Unit 3 A taste of Engliah humour

Unit 3 A taste of English humour培优练习Ⅰ.阅读理解AA nation's humor is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain thing depends on many things including ages，personal experiences，levels of education and locations. Therefore，humor is something that is not always transferable (可转移的) in another country.What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue？Does that mean they will then share the same sense of humor，or can differences still take place？Let's take the example of Britain and America. Time and time again，people say that Brits and Americans don't “get” each other's sense of humor. It is often argued that one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor is that Americans don't understand irony (反话)．Simon Pegg explores this topic in depth in his article What Are You Laughing At？He concludes that this statement isn't true and I agree with him.In fact，Brits use irony on a daily basis while Americans don't. I think Americans understand British irony (most of the time anyway)；what they don't understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony，they tend to say that they are “only kidding”．They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do. Maybe this comes from a fear of offending (冒犯) people.The American sense of humor is generally more slapstick (闹剧的) than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward，a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes，on the other hand，tend to be more subtle．This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved (矜持的) than American culture.1．What does Paragraph 1 mainly show?A．Humor is difficult to get.B．Humor is influenced by culture.C．Not all people have a sense of humor.D．It is important to have a sense of humor.2．What is the author's point of view in Paragraph 2?A．Americans don't get Brits' humor.B．Americans know how to use irony.C．Simon Pegg is professional in using irony.D．Britain and America share the same sense of humor.3．What can we learn about Brits and Americans from Paragraph 3?A．Americans' jokes often offend people.B．Brits' irony is not easy to understand.C．They are different in how often to use irony.D．They are not sure about the need to use irony.4．What does the underlined word “subtle” mean?A．Hidden. B．Funny.C．Obvious.D．Special.BHobbies in general are becoming something of the past. Our lives are already filled with classes，homework，working，relationships and sleeping. When we do have a spare moment，it is all too easy to spend it on the endless entertainment and media that are right at our fingertips.I do not doubt that there are some people who could become a great writer or musician. I only fear that so many people are busy pursuing their education and their careers，but they never even see the potential (潜能) they have. The next great photographer or singer could be going to college right now. But they might not even know they have a gift for photographing or singing if they've never picked up a camera or a guitar.Of course，the final goal of pursuing a new hobby shouldn't be to become rich and famous. For most people，a hobby is just something they enjoy doing for the purpose of the thing itself. Such hobbies are still very useful. Studies have shown that people who have a hobby are less likely to have stress and more likely to have more meaningful lives.Most importantly，a hobby is just something you do to make you happy. I hate to break it to you，but we all have a long lifetime of work and stress ahead of us. It will make things much easier if we can practice the piano or make some collections after work.Sure，it's not easy to start a new hobby while going to school，but it will likely never get easier than it is right now. So think about the thing that youhave always wanted to try but were too embarrassed or busy or whatever. You never know，you might become the world's next great people. If not，you'll at least be a little more well-rounded，more interesting and less stressed.5．What does Paragraph 1 mainly show?A．All people should learn to relax.B．Today's people have little time for hobbies.C．People in the past took their hobbies seriously.D．People's lives have been negatively affected by media.6．What does the author think of hobbies?A．They may take up too much time.B．They can help us enjoy a better life.C．They sometimes can bring us stress.D．They should make us famous one day.7．What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?A．We should start a hobby now.B．Starting a new hobby isn't easy.C．We'd better develop a hobby at school.D．Developing a hobby will get easier as time goes by.8．What's the author's purpose in writing the text?A．To introduce some helpful hobbies.B．To encourage us to have a hobby.C．To tell us how to create a happy life.D．To tell us how to find our potential.Ⅱ.阅读七选五Having good study habits is key to success in college. 1 To begin making the change，you need to get organized to study.Create a fixed study space. Find a quiet space in your room or somewhere on campus where you can focus. Studying in the same place every day makes your brain combine a certain environment with work. 2Find a regular time for studying. If you study at the same time each day，your brain will be prepared for learning when you sit down. Review your schedule and see when you have free time. 3 You can study during gaps between classes or in the evening after your classes are done for the day.4 Make sure you have everything you need to study at your study space.If you're studying in a place in your home，keep things like your books，pencils，pens，and paper in that area. If you go out to study，you can take a book bag and keep all your studying materials stored there.Avoid distractions (干扰)．When you prepare your study space，it's important to keep it away from distractions. Remove any technologies that will take your mind off your work，like your iPad. 5 Besides，keep other distracting materials such as outside reading，away from your study area.A．Organize your materials.B．Start with difficult material first.C．Your room may be an ideal place for studying.D．This will help you quickly get into the state of study.E．Schedule an hour or two for studying during those times each day.F．However，many students find their former study habits are not suitable for college.G．You can also use apps to stop distracting websites like Facebook while you're studying.Ⅲ.语法填空I was only in China for about 4 months last year. I stayed in Shanghai and visited some other cities 1.(include) Beijing. While the price feels a bit too much for a high speed train，the Chinese infrastructure (基础建设) is 2. (true) far ahead of any other developing country and even some developed ones in Europe. The train stations are as big 3. airports：almost everything in 4. (they) is like airports. They have all the high standards of airports but without the waiting time. The trains are just like those from Germany or France，5. are clean，modern and highly developed and run at very high speeds. It is about 1，200 kms from Shanghai to Beijing，and each high speed train 6. (take) around 4 and a half hours to reach its destination and 7. are more than 2 trains every hour，each day.I also had the experience of 8.(sit) in Maglev (磁力悬浮列车) in Shanghai. There is a public maglev train that runs from Shanghai city to its international airport. The 9.(distant) from the city to the airport is 40 kms and the speed of the train is 430 kms/hr. It took us just around 6 mins 10. (cover)40 kms and it felt rather smooth.答案及解析Ⅰ.阅读理解A【语篇解读】　本文为说明文，话题是社会文化类。

