Reading

Unit 4 Behind Unit 4 Behind beliefsbeliefs

Huang Yanqiu Taicang senior high school of Jiangsu province

Learning objectives:

By the end of the class,★you will be able to learn about the Bible and some biblical idioms.★you will be able to know more English idioms and its origins.★you will be able to use suitable English idioms in various situations.

Let’s enjoy a video clip

What’s the video clip about?

Noah

Ark

The Bible

described as "the greatest book ever written”, has the greatest influence on

western culture and language development.

Biblical idioms in English

1. Please read the passage quickly and answer the following three questionsWhat is an idiom?

What languages was the Bible first written in?

Why should we learn English idioms?

2. Please focus on para 2-6 and find out all the idioms mentioned in the passage

1. by and by2. feet of clay

3. see the handwriting on the wall

4. kill the fatted calf

5. you reap what you sow

6. the apple of somebody’s eye

immediately/ before long

have a large celebration

a child who is loved very much by his or her parents

small kindnesses often bring rich rewards, while small offences can bring disaster.

a hidden weakness in sb. whom we admire or respect

see signs that disaster is coming

What idioms are mentioned in the article?

(1) Debbie’s father always warns her to be nice to people around her, because _______________________________.you reap what you sow

(2) Sarah’s mother adores her; Sarah is __________________________.the apple of her mother’s eye

(3) Wilson was disappointed when he learnt that the coach had ____________.feet of clay

Apply these idioms into practical usage.(P52 C2)

(4) She knew it might take a long time for her teammates to change their minds, but she believed that the new plan would work ________________.by and by

(5) When my brother came back home from his trip to Europe, we ____________________ for him.killed the fatted calf

(6) After his company suffered millions of dollars in losses, Joe ____________________________ and left the companysaw the handwriting on the wall

Can you replace some sentences in the given story with the learnt idioms?

Tom is a very good boy. His parents

love him so much and will do

everything they can to make him

happy. Every year, besides holding a

large celebration, Tom’s parents will

prepare some surprising presents for

his birthday.

consider him as the apple of their eyes

killing the fatted calf

Last year Tom received a book introducing his favorite hero. After reading the book carefully, Tom had a thorough understanding of the hero’s life, and found that the hero also had some hidden weakness. From what the hero did, Tom understand that small kindnesses sometimes can bring rich rewards, while small offences can bring disaster. The hero’s success depended on his hardworking rather than his talent , which made Tom believe that he himself could realize his dream before long only if he could stick to it.

you reap what you sow

had feet of clay

by and by

Supplementary reading (I)

Origins of English Idioms

1.______________________________________

2______________________________________

3______________________________________

4______________________________________

5______________________________________

1. Read the passage quickly and find out the origins of English idioms mentioned in the passage

2. Apply the suitable idiom mentioned in the reading passage to the following situations

1. We'll go through the list of members, and _____________________________ .2.All the workers agreed that they wanted a pay increase, but nobody offered to ____________ and talked to the boss.3. Just like ___________________, Arafat escaped every time.4. I must _____________________and go and ask the boss for a day off next week.5. Those two kids will ___________________if I leave them alone in the house.

separate the sheep from the goat

bell the cat

a cat has nine lives

beard the lion in his den

fight like Killkenny cats

Idioms---a popular role

in the examinations!

1 ． (2009 徐州三模 )--I regret that I spent three hours chatting about nothing with my friends at the party when I should have been preparing for the coming exam ．--Learn to control yourself. ．A ． Friends are thieves of timeB ． Friends agree best at distanceC ． Friends must partD ． A friend is never known till a man has need

A

2. (2010 江苏徐州市第三次调研 )--What do you think if we put both

John and Jack in charge of the work?--Just John is OK. _____, you know.

A. Every dog has his day

B. Everybody’s business is nobody’s

business

C. Every little makes a nickel

D. Every little helps

B

3.（2010 江苏高考， 31 ）--I have tried very hard to find a solution to the

problem, but in vain.--Why not consult with Frank? You see, _______.

A. great minds think alikeB. two heads are better than oneC. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bushD. it’s better to think twice before doing

something.

B

4. (2015 江苏苏州一模 )--The boss of Microsoft, Satya

Nadella, had to apologize for remarks he made advising women not to ask for a pay rise but to have “faith in the system”.

--He deserve it. _______.A.Accidents will happen.B.A good dog deserves a good

bone.C.A close mouth catches no flies.D.Action speak louder than words.

C

5. (2015, 江苏高考， 33 ）--Why didn’t you invite John to your birthday party?-- Well you know he is ________.A.An early bird B.A wet blanketC.A lucky dogD.A tough nut

B

Supplementary reading (II)

Group work:30 common English idioms

directions: 1-10 work out the Chinese equivalent;11-20 work out the English meaning according to the given example; 21-30 make up a situation using each idiom

1. “24/7”__________________________________________

2. “A short fuse”____________________________________

3. “A taste of your own medicine”_______________________

4. “Butterflies in my stomach”__________________________

5. “Cat got your tongue?”_____________________________

6. “Down for the count”_______________________________

7. “Draw the line”___________________________________

8. “Easier said than done”____________________________

9. “Every cloud has a silver lining”_______________________

10.“Finding a needle in a haystack”______________________

Chinese equivalent:

11. “Fish out of water”_______________________________

12. “Get something off your chest”______________________

13. “Give it a whirl”__________________________________

14. “In the fast lane”________________________________

15. “In the nick of time”______________________________

16. “Let the cat out of the bag”_______________________

17. “Lose your marbles”_______________________________

18. “Once in a blue moon”_____________________________

19. “Plain as day”___________________________________

20. “Play second fiddle”_______________________________

English meaning:

21. “Put your foot in your mouth”_______________________

22. “Sick and tired”__________________________________

23. “Sleep on it”____________________________________

24. “Snug as a bug in a rug”___________________________

25. “Stick your nose into something”_____________________

26. “Straight from the horse’s mouth”___________________

27. “Take it easy”___________________________________

28. “Tip of the iceberg”______________________________

29. “To not see the wood for the trees”__________________

30. “Up a creek without a paddle”_______________________

Proper situation:

Homework: 1. Try to finish the rest of the

English idioms.2. Read the reading passage

carefully again and focus on the usage of some important words and phrases.