新編大學英語（第四版）視聽說教程4（智慧版）教案 Unit 1 B4U1 Threads of the self

Unit1Threadsoftheself

Warmingup

Listening&speakingConversation

Scripts

Woman:HeyStephen,whatareyoudoing?

Man:I’mreadingabookaboutself-discoveryandhowtounleashone’spotential.

Woman:Anythinginteresting?

Man:Yes,itisquiteinteresting.HaveyouheardoftheBannistereffect?

Woman:No,what’sthatabout?

Man:It’sabouthowthebeliefthatsomethingispossiblecanboostourperformance.TheeffectisnamedafterRogerBannister,whoranamileinthreeminutes59.4secondsonMay6,1954,breakingthelegendaryfour-minutebarrier.Beforehedidit,noonethoughtitcouldbedone.Butafterhisachievement,others,eventeenagers,brokehisrecord,oneaftertheother.

Woman:Wow,that’sunbelievable!Howcomepeoplebecamestrongerallofasudden?

Man:No,peopledidn’tsuddenlybecomestronger,andthephysicalrequirementsforrunningamileinlessthanfourminutesremainedthesame.Whatchangedwasthementalframetheyhadbuiltaroundthegoal.Whatusedtobeimpossiblewasnowseenaspossible.Achievementscamenaturallyoncepeoplewerereleasedfromtheshacklesoftheirminds.

Woman:So,youmeanweshouldshiftourperspectiveandbelieveinourpotential.

Man:Absolutely.Believinginone’spotentialleadstopeoplesettinghigheryetachievablegoals.Thesegoals,whenalignedwithourskills,provideacleardirectionforourefforts.Also,whenwebelieveinourpotential,we’remorelikelytoengageintaskswithapositive,focusedmind.Allthesemayhelpdriveusintoa“flow”stateandboostourperformance.

Woman:“Flowstate.”It’saverypopulartermthesedays.I’vereadabouthowitcanoptimizeourperformanceandhelpusexcelinourworkandstudies.

Man:Yes.“Flow”isthestateofcompleteabsorptioninwhatwe’redoing,whichcanincreaseourmotivationandproductivity–sometimesbyupto500%.

Woman:Igetit.Tostriveforhigherachievements,wefirstneedtobelieveinourownpotential,andthenentertheflowstateforbetterperformance.That’sinspiring.

Referenceanswers

Listeningandunderstanding1.

1）four-minutebarrier2）mentalframe

releasedfrom

boost/optimizeourperformance5）motivationandproductivity

2.

F

T

T

F

T

Thinkingandspeaking

Breakingourmentalshackles“Flow”state

Passage1Scripts

Humandesireisacomplexelementthatgiveslifemeaning.Therearetwokindsofhumandesires:thickandthin.Thickdesiresarelikelayersofrockthathavebeenbuiltupthroughoutthecourseofourlives.They’rerelatedtothecoreofwhoweare.Theycanberelatedtoeternalconceptsliketruth,beauty,goodness,andhumandignity.

Thindesires,ontheotherhand,arehighlymimeticandshort-lived.Whenwedon’tknowwhattodesire,welooktootherpeopleforguidance.Thesedesiresaresubjecttothewindsofmimeticchangebecausethey’renotbuiltupovertime.Manypeoplemaydiscoverthattheircareersaretheresultofthindesires,easilyinfluencedbyotherpeoplebecausetheyarenotrootedinthickdesires.

Desireisnotanenemyofahappyandbalancedlife;itcanbetheengineofgreaterawareness.Beingabletodifferentiatebetweenthickandthindesiresiscrucial.Itwilltelluswhatdesirestonurtureandwhatdesirestoletgobecausethelatterdoesn’tleadtoultimatefulfillment.

Inourdailylives,we’repushedandpulledinamilliondifferentdirections.Ifwedon’tfindtimeforrecollection,wewon’tbeabletolistentoourlives,tolistentoothers,andtounderstandthewayourdesiresgrowandemerge.Tohavedesiresbetterguideourlife,wemustreflectonthosemomentsthatwefinddeeplymeaningfulandfulfilling.Byexaminingthosemoments,wewillprobablyfindapattern,revealingwherewefindfulfillmentandwhatwetrulydesire.

Questions

Whichofthefollowingisrelevanttothindesires?

Whyisitcrucialtodifferentiatebetweenthickandthindesires?