Unit 3 A taste of English humourLanguage points教案Teaching goals1．Target languagea. Humour, comedy, content, performer , astonish , fortunate, ordinary, bored, entertain , throughout, homeless, moustache, worn, failure, overcome, leather, pick out.b Make Ss get knowledge of the new words and phrases.2．Ability goalsGet Ss to use some useful new words and expressions correctly.Enable Ss to make sentences with the useful sentence patterns.3．Learning ability goalsTo help students master the important language points.To help students to make sentences by using the words and phrases.Teaching important pointsGet Ss to master the usage of the words and phrases.Teaching difficult pointshelp students get knowledge of the language points.Teaching methodsInspiration, Questioning and Discussion.Teaching aidsA computer, a projector and a recorder.Teaching proceduresStep I , review the new words and phrases.Step II. Teaching the important language points一．词语辨析1. specially / especially / particularly【解释】specially = on purpose故意地；专门地 (不是为了别的，而只是为了某一目的而专门采用的某种方式。

Unit3AtasteofEnglishhumour李仕才一、阅读理解。

Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words , because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, an d disappointment.My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra m inute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rul e. When my children were young and likely to cause accident s, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only ”moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup fu ll of hot coffee away from the edge of a computer, or somethin g that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to sa fety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal rel ationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regr etted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you”. When my father announced he was going t o the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I toldhim that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be th ere. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old an d I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him.I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my da y off after all.I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only”about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality(可能发生的事). And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy sche dule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the bes t kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.1.Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” ru le ?A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated.B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working.C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better.D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone.2.The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to __ ________.A. keep her appointment with the eye doctorB. meet her father who was already an old manC. join in the holiday celebration of the companyD. finish her work before the deadline approaching3.The underlined word “foregone” in Paragraph 3 is closed in meaning to “_________”.A. abandonedB. lackedC. avoidedD. wasted4.What is the best title for the passage ?A. The Emotional Well-beingB. The Two Saddest WordsC. The Most Useful RuleD. The Peace of Mind【文章大意】这篇文章主要讲解的是作者对于最悲哀的两个单词if only 的理解及看法。

