2024年6月15日发(作者：)

Unit 12

Disney World: Cities of Simulation as Postmodern

Utopias

Consolidation Activities

I. Text Comprehension

1. Decide which of the following best states the author’s purpose

A. To offer a critical view on the illusion created by Disney World and a caution about

the impact of technology on humanity.

B. To explain how Disney World caters to human desires and psychological needs.

C. To point out the wonders of modern technology that could give us power over, and

freedom from, the physical world.

Key [ A ]

2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or

false.

1). Disney World creates a perfect world which can temporarily enable visitors to forget

reality. [ T ]

2). In Disney World, visitors are offered normally unavailable opportunities to see into

human motives. [ T ]

3). Disney World reveals the power of technology with which we can now enjoy what

seems possible only in the future. [ T ]

4). Disney World differs from other utopias invented by Western civilization in that it is

only a place of entertainment and does not tend to mislead people. [ F ]

5). With the help of technology Disney World appeals to visitors’ desire for a better world

by bringing them back to their innocent and happy childhood. [ T ]

II. Writing Strategies

It is worth noting that the author uses “visitors,” “they,” and “them” in the first two

paragraphs, but he uses “you” in Paragraph 3 and “we” or “us” in all other paragraphs.

Obviously the shift of addressing forms has some specific functions. Find the places

where the author addresses the readers in different forms and explain the functions of

such shifts.

When he uses “visitors,” “they” and “them,” the author refers exclusively to people

who enjoy the fun in Disney World, thus the readers are presented as bystanders.

When he uses “you” as in “When you put all this together ...” (Paragraph 3), the

readers are invited to offer their critical judgment and consequently the shift

shortens the distance between the readers and the issue under discussion. When he

uses “we” and “us,” the author draws the readers closer to the relevant issues, since

what is discussed concerns all of us. Thus, the issues are rendered with a wider

significance that is not merely limited to “visitors” and “them.”

III. Language Work

1. Explain the underlined part(s) in each sentence in your own words.

1). On the thrill rides, they defy gravity, moving at speeds and in ways that seem to violate

what common sense tells them should be possible.

 refuse to obey; act against

2). The effect is not unlike participating in a 365-day-a-year holiday, in which negative

emotions are banished from life.

 taking part in

3). In Disney World, we transcend the mundane.

 go beyond the uninteresting everyday world

4). In all this, Disney undoes the dry “scientism” of the world view of contemporary

societies.

 works against/reverses the effect of; present-day

5). ... we could realistically hope that technology would usher in an age of affluence ...

 lead in/bring in; prosperity

6). Disney World is a place that masquerades as the happy ending, in which progress

culminates in a utopia of transcendence that undoes the fallen state of nature, society and

ourselves.

 disguise itself as/appears to be; ends in

7). But unlike most others, which were rendered in fiction or put into practice in small

communities, in Disney, a perfect world is seemingly brought to life with simulation and

offered as a vacation paradise.

 presented; made more real and exciting

8). But it does so by inviting us to regress to a state of happiness before the fall from

childhood, with simplified visions of life that filter out the difficult truths of the self and

society.

 go back; remove

9). The contradictions inherent in Disney World are deepened by the fact that it is only

able to show us its vision of utopia by turning us into passive consumers who are taken

for rides.

 intrinsic; cheated/deceived

10). In Disney, we see the ultimate attempt to rely on technology, in which even

experiences are manufactured for us by machines.

 depend on

2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.

1). The book is a fictionalized (fiction) account of the life of St. Francis.

2). Containment (contain) of crowd violence was the police’s main concern.

3). It was clear that they had not acted in violation (violate) of the rules.

4). She’s perpetually (perpetuate) asking me for money.

5). The best films are those which transcended (transcendence) national or cultural

barriers.

6). There is a lot of interest in carrying out experiments in the weightless (weight)

conditions which are experienced aboard space stations.

7). There is a growing disenchantment (disenchant) with the way the club is being run.

8). What we are seeing increasingly is a society of private affluence (affluent) and public

squalor.

9). The constraints (constrain) of politeness wouldn’t allow her to say what she really

thought about his cooking.

