新视界大学英语综合教程3 unit2

The glass castle

Warming up Skimming Digging Interpreting

Critical thinking Unfamiliar wordsLanguage in use Talking point

Warming up

Listen and underline any words or expressions which are different from what you hear.A: Looking back now on your childhood, what are the first things you can remember? B: You mean sights and smells, and things like that? A: Yes, that’s right. Psychologists tell us our first memories go back to when we were about two years old.

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Warming up

A: Well, I remember the first time I saw the stars. My parents and I were on holiday – we were in Scotland. At least, I think I remember. But perhaps it’s the photos I remember really, not the original memory. Maybe sounds and smells are more reliable as memories, like the smell of the flowers in the back garden, or the radio. I used to listen to the radio. I must have been about three. It was a programme in the afternoon for children called Listen with Father. I listened every day. The voice at the beginning used to say “Are you sitting straight?”, and I would pull myself up straight in the chair. I used to love doing that.

Warming up

Now listen again and correct the information. Answer: smells sounds; two three stars sea; flowers grass Father Mother straight comfortably

Warming up Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1 What is your earliest memory? 2 What smells do you associate with your childhood? 3 And what tastes? 4 And what sounds?

Warming up

Listen to the story about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her “Little House” books. Answer the questions. 1. What are the “Little House” books about? 2. What do you know about Laura Ingalls Wilder?

scriptLaura Ingalls Wilder

Warming up

1. What are the “Little House” books about? The “Little House” books are about the family of a little girl named Laura. The family lived on the great flat land known as the prairie in the central part of the United States. They were known as pioneers. The stories take place in the mid eighteen hundreds. The first book is called "Little House in the Big Woods."

Warming up

2. What do you know about Laura Ingalls Wilder? Laura Ingalls was born in 1867 in an area known as the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin. Her family was always moving from one place to another. Life was not easy for them. Readers can read about Laura’s early life in her books.

Warming up

The story about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her “Little House” books Since the nineteen thirties, children have gone to sleep listening to the words of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She wrote nine "Little House" books that take place in the mid eighteen hundreds. They tell about a family who lived on the great flat land known as the prairie in the central part of the United States. They were known as pioneers. The family moved from one small house to another. They carried all they owned in a wagon, pulled by a horse. They did not like to live and work in big cities. They enjoyed f

arming and raising animals. And they loved the open spaces of the prairie.More

Warming up

Laura Ingalls was born in eighteen sixty-seven in an area known as the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin. Her father was said to have a "restless spirit." He did not like to live in one place very long. The family moved from Wisconsin to Kansas, then to Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota. Laura's father was always looking for a better job, or better land to settle on. Life for the Ingalls family was not easy. They were often cold and hungry. Laura remembered these times when she wrote her "Little House" books later in life.More

Warming up

Laura Ingalls Wilder's first book is called "Little House in the Big Woods." It was published in nineteen thirtytwo. It tells of her life when she was about five years old. She calls her mother and father "Ma" and "Pa". She also includes an older sister named Mary and a younger sister named Carrie in her stories. This first book tells how Laura helps her family on their small farm. She learns how to grow crops and prepare for a cold winter. After working hard all day, Pa would play his fiddle, and sometimes they would sing and dance. Life was simple, but good.

Warming up Look at the title of the passage. What do you think a

novel with the title The Glass Castle is most likely to be about?1 an impossible dream 2 a fragile personality 3 a stimulating but unusual childhood 4 a fairy story

Skimming Task

◇Browse the passage within 8 minutes to get a rough idea about it. ◇Answer the questions of Activity 2 and 3 on page 27.

Skimming

Check ( ) the true statements. 1 The passage describes what happened one Christmas in the writer’s family. 2 Her family usually celebrated Christmas like all other families. 3 Her parents usually gave the children presents at Christmas. 4 Her father didn’t have any job on this particular Christmas. 5 He took the children out all together to look at the stars. 6 He told the writer to choose a star as a Christmas present. 7 The writer chose Venus because it was very bright. 8 Her father knew a lot about physics and astronomy. Answer: The true statements are 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8.

Skimming Answer the questions.

1 Why did the writer’s parents buy their children presents after Christmas?Because they were cheaper then.

2 What could be found on the roadside after Christmas? Boxes and paper that people had thrown away. 3 What did the writer’s father think of people who live in cities? They were foolish.

Skimming

4 How did the writer react to the idea of having a star as a present? She didn’t think it was possible.5 How did her father justify it? It made as much sense as claiming a whole continent of the earth. 6 What happened during Christmas dinner?