Unit 10 Book 3
The Bermuda Triangle Phenomenon
Objectives:
Students will be able to
1. grasp the main idea of the text and the devices to develop the main idea;
2. be familiar with the useful words and phrases;
3. master the writing skill of using details to form a general statement;
4. know the reading skill of denotation and connotation.
Tasks
1. Understanding the contents of the whole text;
2. Knowing the organization of the text and its main ideas;
3. Understanding some difficult sentences;
4. Remembering the newwords and expressions
6. Writing
- Background Information
1. the Bermuda Triangle
It should be pointed out that the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name. The “ Bermuda or Devil’s Triangle” is an imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States, which is noted for a high incidence of unexplained losses of ships, small boats, and aircraft. The apexes of the triangle are generally accepted to be Bermuda, Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
2. Bermuda
Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists headed for Virginia. Now Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center.
3. the Graveyard of the Atlantic
Over 600 ships have been wrecked along this treacherous stretch of coast since the 16th century, and a few remain visible ion the beaches. David Stick’s Graveyard of the Atlantic, shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast gives detailed accounts of these and other tragedies that were a daily occurrence.
4. Christopher Columbus (1451—1506)
A Genoese navigator and explorer for Spain, Christopher Columbus explored Caribbean islands, coast of Central America, South America, etc. in the 15th and 16th centuries.
5. Charles Berlitz
Charles Berlitz is the grandson of Maximlian Berlitz, founder of the famous language schools. His book, The Bermuda Triangle, published in 1974, popularized the idea of a deadly region of the ocean into which planes and ships ventured at their peril.
II. Answer the following questions
1. How do sailors describe the Bermuda Triangle?
They describe it as “the Graveyard of the Atlantic”.
2. What did Columbus note when he entered the Bermuda Triangle?
He noted curious glowing streaks of “white water”.
3. Why does the U.S. Navy not recognize the triangle as a danger zone?
Because it believes that “the majority of disappearances in the triangle can be attributed to the unique features of the area’s environment”.
4. Do you think the 300 psychics and scientists will find the answers?
(This question is open for discussion)
III. Text Analysis: Main Idea and Structure
1. What is the text mainly about?
This passage tells us about the mysterious area: the Bermuda Triangle ---“Devil’s Triangle” with some specific examples. It also lists some fantastic explanations of unexpected losses of ships and aircraft.
2. How is the text organized?
The whole passage can be roughly divided into 3 parts:
Part One (Para. 1~~3) about a shocking event of a mysterious disappearance of planes, and a general introduction about the area, which tells what and where the Bermuda Triangle is, and how the public responds to the Bermuda Triangle: a lot of concern and interest but no answers produced.
Part Two (4~~8) offering us some more recorded mysterious disappearances to confirm that the disappearance is an often-occurring event, and general responses to the mysteries, including the U.S. Navy’s and Charles Berlitz’s, and some more fantastic explanations.
Part Three (Para 9) As the Bermuda Triangle remains a mystery to us, an institute is planning to organize 300 psychics and scientists to look into the mysteries under the sea with further efforts.
IV. Expressions
1. claim the life of: kill
eg. The war claimed the life of a UN interpreter yesterday.
Heart disease is the biggest killer, claiming 180,000 lives a year.
2. go so far as: make such a strong statement or take strong action as to
eg. He went so far as to call me a fool.
We have gone so far as to collect some useful statistics.
3. turn up: discover; happen without effort on one’s part
eg. I think I can turn up his letter if I look through these files.
A serious mistake has turned up in the planning.
4. attribute sth. to: regard sth. as belonging to, caused by or produced by sb./sth.
eg. He attributed his success to hard work.
This poem is reportedly attributed to Shakespeare.
5. go on: take place; happen
eg. There’s a wedding going on at the church.
A crowd gathered to see what was going on.
6. on the contrary: the opposite is true; not at all; no
eg. “You look as if you’re not enjoying yourself.”
“On the contrary, I’m having a great time.”
“I believe you like your job.”“On the contrary, I hate it.”
7. to date: so far; up to now
eg. To date he has done half the work.
To date we have spent 5 million dollars on the project.
8. on display: being displayed
eg. Her paintings are on display at the art gallery.
On display are more than 40,000 samples of export commodities.
9. expand on/upon: develop or give more of (a story, an argument, etc.)
eg. The president used today’s speech to expand on remarks he made last month.
I will expand on this point in the next chapter.
