Unit 4 Me and My Big Mouth

Terry Bradshaw with David Fisher

Terry Bradshaw

Structure analysis

Part One (para1) main idea : to give reasons for his job transfer. function: to provide the setting of the story (intr

oductory information about whom, where, when, and why. )

Part Two (para 2-13) main idea: to recount his frustrating experience

s as a toupee model. function: to raise the first conflict and its climax.

Part Three ( para 14-27)main idea: to describe his problems, his p

rogress and success in broadcastingfunction: to develop the second conflict, b

uild up the climax and reach the solution.Part Four (para 28)main idea: to comment on his successful

career transition.function: to elicit the theme of the story (c

onclusive remark)

Para. 1 fumble one’s way to do sth. fumble (-bled, -bling) vt.: to feel or make (one

‘s way) awkwardly 摸索；笨拙地做 e.g. He fumbled the door open.

fumble about 瞎摸 e.g. The blind man fumbled about in his poc

kets for the ticket. e.g. Blinded by the soap, he had to fumble ab

out for his glasses.

fumbler n. 摸索者 , 笨手笨脚的人 , 工作拙劣的人

Para.1--Questions:1. What is the meaning of “fine

tradition ” mentioned in the text?The expression “fine tradition” refers to

people’s social value. Terry Bradshaw lives in a society that worships idols. It is common practice to follow the idols’ life-styles. People try to imitate them, such as wearing the same brand of jeans, having the same hair style, etc. In this way they feel they are more or less accepted as successful people too.

2. Why does the writer talk about the “fine tradition ” of this country in this paragraph?

The writer’s mentioning of the fine tradition serves to justify his acceptance of the job as a toupee model.

supposedly 想象上 , 大概 , 臆测 e.g. He was supposedly an American. 人们猜想他是个美国人。 e.g. Supposedly we should leave school before 9 and catch the 9: 30 bus to the hospital.

Similar words: Luckily: it is lucky that… Hopefully: it is hoped that…

suppose: to assume to be true suppose (that) 假定 supposing (that) 假定 e.g. Supposing we're right, what should we d

o? 假设我们是正确的，我们应怎么办 ? e.g. Let's suppose (that) the news is true. 让我们假定这消息是真的。

be supposed to (do): be expected or required to do; should 被期望或要求 ; 应该

e.g. You’re supposed to finish the job next Monday.

Part 2 The frustrating experiences (para2-13)

Questions:1. What is the company’s marketing

strategy in hiring the writer as its model?

The toupee company attempts to make use of the writer’s fame to attract potential customers.

2. Why were the parents bothered when they received their son’s modeled head?

2. The story does not provide an explicit reason. Presumably it was because they wondered how their son’s head could be duplicated like this.

3. Which of the following statements is true when Terry Bradshaw says it is the worst product endorsement he ever did?

A) He feels physically tired working as a model. B) His parents are troubled by the toupee comp

any. C) He feels embarrassed having to wear the wig

whenever he appears in public D) He feels that he is losing his self-esteem (n.

自尊 , 自负 ) and control of the situation.

get/be involved in: to take part in an activity or event, or to be connected with it in some way

e.g. The President was involved in the political scandal.( 丑闻 )

the interests involved 涉及的利益 all governments involved 各有关政府endorsement: the act of signing your name

in a contract; support 认可；签署spokesman: a man who speaks on behalf of

another or others. spokeswoman

Para. 3he-man (infml, humor) : a strong man with p

owerful muscles masculine

be embarrassed (to do sth; by sth ) : to cause to feel self-conscious or ill at ease 使尴尬；使窘迫

e.g. She was embarrassed when they asked her age.

