Exercises,Reading Comprehension,Structure of the Text,Unit 6: Exercises,,Vocabulary,Cloze,Translation,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,,1. At the very beginning of the article, the author points out: “ambition is a quality that is hard to praise and easy to deplore”. Why does he say so? And how is this related to the fact that presently many people are doubtful about ambition? What belief do these people hold about ambition?,Because ambition is “an unrelenting oppressor, which robs us of time and peace of mind”, meaning that ambition can mercilessly cause people much distress and suffering, driving them to work overtime with little time left for leisure and relaxation and filling their minds with dissatisfaction, worry and anxiety. This is especially true in economically booming periods such as the present when there are more opportunities alluring people. As a result, presently many people are doubtful about ambition, believing that ambition has become too hard to control and is forcing us to make too great efforts and hold too strong desires which will finally destroy ourselves.,Reference,,,Ex. I, pp.114115,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,2.In paragraphs 2 and 3, the author cites some examples to show that ambition is not merely the pursuit of wealth, actually people from every walk of life have their own ambition to achieve. What different ambitions do different people have? According to the author, which of them is most commonly shared by people? And what role does money play in its fulfillment?,,,,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,The author cites four examples: 1) Al Gores ambition is to be elected American president; 2) Americas computer moguls ambition is to control the nations cyberagenda; 3) American football players ambition is to score a touchdown; 4) Most peoples ambition is to search for status symbols that separate them from the crowd. The last one is most commonly shared by people. Money is not the only way but surely the most common way to realize this ambition, as it can easily change into some other symbol of identity and status, such as a bigger house, a more exotic vacation, a niftier bike, a faster computer.,Reference,,,,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,4.In the sentence “One-upmanship is a national mania.”, the word “mania” is also a deliberate choice on the part of the author. What image does it evoke in your mind?,The word “mania” originally refers to a mental illness in which somebody has an obsession about something that makes them extremely anxious, violent or confused（躁狂症）. Here it means an extremely strong desire or enthusiasm for something shared by a lot of people at the same time. It evokes a picture of a lot of people behaving in an anxious, violent and confused way in order to surpass each other.,Reference,,,,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,5.In paragraph 4, the author says “the contest seems futile.” What does “the contest” refer to? Why is it “futile”? To prove this point, the author describes a paradoxical phenomenon in todays society, that is, although peoples income is rising, they still have to work hard only to be able to make ends meet. According to the author, what is the cause of this phenomenon?,,,,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,“The contest” refers to the consumption competition the competition for one-upmanship in the search for status symbols that separate one from the crowd. It is “futile” because there is no chance of winning it since material pursuit is endless. The cause of this paradoxical phenomenon is that “theyre running in the pack with everyone else”, that is, people are not simply struggling to own more material wealth, instead, they are struggling to surpass others to own more material wealth and thus achieve higher social status than others. They not only have to possess widely owned consumer products in order not to be considered a crank or a pauper, but also have to buy expensive products beyond their financial capacity so that they can be more successful than other people with whom they compare themselves. As there are always more fashionable and more expensive luxuries coming out, their material desires seem infinite. Consequently, their rising incomes often cannot satisfy their rising wants.,,,Reference,,,Unit 6: Reading comprehension,6.In paragraph 6, the author lists three negative impacts of playing the futile contest of competitive consumption on people. What are they? What statistics and examples does the author quote to illustrate these points?,The 3 negative impacts are: 1) Frustration is preordained, which is proved by the result of a Newsweek Poll that, despite the booming economy, adults found it more difficult to live the kind of life they want. 2) The stress can lead to tragedy, which is illustrated by Mark Barton, a day trader who murdered 12 people and then committed suicide when he was disillusioned by stock loss. 3) People routinely try to beat the system through get-rich-quick schemes, which is indicated by the popularity of legaliz。