人教版高中英语必修四 Unit3 A tasteof English humour-词汇篇（学生版）face.他对这次竞赛中获得第二名很满意，因此脸上露出了满意的微笑。

2. break into强行进入，破门而入；撬开(汽车等)；突然开始(笑、哭)break away from摆脱；脱离，背叛(政党、国家等) break down出故障；失败；垮掉break in强行闯入，打断break out爆发；突然发生break through突围；突破break up粉碎；结束；散开；(学校)期终放假break off断开；停顿；突然中止E.g. The thief broke away from the police and ran into the woods.小偷摆脱了警察跑进了树林。

E.g. Don't break in while others are speaking.别人讲话时不要插话。

E.g. The car I was in broke down, so I had to walk home.我坐的车抛锚了，所以我不得不走路回家。

E.g. A big fire broke out in the town last night.昨天晚上镇里着了大火。

E.g. The meeting broke up without a result.会议没有得出结果就结束了。

E.g. Strong will can almost break through everything.顽强的意志几乎可以战胜一切。

3. persuade/convincepersuade 着重利用督促、劝告来感动和影响听者，使其愿意相信某事或参与某种行为E.g. I persuade him to quit smokingconvince指用理论、证据等理智方面的因素使别人相信4. as/withAs (conj.)随着，常用来引导时间状语从句With(prep.)随着，后接名词或复合宾语，不引导从句E.g. He gave me so many facts that convinced me.三、要点梳理1. content(1)adj.满足的；满意的①We shouldn't be content with the achievements already gained.我们决不能满足于已取得的成绩。

Unit 3A taste of English humour(主题语境：人与自我——语言学习的规律、方法等)1 content adj. 满足的；满意的vt. 使满足n. 内容；目录；容量；满足【经典例句】He made people laugh at a time when they felt depressed, so theycould feel more content with their lives.在人们感到沮丧的时候，他可以使他们开怀大笑，于是人们就对自己的生活感到比较满足。

(1)be content to do sth. 乐于做某事be content with... 对……满足/满意(2)content oneself with... 满足于……；使(某人)自己对……感到满足温馨提示：“对……满意”的常用短语小结：be content with; be pleased with; be satisfied with; be happy with。

[基础练习]——单句语法填空(1)Those who are content _with their present situations will surely make no difference in life.(2)That rich man is tired of city life, so he is content _to_live (live) in the country.[能力提升]——一句多译(3)我们不应该使自己仅仅满足于课本知识。

①We shouldn't _be_content_with_the_knowledge learned from the books. (content adj.)②We should _never_content_ourselves_with_the_knowledge learned from the books. (content v t.)2 astonish vt. 使惊诧【经典例句】It astonished us that she should marry a sugar daddy.她竟然嫁给了一位有钱的老男人太令人惊讶了。

