Brand New image (P4)

中国人民大学附属中学  宋玖青

 

I. Warming up

Do you like to visit cultural sites such as the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace? Why or why not?

 

II. Pre-reading

Have you ever been to the Forbidden City? What was your first impression of it? What is the latest news you’ve heard about it?

 

III. While-reading 

Scanning

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. Why were deer considered to be lucky in ancient China?

Because the Chinese word shares the pronunciation of the character that means “official salary”.

 

2. Are the workers in Palace Museum all old and boring?

No. Many are young and interesting.

 

Close Reading

Read the article and divide it into different parts, then summarize the main idea of each part.

Possible answer:

Part 1 (Para. 1): A lead-in to this topic.

Part 2 (Para. 2-3): Nine deer were introduced into the Forbidden City to attract visitors.

Part 3 (Para. 4-6): Other efforts have also been made to establish the new image of the Forbidden City.

Part 4 (Para. 7-8): The Palace Museum is shaking off the stereotypes of being an old-fashioned academic institution.

 

Read the article again, and fill in the chart.

 

 

IV. Post-reading 

Discussion

Think about your answers to the following questions, and discuss them in groups of four. Afterwards, share your thoughts with the class.

 

1.What do you think about the efforts to bring cultural relics closer to the people? 

2.How do you understand the last sentence of the article, “It looks like the Forbidden City isn’t so forbidden after all” ?

3.Do you think an academic institution should be academic all the time? Why?

 

V. Homework

Creative Design

Choose a cultural site in your hometown and think of one idea to make it more attractive to tourists. You may also design an advertising slogan based on your idea.

 

 

Ability affects eggs (P6)

河北省邯郸市第一中学  王永仙

 

I. Lead-in   

Do you like birds? What birds do you like?

Have you ever noticed the shape of their eggs?

What do you think we can tell about a bird from its eggs? 

 

II. Skimming

Read the passage quickly and answer the question.

1.What did the new study find?

Birds with better flying abilities have pointier eggs.

III. Scanning

Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.

1.Why do species of birds that fly better than others lay pointier eggs?

Key:   Because their bodies are more streamlined (流线型的) than normal. As their bodies are shaped differently to birds with lesser flying abilities, the shapes of their eggs are also different to match up with their body shape.

 

2.How did the scientists come to their conclusion?

•Key: First, the scientists studied photographs of nearly 50,000 eggs from 1,400 different species. Then, using advanced computer programs, the scientists were able to produce a map of the world’s bird species’ eggs. They found that the pointiest egg belongs to the Least Sandpiper, a bird that flies thousands of kilometers non-stop each winter from northern Canada to South America.

 

3.What research will the scientists do next ?

•Key:  The scientists’ next step is to further explore the link between modern-day birds and dinosaurs, which are the only other animals known to lay pointy eggs.

 

IV. Language study

Translate the sentences. Pay attention to the sentence structures.

1.According to a new study published in the journal Science, the shape of a bird’s eggs may be down to how well it can fly. 

• published in the journal Science为过去分词短语作后置定语， 修饰先行词a new study。

• be down to意为由于，归因于。

• how well it can fly为宾语从句。

•句意为：根据发布于《科学》上的一份新的研究, 鸟蛋的形状可能取决于它的飞行水平。

 

2. Stoddard believes that those species of birds that fly better than others lay pointy eggs because their bodies are more streamlined (流线型的) than normal.

•第一个that 引导宾语从句， species 意为物种，类别。

•that fly better than others 为定语从句修饰先行词those species of birds。

• because引导原因状语从句。

句意为：斯托达德认为那些飞行水平高的鸟下尖蛋是因为他们的身体相比普通鸟更呈流线型。

 

3. Variation (变化) across species in the size and shape of their eggs is not simply random but is instead related to differences in ecology (生态), particularly the extent to which each species is designed for strong and streamlined flight.

•not…but…意为：不是……而是……， random 意为：任意的，随机的。

•particularly the extent …作状语，进一步补充说明上文的differences in ecology。

•to which引导定语从句，修饰先行词the extent 。

句意为：不同物种的蛋在大小和形状上的差异不是简单随机的，而是和生态学上的差异有关，特别是和每个物种适合高强度的流线型飞行的程度有关。 

 

V. Learn to use

Fill in the blanks with words found in the article.

1. Birds’ eggs come in many different shapes and sizes. But have you ever wondered why? According to a new study _______ (publish) in the journal Science, the shape of a bird’s eggs may ________ how well it can fly.

 

2. Stoddard believes  ____ those species of birds 

   ____ fly better than others lay pointy eggs ____ their bodies are more streamlined (流线型的) than normal. As their bodies are shaped differently to birds with lesser flying abilities’, the shapes of their eggs are also different to match up with their body shape.

 

3. “Variation (变化) across species in the size and shape of their eggs is _____ simply random but is instead related to differences in ecology (生态), particularly the extent ___  which each species is designed for strong and streamlined ____,(fly)” Joseph Tobias of Imperial College London, co-author of the study, said in a news release.

 

Key: published; be down to; that; that; because; not; to; flight 

 

VI. Homework

Do some research on the evolution of modern-day birds.