Unit1

Unit 1: A Brush with the Law

Step I:Leadingin(5 min)

Allow students to examine the text title, and then say a few words as an introduction to the text -- the purpose of law. i. Examine the text title:

To explain the meaning of ?brush?: n. brief fight or encounter（小冲突） Chinese translation of the title:?与警察的一场小冲突? .

The law: 警察；警官；看守；执法人员

ii.Introductory Remarks:

To think about this sentence, written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr(霍姆斯，美国法律界的泰斗。在最高法院做到90岁。他被公认为是美国最高法院最伟大的大法官之一。).

“This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.” 这是法律的法庭，年轻人，不是正义的法庭。

We all know that the chief purposes of law are to maintain peace and order, to protect the rights of citizens, to secure justice and to punish wrong-doers（做坏事的人，违法犯罪者）, Good laws are those that are considered to serve the cause（原则，目标） of justice for the society to which they apply.But even good laws may be unjustly applied or may be unjust（不公平的） in certain situations. In the story we?re going to study today, the author tells us about what happened to him more than a decade ago. It was really a very unpleasant experiece, yet it provies us with much food for thought（引人深思的事）.

Step II: Vocabulary: (10 min)

Read twice for each word. Then ask Ss to read.

Step III :Allow Students 10 minutes to go over the text, and then ask them to do the True/False exercise.Get students actively involved in analyzing and explaining the text.(Introductory Questions, from teacher?s book, P.2)(35min)

1) The story took place one February in the 1960?s in Britain. (T)

2) The narrator was a 19-year-old college student at the time. (F)

(He was not going to university until the following October. p.5) Background Information:

In Britain the university terms are:

October-December; January-March; April-June. 一些大学的春、秋、夏三个学期各有不同的称呼，有些大学的三个学期长短不同，以秋季学期为时最长。

即使在同一所大学里，不同学院也有不同的制度，而且因为每年复活节（见以下附注）日子不固定的关系，每年的开学日和放假日也不尽相同。

“各自为政”

牛津大学三个学期，分别叫做“Michaelmas（米伽勒节）”、“Hilary”、“Trinity（复活主日）”，每个学期为时八周。 2011至2012学年度，牛津的三个学期的日期依序是：10月9日至12月3日，1月15日至3月10日，4月22日至6月16日。 剑桥大学的三个学期被称为“Michaelmas”、“Lent”、“Easter（复活节）”，每学期也是八周时间。

2011至2012学年度，剑桥的三个学期的日期分别是：10月4日至12月2日，1月17日至3月16日，4月24日至6月15日。

伦敦大学学院（UCL）直接将三个学期称为第一、第二和第三，2011至2012学年度三个学期分别是9月26日至12月16日，1月9日至3月23日，4月23日至6月8日。

英国大学的开学日和放假日都不一样，大致上在每年的九月底或十月初开学，以圣诞节和复活节划分为三个学期，到六月中开始放暑假.每个学期大约八周时间。

复活节（Easter day,Easter）是西方传统的节日，是信奉基督教的宗教纪念日，目的是为了纪念耶稣基督于公元30到33年之间被钉死在十字架之后第三天复活的日子，具有重生与希望的象征意义。其日期是不固定的，通常是要查看日历才能知道。

复活节的时间

公元325年尼西亚宗教会议规定，每年过春分月圆后的第一个星期天为复活节。复活节一般是在旧历的3月22日至4月23日之间，确切日子要根据春分或其后出现的满月决定。

复活节是西方国家隆重而又盛大的宗教节日。复活节的清晨，当天边刚抹上一缕晨略，婉转而深沉的乐曲开始响彻晨空。在乐曲的感召下，基督教徒从四面八方涌向教堂、公园或公共广场去迎接复活节的黎明，纪念基督耶稣的复活。

复活节就是为纪念耶稣复活而定的。虽然复活节是纪念耶稣的复活，但是复活节这个名字却取自古代的春阳节（Norse Fesdval of Snrins Sun），春阳节是古代纳维亚人的节日，它欢庆冬天的过去，春天的到来。

复活节是在庄严、隆重的气氛中开始的。教徒们在音乐的伴奏下唱着圣歌（hymn）、颂歌（carol）、念着赞美诗，表达他们对耶稣复活的欢乐和喜悦心情。复活节的教堂烛光通明。据说，烛身象征着耶稣的圣体，烛芯是耶稣的灵魂，烛光表示耶稣神性和人性的统一。在复活节里，人们穿着节日盛装。教堂仪式结束后，人们习惯于沐浴在春天和煦的阳光下，漫步于青枝绿叶之间，呼吸着春天的气息。

3) He was looking for a job so that he could make some money to pay for his

tuition. (F)

(He wanted to save up some money to go travelling.)

4) He was arrested by the policemen while stealing milk bottles from

doorsteps. (F)

(He didn?t steal any milk bottles. He was arrested because the policemen thought he had the intention of stealing milk bottles.)