10). The certificate had clearly been falsified (false).

3. Fill in the blank(s) in each sentence with a phrase taken from the box in its

appropriate form.

masquerade as | of the essence | culminate in

conform to | bring to life | revolve around | reveal

conceal | magic wand | usher in | float

1). In any of these discussions, of course, honesty is of the essence.

2). The conversation revolved around childcare problems.

3). Members must conform to a strict dress code.

4). The sound of piano-playing floated out through the open window.

5). Is there something you’re concealing from me?

6). The legislation should usher in a host of new opportunities for school leavers.

7). Hooligans masquerading as football fans have once again caused disturbances.

8). My arguments with the boss got worse and worse, and it all culminated in my deciding

to change jobs.

9). This film really brought to life the interesting period in the country’s history.

10). She warned that she had no magic wand to solve the problem.

11). A joke can be very revealing about what someone’s really thinking.

4. Explain the meaning of the underlined part in each sentence.

1). The manager prepared a computer simulation of likely sales performance for the rest

of the year.

 a model of a problem or course of events made by computer

2). A forest fire raging in the south of France is defying all attempts to control it.

 withstanding

3). They were banished from the library for making noise.

 sent out

4). The change has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

 gradual

5). My partner is labouring under the illusion that we will be able to complete the project

in time.

 wrongly believes

6). Reports about the accident began to filter in.

 appear gradually

7). Don’t rely on finding me here when you get back.

 Don’t expect to find me here

8). What a narcissist he must be — all these mirrors everywhere.

 a person with great admiration for himself

9). Before buying a pram, make sure that it conforms to the official safety standards.

 reaches/meets

10). Have you heard the rumors floating around that the shop is going to close?

 spreading around/circulating among people

5. Correct the errors in the following passage. The passage contains ten

errors, one in each indicated line. In each case, only one word is involved.

Corrections should be done as follows:

Wrong word: underline the wrong word and write the correct word in the blank.

Extra word: delete the extra word with an “×.”

Missing word: mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” and write the

missing word in the blank.

We Didn’t Mean It

Advertising logos and brand names can cause trouble

when one is selling goods all around the world. “Sweat”

may sound perfectly pleasant to Japanese people, but it is

a terrible name at a drink for English-speakers. Red may (1) for

mean happiness to the Chinese, but it might suggest

danger to Europeans. Nike innocently put on a design on (2) on

the sole of some of its shoes that happened to look to some

people like the sacred name of Allah in Arab. No Muslim (3) Arabic

wanted to walk on the holy name, so Nike moved to

apologize quickly and withdrew the shoes. In the United

States, a group of Christians decided the logo of one major

company

∧

like a symbol for the devil. Many consumers (4) was/looked

started to boycott the company’s goods, and it had to

spend a lot of money on restoring its good publicity image. (5) public

In some cases, people simply have different ideas about

what is appropriate.

others/other

In Hong Kong, an advertising company used a large

picture of Adolf Hitler. Some people were amused, and (6)

other appalled. Airwalk shoes showed Buddhist monks in people

sports shoes, and even a monk remove a sheet of paper to (7) removing

be used for cheating from a student’s shoe. People in

Thailand were upset by this and considered it an insult to

their religion. Here’s a final example. A UK clothing

company showed men staring at models wearing the

company’s garments. The men forget everything else (8) forgot

because of the beauty of the models. In one case, the man

had his head

∧

of a train window, and the train was about (9) out

to go into a tunnel. Do you find that amusing or (10) disgusting

disgusted?

6. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Sitting on the southwest portion of Walt Disney World’s property in Central Florida

is the newest (1) theme park to be added to the company’s kingdom of fantasy. Disney’s

Animal Kingdom is a 500-acre mélange of (2) simulation and authenticity, fact and

fantasy, archetype and entertainment. Disney describes it as a nature park, but “nature”

park would be closer to the truth.

Actual nature, after all, is too unpredictable and dangerous, and lacks sufficient (3)

entertainment value for a postmodern theme park. Instead, Disney’s Animal Kingdom

offers visitors a spectacular version of the “(4) nature” of media-saturated America,

known for Tarzan movies, contrived documentaries about the wild, and the

science-fictionalization of just about (5) everything from toothpaste commercials to TV

news.

