2019-2020学年度第19期总第704期

Essay mills tempt stressed students (P2)
河北师大附中  赵乃平

I. Lead-in  
What are your dream universities at home and abroad?
Why do like those universities?
However, some famous universities have fallen victim to cheating scandals.

II. Skimming

The article mainly talks about the phenomenon –
many UK university students pay essay mills for essays. 

III. Scanning  
What has caused the increase in cheating?
1. It’s linked to the rise of essay mills.
2. Some students have too many deadlines and a lack of discipline.

Who are targeted by essay mills?
Those who can’t handle too many assignments, and those who speak English as a foreign language.

What are the consequences of cheating?
Damage schools' reputations, and damage students' credibility. 

What measures are taken by many universities to fight against cheating?
They adopt oral exams to test students knowledge of assignments and subject areas, and new software is used to check assignment for plagiarism.

What is another problem with essay mills?
Most essay mills do not provide the A+ essays they promise. Some students have been blackmailed. 

What may be the best way to deal with essay mills, according to the Nottingham University spokesman?
The government should make laws to punish the essay mills and close their webpages nationwide.

Essay mills in other countries:
New Zealand: such sited are forbidden.
Australia: such sites are forbidden, and students involved in cheating face severe punishment.

IV. Summary  
Write a summary about this article, using about 50 words.
You can begin like this:
Many UK university students pay companies to write their school essays.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

(Many UK university students pay companies to write their school essays. Some students do it because they can’t cope with their heavy workloads. This cheating behavior damages not only the reputation of the universities but also the credibility of the students. Measures like oral exams and strict laws have been taken to stop this behavior.) 

V. Language focus
 Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions
 fall victim ____     成为…… 的受害者
 be linked ____       与……有联系
 provide sth ____   为……提供……
 ____ response        作为回应   
 be guilty ____         犯有……罪

... it is believed that the pressure of too many deadlines and a lack of discipline (纪律) encourage them to use essay mills.
译：人们认为，太多截止日期的压力和缺乏纪律使他们找论文作坊代写论文。 
It is believed that...     
人们认为…… （it作形式主语，that引导的句子是真正的主语）

It is believed that he has told the truth.
It is believed that he will win the first prize in the contest.

Silent screams (P6)
山东省烟台第二中学  赵娜娜

I. Lead-in
Make a guess 
Plants can see, hear, smell and communicate with chemicals. But can they make sounds? 
(Answer: Some of you have guessed it right. Plants have been recorded making sounds when stressed.)

II. Skimming
Read for structure: 
Part 1: Para. 1    ____________________ 
Part 2: Para. 2-5  ____________________ 
Part 3: Para. 6-8  ____________________
(Answer: Part 1: Introduction Part 2: What the study found
Part 3: The study's significance) 

III. Detailed reading
Read and answer
1.What is the finding of the study?
2. How was the study conducted?
3. What does the study indicate?
(Answers: 
1. Tomato and tobacco plants can make ultrasonic noises. The plants “cry out” due to lack of water, or when their stems are cut. 
2. Microphones were placed 10 centimeters away from the plants. They picked up sounds in the ultrasonic range of 20 to 100 kilohertz.
A machine-learning model was trained to separate the plants’ sounds from those of the wind, rain and other noises of the greenhouse. In most cases, it correctly identified whether the stress was caused by dryness or a cut, based on a sound’s intensity and frequency.
3. Benefits for farmers: The sounds that drought-stressed plants make could be used in precision agriculture.
Helpful to insects and mammals: Insects and mammals (哺乳动物) may hear the sounds up to 5 meters away and respond. 
Though a researcher from Switzerland is doubtful about this.)

Understanding 
4. What message does the author convey with the last paragraph?
If plants are screaming for fear of their survival, should we be thankful we can’t hear them? 
(Answer: It may be problematic if we always could hear plants suffering.)

IV. Language focus: 
Part 1: Translation  
1.用化学物质沟通 
2.由于缺水 
3.捕捉声音 
4.从···到···范围内变化
5.改变我们思考的方式 
6.平均来说
7.最有趣地是
8.导致
9.把···和···分开
10.在大多数情况下
11.下蛋
12.由于害怕···
(Answers: communicate with chemicals
due to lack of water
pick up sounds
range from ... to ...
alter the way we think
on average
most interestingly
lead to
separate … from …
in most cases
lay eggs
for fear of)

Part 2: Can you guess the meaning of the phrase “pick up” in the following sentences?
1.He picked up the book from the floor and put it back on the table.
2.Lucia picked up a few Spanish phrases while staying in Mexico.
3.I’ll pick you up outside the airport at 7:00.
4.We were able to pick up the BBC World Service.
5.I seem to have picked up a terrible cold from somewhere.
6.All I seem to do is cook, clean and pick up after the children.
7.Her career only began to pick up when she was in her forties.

pick up：①拿起，拾起；②（自然而然）学会，学到；③接（某人）上车；④    收听到，听到； ⑤染上（疾病）； ⑥收拾，整理； ⑦好转，改善。

Part 3: Fill in the blanks:
1. Now, reports New Scientist, they have been recorded making sounds_________.
2. On average, “thirsty” tomato plants made 35 sounds an hour, _____tobacco plants made 11. 
3. In most cases, it correctly identified _______the stress was caused by dryness or a cut, _______a sound’s intensity and frequency. 
(Answers: when stressed, while, whether, based on)

V. Post reading:
Retell the passage to your partners covering the key points.
• The study’s finding
• How the finding was made
• Its significance

VI. Homework:
将介绍植物发出声音的研究介绍写下来，字数100以上，内容包括：

1.研究结论
2.研究过程
3.研究意义