Dahl’s books still going strong (P1)
山东烟台二中 柏钦琳

I. Warming up
What do you know about Roald Dahl?
Roald Dahl was a famous British novelist and short story writer who became one of the most successful and beloved children’s writers of all time.
Some of his well-known books：
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The BFG (1982)
The Witches (1983)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
My Uncle Oswald (1979)

II. Fast reading
What is the main idea of the text?
It is mainly about Roald Dahl’s achievements and what has made his books so popular for a long time.

III. Careful Reading
1.Why is Dahl still so popular?
1) Because he wrote from the viewpoint of children and allowed them to lead the stories, act on their own and even act against the wishes of adults.
2) His dark descriptions appeal to young readers, although there is also dark humor in the books.

2.Where does the darkness in his books come from?
The darkness comes from Dahl’s own life.
1) He lost his father young.
2) His mother sent him away to boarding school where he was badly beaten.
3) He was a fighter pilot during World War II.

3.What qualities of children can we see in his books?
Courageous, inventive, empowered.

IV. Language study
1.But British author Roald Dahl went down a different path, satisfying children’s appetite for the dark, violent and greedy .
appetite n. a desire or liking for sth 胃口，渴望
satisfy one’s appetite 满足某人的欲望
have a good/bad appetite 胃口好/差

2. Dahl’s books are successful in part because he wrote from the viewpoint of children and allowed them to lead the stories, act on their own and even act against the wishes of adults.
in part = partly, to some degree
viewpoint = point of view 观点，立场
act on one’s own 自作主张 , 按照自己的意愿行事
act against 违反， 违背

3. For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of Dahl’s famous stories, is a black comedy with the naughty children having terrible revenge taken on them.
句中“with + 宾语+ 宾补”结构用作状语。
take revenge on sb 向某人报仇
e.g:
He swore to take revenge on his enemies.

“with 复合结构”练习
1.He is used to sleeping with the window _____ (开着) at night in summer.
2.Realizing they had nothing ____(do), they went out for a walk.
3.With all their work _____(finish), they hurried back home for dinner.
4.With Darren ______(lead) the way, they found the house easily.
Key:
open， to do， finished， leading

Useful words and phrases
Fill in the blanks by using the words or phrases in the text.
1. An idea suddenly ________ his head. (突然出现)
2. The agreement _____ (标志) a new phase in relations between the two countries.
3. This book _________ (吸引)children of all ages.
4. An elderly man was ______ (击打) to death last night.
5. His books _____(反映) the everyday injustices that people see and experience.
6. The bad weather _____________(有影响) on the production of crops.

Key: popped into, marked, appeals to, beaten, reflect, has an effect on

V. Role play activity
Imagine this week’s theme in the book club you have joined is British literature and you have decided to talk about Roald Dahl. Prepare an oral introduction to the work of the writer. (You can use the text you’ve studied as a reference.)

Native Americans explained (P4)
浙江省金华市外国语学校 翁冰玫
I. Warming up
Guess: Which country am I describing?
Mayflower
A melting pot
Grand Canyon
the War of Independence
Christopher Columbus

Key: The United States of America

II. Pre-reading
When you hear about the discovery and founding of the United States, what do you think of?

III. While reading
1. Read through the article. Summarize the main idea of each paragraph.
Para. 1: Introduction to the topic of Native Americans.
Para. 2: Beliefs and customs of Native Americans.
Para. 3: A brief introduction to the Quapaw tribe.
Para. 4: The significance of explaining the facts about Native Americans to students.
Para.5: The impact of Native Americans on the US.

2. Read the article carefully and paraphrase the following sentences.
1) (Para. 1) However, rarely is there a mention of the first Americans, better known as Native Americans.
When people talk about the discovery and founding of the US, they often ignore Native Americans, who actually played a very important part in American history.

2) (Para. 4) This is part of an effort to make students think about the idea that these societies, often thought of as less advanced, were still able to succeed, sometimes even more so than the European societies that were around at the same time.
Learning about the facts will urge students to think about why these less developed societies were able to succeed, and sometimes be even more successful than the more advanced European societies that existed at the same time.