The park can perhaps best be described as a giant, immersive storybook that lets

visitors not only meet its (6) characters but act out their (7) roles.

Like video game players and audiences in movie rides, visitors become part of what

appears to be a living (8) fantasy or a materialized work of fiction that has been designed

to play on their fears and desires.

Disney believes that this ability to immerse visitors in a work of (9) fiction is one of

the park’s great (10) strengths. The story the park recounts is one that is (11) popular in

the entertainment industry based on a fictionalized and commercialized version of

environmentalism. It depicts an innocent unfallen nature, which is a cornucopia of (12)

life, that is threatened by a malevolent irresponsible humanity.

Visitors become the story’s (13) heroes by symbolically defeating the villains and

helping return the world to its proper (14) balance. That makes Disney’s Animal Kingdom

one of a growing (15) number of eco-adventures that try to turn the visitor into

cyber-Tarzan, the nature (16) savior, who routs invaders from a society corrupted by

avarice.

At the most basic archetypal level, the story embodied in the park is also a myth

about life versus (17) death. Visitors participate in the (18) myth by trying to save an

uncorrupted realm of Eden-like nature from falling into the (19) realm of death brought

by society.

Many of Disney’s theme park attractions similarly take visitors into a world of

innocence before the (20) fall. But, here, visitors get to pretend they are fighting to keep

the fall from taking place, as they defend unfallen nature against its despoilers.

IV. Translation

1. Translating Sentences

1). 她对上菜场买菜之类的凡俗之事不感兴趣。 (mundane)

 Mundane matters such as going to the market to buy food do not interest her.

2). 我还记得我那无忧无虑的学生时代。 (carefree)

 I still remember my carefree student days.

3). 在孩子幼年时由于缺少家长养育造成的损害是很难消除的。(undo)

 It’s very difficult to undo the damage caused by inadequate parenting in a child’s early

years.

4). 观众显然为她的表演所陶醉。(be enchanted by)

 The audience was clearly enchanted by her performance.

5). 威尼斯电影节一直都是展示优秀的意大利电影的盛会。(showcase)

 The Venice Film Festival has always been a showcase of the Italian cinema.

6. 她因车祸大脑受损，智力退化到一个五岁孩子的水平。(regress to)

 She suffered brain damage from a car accident and regressed to the mental age of a

five-year-old.

7). 小心点，否则他会欺骗你的。(take sb. for a ride)

 Be careful or he’ll take you for a ride.

8). 州政府试图对公众隐瞒事件的真相，但是失败了。(conceal)

 The state government tried to conceal the truth of the accident from the public, but in

vain.

9). 昨天报上发表的三篇文章都是围绕着本地区的环保问题展开讨论的。(revolve around)

 The three articles published in the newspaper yesterday revolved around the issue of

environmental protection in this area.

10). 他的论点的实质是教育应当贯穿我们的一生。(essence)

 The essence of his argument is that education should continue throughout our lives.

2. Translate the following passage into English.

电影专家说，动画艺术的发展要归功于沃尔特·迪斯尼。迪斯尼的艺术家们努力将生命

注入每幅图画。也就是说，他们必须感受卡通生物的全部情感：喜、哀、怒、惧。艺术家们

对着镜子看自己表达各种情感：微笑、流泪、脸红、睁大眼睛，然后把表情画到每一个卡通

生物的脸上。

迪斯尼的动画艺术在1940年的电影《木偶奇遇记》（Pinocchio）中达到了顶峰。该影

片讲的是木头玩具活了起来变成一个小男孩的故事。为了制作《木偶奇遇记》，迪斯尼的艺

术家们画了250万张画。艺术家们画的是平面画，然而他们创造了空间和实物感。《木偶奇

遇记》是个想象中的世界，然而它看起来很逼真。

参考译文

Movie experts say Walt Disney was responsible for the development of the art of

animation. Disney’s artists tried to put life into every drawing. That meant they had to

feel all the emotions of the cartoon creatures: happiness, sadness, anger, fear. The artists

looked at themselves in a mirror and expressed each emotion: a smile, tears, a red face,

wide-opened eyes. Then they drew that look on the face of each cartoon creature.

