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UNIT 4UNIT 4

Business online

4

Practical Reading 5

1 Text A 2

Reading Skills 11

Fast Reading3

Contents

Text B

Reading Skills

Sample

Let’s try

Context Clues Context Clues

The main idea of a passage is the thought that is present from the beginning to the end. In a well-written paragraph, most of the sentences support, describe or explain the main idea. Being able to determine the main idea of a passage is one of the most useful skills you can develop.

The main idea of a paragraph is usually stated by one of the sentences in the paragraph. The main idea sentence is commonly known as “a topic sentence” or “a topic statement”. Most frequently the first sentence of a paragraph states the main idea. However, the main idea sentence may also appear in other places: in the middle or at the end of a paragraph. Sometimes, there is no sentence in the paragraph that directly states the main idea. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a main idea in the paragraph, only the main idea is implied. In these cases you have to write a sentence to sum up the main idea of the paragraph.   We will discuss how to find the main idea of a passage from Unit 4 to Unit 5.

Definition Clues

Topic Sentence at the BeginningThe main idea sentence is called a topic sentence. The topic sentence states brie

fly an idea whose full meaning and significance are developed by the supporting details. It may appear at the beginning of the paragraph, and then the author goes on to explain and develop that idea.

Topic Sentence at the EndIn this type of paragraph, the author leads up to the main idea and then states it in the l

ast sentence.

Sample 1Everyone seems much friendlier to each other than usual at Christmas time. You

can lean out of a car window when you’re stopped at the traffic lights and say “Merry Christmas”, and people will smile and respond. You probably wouldn’t think of doing that at any other time of the year. Perhaps it’s because most people are on holiday or because everyone knows that they are sharing a similar experience. Giving presents can be very satisfying, too, if you plan far enough in advance and really think of the right present for the right person.

本段主要描述了在圣诞节期间人们之间所表现出来的友好亲密的态度。这一主要思想在段首句中得到了体现。后面的文字是对这种友好亲密态度的具体的细节描写。

Restatement/Synonym Clues

Sample 2Christmas is supposed to be a time to express our love and good will towards other

s. It is supposed to be a time when we perform acts of kindness for people less fortunate than ourselves. But do we think of other people when we sit down to our Christmas dinner? Of course not--- we are too busy eating those delicious foods associated with Christmas. We are too busy wondering whether the presents we gave were as nice as or better than the ones we received. We forget to think of the sick and the homeless. The whole idea of Christmas now is completely unchristian--- I’m sure that Christ would be distressed if he could see what sort of celebrations are being carried out in his name.

Question: The best summary of this paragraph is . A. Christmas is a time for people to show love to each other. B. The whole idea of Christmas now is completely unchristian. C. On Christmas people can enjoy delicious food. D. At Christmas time people are concerned about the presents they received.本段文章表达作者对现代人过圣诞节时对圣诞精神的体味。先说明圣诞节的意义应

该是人们借此欢乐时刻互致爱意或善意向不幸的人传达爱心，然后指出现代人在圣诞期间只是忙于品尝美味佳肴，只关心收送的礼品，而对需要帮助的人置若罔闻，因此现在的圣诞节已不再具有原来的基督精神了。最后一句概括总结本段的主要内容，故答案为 B 。

Let’s Try

Try to figure out the topic sentences of the following paragraphs. 1. Different people have different tastes in food. Some feel that they haven’t

eaten a meal unless they have steak. Some prefer chicken or fish and eat one or other at every meal. Others prefer vegetables and fruits or grains and would enjoy a meal of noodles. Others could live on what is called fast-food: a hamburger or hot dog and soft drink.

The topic sentence of the paragraph is

2. The first uses of plastics were to replace natural materials such as metal,

leather, rubber and so on. Telephones came to be made of a plastic called "Bakelite", the soles of shoes and, later, the uppers came to be made of various rubber and leather substitutes; and the Second World War brought about the development of "butyl rubber" tires and inner tubes. Although called "rubber", things made of butyl were, and are wholly synthetic. Without plastics we would not have many of the things we take for granted: we would not have several kinds of important electrical insulation nor would we have the wide diversity of photographic film available today. When we look back, we can see how our lives have been changed by plastics.

The topic sentence of the paragraph is .

different people have different tastes in food.

we can see how our lives have been changed by plastics.

Let’s Try

3. There are many reasons why millions of Americans move every year. Some move to find better jobs or to advance their careers. Others are attracted to places with better weather. Still others want to move to a place with less crime. Finally, many people want to move to a place with a lower cost of living.

The topic sentence of the paragraph is

.

4. Advertisements are useful to the manufactures. With their help, the manufactures can provide people with information about their new products--their good quality, their cheap prices and their popularity. As a result, they might sell well, which, in return, may greatly benefit the manufactures.

The topic sentence of the paragraph is

There are many reasons why millions of Americans move every year.

Advertisements are useful to the manufactures.

5. Imagine a world in which children would be the rulers and could decide not only the outcome of each and every occurrence, but also dictate the very structure and form of the environment. In this world, a child's wildest thoughts would become reality limited only by the extent of his or her imagination. Which such a world might sound both fantastic and frightening, at least from a logical, adult perspective, it does exist. What's more, it has been in existence for some time and is populated by hundreds of thousands of children who spend hours within its boundaries experimenting and learning. This world is not real, at least not in the traditional sense, but exists within a computer and is generated by an educational programming language called LOGO. Unlike other computer languages and programs that are designed to test children and provide applications that formally dispense information, LOGO allows children, even preschool children to be in total control. Children teach the computer to think and as a result develop and sharpen their own reasoning ability.

The topic sentence of the paragraph is

Let’s Try

Children teach the computer to think and as a result develop and sharpen their own reasoning ability.

