Making musical barrier (P4-5)

邯郸市第一中学  吴新萍

 

I. Warming up   

What do you usually do on your way to school? 

 

II. Pre-reading

Look at the title and guess the main idea of the article.

 

III. While-reading

Skimming   

Read the article quickly and check if your prediction is right.

 

Main idea

This article analyses different reasons for people wearing headphones in public. 

 

Scanning   

List all the reasons why people wear headphones.

•1. For fashion. 

•2. To enjoy music.

•3. To enjoy privacy. 

•4. To block other people out (to avoid conversations). 

•5. To make traveling less lonely. 

 

According to Michael Bull, what’s the bad thing about wearing headphones in public places?

The bad thing is that while the individual (个人) feels warmer, the public space becomes a less 

social, colder space. 

 

Careful reading   

What does the underlined part refer to? 

1.And if you take a look around, you will notice that they are everywhere.（para.1）

headphones

2. So it comes as no surprise that some people call headphones “anti-social”.(para.7)

that some people call headphones “anti-social”

3.It can be lonely traveling through public spaces. Using music warms it up.(para.10)

traveling through public spaces

 

IV. Post-reading 

Difficult points   

1.Chances are that you will be wearing headphones

It’s likely that you will be wearing headphones.

 

2.It’s high-style headphones that make as much of a statement as anything else you’re wearing.

make a statement: to express or reveal an opinion or characteristic in a very clear way, although often without words.

The way you dress makes a statement about you. 

你的衣着表明了你的性格。

 

Discussion   

1.What is your understanding of the title? 

2. Are you for or against wearing headphones in public places? Please give your reasons. 

阅读链接：Leave books for others (Teens, S1 653期)

 

 

Light changes sleep (P5)

江苏省宿迁中学 林利

 

I. Warming up   

(1) What do you think about the habit of sleeping with the light on? 

(2) What do you think of the proverb ‘early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’?  

 

II. Predicting 

What might the article talk about by the title “light changes sleep”?

What light?

How does it change?

Read the article and confirm your prediction.

 

III. Skimming 

What is the article mainly about?

Scientists found artificial light may be to blame for teenagers getting up late in urban areas.

 

IV. Scanning  

1. What is the finding of the recent study? How did researchers find it? 

◆ Teenagers are the group most influenced by light, and by reducing using artificial light at night, their body clocks can be reset, which means an earlier rise in the morning.

◆The researchers built a mathematical model on the sleeping habits of 25,000 Europeans and people from two African tribes.

 

2. Why have some US schools delayed their start times?  

They think teenagers prefer to go to bed late because of a delay in their body clock. 

 

3. What is the body clock?

It is a system that controls the body’s rhythms of sleep and waking. 

 

4. What did Andrew Philips think about delaying school starting times?  

Starting school late is likely to make it harder for teenagers to get up in the morning. And any district considering a delay in school start times should also educate their students on the impacts of using artificial light at night. 

 

Read the passage again and decide whether the following statements are true or false.  

•1.Man-made light greatly influences teenagers’ sleep patterns. 

•2. The biological clock of teenagers doesn’t change easily.

•3. Delaying school starting times has no benefits and should be stopped. 

•4. Schools should teach their students the influences of using artificial light at night. 

Key: TFFT

 

V. Discussion 

Some students prefer to burn the midnight oil. What do you think of this practice?

 

 

Blind to good points (P6)

山东烟台经济技术开发区高级中学  唐福珍

I. Warming up

1. Do you have many friends?

2. Can you imagine somebody having no friends their whole life?

 

II. Skimming    

Read the passage and answer the following questions.

1.Does the old man have any friends?

  No.

2. Who should be blamed for the old man’s lack of friendships? 

The old man himself. 

 

III. Scanning

Read the passage again and answer the following questions.

•1. Why does no one know much about the old man?

Because he has no friends at all. 

•2. What does the old man think of Mr. Black? 

The old man dislikes Mr. Black because he only talks about his wheat field and pigs. 

•3. What is wrong with Mr White according to the old man?

     He only visits the old man when he feels like doing so and stays away for a long time. 

•4. In the doctor’s opinion, what is the reason the old man has no friends?

He sees so many of his neighbors’ bad points that he is blind to their good ones.

 

IV. Sentence Structure

You’ve lived in this village all your life and never had a friend?” The doctor asked, surprised.

句中的surprised 作状语，用来说明句子主语the doctor 的状态。

形容词或形容词短语作状语在句中主要用来补充说明句子中的主语、宾语、谓语或整个句

子的内容，表示时间、原因、让步、结果、伴随状态或方式等。

例如：

Ripe, these apples are sweet.（作时间状语）

熟了的时候这些苹果很甜。

Weary and discouraged, I didn’t seem able to do anything right. （作原因状语）  

由于疲惫和失望，我似乎什么都干不好。

Large or small, all countries are equal.（作让步状语）   

不论大小，所有国家都是平等的。 

 

V. Vocabulary

1. The most selfish fellow I ever came across, though I admit he’s clever. 

•come across

1) (偶然地)碰到、发现；想到

•When you come across something important, write it down.   

•I came across this book in an old bookstore in London.

2)讲得清楚明白，容易理解

•Your speech didn’t come across; nobody understood your opinion.

 

•2. He has a good sense of humor and is great company, but his noisy tongue makes my poor head ache.

 1）I’m afraid my dad doesn’t have a very good sense of humour.

 2）They have a good sense of teamwork.

 

•3. You’re a hard nut to crack, old man. 

a hard nut to crack 

1）难对付的人

•My manager is a hard nut to crack.  He always shouts at me for no reason.

•2）棘手的事

Already highly successful in television, he found movies a hard nut to crack.

 

Ⅵ. Discussion 

What lesson can we learn from the story?

What kind of people would you want to make friends with?