2019-2020学年度第35期总第789期
Warm family fantasy (P4-5)
河北师大附中  赵乃平

Lead-in
What did you do in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Skimming and scanning
What is the article mainly about?
Newly released cartoon movie Onward.
 

Structure
 

Detail reading

Part 1 (Para 1-2) Brief introduction of Onward

1. When and where was Onward released?
It was released on March 6  in US cinemas, and on April 3 on the Disney Plus channel.

2. What do people think of the movie?
It has received positive reviews with an 88 percent approval rating from critics on the online film review platform Rotten Tomatoes.

Part 2 (Para 3-7)
The plot of the movie

1. What kind of world is the story set in?
 

2. What is the theme of the story?
Celebration of love and family.

3. Who are the heroes of the story?
Ian, a fearful kid, and Barley, an earnest but overconfident teenager.

4. What kind of relationship do they develop?
· hating and loving each other
· uniting together and encouraging each other

Part 3 (Para 8)
Review of the movie

It is a story about ___________ and ________.

Language focus
1. The reality mirrored in the setting can “echo with (产生共鸣) the audiences,” according to LA Weekly.

释义：据洛杉矶周刊报道，场景中反映的现实可以“与观众产生共鸣”。

分析：
mirrored in the setting为过去分词短语做后置短语，在此表被动“被反映”，修饰reality。

mirror
n.    镜子；写照 ；反映某种情况的事物      
v.    反映；映照；反射
He absent-mindedly looked at himself in the mirror.
他心不在焉地看着镜中的自己。
This newspaper is a mirror of society.
报纸如实地反映了社会。
Some contents mirror the historical progress, thus forming the spirit
of the times.
文化中的有些内容可以反映历史进步的方向，因此形成时代精神。

 

2. ... they decide to set aside their differences to search for a magical item that will allow them to bring their father back from death in order to  spend one last day with him.

释义：他们决定撇开分歧，寻找一种神奇的东西，让他们能把父亲从死亡中带回来，和他共度最后一天。

分析：that引导定语从句，修饰a magical item。

set aside  留出；放一边；搁置
 
100 million pounds will be set aside for repairs to schools.
将划拨1.3亿英镑用于学校的修缮。

They set aside one evening a week to have dinner all together.
他们每周都会留出一个晚上与家人讨论有关孩子的话题。

set 相关短语

set about 出发；开始（set about doing）
set out 启程；开始（set out to do）
set apart 留出；使分离；区别
set down 写下，记下；制定
set off 引起爆炸；出发

2019-2020学年度第35期总第789期
Benefits of green spaces (P6)
天津外国语大学附属外国语学校  张秀兴

Lead in
In your mind, how do you picture spring?

· It is in a park where the tree branches are beginning to bud. And some spring flowers, like magnolia, are spreading their white or purple magic. You can feel the breeze on your face. Different from the cold wind of winter, it has a sweat smell and makes you feel energetic.
· I am standing under a tree and some budding branches stretch before my eyes. Through those branches I can see some kids in their colorful cardigans flying kites and running. Their parents or grandparents are sitting on the park bench chatting with each other while keeping an eye on the kids. I can hear them giggling.

When I am expressing my mental images, I try to describe them with different senses.

 

What is the picture of spring in your mind?
Can you express your picture again and make it better?
· What I can see
· What I can smell
· What I can hear
· What I can feel

Scientists found that walking in green spaces when you’re young can bring health benefits. What are these benefits?
Now turn to Page 6 of the newspaper, read the article and find out the answer.
Please click the pause button, finish the task on your own and continue playing the video class.

What are the benefits?
People who were more exposed to natural spaces have better mental health.

A study report
When we are reading a study, the following elements (要素) are be crucial to understanding it.

Purpose of the study: Why researchers did the study
Participants: Who took part in the study
Process of the study: how they did the study
Findings: the results of the study
Implications: how can the findings be used?

Purpose of the study:
The impact of exposure to green spaces during childhood on adult mental health
Participants:
3,600 adults from all over Europe;
Process of the study:
Questionnaires: How frequently people used natural spaces during childhood; a psychological test: to analyze the participants’ nervousness and feelings of depression
Findings:
The people who were more exposed to natural spaces had higher mental health scores compared to those with lower childhood exposure – as did those who attached higher importance to using green spaces.
Implications:
Calling for policymakers to improve the availability of natural spaces for children; Encourage people to immerse themselves in nature

Details in the research

Would the result be exactly the same if this research was conducted in China?
Why do the scientists analyze the mental state of participants OVER A FOUR-WEEK PERIOD?

