The Present

Unit 3

Part IV Exercises checking&Homework setting

Teaching Procedures

Part I Review & Duty Report (by students) 10mins

Part II Leading-in activities 30mins

1. warm-up questions 10mins 2. Picture talking & Global analysis 10mins 3. Watching & Discussing 10mins

Part III Detailed study of the text &Teaching summary

Warm-up Questions

1) What is the most unforgettable birthday present you have ever received?

2) Do you know your parents' birthday?Have you ever given your parents presents?

3) what do you think is the best present for your paresent? do you understand your parents truly?

4) what do you want most when you are old?• back

Picture Talking

①

④③

②

• What we are going to study is a simple story. It is an account of what happens to an old woman on her eightieth birthday. She is very excited that day. She gets up early and puts on her best dress. She wishes her daughter would come to see her, though deep down she has her doubts. But one thing is certain: she will get a present from her daughter anyway. So she waits with eagerness. Finally the postman comes; the old woman, however, does not receive the parcel she has been expecting, but a printed birthday card along with a cheque. She is so disappointed, so hurt, that she tears the cheque into small pieces. The story, simple as it is, shown us some aspects of the family relationship in Western society and gives us an insight into the frustrations lonely old people suffer. back

Do a choice

What type is the text? A narration B description C exposition D argumentation

Part division

parts

para.s

main ideas

1 1--2 got up early to be ready for the post

2 3---12

expected the arrival of Myra ‘s present

3 13--21

received the present and tore it

Inspiring quotations

1. We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents

养儿方知父母恩。 2. All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother. 我之所有，我之所能，都归功于我天使般的母亲 3. To love our parents is the first law of nature. 爱父母是自然的首要法则。 back

Watching & Discussion

• Watch this video firstly and think about your mother's duty in your family.

• C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\ 桌面 \ 妈妈之歌 The Mom Song 中文字幕 .avi

• How do you understand the sentence ：• A tree desires to stand still, but wind does not st

op. A son desires to serve his parents, but they do not wait.

• back

Part . Detailed study of the textⅡ1. present

(1) n. gift,

e.g. -He had bought home a present for her. (2) v. give; submit; introduce,

e.g. -The teacher was presenting us with an accurate picture of history.

-After quarrelling with his boss, Mr. Chen presented his resignation letter.

• 2. She got up early to be ready for the post. Be/get ready for something:prepare and fit for use,

e.g. -The letter are ready for the post.

Be/get ready to do something: be willing to do something,

e.g. -Friends should be always ready to help others

• 3. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came down the street

• the second floor flat(BrE.)= the third floor apartment(AmE.). In Britain and Germany people say, "the ground floor, the first floor, the second floor, etc.", while in the United States people say "the first floor, the second floor, the third floor, etc." Moreover, from this expression we may infer that the author is English, for "flat" is a typical British English usage. An American writer would have used "apartment" instead. And the word "post" serves as another example. Americans use the word "mail" instead of "post".

Note: Here are some other pairs of words used in British English and American English

• respectively: • BrE. AmE. BrE. AmE.• 万亿 billion trillion 罐头 tin can• 支票 cheque check 节目 programme program• 秋天 autumn fall 荣誉 honour honor

人行道 pavement sidewalk 轮胎 tyre tire

电影 film movie 分析 analyse analyze

电梯 lift elevator 旅行者 traveler traveler

铁路 railway railroad 目录 catalogue catalog

出租车 cab cab/taxi 对话 dialogue dialog

• 4. … and the little boy from the ground floor brought up her letters on the rare occasions when anything came.

• Few letters or parcels came to the old lady. Her daughter Myra seldom wrote and there is no evidence that she had many relatives or friends who would send her letters or parcels by post. As a result, it was rare for the old lady to get a letter or a parcel. But when anything did come by post, the boy would bring it up for her.

