Character amnesia (P2)
I. Pre-reading
 Have you ever had the experience of knowing what a character means and how to read it, but not being able to write it down?
 How often does it happen in your daily life?
 What do you think causes this problem?

II. Skimming
Read the article quickly, divide it into a few parts, and then describe the general ideas of each part.
Structure of the article
Part 1 (Para 1-3): The problem of “Chinese amnesia”.
Part 2 (Para 4-7): Reasons for “Chinese amnesia”.
Part 3 (Para 8-11): Possible solutions to the problem of “Chinese amnesia”.

III. Scanning
Read the article and the side bar again and answer the following questions.
1. What is “Chinese amnesia”?
It refers to a problem many people have had. They know what a character means and how to read it, but when they try to write it down, the character has slipped their minds.
2. How many respondents were reported to have forgotten how to write certain characters often according to a survey done last year?
26.8 percent of respondents.
3. How do the input methods on electronic devices affect people’s ability to write characters according to the BBC?
With the input methods being based on pinyin, users don’t have to remember how to write characters. Instead, they only need to recognize them. Therefore, they erode people’s memory of certain characters, especially those that are more difficult to write or less commonly used.
4. What is the disadvantage of students using electronic dictionaries and computers to help with their studies according to the article?
  The use of these devices makes them too lazy to think and write.
5. What may help make people attach more importance to Chinese character writing, according to the article?
Popular TV shows which focus on Chinese character writing, better calligraphy education in schools, and the promotion of Chinese culture may help deal with the problem.
6. How is Chinese different from other languages?
Chinese is the only language that combines pronunciation, form, and meaning into one character.
7. Why does David Moser think Chinese is hard to learn for foreigners?
Because each character is a picture and tones are hard to distinguish.

IV. After reading
Discussion:
What other solutions to the problem of “Chinese amnesia” can you think of?

V. Language study
Translate the following sentences into English with the phrases in the box.
slip one’s mind          fall out of the habit of 
bring about              offer a window into
1. 恶习易染而不易戒。
Bad habits are easy to fall into but not easy to fall out of.
2. 互联网已经给我们的工作、学习和生活带来了很大的变化。
The Internet has brought about great changes in our work, study and life.
3. 方言不应该被遗忘，因为它们为我们了解不同的文化提供了窗口。
Dialects shouldn’t be forgotten, because they offer a window into different cultures.
4. 她完全忘了该去和朋友共进午餐之事。
It completely slipped her mind that she was supposed to meet her friend for lunch.

Train video hobby (P3)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 What are your hobbies in your spare time?
 What makes them enjoyable for you?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. What is the main reason the train fans get together at stations?
A. To help passengers get on and off the trains.
B. To collect touching stories that happen at the stations.
C. To take pictures and videos of the trains from different angles.
D. To talk about popular rail magazines and video sharing websites.
2. In Chase Gunnoe’s view, rail watching fascinates young people mainly because ____.
A. they can make money from the pictures and videos they shoot
B. they love to see what they shoot published in popular rail magazines
C. it enables them to make friends online with those who share their interest
D. the technology allows them to get instant comments on their work
3. By mentioning the story of Drayton Blackgrove, the author intends to _____.
A. show how devoted he is to rail watching
B. tell the reader how he won support from YouTube officials
C. inform the reader that rail watchers can profit from their hobby
D. explain why the website YouTube appeals to rail watchers

Key:
1. C。由第二、三段可知，火车摄影爱好者去车站主要是为了拍与火车相关的照片与视频，然后上传到网站上与大家分享，所以C为正确答案。
2. D。根据第六至八段内容可知D为正确答案。
3. C。最后四段作者提到了Drayton Blackgrove的故事，主要是为了例证倒数第五段的观点——火车摄影爱好者能从他们的兴趣里获利，如果他们拍的作品够好的话，故选C。

III. After reading
Fill in the blanks with proper words according to the article.
Rail watching
With the help of the Internet, many young train fans in Chicago, US, are 1. _____ the old hobby of rail watching. They meet online and get together at 2. _____ across Chicago’s suburbs. There they 3. _____ videos and images from various 4. _____. When the images and videos are posted on websites, they get thousands of online 5. _____.
Why does rail watching 6. _____ to young people? Firstly, they can start great 7. _____ online with those who share their interest. They 8. _____ regularly at the same stations and take pictures together. Secondly, the technology allows rail watchers to get instant 9. _____ on their images and videos. In addition, they can make a 10. _____ from their works. Some of their images may be used by railroad lines and popular rail magazines, which 11. _____ them hundreds of dollars. Other rail watchers are making hundreds of dollars a month posting videos of trains on YouTube, a video 12. _____ website.

Key:
1. changing  2. stations  3. collect   4. angles   5. views   6. appeal
7. friendships 8. meet  9. feedback 10. profit  11. pay  12. sharing

Romanian surprise (P6)
I. Warming up
 What do you know about Romania?
Location: on the Southeastern portion of the European continent
Capital and largest city: Bucharest
Population: 21,296,000 (By the year of 2013)
Area: 238,391 km2
Official languages: Romanian
Climate: Romania has a climate that is temperate and continental, with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 °C in the south and 8 °C in the north. In summer, average maximum temperatures in Bucharest rise to 28 °C, and temperatures over 35 °C are fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country. In winter, the average maximum temperatures are below 2 °C.
Forest coverage: A high percentage (47% of the land area) of the country is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe covering almost 27% of the territory.
…

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. When the author arrived in her husband’s hometown, _____.
A. his family showed no respect for her at first
B. she intended to talk to his family in English
C. she got extra attention from his family for her nationality
D. she found that she hadn’t brought enough gifts for his family
2. What surprised the author most during her visit to her husband’s family?
A. Most of his family members didn’t travel a lot at the time.
B. Women in his family had dinner in only their underclothes.
C. Most of her husband’s relatives didn’t like doing laundry.
D. They had old-fashioned washing machines but no dryers at home.
3. On the last night of the author’s stay, the family applauded her because _____.
A. the author disrobed for dinner as the family did
B. they just wanted to show their love for the author
C. the author could finally understand them easily
D. it was time for the author to give a speech

Key:
1. C。从第四段“They had great interest in me. Few Americans visited Romania at that time...”可知，这个罗马尼亚家族对作者非常感兴趣，很大一部分原因是因为作者是美国人。
2. B。从文中“Their solution was as simple as it was startling: The women dined in their bras and slips…”可以看出，妇女吃饭时只穿文胸和衬裙这件事让作者感到非常惊讶。
3. A。从倒数第三段“I pulled my dress over my head and placed it on the chair behind me. The table applauded.”可以看出，作者在最后一晚的晚餐上，把上衣也脱掉了，家人认为她已经真正融入了这个家庭，因此给与她掌声。

III. After reading
Writing:
What’s the most unforgettable trip you have ever had? Write a short article describing the trip and what made it so impressive.