Unit 5 Overcoming Obstacles

1. Unit 5 Overcoming Obstacles

2. Step one: Self-study check • Collect stories about how people overcome obstacles from newspapers, books, magazines or videos. • 2. Make a brief introduction to Olympics, especially the 2008 games.

3. Stories about Overcoming Obstacles Listen to the following stories about four figures in history to see how they overcame their obstacles, and guess who they are.

4. 1.The story of her is the story of a child who, at the age of 18 months, was suddenly shut off from the world, but who, against overwhelming odds(失败的可能性), waged(发动)a slow, hard, but successful battle to reenter that same world. The inarticulate little deaf and blind girl grew into a highly intelligent and sensitive woman who wrote, spoke, and labored incessantly for the betterment of others.

5. 2. At the age of five, she became a paraplegic(截瘫患者), but she never lost heart. Although she missed the chance to go to school, she finished all the courses of primary and secondary schools, she learned English, Japanese, German and Esperanto(世界语) all by herself, and she assiduously(勤勉地) studied university and postgraduate courses for master’s degree. In 1983, she began to engage in literary creative work.

6. 3. He became the 32nd president of the United States in March 1933 at the depth of the Great Depression, and was reelected for an unprecedented three more terms. Despite an attack of poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症), which paralyzed (使瘫痪) his legs in 1921, he was a charismatic (有超凡魅力的) optimist whose confidence helped sustain the American people during the strains of the economic crisis and the world war.

7. 4. --1942 Born in Oxford, England. --1962 Received a bachelor’s degree in physics and then enrolled as a research student in general relativity at the University of Cambridge. --1966 Earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of Cambridge. Stayed at the University of Cambridge to do post-doctoral research. Diagnosed as having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)(肌萎缩性脊髓侧索硬化). --1979 Appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton.

9. Get started. Often, once you begin, you'll find the task is easier than you expect. 2. Break your task into smaller tasks. Take one big task and break it into smaller tasks. For instance, do part of your assignment each time rather than the entire one. 3. Work with the time you have. Don't wait until you have time to do the entire thing. Instead, even if you only have five minutes, get started.

10. 4. Set small deadlines. After meeting each deadline, give yourself a reward. For example, play video games when you finish an hour of studying. 5. Eliminate distractions. Turn off the TV. Don't answer the phone. 6. Ask for help. Sometimes, the reason you don't start is because you don't know what to do. If that's the case, ask for help.

11. Fill in the blanks The first Olympic Games were held at Olympia ,ancient Greece ______ 776 B.C.The Greek Olympics didn’t have as many sports programmes as the _____ Olympics . There were only a footrace , a short race ,a race of about three miles and some other matches _____ jumping,boxing,etc. The last Olympic Games were held in A.D.388. Then the Roman rulers _____ the games .A Frenchman wished to _____ the ideals of excellence of body, mind and spirit shown in the ancient Greek Olympics. He succeeded in starting the OlympicGames all over again. Since 1896,the Olympics have been growing steadily with more and more nations and athletes _____ .The Olympics have been held once _____ four years. as early as modern such as renew banned taking part every

12. The world meets in China • Write down the words that go with the pictures. mascots torch emblem medals

13. The modern Olympic Games • What do the five Olympic rings stand for and what is the Olympic motto? • Do you know the Olympic spirit (精神)?

14. We are the mascots! Where do Fuwa come from? • I’m the fish. • I’m the panda. • I’m the flame. • I’m the antelope. • I’m the swallow.

15. The flame lights the world Match the first and second parts: • 1. The 2008 Olympic torch relay • 2. The Olympic torch flame • 3. The torch relay route • 4. In 1936… • 5. In 2000… a. the flame traveled under the sea. b. will be the longest ever. c. people held the first torch relay. d. will be lit in Greece. e. is almost three-and-half times the distance around the Earth.

16. 2008年北京奥运英语词汇 Olympic Games Bidding Words 奥林匹克精神 the Olympic ideals; the Olympic spirit 环境保护protect the environment 绿色奥运the Green Olympics 人文奥运people’s Olympics 科技奥运the Scientific Games Oral Workshop

17. Slogan 1984年洛杉矶夏季奥运会 Play part in History 参与历史1988年汉城夏季奥运会 Harmony and Progress 和谐、进步1992年巴塞罗那夏季奥运会 Friends for life 永远的朋友1996年亚特兰大夏季奥运会 The celebration of the century 世纪庆典 Oral Workshop

18. Slogan 2000年悉尼夏季奥运会 Share the spirit 分享奥林匹克精神2004年雅典夏季奥运会 Welcome Home 欢迎回家2008年北京夏季奥运会 One World One Dream 同一个世界、同一个梦想 Oral Workshop

19. Life happens. Sometimes it’s pleasant. Sometimes it’s not. In the changing world we live in, life challenges are part of life. If you’re human, you have some.

