Nation of happiness (P1)
中国人民大学附属中学  宋玖青

I. Warming up  
Which country do you think is the happiest in the world?

Do you recognize the country from the picture?

II. Pre-reading
What do you know about Finland and Finns (Finnish people)?

III. While-reading
Scanning
Read the article and answer the following questions.
1. What is the stereotype people usually have of Finns?
Finns are introverted and shy.
2.How many saunas are there in Finland?
About 3.5 million

Close Reading
Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1.Finns always stay silent because they want to show politeness.
2.Heavy metal is popular in Finland, especially among the older generation. 
3.Tango was started in Finland, so it became the tango capital of the world.
4.Almost all Finns take at least one sauna each week.
5.Finnish women like to give birth in saunas because they’re warm and comfortable.
Key: TFFTF

Read the article again, and try to divide it into different parts, then summarize the main idea of each part.
Possible answer:
Part 1 (Para. 1-3): Finland is the happiest country in the world.
Part 2 (Para. 4-5): The Finns are considered shy, but they actually like heavy metal and tango.
Part 3 (Para. 6-8): The sauna is one of the most important parts of Finnish culture.

Read the article again, and answer the questions.
1.According to the article, what are Finnish people like?
They are happy, polite, passionate, and enjoy life.

2.What are the benefits of saunas, according to Finns?
They’re a healthy place to be as they can block our bacteria. They can also be a place where people can feel calm and collect their thoughts.

IV. Post-reading
Discussion
Discuss the following question in groups of four, then share your thoughts with the class.
According to the article, can you explain why Finland is the happiest nation in the world?
Possible answer:
1. The natural challenges are also natural wonders to enjoy.2. They treat people politely, but they also release their passion through music and dancing.
3. They take great care of their health by taking saunas.

V. Homework
Report
Besides the cultural trademarks mentioned in the article, there are actually many other factors that make Finland the happiest nation in the world. Do some research on life in Finland, and write a short essay to report your findings. The following questions may help you:
1. What are some factors that make Finnish people happy?
2. Do these factors appear in other countries?
3. What can we learn from Finland?

Using thought power (P6)
邯郸市第一中学 王永仙

I. Warming up  
1. How do you usually control your phone or computer ?
2. Do you think the way we control our phone or computer may change in the future? How?

II. Pre-reading
Read the title and the first few paragraphs
and predict what the passage is about.
Using thought power
       Soon, we may be able to control our phone and computer with our thoughts.

III. While-reading
Read the article and answer the following questions:
1. How does BCI technology work?
BCI technology works by converting brain signals into computer commands, similar to how pressing a certain key on a keyboard is converted into an electrical  signal.

2. Why did the author mention 53-year-old Bill Kochevar, a paralyzed  man, in the passage ?
To give an example of how this technology isn’t brand new and to tell how it can help disabled people.

3. What will Facebook’s BCI technology help people do in the future?
It will help people type using their brain and offer live translation.

4. Why are many people worried about BCI technology?
Many people are worried that technology that can read our thoughts will create many privacy (隐私) issues, especially if social media companies are involved.

IV. Sentence analyzing
1. BCI technology works by converting (转化) brain signals into computer commands (命令), similar to how pressing a certain key on a keyboard is converted into an electrical (电的) signal.
解析：1. how 引导宾语从句，作to的宾语。
2. convert意为转换。
译为：BCI技术的原理是把脑电波转化为计算机命令，类似于操作电脑时把按键转化为电子信号。

2. US social networking platform Facebook announced last year that it was working on BCI technology to help people type using their brain.
解析： 1. that引导宾语从句，作announced 的宾语。
2. using their brain为方式状语。
译为：美国社交平台脸书去年宣布，平台正致力于利用BCI技术来帮助人们用大脑打字。

VI. Post-reading
Discussion
After reading the article, what else do you think we could do with BCI technology? Please share your ideas with your group members.