Book6Unit1TwoWordstoAvoidTwotoRemember.docx

1、Book6Unit1TwoWordstoAvoidTwotoRememberBook-6-Unit-1-Two-Words-to-Avoid-Two-to-RememberUnit OneText IPre-reading Questions1. You may have kept in your memory some words, phrases or even whole sentences that are of great wisdom and can serve as guidelines in your life. Share them with your classmates

2、and discuss their value.2. The two words that, as the author of the text suggests, should be avoided are if only, and the two be remembered are next time. Can you guess, before you read the text, what message the author intends to convey to the reader with such a suggestion?General ReadingI. Judge w

3、hich of the following best states the purpose of the article.A. To explain how Freuds psychotherapy works.B. To demonstrate the power of positive thinking.C. To call attention to the importance of the choice of words. Key: BII. Judge whether the following statements are true or false.1. That wintry

4、afternoon, the author was in a bad mood and he happened to meet an old friend of his in a French restaurant in Manhattan.2. The Old Man asked the author to go to his office because he thought that the office was a better place than the restaurant for their talk.3. The three speakers on the tape had

5、all been unfavorably affected by what had happened to them.4. In the Old Mans opinion, it was a bad way of thinking always to regret what one had done or had not done.Key: 1. F 2. F 3. T 4. TBackground Notes1. Manhattan, an island near the mouth of the Hudson River, is a borough of New York City, in

6、 southeastern New York State, U.S.A. Commercial and cultural heart of the city, Manhattan is the site of the Metropolitan Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the City Center of Music and Drama, and numerous other music institutions.2. Sigmund Freud (18561939) is an Austrian physician and the founder of psyc

7、hoanalysis. Freud explored the workings of the human mind and developed psychoanalysis as a therapeutic technique to treat neurosis or mental disturbances.Text StudyTextTwo Words to Avoid, Two to RememberArthur Gordon1 Nothing in life is more exciting and rewarding than the sudden flash of insight t

8、hat leaves you a changed person not only changed, but changed for the better. Such moments are rare, certainly, but they come to all of us. Sometimes from a book, a sermon, a line of poetry. Sometimes from a friend .2 That wintry afternoon in Manhattan, waiting in the little French restaurant, I was

9、 feeling frustrated and depressed. Because of several miscalculations on my part, a project of considerable importance in my life had fallen through. Even the prospect of seeing a dear friend (the Old Man, as I privately and affectionately thought of him) failed to cheer me as it usually did. I sat

10、there frowning at the checkered tablecloth, chewing the bitter cud of hindsight.3 He came across the street, finally, muffled in his ancient overcoat, shapeless felt hat pulled down over his bald head, looking more like an energetic gnome than an eminent psychiatrist. His offices were nearby; I knew

11、 he had just left his last patient of the day. He was close to 80, but he still carried a full case load, still acted as director of a large foundation, still loved to escape to the golf course whenever he could.4 By the time he came over and sat beside me, the waiter had brought his invariable bott

12、le of ale. I had not seen him for several months, but he seemed as indestructible as ever. Well, young man, he said without preliminary, whats troubling you?5 I had long since ceased to be surprised at his perceptiveness. So I proceeded to tell him, at some length, just what was bothering me. With a

13、 kind of melancholy pride, I tried to be very honest. I blamed no one else for my disappointment, only myself. I analyzed the whole thing, all the bad judgments, the false moves. I went on for perhaps 15 minutes, while the Old Man sipped his ale in silence.6 When I finished, he put down his glass. C

14、ome on, he said. Lets go back to my office.7 Your office? Did you forget something?8 No, he said mildly. I want your reaction to something. Thats all.9 A chill rain was beginning to fall outside, but his office was warm and comfortable and familiar: book-lined walls, long leather couch, signed photo

15、graph of Sigmund Freud, tape recorder by the window. His secretary had gone home. We were alone.10 The Old Man took a tape from a flat cardboard box and fitted it onto the machine. On this tape, he said, are three short recordings made by three persons who came to me for help. They are not identifie

16、d, of course. I want you to listen to the recordings and see if you can pick out the two-word phrase that is the common denominator in all three cases. He smiled. Dont look so puzzled. I have my reasons.11 What the owners of the voices on the tape had in common, it seemed to me, was unhappiness. The

