Carnival takes over (P4-5)
山东烟台经济技术开发区高级中学  季绍妮

I. Warming up
When you look at the next two pictures of the Notting Hill Carnival, what words come to you to describe this festival?

Answers may include: fun, parade, party, band, music
Background
• The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event that has taken place every August since 1966 on the streets of Notting Hill, London. It attracts about one million people every year, making it one of the world’s largest street festivals and a significant event in British culture.

II. Scanning
• Quickly read the first two paragraphs, and find the answer to this question:  is the Notting Hill Carnival big in Europe?
• It is. It is considered the largest street party in Europe.
III. Careful reading
1. When did it take place this year?
August 28-29.
2. How many people went to the carnival when it started in 1966?
About 1,000.
3. Who is Patrick Bullock? What is his opinion of whether or not it is appropriate to celebrate the festival in these troubled times?
He is an artist who builds floats for the parade each year. He thinks the spirit of the carnival cannot be broken.
4. What was the purpose of the first Notting Hill Carnival?
It began as a way to bring together the different groups who called London’s Notting Hill their home.
5. What groups were there? What were the relationships between them like?
West Indians, Africans, Irish people and many other nationalities. But there were tensions and there was very little communication between them.  
6. Is the festival welcomed by everyone? How do you know?
No. From the example of Fortuoso Cruz. He complained there was too much rubbish.

IV. Practice: fill in the blanks.
1. The Notting Hill Carnival, ____ took place from August 28-29, is ____ (recognize) as ____ (large) street party in Europe.
2. It began as a way to bring together the different groups ____ called London’s Notting Hill their home.
3.Right now, people must stand up for ____  (they).
4. The festival, now in its 50th year, ____ (start) in 1966. But it was much ____ (small) then.
Key: 1. which, recognized, the largest 2.who, themselves 3. started, smaller

V. Choose one of the discussion topics:
1. If you were in London at the right time, would you go to the carnival? Why or why not?
2. If you were to create a carnival at your school, what theme and activities would you like to have? Describe it in detail: for instance, what types of music, costumes and so on would there be?

Journalism still excites (P4)
TEENS
I. Pre-reading
What kind of skills do you think are important for being a journalist?

II. While-reading:
1.Why did the writer become a journalist?
Because: She likes writing;
        She likes discovering new things and telling everyone about them.
2. Read the article quickly and list the words that the author uses to describe her life as a journalist.
Excitement, but also with pain and frustration.
Challenge, rewards (rewarding)
Dangerous and boring, long and unpredictable work hours, low pay.
But one of the most thrilling, rewarding jobs around
Making a difference
3. What examples does the author use to show her life as a journalist? What do they show?
There are two examples. The first is her interview with a woman. It shows a challenge in her job – it could be dangerous or seem dangerous, and your effort might not be recognized.
The second example is about her writing about an old people’s home. It shows the rewarding side of her job and that she’s making a difference.

III. Translation
1. “but the life of a journalist is more exciting than that – even if that excitement can come with a big side of pain and frustration”
但是记者的生活比那要刺激得多，尽管这其中会夹杂很多痛苦和挫败感。
2. “Journalism can be dangerous and dull, and the pay (at least in the UK) is usually terrible.”
做记者可能会危险而枯燥，收入也不尽人意（至少在英国是这样的）
3. I have lost count of the numbers of e-mails I have had ignored.
(before you translate, use the following sentence to help you: I’ve had my wallet stolen.)
我都记不得有多少封邮件被别人忽视了。

Climbing in pain (P6)
莆田第五中学  林素钦

I. Warming up  
Do you like going on adventures?
What do you think you would do if you were trapped (被困在) in a dangerous situation?
Aaron Ralston (born on October 27, 1975) is an American outdoorsman, engineer and motivational speaker. He survived a canyoneering accident in southeastern Utah in 2003, during which he amputated (切断) his own right forearm with a dull pocketknife in order to save himself from a fallen boulder (巨石), which trapped him in Blue John Canyon for 127 hours. After he freed himself, he had to make his way through the remainder of the canyon, then rappel down (用绳索下降) a 65-foot sheer cliff face in order to reach safety.

II. Skimming
What’s the article mainly about?
It’s mainly about Aaron Ralston’s experience of being trapped in a canyon by a fallen boulder and the actions he took to save himself.

III. Scanning
Q1: How long did Aaron plan to spend in Blue John Canyon? How did he equip himself?
He planned to spend only one day there. He took climbing gear for the canyon, food and four liters of water with him.
Q2: How did the accident happen?
The boulder that the author hung off fell down, and the author’s right arm got stuck between the boulder and the wall of the canyon.
Q3: What actions did the author take to save himself?
He tried to pull his arm out from the rock, but failed. He then used his knife to dig away at the rock around his hand, which was terribly slow. Later, he managed to make a kind of seat to reduce the pressure on his knee and feet.
Q4: Why couldn't the author sit for more than 20 minutes?
Because his blood could not flow freely due to the position of the straps.

IV. Discussion
• What do you think of the author? Why?
Suggested answers:
1. He is an experienced adventurer. He equipped himself fully for the trip. And when the accident happened, he knew how to deal with it to increase his chance of survival.
2. He is calm. He didn't panic when he was trapped. And he did not stop trying.
3. He wasn’t sensible. He should have given his travel details to his roommates.
…