新编英语教程 6 Unit 3 教案

Unit Three

TEXT I

WALLS AND BARRIERS

Eugene Raskin

Objectives: To discuss the different functions of different kinds of walls.

To identify in the text the contrasts between walls as barriers and walls as screens.

To write an essay on the different conceptions of money in the past and now by using the technique of making comparisons and contrasts.

Pre-reading Discussion

The questions discussed in this section concern with the major points or the general ideas of the text. The purpose is to see how well students have prepared the text as well as to stimulate students’ interest.

1. Walls are seen everywhere, around a school campus or a hospital compound, around a small park or even a small private garden. We have the (city) wall around the Jingjiang Palace /Chamber, which was the ancient wall.

From the title, what do you think of the relation between walls and barriers? Do walls all serve as barriers? Give some examples.

In the old days, walls were erected as barriers against danger from without, and the Great Wall of China can serve as a typical example of this.

The Great Wall of China was first built following the unification of China by the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty in 221 B.C. It was renovated and rebuilt in succeeding dynasties. In its present form, it substantially dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It stretches from Gansu Province to Shanhaiguan, Hebei, winding continuously across northern China and totaling 6,7000 kilometers in length. The wall was erected to protect China from

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northern tribes.

Most walls in China function as barriers (an obstruction or an obstacle). The wall of a park serves to enclose; the wall of a prison to prevent communication; the wall of a castle to check (e.g., the advance of an enemy); the wall of a kindergarten to keep away from danger/to guarantee security; the wall of a residence to protect privacy, etc.

2. A wall is usually a solid structure of stones, bricks, concrete, etc. in China. What other materials can be used to build a wall? What if it is built with glass or very thin metal materials, or shrubs or fence as it is more and more commonly seen nowadays? Does this kind of wall also serve as barrier? What is the function?

In Singapore, not as many walls as in China are seen. If there are any, they are mostly shrubs' walls / green walls, a continuous and vertical structure of iron bars/wire meshes/wire netting with shrubs stretching in all directions. These are open walls, I would like to call. Everything inside is open to the outsiders. You can see everything inside as far as your eyesight can reach. E.

g., NUS, SP, condominiums, etc. These walls just serve to divide off other places, such as town, house, room, field, etc. There is nothing to do with security.

The walls of many companies, supermarkets, malls, restaurants are walls of glass. Even the bank where security must ensure is walled with glass. Is the bank not afraid of robbery or burglary? E.g. Dahua Bank.

Cash is now rarely used. Money, in most of the time, takes the form of credit cards, a book-keeping banking matter.The bank functions more as a service than a safe for money.

These glass walls seem unsafe, but modern architects prefer this kind of walls. Since every inside place is air-conditioned, these glass walls only function to separate the outside air from the inside controlled temperature and

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