New slang (P4)
山东省滕州市第一中学  李平
I. Leading- in
Show students some posts from social media that use Internet slang and ask them the following questions:
n David Bowie dying is totes tradge.
n Bluebs in yog are my favorite snack.
n When Cookie hugged Jamal it made me totes emosh.
n OMG I dropped my iPh!
♥ Have you ever come across posts like these on social media?
♥ The posts use Internet slang. Do you know their meanings?
  Key:
totes tradge (totally tragic);  bluebs (blueberries), yog (yogurt);
  totes emosh (totally emotional); iPh (iPhone)
♥ What do you think of the use of Internet slang on social media?

II. Fast Reading
Read the article quickly and answer the questions below.
1. What is the text mainly about?
It’s about the popularity of Internet slang and its effects. 

2. What do the linguists mentioned in the text think of the practice of totesing?
They are positive about it. In their opinions, only those who are linguistically knowledgeable about the English language are able to use totes-speak.

III. Careful reading
Read the article again and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. The underlined phrase “out of the loop” in the second paragraph probably means ____.
A. accepted easily
B. bored and annoyed
C. comfortable and relaxed   
D. unaware of certain information 
2. How does the author explain the phenomenon of totesing?
A. With comparisons.
B. Through examples.
C. By giving descriptions.
D. By analyzing causes and effects.
3. Which of the following might Taylor Jones agree with?
A. Internet slang is mostly created by professional linguists.
B. Totesing is mainly about making words easier to pronounce.
C. Totesing should be promoted since it is cool, creative and time-saving.
D. Totesing requires speakers to master the language’s rules very well.

Key:
1. D。根据上文可知网络潮语非常盛行，尤其在年轻人中间。那么，如果年轻人没有及时掌握最新的这些流行语，他们在社交网站上就有可能会感到_____。结合语境可知D为最佳选项，feel out of the loop意为“感觉像局外人”。
2. B。由第三段的“Take these posts by The Washington Post for example”可知B为正确答案。
3. D。由最后一段的“Totesing is not random. On the contrary, it has strict rules to follow. You need to be very fluent in the English language to be able to understand totes-speak.”可知D为正确答案。

IV. Language study
Mach the words below with their definitions.
1. likewise    A. fashionable
2. hip     B. in the same way
3. systematic   C. a person who speaks more than one language
4. respectively  D. using a fixed and organized plan
5. millennial  E. with each relating to something previously mentioned
6. linguist   F. those born between the early 1980s and late 1990s

Key: 1-B; 2-A; 3-D; 4-E; 5-F; 6-C

VI. Post-reading
Try to collect some examples of new Internet slang and share the meanings with your classmates.

Catching others' smiles (P5)
山东省滕州市第一中学  李平
I. Lead-in
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
Ø How do you feel when you see someone smile at you?
Ø How do you usually respond when someone smiles at you?

II. Fast Reading
Read the article quickly and answer the questions below.
1.What’s the article mainly about?
 Facial mimicry.

2. Why did researchers review more than 120 studies?
Because they wanted to find out how exactly people mimic others’ facial expressions in daily life.

3. What did researchers find that may contribute to people’s facial mimicry? 
The “sensorimotor simulation model” in the brain.

4. What role does facial mimicry play in understanding other people’s emotional states according to the article?
It helps us better understand what other people are feeling, allowing us to respond accordingly.

5. Who could have difficulty in mimicking others’ facial expressions?
People with certain motor diseases, like strokes or facial paralysis.

III. Careful reading
Read the passage again and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. People tend to mimic positive emotions more often than negative ones.  (    )
2. The sensorimotor simulation model allows you to connect the emotional signals of others to your own emotional experiences.  (    )
3. When the sensorimotor simulation model works, people are usually aware of what is happening and then respond properly.
(    )
4. Facial mimicry makes it possible for everyone to share other people’s emotions.  (    )
5. Facial mimicry is a rapid and automatic process, always telling people how others are really feeling.  (    ) 
6. When the brain recreates facial expressions, it makes it harder for people to understand others’ emotions.  (    )

Key: 1. F  2. T  3. F  4. F  5. F

IV. Language study
Ø Translate the following sentences with the given words.
1. 他的笑富有感染力。(contagious)
He’s got a contagious laugh.

2. 请把你们的决定通知我们,我们会照着去办的。()
Please inform us of your decision and we will act accordingly.

3. 警方立刻来帮助我。
The police came to my aid instantly.

4. 尽管我们尽了全力，我们还是输掉了比赛。(Despite)
Despite our best efforts, we still lost the game.

5. 他对事故只应负部分责任。(partially)
He was only partially to blame for the accident.

Ø Study the following sentence.
The model shows that when people see a certain expression, be it happy or sad, they instantly “try it out”.
句中be it happy or sad是省略了whether和might后主谓倒装的让步状语从句，恢复后应为whether it might be happy or sad。例如：Whatever your thoughts on my speech, be they good or bad, I know I’ve done my best.

