英语影视听说Unit 1--notes

《英语电影视听说》

Unit 1

Part 2 Culture Reflection

Carpe Diem

\"Carpe diem\" is a phrase from a Latin poem Odes written by Horace who was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. It is popularly interpreted as \"seize the day\is short and time is fleeting.

More Information About American Education

I. Three Stages of School Education

School education in the United States consists of three main stages: elementary education (elementary or primary schools), secondary education (junior high schools and senior high schools), and higher education (universities and colleges). There is no admission exam for most educational institutions at each level.

II. Public Schools and Private Schools

1. Differences between public schools and private schools

Public Schools

 Open and general education offering equal educational opportunities to everyone.

 Public elementary and secondary schools operate on local and state taxes. Thus all American children are entitled to a free compulsory education of 12 years. Institutions of higher education are also mostly \"public\". State and city colleges charge tuition fees from students but they are not particularly high.

 Public education forbids any form of religious teaching and preaching. Furthermore, public schools are coeducational, that is to say, they are mixed schools admitting both boys and girls.

Private

 An elite and exclusive educational pattern.

 Private boarding schools are financed by the rich who desire to prepare their children for prestigious universities. The common families can never bear the financial burden. Most private universities derive their funds partly from state or city grants, partly from (contributions from businesses and former students, and above all, from the present students. They need to charge an average of five times the rates charged by their public counterparts.

 Private schools fall into two broad categories: parochial (mainly supported by various religious groups) and nondenominational (not affiliated with any religious sects). A big proportion of private schools are of the same sex. Compared with public schools, private ones have more qualified teachers, more abundant teaching resources and smaller class sizes.

2. Similarities between public schools and private schools

Whether public or private, there are universal trends in American educational institutions:

a. They give equal prominence to school curriculum and extracurricular activities including organized sports and performing arts.

b. It has long been an excellent tradition in the States for every school to be closely identified with its community. Students are encouraged to work as volunteers in hospitals, homes for the aged, and other public services.

c. In order to ensure that students develop in an all-round way, American universities demand students to take some courses in their own major and take courses in other fields of arts and sciences.

III. Some Features of American Education

American education is characterized by its flexibility and usefulness. Besides

the major courses, they have selective courses and extra curriculum to raise the interests of students. For extracurricular activities, they have bands, dramas, gifted programs, and many sports. Teachers can choose textbooks and use much more flexible materials for a course. And they don't have to teach lessons one by one; they can choose appropriate lessons suitable for students. If students build up enough credits, they can get graduate diploma.

American schools attach great importance to individualism. Students are not trained to be obedient; they can question authority when they have doubts and even disagree with teachers. In addition, class is more student-centered. Teachers do not lecture most of the period, and there is much discussion in class. Also, students are encouraged and taught the ways to conduct research, to acquire knowledge and to get answers by themselves.

Task 4: An Interview (listening)--reference

(1) have his inner self awakened

(2) a role model for young audiences

(3) encouraging and inspiring

(4) misleading and dangerous

(5) does an experiment at the cost of his students

(6) lost themselves in the dreamland

(7) explore the meaning of life on their own

(8) too childish for a group of high-school students

(9) view the world from a different perspective