• (1) rare

• i. unusual; not often happening or seen, e.g. -He was wild with joy when he found the rare book. -rare metal, on rare occasions (偶尔地 )

• ii. (of a substance, esp. atmosphere) thin, not dense,

• e.g. -The Tibetans are used to the rare air around the Himalayas.

• (2) Occasion:• special event; time when sth. Happens• -Birth, marriage and death are three important

occasions in a person's life.

• on occasion(s)有时 ,间或地 ;on the occasion of…值 之际 ;on many occasions许多次 ;on

this/that occasion在这种 /那种场合 ;seize the occasion to do sth.抓住机会做某事 ..

• 5. Today she was sure there would be something: Today she was certain there would be something in the post for her - either a letter or present.

6. even if she seldom wrote at other times.• even if: in spite of the possibility that;

though (even is used to emphasize two contrasting conditions and the clause introduced by "even if" may be conditional or concessive),

I'll come even if it rains. (conditional) -I'll finish the work even if it takes me the whole night. (conditional)

• Sir Francis was determined to carry out his plan even if/though he had lung cancer. (concessive)

• 7. Her husband had been made Mayor

• make: (followed by an object and complement) cause to be,

• e.g. -We made Miss Su our vice monitor.

• -He was made Chairman of the Students Union.

• 8.the aged: the old people ( 英语中有些形容词加上定冠词 , 即可名词化 , 表示一类人或一类东西 ) -They are going to build a school for the deaf and the blind. -The old writer was fond of writing about the unusual.

• 9. Enid had never married, but had seemed content to live with her mother, and teach in a primary school round the corner.

• (1) be content to do/with sth.: be pleased to do/with sth.; be satisfied to do/with sth., e.g. -No one seems content to live in poverty. -You should be content with what you have - a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, and a luxurious car.

• (2) Round the corner: very near, nearby -The teaching building is just round the corner. -Victory is just round the corner.

• 10.I've arranged for Mrs. Morrison to look after you for a few days, Mother.

• Tomorrow I have to go into hospital- just a minor operation.

• (1) arrange for: make a plan about (something for someone); make preparations for,

• e.g. -I have arranged for the photographer to take pictures after the ceremony.

• -They have arranged for a taxi to pick me up at 9 tomorrow morning. 。

• (2) minor: smaller; less important or serious, e.g. -The house is still in good condition; it needs just a few minor repairs.

• (3) operate: (vi.) perform surgery; work. (vt.) manage; make … work -He has his right knee operated on last month. -The machine is not operating well. -It is Mr. Greenwood who owns and operates this farm.

• 11.and in her efficient way arranged for Mrs. Morrison to come in and light the fire and the old lady her breakfast.

• (1) efficient: capable

• -Efficient secretaries are in great demand these days.

• -My father is very efficient in saving time.

辨析： efficient &effective

• efficient 是指工作效率高；其名词形式为 efficiency ，意为“效率，功效”。

• effective 是指某种事物起了作用，产生了效果 ; 其名词形式为 effectiveness ，意为 " 效果，有效 " 。

• 填空• an ———— secretary • an ———— medicine for hair loss • 工作效率高的秘书 efficient• 一种治疗脱发的有效药 effective

• 12. Two years ago that was:

• That was two years ago "That was" occurs as an afterthought tag.

• 13. Perhaps – perhaps Myra might come.

• This seems to be the old lady's soliloquy. She expects Myra to come - she wishes Myra would come - but she has doubts about her coming. The repetition of "perhaps' and the word "might' serve to accentuate the uncertainty she feels.

• 14.After all, eighty was a special birthday, another decade lived or endured just as you chose to look at it.

• (1) An eightieth birthday is special because not everyone can live so long. It marks the end of a ten-year period you have lived through or endured, depending on your point of view. Life is usually a mixture of happiness and sadness; few people are always happy. You live your life and you're happy sometimes and sad sometimes. On the other hand, life can also be long periods of unhappiness or suffering. Such a life isn't lived as an enjoyable experience. Rather it is endured. Here the author is contrasting these two ways of looking at life.

