Study "New Concept English" 1

Author: Pan Zhangxian, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features:
· This book is dedicated to those who have studied English for many years but have never truly grasped it;
· This book is dedicated to those who have repeatedly failed in intermediate and advanced English exams, struggling to change their fate through English;
· This book is dedicated to those who once studied English but have forgotten it for years and want to start over. When using this book, pay close attention to thoroughly analyzing the text from both grammatical and semantic perspectives. Below, I will discuss the importance of these two aspects.
1. The Importance of Grammar for Chinese Learners of English
Currently, many learners of English neglect grammar. In reality, grammar is a shortcut for foreigners learning English, especially considering the specific situation of Chinese learners. English teaching in China is divided into two categories: college English and professional English teaching. Generally, those who study professional English tend to achieve an ideal level of English after graduation, while college English students lag significantly behind. The reason is straightforward—college English offers 200 hours of instruction, while professional English offers 1,000 hours, and the two groups start at different levels. If you refuse to face this reality, you cannot adopt practical methods, and without practical methods, you cannot achieve good results. Grammar is a linguistic principle summarized to improve the efficiency of language learning. In a Chinese language environment, neglecting grammar when learning English is indeed unwise. Therefore, when reading the text, always ask yourself what role each word plays in the sentence. In the initial stages, you must force yourself to do this, especially when encountering difficult parts. As your proficiency improves, especially with simpler sentences, you can skip this step. However, please note that even highly accomplished English professors must analyze the grammar of complex sentences. If your writing scores below 8 in the CET-4 exam or below 10 in postgraduate English, the main issue lies in your poor fundamental language skills and basic grammar and vocabulary. For such students, improving writing skills does not require learning how to write essays but rather focusing on rigorous grammar analysis of the text.
2. The Importance of Translation for Chinese Learners of English
Many students’ understanding of the text remains at a superficial level, grasping only fragments of meaning. Some students are honest enough to ask, “Teacher, when reading English, do we use fragmented Chinese to understand it?” Based on my experience, during exams, due to time constraints, reading comprehension is largely done using fragmented Chinese to interpret English. However, when reading intensive texts regularly, this approach is absolutely unacceptable. You must use accurate, complete, and fluent Chinese to understand English—the essence of translation. In China, English teaching places excessive emphasis on thinking in English while neglecting translation instruction. Yet, the results have been unsatisfactory—how many have truly developed English thinking? Decades of practice by Chinese learners of English have proven that translation is the most effective way for non-majors to improve their English proficiency. This book does not, like other similar books, arbitrarily showcase the authors’ own "talents" by patching together excessive extensions and elaborations. The main problem with Chinese students reading texts is poor digestion—treating poor digestion is not by giving them more to eat but by having them eat less and chew more thoroughly. We believe that as long as you deeply study the text itself, understand it thoroughly, you will achieve the goal of learning English well. Many students’ reality is that they seem to have learned a lot but excel at nothing, lacking depth in any area. The explanation order of the text in this book is divided into four steps:
1. Original Text – The original text is arranged sentence by sentence.
2. Translation – For accurate understanding of the original text and fluent expression in Chinese, this serves as a marker of whether you have truly read the text. If you encounter simple sentences, you can try to translate them into a level comparable to the book’s provided translation without referring to the "Analysis" and "Explanation." Therefore, in this book, the translation is directly placed after the original text. If you cannot translate it, it means you have not truly understood the text, so please refer to the "Analysis" and "Explanation" below.
3. Analysis – An analysis of the sentence structure of the original text.
4. Explanation – An explanation of the linguistic points in the original text and a supplement to the grammatical analysis.
When using this book, individuals can choose one of the following four modes based on their own situation: 1-2; 1-2-3; 1-2-4; 1-2-3-4.