Nbook1Unit8
Unit 8 Fable of the Lazy Teenager
Teaching Aims:
◆Help students know the importance of study for the society and individual.
◆Offer students some background knowledge for better understanding of the text.
◆Words, phrases and structures for students to master.
Teaching methods: learner-centered
Total time allotment: 8 teaching periods
Teaching aids: tape-recorder, projector, etc.
Teaching procedures:
Step 1 warm-up activities: introduce some cultural background
U.C.L.A.: ( University of California at Los Angeles) the largest of the eight branches of the University of California. It was established in 1919 and now has about 35,000 students. UCLA is known especially for its film studies.
Step 2 content questions
1. What was the teenage salesgirl amazed at?
2. What examples does the author give to show children today are ignorant?
3. Why did the boy of 16 prefer not to go to U.C.L.A.? What did his attitude suggest?
4. In what way might teenagers’ intellectual laziness affect society as a whole?
5. To awaken teenagers to the consequences of their intellectual laziness, what does
the author suggest?
6. how is it that Kevin Hanley 1990 falls asleep in the daytime?
7. Why do Kevin 1990’s ancestors lead a poor life? Who do they place their hopes on?
8. How does Kevin 1990 make a living?
9. How come Kevin 1990’s grandson lives much as Kevin 1835 did in Ireland?
10. What is the American society of his children’s time like?
11. What is the Japanese anthropologist’s explanation for the rise of a nation?
12. Why does Kevin 1990 decide to study instead of going shopping?
Step 3 text structure analysis
Part one (paras 1-10) teenagers’ idleness and ignorance will produce serious effects on
all concerned and society as a whole.
Part two (paras 11-24) Kevin 1990 comes to realize in his dream how greatly lack of
education costs his forebears, himself, his children and the
society they live in, and how important it is to study hard.
Step 4 language points
1. handful: (a.) a small number 一把，少量
*You’d better hurry up. A handful of people are already waiting in the hall.
*I have to give up the plan because only a handful of students are willing to attend our party.
2. upset: (a.) make (sb.) worry or feel unhappy 使苦恼，使心烦意乱
*They are terribly upset by the break-up of their parents’ mar riage.
*He was upset about the argument he had with his wife.
3. ignorant: (a.) knowing little or nothing 无知的，
*Some people are ignorant of the facts about global warming.
*She was ignorant of her husband’s illegal activities. Otherwise she would stop him. 4. slice: (n.) (1) a part of sth. 部分
*The boss promised that everyone would get a slice of the profits.
*Fiction takes up a large slice of the publishing market.
(2) a thin flat piece cut from sth. （薄薄的）一片
*Try to eat at least four slices of the bread a day.
*Cut the pork into thin slices.
5. accumulate: (v.) collect, or gather together, esp. over a period of time 积累，积聚*I have accumulated many books over the last few years.
*While we were away on vacation, a lot of letters accumulated in our mailbox.
6. affect: (vt.) have an influence on 影响
*The 20th century was full of inventions that have affected the way we live.
*The Asian financial crisis didn’t affect our national economy.
7. function: (vi.) operate; act 起作用，运作
*When the camera is functioning properly the green light comes on.
*Athens functioned as a center of trade in the thirteenth century.
8. jam: (v.) get stuck 发生故障；堵塞，卡住
*The lock jammed and I couldn’t open it.
*The tape-recorder jammed and the teacher had to read the story to the class by herself.
9. humble: (a.) (1) not proud; modest 谦逊的
*He thanked us again with a humble smile.
*Frank strikes me as a very humble person.
(2) low in importance, status or condition 卑微的
*Michael started his career as a humble fisherman.
*Lacocca rose from humble beginnings to become boss of Ford.
10. luxury: (n.) (1) sth. expensive which is not necessary 奢侈品
*A week by the sea is a luxury they can no longer afford.
*Houses with swimming pools are still a luxury in many parts of the country.
(2) very great comfort, esp. among beautiful and expensive surrounding 奢侈
*She was brought up in an atmosphere of luxury and wealth.
*He took over his father’s company and led a life of luxury.
11. scared: (a.) frightened 惊慌的，恐惧的
*Alex was scared that his classmates might tell the teacher that he broke the window. *I have always been scared of dogs.
