大学英语(四)听说教程 unit 1 讲稿

讲 稿

New College English（Second Edition）

Listening and Speaking Course 4

全新版大学英语（第二版）听说（四）

学 校：江西农业大学 教研室：大学英语第二教研室

教学内容 Unit 1 One World Part A Pre-listening Task Questions for Discussion 1. In what sense do you think we can regard the world we live in as one world? 2. Do you think people all over the world are largely similar? Why or why not? 3. Are you interested in the traditions of other peoples in the world? Describe some of them. 4. What are the traditions of birthday celebration in some English-speaking countries such as Britain and the U.S.? How do they differ from the Chinese ones? 5. Do you consider your birthday one of the most important days in your life? Why or why not? 6. Which birthday do you think is more important, your 18th, 20th, or 21st? Why? 7. Which of the birthday celebrations you’ve had is the most memorable to you? Can you describe it? Language Focus • Human beings are essentially the same everywhere. • All human beings have the need to eat, to have shelter, and to work. They also need to love others and be loved. • We, people of the world, are one big family, for together we exist, and together we try to make the world better for all. • The world is made beautiful by the rich variety of cultures of different countries and races. • Contacts between cultures promote understanding among the peoples of the world. • With the rapid development of transportation means and the information technology the world is getting smaller and smaller. • Although people in different countries have different traditions, they all seem to celebrate certain days such as New Year’s Day, Mother’s Day, Children’s Day, Labor Day, etc. • Birthdays are observed by many people throughout the world. • In China, special noodles are served in honor of the birthday person. The noodles are extra long to symbolize longevity / a long life.

• In some other cultures, people celebrate birthdays with a cake topped with lighted candles, the number of which represents how old the birthday person is turning. • Cakes, lights, and candles are often associated with the celebration of a person’s birthday in many Western countries. • Here in China we regard the first and every tenth birthday as very important since they represent important stages of our lives. • To the young the eighteenth birthday is probably the most important. From then on they have the right to vote / are regarded as adults. • In most families, birthdays are celebrated with a lot of fun and food / are important occasions for both the birthday person and the other members of the family / mean presents and noodles. • In some cultures, birthdays are seldom celebrated / never observed. • As people grow older birthdays are no longer that important, for each birthday reminds them that they are turning a year older. Everyone likes being young, not old. It’s human nature. Part B Listening Tasks A Conversation: Birthday Celebrations Around the World 1. Background information There are numerous traditions. Family history, culture, language and economic status are all factors that affect the way a person observes the anniversary of his or her birth. Two of the most significant factors throughout history, however, have been geographic location and religious beliefs. The tradition of birthday celebrations started in Europe a long time ago. It was feared in those days that evil spirits were more likely to harm a person when he or she experienced a change in his or her daily life, such as turning a year older. To protect them from harm, friends and family would come to be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes. Giving gifts was supposed to bring even more good cheer to ward off the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began. At first, it was only kings who were recognized as important enough to have birthday celebrations. As time went by, people began to celebrate children’s birthdays. The first children’s birthday parties occurred in Germany and were called Kinderfeste, meaning children’s festival. 2. This just isn’t the case. This is simply not true. 3. And most Muslims don’t celebrate their birthdays. Most Muslims do not celebrate their birthdays because of their religious belief. In the Muslim country Saudi Arabia, for example, people do not observe birthdays. Instead, they thank God following the birth of a child by giving gifts to the poor. After the child is a week old, its head is shaved. The family then donates an amount of silver equal to, and often more than, the weight of the child’s hair. Following this ritual, family and friends come together for a feast and a naming ceremony. 4. God I better get married.

