新视界大学英语综合教程3unit2

新视界大学英语综合教程3unit2

The glass castle

Warming up Skimming Digging Interpreting

Critical thinking Unfamiliar wordsLanguage in use Talking

point

Warming up

Listen and underline any words or expressions which are

different from what you hear.A: Looking back now on your

childhood, what are the first things you can remember? B: You

mean sights and smells, and things like that? A: Yes, that’s right.

Psychologists tell us our first memories go back to when we were

about two years old.

More

Warming up

A: Well, I remember the first time I saw the stars. My parents

and I were on holiday C we were in Scotland. At least, I think I

remember. But perhaps it’s the photos I remember really, not the

original memory. Maybe sounds and smells are more reliable as

memories, like the smell of the flowers in the back garden, or the

radio. I used to listen to the radio. I must have been about three. It was a programme in the afternoon for children called Listen

with Father. I listened every day. The voice at the beginning used

to say “Are you sitting straight?”, and I would pull myself up

straight in the chair. I used to love doing that.

Warming up

Now listen again and correct the information. Answer: smells

sounds; two three stars sea; flowers grass Father Mother straight

comfortably

Warming up Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1 What is your earliest memory? 2 What smells do you

associate with your childhood? 3 And what tastes? 4 And what

sounds?

Warming up

Listen to the story about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her “Little

House” books. Answer the questions. 1. What are the “Little

House” books about? 2. What do you know about Laura Ingalls

Wilder?

scriptLaura Ingalls Wilder

Warming up

1. What are the “Little House” books about? The “Little House”

books are about the family of a little girl named Laura. The family lived on the great flat land known as the prairie in the central part

of the United States. They were known as pioneers. The stories

take place in the mid eighteen hundreds. The first book is called

“Little House in the Big Woods."

Warming up

2. What do you know about Laura Ingalls Wilder? Laura

Ingalls was born in 1867 in an area known as the "Big Woods" of

Wisconsin. Her family was always moving from one place to

another. Life was not easy for them. Readers can read about

Laura’s early life in her books.

Warming up

The story about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her “Little House”

books Since the nineteen thirties, children have gone to sleep

listening to the words of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote nine

"Little House" books that take place in the mid eighteen hundreds.

They tell about a family who lived on the great flat land known as

the prairie in the central part of the United States. They were

known as pioneers. The family moved from one small house to

another. They carried all they owned in a wagon, pulled by a

horse. They did not like to live and work in big cities. They enjoyed

f arming and raising animals. And they loved the open spaces

of the prairie.More

Warming up

Laura Ingalls was born in eighteen sixty-seven in an area

known as the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin. Her father was said to

have a "restless spirit." He did not like to live in one place very

long. The family moved from Wisconsin to Kansas, then to

Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. Laura's father was always

looking for a better job, or better land to settle on. Life for the

Ingalls family was not easy. They were often cold and hungry.

Laura remembered these times when she wrote her "Little House"

books later in life.More

Warming up

Laura Ingalls Wilder's first book is called "Little House in the

Big Woods." It was published in nineteen thirtytwo. It tells of her

life when she was about five years old. She calls her mother and

father "Ma" and "Pa". She also includes an older sister named

Mary and a younger sister named Carrie in her stories. This first

book tells how Laura helps her family on their small farm. She

learns how to grow crops and prepare for a cold winter. After

working hard all day, Pa would play his fiddle, and sometimes they would sing and dance. Life was simple, but good.

Warming up Look at the title of the passage. What do you

think a

novel with the title The Glass Castle is most likely to be

about?1 an impossible dream 2 a fragile personality 3 a

stimulating but unusual childhood 4 a fairy story

Skimming Task

Skimming

Check ( ) the true statements. 1 The passage describes what

happened one Christmas in the writer’s family. 2 Her family

usually celebrated Christmas like all other families. 3 Her parents

usually gave the children presents at Christmas. 4 Her father

didn’t have any job on this particular Christmas. 5 He took the