12. complex: (a.) not simple 复杂的
*The problem was so complex that there would be no easy solution.
*When I visited Shanghai for the first time I got lost in the rather complex network of roads.
13. adequate: (a.) enough 足够的
*Her knowledge of English was adequate for the job.
*My parents offered me an amount of money adequate to buy an apartment.
14. decline: (n.) a gradual decrease in the quality, quantity or importance of sth. 衰
败，衰退
*The first signs of economic decline became visible in that region.
*Some people are worried that there will be a great decline in the stock market.
*The birthrate in China is on the decline.
*He is still one of the world’s most popular soccer playe rs, but his fame is in decline.
15. acquire: (vt.) get 取得，获得
*I’ve managed to acquire a copy of the report.
*J.P. Getty acquired a fortune in business.
16. astonish: (vt.) surprise very much; amaze 使惊讶
*Her devotion to students always astonishes us.
*Diana astonished her family by winning three competitions in a row.
17. swear: (vt.) make a serious promise about 发誓
*The witness swore on the Bible to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
*He swore that he would never lie.
18. miracle: (n.) an amazing or wonderful event, esp. sth. that happens unexpectedly 奇迹
*It is a miracle that no one was killed in the earthquake.
*It was a miracle that the pilot landed the plane in that snowstorm.
19. faculty: (n.) mental and physical ability 功能，才能
*He is 90 years old but still has most of his faculties.
*It is a myth that the faculty of hearing is greatly increased in blind people.
Phrases
1. run out of : use up or finish a supply of用完，耗尽
*To our disappointment, our car ran out of gas halfway home.
*When they ran out of food, the soldiers set about hunting for more.
2. in amazement: with a feeling of great surprise or disbelief惊讶地
*Aunt Sophia gazed at her picture in amazement: she looked like a teenage girl in it. *All the people in the lecture hall stared at him in amazement when he appeared.
3. sum up: give a brief summary 总结，概括
*Alice summed up her Christmas holidays in one word: “Terrible”.
*The chairman only took a few moments at the end of the meeting to sum up.
4. compete with / against: try to be better than与---竞争
*More than 2,300 candidates from 93 political parties are competing for 486 seats.
*We have to compete with three other departments for the fund.
5. break down: stop working; fall, collapse停止运转；失败
*Talks between the two countries broke down when the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
*I have accumulated so many dirty clothes since my washing machine broke down last week.
6. drive home: make (sth.) clear so that people understand it使清楚无误地理解
*We must drive home to them where the difficulties lie.
*Peter was lazy. His parents tried to drive home to him the importance of hard work.
7. search for: look for寻找
*Many planes and ships were sent to search the South Sea for the missing Chinese
pilot.
*The police were searching the yard for clues.
8. better off: richer than you were before; more comfortable更富有，更舒服
*Today’s farmers are better off than they used to be.
*It's obvious that those who work hard are better off than those who don’t.
9. wake up: stop sleeping醒了，唤醒
*This morning I woke up with a terrible headache.
*Stewart woke me up with his coughing.
10. make a living by: earn money by (doing sth.) 靠---维持生计
*Many farmers in this area make a good living by growing flowers.
*He makes a living by writing.
Step 5 practice (P 237-243)
The students finish this part before class, and then discuss it in the class. Through practice, students learn more details about the language points.
Step 6 homework
In this unit, the home work will be the translation on the textbook P243. Do it on the notebook and hand it in.
Step 7 consolidation
Students are required to learn text B by themselves and finish the exercises followed. The teacher will check their work. In this unit, the teacher will have a dictation of the new words in Text B.
Step 8 listening and speaking
Unit 15 Advertising
Part A Communicative Function: Agreement or Disagreement
Listening Strategy: Identifying the Intonation Patterns of Tag Questions Part B Listening Tasks: Placing and Ad
Speaking Tasks: Pair work.
Part C and Part D: Students do these two parts after class by themselves. They can study through tapes, or CD, or the Internet. The teacher will check them in the final-exam.
Unit 16 Culture
Part A Communicative Function: Talking about Similarity and Difference Listening Strategy: Distinguishing Signal Words
Part B Listening Tasks: Fireworks
Speaking Tasks: Pair work
Part C and Part D: Students do these two parts after class by themselves. They can study through tapes, or CD, or the Internet. The teacher will check them in the final-exam.