Unit 4: Jim Thorpe
Warm-up Activity
 You are given five minutes to go over the
text quickly and please make an outline of
the life of Jim Thorpe.

1) He was born on May 28, 1888,
 in a two-room farmhouse near
 Prague, Oklahoma.


2) He was a direct descendant of the
famous Indian chief, Black Hawk.


3) In his teens, he was given
the chance to attend the Carlisle
Indian School in Pennsylvania.
4) At the school, he became a star
in many different sports, especially in
track and field, and football.
 5)
In 1912, he was selected for
the United States Olympic track
team, went to Stockholm,
Sweden, and won both the
pentathlon and the decathlon.
 6)
Early in 1913, his Olympic
medals and trophies were taken
away from him because he had
been paid a few dollars to play
semiprofessional baseball.
7) From 1913 to 1919, he played major
league baseball for six years, and then
played professional football for six years.
 8) From 1926 until his death in 1953, he
lived a poor, lonely, unhappy life.
 9) In 1950, a poll by the Association
Press chose him as the greatest athlete
of modern times.

Information Related to the Text
 The
Olympic Games are the
most important international
sports event in the world held
every four years. The ancient
Olympic Games were held in
Olympia every four years from
776 B.C. to 392 A.D.
 The
Modern Games were first held
in 1896 in Greece and, with the
exception of three games not held
because of the two world wars,
have been held in various cities of
the world at regular 4-year
intervals.

The Olympic symbol—five interlocking red,
blue, yellow, black, and green circles on a
white field—represents the continents of
the world joined in friendship.
The Olympic motto is
 Citius—Altius—Fortius.
 These latin words mean
 “ Swifter, Higher, Stronger”

Marine Corps
 The
Marine Corps
 is a separate branch of
 the Armed Forces of the United
States. Its Members are trained
especially for landing operations.
The Marine Corps has its own fair,
sea, and land units and is
independently responsible to the
Secretary of the Navy.
Associated Press
 The
Associated Press is one
 of the world’s largest news-gathering
services and one of the two leading
news services in the U.S. The
Associated Press is a cooperative and
non-profit-making agency that
gathers and distributes news stories
and pictures throughout the world.
Language Points
 1.
Jam:
 Jam: Crowded with people, cars, etc.
so that movement is difficult or
impossible.
 Eg1: The crowds jammed the street,
and no cars could pass.
 Eg2: The roads were jammed with
cars taking people to the opening
ceremony of the Olympic Games.
2. Await
Await: wait for, look forward to
 Eg1: We are eagerly awaiting your
arrival (decision, answer, etc.)
 Eg2: The children have awaited your
coming for weeks.

3. Charge:
Charge: Rush quickly in or as if in an
attack.
 Eg1: As they approached the house, a
barking dog charging out.
 Eg2: In the enemy confusion our
fighters charged into their headquarters.

4. Compete:



Compete: take part in a competition or
sports event.
Eg1: Over a thousand runners will be
competing in the Beijing Marathon this
Sunday.
Eg2: Small, independent bookstores simply
cannot compete with the big national chains.


5. He did. He ran sprints, he ran hurdles,
he ran distance races. He high-jumped…
Note that in this paragraph the verbs and
sentence units are very short, because
the author is trying to imitate the
swiftness of this track star.


…and he was the direct descendant
of the famous warrior chief, Black
Hawk.:
Jim Thorpe was a great-grandson of the
famous Indian chief, a fact Jim took
pride in throughout his life .
6. Deny:
Deny: refuse to give.
 Eg1: American women were denied
the right to vote until 1920.
 Eg2: How could you deny your children
the educational opportunities they
needed?

7. It was almost impossible for an
Indian to gain even a fair education:
It means: Even a fair education was
almost impossible, to say nothing of a
good or higher education.
The word “even” here is used to add to
the strength.
Eg1: Bob is so busy that he has no time
to write even to his girlfriend
Eg2: In my family, even Grandma
knows who Li Ning is. (so certainly
every one else in my family knows who
Li Ning is. )
8. Fair:

Fair: Not good and not bad; average,
passable.
Eg1:Janet is a good singer, but only a
fair dancer.
 Eg2: We had a good harvest of cotton
but only a fair crop of wheat last year.

 Rise
 Gain
high in life:
success, wealth, or
importance in life; rise to a
position of greater wealth or
importance
(be) destined to: (be) decided by fate
to
 Eg1: Being blind and deaf, Helen Keller
seemed destined to spend her life in misery.
But with the help of her teacher, she
overcame one difficulty after another and
became a world-famous writer.
 Eg2: He failed again and again and seemed
destined never to succeed. But he refused
to give in and finally succeeded.

9. Prominence:



Prominence: the fact of being important and
well-known.
Eg1: The Brazilian player first came to
prominence during the World Cup in Italy.
Eg2: It was this novel that brought young
Hemingway to immediate prominence.
10. Excel:
Excel: to be very good at.
 Eg1: In international competitions, the
Chinese excel in table –tennis and
badminton.
 Eg2: You may not believe it, but Churchill,
who had such a distinguished career as a
statesman and writer, excelled in nothing
at all at school.

 He
 He
was a star in baseball…:
was a very skillful baseball player.
 A star means an artistic performer or
athlete whose leading role or
superior performance is
acknowledged.
 Eg: a film/ movie star, an opera star
A football star, an athletic star,
a television star
11. In Fact:
In fact: indeed, as a matter of fact.
 This idiom is often used to add strength to
what is said, by making it more definite or
giving more detail.
 Eg1:Cathy is a good dancer; in fact, she is
the best dancer in her school.
 Eg2: Alex has been most helpful to us; in
fact, I don’t know what we would done
without him.

