What are the dangers of smoking?
What measures can be taken to discourage smoking?
How can people be persuaded to give it up?
How can children be prevented from getting the smoking habit?
Are second-hand smokers in danger?
LET’S TALK
Trudy’s children, aged seven and nine, were caught smoking. Her husband wants to make them smoke a packet at once, but Trudy doesn’t think it will teach them the dangers of smoking.
Trudy, many parents have experienced the same problem with curious young children. They offer the following advice as possible ways to handle the situation.
… I am a non-smoker and my husband is a smoker.
When out two children were about the same age as your children they were caught smoking with friends. What I did was give them one whole cigarette to smoke, and made them inhale harder than one would normally. This made them quite ill and though they wanted to stop, I made them finish their smoke under my supervision.
But that’s not all. During the next few days I acquired every photo I could of smoke-damaged lungs, tastebuds and fingers. I also collected literature of related diseases. But one side won’t work without the other, as their curiosities will take over. It worked for me, and I hope it does for you.
L.M., V. ($100)
… I have four children and they have all had a little go at smoking.
My husband and I both smoke, but we don’t encourage our children to smoke. We try to explain to them the bad things that smoking can do to their bodies and we are both sorry we ever took it up.
I don’t think your husband is doing the right thing by giving them a packet of cigarettes and telling them to smoke the lot. It would be better to explain to your children what smoking can do to them.
It might be a good idea if you could get a video on smoking and let the children watch it.
P.H., NSW. ($25)
… I, too, caught my boys smoking at an early age.
Each one was told sternly that they would not be given their weekly pocket-money if they used it on cigarettes.
I sat each boy down and asked him to promise not to try smokes again until he had left school and was earning his own money. Now that they have all grown up, only one lad began to smoke at high school, and the other two never started at all and are now 18 and 20.
|
|
|
A.M.E., NZ. ($25)
…Most children and teenagers will be caught smoking secretly at least once in their lives.
They see so many adults smoking, seemingly with enjoyment, and curiousity takes over. How we react to the ‘crime’ is all-important. Forcing the child to smoke a whole pack, or a cigar, and become ill, will not have any long-term effects. Discussing the health dangers and the high cost, in a calm manner, plus giving the reasons why you choose not to smoke, will have more impact over time.
Speak to the teachers and principal at your school about plans they may have for anti-smoking, anti-drug lessons. Most education departments have resources such as videos and drug awareness kits. It is human nature that when we are told not to do something, we are tempted to do it. Show your children from an early age that it takes tremendous courage not to use drugs in any form, but don’t make too great an issue out of an example of childish curiosity.
M.S.M., SA. ($25)
What’s the problem in Trudy’s family? How common is it?
Sum up the advice given by the readers. Which of the advice may help, do you think? Which advice would you follow if you had the same problem? What advice would you offer Trudy?
Class Discussion
Argue for or against one of the following statements:
a) Smoking is anti-social.
b) Cigarette advertising encourages people to smoke and therefore must be banned.
Competitions
- You have entered a competition to make a slogan for an anti-smoking campaign. You must complete the following sentence in less than 30 words: “If you don’t give up smoking…”
|
|
|
- You have entered a similar competition for an anti-smoking poster. Bring yours.
FUN WITH GRAMMAR
Proverbs
Read the proverbs; try to memorize them. Give their Russian equivalents. Choose one proverb you like best, explain its meaning and comment upon it or use it in a short story.
It is good fishing in troubled waters.
By doing nothing, we learn to do ill.
Seeing is believing.
He who likes borrowing dislikes paying.
Doing is better than saying.
Gossiping and lying go hand in hand.
Fasting comes after feasting.
It’s no use pumping a dry well.
Saying and doing are two things.
Fools grow without watering.
Between two evils ‘tis not worth choosing.
It is no use crying over spilt milk.
Familiar Quotations
Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
William James (1842 – 1910)
There is nothing more tragic in life than the utter impossibility of changing what you have done.
John Galsworthy (1867 – 1933)
Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.
Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)
A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.
Richard Whately (1787 – 1863)
|
|
|
Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)
The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
A little evil is often necessary for obtaining a great good.
Voltaire (1694 –1778)
Our great glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Oliver Goldsmith (1728 – 1774)
In the world there are only two tragedies: one is not getting what one wants, and the other getting it.
Oscar Wilde.
Limericks
There was an Old Person of Buda,
Whose conduct grew ruder and ruder,
Till at last with a hammer
They silenced his clamour,
By smashing that Person of Buda.
There was an Old Person of Cadiz,
Who was always polite to the ladies;
But in handling his daughter,
He fell into the water,
Which drowned that Old Person of Cadiz.
There was an Old Person of South,
Who had an immoderate mouth;
|
|
|
But in swallowing a dish,
That was quite full of fish,
He was choked, that Old Man of the South.
There was an Old Person of Nile,
Who sharpened his nails with a file,
Till he cut off his thumbs,
And said calmly, “This comes
Of sharpening one’s nails with a file!”