My goodness! I’d better get married. I better = I’d better. “God” is used as an exclamation to emphasize something people are saying. You can also use “My God” or “Oh God”, though some religious people find this offensive. Exercise 1: Listen to the conversation and write down the answers to the questions you hear. 1. What is One World? A radio or TV program. 2. What is the topic of the program? Birthday celebrations around the world. 3. What do Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane do? They run a weekly column in the Toronto Daily Star. 4. Why don’t some people in India celebrate their birthdays? Because they can’t afford the cost. 5. Why is the eighteenth birthday so important in Finland? Because eighteen is the age when one is accepted as an adult with the right to vote, buy wines and drive a car. 6. Why can girls in some countries get to vote at an earlier age than boys? Because girls are considered to be more mature than boys of the same age. 7. Which of the countries mentioned in the conversation are Muslim countries? Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, and Senegal. Exercise 2: Listen to the conversation again and decide if each of the statements you hear is true (T) or false (F). 1. The program is broadcast in Canada every day.( F ) 2. People everywhere in the world celebrate their birthdays.( F ) 3. Many Muslims do not celebrate their birthdays for religious reasons.( T ) 4. In England, the twenty-first birthday is very important, which is unusual in the West.( F ) 5. The twenty-first birthday is very important in Japan. ( F ) 6. In Norway, young men and women usually get married before 30 to avoid having pepper thrown at them.( F ) 7. Eighteen is a very lucky number in Japan.( F ) 8. It can be concluded that our world is made more colorful by the many different ways birthdays are observed in different countries.( T ) Script: Birthday Celebrations Around the World Chairman: Welcome to this special birthday edition of One World.. Tonight we have a special program dedicated to birthday celebrations around the world. With us in the studio we have Shaheen Hag and Pat Cane, who have a weekly column on birthdays in the Toronto Daily Star. Shaheen: Good evening. Pat: Good evening. Chairman: Shaheen, perhaps we could begin with you. How are birthdays celebrated in India? Shaheen: Well, perhaps we’re all assuming that everyone in the world celebrates their

birthday. This just isn’t the case. Low-income families in India, for instance, simply can’t afford any festivities. And most Muslims don’t celebrate their birthdays. Pat: I think Shaheen has raised an interesting point here. The Christian church, too, was actively against celebrating birthdays. Shaheen: Of course some Muslims do celebrate their birthdays. In Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia, for example, the rich people invite friends and families around. But not in small villages. Chairman: Here in England your twenty-first used to be the big one. But now it seems to have moved to eighteen. Is that true? Pat: Yes, in most parts of the West eighteen is now the most important birthday. In Finland, for example, eighteen is the age when you can vote, you know, or buy wines, drive a car and so on... But in Japan I think you have to wait till you’re twenty before you can smoke or drink. Shaheen: I know in Senegal, which is another Muslim country, girls get to vote at sixteen and boys at eighteen. And in Bangladesh, girls at eighteen and boys at twenty-one. Chairman: That’s interesting . I mean is it typical that around the world girls are considered to be more mature than boys? Shaheen: Yes, I think so, and in Mexico and Argentina, fox example, they have enormous parties for fifteen-year-old girls. Pat: You know in Norway they have a great party for anyone who’s not married by the time they’re thirty. It’s kind of embarrassing. I mean you get pepper thrown at you. Chairman: Pepper? Why pepper? Pat: I’m not really sure. Shaheen: So does that mean that on your twenty-ninth birthday you can start thinking “God I better get married”? Pat: Well, I’m not sure how seriously they take it. Chairman: In England we have quite bit parties for your fortieth, fiftieth, sixtieth and so on. Pat: Well, in Japan your eighty-eighth is considered… Chairman: Eighty-eighth? Pat: …to be the luckiest birthday. Eight is a very lucky number in Japan. Part B Speaking tasks Pair Work A. Reflections on the text You have just heard a program about birthday celebrations around the world. What do you think of the celebrations? Why is it that some people do not celebrate their birthdays? What does your birthday mean to you? Exchange views with your partner. You may mention the following points in your discussion.  what birthdays mean to you  how birthdays are observed around the world  why some people don’t celebrate their birthdays B. Picture talk－Talking about wedding customs A Sample Most people in the world hold a wedding ceremony when they get married. However, like birthday celebrations, wedding celebrations are conducted in different ways, depending on where you live, which religion you believe in, and How good is your financial situation. The following

are three groups of pictures showing three wedding ceremonies held in different places and at different times. Give a brief description of each picture and then make a comparison between the three weddings. (a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