Whatwillhappenifwedon’ttaketimetoreflect?

Howcanwehaveourdesiresbetterguideourlife?

Referenceanswers

Listeningandunderstanding1

layersofrock

thecore

eternalconcepts

short-lived

Subjectto

engineofgreaterawareness

letgo

2

1.C2.B3.B4.C

Thinkingandspeaking

Thickdesiresvs.thindesires

Desireasanengineofgreaterawareness

Passage2Scripts

Weactonhabitsmuchmorethanwe’reawareof.Backinthe1980s,someresearcherswantedtoconvincepeopleinafour-storyofficebuildingtousethestairsbyputtingupsignsthatread“It’sgoodtotakethestairs–It’sgoodforyourhealth.”Butithadnoeffect.Theseverycreativeresearchersthenslowedtheclosingoftheelevatordoorby16seconds.Thiswasenoughtodiscouragepeoplefromusingit,andelevatorusereducedbyathird.Evenaftertheclosingofthedoorwasreturnedtonormal,peoplecontinuedtotakethestairsoutofhabit.

Often,itfeelslikewhenweexerciseself-control,ourhabitswillchange.Butthisbeliefoversimplifiesthecomplexinteractionbetweenourconsciouseffortsandlong-establishedhabits.Storedinthepartofthebrainthatoperatesbelowthelevelofconsciousawareness,habitsarehardtoformorchangewithwillpoweralone.

Itturnsoutthateveryhabitstartswithapatterncalleda“habitloop,”whichisathree-partprocess.First,there’sacue,ortrigger,thattellsyourbraintogointoautomaticmodeandletabehaviorunfold.Thenthere’stheroutine,whichisthebehavioritself.Thethirdpartisthereward:somethingthatyourbrainlikesthathelpsitrememberthehabitloopinthefuture.Onlythroughrepetitionandreinforcementcanthishabitloopgraduallydevelopandfirmup.

Thus,breakingoldhabitsandformingnewonesinvolvesnotonlywillpowerbutalsounderstandinghowhabitswork,manipulatingenvironmentalcues,and,mostimportantly,allowingtimefornewpatternstodevelopintoautomaticresponses.Thesenewhabits,onceestablished,requirelessself-controltomaintainastheybecomethenewdefaultactionsourbrainturnstoinfamiliarcontexts.

Questions：

Whatwastheresultofslowingtheclosingofelevatordoors?

Whydoesthespeakergivetheexampleofelevatoruse?

Whyiswillpoweraloneinsufficientforchanginghabits?

Whatisnecessaryforbreakingoldhabitsandformingnewones?

Referenceanswers

Listeningandunderstanding1

1.B2.D3.B4.B

2.

trigger

mode

behavioritself

rememberthehabitloop

repetition

developandfirmup

Thinkingandspeaking

Thehabitloop

Breakingbadhabits

LectureScripts

Intoday’slecture,we’llexamineaninterestingpsychologicalphenomenon:theDunning-Krugereffect.

First,letmeexplainwhatitis.TheDunning-Krugereffectoccurswhenaperson’slackofknowledgeandskillinacertainareacausesthemtooverestimatetheirowncompetence.Thiseffectalsodrivesthosewhoexcelinagivenareatothinkothersfindthetasksimpleaswell.

Imagineyouandyourfrienddecidetotrysomethingnew.Separately,youbothstartlearningSpanish.Withinafewdays,youcansay10-15sentences.Thelanguagecomesnaturallytoyou,andyourprogressmakesyouthinkitissimpleforeveryone.Yourfriend,bycontrast,haslearnedjustafewwords.He’slearnedmuchlessthanyou,butbecausehedoesn’tknowhowfarothers,likeyou,havecome,hethinkshe’sexcellingwhilehe’sactuallylearningatabelow-averagespeed.

So,howdoestheDunning-Krugereffectaffectus?

Asaresultofthiscognitivebias,youmayassumethatwhatcomeseasilytoyoualsocomeseasilytoeveryoneelse.Theeasewithwhichyoupickupnewskillsorknowledgeblindsyoutothefactthattheworkismorechallengingforothers.Therefore,youcannotspotyourownspecialtiesandtalents.Ontheotherhand,mistakingsomethingneworchallengingforbeingsimplemightleadyoutotheillusionofhavingdiscoveredyourtalents.Thismaycauseyoutomakelessinformeddecisionssurroundingopportunitiesorcareersyoupursue.

