Unit 10 The New Immorality

I don't profess expert knowledge of this subject. How could you profess to be an expert in this area? He professed that he knew nothing about the plot. She professed herself satisfied with the progress made.
7. Beneficent and benevolent social institutions are administered by men who all too frequently turn out to be accepting "gifts." + Charitable social organizations are managed or controlled by men who very often prove to be easily bribed. • beneficent adj. showing active kindness; generous, charitable • Many rich businessmen have become beneficent patrons. • The orphan was looked after by a beneficent old lady. • benevolent adj. willing or wishing to be kind, friendly and helpful; charitable, doing good rather than making profits • I am deeply impressed by his benevolent manner. • The feminist established a benevolent institution when she retired.
3. rig vt. to arrange the outcome of sth. dishonestly • They claimed that the result of the election was rigged. • Some stockholders rigged the stock market. 4.Yet most of these five, like most of the college cheaters, would probably profess a strong social consciousness. + However, most of these five people, like a majority of the college students who commit cheating on examinations, would probably claim that they have a strong sense of responsibility for society. 5. profess vt. claim sth. often falsely; state openly that one has a belief, feeling, etc.
6. integrity n. honesty, moral uprightness; wholeness or soundness • We admire her greatly for her integrity. • They make great effort to keep their cultural integrity intact. • The two nations have mutual respect for their territorial integrity. • We should maintain the integrity of our brain function.
8. rock v. (cause sb. or sth. to) move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side; (cause sth. to ) shake violently; (fig) disturb or shock sb. or sth. greatly • Mother rocked her baby to sleep. • Our boat was gently rocked by the waves. • The whole house rocked when the bomb exploded. • The scandal rocked the government. 9. ghost writer: a person who writes sth. for sb. else and allows him to publish it under his own name • It turned out that all his articles were actually bought from ghost-writers. • Most ghost-writers are driven by money to ghostwrite for others.
Then, the writer presents his own opinions about the great significance of the concept of personal honor. The last paragraph, the conclusion of the essay, presents the writer's idea of what an honest and honorable person ought to do no matter how bad the world may become.
1. What is the paradox referred to in the beginning part of the essay?
The paradox mentioned and illustrated in the text is our seemingly great growth in social morality has oddly enough taken place in a world where private morality -- a sense of the supreme importance of purely personal honor, honesty, and integrity -- seems to be declining."
10. prevalent adj. existing or happening generally or universally; being widespread • The prevalent opinion is in favor of reform. • Is malaria still prevalent among the population here? • Anti-government sentiments are still prevalent in that war-ravaged country. 11.I have no way of making a historical measurement. + I am not able at all to judge personal dishonesty from the angle of history.
Unit 10
Text I The New Immorality
TEXT EXPLANATIONS The New Immorality, a revealing argumentative essay, exposes, analyzes, and criticizes the new immorality prevalent in our age. This eleven-paragraph argumentation may be divided into three parts. The first three paragraphs, the beginning part, illustrate a paradox of our age. Paragraphs 4-10, the body of the text, first illustrate an interesting tendency to accept and take for granted personal dishonesty, and next analyzes the social and psychological ground for the behavior, attitude, and defense of the dishonest people.
12. mores n. (fml) customs or conventions considered typical of or essential to a group • We must observe social mores. • Every society has its own mores. 13.revealing adj. making facts, etc. known; causing or allowing sth. to be visible • It was a revealing slip of the tongue. • The X-ray was very revealing. • She is wearing a rather revealing dress.

1. provost n. a high-ranking administrative official of a university • The provosts of some colleges of the university were present at the graduation ceremony. • The provost presided over the faculty meeting yesterday. 2. reprehensible adj. deserving to be reprehended; deserving to be criticized or rebuked • Plagiarism was a morally reprehensible act. • It was reprehensible of him to steal from his mother.