大学英语一课程讲义第四单元Unit4

Unit 4 Holidays and Special DaysI. Teaching aims: 1. to do some preparation activities such as discussion, group work (ask thestudents to talk about one of the western holidays that they think the mostinteresting), etc. to practice the students‟ spoken skill and communicativeskills;2. to grasp some new words and try to use these words which help them enrichtheir vocabulary;3. to discuss important holidays in western countries and the way peoplecelebrate;4. to do some post-reading exercises and some after-class reading to practicewhat they have got to know in class to improve their Englishcomprehensive skills.II. key points: 1. to learn the ways people celebrate Christmas;2. talk about the customs of western holidays.III. difficult points: 1. to paraphrase some difficult sentences and catch their meaning.2. to grasp some useful words and phrases to discuss western holidays.IV. teaching process:i. preparation:1. Ask the students to talk about one of the western holidays that they think the most interesting.All the countries have their own festivals. The most important festival in china is Spring Festival, the first day of a year in lunar calendar. However, in western countries and North America, people mostly regard Christmas as a high point of the year.Besides Christmas, there are also many other festivals in the United States, such as Labor Day, Valentine's Day, Good Friday and so on. Each of them is unusual.January 1 is New Year's Day, almost all the American will have a celebration in order to welcome the coming of a new year. New Year greetings can be heard everywhere. Some people may make plans and resolve to change their bad habits so that they can have a good beginning in the New Year.Because ancient American people came from many countries, especially the western countries, they usually have the same festivals. But Thanksgiving Day is different, it is the most truly American of the national holidays in the United States. In 1620,some people called the settlers sailed to America. They arrived after a long time and lots of difficulties. In the first winter, more than half of the people died because of hungry and diseases. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring. They were waiting for the harvest. Their lives depended on the coming harvest. After some time their dream became true. The fields produced enough crops. Therefore they decided to thank the god and celebrate the harvest. Then President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.Now, American people have a get-together and prepare a nice and big dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Turkeys are often offered, it almost becomes the symbol of Thanksgiving. All kinds of sweets and nuts can be seen on the table, too It's still a day to express people's thanks for the year's bounty and the god today.April Fool's Day is another interesting festival. It began in France and was very popular at that time. It was celebrated in nearly all the western countries later. In the early 18th century, the tradition was taken to the United States by the Englishmen who moved to America early. On April 1,people will play jokes on others and they may decorate their houses as if it was Christmas or Near Year's Day. It's very interesting to join the parties on April Fool's Day. People may make some pretty but fake dishes, for example, the ice-cream may be covered with tomatoes. "Have a lovely day!" "You are an April fool!" "These words can be often heard on April Fool's Day. People won't be unhappy if others play jokes on them at that day.2. Holiday wordsHolidays and Special Days in U.S.AThe American calendar is filled with numerous holidays. The following table shows some of the more popular holidays. Important national holidays have been indicated in bold face.Most non-essential government offices will be closed on these days. (Fire, Ambulance and Police are always open.) Banks and post offices also tend to be closed on these days, and many businesses will give their employees the day off.It is also important to be aware of the holidays of people of other religious faiths. For example, important Jewish holidays include Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkoth, Chanukah, and Passover. Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Sukkoth occur in the fall. Chanukah occurs in December, near Christmas. Passover occurs in March or April, near Easter.3. Reading a Rhyme1) Who do you think wrote the rhyme?It might be a child who is between 7 and 12 years old. He or she lost his/ her milk teeth. His/her two front teeth have not grown out and his/her classmates might make fun of him/ her. So he/ she asked Santa Claus to give him/ her two front teeth.Student A: This rhyme is written by a child (6-7 years old) who has no front teeth.Student B: This rhyme is written by an old man/woman who has lost his/her front teeth. (He/She ca n‟t pronounce the sound “s” without his/her front teeth.)Student C: This rhyme is written by a young man who has lost his front teeth in a fight and is often teased by others.Student D: This rhyme is written by an advertiser trying to promote the sales of a certain product containing calcium which is good for children‟s teeth.Student E: This rhyme is written by the parent of a baby whose front teeth haven‟t grown yet and who wants to wish its parents Merry Christmas.