Let’s Try

6. American and Chinese cultures are at polar opposites. An American hostess, complimented for her cooking skills, is likely to say, “Oh, I’m so glad that you liked it. I cooked it especially for you.” Not so a Chinese host or hostess (often the husband does the fancy cooking), who will instead apologize for giving you “nothing” even slightly edible and for not showing you enough honor by providing proper dishes.

The topic of this paragraph is A. American and Chinese cooking difference B. American and Chinese cultural difference C. American hostess D. Chinese host

B

I. Answer the following questions.

1. Can you list the disadvantages of online shopping?

1 ） It is true that you have to wait for your purchased product.

2 ） You can neither touch the thing with your hand nor can feel it when you shopping online.

3 ） Anybody can steal your personal information if you use the computer in the internet cafe.

Text A

2. What’s the topic sentence of paragraph 4?

3. Why do you use your personal computer as far as possible?

Because there always remains a fear of theft. Anybody can steal your personal information from the internet cafe.

There is an advantage to the old people.

Text A

II. Fill in each of the blanks with the appropriate word or phrase from the list. Change the form where necessary.

Text A

1. The boss is about making promises.

2. He knew nothing the case.

3. Bicycling is a good exercise, , it doesn't pollute the air.

4. The of the examination is three hours.

5. We went into the for coffee and dessert.

6. The National Day was celebrated the country.

7. Would you please this letter to his new address?

8. I think someone has my jacket.

9. He said quite that he would come.

10. Mrs. Ann Bader all expenses.

cautious

regarding moreover

duration cafe

throughout

forward stolen

positively

bears

III. Read Text A and complete the following table on the structure of the 5th Paragraph.

Topic

Topic Sentence

Supporting Details

Text A

Be careful while shopping online and be gainer

For the people who are cautious about their shopping, online shopping may not give them satisfaction.Here you can neither touch the thing with your hand nor can feel it.If you are buying something then you have to be dependent on the photographs of the products.

Fast Reading

I. Fill in each of the blanks with the appropriate word or phrase from the list. Change the form where necessary.1. She turned her to a new problem.

2. We needed money for our trip.

3. He never drinks except on occasions.

4. There is no in arguing with him.

5. The price may go up quite .

6. He hugged her and handed her a of roses.

7. Her writing was .

8. He his life to science.

9. We give a special of 10 per cent for cash.

10. This store often only 65 US cents a dozen for

large eggs.

attention

additional special

percentage substantially

bouquet elegant.

dedicated

special charges

Fast Reading

II. Match each of the items in Column A with its meaning in Column B.

Column A 1. florist2. extra3. venue4. arrange5. substantial 6. overnight7. option8. liquid9. potential10. warehouse

Column B a. fluid b. the right to choose c. put something in order d. latent e. all night longf. Important par g. storehouse h. person who has a shop that sells flowers i. more than or beyond what is usual j. place where people agree to meet

III. Fill in the blanks according to the passage.1. Sending flowers should not .2. You can be a hero to her .

3. is one of the best places to find flowers at a discounted price.4. There are a number of designed and dedicated to selling flowers.5. Local florists have to to these websites for making the arrangements.6. USPS means .7. There is always a possibility that during shipment through or and it wind up the flowers looking like really cheap flowers.8. Ferns 'N' Petals (FNP) is .

Fast Reading

cost you extra . if you choose the right time, right gift and through right mode .

Online florist websites

give a small percentage of the sale

United States Postal Service flowers can potentially damaged

the overnight USPS option

a famous and cheap online florist in India

I. Fill in each of the blanks with the appropriate word or phrase from the list. Change the form where necessary.

Text B

1. I regret not completing the on time.

2. They disliked each other too much to meet, so they conducted all their business through an .

3. In the international economic ， trading nations have developed an accounting concept which is called balance of payments.

4. They sold the furniture by .

5. I have him to act for me while I am away.

6. Their was selling fake Chinese medicine to old people.

7. He passed the test with . 8. The police had been my mails.

9. It itself to all of us.

10. The tension soon itself to all the members of the crowd.

inventory

intermediary

transactions

auction authorized

scam

ease

intercepting

manifested

transmitted

Text B

II. Match each of the items in Column A with its meaning in Column B.

Column A Column B1. cheque a. apart2. retailer b. buy something3. instance c. store for future use4. commerce d. add password5. purchase e. object or objects wrapped in paper or packed in a box6. package f. tradesman who sells by retail7. separate g. trade8. fund h. example9. encrypt i. order to a bank to pay a sum of money from one’s account to another person

1. What is the difference of buying Christmas present between this year and before?

2. Why online shopping become more and more popular?

3. Why were the people in the past unwilling to shop online?

I. Answer the following questions.

Practical ReadingPractical Reading

People browsed around the shops before ， but these days lots of people do their shopping in the comfort of their own home with the help of the internet.

Because the price is lower ， you needn’t to queue and can buy almost everything through Internet with just a few clicks of your mouse

Because they were worried about the security and the reliability of the internet.

4. What is the influence of online shopping to the UK highstreet?

5. Find the topic sentences of paragraph 2, 3, 4, and 5.

It is a bad news to UK high street, to lure customers many shops gives special offers and begin to sale earlier than before.

Paragraph 2: Online shopping is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons Paragraph 3 and 4: Computer trends are often male-dominated but this year women are expected to do more shopping on the internet than men.Paragraph 5: In the past a lot of people were reluctant to shop online.

Practical ReadingPractical Reading

II. Decide whether the following statements are True or False.

Practical ReadingPractical Reading

1. People used to buy Christmas presents in shop.

2. Online shopping is cheaper and convenient.

3. More men shop online than women.

4. Because of the security worries, numbers of online shoppers are decreasing.

5. Online shopping has no influence to high street.

T

T

F

F

F

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