新标准大学英语综合教程4课后答案
综合教程4课后答案 Unit 1
Active reading (1)
Looking for a job after university? First, get off the sofa Background information
About the passage: This is an article by an Education
Correspondent, Alexandra Blair, published in September 2008 in The Times, a long-established British quality newspaper. In Europe generally, and in Britain in particular, for a number of years there has been a rising number of students who go to university and therefore more new graduates seeking employment. However, for many graduates finding a job became harder in 2008–2009 because the economic downturn
– then a recession – meant that many employers werereducing their workforce. After their final exams, some students rested in the summer before looking for jobs and then they found that it was difficult to find employment in their field or at the level they wanted. The article addresses the problems of such new graduates who might be stuck at home and advises their parents to be there for their children (ie to be available if their children want to talk about the problem or if they need help). The article recommends finding work in a bar or supermarket
rather than sitting unemployed at home since this is more likely to lead to better employment later. The style is partly of a report, but also of a humorous comment for light
entertainment (seen in the jokey language and problem-solving advice to parents).
Why finding a job in 2008 is so difficult for university graduates? Universities in Europe, particularly in Britain, have expanded greatly in the last fifteen years (over 45% of young adults now go on to higher education), so there are more graduates looking for jobs. This competitive situation became a lot worse in 2008 onwards with the credit crunch and economic depression, which meant that there were fewer jobs available and a rise in unemployment. Thus new graduates have to be active to seek a job, they need to fill in many application forms and try to get job interviews: they won’t find
employment by lying on the sofa at home. Culture points
honours degree: Traditionally, in the British university system, BA and BSc honours degrees are awarded in different categories: a first class degree (written using Roman numbers as I), a second (divided into two subcategories, written as IIii
and IIii, which are called “a two one” and “a two two”), a third (written III) and a pass degree. Most people get a second. There are also ordinary degrees with more general courses of study without these categories.
Generation Y and Grunt: The main idea here is that there is a succession of different generations or cohorts of adults who come into the workforce in North America which are given different informal names to characterize them. First, “Baby
boomers” were born in the great increase (the boom) of births after World War II (1946–1960), followed by “Generation X”
people (born 1960–1980) who were said to bring new attitudes of being independent, informal, entrepreneurial, and expected to get skills and have a career before them. “GenerationY” or
the “Millenial Generation” (born 1980s and 1990s and becoming adult in the new millenium) are now making up an increasing percentage of the workforce; they are said to be spoilt by doting parents, to have structured lives, to be used to teamwork and diverse people in a multicultural society. In the passage, this generation is now becoming (morphing into) Generation Grunt, which is an ironic name referring to repetitive, low status, routine or mindless work – this may be
the only work available to some graduates, who may have to
take very ordinary jobs to get experience before they find something more suitable. “Grunt” also refers to coarse
behaviour or bad manners and to the deep sound that is made by a pig; when people “grunt” they express disgust but do not communicate with words – this may be how the parents
of new graduates think their children communicate with them! A comprehensive refers to a British type of secondary school which became
popular in the1960s. Before that there were academic “grammar schools” and more general “secondary modern” schools for those who did not pass the grammar
school entrance tests, but the comprehensive schools were designed for all students in a social philosophy of bringing diverse students together whether they were academic or not. Those students who went to a comprehensive school probably felt that had to study particularly hard (I worked my backside off) to get to university, compared to those who went to grammar schools where all students were academic –comprehensive students felt they had to struggle to get to university.
Chicken suit This refers to a large yellow costume that someone wears which makes the person look like a giant chicken. Before he became a famous actor, Brad Pitt once
dressed in such a costume when he had a job advertising for a restaurant called El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken’ in Spanish) –
the job meant that he had to walk around the streets like a chicken to attract customers to come to the restaurant. Language points
1 Those memories of forking out thousands of pounds a year so that he could eat well and go to the odd party, began to fade. Until now. (Para 1)
The parents paid a lot of money for their son’s university fees and living expenses (so that he could eat well) and for occasional social events – at graduation these memories of
money were mostly forgotten because the parents were proud. But now the parents are thinking of money again because the son doesn’t have a job and doesn’t seem to be actively seeking one.
2 This former scion of Generation Y has morphed overnight into a member of Generation Grunt. (Para 2)
The distinguished son of Generation X (of the parents’ generation who worked hard, got jobs, and had good careers and expected their son to do the same) has changed into a member of Generation Grunt – he doesn’t seem to
communicate much, lies around and doesn’t get a job (or can only do a low status routing job).
3 I passed the exams, but at the interviews they accused me of being ‘too detached’ and talking in language that was ‘too
technocratic’, which I didn’t think possible, but obviously it is. (Para 5)
He passed the entrance exams for a government post, but he was criticized in the selection interviews: They said he was detached (not personally involved) and too technocratic (he used the language of a technical expert or high authority). As a new graduate he probably wanted to show his expertise in his language so he can’t understand this criticism.
4 For the rest it is 9-to-5 “chilling” before heading to the pub. (Para 6)
新标准大学英语综合教程4课后答案
