Unit 5 Keeping Your Dreams Alive　

　Life Is Difficult

　　① Life Is Difficult.

　　② This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.(承上句)

　　③ Most people do not fully see this truth that life is difficult.

　　④ Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy. (1)They voice their belief, noisily or subtly, that their difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that has somehow been especially visited upon them, or else upon their families, their tribe, their class, their nation, their race or even their species, and not upon others. I know about this moaning because I have done my share.(承上、总结的句子)

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　1. They voice their belief, noisily or subtly, that their difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that has somehow been especially visited upon them, or else upon their families, their tribe, their class, their nation, their race or even their species, and not upon others.

　　visit sth. on / upon sb./sth. (古)inflict(造成，使遭受) punishment on sb./sth. 对某人/某物进行惩罚

　　visit the sins of the parents upon their children相当于make the children suffer for their parent's failings 使子女因父母之过错而受惩罚

　　⑤ Life is a series of problems. Do we want to moan about them or solve them? Do we want to teach our children to solve them?

　　⑥ Discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems.(主题句) Without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some discipline we can solve only some problems. With total discipline we can solve all problems.

　　⑦ What make life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending upon their nature, evoke in us frustration of grief, sadness, loneliness, guilt, regret, anger, fear, anxiety, anguish, despair. These are uncomfortable feelings, often very uncomfortable, often as painful as any kind of physical pain, sometimes equaling the very worst kind of physical pain. (2)Indeed, it is because of the pain that events or conflicts engender in us all that we call them problems.(承上启下句) (3)And since life poses an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　2. Indeed, it is because of the pain that events or conflicts engender in us all that we call them problems. 强调句。去掉it is…that…剩下的部分成立。

　　3. And since life poses an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.

　　pose an endless series of problems

　　pose threat

　　pose danger

　　pose for a picture

　　⑧ (4)Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn. (承上启下句)As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those things that hurt, instruct." It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　4. (Paragraph 8) Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn. (承上启下句)As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those things that hurt, instruct." It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.

　　本文出现最多的结构是强调结构。本段中的强调结构有：

　　(1)Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning.

　　(2)It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. (本句的语序要留意)

　　比较：Only because of problems do we grow mentally and spiritually.

　　类似的还有not until…被强调时，例如：

　　It was not until midnight that the party broke up.

　　Not until midnight did the party break up.

　　(3)It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.

　　(4)It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.

　　请认真答题，答题结果将记入知识点测评的成绩!

　　【单选题】8. It was not until the deadline that ______ out the application form.

　　· A. he had sent

　　· B. had he sent

　　· C. he sent

　　· D. did he send

　　【答案】C

　　【解析】本题考查否定词被强调时，强调结构中that从句的语序。否定词放在句首句子要用倒装语序，但在强调结构中否定词被强调时，that引导的部分不能倒装，要用陈述句语序。

　　【知识点】否定词被强调时，强调结构中that从句的语序

　　重点掌握：courage的派生词

　　courageous

　　encourage ～ sb. to do sth.

　　discourage ～ sb. from doing sth.

　　encouraging

　　discouraging

　　encouragement

　　discouragement

　III. 部分练习讲解

　　P201 Bridging the Gap

　　Directions: Fill in the blanks with a word or a phrase that best completes the passage. You may choose a suitable one from the list given.

　　解题方法：把词分类

　　动词 　　　　名词 　　形容词 　　连词 　　介词

　　focus on　the middle　 inner　　　but　　　than

　　fit 　　　 　sense

　　satisfy

　　thinking of

　　sense

　　challenged

　　The purpose of life is to 1 satisfy the soul, and though acknowledging your accomplishments can help in this effort, it cannot take you the full distance(全程). The only thing that can satisfy your soul is an answer to the question, who am I? You are an individualized expression of life, of greater consequence and magnitude 2 thananything you will ever accomplish.

　　When we 3 focus onthe fact that we are enough now, the beginning, 4 the middleand the end of every journey - whether it's finding a mate or getting a better job - is filled with a 5 sense of well-being(幸福感). We may complete an experience and even be thrilled by the outcome, 6 butwe know that we are no more complete than when we started out.

　　You see, we are either enough right now or we're not; and if we are, then we're 7 challenged by our enoughness to live that way.

