English Language Unit 1 - Asking for Clarification & Vocabulary Expansion

1. Unit1 Preview Ⅰ. Objectives Ⅱ. Suggested Teaching Plan Ⅲ. Background Information Ⅳ. Class Presentation

2. prev. Preview This is the first unit of Book Two. In the Listening and Speaking section, you will learn how to ask for and give clarification. In the Reading and Writing section, you will learn some interesting aspects of the English language. Text A relates some real stories about how misunderstandings arise when one fails to catch the English word correctly; Text B presents some mysteries of the English language, and Text C may help you enlarge your vocabulary to a certain extent.

3. master the basic language and skills necessary to ask for and give clarification; 1. understand the main ideas of Text A, Text B and Text C, and master the useful sentence structures and words and expressions found in the exercises relevant to the first two texts; 2. 3. know how to write a letter of invitation; know how to use V+V-ing; 4. guess the meaning of unknown words in context (1). 5. Obj. Ⅰ. Objectives After studying this unit, the students are expected to

4. s.t.p.1 Ⅱ. SuggestedTeaching Plan Suggested Time and Teaching Plan for Unit 1 Plan Contents Time The teacher begins with the Preview so make sure that the students have some idea of what this unit is all about. After that, the teacher activates the listening and Speaking exercises as follows: 2 periods Preview Listening and Speaking 1) The Language for Asking For and Giving Clarification Have a warm-up activity by asking students what they say when they are not clear about what has been said or have become puzzled about a particular point just mentioned; A.

5. s.t.p.1.2 Time Contents Plan Have the students listen to Exercise 1 (2-3 times) and fill in the blanks with the missing words; B. C. Ask one student to read aloud the talk so students can check their completed answers; Ask other students to present their opinions on a particular subject or situation, trying to use the expressions learned in Exercise 1. D.

6. s.t.p.2 Time Contents Plan 2) Asking For and Giving Clarification A. Go through the new words in the first dialogue in Exercise 3; Have the students listen to the conversation twice and fill in the blanks with the missing words; B. Ask students to answer the questions about the conversation; C. Now have them look for the language used to ask for and give clarification; D. E. Next, students can role-play the dialogue; F. Then have them either do the same with the second dialogue or be creative with it;

7. s.t.p.3 Time Contents Plan G. Finally, study the structures presented in Exercise 4, and create situations for conversations in which students are encouraged to ask for and give clarification using the language they have picked up in Exercise 1. 3) Listening Practice Before ending, the teacher tells the students how to do Exercises 5-10 as their assignment. The teacher also tells them that they should be prepared to answer the questions in Exercise 9 and give an oral presentation on the topic in Exercise 10 when next they come to class.

8. s.t.p.4 Time Contents Plan 3 periods The teacher begins with the assignment mainly to review the functional and notional language the students picked up in the previous classes. The teacher asks some students to answer the questions in Exercise 9 of the Listening and Speaking section and invites a few students to tell their classmates their opinions on the topic of “Life would be meaningless without misunderstandings.” Review of the listening and speaking skills the students have learned Then, the teacher turns to the Reading and Writing section. (These activities should be completed in 15 minutes.)

9. s.t.p.5 Time Contents Plan Text A & text-related exercises 1) Starter After a brief explanation of the instructions, the teacher gives the students a few minutes to think about the questions in the starter; A. asks some students to tell the others their responses. (10 minutes) B. 2) Text A The teacher lets the students answer the text-related questions, helps them identify the main idea of each paragraph and analyzes some difficult sentences and some language A.

10. s.t.p.8 Time Contents Plan points while discussing the whole text with the students (one and a half periods). guides the students through the exercises, focusing on certain items or leaving some exercises as the students’ homework, according to the students’ different levels of English (one period). B. Grammar Review 1) Grammar Review 1 period The teacher talks about the use of V+V-ing, and at the same time asks the students to do the grammar exercises in class.