UnderstandingtheDunning-Krugereffectcanhelpyoulearnwhentotrustyourownabilitiesandwhentoseekadvicefrommoreobjectivesources.Italsomakesyouawareofyourownblindspotsandlendsyoutheopportunitytoadjustyourself-perceptions.Doingsorequirestakingastepbacktorealizethatourownself-assessmentscanbebiasedandsometimesincorrect.

YoucanavoidtheDunning-Krugereffectbybeingopentofeedback,whichis,ofcourse,easiersaidthandone.Ratherthanbrushingoffthefeedbackandconstructivecriticism,consideritanindicationofyourknowledgegapsanduseitmindfullytoprogress.

Referenceanswers

Listeningandunderstanding1

knowledgeandskill

excelinagivenarea

morechallenging

specialtiesandtalents

illusion

lessinformeddecisions

moreobjectivesources

adjustyourself-perceptions

knowledgegaps

2

1.F2.T3.T4.T5.F

Thinkingandspeaking

TheDunning-KrugereffectinourlifeTakingfeedbacktoheart

ViewingandunderstandingScripts

Howcantravelstrengthenthehumanbrain?

It’schild’splay.Bytheageofthree,achild’sbrainhastwiceasmanysynapsesperneuronthan(as)inadults.That’sbecauseashumansage,thebrainremovesunusedconnectionstomakestrongerones,butdoingnewactivitiesandhavingnewexperiencescanhelpenhancethoseconnectionsatanyage.Thisisyourbrainontravel.

Chapter1:Thebrain

A2009studygaveparticipantsauniquecreativitypuzzletosolve,involvingacandle,aboxoftacks,andmatches.Thegoalwastoaffixalitcandletoacorkboardwithnothingbutthoseitems.Onekeytosolvingit?Well,travelandlivingabroad.Mostoftheparticipantswhohadtraveledandlivedabroaddemonstratedameasurableincreaseincreativity.Dr.ShellyCarson,anexpertoncreativityinthebrain,explainsthephenomenon.

Oneofthereasonsforthisobviouslyisthatlivinginanothercultureexposesyoutonewideas,tonewpeople,tonewstimuli,andthatincreasestheamountofelementsorbitsofinformationthatyoucancombineorrecombineinnovelandoriginalwaystocomeupwithnewideas.

ThisisDr.BeauLotto.He’saneuroscientistandanexpertinperception.Hesharesthesamesentimentofexperiencingnewstimuli.“Andsothat’swhyyouwanttocomplexifyyourbrainandthewayyoucomplexifyitisbyenrichingyourenvironment.”

Chapter2:Thebody

Scientistsusedtobelievethatthebrainwasunchangeableandonlydegradedwithage.Itwasn’tuntilthe1960sthatneuroscientist,Dr.MarianDiamond,provedthecompleteopposite.

Shefoundthatifthebodywasinanenrichedenvironment,thebraincouldbeshapedbythatenvironmentandgrow.Shedidthisbyplacingsomelabratsinamulti-sensoryenvironmentandothersinabareenvironment.Theratsthathadspentmoretimeintheenrichedenvironmenthadmoresynapticconnections.“Soanenrichedenvironmentallowsyoutodevelopmorepathwayssothatthey’llbethereandavailableforyouandtheywon’tbeprunedawayasyougrowolder.”

Chapter3:Themind

Byaccessingtheseenvironmentsandtravel,themindcanenteracomplexemotionalstateknownasawe.“Aweisoneofthemostpowerfulperceptionswehave.Andawegivesyoutheexcitementandtheabilitytosteptotheveryplaceweevolvetoavoid–whichisnotknowing.Soitgivesyouthecuriosityandthecouragetostepforward.”

Tostudythat,Dr.LottoequippedhundredsofpeoplewithEEGcapswhiletheywatchedacircusperformance,somethingpeopledon’tseeeveryday.“Youwanttobechangeable,adaptable,andthat’swhattravelingwithopennessandcouragecanenableyoutodo.Soforinstance,orderfoodsthatyou’veneverhadbeforeandpartlybecauseyoudon’tevenknowwhatitmeansonthemenu.Getyourhaircut.Thebarberisoneofthecentralfocusesofthecommunity.Trulyengageandbepartoftheenvironment.”