Disney’s art of animation reached its highest point in 1940 with the movie Pinocchio.

The story is about a wooden toy that comes to life as a little boy. Disney’s artists drew

two-and-a-half-million pictures to make Pinocchio. The artists drew flat pictures. Yet

they created a look of space and solid objects. Pinocchio was an imaginary world, yet it

looked very real.

V. Oral Activities

1. Giving A Talk

Speaking of Disney World, such words like “wonderland,” “dream world” may pour into

your mind. In the first paragraph, the author discusses the essence of Disney World. He

thinks much of it revolves around Disney’s effort to create the illusion for visitors that

they have entered a perfect world, which more closely conforms to their desires. You may

agree or disagree with him. Please give a talk on this topic.

(For reference)

Disney World is a paradise for everyone, old and young. It is favored by people from

all over the world for many reasons. For me, the most important reason is that while you

are in Disney World, you totally forget about who you are and what you do. You just enjoy

every minute of it. It is where you can see the world through the eyes of a child and have

your dreams come true. You can cry, you can shout, you can jump, and you can do many

things that would be considered crazy elsewhere.

With the development of society and quickened process of urbanization, everyone is

faced with more pressure today, so we need a vent. Disney World is such a place. If you

are happy, come to Disney World, where your happiness will be doubled; if you are not

happy, come to Disney World, where your bad mood will vanish.

2. Having A Dialogue

In the fourth paragraph, the author mentions that the creations of simulation culture,

such as Disney, “seem to be re-enchanting it for us with the new promise that art and

technology can re-create our surroundings ...” Simulation culture, whether we admit it or

not, has come into our daily life, for example, 3D movies, cosplay (i.e. costume play), etc.

Can you give some other examples? Do you like simulation or not, Why?

Now please take part in a dialogue with your partner.

(For reference)

A: Simulation culture, such as 3D movies and cosplay, gives us new feelings and a

different approach to life. Do you like it?

B: Oh, yes. Didn’t you watch the 3D Titanic? It is so amazing! Especially when the ship

is rupturing and sinking into the sea. It is so vivid that it makes you feel as if you were

also a passenger on board that ship.

A: You’re right! I thought I was like another Rose and I couldn’t help holding my

breath. I shared the whole process with all the other passengers on board, if not with all

the other movie-goers in the cinema, all the way through the end of the movie.

B: Me too, me too. In recent years, there are many 3D movies that give us

brand-new experiences and feelings.

A: I also hear that some companies encourage their employees to do cosplay once a

month.

B: Really? That’s interesting! I really think it’s good, because sometimes we just want to

be somebody else. Everyone can be tired of his old self.

A: I couldn’t agree more.

VI. Research Paper Writing

Writing an Analytical Paper

Generally, research papers are of two kinds: ANALYTICAL (using evidence to analyze

facets of an issue) or ARGUMENTATIVE (using evidence to attempt to convince the

reader of your particular stance on a debatable topic).

An analytical paper is a written assignment that analyzes, examines or interprets

something. Here, we must differentiate between various kinds of such essays: description,

cause and effect, process analysis and literary analysis.

To analyze means to break a topic or concept down into its parts in order to inspect and

understand it, and to restructure those parts in a way that makes sense to you. In an

analytical research paper, you do research to become an expert on a topic so that you can

restructure and present the parts of the topic from your own perspective.

Thus, to compose an analysis, you will have to collect information that is relevant to the

argument you are examining, including the evidence, the claims and the assumptions.

You should also interpret the strengths and weaknesses of each side in the debate.

The focus of your paper is primarily on the evidence and assumptions the writer uses to

support his argument or claim. However such essays can often comprise the discussion of

hidden arguments or inherent contradictions in the argument in case the reader finds

they are important to the argument as a whole.

Most frequently, your paper has to be composed of the following elements:

1 The summary of the original pieces. This is a common way to start any analytical

paper.

2 The claim of the writer, his response to the reading he has done. This claim should be

supported by the details of your analysis of the evidence and assumptions used in the

argument.

