E.G. Is This the First Time You've Been in Shanghai?
BOOK ONE
Unit One
I. Language structure practice
- The simple past and the present perfect
e.g. Is this the first time you've been in Shanghai?
In a sentence beginning with "This is the first/second/...time", the verb in the subordinate clause is in the present perfect form another example,
This is the second time I've read an English novel in the original.
B. The past progressive
e.g. While Class One students were having a Chinese lesson, Class Three students were having a lesson on the History of C.R..
The verb phrases in this sentence are in the past progressive, which is used to express:
1 ) two actions going on at the same time in the past,
2) an action going on during a certain time in the past, or,
3)an action going on at a point of time in the past. It is formed by " was/were + -ing".
- The past perfect
e.g. By half past ten, we'd already had our English class.
The verb phrase in this sentence is in the past perfect, which is used to express:
1)an action completed before a certain time in the past, or,
2) an action completed before another action that took place in the past. It is formed by "had +-ed"
Note that the time adverbial used with a past perfect verb phrase is usually a "by-phrase or clause". An example with a by-clause:
By the time we had our Chinese lesson, we'd has our English class.
D. Questions and answers:
1.Have you been in Yancheng before?
Who has never been in Yancheng before?
2.This is your/his/her first visit to Yancheng ,isn't it?
Is this your first or second visit here?
3.How long have you been here?
How long has he been here?
4.Everything here is new to you, isn't it?
Do you enjoy your stay here?
5.What were you doing this time last year?
Were you studying at middle school then?
6.How long had you studied English before you came to this institute?
E. Example dialogues:
LSP I
A: Is this the first time you've been in Hangzhou, Wang?
B: Yes. I've never been here before.
A :Where did you go to middle school?
B :In Ningbo. That 's my home town.
LSP II
A: Hi, Chen. I was looking for you everywhere after four this afternoon. Where were you?
B:I was on the sports field.
A :Were you playing football with your roommates?
B :No, I wasn't.
A: Were you running round the track?
B: No, I wasn't.
A: What were you doing then?
B:I was having a shadow boxing.
LSP III
A: What were you doing at seven yesterday evening?
B:I was listening to some tapes.
A: Were you listening to the recording of the English teaching programs on the radio?
B: No. By then I'd already done that. I was listening to some music.
II. Dialogues
Dialogue I
A. Broad questions:
1.Where did A go during the summer? What for?
2.What was the life in A's summer camp like?
3.What did B say about his experience in a summer camp?
B. Retelling outlines:
1.A tells B about his summer camp life on MountTai.
2.B recalls his own experience in a summer camp two years ago and asks A if he had the same kind of experience.
C. Language point practice:
1.be impressed by
A:I went to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition yesterday.
B: I heard the things on display are gorgeous.
A: Yes, I was greatly impressed by the craftsmanship.
2.not when (elliptical form in answering questions)
A: I love to go skating every weekend in winter.
B: Every weekend?
A: Practically, but not when it's too windy.
3. remind...of...; bring back...memories
A: Remember the bay when we visited the Smiths?
B: Yes, it brought back such sweet memories.
A: On my part, it reminded me of the heated arguments I had with Joan Smith about women's place in society.
D. Role-play
Role card 1---You are Wang. You are pleased to see Zhang, whom you didn't see for the whole summer. When asked by Zhang what you did during the summer vacation, you are eager to tell him that you tutored a child of 10 in English. The boy is your neighbour's son. He started learning English a year ago and he is greatly interested in learning to speak English. Your chief task was to teach him conversational English. You tutored the boy 3 mornings every week. You spent most of the rest of your time in the community public library reading books.
Role card 2---You are Zhang. You are very happy to see your good friend Wang, and you could not wait to tell him about your work experience in the Neighbourhood Service Committee. Every morning you went to their office and helped with their daily routine. There is a newspaper reading session every day and you volunteered to do the job. You read to the elderly retired people important national news as well as some local news. Sometimes you visited these elderly people who needed help in various ways. Near the end of the vacation, you took a trip to...for three days and had a wonderful time.
