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Unit 2 Myths and Legends
What is a Myth A myth is a sacred story from the past. It may explain the origin of the universe and of life, or it may express its culture's moral values in human terms. Myths concern the powers who control the human world and the relationship between those powers and human beings. Although myths are religious in their origin and function, they may also be the earliest form of history, science, or philosophy... e. g. Jing Wei Tian Hai (精卫填海）
What is a Legend A legend is a story from the past about a subject that was, or is believed to have been, historical. Legends concern people, places, and events. Usually, the subject is a saint, a king, a hero, a famous person, or a war. A legend is always associated with a particular place and a particular time in history. e. g.: The Knights of the Round Table
What is a Fable A fable is a short, pithy animal tale, most often told or written with a moral tagged on in the form of a proverb. Thus to convey a moral is the aim of most fables, and the tale is the vehicle by which this is done, providing both an illustration of and compelling argument for the moral. e. g.: Aesopian’s Fables (伊索寓言）
Chinese Mythology Chinese mythical stories are entwined with history. The history of the long period before recorded history began is partly based on legend, which is interwoven with mythology. Ancient heroes and leaders are both historical figures according to legends and important characters in mythical stories. So ancient mythology was to a great extent made historical. On the other hand, ancient history was to a certain extent made mythical. Chinese mythical stories usually sing the praise of labor and creation, extol perseverance and self-sacrifice, praise rebellion against oppression, eulogize the yearning for true love and encourage good deeds and warn against sin.
Some Chinese mythologies are: Pangu Separate the Sky from the earth Nuwa Makes Men Nuwa Mends the Sky Jingwei Determines to Fill up the Sea Kuafu Chases the Sun Yugong Removes the Mountain The Cowherd and The Weaving Girl Chang’er Flies to The Moon 开天辟地 女娲造天 女娲补天 精卫填海 夸父追日 愚公移山 牛郎织女 嫦娥奔月
In every culture, there are some myths and classic tales whose appeal never fades, especially those beloved characters will always exist in people’s minds. Look at the pictures of six immortal characters. Discuss in groups about their names and stories. Oral Practice I Who are they?
Who are they? • Click the picture to get the answer
CHANG'E FLIES TO THE MOON (嫦娥奔月) Chang’e, a lady graceful of carriage and unparalleled of beauty, very much loved by her husband--Houyi.One day, when Houyi was out, Chang'e secretly swallowed the potion in the hope that she would become immortal. The result was quite unexpected: she felt herself becoming light, so light that she flew up in spite of herself, drifting and floating in the air, until she reached the palace of the moon.
China is a country rich in fables such as “Qi Ren You Tian”(The Worrier of Qi) and “Hua She Tian Zu” (The “Finishing” Touch). Watch a silent video of a popular Chinese fable and produce an aside for it. Oral Practice II Chinese Fables
His Spear Against His Shield Model In the state of Chu there was a man who had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield. “My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through.” He also sang praises of his spear. “My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.” “What would happen,” he was asked, “if your spear is used to pierce your shield?” He was unable to give an answer. Moral: It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable.
Aphrodite (Venus)the goddess of love, beauty and fertility She was also a protectress of sailors. Sacred objects: dove, goose, sparrow, myrtle
Apollo(Apollo) the god of prophesy, music and healing Sacred objects: crow, dolphin, laurel, lyre
Athena(Minerva) the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. Sacred objects: owl, shield, olive tree
Ares(Mars) the god of war, or more precisely of warlike frenzy Sacred objects: vulture, dog
Zeus(Jupiter) the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles. Sacred objects: eagle, thunder belt, shield, oak tree
Poseidon (Neptune) the god of the sea, earthquake and horses Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain. Sacred objects: trident, horse, bull
Artemis (Diana) the virgin goddess of the hunt She helped women in childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows. Sacred objects: stag, crescent moon, cypress, deer
Listening Exercise The following story is one of the fables from Aesop’s Fables. Listen and find out the moral.