11. s.t.p.9 Time Contents Plan 2) Practical Writing Practical Writing The teacher tells as well as shows the students how to write an invitation by doing Exercise 11 of Practical Writing, and then requires the students to do Exercise 12 as their homework.

12. s.t.p.10 Time Contents Plan 1) Text B Text B, Text C & text-related exercises 2 periods While discussing the text with the students, the teacher calls on them to pay attention to the structure of the paragraphs of the text, introducing briefly the concept of the topic sentence. Exercises 14 and 15 can be done either in class or after class. 2) Text C This text should be read by the students themselves as their homework or as fast-reading in class..

13. s.t.p.11 Time Contents Plan Basic Reading Skills 3) Basic Reading Skills The teacher tells the students how to guess the meanings of unknown words in context (1), and asks them to do the exercises in Basic Reading Skills.

14. BI Ⅲ. BackgroundInformation English Language Characteristics of English American English New Zealand The Big Apple

15. BI-EL English Language The English language is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is used as either a primary or secondary language in many countries. During the 1500s, fewer than 2 million people spoke English. All of them lived in what is now Great Britain. Through the centuries, as the result of various historical events, English spread throughout the world. Today, about 400 million people speak English as their native language. Most of them live in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. Another 100 million people living chiefly in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and in many African countries speak English in addition to their own language. An additional 200 million people probably know at least some English. (From the 1998 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia)

16. BI-CE1 Characteristics of English Vocabulary. English has a larger vocabulary than any other language. There are more than 600,000 words in the largest dictionaries of the English language. Some English words have been passed on from generation to generation as far back as scholars can trace. These words, such as woman, man, sun, hand, love, go, and eat, express basic ideas and feelings. Later, many words were borrowed from other languages, including Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. For example, algebra is from Arabic, fashion from French, piano from Italian, and canyon from Spanish. A number of words, such as doghouse and splashdown, were formed by combining other words. New words were also created by blending words. For example, motor and hotel were blended into motel. Words can be shortened to form new words, as was done with history to form story. Words called acronyms are formed by using the first letter or letters of several words. The word radar is an acronym for radio detection and ranging.

17. BI-CE2 Characteristics of English Pronunciation and spelling in English sometimes seem illogical or inconsistent. Many words are spelled similarly though pronounced differently. Examples include cough, though, and through. Other words, such as blue, crew, to, too, and shoe, have similar pronunciations but are spelled differently. Many of these variations show changes that occurred during the development of English. The spelling of some words remained the same through the centuries, though their pronunciation changed. Grammar is the set of principles used to create sentences. These principles define the elements used to assemble sentences and the relationships between the elements. The elements include parts of speech and inflections.

18. BI-CE3 Characteristics of English Parts of speech are the word categories of the English language. Scholars do not all agree on how to describe the parts of speech. The traditional description lists eight classes: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The most important relationships of the parts of speech include subject and verb, verb and predicate, and modifier and the word modified. English has fewer inflections than most other European languages. An English noun has only two inflections, the plural and the possessive. Inflections are used to change the tense and number of a verb or the case of a pronoun. Inflections can change adjectives to the comparative or the superlative — for example, big, bigger, biggest. (From the 1998 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia)

19. BI-AE1 American English American English is a variety of the English language spoken in the United States. Although all Americans do not speak the same way, their speech has enough in common that American English can be recognized as a variety of English distinct from British English, Australian English, and other national varieties. American English has grown up with the country. It began to diverge from British English during its colonial beginnings and acquired regional differences and ethnic flavor during the settlement of the continent. Today it influences other languages and other varieties of English because it is the medium by which the attractions of American culture — its literature, motion pictures, and television programs — are transmitted to the world.

20. BI-AE2 Characteristics of American English A. Pronunciation In broad terms, Canadian and American speakers tend to sound like one another. They also tend to sound different from a large group of English speakers who sound more British, such as those in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. For example, most Canadians and Americans pronounce an r sound after the vowel in words like barn, car, and farther, while speakers from the British English group do not. Also, some British English speakers drop h sounds at the beginning of words, so that he and his are pronounced as if they were spelled ee and is. The English spoken in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa sounds more like British English than American English does because these varieties have had less time to diverge from British English. The process of separate development began later in these countries than in North America.