Translation: 他被很多债务弄得焦灼不安。 He was embarrassed by many debts.

be [feel] embarrassed 局促不安

embarrassing

embarrassed

embarrassment

to ease one's embarrassment

potential: capable of being but not yet in existence; latent

e.g. a potential problem potential customer: a person who may be

come a customer in the future distribute v. (~+to) to give out or deliver (the s

ame thing to many people) 分；分发 e.g. He distributed written material about the ele

ction to every voter. distribution n. the act of distributing or the con

dition of being distributed 分发；分配

Para. 4--6Holiday Inn 假日酒店straw: 1)a slender tube used for sucking u

p a liquid. 用于吸液体的软管 2) stalks of threshed grain 麦杆It doesn't matter a straw. 一点也没有关系。It is the last straw that breaks the camel's

back. [ 谚 ] 最后添加的一根稻草压断骆驼背脊 ;

最后凑上的一个细小因素引发一场大祸。

have trouble / difficulty (in) doing sth. : e.g. The factory is so noisy that they have trouble hearing each other.

in the meantime — meanwhile, during this time

e.g. Please find a taxi, and in the meantime I’ll pack some food.

suffocate v. to (cause to) lose one’s life because of lack of air 使窒息；窒息而死

duplicate 1) vt: to copy e.g. duplicate a letter Translation: 他又犯了和以前一样的错误。 He duplicated his former mistakes.2) adj. 双重的；两个一样的 a duplicate key 两把完全一样的钥匙 a duplicate copy 副本3) n. ( 图画、相片等的 ) 复制品 ; 副本 ; 抄件原稿的副本 a duplicate of one's manuscript duplication gene duplication 基因复制 sound tape duplication 录音带复制 duplicating machine 复印机

1. …while getting your head duplicated… : while an exact copy of your head is being made.

2. …is high on the list:

is near the top of the list. Here it means that “being suffocated by plaster while getting your head duplicated for a toupee display” was one of the worst ways to die.

9. figure of speech Hyperbole: [ 修辞 ] 夸张法synonyms( 同义词 ): exaggeration ;

overstatementA figure of speech in which exaggeration i

s used for emphasis or effect, as in “I could sleep for a year”. or “This book weighs a ton”.

夸张法一种比喻，使用夸张来强调或产生某种效果，比如在 “我能睡一年 .” 或 “这书有一吨重中” .

More examples of hyperbole

A : Have you asked your brother to do the dishes?

B: ---1)Yes, many times.( 很多遍了。 )

---2)Yes, a thousand times.( 无数次了。 )

Q: What is the difference?

Origin: Hyperbole 一词源于希腊语的 huperbole ，意思是 exceed( 超过 ) ，是一种故意夸大其词 (overstatement) 或言过其实的修辞手法；其特点是对表达对象进行有违常识或不合逻辑的夸张性描写，以达到强烈的修辞效果。如： a river of tears ( 泪河 ) 、 a mountain of coal ( 煤山 ) 、 oceans of people ( 人海 )...

1)You are my lifesaver.( 你是我的“救命恩人”。 ) 2)You are 100% right.( 你“百分之百”的正确。 ) 3) A drop of ink may make a million think. (George

G. Byron)( 一滴墨水写成的文字可让千万人思索。 ) 4)You make me feel guilty. 5)I haven't seen you for ages. ( 好久不见了呀！ ) 6)I could sleep for a whole year. ( 我太困了。 ) 7)We're all tired to death. ( 我们快累死了。 ) 8)One father is more than a hundred schoolmaster

s. 9) It's a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful da

y.( 今天阳光明媚，躲在家中实在太遗憾了。 ) 10) He spent a lot of money, like water.

Para. 7--9 mass-produce: to manufacture in large quantiti

es often by or as if by assembly-line techniques. mass production n. 大规模生产

bother 1) 打扰；烦扰 e.g. I'm busy, don't bother me. 2) （常与 about, with, to 连用）麻烦 e.g. Don't bother with/about it. 别为此操心。

Para. 10deal n. : agreementmake / do a deal with sb. 我们来订个协议。 Let's make a deal.

That's a deal. It's a deal.

就这么办 , 一言为定。

commercial

1) n. an advertisement on television or radio.

2) adj. 商业的 robust adj.

1) healthy and strong

e.g. a robust young man 一个精力充沛的年轻人 2) laborious 费力的 (运动等 )

e.g. robust work 强体力劳动 3) dense

e.g. robust coffee surface: vi. to move to the surface

Para. 11--13tournament n. a series of contests

比赛 , 锦标赛 , 联赛take ( infml): bear; stand

e.g. John can’t take his girlfriend’s complaint any more.

rip off : tear away quickly and violently

e.g. The angry man ripped off the picture on the wall.

shove: to push (forward) rudely

e.g. to shove a boat into the water

把船推到水里

shove sth. in/into/under

e.g. He bundled the papers together and shoved them into a drawer.