Aesop’s Fables Directions: Listen to the fable and find out the moral.
The goose with the golden eggs Script One morning a countryman went to his goose's nest, and saw a yellow and glittering egg there. He took the egg home. To his delight, he found that it was an egg of pure gold. Every morning the same thing occurred, and he soon became rich by selling his eggs. The countryman became more and more greedy. He wanted to get all the gold at once, so he killed the goose, when he looked inside, he found nothing in its body. Moral: If one is too greedy, he would get nothing in return.
Unit 2 In-Class Reading Why the Tortoise’s Shell Is Not Smooth
Pre-reading Questions 1.What characteristics come to your mind when you think of a tortoise? Usually a tortoise does not have a good reputation. A tortoise is very slow, very foolish. It is ugly but it has a long life. It is often the symbol of longevity. But we have a story named Tortoise and Hare, which depicts the tortoise as clever and determined. In the story, the tortoise has a race with the hare. Even though the hare runs much faster than the tortoise, the tortoise does not give up and finally wins the race because the hare is too proud and takes a nap while the tortoise is crawling along.
2. Can you guess why the shell of the tortoise is not smooth? Give a brief explanation. Answer1 I think his shell was smashed by something very hard. One day he was so hungry that he wanted to get into a castle to find some food. The place was very dangerous and because it was at night, he didn’t see that there were some traps. When he was approaching a piece of pig’s liver, which he liked very much, a big iron bar fell off and hit him. His shell was broken into pieces. Some kind-hearted mice brought him to a witch, who mended his shell.
Organization Analysis Para.1 — Para. 8 the beginning Tortoise got two wings to attend the feast in the heaven. 1-5 A tortoise wanted to join the birds feast in the sky but he had no wings. 6-8 Tortoise finally persuaded every bird to lend him a feather with which he made two wings. Para. 9 — Para. 11 the development On the great day they went to the feast, the tortoise took a new name “ All of You”.
Organization Analysis Para.12 — Para.18 climax Tortoise’s behavior at the party aroused birds’ anger and he was unable to return to his home. 12-16 At the party, people of the sky told them the food is for all of you. Thus the tortoise took the chance to be served first. 17-18 The angry birds took back the feather they lent to the tortoise and only Parrot promised to take a message to his wife.
Organization Analysis Para. 19 — Para. 21 the end Because of the wrong message, tortoise’s shell broke into pieces. 19-20 Parrot told his wife to take out all the hard things in the house instead of the soft ones. 21 The great medicine man helped to stuck his bits of shell together.
Read the passage Why the Tortoise’s Shell Is Not Smooth and try to answer the following questions.
1. Why were the birds very happy? Because they were invited to a feast in the sky. 2. How did tortoise know about the birds’ activity? He saw the birds were busy preparing. 3. What was tortoise’s plan? He planned to go to the feast with the birds.
4.What was the birds’ reaction when they knew the tortoise’s plan? They didn’t agree because tortoise was mischievous / cunning and ungrateful. 5. How was tortoise able to convince the birds? With a sweet tongue, he convinced the birds that he was a changed man. 6. How did tortoise go to the sky? He made two wings with all the feathers he got from each bird.
7. What’s the new name tortoise chose for himself on the way to the sky? All of you. 8. What did the people in the sky served them? Nuts, meat and fish soup, pounded yam, yam soup, palm wine etc. 9. What question did tortoise ask when they were invited to eat? For whom have you prepared this feast?
10. Why did he ask this question? Because he knew the answer would be “for all of you”, which was his new name, so he could enjoy all the food first. 11. What did the birds do to revenge themselves on tortoise? They took back the feathers they had lent him. 12. What did tortoise ask the birds to do when they were leaving? He asked them to take a message to his wife.
13. Who suddenly agreed to do the job, and why? Parrot, because he wanted to take advantage of the chance to get revenge. 14. What was tortoise’s message and what was actually delivered? He asked the parrot to tell his wife to bring out all the soft things in his house and cover the ground with them so that he he could be able to land safely. But parrot told his wife to bring out all the hard and sharp things instead.
