Period 1 Warming up

Do you know what kind of text is the one you read?

Good, better, best!

Never have it rest!

Till good is better!

And better, best!

It is a rhyme

A limerick

People laugh and people cry.Some give up, some always try.Some say hi while some say bye.Others may forget you but never I.

A poem by Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose.

O my Luve’s like a red red rose

That’s newly sprung in June

O my Luve’s like the melodie

That’s sweetly play’d in tune

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I ;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a’the sees gang dry

Till a’the sees gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;

I will luve thee thill, my dear

While the sands o’ life shall run

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel a while!

And I will come again, my luve

Tho’ it were then thousand mile!

Step2 Warming up Read the text and answer the following questions.

1. What kind of text is the one you have just read?

2. What is it about and what does it mean?

3. Can you tell something about the writer?

4. Why is this probably American literature?

A poem

It is about the way African Americans talk about their ancestors.What the author wants to say is that black people always say that their ancestors were kings, but that cannot be true. Instead, he says black people should be honest and proud of their ancestors, no matter whether they were rich or poor.

Yes. The writer is probably African American.

Because the experience of slavery has not existed in any other English-speaking country in the same way as in America.

Dudley Randall (b orn in. 1914). Washington, D.C.,

• Randall worked and then as a carrier and clerk for the U.S. Post Office in Detroit.

• (1942-1946), and graduated from Wayne State University (B.A., 1949) and the University of Michigan (M.A.L.S., 1951).

• He was a librarian at several universities, and founded the Broadside Press in 1965 "so black people could speak to and for their people." .

• His works include On Getting a Natural (1969) and A Litany of Friends: New and Selected Poems (1981). He edited The Black Poets (1971), an extensive anthology of poetry, from slave songs to the present.

Listening Listen to the tape and answer the following questions.• What activity are Ben, Ann and Lily organising?

• Why is this activity successful, while the English Corner is not? Give two reasons.

1_____________ 2______________

3. What are the advantages of their club activities according to Ann, Ben and Lily?

Ann Ben Lily

They are organising a Reading Club.

No foreigners are needed It has more variation in topics

interesting usefulcan learn about life and literaturein foreign countries

no foreigners are neededcan talk about many topics

can read things which are not read in school

Period 2 Reading A Sacrifice For Love 1

O. Henry (1862-1910)

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) was born in Greenboro, North Carolina.

his well-known stories "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Furnished Room". The Trimmed Lamp (1907) included "The Last Leaf".

1.   

Step 1: Pre-reading

1. Include the names of the people who join in the celebration and places you visit.

2. Write about the things you do on those days that are connected to the real meaning of the celebration and why you do them.

3. Which is the most important day of the year for you?

4.   Think of a gift you think that you would like to receive

Make a list of all the special dates that you celebrateThen talk about your list with your deskmate.

Step 2 ReadingSkimming: now skim the text and answer the questions.

1.    What is the setting of the story? 2. How many characters are in the

story?

Make an outline of this part of the story:  Part 1

 Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

( Para 1-3 ) Della was sad a day before Christmas, because she didn’t have enough money to buy her husband, Jim, a Christmas gift.( para4-8 ) Della bought a gold watch chair for Jim, at the cost of her hair.

(Para 9 ) Della went home and did her hair.

(Para 10--11 ) After cooking the dinner, Della was anxious to wait Jim

(Para 12--18 ) Della and Jim exchanged Christmas gifts.   

Careful readingCareful reading 1.    How much did Della save for months? One dollar and eighty-seven cents

2.    Why did Della cry after counting the money she had been saving?

Because with one dollar and eighty-seven cents, she couldn’t buy a fine and rare gift for Jim.

3.    Why did tear fall form her eyes while Della was standing in front of the mirror?

She decided to cut off her hair and sold it to get money.

4.    How much did Della get from the Madame in the barbershop?

Twenty dollars5.    What did Della look like after cutting

off and doing her hair? Her head was covered with tiny curls

that made her look like a little school girl.

 .   

 

 Decide whether the following sentences are true or false.1.    James Dillingham Young was Della’s

husband. 2.    Della lived in a neighborhood with

many trees and flowers. 3.    Della had a large sum of money to

buy Jim a Christmas gift. 4.    There were two possessions of this

family—Jim’s gold watch and Della’s hair.

5.    Della thought having a haircut will make Jim happy.

  

T

F

T

T

F

Step 4 Discussion1.    Were Della and Jim both foolish to sell

their favorite possessions?