III. Readings
Questions and answers:
Reading I
1. Who was Hervert?
2. Did he go home from Cambridge to have his holiday?
3. Why did he come home earlier?
4. What was he about to do when the policemen came?
5. Did the policemen ask him questions as soon as they burst into the house?
6. Did the policemen believe what Herbert said?
7. What did they take Herbert for?
8. Why did they tale Hervert for a burglar?
Reading II
1. Why did Andrew have to leave home one day?
2. What did he do before leaving?
3. Why did he have to go back home the same evening?
4. What happened to him when he returned to his house?
5. What would have happened if his wife had not been a sound sleeper?
IV. Vocabularies:
athlete sergeant budge hurl
Unit 2
I. Language structure practice
A. Nominal clause used as the object, introduced by "if"
e.g. Do you know if there's a lecture this afternoon?
The original clause is a yes-no question, i.e. "Is there a lecture this afternoon?" When a yes-no question is turned into an object clause, the connective "if" is used and the word order of the question changes a little. Another example:
Everybody knows that there's a lecture this afternoon.
In this sentence, the object clause is a statement When a statement is turned into an object clause, the connective "that" is used and the word order of the statement does not change. The connective "that" is often omitted in a short sentence.
B. Nominal clause used as the object, introduced by " wh-word"
e.g. Can you tell me when Mr. Smith arrived at the airport?
The nominal clause used here as the direct object of the verb "tell". The object clause is originally a wh-question. When a wh-question is turned into an object clause, the Wh-word serves as the connective, but the word order of the question changes a little,
C. Nominal clause used as the object, introduced by "that"
e.g. Have you heard that Paul failed in his last exam?
D. Questions and answers:
1. Do you know if there's an English teaching program on TV this evening?
2. Could you tell me when it will be on?
3. Do you remember what will be on after that?
4. Have you heard that there's an English feature film dubbed in Chinese on TV after the news?
5. I hope you won't miss the English teaching program.
E. Sample dialogues
LSP I
A: Does everybody know that Qin will take part in the autumn sports meeting?
B: Yes, everybody does.
A: What event will she take part in?
B: She'll enter for the high jump.
LSP II
A: Do you know who in our class lives at 20, Lane548, Wenming Lu?
B: I don't think anybody lives there.
A: Oh, I remember now. It's Dai that lives at 30.
B: That's right. It's number 30, not number20.
LSP III
A: I was told Henry had broken his precious teapot this morning.
B: Really? He must be very sorry about it.
A: I think so. He's always so careless.
B: Yes, and he's very clumsy at housework, too.
II. Dialogues
Dialogue I
A. Broad questions:
1.Why do people visit Huangshan?
2.Why do some people take the train while other stake the bus to get to Huangshan?
3.Did B tell A the details about how to get to Huangshan? Why not?
B. Retelling outlines:
1.Huangshan is a famous scenic spot.
2.A asks B about his trip to Huangshan.
3.B tells A when the best time to go there is.
4.B tells A the advantages / disadvantages of taking the bus / the train.
5.B will not tell A how to get to Huangshan in details until A has decided to go.
C. Language point practice
1. afford
A: Look, Lin. What a nice jacket it is!
B: Yeah, it looks smart. How much is it?
A: Let me see. Three hundred Yuan.
B: Well, I don't think I can afford it.
2. every three hours / other day
A: I've waited for full five minutes and there's still no bus in sight.
B: Be patient. The next one will be here in a minute. There's a bus leaving here every eight minutes.
3. incidentally
A: I hear Chauncy has won the first prize in the English Composition Contest.
B: Yes, he has.
A: His English is good. Incidentally, do you know that his father is a famous writer.
D. Role-play
Role card 1---You are Li. You are a native of City A and you have never been out of the city. Wang is your roommate. He comes from City B. You have heard a lot about the place. You know it is one of the most beautiful scenic spots in China. You would really like a to go there. You ask Wang 1) the best way to get there. 2) what there is to see, 3) the best time to go there. You can ask him other questions too.
Role card 2---You are Wang. You are from City B. Your roommate Li is anxious to go to City B for a visit. You tell him that he can go to City B by train or by bus. You are not yet ready to tell him much about what to see there, but you will do that later. You think that spring is the best season to see City B. You must be prepared to answer his other questions too.
