Dylan Wins Top Prize (P1)

成都外国语学校王维荣

 

I. Warming up   

Prediction:

1.  Who is Dylan?

2.  What top prize did he/she win?

 

II. While reading 

Read quickly to find out the answers to these two questions. 

1.  Who is Dylan?

He is Bob Dylan, an American singer-songwriter.

2.  What top prize did he/she win?

He won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature.

 

Reading for the writer’s attitude 

What attitude does the writer hold toward Bob Dylan’s winning this year’s Nobel Prize in literature? 

A. Positive           B. Negative  

C. Neutral            D. Not Clear

How do we know?

“If these don’t qualify as excellent poems, what does?” the author asks about Dylan’s work.

 

Reading for information 

Why the world was taken aback when Dylan won the prize

1) He is a singer-songwriter.

2) “Does this mean I can win a Grammy?” US writer Jodi Picoult joked on her Twitter account. 

Why he is qualified for the prize

1. Dylan’s writing talents have already been recognized by the Pulitzer Prize jury.

2. Bob Dylan is in the 2 percent of songwriters whose lyrics are interesting on the page even without the harmonica and the guitar and his very special voice.

3. Dylan’s lyrics also address social issues in the US.

4. His songs then influenced the lives of millions. 

5. Nothing speaks better and louder than Dylan’s own writing.

 

Developing vocabulary  

What does the underlined phrase “taken aback” in the second paragraph mean?

Surprised / shocked.

 

III. After reading

   Discussion  

In your eyes, should Bob Dylan have been given this year’s Nobel Prize in literature? Why/why not?

 

 

Dance goes on today (P4)

山东烟台二中   柏钦琳

I. Warming up

Can you guess what these players are doing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II. Reading

Paragraphs 1-3

1.What is the name of this rugby team?

The New Zealand All Blacks.

2.What do they do before every game?

Before every game, they gather in a semi-circle and begin to dance. 

3. What is the name of the dance that the rugby team performs?

Try to describe it.

The rugby players perform the haka. It is a traditional Maori dance that has been used as a war dance since the 19th century. 

 

Paragraph 4 

Find the similarities between warriors and the All Blacks players.

Warriors originally performed the war dance before battles to show off their strength in order to threaten the enemy, while the players perform this war dance to get excited and raise their spirits before the game.

 

Paragraphs 5-6 

Questions to ponder

1. How did Ernest Renan define nationalism? 

He described the “nation” as a “large-scale togetherness, made by the feeling of sacrifice.  

2.Why haka is considered a perfect act of nationalism? 

It shows the solidarity of warriors – both of Maori and non-Maori backgrounds – fighting for a common future and a recognition of an almost sacred past. 

 

Paragraph 7

Comment on the haka’s status in New Zealand.

Today in New Zealand, the haka is still performed at many different gatherings and celebrations. It is a connection to Maori ancestors.

 

III. Language study

1. The 19th century French theorist Ernest Renan, one of the first real theorists who looked into the idea of nationalism, described the “nation” as a “large-scale togetherness, made up of the feeling of the sacrifices that one has made in the past and of those that one is prepared to make in the future”. 

本句的主干为：Ernest Renan … described the “nation” as a “large-scale togetherness。one of the first real theorists 用作同位语，其中包含who引导的定语从句；made up of the feeling …用作后置定语，修饰a “large-scale togetherness；of those 指的是of the sacrifices，两个that都是引导定语从句，分别修饰sacrifices和those。

重点词：look into 调查，研究; be made up of  由……组成，构成;  make sacrifices 做出牺牲

 

IV. Role play activity 

Suppose the Rugby World Cup is being held and the All Blacks of New Zealand perform the haka before the game. Act as a reporter covering this event for the TV audience.  

You can refer to what we have learned from the text.

 

 

New Earth found (P6)

沈阳市第二中学 常虹

Pre-reading 

Let’s review what we know about space

1.What is a star?

A star is a huge ball of plasma (very hot gas) held together by gravity (重力). The Sun is a star. There are many other stars like the Sun in the universe.

kidskonnect.com/science/stars-constellations/

 

 

 

 

 

2.How is a planet different from a star?

Stars sometimes seem to twinkle in the night sky while planets shine steadily. Stars keep a constant position over time, while planets appear in different areas at different times. 

 

Our Solar System The Sun and other planets

 

 

 

 

 

Earth II?

•What makes life possible on a planet?

Gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide that support life; 

Water;

The temperature should not be too cold or too hot. 

 

While reading

•Scanning: 

Read the article and answer the following questions. 

ØWhat is Earth II?  Why are scientists excited about its discovery?

ØWhat has the US done to attract aliens' attention?

ØCan we visit Proxima b now?

 

What is Earth II?  Why are scientists excited over its discovery?

  It is a planet "more or less" like Earth that is orbiting Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our solar system. Therefore, scientists are wondering if there is life on this new planet.

 

The imaginary landscape of Proxima b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While reading 

What has the US done to attract aliens' attention?

In the early 1970s the US sent its Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 space probes with pictures of a man and a woman, diagrams of the solar system and space postcards. Gold records were also launched into space on Voyager probes in 1977. 

Aliens might also have heard a message from former US President Jimmy Carter.

 

While reading

Can we visit Proxima b now?

   It might not be time to plan a visit to Proxima b just yet. Even if it has an atmosphere, we would need to invent a way to get there in less than the 78,000 years and it would take at 36,000 mph (about 57,900 km/h).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

英国著名物理学家霍金（Stephen Hawking）正着手研发一只以1千亿瓦特的光束进动、能以时速近1.61亿公里的小型太空船，可望20年内便能到达“Proxima b”.

 

While reading

Part Part 

Paragraphs

Main idea

Part 

Paragraphs

Main idea

 

Paragraphs

Main idea

 

 

 

Language bank

create, attempt, slight, go south, hit the jackpot, promise

1. Proxima b is _________ bigger than our Earth. 

2. The sky on its world is orange without any blue at all, ________ an everlasting sunset effect.

3. He ________. He won a great deal of money.

4. We are _________ survive our time so we may live into yours. 

5. Proxima b looks to us like a _______ Plan(et) B.

6. Never give up, even if your efforts _______.

Key: slightly, creating, hit the jackpot, attempting to, promising, goes south 

 

Post-reading

Discussion: (Choose a topic)

1.Do you believe there are aliens in space? Why or why not?

2.What would be your message to the aliens? 

Homework 

ØWrite a short message to the aliens in space.

ØWrite a mini sci-fi story about what people will experience when they finally land on Proxima b.

 

To the teachers: reference articles

http://cnews.chinadaily.com.cn/2016-09/01/content_26670984.htm

http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/bbc/mediaenglish/2016-09/06/content_26713501.htm

Reference website about space 

http://kidsastronomy.com  http://www.nasa.gov