21. BI-AE3 In some cases there are differences between American English and British English in the rhythm of words. British speakers seem to leave out a syllable in words like secretary, as if it were spelled secretry, while Americans keep all the syllables. The opposite is true of other words, such as specialty, which Americans pronounce with three syllables (spe-cial-ty) while British speakers pronounce it with five syllables (spe-ci-al-i-ty). Vowels and consonants may also have different pronunciations. British speakers pronounce zebra to rhyme with Debra, while American speakers make zebra rhyme with Libra. Canadian and British speakers pronounce the word schedule as if it began with an sh sound, while Americans pronounce it as if it began with an sk sound.

22. BI-AE4 B. Words The most frequently used words are shared by speakers of different varieties of English. These words include the most common nouns, the most common verbs, and most function words (such as pronouns, articles, and prepositions). The different varieties of English do, however, use different words for many words that are slightly less common — for example, British crisps for American potato chips, Australian billabong for American pond, and Canadian chesterfield for American sofa. It is even more common for the same word to exist with different meanings in different varieties of English. Corn is a general term in Britain, for which Americans use grain, while corn in American English is a specific kind of grain. The word pond in British English usually refers to an artificial body of water, whereas ponds also occur naturally in North America. British English chemist is the same as American English drugstore, and in Canada people go to the druggist. Many of the words most easily recognized as American in origin are associated with aspects of American popular culture, such as gangster or cowboy.

23. BI-AE5 C. Spelling American English spelling differs from British English spelling largely because of one man, American lexicographer Noah Webster. In addition to his well-known An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), Webster published The American Spelling Book (1783, with many subsequent editions), which became one of the most widely used schoolbooks in American history. Webster’s books sought to standardize spelling in the United States by promoting the use of an American language that intentionally differed from British English. The development of a specifically American variety of English mirrored the new country’s separate political development. Webster’s most successful changes were spellings with or instead of our (honor, labor for the British honour, labour); with er instead of re (center, theater for the British centre, theatre); with an s instead of a c (defense, license for the British defence, licence); with a final ck instead of que (check, mask for the British cheque, masque); and without a final k (traffic, public, now also used in British English, for the older traffick,

24. BI-AE6 publick). Later spelling reform created a few other differences, such as program for British programme. Canadian spelling varies between the British and American forms, more British in eastern Canada and more American in western Canada. D. Grammar The grammar of educated speakers of English differs little among national varieties. In the speech of people with less access to education, grammatical variations in regional and social varieties of American English are very common as normal, systematic occurrences (not as errors). One major difference between British and American English is that the two attach different verb forms to nouns that are grammatically singular but plural in sense. In American English, the team is…, or the government is… (because they are viewed as single entities), but in British English, the team are…, or the government are… (because teams and government are understood to consist of more than one person). Sometimes function words are used differently: The British stay in hospital but Americans stay in the hospital. (From Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2004)

25. BI-AE7 New Zealand New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean consisting of two large islands, the North Island and the South Island, and numerous smaller islands. Its Maori (毛利语的) name is Aotearoa, meaning “Land of the Long White Cloud.” Language: English Currency: New Zealand dollar Capital: Wellington Population: 3,951,307 (2003) Area: 270,534 sq km/104,454 sq mi. (From Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2004)

26. BI-gtc8 The Big Apple The term dates to 1921 and was originally a reference to the race courses in and around New York City. These were the big money courses, and the “apple” was associated with a prize, something desirable. By the late 1920s, the term had been adopted by jazz musicians and generalized to the city as a whole.A tourism advertising campaign in the 1970s that used the term as a theme reinvigorated its usage and brought the name to the attention of millions who had not otherwise heard it. Today it’s a common colloquial expression used by New York City dwellers to refer with some pride to their city. (From http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorb. html)

27. Class list Ⅳ. Class Presentation Listening & Speaking Reading & Writing Time for Fun

28. LS Listening & Speaking The Language for Asking For and Giving Clarification Asking For and Giving Clarification Listening Practice

29. Lp-main Listening Practice Listen to the following people speaking and decide what they are talking about. Listen to the following five short dialogues and choose the appropriate answers. Listen to the following short story twice. Listen carefully and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the story you have heard. Listen to the following talk and fill in the blanks with the missing words. The talk is given twice. Listen to the talk again and then answer the following questions orally. Have a discussion on the topic given below.

