资源描述
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Unit 2 Communication by Email
Unit Goals
What you should learn to do
1. Chat online
2. Use abbreviations and slangs in communicating online
3. Write an email
What you should know about
1. Surfing online for:
Information
Shopping
2. Good or bad of chatting online
3. Noun clauses
Section I Talking Face to Face
1. Imitating Mini-Talks
2. Acting out the Tasks
3. Studying Email Information on the Internet
4. Following Sample Dialogues
5. Putting Language to Use
Section II Being All Ears
1. Learning Sentences for Workplace Communication
2. Handling a Dialogue
3. Understanding a Short Speech / Talk
Section III Trying your Hand
1. Practicing Applied Writing
2. Writing Sentences and Reviewing Grammar
Section IV Maintaining a Sharp Eye
Passage 1 :
Information Related to the Reading Passage
It’s no understatement to say that e-mail has had a profound effect on our professional and personal lives. People thousands of miles away from each other can send and receive detailed documents within mere seconds. This allows us to take on projects that wouldn’t have been practical or possible only a few years ago. It has become routine for us to correspond and exchange files with people overseas. The only obstacle is the difference in time zones.
But on the other hand, e-mail can eat up a substantial portion of our workday. Most of the time and effort involved is going through unsolicited messages and separating the good from the bad. But not all unsolicited messages are spam.
Text E-mail, a Blessing and Annoyance
For the blessing:
E-mail is a conversation that does not require an immediate response (like a telephone). If someone calls you on the telephone, you pick it up (unless you have an answering machine, voice mail or you are just plain rude) and the conversation begins. This is an interactive conversation.
With e-mail, you send a message and then wait for a response. The response may come in five minutes or it may come in five days. Either way, it’s not an interactive conversation.
If a hundred people send you e-mails in one day, so what? You don’t have to talk with all one hundred. Just think of all the hellos, goodbyes and other unnecessary chit-chat you can avoid. With e-mail, you only deal with their messages (which usually omit hellos, goodbyes and such) and you deal with them on your own time. That’s the blessing.
Now for the annoyance:
Too many e-mail users assume that the minute someone receives an e-mail, the person will read it. Bad assumption.
If you schedule a meeting for an hour from now and send an e-mail to each participant, the chance that all the participants will read that message within the hour will be pretty small. On the other hand, if you schedule the meeting for the next day, the chance that they will read the message will be pretty high. Remember, e-mail is not designed for immediate response (that’s why you have a telephone), it’s designed for convenience.
Some (not all) e-mail systems have features that try to combat this problem. These features (usually called “notification”) will notify you when a person has received your e-mail and may also tell you when the person has read it (really all it can do is assure you that the person has looked at the first screen of the message — it has no way to know if the person has read the message word for word). Referring back to the example in the previous paragraph, you could check to see who has checked their e-mail before the meeting and then telephone those who have not read it.
Attachment: Smilies
Since there are no facial and voice cues to help e-mail, users have come up with something called “smilies”. They are simple series of symbols that are pieced together in the e-mail text to help express the writer’s feelings. The most common example is :-) (a smiling face). Here are some more examples.
They are typically found at the end of sentences and will usually refer back to the previous statement.
Language Points
1 Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1. (Para. 3) If a hundred people send you e-mail in one day, so what?
Analysis: so what? is an informal expression, which means “ Why should I care?”
Translation: 如果在一天内有一百个人给你发邮件，那又怎么样呢？
2. (Para. 3) Just think of all the hellos, good-byes and other unnecessary chit-chat you could avoid.
Analysis: Just is used to make a statement or command stronger, meaning in Chinese “只是，仅仅”。
Translation: 只要想想看，你能省掉的所有“你好”、“再见”以及其他一些没有必要的寒暄，这就够了。
Example: But I bet they work too hard. Just think of all they miss.
Example: Sometimes it can take a little bit longer, but so what?
3. (Para. 5) If you schedule a meeting for an hour from now and send an e-mail to each participant, the chance that all the participants will read that message within the hour will be pretty small.