O.Henry want to tell us that they were not foolish. They were wise because they had each sacrificed their most valuable possessions for the person they loved. They were like the three wise men—the Magi—who brought presents for Jesus Christ after he was born. Keep in mind, that this is why Christians still give presents on Christmas Day: to remember the gifts the Magi brought Christ on that very first Christmas.

  Graphic representation of the text

Della Jim

 

love

hair

sell

watch

sell

gold watch chain

a set of comb

A Sacrifice For Love

A Sacrifice For Love 2A Sacrifice For Love 2

Period 3 Period 3

Integrating skillsIntegrating skills

Post-reading1. How did Della expect Jim react when he saw her?

2. What was Jim’s reaction? Describe his feelings?

3. Why did Della burst into tears when she opened the package?

Della thinks he will either be very angry or disappointed (or both) and not love her any more.

Jim is shocked when he sees Della, and he doesn’t know what to say.

She cries because she is reminded of her beautiful hair, and the combs which she so much wanted are now of no use to her.

4. Where did the story take place?

5. Explain the title of this short story. What does it mean?

6. Is the story humorous or not? How would you describe the story?

The story takes place in a city in America.

The title means that both Della and Jim give up their most precious possession for the love of each other.

I think the story is humorous in a way, but also with some irony. It is hard to say the story is funny, but the story is surprising.

Proverbs

Look at these English sayings. Can you translate them easily into Chinese?

1.    Love is the greatest gift of all.

2.    Money can't buy you love.

3.    A gift must come from the heart.

4.    Beauty comes from within.

Step 4 Discussion1.    Were Della and Jim both foolish to sell

their favorite possessions?

O.Henry want to tell us that they were not foolish. They were wise because they had each sacrificed their most valuable possessions for the person they loved. They were like the three wise men—the Magi—who brought presents for Jesus Christ after he was born. Keep in mind, that this is why Christians still give presents on Christmas Day: to remember the gifts the Magi brought Christ on that very first Christmas.

  Graphic representation of the text

Della Jim

 

love

hair

sell

watch

sell

gold watch chain

a set of comb

A Sacrifice For Love

Key Words and Expressions

1. furnish [] vt. 1. 1) to equip with what is needed, especially to

provide furniture for 布置家具 ; 配备家具 The room was completely furnished. The room was furnished with the simplest nece

ssities, a bed, a chair, and a table. The new guest hotel’s finished ， but it’s not yet furnished.

2. 2) to supply; give 供给；提供 I will furnished all you needI will furnished all you need 。

词组 : furnish sth. to/for sb. ； furnish sb./sth. with sth. 为……提供某事 ; 供

应The company offered to furnish all the equipments for the major expedition. The government furnished some poor villages with supplies food.

拓展： furnish 的名词为 furniture ， 意为“家具” , 是不可数名词。

a piece of furniture / an article of furniture 一件家具

This old French table is a very valuable piece of furniture.

There is no need to buy so much furniture.

2. simplify []vt. 1) to make simple or simpler 使简易；使易做；简化 The English in this story has been simplified to make it

easier to understand. Can you simplify the language a little? The working process should be simplified. The teacher simplified his explanation for the children.

链接 : simple /adj./ easy 简单的 , 不复杂的 The little boy can already do simple problems in arith

metic. Writing a cheque is quite a simple procedure to him.

shabby [] adj. 1. showing signs of wear and tear; threadbare o

r worn-out 肮脏破旧的 , 破烂不堪的 a shabby old hat 破旧的帽子2. wearing threadbare clothing 衣衫褴褛的 , 寒

酸的 a shabby old man 一位衣衫褴褛的3. 3. despicable; mean 低劣的 , 卑鄙的 , 不公平

的 What a shabby trick, driving off and leaving me to wal

k home!

3. possession [] n. 1) [C] something possessed or property 拥有物，

财产 He lost all his possessions in the fire. A toy bear is the only possession of the boy.

2)[U] the act or fact of possessing 拥有 ; 持有The two children are fighting for possession of the book.At last, Tom got possession of the ball.

