Austen shown respect (P4-5)
成都外国语学校  王维荣

I. Pre-reading
Prediction:
What will be covered in this article?

II. While reading
Reading for detail:
Austen Full name  Nationality  Occupation  Date of birth  Date of death  Home town   Well-known for
 Jane Austen  English  novelist /author 1775 1817 Bath  The novel Pride and Prejudice

Reading for structure:
How many parts can the article be divided into? What is each of them about?
Answer:
It can be divided into 2 parts.
The first three paragraphs belong to the first part. It’s about who Austen is and her popularity.
The rest of them belong to the second part. It’s about why Austen is still so popular.

Reading for detail:
Why is Austen still so popular according to these people and this magazine?
Name  Who/what is he/she/it  Answers to the question
Richard Jenkyns  A professor of English at Oxford University, UK  Her novels focus on issues that are as relevant today as they were when she wrote them.
Lori Smith US author  She is good at luring readers into a fantasy world of dresses and gossip —"literary comfort food".
Stylist A magazine  She has a hold over how we see love; She is known as the mother of the genre; Her works focus on the heroine’s point of view, tastes and desires.
Zoe Williams  The Guardian columnist  She gave us the influential idea that a person’s true love is more important than his or her social duties.
Harold Bloom  Professor of the Humanities and English at Yale University, US  She has affected our sense of humor historically and nationally.

III. Post-reading
Group discussion:
Based on what you know about Austen, why do you think she is still so popular today?
Individual work:
Please write an article titled
“A Brief Introduction to Jane Austen”

Find out more about Jane Austen and her hometown Bath.  
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
A sketch of Jane Austen by her sister Cassandra：
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose books, set among the English middle and upper classes, are notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19th century women.
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane’s father in 1805, Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times before eventually settling in Chawton, near Steventon.
Jane’s brother Henry helped her negotiate with a publisher and her first novel, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, appeared in 1811. Her next novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which she described as her “own darling child” received highly favourable reviews. ‘Mansfield Park’ was published in 1814, then ‘Emma’ in 1816. ‘Emma’ was dedicated to the prince regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen’s novels were published anonymously.
In 1816, Jane began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison’s disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, ‘Persuasion’ and ‘Northanger Abbey’ were published posthumously and a final novel was left incomplete.

 Austen’s hometown - Bath
Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Why Ecuador may be worth your visit （P4-5）
天津三中    朱煜

I. Pre-reading
Learn about Ecuador
Ecuador lies in South America. The capital city is Quito.

Look at the title of the article and predict what the article is mainly about.
• The landscape
• The culture
• …
• …

Look at some pictures about Ecuador.

Some things you may want to know before reading:
• Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world.
• Best in Travel 2016, published by Lonely Planet, is this year’s list of the best tourist destinations.

II. While reading
Read the article and answer the questions:
1. Why it could be a good time for Chinese people to visit Ecuador?
Because since Aug 18, Chinese travelers have been able to visit Ecuador without applying for a visa.

2. What kinds of landscapes can be seen in Ecuador?
High mountains that are part of the Andes, large parts of the Amazonian rainforest, chilled-out (令人轻松的) villages and the world-famous Galapagos Islands.

3. Why are the Galapagos Islands attractive to those with an interest in science?
Because they are famous for their large numbers of endemic (特有的) species of animals.

4. What has the Lonely Planet travel guide done to recommend Ecuador’s capital Quito?
The Lonely Planet travel guide has named Ecuador’s capital Quito in its Best in Travel 2016 list.

5. What factors have helped the capital city to attract high-end tourists?
An improved train station and a brand new airport.

6. What kind of tournaments can tourists now watch in Quito?
Tourists can now watch major golf and tennis tournaments.

III. Post-reading
Analyze the reasons the article gives readers to explain why Ecuador is worth visiting.
Ecuador is worth your visit
1. Visa
2. Landscape
a. the Andes
b. the Amazonian rainforest
c. the Galapagos islands
3. Best Travel in 2016
a. historical center
centuries-old
churches
classic
backpackers activities
b. modern face of the city
 golf and tennis tournaments
new Union of South American Nations
4. culture
festivals

If you were going to write an article to recommend a place for others to visit, how would you organize your article?

IV. Homework
Find more information about the Lonely Planet travel guide’s Best in Travel 2016 list and explore more destinations from the list that you’re interested in.

Grass may give us energy (P5)
浙江省金华市外国语学校    翁冰玫

I. Warming up  
1. Look at the types of energy below. Which types are renewable energy and which are non-renewable?
wind, coal, biomas, propane, uranium, water, natural gas, sun, petroleum
   Water, wind, sun and biomass (vegetation) are renewable energy, and the others are non-renewable.

2. What are the differences between renewable and non-renewable energy?
Renewable energy is made from resources that are available naturally and will not run out on a human timescale, like wind, water and sunshine. It is also called "clean energy" or "green power" because it doesn’t pollute the air or the water.
Non-renewable energy is energy from fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, natural gas, etc.)  They took millions of years to form and will run out one day. In addition, non-renewable energy can cause pollution.

II. Pre-reading
    Grass can be seen everywhere. What can grass be used for?
l Grass can be food for some animals;
l Grass can help the soil;
l Grass can be used to beautify the environment and purify the air;
l Certain types of grass can be used in very good medicine;
l Grass can be made into works of art;
l Grass can be made into paper;
l Grass can be used as fertilizer
l ……
Have you ever heard of grass being used as a source of energy?

III. While reading
1. Read the article and finish the following activities.
1) Pick out the sentence that best sums up the article’s topic.
Growing garden grass could be the secret to solving our energy needs, according to scientists, and we may soon be able to replace our gasoline with “grassoline”.
2) Paraphrase (explain in your own words) the topic sentence.
Scientists say grass may help solve the energy problem, and it’s likely that “grassoline” will take the place of gasoline.

2. Read the article carefully, and finish the True or False exercise.
1) Sunlight and a catalyst can speed up the chemical reaction between hydrogen and grass. F
2) Hydrogen is a very important energy carrier in the age of renewable energy. T
3) The method of getting hydrogen from cellulose using photocatalysis is used widely. F
4) Nickel interests scientists greatly because it is the most effective metal-based catalyst. F
5) To use real grass to make hydrogen, scientists need to separate and clean up cellulose first. F

3. Read the article for the third time and answer the questions.
1) What is photocatalysis?
Photocatalysis is a process in which the sunlight starts the catalyst, which then makes cellulose and water into hydrogen.
2) In what way may grass give us energy?
Cellulose, a major part of grass, is a great source of hydrogen. With the help of sunlight and a catalyst, cellulose and water are made into hydrogen, which is a significant energy carrier.
3) What did Bowker mean by saying “This is important as it avoids the need … which can be both difficult and costly”?
Being able to use real grass directly from a garden to make energy is less difficult and less expensive. This is very important.

IV. Post-reading
Discussion & opinion-sharing
What do you think of grass being a source of energy?
Students are encouraged to voice their opinions. Answers will vary.