Leave your worries on the surface (P4-5)

邯郸市第一中学  吴新萍

 

I. Warming up   

Have you ever tried diving? Did you enjoy it? 

 

II. While reading 

What’s the article mainly about? 

The author shares with us her first diving experience. 

 

1. With whom and where did the author go diving? 

The author went diving with her three friends in Moalboal, Philippines.

2. What is a typical trip by the sea like? 

Wearing bikinis and spending afternoons at the beach. 

3. How did the author learn to dive?

She spent her mornings watching tutorial videos, and then practiced what she’d leaned with from the video with her instructor, first in the pool and then in the sea. 

4. What did the author mean by saying “The experience also allowed us to get to know ourselves better.”?

During diving, the author had to fully concentrate on her breathing as it could change her buoyancy. By doing this, she realized that she had never truly felt how she breathed before.  

5. Did the author enjoy diving? How can we tell? 

Yes, she liked diving very much.  

Para 1: But the doubt was gone after we got back from our one-week trip …

Para 4: Not only did we get to enjoy beautiful views under the ocean, but we also felt less like tourists. 

Para 5: … we were able to get away and explore underwater, …

Para 7: In fact, my friends and I are already planning another diving trip during Spring Festival, …

 

III. Language study

1. The rest of the days we would practice ______we’d learned from the video with our instructor. （what）

分析：what 引导宾语从句，在从句中做learn 的宾语。剩下的日子里，我们和教练一起练习从视频里学到的东西。

2. Not only did we get to enjoy beautiful views under the ocean, but we also felt less like tourists and more like professional divers as we learned more skills each day.

我们不仅欣赏到了海底美丽的景色，而且随着每天学到的技能不断增多，我们感觉自己越来越像专业的潜水人员而不是游客。

Not only…but also… 不仅…而且…;   not only 后的句子部分倒装，but also 后面正常语序。 

Not only was she the owner of this building, but a number of other buildings as well. 

 

IV. Discussion

What’s your understanding of the title of the article?　 

What do you usually do to leave your worries behind? 

Ocean of diamonds (P6)

烟台第二中学 孔洁

 

I. Warming up   

Think about the following questions.

Do you know how diamonds are formed? Where could you find natural diamonds? 

 

II. Skimming

Read the passage quickly and summarize the main idea of the passage.

This passage introduces a study in which scientists created “diamond rain” by firing lasers at polystyrene, based on the theory of how diamonds are made on Neptune and Uranus. 

 

III. Scanning 

Read the passage quickly and find the answers to the following questions. 

1. How are natural diamonds on Earth formed? What about on the planets of Neptune and Uranus?

On Earth, natural diamonds are formed when carbon-containing minerals are mixed

  with        high pressure and heat      over        billions of years. 

On Neptune and Uranus, it’s believed that the huge pressure and high temperatures

     within       the planets lead   to   diamonds being created from the ocean’s hydrocarbons. These diamonds then “rain” down    to   the center of the planets

2. What was the aim of the research? 

The scientists attempted to create diamonds in the same way they’re believed to be created on Neptune and Uranus.

3. How did the scientists conduct the research?

They fired lasers at polystyrene, a common plastic material that’s very much like the hydrocarbons on the two foreign planets. Two kinds of lasers were used to create a similar temperature and pressure to those found around 10,000 kilometers inside the planets. 

4. Why is it believed that diamonds could be the reason why the inner layers of Neptune and Uranus are so hot?

These diamonds will sink down … and when they sink down, there will be friction with the surrounding area … and all this generates heat

5. What could the findings be used for?

The findings could eventually lead to easier and cheaper ways of creating artificial diamonds, which are used in everything from jewellery to machinery. 

 

IV. Language focus

Language focus-----sentences

Fill in the blanks and pay attention to the use of present participles. 

•                 special equipment, the researchers managed to create conditions like those on Neptune and Uranus.

• They used two kinds of lasers,                         a similar temperature and pressure to those found around 10,000 kilometers inside the planets. 

•                       their brief experiment, the team discovered that they had created diamonds successfully, although they were only a few nanometers in diameter. 

（Key: Using; creating; Following）

 

Language focus----expressions

Find the following expressions in the passage and make sentences with them.

•mix with

•be made up of 

•lead to

•try sth out

•attempt to

•manage to

•the surrounding area

•generate heat

•sink down

•stick with

 

V. Discussion 

Do you know of any other findings related to foreign planets that could be beneficial to Earth? Share with us.