拓展 : possession 可和介词或动词构成短语 , 在句子中充当各种成分 ,

⑴in possession of sth. 拥有 , 占有 , 控制The window is in possession of a large fortune. After the old man died, his son was in possession of t

he house. ⑵in the possession of sb. 或 in sb’s possession 归

……所有The land is in the possession of the merchant. ⑶take possession of 或 have possession of 拥有……He has had possession of the car for 10 years. ⑷put sb. in possession of sth. 让某人知道某事

The letter put me in possession of some important information.

let down 1)    to disappoint 使失望：使沮丧 Tom will never let you down, you can always

depend on him.2)    lower 放下 ,( 衣服 ) 放长She let down the bucket into the well. The shirt needs letting down.

at length1)    after some time; eventually 终于 , 最后 At length, the bus arrived, forty minutes late. 2)   for a considerable time; fully 长时间地；彻

底地 The judge spoke at length about the court rulin

g.

The professor asked his students to treat this subject at length.

weep [wi:p] 1) Vi to express emotion, such as grief or sadne

ss, by shedding tears 流泪 ; 落泪 He lost control of his feelings and began to wee

p.They wept for their failure.2) vt. to bring to a specified condition by weepi

ng 哭泣She wept herself into a state of exhaustion. The young wan wept his fate.

比较 cry ， weepcry 和 weep 都指发出表示悲伤、不高兴或痛苦

的口齿不清的声音，并且 cry 和 weep 都与流眼泪有关。 cry 则更强烈地表示伴随的声音。

When he died the little children cried in the streets.

当他死时，小孩子们在街上大声哭喊起来。I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone.我为我孤独时的样子而哭泣。

attend [] vt. 1)to be present at 出席，参加 Although he was still not well, the boy insisted

on attending class. I need to dress up a little to attend my friend’

s wedding. 2) to take charge of 管理，照管

They attended our affairs during our absence.

attend to1) to take care; give attention 关注；注意We‘ll attend to that problem later. I have an urgent matter to attend to.2) to take care of 照顾；帮助 You’d better attend to that thin dark girl ； I t

hink she is going to faint. Are you being attended to, sir?

rare [rεэ] adj.1)infrequently occurring; uncommon 罕见的；

很少发生的；特殊的：This plant is rare in this region.That bird is very rare in this country.2) cooked a short time to retain juice and redne

ss 煮得很嫩的We had three courses ： soup, a rare steak an

d vegetables, and fruit.

do up 1) to fasten 扣（纽扣）Do up your coat and hurry. This dress does up at the back. 2) to repair, improve 整理（房间）Let’s do up the room first.3) to adorn or dress lavishlyThe children were all done up in matching ou

tfits.4)to wrap and tie (a package) 包，扎（包裹） ,捆 （东西）

He was doing up a parcel.

worn [] adj.1) affected or damaged by wear or use穿旧的；用旧的；穿破的

He decided to throw the worn shoes away and buy a new pair.

These shoes are looking rather worn. 2)showing the wearing effects of overwork, ca

re, worry, or suffering疲倦的；筋疲力尽的 She came back worn and worried. I was shocked to see the worn look of his handsome

young face.

burden [b:dn]n. 1) a source of great worry or stress; weight负荷；负担；重载

He could not carry the burden alone.The burden of economic sacrifice rests on the

workers of the plant.2. a responsibility or duty责任，义务The burden of organizing the campaign fell to

me.vt. to load or trouble 使负重担；使麻烦I will not burden you with a lengthy account. He is burdened with heavy taxation.

fix [fiks] vt.1)to direct steadily 使集中，使固定 She fixed her eyes on the road ahead. 2) to make stable or firmCampers fixed the tent poles in the ground. 3)to capture or hold 吸引，抓住The man with the long beard fixed our attention. 4) to agree on; arrange同意；安排 Later, we fixed a time to meet next time. fix on 决定We‘ve fixed on the 14th of April for the wedding. fix sth on / upon 专注；凝视Thousands of eyes are fixed on the Tian An Men rostr

um.She fixed her eyes on the road ahead.

approve [v] vt. 1) to consider right or good; think or speak fa

vorably of赞成 , 满意 , 批准 My parents don't approve of me smoking cigaret

tes. 2) to consent to officially or formally; 认可；通过The resolution was approved 82 to 16 with 18 ab

stentions. vi. 3) to show, feel, or express approval同意赞成，赞同（常与 of连用）

I don't approve of wasting time.I don't approve of smoking.

tear at 1. to pull at or attack violently 撕扯 猛裂地撕扯

或进攻：The dog tore at the meat.2. to distress greatly严重伤害：Their plight tore at his heart.