　　The problem is, most of us don't listen to the 8 innervoice that says, "You're enough because you exist." We ignore it because being enough doesn't 9 fit the image we have ourselves. We have spent so much time 10 thinking ofourselves as not being enough that enoughness seems very far away. We may have a sense of being surrounded by the Life Force(生命的力量), but we forget that the Life Force is also within us. And if the Life Force is within us, we are enough.

II. Text Learning

　　Begin Again

　　(1)To begin again means that you won't give up.

　　To begin again means you're trying.

　　You can either start over and live your life

　　Or spend the rest of your life slowly dying.

　　It is never the falling that makes us fail.

　　It is never the pain or the crying.

　　You can never fail in life, my friend,

　　(2)Unless you give up trying.

　　---- Bob Perks

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　1. To begin again means that you won't give up.

　　mean doing sth./ mean that/ mean sth. 意味着，意思是，指的是

　　mean to do sth. 打算做某事，想要做某事

　　例如：

　　Loving a person doesn't mean dying for him or her.

　　This result doesn't mean that you haven't worked hard.

　　Love means mutual respect.

　　I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

　　2. Unless you give up trying.

　　give up doing sth.

　　give up smoking / trying

　　注意区分：give in

　　give in to the enemy / money

　　请认真答题，答题结果将记入知识点测评的成绩!

　　【单选题】9. The new order will mean _______ overtime as far as we are concerned..

　　· A. working

　　· B. to work

　　· C. to be working

　　· D. work

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】本题考查mean的用法。mean doing sth.意思是"意味着，意思是，指的是"，而mean to do sth.意思是"打算做某事"。本句意思是"对我们来说这一新订单意味着加班加点"，故选A。

　　【知识点】mean的用法

　　It seems lately that more and more of my friends are facing some seemingly insurmountable challenges in their lives. A few have lost their jobs and some have failed marriages. All too many have health issues or are battling cancer.

　　(3)I don't know if it is desperation that causes them to turn to me for advice or whether they have come to value our friendship. But it is difficult, to say the least, to offer words of hope when all they feel is hopelessness. They expect answers, some magic waving of a wand, or a roadmap to get them back on their feet again.

　　I have often struggled with what to say. Mostly because I have faced many of the same challenges in my own life, I remember how empty I felt after someone cheerfully offered words like, "Keep your chin up!" "Things will get better!" "Hang in there!" "it's always darkest…," etc.

　　Yes, even those who were quick to quote the Bible to me found me quite unreceptive at the time.

　　Now, as an inspiration writer, being thought of as a resource of hope or a good (or bad) example of what to do in life, I have even more people contacting me.

　　So, what do I say?

　　"What can I do, Bob? I've lost my job. What do you suggest?"

　　"Begin again."

　　(4) "He walked out on me. My whole world just ended. What should I do?"

　　"Begin again."

　　"Bob, I know both your son and your wife had cancer. I found out my wife does, too. What did you tell them?"

　　"Begin again."

　　It almost sounds too simple. I imagine in the darkest hours of one's life, those words would seem useless or uncaring. But it is indeed the answer.

　　All life challenges bring about an ending - and the chance for a beginning. A job loss presents an opportunity to start over somewhere else and maybe even in another career.

　　(5)A failed marriage does not mean you are through loving or being loved. It means there are others just like you needing to be loved. Find them.

　　A life-threatening disease does not mean giving up. It means starting a new path to recovery and discovering within yourself the ability to fight back and win.

　　And if you are a person of faith, even death does not mean it's over. It means, "to begin again."

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　3. I don't know if it is desperation that causes them to turn to me for advice or whether they have come to value our friendship.

　　turn to sb. for sth.

　　turn to sb. for comfort

　　turn to sb. for help / advice

　　4. "He walked out on me…."

　　He walked out on me.=He deserted / abandoned / dumped me.

　　5. A failed marriage does not mean you are through loving or being loved.

　　be through loving or being loved

　　be through (with) 完成;结束

　　例如：

　　When will you be through with your work?

　　Mary and Tom are through.

　　be through with sb. 与某人断绝关系

　　be through with drinking / smoking 不再喝酒/吸烟