10. from time to time: now and then; occasionally
eg. His daughters visited him from time to time when he was ill.
During his stay in the United States he wrote home from time to time.
11. set off: cause sth. to take place
eg. The politician’s speech set off violence in the crowd.
The careless handling of international relations can set off a war.
V. Difficult sentences
1. At 2pm on December 5, 1945, five Navy aircraft took off on perfect flying weather from a naval air installation in southeastern Florida, on a routine training mission over the Atlantic Ocean. (Para. 1)
Meaning: At 2pm on December 5, 1945, when the weather was very suitable for flying, five Navy airplanes left a naval air base in southeastern Florida. They were on a regular training mission over the Atlantic.
2. ….the flight commander radioed that he was “completely lost”. (Para. 1)
Meaning:….the flight officer sent a message by radio, saying that he was “completely lost”.
3. Despite one of history’s most extensive search efforts, involving more than 300 planes and dozens of ships, the Navy found nothing, not even an oil stain floating on the water. (Para. 1)
Meaning: Although it made great efforts in the biggest search in history for the planes, using more than 300 planes and dozens of ships, the U.S. Navy found nothing, not even any trace of oil on the water.
4. ….Christopher Columbus noted curious glowing streaks of “white water”. (Para. 2)
Meaning: Christopher Columbus observed strange lines of “white water” that glowed.
5. None of these investigations has produced convincing answers to the mystery of the triangle, but there is no shortage of interesting theories. (Para. 3)
Meaning: All of the studies have come up with no sound answers to the mystery of the triangle. However, this does not mean that there are no interesting theories put forward by the people who have done the research.
6. Some scientists and popular authors go so far as to suggest the triangle is a place where beings from outer space hunt human specimens for their “zoos” (Para. 3)
Meaning: Some scientists and popular authors go so far as to suggest the triangle is a place where beings from outer space try to catch human beings and put them in their “zoos”.
7. An immediate search over 100,000 square miles of sea failed to turn up a single piece of the missing plane. (Para. 4)
Meaning: Soon, a search was carried out over 100,000 square miles of sea, but not a single piece of the missing plane was found. (Para. 4)
8. Stranger yet are the numerous “ghost” ships that have been found floating crewless within the triangle. (Para. 5)
Meaning: But what is strange is the fact that many “ghost” ships have been found floating within the triangle with no crew member aboard at all.
9. The captain of the Ellen Austin installed a new crew to sail it,….(Para. 5)
Meaning: The captain of the Ellen Austin organized another group of people and assigned them to sail the ship…
10….”no reasonable explanation to date has been made for the vanishings.”
Meaning:…“Up to now no one has made any reasonable explanation about the vanishings of the planes, ships, etc.” (Para. 7)
11. There…most of the missing vessels – and their crews – may still be on display for study by these higher intelligences. (Para. 7)
Meaning: In the triangle the highly intelligent people from outer space may have put most of the missing vessels and their crews on display for study.
12. From time to time, according to his theory, passing ships and planes set off the crystal, which confuses their instruments and sucks them into the ocean. (Para. 8)
Meaning: According to his theory, passing ships and planes set off the crystal, which will cause their instruments to fail to work properly and draw them into the ocean.
VI. Reading Skill
Denotation and Connotation
Both denotation and connotation refer to the meanings of words. Denotation is the literal meaning of a word – what you find in a dictionary. Connotation, on the other hand, is the implied meaning of a word – what a word suggests to you, or what it makes you feel or think. General speaking, the more we perceive the connotations of the words, the more we can understand how a writer wants us to feel or think.
VII. Writing
We have found that many essays are governed by a pattern from a general statement to specific details, reasons, facts or examples. But now, in this article about the Bermuda Triangle, we seem to have the reverse text structure – the pattern which starts from specific details to something general, whether they are conclusions, statements, or comments.
Topic: Haste Makes Waste
Specific details:
not forget,happen,last year; I , get, ,an order for 200 cartons of Chinese tea, American client; I, ask, the workshop ,to produce; the director, ask when to deliver the goods, I, answer, “The sooner the better”, to get ,the payment, early; it take ,the workshop, two week, to produce, 200 cartons, much sooner, than usual; however, the quality, far from perfect, of course, the American client, angry, refuse, pay a cent.
General comments:not only, a waste of time ,money, energy, but, most of all, lose, market credit, speed, important, but , base on, quality, where, our old saying works, Haste makes waste