Adult Halloween lovers taking over (P4-5)

烟台第二中学 孔洁

 

I. Warming up   

Think about the following questions: 

•What do you know about Halloween? 

 

II. Skimming

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

•Halloween has become a festival for adults. 

 

III.Scanning 

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

•1. What do the Halloween events in Shibuya, Tokyo look like? 

•Halloween in Japan has become a big party for adults, who dress up in costumes and hang around having fun taking pictures. This year’s events were so popular that Tokyo police had to stop cars from entering two streets so pedestrians could pass safely. In other words, this festival is no longer just a time for kids.

 

•2. Can we say adults have slowly been “stealing “Halloween from kids? Why?

•No. 

•“Steal” is not quite the word, since the adults of today all used to be kids themselves. These grown-ups still manage to keep the tradition of dressing up alive, however, even if they’re too old to knock on strangers’ doors for candy now.

 

•3. Why are adults so into Halloween?

•“You can wear whatever you want and not be judged,” Denise Delahorne of DDB Worldwide, an advertising company, told Forbes when asked why adults are so into Halloween compared to other holidays. “There’s no stress to it. You don’t have to travel or deal with relatives. There’s not the holiday pressure to find a date if you are single.”

 

•4. According to the passage, what’s the ironic and interesting part of Halloween?

•As the “adult Halloween” industry gets bigger and bigger, movie theaters, drink sellers and haunted houses are starting to target adult customers only. There’s even an annual Halloween trade show in the US that you can’t even enter if you’re under 16. 

 

IV. Language focus-----sentences

Analyze the following sentences

•1. In the past, the festival meant houses decorated with jack-o-lanterns, cool costumes handmade by moms, and going door to door asking for candy, saying “trick or treat”. 

•decorated, handmade 过去分词作后置定语

•The book bought by my aunt was lost. 

•asking, saying 现在分词作伴随状语。

•He went into the room, laughing loudly. 

 

•2. However, you wouldn’t have seen any of these if you were at this year’s Halloween events in Shibuya, Tokyo, from Oct 27 to 30. 

•Subjunctive mood虚拟语气

•从句的动作与现在事实相反，而主句的动作与过去事实不符。

•If he were free today, we would have sent him to Beijing. 

•If he knew her, he would have greeted her. 

 

 

 

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

•dress up in costumes

•in other words

•keep the tradition of dressing up alive

•enjoy their share of the festival fun

•be into sth

•here comes the ironic and interesting part

•on the bright side

 

V. Debate

•Do you think Halloween should just be for kids, or is it acceptable for adults to celebrate it too? 

•

•V. Homework

•Write a composition on your opinion towards adults celebrating Halloween. You may refer to what we have learned today. 

 

 

Enjoying art of fencing

河北省邯郸市第一中学  余云娟

 

I. Lead-in   

vDo you know what fencing is? 

vHave you ever tried fencing?

    Fencing is a sport in which two competitors fight using ‘rapier(轻巧细长的剑)-style’ swords called the foil, the epee, and the saber. Winning points are made through contact with an opponent. Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics.

 

 

 

vCan you tell them apart? 

 

 

Lei Sheng, gold medal winner at the 2012 London Olympics in Fencing – Men’s Foil, achieving a zero breakthrough. 

 

II. Skimming

Read the passage quickly and summarize its main idea.

What’s the the article mainly about? 

To introduce fencing and how fun it can be.

 

III. Scanning

Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.

 

1.Why can fencing (击剑) be like a form of physical chess?

Key: Because in fencing, every move is carefully planned. Even if an opponent (对手) makes an unexpected move, strategies are always at hand. That is pretty much the same with playing chess.

 

2.  What are people’s views on fencing?

Key: Lucia Procopio said fencing developed her self-discipline (自律) and changes “how you approach things in general”.

Braden Saito said the hobby helped his problem-solving skills and its basic principle is to think under pressure to find a solution.

Soren Thompson said fencing is very much what you do with what you have and you can create advantages.

 

3.  What are some other reasons why teenagers love fencing?

Key: The outfit is cool and convenient and it’s very safe to play fencing.  

 

IV. Language study

Translate the sentences. Pay attention to the sentence structures.

1.Even if an opponent (对手) makes an unexpected move, strategies are always at hand.

• even if  即使

• move n. 步骤；动作

• at hand 手头；在手边

句意为：即使对手做出意外的行动，应对策略也可以信手拈来。

 

2. You can create advantages – figuring out how you’re going to approach each match is what people really enjoy.

• figure out 想出；弄明白

• approach vt. 接近；靠近；着手处理

• 句意为：你可以创造优势-找出你将如何应对和处理每一场比赛是人们真正喜欢击剑的原因。

 

3. The tradition of covering the end of a weapon (武器) with red chalk to mark points on an opponent has long passed. 

• end n. 末端；尽头；末梢

• mark points  打上记号

• 本句主干为 The tradition has long passed.

句意为：用红色粉笔覆盖武器末端以给对手打上记号的传统早已过去了。

 

V. Learn to use

Fill in the blanks with proper words.

1.For those _____ practice it, fencing (击剑) is a form of physical chess.

2.The centuries-old sport lives on among the 40 or so teenagers _____ pass through the club’s doors on any given day.

3. Among the fencing fans _____ visit the club is 15-year-old Lucia Procopio. 

4. As a teenager _____ is interested in music, Procopio said the rhythm of fencing is similar to ____ of music. 

5. Fencing is very much _____ you do with ____ you have,

6. Figuring out how you’re going to approach each match is _____ people really enjoy.”

7. There are other reasons ____ teenagers love the sport.

8. Those ____ fence wear white clothing. 

Key: who, who, who, who, that, what, what, what, why, who  

 

VI. Discussion

After reading the article, would you like to learn fencing? What do you think you would like or dislike about fencing?