Para. 14--16 …because I gave them good sound bites

sound bite: (新闻节目中的）简短精要的讲话录音

The sentence means when Terry Bradshaw was a football-player, reporters liked to talk to him because he always said something brief but interesting and sensible. This is a much needed talent in broadcasting.

executive:

1) (n.) a person or group having administrative or managerial authority in an organization. 执行者 ; 行政长官 , 行政部门

e.g. financial executive 财务主管 CEO:

Chief Executive Officer 执行总裁 ,首席执行官 2) adj. 决策和执行的 e.g. a man of great executive ability

决策与执行能力强的人

team v.

1) team sb. with sb.: let sb work together with sb.

e.g. The officer teamed the rookie with an experienced soldier.

team up with : work together for a shared purpose

e.g. I teamed up with Jane to do the job.

veteran :

1 ） n. a person who is long experienced or practiced in an activity or a capacity:老手；老兵 ; 退伍军人

2) adj. 资格老的；经验丰富的 ;

e.g. a veteran actor 资深演员

Para. 17--18 quarterback n. [橄榄球 ] 四分卫“the big picture” refers to the general

situation of the game (i.e. whether the team is winning or losing).

“the small frames” refers to a series of actions taking place at particular moments (i.e. details)

assignment: a position

Paraphrase

As a player I only cared about the winning of the game, while as a broadcaster I soon learned it was the details, i.e. the series of actions taking place on the field that make up the whole view of the game.

Para. 20--21 understate: to state with less completeness or

truth v. 没有充分表达实情地陈述 , 有意识地轻描淡写地陈述

e.g. They understate the seriousness of the crime.

in addition to: besides

that (distance): (usu. in negatives) so ; to such a degree

e.g. He can’t walk that far.

Para. 23--24sweat through: 全身汗湿 e.g. She was sweating as she reached the

top of the hill.viewer: someone who is watching a

particular television program电视观众co-host

prefix: co- :together

co-worker. co-operation, co-author

on the air: 正在广播 ; 开始播送

smack vt. 打；击中 e.g. Put that down or else I'll smack you.

knock sb. out: to hit someone so hard that they fall down and become unconscious; defeat 打晕；击败

e.g. Jack hit Brian hard with his left fist and knocked him out instantly.

e.g. Our team was knocked out early.

Para. 25

brand-new: (a.) completely new

e.g. a brand-new car

to talk hurt: to talk when I was hurt

Para. 26

entertainer n. 表演娱乐节目的人 ,演艺人员 e.g. He’s a popular television entertainer. release

1 ） v. to set free; to issue for performance, sale, publication, or distribution释放；发布 ; 上映；公演

e.g. release a prisoner

release a report

2 ） n. the act of issuing something 发布 e.g. news release 发布的新闻

offensive 1) a. causing anger or displeasure 令人不快的 ,侮辱的 ,粗鲁的

e.g. offensive words 2) n. military attack e.g. military offensiveoffend v. violate; to cause anger or disple

asure 违反；冒犯；令不愉快offense n. violation; the act of offending

违反 ; 冒犯 e.g. criminal offensesall of a sudden: (ad.) suddenly

Para. 27 lure

n. 饵 ,诱惑 v. 引诱 ,诱惑

e.g. the lure of fame/power/moneyShe was lured into the job by the offer of a high salary.

when the defensive isn’t biting:

when the defensive is not deceived… bite: to be taken in by a ploy or deception

上当，被骗：被策略或诡计所欺骗：

Para. 28inflated ellipsoid: is a substitute term for

American football with the shape of an ellipsoid椭圆体 that is inflated膨胀的 with air.

inflated adj. 膨胀的；夸大的 e.g. an inflated ego

inflate vt. 1) to fill (something) with air or gas so as to mak

e it swell. to inflate a tire 给轮胎打气 to inflate a balloon 给气球充气 inflate with pride 骄傲而得意洋洋 2) to cause (a currency or an economy) to under

go inflation. 使（一种货币或经济）通货膨胀 inflation n. 通货膨胀

Paraphrase

I thought my only talent was to play football, but in job transition I have come to realize what I can do best.