17、 man who spoke first evidently had suffered some kind of business loss or failure; he berated himself for not having worked harder, for not having looked ahead. The woman who spoke next had never married because of a sense of obligation to her widowed mother; she recalled bitterly all the marital ch

18、ances she had let go by. The third voice belonged to a mother whose teen-age son was in trouble with the police; she blamed herself endlessly.12 The Old Man switched off the machine and leaned back in his chair. Six times in those recordings a phrase is used thats full of subtle poison. Did you spot

19、 it? No? Well, perhaps thats because you used it three times yourself down in the restaurant a little while ago. He picked up the box that had held the tape and tossed it over to me. There they are, right on the label. The two saddest words in any language.13 I looked down. Printed neatly in red ink

20、 were the words: If only.14 Youd be amazed, said the Old Man, if you knew how many thousands of times Ive sat in this chair and listened to woeful sentences beginning with those two words. If only, they say to me, I had done it differently or not done it at all. If only I hadnt lost my temper, said

21、the cruel thing, made that dishonest move, told that foolish lie. If only I had been wiser, or more unselfish, or more self-controlled. They go on and on until I stop them. Sometimes I make them listen to the recordings you just heard. If only, I say to them, youd stop saying if only, we might begin

22、 to get somewhere!15 The Old Man stretched out his legs. The trouble with if only, he said, is that it doesnt change anything. It keeps the person facing the wrong way backward instead of forward. It wastes time. In the end, if you let it become a habit, it can become a real roadblock, an excuse for

23、 not trying any more.16 Now take your own case: your plans didnt work out. Why? Because you made certain mistakes. Well, thats all right: everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes are what we learn from. But when you were telling me about them, lamenting this, regretting that, you werent really learning fro

24、m them.17 How do you know? I said, a bit defensively.18 Because, said the Old Man, you never got out of the past tense. Not once did you mention the future. And in a way be honest, now! you were enjoying it. Theres a perverse streak in all of us that makes us like to hash over old mistakes. After al

25、l, when you relate the story of some disaster or disappointment that has happened to you, youre still the chief character, still in the center of the stage.19 I shook my head ruefully. Well, whats the remedy?20 Shift the focus, said the Old Man promptly. Change the key words and substitute a phrase

26、that supplies lift instead of creating drag.21 Do you have such a phrase to recommend?22 Certainly. Strike out the words if only; substitute the phrase next time.23 Next time?24 Thats right. Ive seen it work minor miracles right here in this room. As long as a patient keeps saying if only to me, hes

27、 in trouble. But when he looks me in the eye and says next time, I know hes on his way to overcoming his problem. It means he has decided to apply the lessons he has learned from his experience, however grim or painful it may have been. It means hes going to push aside the roadblock of regret, move

28、forward, take action, resume living. Try it yourself. Youll see.25 My old friend stopped speaking. Outside, I could hear the rain whispering against the windowpane. I tried sliding one phrase out of my mind and replacing it with the other. It was fanciful, of course, but I could hear the new words l

29、ock into place with an audible click.26 The Old Man stood up a bit stiffly. Well, class dismissed. It has been good to see you, young man. Always is. Now, if you will help me find a taxi, I probably should be getting on home.27 We came out of the building into the rainy night. I spotted a cruising c

30、ab and ran toward it, but another pedestrian was quicker.28 My, my, said the Old Man slyly. If only we had come down ten seconds sooner, wed have caught that cab, wouldnt we?29 I laughed and picked up the cue. Next time Ill run faster.30 Thats it, cried the Old Man, pulling his absurd hat down aroun

31、d his ears. Thats it exactly!31 Another taxi slowed. I opened the door for him. He smiled and waved as it moved away. I never saw him again. A month later, he died of a sudden heart attack, in full stride, so to speak.32 More than a year has passed since that rainy afternoon in Manhattan. But to thi

32、s day, whenever I find myself thinking if only, I change it to next time. Then I wait for that almost-perceptible mental click. And when I hear it, I think of the Old Man.33 A small fragment of immortality, to be sure. But its the kind he would have wanted.Words and Phrases1. prospect n. sth. one expects to happen; a possibility or likelihood of sth. happeninge.g. I look forward to the prospect of being a volunteer