Lying for good reasons (P6)
I. Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
Ø In which cases do people tend to tell lies?
Ø Is telling a lie always bad, or can it sometimes be good?
Ø Are there any special circumstances in which lying is the right thing to do? If so, can you name some?

II. Reading
Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.
1. By using the term “self-confessed liar”, the author means that Dr K ____.
A. enjoyed telling lies to others
B. was good at making his lies unnoticeable
C. taught his students to use lies when necessary
D. admitted openly that there are lies in his lectures
2. Which of the following statements about the Lie of the Day is TRUE? 
A. There was a lie in every lecture.
B. Students’ most important task was to discover the lie.
C. The lie gradually became more difficult to spot.
D. The lie was designed so most students could catch it.
3. With the Lie of the Day, Dr K ____.  
A. successfully filled his course with fun and laughter 
B. managed to build up his students’ confidence
C. had fun tricking and trapping his students
D. pushed his students to be focused and work in groups 
4. What do we know about the most technically difficult lecture of the entire quarter? 
A. It proved that Dr K had told a lie in his first class.
B. It made all the students feel bored and exhausted.
C. Students discussed their theories with Dr K after it.
D. The lie included in it slipped past every student unnoticed.
5. The main message in the last paragraph is that ____.
A. there is no need to avoid lies in life
B. we should be critical about the information provided for us
C. creative techniques can be used to make lectures interesting
D. we should create our own theories instead of accepting those of experts

Key:
1. D。根据第二段作者给出的“explanation”（解释）可将答案定位到第三段、第四段，可以看出K博士在第一堂课就向学生声明每堂课都会有一个谎言，因此选择D选项。从后文第六段可以看出，K博士说谎的目的是为了吸引学生的注意力，不是因为他喜欢说谎，排除A。从第六段第二句可以看出，刚开始的谎言是比较“obvious”（明显的），排除B。C选项文中没有提到。
2. C。从第七段可以看出，随着课程的进展，每节课的谎言变得越来越隐晦了（“increasingly subtle”），越来越难被发现了，因此选择C选项，同时排除D选项。从第十段可以看出（“…there was no lie…”，并不是每节课都有一个谎言的，排除A选项。从第四段第二句话“Your job, as students, among other things…”可以看出，学生们的任务是在做其他事情的同时要找出哪一句话说谎了，没有提及找谎话是最重要的事情，B选项错误。
3. D。从第六段“…focus our attention…”和第九段“…work in study groups…”可以看出利用“Lie of the Day”，K博士促使学生们集中注意力并进行小组学习，因此选择D选项。其他选项均在文中找不到明显线索。
4. A。根据题干中“most technically difficult lecture”将答案范围定位在第十段之后。根据对第十一段到十三段的理解，在学生们怎么也找不到本堂课的谎言的时候，K博士告诉学生们其实他第一节课的时候说谎了——不是每节课都有谎言，因此选择A选项，同时排除D选项。从第十二段“Exhausted from…”可以看出，学生们感到筋疲力尽，但并没有感到乏味，排除B选项。C选项错在时间。
5. B。文章讲述了作者最喜爱的教授K博士的故事，K博士在第一堂课的时候告诉学生们每节课都会有一个谎言，学生们没有人怀疑这句话，但实际上最难的一节课上并没有谎言，作者也意识到了不能盲目地相信接收到的信息，结合文章的主要内容，选择B选项。A、D选项文中没有提到。针对C选项，K博士使用了让学生找他讲课中的错误这种方法促进学生学习，使课堂更有趣，但这不是最后一段所体现的，所以排除。

III. Language study
1. As the quarter progressed, the Lie of the Day became more subtle, and many ended up slipping past most students unnoticed until a particularly alert person stopped the lecture to flag it.
释义：随着学期的推进，“本日谎言”开始变得更隐晦了，很多都溜过去没被学生注意到，直到有个别特别警觉的人打断讲座，把谎言指出来。
分析：本句中的as表示“随着……”，end up doing …表示“以……告终”。Flag在这里的意思是“指出”。

2 .... but what made Dr K’s technique genius was, during the most technically difficult lecture of the entire quarter, there was no lie.
释义：K博士的手法的过人之处在于，在整个学期中专业最难的课上，他都没有说谎。
分析：本句中的what引导名词性从句作主语，what引导名词性从句相当于名词词组，可以用作句子的主语、宾语或表语等。例如：What he said was perfectly true.

3. Exhausted from having our best theories shot down, we nodded.
释义：我们因为最好的理论被推翻而筋疲力尽，只能点头同意。
分析：Exhausted from ...为过去分词短语作状语，表示原因，该分词短语的主语和主句的主语一致。例如：Not knowing what to do, I telephoned the police.
shoot down意思是“彻底推翻(be very critical of sb’s ideas, opinions, etc)”。例如：All his theories have been shot down.

4. My previous lecture was completely on the level.
释义：我之前的这个讲座是完全真实的（没有谎言）。
分析：本句中的on the level意为“诚实的（地），坦率的（地）”。例如：My story was completely on the level.

IV. Post-reading
Further thinking:
Ø Which of your teachers has impressed you the most?
Ø What did he or she do that impressed you?