新编英语教程 5 Unit 12 教案

Unit 12 TEXT 1

THE ROLE OF CUSTOM

Ruth Benedict

Objectives: to catch the central idea of each para. and understand the organization and development of the essay.

to answer the teacher’s questions concerned with the interpretation of each para. and comprehend the whole text.

Pre-class work

1. (Lib. work) Find out the similarities and differences among custom, habit, behavior, institution, culture.

2. (Pre-reading Q2) What do you think of the ways that custom affect our life?

3. (Pre-reading Q3) Do different societies have different customs? What causes the differences, if any?

4. Read the text to catch its central idea and the central idea of each paragraph.

Section one

Pre-reading questions: (30 mins.)

1. (Lib. work) Find out the similarities and differences among custom, habit, behavior, institution, culture.

2. (Pre-reading Q2) What do you think of the ways that custom affect our life?

3. (Pre-reading Q3) Do different societies have different customs? What causes the differences, if any?

All these questions can be referred to Answers for Reference, pp56, 57.

4. (comp.1) What’s the central idea of this passage?

(C) Custom plays an important role in determining people’s beliefs and behavior, and all manifestations of human custom should be studied without discrimination.

5. (O&D) What’s the central idea of each paragraph?

1st: The thesis is stated: The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief, and the very

great varieties it may manifest. --- the importance and varieties of custom 2nd: The first half of the thesis statement The role that custom plays in experience and in belief is developed.

3rd & 4th: The second half of the thesis statement the very great varieties of customs, though not adequately, is developed.

In-reading questions:

Para.1(10 mins.)

1. The thesis is stated at the end of this para., from which we know the author’s view that custom plays a predominant role in society. Do people usually have the same opinion with her? If not, what do they usually think of custom?

They consider custom as a subject of no great moment (= significance), which is only the most commonplace behavior.

2. How do you interpret the word ‘what’ in ... than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions.Can you restore the deleted words in the clause that follows, i.e., ... no matter how aberrant.?(comp.3-1) what: the behavior

... no matter how aberrant the behavior of the individual is.

Most people value highly the inner workings of human brains and regard custom as a subject of no great significance. But according to B., this should be the other way round, i.e., value custom highly and take it as a subject of great significance because custom is a kind of social behavior more astonishing than individual behaviors or actions.

Para.2 (40 mins.)

1. This para. focuses the role that custom plays in experience and in belief. How does the author develop this paragraph? (refer to Analysis II)

1) by the indirect quotation of John Dewey (ll.13-20)

2) by the illustration of the life history (ll.20-27)

2. Try to explain what B. quotes of Dewey: the part played by custom in shaping the behavior of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up