Analysis: This is a complex sentence. The subject and the predicate of the main clause are the chance and will be pretty small, with a that-clause to modify the chance ; If you schedule a meeting for an hour from now and send an e-mail to each participant is an adverbial clause of condition.
Translation: 如果你计划从现在起的一小时后开一个会，然后给每一位与会的人发一封电子邮件，所有与会的人都能在一小时内读到该邮件的机率是很小的。
Example: If we decide to work overtime this evening, the chance that we will go to the cinema will be very small.
4. (Para. 6) Referring back to the example in the previous paragraph, you could check to see who has checked their e-mail before the meeting and then telephone those who have not read it.
Analysis: Referring back to is a present participle phrase used as an adverbial of condition.
Translation: 回到上一段中提到的例子来说，你可以复核一下，了解谁在会议
开始前检视过邮件，然后你可以给没有查看过邮件的人打电话。
Example: Having played Star Wars on the computer for three hours, Michael
could not finish his paper in time.
2 Important Words
1. blessing:
n. something good that you have or that happens and improves your life, helps you in some way, or makes you happy 祝福，赐福
e.g.
The dishwasher has been a real blessing!
Has her IQ been a burden as much as a blessing?
2. plain
a. (informal) used to emphasize an adjective, usually one referring to a bad quality 完全（的）地，全然（的）地
e.g.
It’s just plain crazy to spend all your pay as soon as you get it.
It was just plain stupid to give him your address
3. chit-chat
n. conversation about things that are not very important 闲谈，聊天
e.g.
Let’s take Elizabeth and her chit-chat club as an example.
Got time? Can we have a little chit-chat?
4. schedule
v. to plan that something will happen at a particular time 安排时间
e.g.
Or if you miss exercising regularly, schedule a once-a-week power walk.
Her first album is scheduled for release in September.
5. design
v. to plan or develop something for a specific purpose 设计
e.g.
These exercises are designed to strengthen muscles.
The book is designed as a reference manual.
6. feature
n. a part of something that you notice because it seems important, interesting,
or typical 特点，特写
e.g.
Air bags are a standard feature in most new cars.
An important feature of Van Gogh’s paintings is their bright colors.
7. combat
v. to try to stop something bad from happening or getting worse, used
especially in news reports 反对，斗争
e.g.
To combat inflation, the government raised interest rates.
China has completed its preparations to combat bird flu.
8. notify
v. to formally or officially tell someone about something 通知
e.g.
You will be notified of any changes in the system.
In August we were notified that our article had been rejected.
notification: n. informing by words 通知
e.g.
You should receive notification of the results within a week.
We received official notification that Harry was missing.
9. assure
v. to tell someone that something will definitely happen or is definitely
true so that they are less worried 保证，确保
e.g.
Her doctor has assured us that she’ll be fine.
I assure you that would never happen again.
10. cue
n .an action or event that is a signal for something else to happen
暗示，信号
e.g.
Our success was the cue for other companies to press ahead with new
investment.
I think that’s my cue to explain why I’m here.
Passage 2 :
Information Related to the Reading Passage
The protection of e-mail from unauthorized access and inspection is known as electronic privacy. In countries with a constitutional guarantee of the secrecy of correspondence, e-mail is equated with letters and thus legally protected from all forms of eavesdropping.
In the United States, privacy of correspondence is derived from the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and thus restricted by the requirement for a “reasonable expectation of privacy”.
In the member states of the Council of Europe, the privacy of correspondence is guaranteed explicitly by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. No public authority can interfere with the exercise of this right except “as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society”.
Text Privacy, Are You Kidding?
Stop right where you are and set aside a couple of brain cells for the following statement: there is no such thing as private e-mail. I don’t care what anybody says, states, swears or whatever; there is just no such thing as private e-mail. The reason? Keep reading.
With some e-mail systems, the e-mail administrator has the ability to read any and all e-mail messages. If this is the case where you are located, you’d better hope that there is an honest and respectable person in that position.
Some companies monitor employee e-mail (I consider this one of the worst forms of censorship). The reasons for this unpleasant behavior are that company management wants to make sure that users are not wasting time on little-things-in-life messages and that company secrets are not being leaked to outside sources.