12. …refused to play Carlisle:
 …refused to compete against Carlisle at
football.

play: take part in a game against.
 Eg1: China will play Japan at soccer this
evening. Are you going to watch the live
television broadcast?
 Eg2: Shanghai and Beijing will play each
other for the baseball championship.

13. Incredible:
Incredible: too extraordinary to be
believed; unbelievable
 Eg1: These young people have an
incredible amount of energy.
 Eg2: It’s just incredible the way they
can work 20 hours a day.

14. Build on:



Build on: develop; use something as a
foundation for further progress.
Eg1: With their latest design, the company is
hoping to build on the success of previous
years.
Eg2: They are trying to build on their success
by opening new branches overseas.
15. Demonstrate:
Demonstrate: show and explain how sth.
Works or is done
 Eg1: Let me demonstrate to you how
this machine works.
 Eg2: The salesman demonstrated a new
washing machine in a department store.

16. Opponent:
Opponent: sb. Who tries to defeat
another person in a competition, game,
fight, or argument.
 Eg1: Sampras beat his opponent three
sets to love (3:0)
 Eg2: Tyson knocked down his opponent
twice in the third round.

17. Put out of action:
 Put
out of action: cause sb. or sth.
to stop working, operating, etc.
 Eg1: One hand grenade put the
enemy’s machine gun out of
action.
 Eg2: The power plant was put out
of action by an explosion.
18. Demanding
Demanding: Requiring careful attention or
constant effort; making severe demands.
 Eg1: Henry’s new position as chief
engineer is certainly more demanding
than his previous ones.
 Eg2: Genetic engineering is a demanding
field that has attracted many young
people to challenge its complexities.

19. Pentathlon:
 Pentathlon:
a men’s Olympic event
from 1906 to 1924 and a women’s
Olympic event from 1964 to 1980.
As a women’s Olympic event, it has
been replaced since 1984 by the
heptathlon, a series of seven events.
20. Breeze Through:
Breeze through: go through easily or
briskly, like a breeze.
 Eg1: The nine-year-old girl breezed
through the novel with no trouble at all.
 Eg2: He breezed through the article in
less than twenty minutes.


21. One of the great feats in Olympic
history:
…One of the remarkable achievements in
Olympic history
 Jim Thorpe was the only athlete who ever
competed in both the pentathlon and the
decathlon at one meeting of the Olympic
Games and won both of these most
difficult events.

22 …. upon his return to the United
States:
 … when he returned to the United States.
 As is used here, the preposition upon or
on + a noun of action means the same
thing as a when-clause or an as-soon-as
clause

23. Upon/ On + Action


Eg1: Upon/ On arrival at the airport,
you will be met by one of our officials.
Eg2: Upon/ On his return from Japan,
Prof. Li went directly to his laboratory
and started working with his colleagues.
24. Amateur:
Amateur: (a person) taking part in a
sport, etc. for pleasure or interest, not
for money.
 Eg1: Tom in an amateur who dances
because he feels like it.
 Eg2: Before 1984, the Olympic Games
were limited to only amateur athletes.

 25.
He played major league
baseball for six years:
 In the United States, professional
baseball teams or clubs are
organized into Leagues. There are
two “big” or major Leagues---the
National League and the American
League. The other professional
leagues are called minors.
26. Indifference
Indifference: lack of interest or concern.
 Eg1: The management has shown
complete indifference to the demands of
the workers for higher pay.
 Eg2: Whether you stay or leave is a
matter of total indifference to him.

27. Catch up with
Catch up with sb: have an ill or damaging
effect on sb’s health, work, life, etc; bring
punishment to sb.
 Eg1: Smoking will catch up with you
someday.
 Eg2: His laziness caught up with him: he
failed in all his final exams.

28. Desert:
Desert: leave at a difficult time or when
most needed; abandon
 Eg1: The man deserted his wife and
children and went abroad.
 Eg2: At the most crucial moment, his selfconfidence deserted him.

29. He periodically asked for, but
never was given back, his Olympic
prizes:
 In October 1982, the International
Olympic Committee voted to restore Jim
Thorpe’s amateur status and his medals it
had taken way from him early in 1913.
1983, Mr. Samaranch, president of the
IOC personally presented the two 1912
Olympic Gold Medals of Jim Thorpe to his
daughter Mrs. Gael and his grandson
William Thorpe.

30. Despite:
Despite: in spite of.
 Eg1: Despite all our efforts to save the
museum, the county government decided
to close it.
 Eg2: Despite the difference in their
religious beliefs, Mary and Janet are close
friends.

31. Decline:

Decline: slow decrease in numbers, health,
power, quality etc.
Eg1: The cost of public services has risen
sharply despite a general decline in their
quality.
 Eg2; Everyone could see that the
professor’s health was on the decline.

32. Unanimously:
Unanimously: with complete agreement;
without a single opposing vote.
 Eg1: This morning the board of directors
unanimously approved the project.
 Eg2: Prof. Lu was unanimously elected
chairman of the English Department.

Word Building Knowledge
 1.
Non- is a prefix meaning “not; the
lack of; the opposite of” e.g.
 Eg: non-breakable: not breakable
 Non-completion: lack of completion.
 Try to translate the following words
into Chinese:
Nonaggression
 Nonresident
 Non-nuclear
 Nondestructive
 Nonexistent
 Nonstop
 Nonviolent

nonmember
nonconductor
nonsense
nonsmoker
nonproductive
nonprofessional
nonfiction