Would the result be exactly the same if this research is conducted in China?
If the same study was conducted in China or other Asian countries, it is likely that the result might be slightly different but the good impact of exposure to green spaces is doubtless. We have different cultures. And in each culture, they attach different importance to green spaces. What’s more, the life pace in Asia is much faster than that in European countries.

Why do the scientists analyze the mental state of participants OVER A FOUR-WEEK PERIOD?
Why over a four-week period? Someone’s mental state can vary day to day. For example, if you won the lottery today, you would really quite excited and positive. But if a day later you broke your phone or got criticized by your teacher, your mood would naturally drop. In order to have an overall picture about your psychological state, we need to take an average score from a larger time-scale.

Psychological test
 

Guess
Here are some new words in the text which are important if you want to fully understand it.
Please find the following expressions in the text and guess the meaning of them.
· nervousness
· exposure
· adulthood
· attach higher importance to
· immerse yourself in
· while
· physical
· positively

Guess the meaning of a word in context
· Word knowledge combines your understanding of words, prefixes and suffixes.
· Context knowledge is based on your understanding of sentences, paragraphs and texts.
· World knowledge is composed of topic knowledge and common sense.

Word knowledge
nervous → nervousness
exposed → exposure
adult → adulthood

When we are trying to guess the meaning of the three words, we use our word knowledge. We combine the known part of a word and word transformation knowledge.
They can be divided into two groups.
prefix 前缀 and suffix 后缀

Prefixes

 
 

Suffixes

 

 

Context knowledge
We can guess the meaning of a word using the general meaning of a sentence or paragraph.
The results consistently showed that the people who were more exposed (暴露的) to natural spaces had higher mental health scores compared to those with lower childhood exposure – as did those who attached higher importance to using green spaces.

While this study was based in Europe, a lack of green space can affect anyone, anywhere. So remember to make time to immerse yourself in nature, as your mental health is just as important as the physical one.

World knowledge
World knowledge contains topic knowledge and common sense.
Topic knowledge is what you know about the topic.
Common sense refers to logic or life experiences.

Your mental health is just as important as the physical one.
But did you know that being in contact with these natural surroundings during childhood could positively impact (影响) your mental health as an adult?
If you want to increase your world knowledge, you should read more books about various topics and develop your common sense.

Reading comprehension
1. What was the purpose of the ISGlobal’s walking study?
A. To examine the advantages of taking a walk.
B. To understand the mental health problems of children.
C. To see how childhood experiences shape adult life.
D. To study the influence of childhood exposure to natural spaces.

2. What do we know about the study?
A. The participants included both children and adults.
B. The participants were from all over the world.
C. It consisted of a questionnaire and a psychological test.
D. It focused on the participants’ physical health state.

3. What do Paragraphs 7-8 mainly talk about?
A. The results of the study.  
B. The value of the study.
C. The method of the study.  
D. The process of the study.

4. What does the underlined word “immerse” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A. lose oneself in something 
B. understand something
C. protect against something 
D. imagine doing something

(Key: DCBA)

Word practice

Please find the expressions in the text according to the Chinese or English explanations.
advantage
often
always
emphasize
身心健康
研究表明……
与自然环境接触
心理状态

(Key: benefits
frequently
consistently
stress
physical and mental health
studies have shown that…
be exposed to nature/be in contact with nature
psychological state)

1. The professor _________ the importance of public health.
2. The doctor gave us a lecture about the _________ of a healthy lifestyle.
3. He _________ devotes himself to his studies.
4. The experiment aims to study the influence of exercise on students’ _________
5. These things are usually attached to a troubled _________ , which can be caused by a variety of factors.
(Key: 1. stressed 2. benefits 3. consistently 4. physical and mental health 5. psychological state)

Summary
How to describe a mental picture?
What I can see
What I can smell
What I can hear
What I can feel

How to read a research report?
Purpose of the study
Participants
Process of the study
Findings
Implications

How to guess the meaning of a word in context?
Word Knowledge
Context Knowledge
World Knowledge

The importance of being exposed to green spaces.
People who were more exposed to natural spaces when they were young have better mental health.

Homework
Spring has come! You are invited to write an article for your school’s WeChat official account encouraging your schoolmates to visit green spaces. How are you going to persuade them?

Write an article of no less than 100 words.
Remember to use the study to support your idea. (it can make your article more persuasive)
Think of at least 3 things to do in the green spaces.