite TV show has a favorable review in t

he newspaper. 我最喜爱的电视节目得到报纸的好评。 28.Something above his usual standard.Paraphrase: something better than what he usually

wrote

29.aware (adj.) 指感官上的知觉 conscious ：表内心所意识到的感觉 e.g. One must be conscious of one’s shortco

mings. 人须有自知之明。 e.g. One may be conscious of fear, but not alt

ogether aware of the danger which is going on about one.

人们可能会心存恐惧，但并不能全然觉察到周围将发生怎样的危险。

30. Ignore (v.) not to take notice of

ignorant adj.

to ignore sth: is to pretend not to know or see it 假装不知或未看到

be ignorant of sth: is not to know it 不知，不懂 eg: He ignored the speed limit and drove very fast.

他不顾时速限制，把车子开得很快。 eg: He was driving very fast because he was ignora

nt of the fact that there was a speed limit.

因为他不知道有时速限制，他把车开得很快。

31.invest (v.) (1) put money in invest… in

(2) endow 授予权利等 invest… with

eg: Many people think it safe to invest in property.

许多人认为在房产上投资最安全。 eg: The governor has been invested with full autho

rity to act.

总督被授以全权采取行动。investment n.

eg: It seems that your investment of time and effort doesn’t work at all.

似乎你花的时间和精力并没有产生任何效果。

32. react (vi.) respond 反应，作出反应

e.g. The company reacted to criticism and improved its image shortly.

The statesman reacted to cheers from followers by waving his greetings.

respond to sth. with a feeling or take action ( against ) 反对，反动，反其道而行

e.g. People start to react against her pretentiousness.

Peasants uprose in arms to react against the first Emperor.

Note: react on / upon: 影响，起作用于 ...

33.live on: depend upon for support 指靠某人或某物过活

live by: 指靠某种方式、手段生活。 eg: He lived by begging instead of on government

welfare.

他以乞讨为生，而不是靠政府的救济金生活。

Post-reading Activities Summary of the Text

The author of this article argues from her own personal experience that praise is like warm sunshine to the human spirit, while criticism is like cold wind. After analyzing her friend's experience and the results of the behavioral scientists' experiments, she comes to the conclusion that praise will bring about more profits than criticism, and when we give praise to other people, we will not only bring joy into their lives, but also bring more pleasure into our own. So we should be alert to the small excellencies around us and comment on them favorably.

Comprehension of the Text1.How did the writer feel at the end of her first day as

waitress in a restaurant?

2.Why does the writer say that of all people a housewife should get her measure of praise?

3.What does it cost the giver to give praise?

4.Do you agree that we are often eager to criticize but reluctant to praise other people?

5.Give an example to show the different results of praise and criticism in your family or in your class.

Unit Ten

The end!