I. Warming up

(1) What is the article mainly about? 

It’s an argumentative types of writing, debating about the work in corporate. In today’s America jobs are not what they used to be. Everything is made by machines, not people. Nearly all the jobs today are office jobs, and for an outsider, such as a child, it is difficult to understand what these jobs really are. 

(2) What is the differences between your parents’ generation and your own generation? How has society changed?

 A main difference could be that our parents’ generation tends to be more technophobic, whereas our own generation is more at ease with technology and competition in IT skills. Society has changed a lot since our parents’ generation, because modern technology is now much more common in our daily life - the most obvious examples are mobile phones and computers. 

II. Background

Russell Baker (1925– )

He is a well-known American journalist and writer. This passage was collected by Sandra Fehl Tropp and Ann Pierson D’ Angelo in their edited book Essays in Context (2000), published by Oxford University Press. The essay leads readers to think from a child’s perspective and to evaluate how a job is seen and understood in corporate America. It uses satire and humour to illustrate the writer’s critical views on corporate America.

III. Text analysis

1. Theme

What kind of change has happened in our society among generations?

Why does the author talk about this kind of change? What’s the author’s main purpose?

2. Style

a) Genre:

Argumentative type of writing

b) Diction:

persuasive, objective, avoiding emotional languages.

c) Techniques:

• Using irony to create empathy, e.g.

n  Most of these conversations will be about paper, for paper is what occupies nearly everyone in this building. ... and then sent to another man for comparison with paper that was produced in triplicate last year.

• Using opinion adjectives, e.g.

n  Exciting and dull 

• Using paradox

• Giving examples

n  For example, such as, take the example of, imagine, consider..., A case in point..., As an illustration/ To illustrate

3. Structure

4. Detailed Analysis

(1) Why is it not surprising that children are unhappy that one day they will have to “go to work”?

(a) Most of them have never done any hard work in their lives.

(b) They feel demotivated about the qualifications they will have to get.

(c) They can’ t make up their minds what they want to do.

(d) They don’ t understand what most of today’ s jobs 

(2) In effect, the machines are making junk. What does the writer use the word junk to refer to?

The word junk here indicates that the products are of a low quality and are made to be disposed of.

(3) … “Daddy makes junk”. Why would most people probably be unwilling to say this?

The word junk sounds negative. If someone makes rubbish products, this may imply that the person is incompetent. Thus, it is hard for people to admit this.

(4) … the typical 12-story glass building in the typical American city. What kind of buildings is the writer talking about?

The writer refers to a tall office block or a skyscraper.

(5) Constructed as a piece of junk, the building will be discarded when it wears out … Why is the building described as junk?

Because it was cheaply built, and it may be cheaper for the company to get rid of the building and build a new one on the same site rather than repair it.

(6)  … the building is filled with people who think of themselves as working. Are the people actually working, in the writer’ s opinion?

No, in the writer’ s opinion, these people do not work effectively, although they may think they are doing so.

(7)  … fill paper with words. Which word would you normally use instead of this phrase?

Write or type.

IV. Reinforcement:

Discussion

(1) According to the writer, what has changed in our society within the last generation?

(2) Do you think the writer approves of these changes?

(3) Do you think that our society encourages a culture in which nothing is built to last?

(4) Do you consider the changes to have had a positive or negative effect?