Unit 3

Longing for a New Welfare System

Background Information:

Social welfare: Public assistance programs, commonly called

“welfare”, provide cash or in-kind benefits for particular categories of the financially needy. The U.S. welfare system operates on both the federal and state levels. The federal welfare program is known as Social Security that provides benefits or assistance for child care, disability, food and medical assistance (also known as medicaid). The state welfare programs, on the other hand, provide assistance to both individuals and local communities with state schooling and social insurance.

Background Information:

U.S. welfare programs grew significantly in the decades following World War II, but increases in welfare costs during the 1960s and 1970s brought into question the extent and quality of public assistance. In the early 1980s the Reagan Administration reduced welfare expenditure and suggested turning responsibility for welfare funding over to the states. The cuts in federal funding that took effect during the Reagan Administration did in fact effectively place the responsibility for maintaining funding levels on the states — and, in some cases, on the larger cities. The result has been a widening of the already existing disparities in social services spending between states, and between cities and regions within a state.

Background Information:

U.S. welfare system: the U.S. welfare system operates on both the federal and state levels. The federal welfare system is known as Social Security that provides benefits or assistance for child care, disability, food stamp and medical assistance. The state welfare system, on the other hand, provides assistance to both individuals and local communities with state schooling and social insurance.

Text Structure Analysis:

Part 1 (Para. 1-3 ):

general images of welfare clients and welfare caseworkers under the present system.

Part II (Para. 4-14):

problems with the present welfare system. Part III (Para. 15-17):

suggestions to improve the present welfare system.

The passage explores the problems of the present welfare system first and then expresses the desire to have a new system. According to the author, a disabled person with spinal cord injuries, he is forced to account for every penny while enduring lectures by the caseworkers. It is hard to have his wheelchair repaired and even harder to make a gradual shift away from welfare. That is why he longs for a new system under which the disabled like him can earn part or all of their own livings.

Summary of the Text:

Words and Expressions

The whole nation longed for peace after many years of war.

经过多年战争后，全民族都渴望和平。

The children are longing for the holidays. 孩子们盼望放假。

1. long for: have an intense desire for （ Title ）

2. be supposed to: (Para. 1)

1)be generally believed or expected to be or do

She’s supposed to have five hundred pairs of shoes.

据信她有 500 双鞋。

It’s supposed to be a great movie. 据说这部电影不错。

2) be expected or required to do or be sth. according to a rule, a custom, an arrangement, etc. You’re supposed to buy a ticket, though not many people do.尽管没有多少人买票，但你应该买。

You’re supposed to ask the teacher if you want to leave the classroom.

如果你要离开教室，得跟老师说。

3. bleed: (Para. 1)

1) force sb. to pay a lot of money over a period of time

His ex-wife is bleeding him for every penny he has.

他的前妻要榨干他身上的每一分钱。

The West is bleeding poorer countries dry. 西方正在榨干贫穷国家的财富。

2) lose blood, esp. from a wound or an injury

Your arm is bleeding. 你的胳膊在流血。

He was bleeding from a gash on his head.

他头上的刀口正在流血。

4. drum up: try hard to get support, customers, business, etc. (Para. 2)

During the Christmas season each year, traders use their unique tricks to drum up business.

每年圣诞节期间，商家们各显神通来招揽生意。

They were unable to drum up enthusiasm for the new policies.

他们未能激起人们对新政策的热情。

5. under the table: in a secret way (Para. 2)

Some athletes sometimes cheated, sometimes lied, or took money under the table.

有些运动员有时作弊，有时说谎，有时私下拿钱。

under the table (Am.E.) ＝ under the counter (Br.E.)

6. yield to: stop resisting sth. (Para. 2)

I yielded to an impulse. 我听凭一时的冲动行事了。

The government refused to yield to the hostage takers’ demand.

政府拒绝答应人质挟持者的要求。

7. make a fool of sb.: trick sb. into behaving foolishly (Para. 3)

He’d been made a fool of. 他被人骗了。

Your sister is making a fool of you. 你妹妹在愚弄你。

8. be entitled to: have the right to have or do sth. (Para. 3)

You will be entitled to your pension when you reach 65.

你到 65 岁时，可以享受养老金。

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.

每个人都有权发表自己的意见。

9. talk back: answer sb. rudely, esp. sb. in authority (Para. 4)

When he found his two-year-old son learned to talk back, he felt angry and funny.

当他发现两岁的儿子学会顶嘴了，他觉得又好气又好笑。

We were all scared of Mr. Williams, but there was a girl who actually talked him back.

我们都怕威廉老师，但有一个女孩却和他顶嘴。

10. lecture: v. criticize sb. or tell them how one thinks they should behave, esp. when it is done in an annoying way (Para. 9)

He’s always lecturing me about the way I dress.

他老说我穿着不得体。

Don’t lecture me! 别教训我！

11. account for: be or give a reason for (sth. or doing sth.) (Para. 13)

I find it very difficult to account for the fact that two of our best students failed the exam.

我觉得很难解释为什么两名最好的学生考试不及格。

Can you account for your strange behavior?

你能解释你奇怪的行为吗？

12. There needs to be a lawyer who can act as a champion for the rights of welfare clients, … (Para. 15)

There seems to be some problems.

In a small town in Germany there once lived a poor shoemaker.

There remains nothing more to be done.

Suddenly there entered a strange figure dressed all in black.

13. convict: v. decide and state officially in a court of law that sb. is guilty of a crime (Para. 17)

He was convicted of fraud. 他被判犯有诈骗罪。

He has twice been convicted of theft. 他两次被判犯有盗窃罪。

Questions for Discussion:

1. Why do welfare clients often cheat the system?

2. In what ways do welfare clients cheat the system?

3. What do you think of the present welfare system in China?

Writing: Definitions of Something ( 界定说明文 )

1. 人们对某一事物的不同界定。2. 其正确的定义为……3. 如何对待该事物？

写作模式（ 1 ） 1) Something may be many things to many

people./People usually view something from different perspectives. （主题引入） 2) Some would prefer to define it as… while others would like to interpret it as… （人们的不同解读） 3) There are still some others who are inclined to regard it as… （人们的进一步解读）

写作模式（ 2 ） 4) If seen in its true colors/In a proper sense/

In essence, however, something is nothing but…, no matter what… （正确的界定） 5) The key to the issue is the yardstick you use for measuring. （进一步阐述） 6 ） If you…, you are more likely to… but, if you…, you have more chances to… （进一步阐述） 7) On the other hand, something is also a becoming. （进一步界定） 8) It goes up along with… whereas it goes down together with… （进一步阐述） (进一步阐述 )

写作模式（ 3 ）

9) So there is much need to... 10) To achieve this/To make it, you’d better learn how to…, which/as… （建议 I ） 11) And meanwhile, you may…, after which, you will… （建议 II ） 12) But most important/ vital for you is… （建议 III）

Writing Assignment: The True Meaning of Self-worth

1. 人们对自我价值的不同界定。2. 其正确的定义为……3. 如何培养正确的自我价值观？