(g) (h)

Comparing From the pictures, we can see that a wedding is an important event everywhere in the world. It has been so in China, for example, from the old days to the present and the same holds true in Western countries. As a rule, there is a big ceremony, attended by family members, relatives and friends, who have come to share the joy of this special occasion in the lives of two people in love. Food is plentiful and laughter fills the air. To all those present, the ceremony is both sacred and joyous. However, while sacredness and joy are the spirit of all weddings, the way people observe the occasion varies from place to place and changes over time. This is reflected in various respects. First, in Western countries, many people get married in a church while in China this is rare. Second, Western people often choose a scenic spot to hold wedding parties whereas most people in China give their wedding parties either at home or in a restaurant. Third, in Western countries, the color of the bride’s dress is white, which is a symbol of purity, while in China, traditionally, the color of the bride’s dress is red, which is a symbol of happiness. Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner according to the pictures given below. (a)

(b) (c)

(d) (e)

(f) (g)

Below are some ideas and expressions that you might find useful in your descriptions: (For Pictures a, b, c and d) －a birthday party －guests bringing some gifts to the birthday person －the birthday person opening the gift before the guests, and expressing thanks －birthday cake with lit candles －guests singing “Happy Birthday to You” －the birthday person blowing out the candles and making a wish Below are some ideas and expressions that you might find useful in your descriptions: (For Pictures e, f and g) －dressing up for one’s birthday －the birthday person receiving red envelopes with money in them from one’s parents and other relatives as birthday gifts －the birthday person expressing thanks but not opening the birthday gifts before the guests －all sitting around a table and eating noodles, a symbol of longevity, followed by delicious dishes and a cake Part C Test Your Listening A Compound Dictation Listen to the passage three times and supply the missing information. One World One Minute is a 1) unique film project that invites participants in every country around the 2) globe to record 3) simultaneously one minute of their lives, one minute of our world. Sponsors of this project have chosen 12:48 GMT, September 11th 2002 as the one minute to record. At that moment exactly a year earlier began the 4) terrorist attacks that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people from over 60 countries. For many this will be a time of 5) remembrance and reflection. And for others this will be an 6) appropriate time for international communication, cooperation and 7) sharing. This is the idea behind the project One World One Minute. Participants are free to choose what and how to record their One Minute. Some may want to take photographs, some paint or draw pictures, while others may want to write something and record their readings. 8) The material can be submitted to the project organizers in Scotland via e-mail or post within 6 weeks of September 11th. All the material will then be made into a feature-length film, which will capture that One Minute of our existence. The film will explore the rich diversity that is both humanity and our world. 9) It will allow a voice to all people regardless of nationality, religion, race, political viewpoint, gender or age. The rich diversity that is Humanity shall be there for all to see. Participants will not only be kept informed of the progress of the film and the release process but will be invited to actively participate through newsletters and discussion forums. When the film is finished, it will be shown in every country of the world, both in cinemas and on TV. 10) Contributors will be invited to attend the first public performance of the film in their respective countries and will receive a full screen credit on the finished production.

Part D Movie Time Fill in the blanks according to the clip. Among all the species, human beings dominate the Earth. Nowadays, there are (1) 7 billion people living on the planet. Obviously there are more and more such dominators. Every second, (2) two people come to the world and every year we have (3) 80 million more. The growing population exerts threat to (4) humans themselves, other species and the Earth because every newborn person needs (5) food, energy, water and house. It is predicted that in the next 40 years, there are (6) 3 billion more people living on the Earth. The prediction is made on the fact that the present teenagers, whose number is about (7) more than 1 billion, will (8) have a longer life span. The population change in different country may vary. According to the prediction, in USA, India and Great Britain (9) population will increase while in countries like Japan, Russia, Germany, and much of Eastern Europe (10) population will decrease. Look at the following chart describing the change in the world population. Then give three possible reasons that account for the change.