Unit Ten Text I Straight-A Illiteracy

James P. Degnan

I. Introduction

The author: James Philip Degnan (4 Feb. 1933 --). Study note on P 135.

II. Dictionary Work

1. plight: condition, state, or situation; esp. an unfavorable one

2. as often as not: at least half the time; frequently

3. articulate: using language easily and fluently; having facility with words

4. a coveted fellowship: a fellowship (i.e., the money given to postgraduate students to allow them to continue their studies at an advanced level) that everyone longs jealously to possess

5. allegorically: figuratively

6. gibberish: talk or writing containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words; meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing

7. providentially: fortunately; luckily

8. inexorably: inescapably

9. profundity: profound or deep matters

10. grapple with: try to deal with

III. Outline

Section 1 (Para.1): Straight-A illiteracy is more influential than ordinary illiteracy.

Section 2 (Para.2-3): Analysis based on his own experience and observation.

A. His student: Mr. Bright

B. Bright’s disease

Section 3 (Para.4): conclusion: the textbook and professional journals are the cause of straight-A illiteracy.

IV. Language Points

1. Despite all the current fuss and bother about the extraordinary number of ordinary illiterates… because he is more influential. (L 1-4)

Paraphrase: There has been great concern over schools being crowded with so many pupils who cannot read and write. We tend, however, to forget the existence of another group who are in more urgent need of assistance with mastering ability to read and write properly, urgent because they belong to those who exert influence upon others.

fuss + about/over(= commotion) (L 1)

A fuss is anxious or excited behavior which serves no useful purpose and which is often unwelcome.

e.g. What a fuss about nothing!（真是无事生非！）

What’s all this fuss about? (为什么这样忙乱？)

plight (L 3): condition, state or situation; especially an unfavorable one

e.g. I am sorry to know he is in a sad plight.

We want to raise funds and to spotlight the plight of the mentally handicapped.

2. as often as not (L 4): quite frequently; at least half the time

e.g. As often as not, I’m in bed by eleven.

I no longer see John regularly, but every so often he drops in at my office.

3.  … and the following is written in an attempt to give him equal time with his widely publicized counterpart. (L 6-7)

Paraphrase: The purpose of this writing is to let people pay the same attention to the straight-A illiterates as they have paid to the ordinary illiterates.

4. interrogate (L 10): to examine by questioning formally or officially  审问, 讯问

e.g. The lawyer took two hours to interrogate the witness.

cross-examine (L 10): to question (a person) closely, especially with regard to answers or information given previously  盘诘, 反复询问

e.g. Mary knew the operas by heart and would cross-examine him about every performance.

probe (L 10): to ask questions in order to find out secret or hidden information about sb./sth.  盘问；探究

e.g. I began to probe and try to find out why they had employed her.

We were probing for the information relevant to our needs.

She asked me one or two questions, probing the nature of my interest.

5. articulate (L 12): using language easily and fluently; having facility with words发音清晰的; 善于表达的

e.g. She was clear and articulate.

Mary is the most articulate of the sisters.

a coveted fellowship (L 12): a fellowship (i.e., the money given to postgraduate students to allow them to continue their studies at the advanced level) that everyone longs to possess

coveted (adj.): eagerly wished for or desired

e.g. She won the coveted first prize at the speech contest, much to our surprise.

6. The choice of exogenous variables in relation to multi- colinearity is contingent upon the derivations of certain multiple correlation coefficients. (L 14-16)

As intended by the student, “The choice of exogenous variables in relation to multi-colinearity” corresponds to “demand” while “the derivations of certain multiple correlation coefficients” corresponds to “supply”. This is a very abstruse sentence to unravel.

exogenous (L 14): introduced from or produced outside the organism or system外生的

7. address (L 17)

If you address a group of people, you make a speech to them (= speak to)

If you address a person, usually someone you do not know well, you talk to them, usually in a formal or careful way. (= accost 对...说话, 搭话)

e.g. He addressed a mass meeting last weekend.

One of the new comers boldly addressed John.

8. allegorically (L 18): figuratively

The student given the name of Mr. Bright thus becomes a symbol.

rel. allegory 寓言

1) An allegory is a form of imaginative literature constructed in such a way that their readers are encouraged to look for meanings hidden beneath the literal surface of the fiction. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

2) An allegory is a narrative in which the characters, events, and setting represent deeper truths or generalizations than those suggested by the surface story. (Macmillan Family Encyclopedia)

3) An allegory is a broad term covering any piece of writing or image which has meanings additional to the literal sense (Everyman’s Encyclopedia)

When the author calls his student Mr. Bright allegorically, he does not mean to refer to this particular straight-A student only. He is using the term to cover all those students, college seniors, and Ph.D.’s who may seem bright when judged by their academic records, but who nevertheless fail to detect gibberish in their own writings or in those of others.

C.f.

Parable is a short simple story that is used to teach something, especially what is morally right (道德、宗教说教性的)寓言; 比喻

Fable is a story that has a moral message, especially a story in which animals are used to represent people’s good and bad behavior 寓言, 神话，传说

e.g.

1. Dante’s Divine Comedy is an allegory based on the struggle between the city-states of what is now Italy.

2. The fable of the tortoise and the hare drives home the moral that steady, persistent application is more rewarding in the end than arrogant, unstable brilliance.

3. The parables of the New Testament make abstract moral principles concrete and vivid.

9. furrow (L 19)

If someone furrows their brow or forehead or if it furrows, it has deep holds in it because they are frowning.

e.g. The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow.

Jack’s brow furrowed while he was trying to solve the riddle.

mightily (L 19): in a mighty manner; powerfully 竭尽全力地; to a great degree 非常，极其

10. Finally, with both of us combing our linguistic and imaginative resources, finally, after what seems another hour, we decode it. (L 20-21)

Paraphrase: We both use all the knowledge and imagination we can summon, trying to figure out the actual sense, and after practically one whole hour, we eventually are able to understand it.

decode (L 21) (≈ translate, = decipher)

If you decode a message that has been written or spoken in a code, you change it into ordinary language.

e.g. The last word of the message, when it was decoded, read “goodbye”.

In paragraph 2, the author uses rhetorical and linguistic devices to highlight the extreme difficulty in understanding Mr. Bright’s paper:

Repetition of the same structure: “I am interrogating… I am prying and probing,

A periodical sentence: “Finally, with both of us … we decode it.

Cleft-sentence structure: “We decide what it is that …”

Italicizing the word “wants”