Chapter4:Lastingimpact

Aweandotherbenefitsoftravelcanlastpastthedurationofthetrip.Onestudyfollowedupwith

participantsfiveweeksaftertheirtripandtheystillreportedlessstressandheadaches.“Engagingtherewardcenterofthebrainwhenyou’retravelinghelpstocounteractcortisolandsomeofthestresshormonesthatgetreleasedwhenyou’reinyoureverydaygrind,andsothisisawaythatatthebiologicalleveltravelingcanreducestress.”Evenjustbookingatripandanticipatingtheexperienceoftravelingcanincreasecontentment.Ninety-sevenpeopleinastudyevenreportedthathavingatripplannedmadethemhappier.Sowhetheryourtravelstakeyouacrossthecountryoracrosstheglobe,embracetheunknown.Itmayjusttransformyourbrainforthebetter.

Referenceanswers

Viewingandunderstanding1

ameasurableincrease

novelandoriginalways

anenrichedenvironment

bare

acomplexemotionalstate

powerfulperceptions

curiosityandthecourage

stresshormones

2

1.D2.C3.A4.B5.E

Thinkingandspeaking

BrainontravelThepowerofawe

Unitproject

Givingapresentation

FurtherlisteningConversationScripts

Host:Today,withus,isLisa,adistinguishedprofessorofpsychology.Letmestartwithaquestion.Lisa,haveyouevercriedwhilewatchingamovie?

Lisa:Absolutely,I’vecriedduringlotsofmovies.Somescenesarereallytouching.Youcan’thelpbutexperiencetheweightofemotion…

Host:Speakingofemotions,whatdoyouthinkisourbiggestmisconceptionaboutthem?

Lisa:Onecommonmisconceptionisthatwecanreadsomeone’semotionsfromtheirfacial

expressionsaseasilyasreadingwordsonapage.Manypeoplebelievethat,universally,ascowlmeansanger,asmilemeanshappiness,andafrownmeansannoyance.Thisisone-sided,butunfortunately,itisactuallywhatalotofpeoplebelieve.

Host:Youmean,facialexpressionsdon’talwayscommunicateemotionsasdirectlyaswethink,right?

Lisa:Exactly.Peoplescowlformanyreasons.Theymightscowlwhenthey’reconcentrating,whenthey’resad,orevenwhenthey’rehappy.Similarly,peopledon’tjustsmilewhenthey’rehappy.Theysometimessmiletosendasocialmessagethathasnothingtodowithemotion.

Host:So,theideathatthere’soneuniversalfacialexpressionforeachemotionisungrounded?

Lisa:Yes.There’snostrongscientificevidenceforsuchaclaim.

Host:Yet,duringinteractions,weoftenfeelfacialexpressionstellusalotaboutotherpeople’semotions.

Lisa:That’sbecausewhenwearehavingconversations,ourbrainsareactivelymakingeducatedguessesaboutwhatsomeone’sfacialexpressionsmean,takingintoaccountnotonlytheirfacialexpressions,butalsothetoneoftheirvoice,theirbodylanguage,etc.Aperson’sfaceisnotastraightforwarddisplayoftheirinternalstate,thoughitcanoffersomehints.

Host:That’sreallyinteresting.So,weneedtobebetterlistenersandnotjustrelyonreadingfacialexpressions.

Lisa:Exactly.There’salotmoregoingonthanjustfacialexpressions.Beingattentiveandunderstandingthewholepicturehelpsusconnectwithpeopleinadeeperway.

Host:Thanks,Lisa,formakingusthinkmoreaboutthis.

Lisa:You’rewelcome!Gladtoshare.

Questions：

Whatismostpeople’sbiggestmisconceptionaboutemotions?

Whatisdiscussedaboutfacialexpressions?

WhatadvicedoesLisagivetotheaudience?

Referenceanswers

1.A2.D3.A

Passage1

Scripts

Inthelate17thcentury,amedicalstudentnoticedastrangeillnessaffectingSwisssoldiersservingabroad.Itssymptoms,includingfeelingtiredandunabletosleep,havinganirregularheartbeat,stomachpain,andfever,weresoseverethatthesoldiersoftenhadtobedischarged.Itwasdiscoveredthatthecausewasnotphysical,butanintenselongingfortheirhomeland.Theconditionwasnamed“nostalgia,”whichcomesfromtheGreekroots“nostos,”whichmeans“homecoming,”and“algos,”whichmeans“pain”or“suffering.”