Unit3 A taste of English humourTeaching aims:Ⅰ. TopicDifferent types of humour; a taste of English humourⅡ. Useful words and expressions:Nouns: slide, skin, content, particular, failure, difficulty, boil, snowstorm, bottom, mouthful, Switzerland, swing, pancake, whisper, senseVerbs: slide, content, astonish, entertain, overcome, boil, chew, direct, star, swing, Adjectives: cruel, content, particular, homeless, worn-out, fortunate, bottom, direct, outstanding, mountainous, vastAdverb: throughout, fortunately, directExpressions: be content with, be badly off, be worn out, pick out, cut off, star in, knock intoⅢ. Functional items:1. Expressing anxietyWhat’s wrong? What’s the matter with you?Is there anything wrong?2. Expressing surpriseReally? Oh dear! Is that so? Good heaven!3. Expressing pleasureI’m glad /pleased/ happy to…That’s n ice /wonderful /great.Ⅳ. GrammarThe –ing form as the predicative, attribute and object complementTheir job is “panning for gold”.That was the problem facing Charlie Chaplin.He sat down at the table with his plate and drinking cup.Do you find it funny to see someone sliding on a banana skin, bumping into someone else round a corner, or falling down a hole in the road?Teaching proceduresPeriod 1-2 ReadingStep 1. Warming up and Discussing:1. How many kinds of humor can you think of in your daily life?Types of humor:English humor Chinese humor Nonverbal pantomime (哑剧) Mime and farce funny plays Verbal jokes cross talk (相声) Funny stories funny stories Funny poems doggerel (打油诗)2. What’s the difference between jokes and humors?3. Can you name out some of the humorous actors you like?Background knowledge:mime 笑剧farce 滑稽剧comedy 喜剧tragedy 悲剧opera 歌剧TV play 电视剧humor 幽默joke 笑话circus 马戏团clown 小丑sketch 小品cross talk 相声Step 2. ReadingTask 2: Ss read and answer the following questions:1. What’s the passage mainly about?A. The history of English humor.B. The films Chaplin made.C. The humor Chaplin made in his film.D. The Gold Rush in California.2. How many parts can the passage be divided into?A. 2B. 3C. 4D. 53. People enjoy seeing other people’s bad luck because _______.A. they enjoy doing soB. it makes people more worried about their lifeC. it makes people more content with their lifeD. there’s much fu n in doing so4. Chaplin was given a special Oscar for __________.A. the characters he played in his filmsB. the films he directedC. the joy he gave us in his filmsD. the contributions he made in films Task 2: Ss read and fill the following chart:Period 3-4. Language learningStep 1. Revision Ss retell the text with their own words.Step 2. Language points1. find /think/ feel it + adj./n + to do sth.We find it important to learn English well.I feel it a great honour to be invited to the party.2. see sb. Doing See sb do See sb doneWe saw him stealing the book from the bookstore just now.He saw Tom go out of the classroom yesterday afternoon.His neighbour saw him often beaten by his father.3. Skin: The purse is made of crocodile skin.be all skins and bones 瘦的皮包骨头4. be cruel to Don’t be cruel to animals.It is cruel of sb. to do sth. It’s cruel of America to bomb Iraq.5. feel /be content with sth, be content to do sth.People of the city feel content with their life.Mary is content to sit in front of the television all night.6. be worse off be bet ter off7. astonish sb. with sth. to the astonishment of sb.be astonished at sth./ to do sthHe said he could astonish us with a good result in the final exam.To the astonishment of the teachers, he got the first in the competition.The teachers were astonished at his getting the first in the competition.The teachers were astonished to find that he got the first in the competition.8. worn-out : adj. 穿破的Worn out vt. vi 使…耗尽; 穿破/旧，Cheap socks wear out quickly. I am worn out by the hard work.9. failure un.失败cn. 失败的人或事His plans ended in failure. As a writer, he was a failure.10. be loved by sb. for sthDeng Xiaoping is loved by the Chinese for his great contribution to China’s construction and social reform.11. star in : 担任主角This is an old film starred in by Charlie Chaplin.12. knock into He walked in such a hurry that he knocked into an old lady in the street.Step 3 Learning about language1. Ss do part 1 of the discovering useful words and expressions.2. Ss finish part 2, 3 and 4Step 4. Practice1. Ask the Ss to do Ex. 1and 2 on page 63.Period 5-6. ReadingStep 1. Pre-readingThe purpose of this reading is to introduce students to English jokes. Two kinds of jokes are shown here. The first shows now different meanings can make something amusing. This is called a “play on words”. The second kind of joke is s short funny story. Both jokes are very popular in English-speaking countries.Step 2. ReadingTask 1: Ss read and give their own answer to the question.Answer key for Exercise 1:1. B 2.C 3. ATask 2: Ss read part 