(The baby is too young to write such a rhyme.)2) Which Christmas custom is reflected in it?Making a wishStudent A: People exchange gifts with each other.Student B:People wish each other “Merry C hristmas".Student C: People make wishes on Christmas and their wishes will come true.Student D: Children get a lot of presents on Christmas3) If you‟re to make a wish, what will it be?Wishes might be: pass TEM 4, find a part time job, buy a computer, buy a car, learn how to drive, own a large house, publish a bookStudent A: Wish everyone has the most advanced computer.Student B:Wish I can receive many presents and can do whatever I want to do.Student C: Wish our country develops more quickly in the next fifty years and that ourcountry will be the most powerful in the world on thecentennial anniversary of our country.Student D: Wish my best friend good luck.Student E: Wish my family members and all my friends and relatives happy, healthy, and prosperous.Student F: Wish I could stay in a cabin in the countryside with a peasant family, sit around the fire and tell stories to each other.Student G: Wish all my dreams will come true.4. What is this special day?April Fool‟s DayPeople play tricks on each other; Neighbor kids will play friendly tricks on you; your best friend will tease you; and even the media will makes jokes to fool the public. When someone is tricked, people say: “April Fool.”ii. listening-centered activities1. Listen to a passage and complete the following clues about “The Origin of Santa Claus”1. The custom of giving presents during Christmas goes back to the ancient Romans.2. In the Bible, the wise men brought gifts to Jesus on the 12th day after his birth.3. In some countries of Europe, the gifts are supposed to be brought in by Saint Nicholas, a bishop who was regarded as a special friend of the children.4. When the Dutch came to New York, they brought the traditions of Saint Nicholas with them.5. In America the date of Santa Claus‟s arrival was moved to Christmas eve.The reason for this is that the gifts are supposed to be brought in by Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast day, December the 6th. Saint Nicholas was a bishop of the 4th century who came to be regarded as a special friend of the children. So in various countries around the world Saint Nicholas returns every year with gifts for good children. When the Dutch came to New York, they brought the traditions of Saint Nicholas with them. They called him “San Nicholas.” And this soon was changed to “Sankt Klaus”, and then Santa Claus. But in America the date of Santa Claus‟s arrival was moved to Christmas eve. And gradually his red costume, the reindeer, and his home at the north pole became part of the tradition.2. Spot Dictation:and because it meant they would have a period of rest from work afterwards. They would make merry and have a great holiday. Even though it was November, they considered it the beginning of the new year! When the Romans conquered Europe, they changed this time of celebration to the first of January. From then the coming of the new year was a symbol of a new life with new hope for the future. This custom and this meaning has lasted to this day. We celebrate the new year hoping it will bring us a good life!3. Background knowledge about Valentine’s Day:Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine's Day. One legend dates as far back as the days of the Roman Empire. According to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of his army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join. Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.A priest named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.After his death, Valentine was made a saint, and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other messages on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to give roses or chocolates and to send greetings.4. role playWork with your partners to make a conversation in the following situations:1) You ring your friend Lisa on Christmas Eve.Tom: Hi! Lisa. Is that you? It‟s Tom.Lisa: Merry Christmas! Tom.Tom: You too. What are you going to do during the holidays?Lisa: I‟m going to visit my parents and my brothers back home.Tom: Have a safe trip! Then. You know what? I‟m going to China for my holidays. I hope that will be exciting.Lisa: I‟m