20. Step Two Understanding of the Text 1. What does the text title mean? • It has more than one meaning. It may refer to: • the new bar heights that Michael cleared one after • another; • 2) the tremendous obstacles Michael had overcome in • attaining his goal. 2. As the text consists of the main story and a flashback, please locate the flashback. The flashback is from line 11 to line 35.

21. Scanning Scan the whole text to find out all the words and phrases that are related to sports or stadium. And think about their Chinese equivalents. 全国少年奥林匹克运动会 National Junior Olympics 个人最高记录 personal best 看台 stand(s) 赛跑决赛 final race a 撑竿跳高项目 pole vault event 田径比赛 track and field competition

22. 体操运动员 gymnast 健美运动员 body builder 举重 weightlifting 横杆 bar 充气垫 inflated landing mat 撑竿跳高运动员 vaulter 俯卧撑 finger-tipped push-up 跑道 runway 全国记录 national record 撑竿 pole 起跳 take-off 刷新一项世界纪录 set a new world record a

23. Writing Skills As the text consists of the main story and a flashback, the narration has to switch from the ongoing competition to earlier events and then return to the ongoing competition. How does the author manage to make these parts in the text flow smoothly? 1.One way is to repeat a key word in the last sentence of a paragraph in the first sentence of the next paragraph, e.g. 2.Another way is to pick up a key idea from a previous paragraph and repeat it in the sentence introducing the next paragraph, e.g. Understanding of the Text

24. Michael faced the most challenging competition in his pole-vaulting career. Michael’s childhood was marked with dreams and tough training. Michael topped his personal best, won the championship and set a new world record. What was most unusual about Michael’s victory was that he was blind.

25. For Part One Ⅰ. Comprehension Use your own words to draw a picture of the stadium on that day while reading part one, including the weather, Michael’s appearance and inner feeling, the audience’s response, etc.

26. Describe what kind of sports event pole vault is in your own words.

27. Pole Vault

28. For Part 2 Questions and Answers • From the description of Michael’s parents, what can you learn about his parents? • 2. What individual characteristics should Michael’s success be attributed to? Michael’s mother is romantic and passionate, while his father is a hard-core realist. He is diligent, perseverant, optimistic, ambitious, etc.

29. For Part 3 Ⅰ. Comprehension ---Michael’s records of pole vault 17feet (paragraph 1) 17feet 2/4inches (paragraph 7) 17feet 6 inches (paragraph 9) 17feet 6.5inches (paragraph 12)

30. ⅡChart Completion Michael’s reaction before/after clearing the bar Height of the pole Importance Before After His palms were sweating. He needed a towel to dry his grip. (L. 1) 1.If Michael Stone was surprised, excited or vain…(LL. 37~38) 2.He seemed unaware of …(LL. 40~41) 3 inches higher than his personal best 17 feet …, again he showed no emotion. (LL. 43~44) 17 feet 2, 17 feet 4

31. ⅡChart Completion Michael’s reaction before/after clearing the bar Height of the pole Importance Before After 9 inches higher than his personal best 17 feet 6 1.It was … that brought Michael back to earth. (LL. 79~80) 2.On his back with that wonderful hot sun…(LL. 81~81) 1. It startled him... (L. 53) 2. The intensity … anxiety. (L. 56) 3. He became more tense. (L. 57) 4. Afraid would be … (LL. 58~59) He later went on that day to clear 17 feet 6 A National and International Junior Olympics record 17 feet 6 1 — 2 1 — 2

32. For Part 4 Discussion 1. Why does the author keep the secret about Michael’s blindness until the last sentence? 2. Who would you admire better, a Michael Stone with a sound body or a blind Michael Stone?