30. TL1 The Language for Asking For and Giving Clarification You are going to listen to an instructor talking about asking for and giving clarification. Listen carefully and fill in the blanks with the missing words. Instructor: In our daily conversations, we can not help asking for clarification (澄清，说明) when we are not clear about , or have become puzzled about a particular point . A conversation is a form of . During interaction, misunderstanding can lead to in communication. To avoid misunderstanding or , we tend to have an impulse (冲动) to ask for clarification. ________________ what has been said ______________ mentioned earlier two-way interaction _______________ ___________ a breakdown ____________ even confusion This is especially true when a Chinese learner of English talks with . This skill can help him or her avoid embarrassment caused by misunderstanding, and keep the conversation . a native speaker _____________ going on _______

31. TL2 You can develop the skill by reading and familiarizing yourselves with the language for asking for and giving clarification: — I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean by market economy. — I’m sorry, could you (possibly) explain what you mean by globalization? — I don’t understand what you mean by black lie. — What (exactly) do you mean by sick humor? And the language for giving clarification: — (Well,) what I’m trying to say is (that) + SENTENCE. — (Well,) the point I’m trying to make is (that) + SENTENCE. — (Well,) I think what I mean is (that) + SENTENCE. — What I mean is (that) + SENTENCE. — What I’m saying is (that) + SENTENCE. — All I’m trying to say is (that) + SENTENCE.

32. TL3 Now come up with a particular subject on which you voice your opinion or attitude, and expect others to ask for clarification about something that might be unclear to them. Try to use the language you have just learned in Exercise 1.

33. available 有空的 innocent 无害的 fib 小谎 CP-gtn1 Asking For and Giving Clarification • Before you listen to the first conversation, read the following words and expressions which may be new to you.

34. CP-gtn2 Listento the following conversation twice and fill in the blanks with the missing words. Wang Ying:Are you going to the party tonight, Tom? They told me it was going to . Tom Chang:I know, but I’m available tonight. Are you? Wang Ying:Well… . Tom Chang:I’ll tell them a little white lie. Wang Ying:Tell them what? ? Tom Chang:I said: “ I will tell them a little white lie.” Wang Ying:I don’t understand by white lie. Tom Chang:Oh, it is an innocent social fib or excuse. Wang Ying:Oh, I’ve now! Tom Chang:Sometimes we have to do it in our daily lives. Wang Ying:So what’s your little white lie? Tom Chang:Well, ? _____ be fun _________ I don’t think _________ it depends _________ What’s that what you mean ____________ got it ____ what would you say ________________

35. CP-gtn3 Nowlisten to the conversation again and answer the following questions. 1. Who won’t be able to attend the party tonight? Tom Chang. 2. Is Wang Ying going to the party? It depends. 3. What will Tom Chang tell them? He’ll tell them a little white lie. 4. What is a little white lie according to Tom Chang? It’s an innocent social fib or excuse. 5. What’s their little white lie? Not mentioned.

