【正文】 see all three walls of any cupboard or closet to avoid clutter or unnecessary stuff.▇ Comprehension questions (Paras. 714)Q: Was the author good at managing the family purse in the past?A: No, she did not have a significant savings program in the past, and she might have wasted a lot of the family financial resources on unnecessary stuff.Q: How did she tackle the financial problems of not having enough savings?A: She cut out all the unnecessary spending in her daily life, and she also became very careful in managing money. Below are some examples:● She stripped down her wardrobe to basic clothes (Para. 8).● She cancelled magazine subscriptions or daily newspaper (Para. 9).● She started saving daily change and banking it in the savings account (Para. 10).● She gave up the extra car (Para. 11).● She carried only one credit card (Para. 12) and paid cash for daily expenses (Para. 12).● She planned holiday carefully and spent less money on gifts (Para. 14).Q: Why did she bee so frugal with money?A: She wanted to live a simple lifestyle and she didn’t want to be pelled to take up a job again. Besides, she had e to know that if she “minded the pennies, the dollars would take care of themselves.”Q: How did they manage to spend only a fraction of their original cost on nice gifts and holidays?A: They didn’t mean to cut out gifts and holidays. Instead, they made their holiday and purchase plans carefully, and they often looked for the special offers in shops. In this way, they could still enjoy holidays and prepare nice gifts on less money.▇ Comprehension questions (Para. 15) Q: What is the couple’s life like today?A: They are now living a very simple and frugal life, free from stress and anxieties. They enjoy their new life very much, and feel happier and more secure than ever before.Q: What is the “secret” of their simple yet happy life?A: The “secret”, if there is one, is that they base their life on their “needs”, not on their “wants”, and they know clearly what they need from life.Step V. Paraphrase some difficult sentences.Difficult Sentences1. The most reasonable and surest way to achieve my goal was to just quit the corporate world for good, and then deal with the aftermath in a very positive way. (Para. 2)Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?A: If I wanted to live a simpler life, it would be best for me first to quit my job, and then to think positively of what was going to happen to my life.Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.A: 為了達成目標，最理智而且最有把握的方式就是永久地離開公司圈子，然后能夠坦然地處理其后果。2. My husband could care less what type of house we lived in, but I had initial difficulty because nothing “fit” properly according to my former lifestyle.(Para. 6)Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?A: My husband did not have any difficulty in adjusting to our new home, but I encountered some problems at the beginning because none of my possessions was suitable for the new home which was much smaller than the previous one.Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.A: 我丈夫可以不管我們住什么樣的房子，但我在開始時卻遇到了一些困難，因為根據(jù)我們先前的生活方式，沒有一件東西排放到位。3. I found that if I minded the pennies, the dollars would take care of themselves. (Para. 7)Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?A: I realized that if I was careful in dealing with small sums of money, I could save a lot.Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.A: 我發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有注意存小錢，才會積累出大錢。4. Credit cards breed carelessness in me when it es to handling money and yet cold, hard cash in my hand is likely to stay in my hand! (Para. 13)Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence?A: Using a credit card makes my spending less careful. With a credit card, I tend to purchase things on impulse, but with hard cash in my hand, I am careful with my spending and can save money.Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.A: 花錢時，用信用卡會讓我不假思索，而手里如果拿著冷冰冰、硬邦邦的現(xiàn)金很可能就不舍得花出去了！ 5. Today, our lifestyle is very simple, very frugal but not stingy towards us or the things we want to do. (Para. 15)Q: What is the implied meaning of the italicized part of the sentence? A: Though we live a simple and frugal life, we do not deny ourselves of what we like and enjoy. We still live a happy and fulfilling life.Q: Please translate this sentence into Chinese.A: 現(xiàn)在，我們的生活方式很簡單，很節(jié)儉但是對于我們自己或者我們想做的事情來說也不算是吝嗇。Step VI. Discussion: What is the true meaning of a simple life.StepVII. Homework: Write about a simple life.七、教學反思Enable students think about the current trend of lifestyle.Make a parison of the lifestyle between Chinese and Western people.13