2 and give their own answers to the two questions.Step 3. Reading task (page 59)Task 3: Ss read the passage and answer the following questions.1. What do children usually do on April Fool’s Day?2. Why did people believe the programme Panorama?3. Do you think the advice that the BBC gave people who asked how to grow noodle trees was serious? Give a reason.4. What would you do to find out whether a story like this was true.Task 4: Ss read and analyse the way that the BBC played this trick.Suggested answer:1. The panorama TV programme is serious and people believe it.2. The progrmme itself was presented in a very serious way.3. There were many details given in the story to make it believable.Task 5: Ss read and think if these things are true:1. that pigeons follow roads and road signs when they find their way home.2. that the earliest football has been found in a grave dated to 1000 years ago.3. that earliest human paintings on cave walls are all modern fakes.4. that advanced computers can “talk” to each other without the aid of humans. Period 7-8. Listening and speakingStep 1. Warm upAsk one of the Ss to tell the class a joke.Step 2. Pre-listeningThis is a story that English speaking people find funny. It is the kind of story that might happen to anybody who has a farm and chickens. At first let Ss read the questions to make sure that they know what they should do in this listening.Step 3 ListeningTask 1: Ss listen to the tape twice and finish Ex 1 and 2 on page 23.Step 4. SpeakingTask 2: Ss in pairs think of a funny story. It can be an English story or a Chinese story. Follow the following procedure:Prepare a joke and tell your partner in English.While telling your story, use the expression on your face and some acting to help make the story as funny as you can.After telling your story to your partner, let him/her give you some advice.Then let your partner tell his/her story.Finally tell your story to the class.Step 5. Listening (on page 55)This is a funny story for the students to enjoy. Ss should listen carefully and first try to understand the meaning.Task 3: Ss listen to the tape twice and finish Wb Ex 1 and 2 on page 55.Task 4: TalkingHumour make people laugh, feel happy and relaxed. Sometimes one person may find something funny while another person doesn’t find it amusing at all. So in pairs discuss with your partner what makes you laugh. Try to use the followingexpressions:I enjoy this very much because….It surprises me that …I laugh at that kind of thing because…This is fun because…I’m pleased we were both amused at…It is very amusing that…How wonderful /surprising!Period 9. Grammar:Step 1. Warm upReview what the Ss have learned about –ing as the subject and ObjectStep 2. The –ing form as predicative, attribute and object complementPredicative1. Seeing is believing.2. The music is exciting.Attribute1. There is a swimming pool in our school.2. China is a developing country..3. The person translating the songs can speak seven languages.4. The boy standing there is a classmate of mine.Object complement1. We heard her singing in her room.2. You can see them performing every night this week at the new theatre.3. We watch the children diving into the water from the diving board.Step 3. Practice1. Ss finish Ex 2 ,3and 4 on page 21.2. Ss do Wb Ex 1 and 2 on page 56.astonish depress play do ride amuse bark welcome3. Choose the suitable words from the box below and fill in the blanks in the correct form:1). I can’t imagine Bill________ a motorbike.2). Did you hear the dog downstairs _______ for most of the night?3). Frank is very good at telling funny jokes. He can be very ________.4). You can’t stop me _________ what I want.5). He gave me a ________ hug when he met me at theairport.6). Jim has really learnt very fast. She has made ________ progress.7). It’s been raining all day. This weather is __________.8). When I came out of the theatre, I noticed a group of children _________ musical instruments across the street.Keys: 1). riding 2). barking 3). amusing 4). doing5). welcoming 6). astonishing 7). depressing 8). playingPeriod 10. WritingStep 1. Pre-writingThis exercise lets students to write a funny story.Task 1: Ss gather information that they need and plan what they want to write.Step 2. While-writingTask 2: Ss write an English funny story or a Chinese one.Writing tips:Ss make a planSs write down their story in a logical order:First … Then …. Next…. Finally / At last…For each part of the story try to find the most interesting words you can to describe how you felt or what was happening.Then write out your story using these interesting words.Read through your story.Then show it to your partner. Let him/her suggest some new and exciting words. Help your partner with his/ her story.Write out the story and put it into a class collection of stories.。