3. Read the article a third time and answer the following questions.
1) What customs and beliefs do Native Americans from different tribes share according to the text?
One is the belief that all natural things must return to the earth when they die; the other is respect for elders.

2) What examples can you give to show the impact have Native Americans had on the US?
Many of the US’ cities and states are named after Native American tribes; Even parts of the US military have named weapons and groups after famous Native warriors.

3) Can you give more examples of the impact of Native Americans on US society? Do more research after class.

IV. After reading
Discussion:
Why were some Native American societies still able to succeed although they were regarded as less developed?
Work in groups to discuss the possible reasons, and then try to find evidence to support your opinions.

Effort isn't everything (P6)
山东烟台二中 柏钦琳

I. Warming up
· Imagine you failed an exam even though you had put a lot of effort into preparing for it. Do you think your effort should be appreciated?
· Do you think there’s any difference between effort and accomplishment?

II. Reading
· Read the passage quickly and answer the questions:
1. What does the author think of effort? How does she use her own performance in school to show this?
2. Why does the author say that life rarely rewards us for effort, especially if that effort doesn’t lead to understanding or success?
3. What suggestions does the author give in the text?
Let’s check the answers!
1. What does the author think of effort? How does she use her own performance in school to show this?
She thinks that effort is dangerously close to failure but you can stop yourself from failing if you try hard, like she did in her math class.
2. Why does the author say that life rarely rewards us for effort, especially if that effort doesn’t lead to understanding or success?
She thinks that successes really count. She believes there are some real differences between effort and accomplishment.
3. What suggestions does the author give us in the text?
We should learn to take real pride in a job well done and not expect praise for one simply carried out. What we need is to think honestly about our abilities, our talents, and our limitations.

III. Language study
Subjunctive mood (虚拟语气)
1. To be perfectly honest, if I hadn’t been awarded points for effort, I might have never completed elementary school.
重点词：to be honest意为“坦白说，老实讲”，perfectly表示“十分，非常”。
语法：本句使用了虚拟语气，表示与过去事实相反的情况，此时，从句用过去完成时，主句用“情态动词+have done”。
译文：很坦诚的讲，我如果没有因为努力而被奖励得分，我可能小学都毕不了业。

2. My inability to complete the most basic forms of math would have kept me in fourth grade long past middle age if the principal hadn’t taken pity and let me move along.
释义：那时我连最基本的数学知识都搞不明白，要不是校长可怜我，恐怕我要一直念到中年以后才能升到五年级了。
重点词：take pity (on sb) 怜悯，同情（某人）。move along指“继续向前”，文中指“升到高年级”。
分析：本句的主干是 My inability … would have kept me in fourth grade …。 句中使用了虚拟语气，表示与过去事实相反的情况。同时还使用了夸张的修辞手法。

3. Rarely in life do we actually appreciate something more fully because it took a lot of effort.
释义：事实上，在生活中我们很少会仅仅因为某件事情耗费了我们许多精力而更加欣赏它。
语法：表示否定意义的副词位于句首时，句子要进行部分倒装，常见的否定副词有：rarely，never，seldom，hardly，scarcely，little，few等。例如：Never before has the whole world been so united in the face of danger.

4. What we need is to think honestly about our abilities, our talents, and our limitations.
此句为what 引导的主语从句。
译文：我们需要的是诚实地思考我们的能力,我们的才华以及我们的局限性
高考链接：
(Fill in the blanks by using that or what)
· Reading her biography, I was lost in admiration for _____ Doris Lessing had achieved in the world of literature.
· I truly believe ____ beauty comes from within.
· It is difficult for us to imagine _____ life was like for slaves in the ancient world.
Key: what; that; what

IV. Post-reading
Discussion:
· Now that we have read the article, we know that there are differences between those who try hard and those who do well. Speaking as a young student, what do you think you should do in order to achieve success?