5) The policemen let him go after he gave a clear explanation. (F)

(The policemen took him to the police station and questioned him for several hours. He was not allowed to leave the station until he was officially charged and told to report to Richmond Magistrates? Court the following Monday.)

Background information:

Magistrates地方法官& the magistrates’ court地方法庭

In England, a magistrate is a person appointed to try minor offences未成年罪犯. He is either an unpaid layman or, in London and some other cities, a paid judicial 司法的officer.

In England, every district has a magistrate’ court. It is the lowest court of law. The magistrates? court can only try审讯 people for minor, i.e. not very serious, offences罪行. It cannot give prison sentences totaling more than 12 months, nor can it order fines of more than ￡400 for one offence.

6) The narrator defended himself so successfully in court that the

magistrates found him “not guilty” immediately after hearing his defence. (F)

(The narrator wanted to defend himself in court, but his father wouldn?t allow him to do so. Instead, he hired a very good solicitor, who conducted the defence in court.)

WORD DISTINCTION: lawyer, solicitor, barrister

Lawyer is the general term for anyone whose work it is to advise his clients about the law and represent them in court.

A solicitor(初级律师) is a lawyer who gives advice, appears in lower courts, and prepares cases for a barrister可在高等法院出庭的大律师；专门律师 to argue in a higher court.

A barrister(出庭律师) is a lawyer who has the right of speaking and arguing in the higher courts of law.

If a person gets into trouble with the police, he will probably ask a solicitor to help prepare his defence and, if the offence is to be heard in a Magistrates? Court, he can ask a solicitor to appear for him and argue his case. If the case goes to a higher court, the solicitor still advises him, but he must get a barrister to appear for him.

7) The narrator was shocked to find that his release from the charge was

chiefly due to his “right” accent and his middle-class family background. (T)

8) The narrator feels sure that if he had come from a lower-class family, he

would most probably have been found guilty. (T) Middle Class:

In Britain, the middle class refers to the class of people between the

nobility贵族阶层 and the working class. It includes professional men (such as doctors, lawyers and architects), bankers, owners of business and small gentry绅士. In the United States, however, the middle class refers to the class of people between the very wealthy class and the class of unskilled labourersand unemployed people. It includes businessmen, professional people专业人士, office workers上班族, and many skilled workers技术工人.

Apart from occupations and economic status, the term “middle class” can also be used to describe values and attitudes.

9) The policeman who has arrested the narrator was angry with the court?s

decision. (F)

(He was not happy that another youngster had been turned against the police and wished that the narrator could have been a bit more helpful in the incident.)

Step IV:Additional information related to the text: The Sixties??youth counterculture?:

The word ?counterculture? was coined in the 1960?s for the attitude and life style of many young people who rejected conventional social values (传统社会价值)and demanded more personal freedom. The counterculture first arose in the U.S. during the 1960?s and soon spread to Britain, France and other western countries. These young people were opposed to the Vietnam War and dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs in their society. Yet, unable to find a more constructive way of struggling against these, they indulged themselves in sex, drugs, alcohol and rock music and took great pride in wearing long hair and unusual clothes and in taking up anything that was unconventional. The counterculture declined in the late 1970?s.

Step V: Listen to the text.(5min)

Step VI: Help students learn in context the more frequently used words and phrases through a variety of drilling practice and by doing the related exercises in the student’s book. 1. brush: n. a brief fight or encounter

These freshmen once had a brush with the Customs man. 在上场比赛中我们的足球队员与裁判发生了一场冲突.

Our football players had a brush with the referee裁判 in the last game.

2. take sb. to court: take legal against sb.

I told him that I would take him to court if he did not repay the money in a week.

If you go on ill-treating your wife like this, you will be taken to court.

3. …it makes a good story now. : …it provides material for a good story

now.

Here the verb “to make” means “to have the qualities needed for (sth.good)”.

Iced tea makes an excellent drink in summer. The wall calendar makes a nice new year gift.

4. What makes it rather disturbing was the arbitrary circumstances

both of my arrest and my subsequent fate in court.

The author was arrested simply because the policemen thought he intended to steal milk bottles and later in court he was released from the charge just because he had the “right” accent, respectable middle-class parents, reliable witnesses and so on. That is to say, he was arrested arbitrarily and released arbitrarily. And it is this arbitrariness of both his arrest and his release that the author thinks rather disturbing.

arbitrary: adj. decided by or based on personal opinion only rather than on reason

If a leader makes decisions without conducting investigations, he is being arbitrary.

The arbitrary decisions of the factory owners caused dissatisfaction among the workers.

他草率的决定导致了项目的失败。

His arbitrary decision resulted in the failure of the project.

I knew little about medical books so my choice was quite arbitrary. Collocations:

arbitrary boss独断专行的老板 arbitrary decision武断的决定 arbitrary punishment肆意的惩罚

circumstances: n. facts; conditions connected with an event or a person

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