E-mail software is like all software in that occasionally things go wrong. If this happens, you may end up receiving e-mail that is meant for another person, or your e-mail may get sent to the wrong person. Either way, what you thought was private is not private anymore.
Somewhere in the world there is a person (usually a hacker) who is able to read your e-mail if he / she tries hard enough. Of course “tries hard enough” is the key. It’s not that simple to read another person’s e-mail (usually). There are (usually) security measures in place to prevent this from happening, but no security is one hundred percent hacker-proof. I have “usually” in parenthesis in the previous two sentences because I’m assuming that the person / persons who install and operate your e-mail system have taken the necessary precautions. Of course, the same must also be true for the person / persons on the receiving end of your e-mail.
So where does this leave us? First, let me re-emphasize the initial statement: there is no such thing as private e-mail. Got it? Second, don’t send anything by e-mail that you would not want posted on the company bulletin board. If it’s safe enough for the bulletin board, it’s safe enough for e-mail. Finally, if you are debating whether or not to send something personal by e-mail, either deliver it by hand or send it by post.
Attachment: E-mail Abbreviations
Abbreviations are quite frequently used in e-mail. Some of the common abbreviations are listed in the table below. I would recommend that you use abbreviations that are already common to the English language, such as “FYI and BTW”. Beyond that, you run the risk of confusing your receiver.
Language Points
1 Explanation of Difficult Sentences
1. (Para. 1) Stop right where you are and set aside a couple of brain cells for the following statement: there is no such thing as a private e-mail.
Analysis: Right appearing before a phrase of place or position is used as an adverb which means exactly or directly. No such … as is used for emphasizing.
Translation: 你就停在原地不动，花点脑筋想一想下面这段话：根本没有电子邮件隐私这回事。
Example: There really is no such thing as a totally risk-free industry.
2. (Para. 3) The reasons for this unpleasant behavior are that company management wants to make sure that users are not wasting time on little-things-in-life messages and that company secrets are not being leaked to outside sources.
Analysis: The reasons is the subject of the main clause of the sentence and are is its predicate verb, followed by a that-clause which serves as the subject compliment in which to make sure in turn takes another that-clause as its object. Notice that the conjunction that should be used in the subject compliment clause instead of because, i.e. we don’t say
“The reason(s) for … is / are because …”
Translation: 做出这种令人不快的行为，其理由是公司管理层想要确保员工不会把时间浪费在有关生活琐事的邮件信息上，并要确保公司机密不会被泄露给外界。
Example: The reasons why he was late is that there had been a breakdown on
the railway.
My reason to refuse the plan is that its budget is too huge.
3. (Para. 4) Either way, what you thought was private is not private anymore.
Analysis: Either way means one way or the other; what you thought was private is a subject clause.
Translation: 无论是哪种情况，你所认为的隐私就不再是隐私了。
Example: Either way, house prices are rising nowhere near as fast as they did during the previous boom in 2007.
4. (Para. 7) Beyond that, you run the risk of confusing your receiver.
Analysis: Beyond that means if you use uncommon abbreviations.
Translation: 超出这个范围，你可能冒着使收件人迷惑不解的风险。
Example: Beyond that, there is nothing more I can say.
2 Important Words
1. swear
v. to use rude and offensive language: 咒骂，诅咒
e.g.
Don’t swear in front of the children.
Watch your mouth! If you swear today, you will regret it all year long.
2. respectable
a. someone who is respectable behaves in a way that is considered socially acceptable 值得尊敬的，可敬的
e.g.
He has been in contact with decent, respectable, and even able and distinguished people.
We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret.
3. monitor
v. to carefully watch and check a situation in order to see how it changes over a period of time 监控，监视
e.g.
Patients who are given the new drug will be asked to have their progress monitored.
By noting their expressions, a speaker can often monitor whether he is speaking loudly enough.
4. install
v. to put a piece of equipment somewhere and connect it so that it is ready to be used 安装
e.g.
They’ve installed the new computer network at last.
Security cameras have been installed in the city centre.
5. precaution
n. something being done in order to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening 预防措施
e.g.
Proper precaution must be taken when storing and using fuels.
As an extra precaution, an adult should always test food temperature before serving t
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