Lesso 8-text analysis.docVIP

Lesson Eight “We’re Only Human” Warm-up (optional) 1. According to a survey conducted by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences in 2002, the divorce rate in Shanghai has risen from 0.027 percent in the late 1970s to 0.486 percent of 2001. More than 40 percent of the divorced couples surveyed admitted their spouses had other sexual partners, which they said directly caused the divorce. How do you interpret the extramarital affairs from the perspective of morality? 2. The world is flooded with pirated goods which range from electric appliance to personal items. The pirates go at the risks of severe penalty. What lies behind their drive for the illegal activities is a surprising number of avid buyers who are virtually honest and law-abiding people. What do you think of the pirates and the buyers? Pre-reading questions 1. What are the qualities the author suggests we should have so as to arise above nature? Explain the reasons for having them respectively. 2. Why does the author caution us to beware of the pleasure principle? What is the difference between pleasure and happiness? 3. What are the basic desires for a good life that are mentioned to be the root of happiness? 4. What is your view on “Might is right” and the survival of the fittest ? Will you comment on the emphasis of ethics and morality in our life and in China’s modernization drive? Introduction to Background Knowledge 1. to the author Laura Schlessinger (1947— ) Dr. Laura C. Schlessinger was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947. She has a Ph.D. in physiology from Columbia University and a post- doctoral certification in marriage, family and child counseling from the University of South California, where upon graduation she became a faculty member and taught for five years. Dr Laura Schlessinger is the recipient of many national awards and the author of many New York Times bestsellers. the present text is an excerpt taken from the book Courage and Conscience, with some adaptations. Works: Pa