Song and dance fun (P1)

山东省烟台第二中学   朱洪图

I. Warming up 

Discussion:

•1.Have you seen the film La La Land?

•2.What is the film mainly about?

La La Land is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film starring Ryan   Gosling and Emma Stone as a musician and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The film’s title refers both to the city of Los Angeles and to the idiom for being out of touch with reality.

•3.Do you know what sets the film apart from others?

There are a lot of impromptu songs and dances in the film. 

Impromptu: not prepared ahead of time. 

Eg: He made an impromptu speech about honor and responsibility. 

 

II. Skimming 

Read the article quickly and answer the following 

questions: 

•1.What is the article mainly about ?

An introduction of the musical film - La La Land and  the reasons why it has been so successful. 

•2.According to John Patterson, what made La La Land popular with American viewers? 

It rids people of anger, cynicism and anxiety. 

 

III. Scanning 

Read the article again and divide it into several parts and work out the main idea of each one. 

•Part 1 (Para.1-2): The success and main feature of La La Land. 

•Part 2 (Para. 3-7): The reasons for this film’s success. 

•Part 3 (Para. 8-9): Comments about the film. 

 

Answer the questions below:

•1.What does “This pattern” in Para 2 refer to？ 

It refers to “the impromptu songs and dances”. 

•2.What successes has the film had?

The film opened last year’s Venice Film Festival, won a record-breaking seven Golden Globes in January, and it already has 14 Oscar nominations, including best picture, best director and best costume design. 

•3.Why may this film have become so popular?

Some think that the current political climate is driving people toward light-hearted entertainment for relief. 

•3.When was the last time musical films had their moment of glory and why ?

It was more than half a century ago , back in the 1930s through to the 1950s.

When the Great Depression hit the US, “politicians often allotted Hollywood the task of  cheering Americans up.” 

•4.Does the story end in a happily-ever-after way?

No. They have to make a choice between their relationship and their careers, like many couples in the real world. 

 

IV. Language points 

Study the following words and phrases. 

break into突然开始做（某事） 

make  history  创造历史 

all of a sudden  突然 

rid sb of sth (pain, sorrow, debt, etc) 使某人摆脱某物 

hit  袭击，使遭受 

shut out   排除，把…关在外边

cheer  up    使高兴 

play a key role 起重要作用 

downfall 垮掉，没落 

end in  以……而结束 

result from 由……引起

 

Sentence pattern：

•1.It’s believed that the current political climate is driving people toward light-hearted entertainment for relief. 

•It is believed that …That引导主语从句，it 是形式主语， that后面是真正的主语。

•2.Although it’s acceptable for characters from Disney animations to suddenly break into songs and dances in the middle of a conversation, it’d still be weird for “real life” actors to do the same, wouldn’t it ？ 

•It 都是形式主语，后面真正的主语是to do 不定式。

 

V. Post-reading 

Oral practice: 

If your friends were interested in the film, how would you introduce it to them?

Hint: use the storyline, what is special about the film, and the reasons why it became so successful. 

 

 

Old tech makes medals (P5)

山东省烟台第二中学   朱洪图

I. Warming up 

Do you think there is a connection between electronic waste and Olympic medals?

Look at the picture and find out the four steps of turning e-waste into medals.

 

II. Skimming 

Read the article and find out its main idea. 

•What is the article mainly about?

Medals for the next Olympic Games will be made from recycled phones and household appliances. 

 

III. Scanning 

Read the text again and answer the questions below.

•1.Why can e-waste be used to make medals?

These items contain metals such as gold or silver, which can be extracted and re-used. 

•2.What is so special about Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medals, according to Uchimura?

They will be made out of people’s thoughts and appreciation for avoiding waste. And he thinks there is an important message in this for future generations. 

•3.What does Janet Gunter encourage people outside of Japan to do to prevent the mountain of old tech from piling up?

She encourages people to re-use stuff and if something is broken, to sell it for parts. 

 

Decide if these statements are true (T) or false (F)

•1.Three tons of gold, silver and bronze will be required to make the 5,000 medals.

•2.The US produces 20 to 50 million tons of  “e-waste” every year.

•3.Apple recovered two tons of gold, silver and bronze from old tech in 2014.

•4.The Restart Project offers a free service to repair electronics.

•5.Janet Gunter advises people to learn how to repair gadgets if possible. 

FFFTF

 

IV. Language points 

Match the words below with their definitions.

Household    increase in amount to a total that is difficult to manage

estimate give or form a general idea about the value, size, or cost of (sth) 

recover of or relating to a house or to the people living in a house 

pile up get back (money that has been spent, invested, etc.) 

 

 

Sentence pattern

•Collection boxes will be placed inside thousands of phone stores across Japan in the hope that the public will donate enough old devices to create the prizes.

That 引导同位语从句，对前面的抽象名词hope进行解释说明。

•The country throws away gadgets containing around $60 million (412 million yuan) worth of gold every year. 

这句话中containing around …作后置定语，修饰gadgets 。

•It claims to have prevented over 1,270 kg of e-waste since 2012.

不定式的完成式，表示该不定式所表示的动作发生在主句谓语动词所表示动作之前。 

 

V. Post-reading 

Discussion 

According to the UN, China already produces about 2.3 million tons of e-waste a year domestically (2010 estimate), second only to the United States. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries. Moreover, most e-waste in China is improperly handled. 

What should we do to deal with this problem?

 

 

Drawing the line (P6)

山东省烟台第二中学   朱洪图

 

I. Warming up 

Discussion:

•1.Do you like going shopping?

•2. How often do you go shopping?

•3. How has people’s shopping habit changed in recent years?

•

II. Skimming 

Read the article and find its main idea.

•What is the article mainly about ?

It’s about how the writer got over her shopping addiction by drawing. 

 

III. Scanning 

Read the article again and answer the questions below.

•1.How many times did the writer decide to stop shopping? When and why? 

Twice. In 2006 and in 2012.

In 2006, she decided to stop shopping for a year because she found herself always going into stores and just buying things without thinking about it.

In 2012, she decided to stop shopping again because she found she had become addicted to buying things online. 

•2.According to the writer, what bad effects does fast fashion have?

Besides all the money she was spending, she thought of the damage that was being done to the environment, as well as all the hard work that people do to make the things we buy. 

•3.What does the writer suggest we do to deal with shopping addiction?

Take some time to stop and think about why you want that “shiny new thing.” 

 

IV. Language points 

Match the words and phrases with their definitions.

addiction          worry, disturb, or upset (someone)

botherA strong desire to do or have something regularly

guilty having a smooth, shining, bright appearance 

shiny feeling bad because you believe you have done something wrong

 

Sentence pattern

•In fact, it’s hard not to like beautiful things in a world that’s filled with them, in a world that’s good at showing you the kind of beautiful thing you most want, and in a world where people try to make you want beautiful things.

•排比句式的使用节奏感强，增强了语言气势，有力地说明了这个世界充满了美丽的事物，激发了人们购物欲望。

 

V. Post-reading 

Discussion 

If your friends were addicted to shopping, what suggestions would you give them?

•Replace shopping with a different interest 

•Stop using credit cards 

•Uninstall  shopping apps such as Taobao, JD, etc.