Withmigrationincreasingworldwide,nostalgiawasobservedinvariousgroups.Itturnedoutthatanyoneseparatedfromtheirnativeplaceforalongtimewasvulnerabletonostalgia.Inthe20thcentury,theunderstandingofnostalgiaevolvedintwoimportantways.Itsdefinitionbroadenedfrommerelyindicatinghomesicknesstoreferringtoagenerallongingforthepast.And,ratherthananawfuldisease,itbegantobeseenasagenerallypleasant,evenenrichingexperience.

Thisshiftinourperceptionofnostalgiahastodowithscience.Researchersfoundthatthenegativesymptomsmayhavebeensimplycorrelatedwithnostalgia,ratherthancausedbyit.Nostalgia,infact,doesn’tgenerallyputpeopleinanegativemood.Instead,byallowingustorecallpersonallymeaningfulandrewardingexperiences,nostalgiacanboostpsychologicalwell-being.

Beyondfosteringmorepositiveemotionsandgreaterlifesatisfaction,nostalgiaplaysacrucialroleinenhancingoursocialbondsandgivingusasenseofcontinuityandauthenticity.

Recallingpastexperiencesofteninvolvesrememberingsignificantpeopleinourlives,naturallyincreasingoursenseofconnectionwithothersandourwillingnesstoinvestinrelationships.

Furthermore,nostalgiahelpsusseeourlivesascontinuousandcoherent,givingusasenseofbelonging.Italsoshiftsourfocusawayfromexternalexpectations,encouragingustopursueourdeepestdesiresandstaytruetoourauthenticselves.

Inessence,nostalgiaismoreablessingthanacurse,offeringprofoundbenefitsforouremotionalandsocialwell-being.

Questions：

Whichistrueofthedefinitionofnostalgiainthe20thcentury?

Whatdoresearchersfindaboutnostalgia?

Whatdowelearnabouttheimpactofnostalgiafromthepassage?

Referenceanswers

1.A2.B3.A

Passage2Scripts

Ourspeciescanbeproudofachievingastonishingfeatsofrationality.Wehavebeenexploringtheoriginsoftheuniverseandthefunctioningofthemind.Butatthesametime,manypeoplefallforfakenewsorbelieveinmade-upstories.

So,whydoeshumanityseemtoloseitsrationalityonoccasion?Theanswermaybetwofold.Themostobviousreasonismotivatedreasoning.Rationalityissometimesemployednotintheserviceoffindingobjectivetruth,buttoachievespecificgoalsforpersonalreasons,forexample,towinanargumenttoshowhowwiseyourgroupisandhowstupidtheopposinggroupis.

Anotherpartoftheexplanationliesinthelimitationsofourcognitivearchitecture.Cognitivebiases,suchasconfirmationbiasandtheDunning-Krugereffect,distortourthinking.Wearepronetoacceptinginformationthatconfirmsourpreconceptionsandtooverestimatingourownknowledgeandabilities.Forexample,apersonmightreadafewarticlesonlineandfeeltheyhavebecomeanexpertonacertainissue,dismissingtheneedforfurtherstudyorexpertopinion.Thiscanleadthemtospreadmisinformationconfidently,believingtheyarewell-informedwhentheyarenot.

Tobecomemorerational,thetoolsofformalrationality–logic,probability,correlation,andcausation–shouldbepartofthecognitivetoolkitofeveryeducatedperson.Therefore,rationality

shouldbeincludedinthecurriculum.Butitisn’tenoughtojustteachthematschool.Theyhavetobepartofconventionalwisdom,andpartofthenormsofrationalcommunication.Institutionsshouldpromoterationalitybyestablishingrulestoovercomehumanfallaciesandbiasessothatindividualscanspotandbalanceouteachother’sbiases,makinguscollectivelymorerationalthananyofuscouldbeindividually.

Questions：

Whatismotivatedreasoning?

Whyarewelimitedinourcognition?

Howcanwecultivaterationalityinsociety?

Referenceanswers

1.D2.B3.B

LectureScripts

Today,we’regoingtoexploretheconceptof“metathinking.”Beforewegettowhatitis,let’sstartwithunderstandingtheprefix“meta.”Theterm“meta”isaninterestingwordandhasbecomequitepopularthesedays.Ithasaconnotationofbeingabove,beyond,andtranscending.Italsosuggestspointingtosomethinginitself.Metathinking,essentially,isthinkingabout