Writers celebrated (P4-5)
北京二中  付春雨
I. Pre-reading
Plays by Shakespeare:
The plays written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare (1564–1616) have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and Western literature. Traditionally, the plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world.

Can you name the four best comedies and four best tragedies by Shakespeare?
Possible answers:
Four best tragedies: Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear
Four best comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice

What do you know about Tang Xianzu?
Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) is a celebrated playwright whom fans call "China's William Shakespeare".
The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) playwright from Fuzhou composed more than 2,000 poems and essays, most of which were written during his later years. He is particularly remembered for his four plays - The Peony Pavilion, The Purple Hairpin, Record of the Southern Bough and Record of Handan - collectively known as The Four Dreams of Linchuan.

II. Skimming
Read the article and summarize the main idea of the article.
The article mainly compares the plays written by Shakespeare and those written by Tang Xianzu by looking at their themes, writing styles and writing devices.

III. Scanning
Ture or false:
1.Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare were both born in the same year, about 400 years ago. F
2.Tang’s work represents people of all backgrounds and classes, while Shakespeare’s dramas come from a more aristocratic background. F
3.Tang’s lines were sung mostly in family theaters, while the English dramatist sold tickets to whoever would buy them. T
4.Tang’s use of language was extremely complicated, while Shakespeare wrote about a wide range of subjects. T
5.Shakespeare used dreams as a stage on which he showed the problems of daily life as well as the ways in which people want things that they cannot have.  F

IV. Discussion
1. Comparing the writing styles of the two playwrights, which one do you prefer? Why?
2.  If you were going to write a play, which problem from daily life would you show in the play?

V. Post-reading
Working in groups, choose one scene from Shakespeare’s plays and act it out in class.

Hunger hurts decisions (P5)
天津市第四十三中学  邵博雅
I. Warming up
Do you think hunger can affect your decisions?

II. Skimming
What’s the article mainly about?
A.Impulsivity and decision-making.
B.Ghrelin and impulsivity.
C.Ghrelin’s increase when people are hungry.
D.The way in which increasing ghrelin causes genetic changes.
Key: B

III. Scanning
Read the article and answer the following questions:
1. Why does hunger lead to poor decisions?
Because of a hormone called ghrelin. Increased levels of ghrelin have a bad effect on impulses and making decisions.
Clue: Para 1, the second sentence; Para 2
2. What does impulsive choice mean?
It basically means not being able to resist the temptation to get a reward.
Clue: Para 4, the first sentence
3. How is impulsive choice measured?
It measured by the ability to wait for a greater reward later.
Clue: Para 8, the first sentence
4. Does ghrelin only affect people in the short term?
No. Increased levels of ghrelin even cause long-term genetic changes in the brain.
Clue: Para 9

IV. Structure
1.Well, it turns out that this is because of a hormone called ghrelin .
turn out  结果是…
Translate:天气预报是错的。
The weather forecast turned out to be wrong.
2. It is released when you are hungry and has a bad effect on impulses and making decisions.
have a good/bad effect on  有好的/坏的影响
Translate:这个政策将对世界经济产生好的影响。
This new policy will have a good effect on the world economy.
3. …basically means not being able to resist the temptation to take a reward now instead of waiting until later.
resist the temptation to 抵抗……的诱惑
Translate:我怎么才能抵制垃圾食品的诱惑？
How can I resist the temptation to eat junk food?
4. …when rats could not stop themselves from pressing the lever.
stop … from doing   阻止…
Translate:谁也阻挡不住他那样做。
No one can stop him from doing that.

V. Homework
Write a summary of this article in around 150 words.

Opening up music (P6)
北京房山教师进修学校 王俊英
I. Warming up
Have you ever had music lessons?
Which kind of lessons did you have?
Do you think everyone can afford music lessons?

II. Pre-reading
Look at the title “Opening up music”. Can you predict what the article is about?

III. While reading
Read the article quickly and check your predictions:
What’s the article mainly about?
It is about the creation and development of Lessons for Life and its influence. 

Read the article and answer the following questions.
Creating Lessons for Life (para 1):
Why did the author create Lessons for Life?
To give more people access to music./ To make learning music a right.
What does Lessons for Life do?
Lessons for Life helps to match underserved students with volunteer tutors.

Read the article and fill in the blanks.
The development of Lessons for Life (para 2-5):
It started out as a community service project in high school.
Because of Claire, the author decided to turn Lessons for Life into a non-profit.
After five years, the author has succeeded and is part of a revolution in music education.

Conclusion (Para 6):
To build meaningful and successful careers, people need to turn themselves into leaders.

Read, think and answer the following questions.
1. Was the author influenced by others? How do you know that?
No. At first, the community laughed at the author’s idea. That only sparked his ambition.
2. Why did the author use a quotation? What’s the function of the quotation?
The author used the quotation to let others know the importance of taking action. The quotation made him more believable.
3. What does the sentence “The only risk is not trying” mean?
It means that you will never succeed if you do not try.

IV. Post-reading
Discussion in groups:
Do you know about any non-profit organizations?
Can you describe these organizations to us? You might want to tell us something about their creation, development, main purpose etc.
If you had the opportunity to create a non-profit, what kind of organization would you create? Why?

V. Homework
Writing:
Write about the non-profit organization you’ve discussed in your group and add some details where necessary.