Catching crabs

Part One Warming up

Watch and listen a speech given by an influential storyteller and motivational
speaker. Think and talk about the following questions.
1. What’s the speaker’s main point?
2. How does the speaker support his points of view？What do the successful people
have in common?
3. Does his words resonate with you? What are your thoughts and comments about
the speaker’s viewpoint?

Part Two Text Analysis

Catching Crabs tells us a fishing trip of a father and his son, which demonstrates
that independence and self-discovery is crucial for the young people’s future
development.
1 Text organization
Situation:
Problem:
Solution:
2. Questions
1)What happened to the students in the fall of the final year?
2)What were the other students’ future plans?
3)What was the writer’s future plan?
4)What was his father’s attitude?
5)What did he learn from catching crabs?
Crab Bucket Syndrome/ Crab Syndrome 螃蟹效应
When a single crab is put into a lidless bucket, they surely can and will escape.
However, when more than one share a bucket, none can get out. If one crab tries to
climb up out of the bucket, the other crabs immediately start to pull it back into the
bucket. This resistance occurs repeatedly any time a crab tries to get out - the group
will prevent it from escaping.
Due to this phenomenon, the fisherman can leave the bucket without a lid, secure in
the knowledge that every time one crab tries to escape, the others will go out of their
way to drag it back into the bucket.

In the text, the crabs are a metaphor of young men who are looking for jobs. All the
movements of the crabs have their metaphorical meanings (隐喻含义).
Read paras. 18-35 and complete the table.
(1)
They crawled into such an The majority of young people choose to live a
obvious trap, through a small comfortable life and finally lose their
hole…but it seemed as if they aspiration.
couldn’t be bothered to crawl
out again…
(2)
He is trying to climb out, but
every time the other crabs pull
him back in…

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 Claws that pull him back in

(3)
Not only did the crab give up
its lengthy struggle to escape,
but it actually began to help
stop other crabs trying to
escape. He’d finally chosen an
easy to of life.
Help stop other crabs

4.Summarise the text by filling the blanks.

In the fall of our final year, our mood changed. The ________________ had
disappeared, and the ____________________ to work hard was strong.
Meanwhile, _______________________________ was what we would do next
after graduation. As for me, I wanted to travel, and I wanted to be a writer. I
_________ myself for some _____________ to the idea from my father, who
wanted me to go to law school, and ________________ through life.

However, he supported what I wanted but he made me think about it by

_____________________. The cage was full of crabs. One of them was trying to
escape, but each time it __________________ the other crabs ______________. In
the end it gave up _________________ to escape and started to prevent other crabs
from escaping. By watching crabs, my father told me not to _______________ by
others, and to get to know ________________.

Part Three Culture Tips

What Is Congress?
The U.S. government is made up of the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the
legislative branch. The executive branch, led by the President and the Vice President,
enforces our laws. The judicial branch, led by the Supreme Court, interprets laws. The
legislative branch, which makes laws, is the Congress.
Congress has two parts: the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Each
state has two U.S. Senators and at least one U.S. Representative; the more residents a
state has, the more U.S. Representatives it is allowed. There are 100 U.S. Senators
and 435 U.S. Representatives.
The laws Congress makes help Americans. There are laws that say children have to go
to school, laws that set standards for vehicle and highway safety, and laws that protect
animals and nature.
Useful Expression
1. 课堂出勤率 2.同学们之间的竞争压力 3.谁都不想···那也太丢人
4.熬夜熬出了眼袋 5.脸色苍白，睡眼惺忪 6.在某人的心里
7.心怀抱负、成绩拔尖的高材生 8.为自己下几个阶段的人生做好了规划
9.追随···的人生足迹 10.做好了遭到反对的心理准备

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11.加入一个暂时报酬高的行业 12.沿海水域没什么风浪
13.挤满了 14.被···拽下来 15.放弃了漫长的逃亡之战
Translation
1. Experts believe that there is nothing wrong with realizing that your major doesn’t
suit your skills and talents. In fact, the ability to make such a realization is a sign of
maturity. The trick is to find a major that does suit you better. Before making the
switch, you need to meet with an academic advisor, research our choice by talking to
professors or professionals, and ask yourself serious questions about whether it is the
right choice for you.

2 大多数同学不是准备继续深造，就是想在银行、地方政府或其他单位当个白领，希望在
20 出头的时候能挣到足够多的薪水，过上舒适的生活，然后就娶妻生子，贷款买房，期望
升职，过安稳日子。( be looking to, settle down )