sure it will.2) You and your girlfriend/boyfriend celebrate Valentine‟s Day.Jack: Happy Valentine‟s Day, dear!May: Oh! I can‟t believe you remembered!Jack: How can I forget? There are reminders all over town. Everywhere I go I see signs that tell me to buy flowers and chocolates for the woman I love. So, here, please accept these flowers and chocolates.May: Thank you so much. I cooked a special dinner for you tonight. Happy Valentine‟s Day to you!3) You are discussing with your friend about the New Year‟s resolution.Peter: Have you made a New Year‟s resolution yet, Mark?Mark: No, I never make New Year‟s resolu tions. I did for a few years, but I never kept them. Now I don‟t even bother to make them. What about you?Peter: I‟ve made a resolution to lose weight.Mark: I don‟t think you need to lose weight. You look just fine.Peter: Thank you! I appreciate that comment.5. video clip1) What do you know about Thanksgiving Day?2) If you have an opportunity to give thanks to somebody, whom will you give thanks to first? And how?iii. reading-centered activities1. What is Christmas?The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is one of the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar.Christmas Day, the 25th of December, is the biggest festival(节日)celebrated in the Christian countries of the world. Although everyone enjoys Christmas Day,it is particularly enjoyed by children, who get very excited because of the presents they know they are going to receive. Small children believe that their presents are brought by Father Christmas(圣诞老人).Father Christmas is a kind of old man who, the children are told, lives at the North Pole. He travels through the sky on a sleigh(雪撬) which is pulled by reindeers(驯鹿) and loaded with(装满) presents. Stopping on the roof of houses, he enters by climbing the chimney(烟囱).When small children go to bed on Christmas Eve, they hang a stocking at the end of their beds. Their parents warn them not to try to look at Father Christmas, or he will not leave them anything. When they wake, they find theirstockings filled with presents. Children are very excited on Christmas morning and always wake up early.Christmas is also a family celebration. As any members of the family as possiblegather to eat, play party games and watch the special Christmas programmes on TV.The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday (other federal holidays are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of six holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption (Mary's assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before the introduction of Christmas, each year beginning on December 17 Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Many Romans also celebrated the lengthening of daylight following the winter solstice by participating in rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light (see Mithraism). These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.Most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice.Although the Gospels describe Jesus‟ birth in detail, they never mention the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals.2. introductionTo many people Christmas is no longer than a most important religious celebration. It means drinking and eating with abandon, and people are apt to participate in the conspicuous consumption. They hardly think of the less fortunate, one should remember all the good things and express his love to others.Work in pairs to explain the meanings of the following two sentences.Christmas isn‟t Christmas without a turkey.Turkey makes a really traditional Christmas.As we all know, turkey is the main food for Christmas in North America. Without turkey, Christmas won‟t be Christmas. Turkey always goes together with cranberry sauce. The turkey is stuffed with sausage and a mixture of bread, milk, eggs, onions and various herbs including summer savory.Turkey is like a very large chicken that usually weighs around 15 lbs. It takes around 7 hours to roast it in the oven. Some people use an electric knife to carve it into pieces.3. words and phrasesabsolutely: definitely and completely; unquestionably 完全地，确实地adj.: absolute relativeabsolutely relativelyalcoholic: containing or preserved in alcohol 含酒精的an alcoholic drinkn. alcoholapproach: to come near or nearer, as in space or time: 接近：靠近或靠得更近，如在空间或时间上; to come close to, as in appearance, quality, or condition; approximate: 近乎Spring approaches.The performance approaches perfection.n. a way or means of reaching something; an access:途径; the method used in dealingwith or accomplishing:步骤：an approach to the bridgea logical approach to the problemThe approach of winter brings cold weather.In some cases, different approaches ____the same scientific problem lead to conflicting theories.A)to B)in C)of D)for答案：A) the approach to...，为固定搭配，意为“…方法(途径)”。

