Unit 5--The English Countryside(英国的乡村)

Reading
Task 1 Pre-reading Activities
Giving Opinions
It would seem to me that … As far as I am able to judge, … As far as I’m concerned, … I’d like to point out … I’d just like to say … From my point of view, I think … Personally, I think … As I see it … Frankly, I think … I reckon …
Warm-up
Quotable Quote
Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
In small groups, discuss the following questions.
1. What does the grass signify? 2. What does the fence signify? 3. Why do people think grass in other people’s gardens always looks greener than in their own? 4. Do you have an example to illustrate the case of ―The grass is always greener on the other side‖?
Reference Answers
1. What does the grass signify? Usually small, insignificant things that are familiar in one’s life.
2. What does the fence signify? Division of property, family, region, or even country . 3. Why do people think grass in other people’s gardens always looks greener than in their own? People bring in their own experience when interpreting the life and objects of the world. The sense of beauty in their garden has been dulled by familiarity.
Warm-up
Useful Words and Expressions symbolic significance in the introduction of the locomotive modern civilization–lauds greater freedom for people to move around, accords more individualism to each member of society, creates greater power for everyone to exercise, and makes faster progress in social development
Related Ideas in English
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Absence makes the heart fonder.
Similar Sayings in Chinese 远香近臭 情人眼里出西施 外国的月亮比中国的圆
Unit 5
The English Countryside
Warm-up
Asking for Opinions
I was wondering where you stood on the question of X? What’s your position on X? What’s your opinion of X? What do you think of/about X? How do you find X? What do you feel about X? What do you reckon about X? What about X?
Warm-up
In pairs, answer the following question.
With the introduction of locomotives and the construction of factories, what has been irreversibly changed? Useful Words and Expressions whining (of the sound of the locomotive engine) puffing smoke from chimneys in the factories in the distance hazy skies tinted by smoke from the factories hurly-burly of the modern industry reinvigorating the life in the countryside driving out boredom from rural solitude
to change completely the appearance or character of
Nowadays urbanization is developing rapidly in many countries and it reflects human efforts to transform a world of cruel natural elements in favor of human living environment. While we are ameliorating the living conditions with many facilities, we are also losing many things. Look at the following picture and comment on what human beings have gained and lost in the process of modernization? .
Warm-up
Vocabulary to Describe City Life
disco, night club, café, club, karaoke, city skyline, nightlife, shopping, fun park, carnival entertainment, movie house, theater; tourist attractions such as temples, churches, historic places and museums; shows, city tour trips
Warm-up
Notes
Some of the expressions are formal while some are
less formal or informal.
Either say according to someone or in someone’s
opinion. Don’t say according to someone’s opinion.
A1: Tell me, what do you think of our waiter? B1: Kind of rude, isn’t he? A2: I wonder when the board of regents will pick a new dean of students. B2: Who knows? They’re not even scheduled to meet until next month. A3: Do you think that I’ve packed too much equipment for my camping trip? B3: It should be just right, Max—if you plan to be gone for a couple of years.
Warm-up
• Read the conversation on page 61. • In pairs, make a similar conversation with the cues in the substitute box.
the process by which more and more people live in cities
Warm-up
源自文库
Life in the Village and in the City
In pairs, ask and answer the following questions.
1.What do you think of life in the city? Do you prefer life in the city or in the countryside? 2.Do you sometimes feel tired of city life/country life? 3.Which do you prefer, city life or village life?
to make (a situation) better or less bad
The Machine in the Garden by L Marx (1964)
Warm-up
In pairs, describe the rural lifestyle without locomotives and factories.
Useful Words and Expressions
pastoral, rural life, rosy hues of dusk Arcadian spectacles/beauty, serene, quiet, tranquil, a scene between wilderness and tamed nature but maybe dreadfully dull, laboring life facing haphazard/unfriendly natural elements small trails across the field, a solitary tree at the bottom of the garden God is the shepherd of human beings, and maintains their soul in the virgin beauty of nature.
The Chinese sayings are much narrower in meaning and usage.
Reading
Task 1 Pre-reading Activities Task 2 Reading Comprehension Task 3 After-reading Activities
Opinion is often used as a countable noun when it
means “personal ideas or beliefs about a particular subject/matter/person”.
Warm-up
Asking for and Giving Opinions