Nursery Rhymes
* * *
The man in the moon
Came down too soon
And asked his way to Norwich;
He went by the South
And burnt his mouth
With supping cold plum porridge.
* * *
Will you lend me your mare to ride a mile?
No, she is lame leaping over a stile.
Alack! And I must go to the fair,
I’ll give you good money for lending your mare.
Oh, oh! Say you so?
Money will make the mare go.
Poems
What If…
Daddy, what if the sun stopped shining,
What would happen then?
If the sun stopped shining,
You’d be so surprised,
You’d stare at the heaven
With wide-open eyes,
And the wind would carry
Your light to the skies,
And the sun would start shining again!
But, Daddy, what if the wind stopped blowing,
What would happen then?
If the wind stopped blowing,
Then the land would be dry,
And your boat wouldn’t sail,
And your kite wouldn’t fly,
The grass would see your trouble,
And she’ll tell the wind,
And the wind would start blowing again!
But, Daddy, what if the grass stopped growing,
What would happen then?
Well, if the grass stopped growing,
You’d probably cry,
And the ground would be worried
By the tears from your eyes,
And, like your love for me,
The grass would grow so high,
The grass would start growing again!
But, Daddy, what if I stopped loving you,
What would happen then?
If you stopped loving me,
Then the grass would stop growing,
Then the sun would stop shining,
And the wind would stop blowing.
So you see, if you want to keep
This old world go on,
You’d better start loving me again!
Unknown
Enlarge upon the statement:
If children stopped loving their parents, and parents stopped loving their children, the world would stop going on.
Funny Stories
No Use Trying
Uncle James: Well, Bobby, have you gained any prize at school?
Bobby: No, the other fellows have got them all.
Uncle James: But you’ll keep on trying, my boy, won’t you?
Bobby: What’s the use of trying when the other fellows keep on doing the same?
Friendly Advice
Grandfather: Excuse my interfering, Nancy, but something must be done with that son of yours. Such a foolish and ill-mannered young man!
Mother: Don’t be so strict, father. Boys will be boys. But certainly something must be done. I insist on his going abroad to see the world.
Grandfather: In your place I wouldn’t do it. I’d be afraid of the world seeing him.
It Speaks for Itself
An art critic is shown two pictures in a private picture gallery. One is an old master, the other is a modern creation. The art critic takes a long look at the former and without uttering a single word turns to the latter. He at once starts praising it.
“Why did you pass the other picture without saying a word?” somebody asks him. “It speaks for itself,” the art critic answers, “while the other certainly needs boosting.”
Tiger Hunting
A man who had traveled in Bengal was asked if he liked tiger hunting. “Well!” said the man. “I certainly enjoyed hunting tigers, but I must confess I hated being hunted by tigers myself.”
A High Price
Senior citizen: One can’t help saying that old age is the least pleasant time of life.
Pert young woman: What would you give for being now as young as I am?
Senior citizen: Oh, a great deal, I’d put up with being as foolish as you are.
The Participle
Introduction
14.1. The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has a verbal and an adjectival character.
There are two participles in English – Participle I and Participle II, traditionally called the Present Participle and the Past participle. These are not very suitable names: both participles can be used to talk about the past, present or future.
Participle I is built the same way as gerund – by adding the suffix –ing to the stem of the verb.
Who is the man talking to Elizabeth?
Participle II of regular verbs is formed by adding –ed, or –d to the stem; irregular verbs have special forms of Participle II.
opened broken
decided sung
14.2. The adjectival and adverbial character of the participle is seen in its syntactic functions of an attribute and an adverbial modifier.
I like the noise of falling rain.
She ran screaming out of the room.
Some participles have lost their verbal nature and become adjectives: interesting, charming, complicated, furnished, etc.
The verbal characteristics of the participle are as follows.
a) Participle I can take a direct object.
Having failed my medical exams, I took up teaching.
b) The participle can be modified by an adverb.
Knowing her pretty well, I realized that something was wrong.
c) The participle has tense and voice distinctions. Participle I has analytical forms.
Forms of the Participle
15.1.Participle I has the same forms as the gerund.
| Active | Passive | |
| Indefinite | playing | Being played |
| Perfect | having played | Having been played |
Participle II has only one form, e.g. played.
15.2. a) Participle I Indefinite Active and Passive usually denotes an action simultaneous with that of the finite verb.
I heard you laughing.
We saw the snow being cleared away.
b) Participle I Perfect Active and Passive denotes an action prior to the action expressed by the finite verb.
Having waited an hour, the crowd were getting impatient.
Having been delayed for an hour, the concert started at 9.
c) Participle I Indefinite can denote a prior action when two short connected actions are close in time.
Opening the file, the detective took out a newspaper cutting.
Having filled/Filling his glass, Max took a long drink.
But when the first action is not short, the perfect form must be used.
They left the restaurant, having spent two hours over lunch.
5.3. a) Participle II can express both an action simultaneous with, or prior to, the action expressed by the finite verb. The latter meaning is more frequent.
Cut above the right eye, the boxer was unable to continue.
b) Participle II of transitive verbs has a passive meaning.
