2018-2019学年度第13期总第732期

Imagining reality (P1)

山东省烟台第二中学  孔洁

 

I. Lead-in

•Have you ever read The Three-Body Problem? 

It is about aliens invading Earth.

Liu Cixin is a nine-time winner of the Galaxy Award (China's most prestigious literary science fiction award) and winner of the Hugo Award. Liu’s work is considered hard science fiction.

 

II. Skimming  

Read the passage quickly and summarize the main idea of the passage 

•It describes the imaginary world of Liu Cixin, who has just won the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society.

Para. 1Read & answer  

1. Did Liu always write novels full-time? 

No. Liu worked full-time as a computer engineer at a power plant in Yangquan, Shanxi province. He only wrote science fiction in his spare time.

2. What difference does his imagination make to him?

It enables him to do what he could not do in real life – wander in space, fight with aliens, and visit planets light-years away.

Para. 2 Judge whether the following statements are True/ False 

1. Liu became the first Asian to win the Hugo Award, science fiction’s highest prize.

2. Liu is the first Asian to win the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society.

3. The former US President Barack Obama read his novel The Wandering Earth.

Para. 3&4Read & answer  

What is Arthur C. Clarke’s influence on Liu? 

Clarke’s 1968 classic novel 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired him to see the world in a completely different way.

His mind opened up for the first time in his life, and he was awed (使……敬畏) by the grandeur (壮丽) and mystery of the universe.  

Para. 5&6Read & answer  

1. What makes Liu’s imagination powerful? 

It is the imagination which is based on “hard science” that makes it powerful. 

2. How does The Three-Body Problem differ from other alien invasion stories?

Unlike other alien invasion stories, with their fancy weapons and strange creatures, Liu’s tale is about relationships between civilizations, rules of survival, and the meaning of life. 

3. What’s The Wandering Earth about? 

In The Wandering Earth, Liu looks ahead to the day when our solar system will end and humans have to look for a new place to live. 

Para. 7Conclusion

Imagination that is _____ in reality is a powerful tool to ____ the future of humankind. 

 

IV. Language focus

Analyze the following sentences 

1. Perhaps no one knows the power of imagination better than Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin.

Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin is the one who knows best of the power of imagination. 

2. Perhaps neither did he think that former US President Barack Obama would read his novel The Three-Body Problem, nor that on Nov 9 in Washington DC, he would win the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society.

Neither … nor … 两者都不，放在开头时后面需要部分倒装。

当一个句子有两个或多个并列的宾语从句时，引导第二个和以后几个从句的that不可以省略。所以nor that on Nov 9S in Washington DC … 中that不能省略。

3. It’s the first time a Chinese writer has ever won the award.

It’s the first time that+完成时

It is the first time that I have been here. 

It was the first time that he had been interested in math

4. Rather, it’s the fact that his imagination is based in reality that makes it such a powerful tool.

强调句。

It is/was … that …

The fact 后面的that引导同位语从句。

Find out the following expressions

•全职工作worked full-time

•科幻小说science fiction

•空闲时间in his spare time

•腾飞take flight

•获奖感言acceptance speech

•把……归功于owe … to

•与过去完全不同be completely different from the past

•保持理性stay grounded

•讲述tell of

 

 

2018-2019学年度第13期总第732期

Death of a peacemaker (PIII)

江苏省句容高级中学  夏伟英

Step1: Warming-up

How much do you know about Kofi Annan?

1.He was the first black African to be appointed as secretary-general of the United Nations. 

2.He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.

3.He was courageous, speaking truth to power. Also, he never gave up on what he believed in …

Step 2:Reading for structure

 

Part 1 

 

Part 2

 

Part 3

 

Step3: What can we learn from Annan?

 

Step4: Critical thinking

How do you define success? What qualities should a successful person have?

1.

(1) Success does not only refer to having a good job but also to learning to be a good person.

(2) I define success as living my true purpose and having a positive impact on the lives of people.

(3) Success, for me, has always been in providing a great quality of life for my family, for those who love me.

…

2. Determination, courage, effort, enthusiasm, patience, strong will …

 

Step 5: Writing a composition

 

根据以下信息描写一篇关于纳尔逊·曼德拉的小短文。

1.1918年出生于南非的小村庄，2013年去世；

2.南非第一位黑人总统，在反种族歧视的运动中争取自由与和平，入狱27年；

3. 1993获得诺贝尔和平奖；

4. 非洲人民和世界的骄傲。

要求：

（1）介绍必须包括所给的要点，可以进行适当的补充；

（2）字数120左右

参考词汇：种族歧视 racial discrimination

 

Writing requirements:

•Use the useful expressions we have learnt in the passage；

•Use transitions(承接词);

•Diversified（多样化的） vocabulary and varied sentence structures;

•Good handwriting 

A possible version:

Nelson Mandela, born in a small village in South Africa in 1918, was the first black president of South Africa. The great leader passed away in 2013.

Longing for freedom and peace, he participated in the campaign to fight against racial discrimination when he was young. As a consequence, he was put in prison for 27 years. However, he still fought for his people despite all the difficulties. Due to his great contribution, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Mandela’s thoughts and spirit will live forever, and what he did will be remembered forever. He is the pride of the African people as well as the world.

 

Assignment

1. Surf the internet to find more information about Kofi Annan.

2. Improve and polish your writings after class.