15. What happened to tortoise when he finally landed on the ground? His shell was broken into hundreds of pieces.
Finding the Best Summary Work in pairs to summarize the story and then volunteer to read your summary to the class. After that, comment on the summaries and vote for the best one.
Ekwefi is telling about tortoise. Long long ago, there was a ________, and all the birds got an invitation from the sky to attend a ______ there. Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet ______ he persuaded the birds to take him with them and so each bird lent him a ______. Tortoise cunningly thought of an idea that enabled him to have all the food by naming himself “_______”. When they reached the sky, they received a warm ______ and soon the food was presented to them.
Then he asked one of the people in the sky: “For whom have you prepared all this feast?” The man replied: “For all of you.” So he ate almost all the _______. The birds became very _____ and took back their ______ before flying home. Without feathers, he had to jump onto the ground and his _____ was broken into pieces.
Ekwefi is telling about tortoise. Long long ago, there was a famine, and all the birds got an invitation from the sky to attend a feast there. Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet tongue he persuaded the birds to take him with them and so each bird lent him a feather. Tortoise cunningly thought of an idea that enabled him to have all the food by naming himself “All of you”. When they reached the sky, they received a warm welcome and soon the food was presented to them.
Then he asked one of the people in the sky: “For whom have you prepared all this feast?” The man replied: “For all of you.” So he ate almost all the best food. The birds became very angry and took back their feathers before flying home. Without feathers, he had to jump onto the ground and his shell was broken into pieces.
feast(Line 6, Para. 2) n. 1) a large meal, especially one for a special occasion盛宴 2) a day kept in memory of a religious event（宗教的）节日 v. [+ on] eat and drink a lot on a special occasion尽情地吃喝，饱餐
Translation 请完成下面的句子。 圣诞节是基督教的一个重要节日。 Christmas is ________________ for Christians. an important feast 为了向来访的总统表示敬意，厨师长准备了盛宴。 prepared a feast The chef _____________ in honor of the president’s visit. 他饱览了落日美景。 He ______________ on the beautiful sight of sunset. feasted his eyes
Word Study itchv. ( para. 3 line 12) have an unpleasant feeling on the skin that makes you want to scratch 痒，发痒 1) The label on this shirt itches me. 2) The worst thing about a mosquito bite is the way it itches. itch for sth/to do sth (infml) restless desire or longing热望，渴望 She can’t resist the itch to travel.
mischief(n.)(Line 20, Para. 6) playful misbehavior or trouble- making, especially in children 顽皮；捣蛋；恶作剧 mischievous(adj.)调皮的；恶作剧的 Translation 告诉孩子们别胡闹。 Tell the children tokeepoutof mischief. 他需要一个爱好来使自己忙起来并且停止搞恶作剧。 He needs a hobby to keep him busy and stop him fromgetting into mischief.
restassured(Line 24, Para. 7) not to worry or be certain 请放心；请确信(无疑)（常用于祈使句） Translation 你可以放心，我们一定尽力而为。 You canrestassuredthat we will do all we can. 请放心，一切都正常。 Restassuredthat everything is under control.
eloquent(adj.)(Line 46, Para. 12) fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing 雄辩的，有说服力的； 清楚表明的 Translation 苏珊在她的毕业课上做了动人的演讲。 Susan gave aneloquentspeech to her graduating class. Her enthusiasm made her quiteeloquent. 她的热情使她讲起话来很是流利。 反义词：tongue-tied
grumble(v.)(Line 62, Para. 16) 1) (+ about/at/over) speak with a low, indistinct, and possibly complaining voice咕哝，嘟囔，发牢骚 近义词：complain，mutter 2) rumble发轰轰声 请完成下面的句子。 Translation 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。 grumbles at his luck He_________________ instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 火车轰隆一声起动了。 The train___________ motion. grumbled into
