Teaching procedures: I. HW checking out:
1. Collecting examples of American English and British English 2. Checking out “B” on page 90
II. Colloquialisms
1. What is a colloquialism? How is it
used?
2. Presenting sentences with
colloquialisms: ? I know you are busy, but could you just lend me an ear for a minute? Meaning: to listen and pay attention to
Origin: In William Shakespeare’s time, around 1600, it was a common way of asking that you listen to a person
speaking. Shakespeare used this expression in his play “Julius Caesar”. ? If we don’t win this basketball game by at least twenty points, I will eat my hat.
Meaning: a saying used when you are 100 percent certain that something will happen
Origin: Many great writers, including Charles Dickens, have this expression.
3. Ask Ss to focus on Part A and have
them finish this exercise individually.
Origins of some colloquialisms: ? a wet blanket
meaning: a person who spoils other people’s fun by being boring
th
origin: This is an early 19-century expression. Native Americans and others often put out their campfires with blankets they had dipped in the nearest river. If fire represents excitement and joy, then the wet blanket that puts out the fire stands for a person who always expects bad things will happen.
? all ears
meaning: eager to listen; listening attentively
origin: This expression is three centuries old. The ear is the organ by which a person hears. So, if we say you are all ears, it means that at that moment you’re carefully listening to
whatever is being said. It is as if no other organs of your body mattered except your ears.
? pull my leg
meaning: to fool someone; to joke with someone
origin: By the late 1800s people sometimes tripped other people by catching their legs with a cane or running a string across the sidewalk. Sometimes it was just for fun; at other times robbers did it to steal from the victim after he or she had fallen.
4. Ask Ss to do Part B on page 27.
In this part, Ss are encouraged to discuss with each other first. Ask them to use dictionaries if necessary.
III. Assignments:
1. Work out the meanings of the
following colloquialisms:
a. My parents and I don’t always see
eye to eye about school issues.
b. I’ve got a major test tomorrow, so
I better hit the books.
c. Lisa was walking on eggs when she
was returning the necklace she had borrowed without asking.
2. Review the attributive clause learnt
in Unit 1.
3. Read the play again and pick out
sentences containing attributive clauses.
Period 7 Grammar and