He was accused of betraying his country during the war. It turned out that he was an informer, and, betrayed the plan to the Germans.
3. delivery: 1) the process of birth
e.g: Women who do manual work have easy deliveries. In the end, it was an easy delivery: a fine baby boy. 2) the delivering of letters, goods, etc.
e.g: Federal Express Corporation provide rapid delivery of packages,
letters, and other shipments within the United States and worldwide.
Most newspapers offer home delivery. 4. apply for: make a formal request for
e.g: I applied for five jobs before I was offered this one.
According to the school regulations students will have to apply
for permission to study abroad.
5. literature: 1) printed material used to advertise or promote a product e.g: My friend is sending me literature from two other companies
that provide a similar service.
There is quite a lot of literature available on the history of computers.
2) writing that are valued as works of art
e.g: The graduate school offers master's or doctoral degree programs
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for advanced study in such liberal arts and science fields as history, physics, and literature.
6. pledge: a solemn promise
e.g: They made a pledge to accomplish the task.
The boy made a pledge to get straight A's at the end of the semester. vt.
e.g: Member nations of the UN pledge to settle their disputes
peacefully and to refrain from using force.
They have pledged not to dump hazardous wastes into the river. 7. transit: passage through or across; a system of urban public transportation
e.g: Our fleet made the transit through the Panama Canal without any difficculty.
The president wants to improve the nation's highways and mass transit systems.
8. off balance: in an unsteady position or about to fall
e.g: The motorcycle knocked him off balance and he fell down on the ground.
The sudden pull threw me off balance. 9. off one's feet: no longer standing
e.g: After the operation the old man had to stay off his feet.
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The doctor checked his leg foot carefully and said he would
have to stay off his feet for about two weeks.
10. be laid up (with): stay in bed, be unable to work, etc.
e.g: Our math teacher has been laid up in bed with acute flu for a week.
The football player was laid up with a twisted knee.
Post-reading tasks
1. 1. Group discussion (25 minutes)
1) 1) Ss form groups to discuss the following questions:
---- What has Bill Porter been struggling for all his life? Do you think it is worth his efforts?
---- How do you feel about Bill Porter? Why?
---- What characteristics of journalistic writing do you find in this article?
2) 2) Some groups report to class
3) 3) T explains in more detail the characteristics of journalistic writing (see Text Analysis).
2. 2. T guides Ss through some after-text exercises. (30 minutes) 3. 3. T checks on Ss’ home reading (Text B). (3 minutes)
4. 4. Ss do Part IV: Theme-Related Language Learning Tasks. (1 period)
5. 5. T asks Ss to prepare for the next unit: 1) 1) do the pre-reading task; 2) 2) preview Text A. (2 minutes)
Text Analysis
This article first appeared in a newspaper; therefore it carries many characteristics of journalistic writing.
First of all, a journalist tries to be objective in reporting. As a result, third-person narrative is usually preferred over first-person narrative. Moreover, the journalist would not make any comments to reveal his/her feelings, but simply give the facts.
Secondly, an eye-catching beginning helps lure readers to linger more
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on the story out of an overwhelming number of stories offered by the day’s newspaper. For example, at the beginning of this story, we learn that it takes our physically deformed hero great efforts to get up so as to do something important, yet what is this something? We are kept in suspense until the fourth paragraph.
Thirdly, newspapers are for quick and once-over consumption, so there is no need for over elaboration. The vocabulary is simple, the sentences and paragraphs short, sometimes elliptical (see after-text exercise on ellipsis). When needs (for emphasis, to list a series of rapidly conducted activities, etc.) arise, a paragraph is as short as one sentence. Lastly, conversations can be transcribed word for word if they illustrate the theme, like the one in the text between Bill Porter and his indecisive female customer.
Unit 8 Cloning
Suggested Teaching Plan (5 periods) Objective
Students will be able to:
1. 1. understand the main idea (cloning is a two-edged sword) and structure of the text;
2. 2. appreciate the writing strategies employed by the author;
3. 3. master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text;
4. 4. conduct a series of reading, listening, speaking and writing activities related to the theme of the unit.
Time allotment 1st period Pre-reading; 2nd period 3rd period 4th period 5th period While-reading While-reading; Post-reading; Theme-Related Check on Ss’ Language home reading (Text B) Learning Tasks While-reading (Part I, Part (Part I) II) I. I. Pre-reading tasks
1. 1. T asks Ss the following questions on the recorded interview:
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---- What does Prof. Greely think of human cloning? (We must distinguish different types of human cloning. Some are justified; others are not. )
---- What is the greatest problem with human reproductive cloning? (safety) (5 minutes)
2. 2. Out-of-class research project
1) 1) The research project should be assigned at the end of the last unit. Ss form groups to use library resources and Internet resources to get answers to the following questions: ---- What is cloning?
---- Give a brief history of the scientific research into cloning. ---- What are the major pros and cons of human cloning?
---- During your research, what new vocabulary items have you come across that are related to cloning?
2) Groups report to class. To save time and give presentation opportunities to more groups, no one group need answer all the questions. A group member may write down new vocabulary items(in both English and Chinese) on the blackboard while another member is presenting. (30 minutes)
3. 3. T may lead in to the text by saying: By now many of you may have already formed your own idea about human cloning, but let’s refrain from opinions for the moment. The author of Text A is a science reporter. Like a good journalist, let’s first make the facts clear. (2 minutes)
II. II. While-reading tasks 1. 1. Part I
1) 1) Ss scan the first three paragraphs to see where a tense change takes place. By thus doing they will see that the first two paragraphs act as introduction to the whole essay. 2) 2) T asks Ss the following questions:
---- This is a piece of journalistic writing like Text A, Unit 7. What important role do beginning paragraphs play in journalistic writing? ---- why didn’t the author start from the very beginning of cloning research, but start with the birth of Dolly? (see Text Analysis)
3) 3) T explains language points in Part I and gives Ss practice (see Language Study).
4) 4) Ss sum up the main idea of Part I. (30 minutes)
2. 2. T explains language points in the rest of the text and gives Ss practice (see Language Study). (60 minutes)
3. 3. Ss do Text Organization Exercises 1 and 2. (15 minutes)
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