Unit_2_Tyranny_of_the_Urgent.ppt

Unit 2 Tyranny of the Urgent School of Foreign Studies Contents Global Reading Decide which of the following is the biggest problem we may have in using our time. A. Shortage of time B. Crammed schedules C. Jumbled priorities D. Idleness Part division Detailed Reading Para.1-Para.2 Qs: How does the author introduce his topic? Why do people wish for a thirty-hour day? Would the prolongation of the time help relieve the pressure according to the author? Parallelism Parallelism means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. Example: “Unanswered letters, unvisited friends, unwritten articles and unread books haunt quiet moments when we stop to evaluate.” The author, by using parallelism, presents four noun phrases, each with an adjective with a negative prefix un-, which is intended to further elaborate on the idea of “a trail of unfinished tasks” in the preceding sentence. Another example: A mother’s work is never finished…neither…nor… (Para.2) Rhetorical question 1/2 A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. For example, Why me, Lord? Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, How much longer must our people endure this injustice? or How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?; no formal answer is expected. Rather, it is a device used by the speaker to assert or deny something. Rhetorical question 2/2 Example: But would a thirty-hour day really solve the problem? Wouldn’t we soon be just as frustrated as we are now with our twenty-four-hour allotment? The author would actually like readers to believe the prolongation of the time could by no means help us out of the pressure. tyranny 1 cruel or unfair