36. CP-gtn4 2)Beforeyou listen to the second conversation, read the following words which may be new to you. hearing problems 听觉疾病 hearing aid 助听器 device 装置 will 遗嘱

37. CP-gtn5 Listen to the following conversation twice, and then complete the passage according to the conversation you have just heard. _____________________ serious hearing problems There was an elderly gentleman who had had for years. He went to the doctor who was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the man . The old fellow went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, “Your hearing . Your family must be really pleased that you can .” To this the gentleman replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and . I’ve changed my will!” ___________ to hear 100% ________ is perfect hear again _________ listen to the conversations _________ _____________________ three times

38. CP-gtn6 Now listen to the conversation again, and complete the form as the speaker recounts it. After that, act it out in class. Doctor: Gentleman: Doctor: Gentleman: Doctor: Gentleman: Doctor: What brought you here? What did you say? Would you speak louder please? _____________________________________________ What is bothering you today? Do you have any pain? No. I’ve been having serious hearing problems for years. I can’t hear people well. That’s why I’m here. _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ I suggest you wear a hearing aid. What do you mean by hearing aid? What’s that? _____________________________________________ It’s a device that allows you to hear 100%.

39. CP-gtn7 One month later the elderly gentleman comes to see the doctor again. Doctor: Gentleman: Doctor: Gentleman: Good. Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be pleased that you can hear again. Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Why? You know what? I’ve changed my will three times! ________________________________________________

40. CP-gtn8 Try to figure out something that may elicit ( 引出) questions, write it down on the chalkboard and expect others to ask for its clarification. Get ready to clarify. In your conversations, try to use the language you learned in Exercise 1.

41. W:I don’t understand why they didn’t have this lecture in a bigger room, do you? Q: Who are they talking about? M:This room is so crowded. I can hardly hear or see a thing. KEY script CP-lp1 Listening Practice Listen to the following people speaking and decide what they are talking about. 1. A) A lecture. B) A room. C) An instructor. D) A movie.

42. M: How are we going to get home? It’s so late the buses and subways have all stopped running. W:It looks as though we have no choice but to call a taxi. Q: What are they talking about? KEY script CP-lp2 2. A) How to get home. B) Why the buses stopped running. C) When a taxi will come. D) Where to spend the night.

43. KEY script CP-lp3 3. W: Jack, have you finished your research paper for economies? M: Not yet, I always seem to put things off until the last minute. Q: What are they talking about? A) A scientific experiment. B) A college course. C) A time schedule. D) A research paper.

44. KEY script CP-lp4 4. W: Tim missed the deadline for the assignment again. M:He’s got to adjust his study habits in order to survive the university. Q: What are they talking about? A) Tim’s excellent performance. B) Tim’s assignment. C) Tim’s study habits. D) Tim’s graduation day.

45. M:It’s especially helpful when you check out the same information in the newspaper. Q: What are they talking about? W:Watching the news on TV is a good way to learn English. KEY script CP-lp5 5. A) How to learn English. B) How to get informed. C) How to compare TV and newspaper. D) How to get a job.

46. W:I can’t get through to this number. M:You must first dial 1. Q: What can we learn from this conversation? KEY script CP-lp6 Listen to the following five short dialogues and choose the appropriate answers. 1. A) The post office is closed. B) A department store is having a sale. C) They are discussing a math contest. D) The woman is making a telephone call.

47. W:Are there any dogs around? M:No, they’re not allowed in this community. Q: What does the man mean? KEY script CP-lp7 2. A) No dogs are allowed in the area. B) Unfortunately, they don’t have any dogs. C) It’s good to have a dog around the house. D) The law is too complicated to understand.

48. M:This one is much cheaper. W:But it may not last as long. Q: What does the woman imply? KEY script CP-lp8 3. A) This is the last one. B) The longer style is better. C) It might not be of good quality. D) You should buy cheaper things.

49. M:Did you ever get in touch with your friend? W:No, when I called, all I got was a recorded message. Q: What did the woman do? KEY script CP-lp9 4. A) She arranged to meet her friend later. B) She fixed her friend’s tape recorder. C) She tried to telephone her friend. D) She went to her friend’s house.

50. W:Is it possible to see the apartment before we rent it? M:Sure, it’s vacant. Q: What does the man mean? KEY script CP-lp10 5. A) It’s a beautiful place. B) No one lives there now. C) You can see it after your vacation. D) You had better make an appointment.