姓名，年级：时间：Section ⅢLearning about Language & Using Language重点单词写作词汇1。

damage n．& vt。

损失；损害2.sincerely adv。

真诚地;真挚地3。

express vt。

表示;表达n. 快车；速递4。

reporter n. 记者拓展词汇5。

frighten vt。

使惊吓;吓唬→frightened adj.受惊的；受恐吓的→frightening adj。

令人恐惧的6。

congratulation n．祝贺；(复数)贺词→congratulate vt.祝贺；恭喜；庆贺7。

judge n．裁判员；法官vt.断定;判断；判决→judgment n．审判；判决；裁判；判断8。

cyclist n．骑自行车的人→cycle vi。

骑自行车阅读词汇9。

bar n．条;棒；条状物10。

outline n. 要点；大纲；轮廓11。

headline n. 报刊的大字标题重点短语1。

a letter of invitation 邀请信2。

give a speech 作演讲3.be proud of 为……而自豪4.express thanks to sb。

表达对某人的谢意5。

give out 放出；分发；用光；耗尽6。

be known as 作为……而出名重点句型1.“介词＋关系代词”引导的定语从句Your speech was heard by a group of five judges, all of whom agreed(所有的评委赞成）that it was the best one this year.2。

as引导定语从句，意为“正如,正像……”As you know（正如你所知道的), this is the day the quake happened。

.years ago。

3。

be doing sth. when.。

Unit 4Teaching Objectives:By the end of this unit, the students will be expected to be able to1.get to know something about the sources to get energy from and know how to save energy;e skillfully the key words and 8 expressions learned in TEXT A in conversations andwritings, and be familiar with the words and phrases learned in the text;3.learn something about "recyclable economy"; learn as many language points as possible inTEXT B;4.consolidate the basic grammer on the past progressive tense;5.get to know how to write a notice.Teaching Methods: Lecture, DiscussionUnit Duration: 8 class hours(45 minutes each)Teaching procedures:I. Preparatory1. Words And Phrases Learned In Displayshortage: (amount of) deficiency; condition of not having enough 不足solar: of or from the sun, or using the energy from the sun to produce electric power 太阳的，来自太阳的，太阳能的efficient: working or operating quickly and effectively in an organized way 效率高的；有能力的，能胜任的consume: use (fuel, energy or time), esp. in large amounts; eat or drink a lot 消耗，花费；大吃，大喝sometimes: at some times 有时cancel: decide that something arranged in advance will not happen, or state that you no longer wish to use or pay for something already ordered 取消renewable: that can be renewed 可再生的，可延长的light: cause to begin burning or to give out light 可燃，使发光2. Expressions Learned In Displayat the moment make … use of take in turn… inas…as got stuck it took give offII. Language In Context1. Information Related To The TextEnergy Crisis:This phrase usually refers to a critical shortage in the supply of energy—producing fuels, such as gas, oil, and coal. During the early 1970‟s, the demand for petroleum increased sharply, and western countries depended heavily on imported supplies. The situation became worse during the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, when the Arab nations reduced oil production and embargoed oil shipments to the U.S. and other countries that supported Israel, causing an acute energy shortagein these countries during the winter of 1973-1974, thus first came “energy crisis.”Renewable Energy Resources:“Rnewable enerny resources” refers to sources of energy which are capable of being renewed or cannot be depleted by use, such as watwe, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and marine-based power.2. Introductory Remarks:In this article, the author discusses energy crisis. There are two main groups of energy: renewable and nonrenewable. Most of the energy we use comes from the nonnewable. These days, more people are using more machines to do things every day at work and at home, and we need more energy than we …ve ever needed. This rise trend of energy consupmtion is obvious. We are faced with a serios energy crisis.The fact of the decrease in the reserves of traditional fossil fuel and the increase in the consumption demand makes it very urgent to take measures to resolve the problem of energy crisis. So now people are working hard to find cleaner and renewable alternatives of energy, such as hydrogen energy, wind energy, solar energy and nuclear energy.3. Language Points:(1) more people are using more machines to do things every day at work and at home.现在进行时，表示近期的发展趋势或正在变化中的情况。

单元：Unit 4课时：2课时教学目标：1. 理解并掌握本单元的核心词汇和短语；2. 熟悉并掌握本单元的语法知识；3. 提高学生的阅读理解能力，培养良好的阅读习惯；4. 培养学生的口语表达能力，提高英语口语水平。

教学重点：1. 词汇：掌握核心词汇和短语，如：cope with, adapt to, take advantage of, etc.；2. 语法：掌握时态和语态的运用，如：现在进行时、过去进行时、被动语态等；3. 阅读理解：提高阅读速度和准确性，理解文章主旨和大意；4. 口语表达：提高口语表达能力，学会用英语进行日常交流。

教学难点：1. 词汇的记忆和运用；2. 语法知识的理解和运用；3. 阅读理解的技巧和策略；4. 口语表达的自然流畅。

教学准备：1. 教材：《现代大学英语》精读1；2. PPT课件；3. 阅读材料；4. 练习题。

教学过程：第一课时一、导入1. 通过图片、视频等形式，引入本单元主题：适应新环境；2. 让学生分享自己在适应新环境方面的经历和感受。

二、词汇教学1. 介绍本单元核心词汇和短语，如：cope with, adapt to, take advantage of 等；2. 通过例句、游戏等形式，帮助学生记忆和运用词汇。

三、语法教学1. 介绍时态和语态的运用，如：现在进行时、过去进行时、被动语态等；2. 通过例句、练习题等形式，帮助学生理解和运用语法知识。

四、阅读理解1. 介绍阅读理解技巧和策略；2. 让学生阅读课文，回答相关问题，检查阅读效果。

五、课堂小结1. 回顾本节课所学内容；2. 强调本单元重点和难点。

第二课时一、复习导入1. 复习上节课所学内容，如：词汇、语法、阅读理解等；2. 让学生分享自己在复习过程中的收获。

二、口语表达1. 通过角色扮演、小组讨论等形式，让学生用英语进行日常交流；2. 鼓励学生大胆开口，提高口语表达能力。

三、课堂小结1. 回顾本单元所学内容；2. 强调本单元重点和难点。