33. Ⅱ. Key Language Points of Part One • ☆confront L.4 v. to face bravely or threateningly面对，面临 When confronted with the evidence of his guilt, he confessed at once. 当面对着他的犯罪证据的时候，他立即认罪。 Collocation: confront sb. with sth. Language Points

34. grace • 1. quality of being smooth and elegant, esp. in movement or structure • We admired the grace with which the fashion models walked across the room. • 2. kindness; willingness to do what is right • Collocation: • with a bad grace 勉强地, 不情愿地 • with an ill grace 勉强地, 不情愿地 • with a good grace 高兴地, 欣然地 • with an easy grace 态度自若 Language Points

35. bear out prove that (sth./sb.) is true证实某事，为某人作证 e.g. 如果你告诉他们发生的事情，我将为你作证。 If you tell them what happened, I’ll bear you out. mereL.10 nothing more than 从我家到学校的距离只有两百米。 It's a mere 200 meters from my house to the college. Language Points

36. fantasy L.10 imagination, esp. when it has no connection at all with reality He lives in a world of fantasy. 比较：fantasy, fancy, imagination fantasy: 通常指无限制的，完全脱离现实的空想 fancy: 强调凭空想象客观实际不存在之事物，这种凭空想象并非完全脱离现实，只是离现实较远 imagination: 常用词，它所表示的想象或想象力可以指对过去的事物的重新构想；也可以指对不能存在之事物的构想 Language Points

37. 1. An amusement park full of figures from fairy tales may be calledFantasyLand. （一个游乐园，如果充满了神化故事中的人物雕像，则堪称虚幻境界。） 2. Her mind went wherefancy took it. （她总是不着边际地胡思乱想。） 3. Does she have the imaginationto figure out what happened? （她真的富有想象力，能够推想出发生的事情吗？） 4. These plans reveal a complete failure of imagination. （这些计划显得毫无想象力。） Language Points

38. numerous adj. very many 许多的，无数的 During the Depression, numerous people wandered from town to town looking for work. • innumerable 数不胜数的，数不清的 few Language Points

39. passion • strong feeling, esp. of love 热情 • e.g. He speaks with passion. • 2) have a strong interest in sth. and like it very much （对…的）热爱，热衷 have a passion for sth. He has a passion for ice cream. （他特别喜欢吃冰激凌。） Language Points

40. detail: n. small, particular fact or item Everything in her story is correct down to the smallest detail. 不要遗漏一点细节。 Don’t omit a single detail. 详细说明 go/enter into details in detail 详细地 Language Points

41. recur: ( recurring; recurred ) • vi. come or happen again 再来，再发生 • e.g. If the pain recurs, take this medicine. recur to sb./sth.: (of ideas, events, etc.) come back （记忆，思考等）再度浮上心头 My first meeting with her often recurs to me/my mind. Language Points

42. coincide • happen at the same time 同时发生 • Her arrival coincidedwith our departure. • 她来到时我们正好离开。 • 2) (of ideas, opinions, etc.) be in agreement • His tastes and habits coincide with those of his wife. • 他的品味和习惯与妻子完全一致。 coincide with 与…同时发生；与…一致 Language Points

43. ☆alternate alternation: n. 1) adj. of two things 轮流的 every other or second 交替的 This is a week of alternate rain and sunshine. 2）v. arrange by turns （使）…交替；（使）…交互 We alternated period of work and rest. 我们轮流工作和休息。 Day alternates with night. 日夜交替。 Language Points

44. alternate alternate between … and … They alternate between supporting us and opposing us. alternate in We alternate in doing the household chores. alternate with Sunny weather alternates with rain. Language Points

45. vain 1）too pleased with one’s own abilities or looks 虚荣的，自负的 be vain about/of sth.为自己的容貌或能力而自负 He’s as vain as a peacock. She’s vain of her beauty. 2) without result; useless 徒劳的，白白的 vain efforts 徒劳 It is vain to resist. in vain (adv.) = vainly 徒然地，徒劳无益地 Language Points

46. vain/empty/hollow/bare Fill in the blanks ① The cinema was half ( ). ② We’ve made a ( ) attempt to make him change his mind. ③ Don’t sleep on ( )boards. ④ The poor girl went on for another ten miles on an ( ) stomach. ⑤ The walls look solid, but in fact they’re ( ). empty vain bare empty hollow Language Points

47. startle vt. give a sudden shock or surprise to 使大吃一惊 sb. be startled at sth. sb. be startled to do sth. You startled me! I didn’t hear you come in. Cf. startle, frighten, terrify Language Points

48. along with together with 连同 He sent me a parcel along with her letter. all along: (adv.) 自始自终，一直 come along: (vi.) 随同；顺利进行；赶快 get along: (vi.) 设法度过；相处；进行 （工作等） go along: (vi.) 前进；一起去； Language Points

49. bring sb. back to earth • cause (sb.) to stop daydreaming; • cause (sb.) to return to reality Emily’s voice brought him back to earth. Collocation: come back/ down to earth on earth Language Points

50. in one’s mind’s eye • in one’s imagination • In my mind’s eye I saw the cliffs rising sheer. • She was writing her next piece in her mind’s eye. Collocation: keep /bear … in mind on one’s mind make up one’s mind to my mind out of one’s mind Language Points