I stepped on some broken glass.
The terrorists used a stolen car. (= The car was stolen.)
c) A few intransitive verbs (usually denoting passing into a new state) can be used as attributes with active meanings.
a fallen leaf (= a leaf has fallen)
vanished civilizations faded colours
a retired general swollen ankles
an escaped prisoner
Rescuers are still working in the ruins of the collapsed hotel.
Functions of the participle
The Participle may have different syntactic functions; the two main functions are attribute and adverbial modifier.
Attribute
a)In this function the participle may precede its head-word. Usually it is a single participle.
Boiling water turns to steam.
The team was welcomed by cheering crowds.
The experiment must be done under controlled conditions.
Sometimes we can put an adverb before the participle.
fanatically cheering crowds
properly trained staff
We cannot use longer phrases.
b) A single participle often comes after its head-word.
We couldn’t agree on any of the problems discussed.
The people questioned gave very different opinion.
I watched the match because I knew some of the people playing. (=…the people who were playing).
Those is often used with Participle II to mean “the ones who are/were…”.
Most of those questioned refused to answer.
A few participles change their meaning according to their position.
Compare: a concerned expression (‘worried’)
the people concerned (‘the people who are affected, involved’)
c) If the participle has accompanying words, as a rule it follows its head-word.
Who is this fat man sitting in the corner?
Applications sent in after 23rd March will not be considered.
d) Participle I Perfect Active and Passive is never used as an attribute, as Participle I in this function cannot express priority: a relative clause must be used instead.
The gang who stole the jewels got away.
Participle I Indefinite Passive is seldom used attributively.
Industrial training is the subject being discussed in Parliament this afternoon.
e) An attribute expressed by the participle may be detached (“loose”), i.e. it has a certain independence in the sentence, the connection between the participle and its head-word is loose. A detached attribute is usually separated by a comma. In meaning, it is close to an adverbial modifier.
To Robin, sunbathingon the beach, all his problems seemed far away.
The housekeeper went out of her room, attracted by the ringing of the bell.
16.2. Adverbial Modifier
In this function, Participle I is often, and Participle II always, used after conjunctions when, while, as if/though, if, etc.
Participial adverbial modifiers are rather literary.
- Adverbial Modifier of Time
Kate fell asleep watching television last night.
If the action expressed by the Participle I is simultaneous with that of the finiteverb, the conjunction when or while is often used.
Mike hurt his hand while playing badminton.
The participial adverbial modifier can come first.
Coming up the steps, I fell over.
It may also come at the end of the sentence.
She took a note from her purse, slamming it down on the counter.
Participle I Indefinite of the verb to be is not used as an adverbial modifier of time. It is an adverbial modifier of cause. Time can be expressed by a clause(When you are ready…, When he was a boy,…) or a phrase (When ready,…, When a boy,…).
While in Germany, he got to know a family of musicians.
Participle II in this function is used after the conjunctions while, when(ever), until, once.
This pattern is common in instructions.
Once opened, the contents should be consumed within three days.
-Adverbial Modifier of Comparison
In this function, the Participle is used after the conjunctions as if and as though.
He said it as if thinking aloud.
Mrs. Carrington shook her head as if lost in wonder.
Participle I is also used as an adverbial modifier of
-cause:
Being rather busy, I completely forgot the time.
Not feeling very well, James decided to lie down.
- manner and attendant circumstances:
They dumped waste into the river, killing all the fish.
Participle II is also used as an adverbial modifier of
- condition:
If taken daily, vitamin pills can improve your health.
- concession:
Though asked, she would not say a word.
16.3. Predicative
The terrorists’ car was stolen. (=It was not theirs.)
Compare: The car was stolen by the terrorists. (=the Passive form, denotes an action)
His indifference was infuriating.
16.4. Part of Compound Verbal Predicate (See 18.2.)
Presently other footsteps were heard crossing the hall below.
The jewels were believed lost.
16.5. Part of a Complex Object (See 18.1.)
Have you ever heard a nightingale singing?
I can make myself understood very well in French.
16.6. Participle I is used as a Parenthesis.
Strictly speaking, you can’t come in here unless you are a club member.
Broadly speaking, …; Considering everything,…
Misrelated Participles
Normally, the doer of the action expressed by a participle is the same as the subject of the sentence.
The men sat round the table playing cards. (=The men were playing cards.)
It is often considered a mistake to make sentences in which the participle has a doer different from the subject of the sentence. The following sentence, with its ‘misrelated participle’, would be considered incorrect by many people.
Looking out of the window of our hotel room, there was a wonderful range of mountains.
This could sound as if the mountains were looking out of the window.
However, sentences with ‘misrelated participles’ are quite common, particularly when the sentence opens with the introductory it or there.
Being French, it’s surprising that she is a terrible cook.
Having so little time, there was not much I could do.
‘Misrelated participles’ can be used when there is no danger of misunderstanding.
Knowing how little time was left, this new delay infuriated her.
(=She knew…, she was infuriated.)
Дата добавления: 2018-04-15; просмотров: 617; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!