• "Another decade lived or endured" is an absolute construction grammatically, serving as an adverbial of manner. In fact, this is a comment made by the author, reminding the reader that life can be enjoyment or suffering and views on life can be different accordingly.

• (2)after all: when everything has been considered; nevertheless, e.g. -Don't expect me to work such a miracle; after all, I'm a mere mortal. (3) endure: (vt., vi.) suffer; bear; put up with. (vi.) last, e.g. -The company has to endure heavy financial losses. _They had spent 3 days in the desert without water, and could not endure much longer.

• 15. Two spots of colored brightened her cheeks. • (1) spot • i. mark different in color from what it is on; stain, • e.g.• -It is difficult to get rid of spots of ink, blood or grease.• ii a particular place, • e.g. -He happened to be on the spot when the robbery to

ok place.• iii(vt.) recognize; discover; locate, • e.g. -He is a tall man easy to spot in a crowd.

• 17.I guess you'll get lots and lots of presents, I did last week when I was six.

• (1) lots and lots of: a great amount of or number of, e.g. -As a young mother, you'll need lots and lots of patience

• (2) The word "did" is used here as a substitute verb for "got lots and lots of presents" to avoid repetition, e.g. -She said she'd help me and she did.

• 18. Jim had always liked her in blue.

• In blue: the preposition

• "in" is used to express the meaning of "wearing" or "dressed in".

19.So many lovely things.

There were so many nice things the old woman wanted to have, but she would be very pleased to get any kind of birthday present from her daughter.

• 20. Then clatter, clatter up the stairs. • Then came the clattering sound of the boy's

feet(or: Then came the quick noisy footsteps) up the stairs. This suggests that the old lady was listening for the boy's footsteps in her room, eagerly and attentively.

• 22.That was it: that was the reason why the parcel had not come yet.

• "That was it" (if we use present tense it's always "that's it) is an idiomatic expression which often means "That explained / explains what had / has happened".

Teaching summary

1. Summary of the Text As everyone knows that blood is thicker than water, that our relatives are more important to us than others. What happens to an old woman on her eightieth birthday makes her quite disappointed and miserable. She gets up early and puts on her best dress to be ready for the post from her daughter Myra. However, she gets only a birthday card along with a cheque. She is so painful that she tears the cheque into little pieces. From the story we know that the old people in the Western countries are lonely and they are not given due attention.

• 2. Key language points• (1) review some useful figures of speech or rhet

orical devices, such as simile, irony, etc. (2) review some grammatical structures, like inversion

• 3.Instructive significance of the text• After learning this text, the students will realize t

hat it is wrong to take their parents’ love for granted. They should pay more attention to their parents and express their loves to them directly. In the world, parents are the only persons that will love their children all their lives.

• back

Exercises CheckingTRANSLATION:

1. The famous actor seemed content to play a minor part

in the play.

2. National Day is round the corner. Let’s give our bedro

om a thorough clean.

3. She agreed, very reluctantly, to be operated on by a yo

ung doctor.

4. They’ve arranged for us to visit the Great Wall tomor

row. I’m sure we’ll have a good time there.

5. After reading the letter the old man was so disappointed that he tore it into little bits with trembling fingers.

6. The old couple were pound of their grandson, who got two gold medals and a bronze at the 28th Olympic Games.

7. Even if his grandmother could not come to his birthday party, she would send him a lovely present. Tom was sure of that.

8. It was Mary’s twentieth birthday yesterday. Her father sent her a pair of boots. Her mother bought her a box of chocolates. And here boyfriend brought her a bunch of roses.

Exercises Checking

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

The parcel was too large to (so large that it

couldn’t ) come by letter post.

Johnnie said he would not go out to play unt

il (only after) the post had come.

• back

Homework

• 1. Recite the new words. (P35-P36)

• 2. Finish the exercises (P38-3---P42-12)

• 3. Write a letter to their parents to express their loves. (extension of teaching)

• 4. Preview the next unit.