3 An analysis of the assumptions. It implies your description and evaluation of the

implicit and

4 An analysis of hidden arguments.

5 An analysis of inherent contradictions.

6 An analysis of evidence.

7 Possibly an analysis of intended audience. By considering the readers for whom your

paper is intended, you can learn how to shape your arguments and modify your work.

THINGS TO AVOID

1 Claims that are not supported by evidence from the readings — in other words, your

opinions.

2 Evaluation — avoid statements like “X presents an excellent example of ...” Such

statements only tell the reader that you like something more or less. What you want to do

is explain what you find important, so that the reader can decide to agree or disagree with

you. Instead of merely evaluating, explain, using evidence, what you are trying to point

out.

3 Rhetorical gestures intended to persuade without evidence, for example,

“Obviously, ...” or “Most people feel that ...” Remember, you are writing an analytical

argument based on presenting to the reader evidence that supports your thesis and shows

how you developed it. You are not writing a persuasive argument based on rhetorical

gestures that primarily appeal to emotions or sympathies.

Further Enchantment

Text II

LAS VEGAS: POSTMODERN CITY OF CASINOS AND SIMULATION

Ken Sanes

Text Comprehension

1. Answer the following multiple-choice questions:

1). What’s the purpose of this passage?

A. To introduce the postmodern Las Vegas after the 1980s.

B. To persuade people to visit Las Vegas.

C. To introduce the features of postmodern culture.

D. None of the above.

Key [ A ]

2). Which of the following is NOT true according to Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A. Gambling is legal in Las Vegas.

B. Las Vegas has turned itself into a clone of Disney.

C. Postmodern Las Vegas offers a mix of entertainments both for adults and for the

whole family.

D. Contemporary American culture is irreverent and pleasure-oriented

Key [ B ]

3). Which of the following is most similar in meaning to “incongruous” (Paragraph 3)?

A. Dissonant.

B. Concerted.

C. Concordant.

D. Coordinated.

Key [ A ]

4). Which of the following is NOT true about Luxor?

A. It is the most typical building of simulation in Las Vegas.

B. Although Luxor is themed, it suffers from an identity crisis because it does not seem

to keep its theme together.

C. Like Disney, Luxor creates visual spectacles that are intended to evoke deep or

nuanced feelings.

D. Walking in Luxor, people will exclaim a lot because of the unique architecture.

Key [ C ]

5). What is the author’s attitude toward postmodern Las Vegas?

A. Positive.

B. Negative.

C. Neutral.

D. None of the above.

Key [ A ]

2. Questions for Discussion

1). Why did Las Vegas start to reinvent itself in the image of Disney?

As other parts of the nation started to compete with Las Vegas by legalizing gambling, Las

Vegas has had to go through a transformation to attract more tourists.

2). Is Las Vegas a clone of Disney?

No, it isn’t. Instead, it has created a new variation of Disney, which reveals the changes

that are taking place in postmodern culture, at least within the realm of simulation and

themed attractions. In fact, Las Vegas has turned itself into a city which combines adult

and family-oriented entertainment.

3). What distinguishes Las Vegas from Disney?

Disney is famous for a controlled and monitored park with well-organized forms of

transportation, while what Las Vegas offers is a bumper-to-bumper chaos of the Las

Vegas strip, lined with fantasy buildings that bear no relation to each other.

4). What characterizes the Luxor Hotel?

The Luxor Hotel is one of the city’s monuments to simulation. In the Luxor, we can see

many of the qualities that define Disney World, but it has a different feature. Like Disney,

it creates visual spectacles that are intended to evoke emotions such as surprise,

amazement, and wonder. But like many similar attractions, it appears to suffer from an

identity crisis: it can’t seem to keep its theme together, i.e., it has an odd mixture of

themes. Indeed, what the Luxor offers is simulated attractions. It may include references

to an ancient civilization or history but the view of the past it offers certainly isn’t

genuine.

5). What is the significance of this essay?

The significance of this essay lies in the fact that, with the prevailing of simulation culture,

we should watch out for rising simulation confusion, i.e., the confusion of a semi-realistic

imitation with the object it imitates.