III. Readings
Questions and answers:
Reading I
1. What is the name of the narrator?
2. Where would he go? And why?
3. What time did he choose to tell his father his decision? Why did he do so?
4. How did his parents feel on hearing the news?
5. What might be the reasons for their reaction?
6. Were his parents in good health?
7. How would your parents react if you decide Togo abroad?
Reading II
1. Why did Uncle Ricardo ask Dolores to go to Chicago?
2. What did Aunt Margaret tell Dolores to do?
3. How do you know that Dolores enjoyed the trip very much?
IV. Vocabularies:
Coach incidentally possessive reservation
Unit 3
I. Language structure practice
A. The passive sentence in the simple present
e.g. This is called a pencil sharpener in English.
The passive sentence is used when we are not so much interested in the doer of an action as in the receiver of the action. Very often in a passive sentence, the doer of an action is vague or unimportant or unknown, so it is often and not explicitly stated. When the doer of an action is stated in a passive sentence, it is placed in a By-phrase. Cf.,
Smoking is prohibited in the warehouse.
Two students on duty clean our classroom.
The passive sentences given above are all in the simple present tense; the passive verb phrase is formed by is / are + -ed participle.
B. The passive sentence in the present perfect
e.g. Has the tableware been cleaned yet?
C. The passive sentence in the simple past
e.g. I was invited to the party the other day.
D.The passive sentence in the future.
e.g. A lecture on stamp-collecting will be given tomorrow.
E. Questions and answers:
1. What language is spoken in the UK?
2. In what other countries is English spoken?
3. Do you know if English was spoken in America six hundred years ago?
4. Is English spoken in and out class in our department?
5. Do you think English will be spoken by more and more people in the would?
6. When was Hong Kong returned to China?
7. When and where will the next Olympic Games be held?
F. Sample dialogues
LSP I
A: Is a record player also called a phonograph inAmerican?
B: Yes, it is.
A: Is it made of wood?
B: No, it isn't. It's made of metal and plastics.
A: Is it sold at a hardware shop or a department store?
B: At a department store.
A: Is it used for recording sound or for reproducing sound from records?
B: For reproducing sound from records.
LSP II
A: The table has been set, hasn't it?
B: Yes, it has.
A: Who did it, Susan or Betty?
B: Susan did it today.
LSP III
A: How many of you were invited to the party last Saturday, Ali?
B: Five, Joan, Isuzu...
A: Was Joan asked to do anything?
B: Yes, of course. She was asked to sing a song.
LSP IV
A: The folk music concert has been postponed,hasn't it?
B: Yes, it has.
A: Do you know when it will be given?
B: A week on Sunday, I heard.
II. Dialogues
dialogue I
A. Broad questions:
1. What do you know about the English Department of our institute? Do you like it?
2. Are the students here very busy with their studies? How about you?
3. Would you like to be an English student ? Why or why not?
B. Retelling outlines:
Lu Hua tells her teacher about:
1. her life at PujinangUniversity
2. the campuses of PujiangUniversity
3. the orientation program for the new students
4. the resources and facilities available to the students
5. her life as a student majoring in English
C. Language point practice
1. Not the whole
A: Do you've read all of Shakespeare’s works?
B: Not the whole lot, I've only read his tragedies
2. As much as possible
A: Do you often go to the language lab?
B: Yes. I want to make use of the facilities there as much as possible to improve my English.
3. Be used to
A: It's very cold today, but you've only got a light coat on.
B: I'm used to cold weather.
4. Not only that
A: I heard you had a cold last week.
B: Not only that, I had stomach trouble as well.
D. Role-play
Role card 1---You are Tan. You are from a coastal city and so you are extremely pleaded to find that the university campus is located in the suburbs, away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. You are greatly impressed by the natural beauty of the peaceful countryside. The university is equipped with modern teaching facilities and provided with rich library resources, but they do not impress you so much as the rural environment, because to you, any university ought to be so equipped and provided.
Role card 2---You are Sun. You are from a small town in the remote interior. You find the university campus a grand place with splendid buildings, a spacious stadium, a well-equipped gymnasium, and lots of trees and flowers. What'smore, there are thousands of volumes of bookslanguage labs, multi-media resources----they areall eye-openers to you.
III. Readings
Questions and answers:
Reading I
1. Which country had more newspapers per person, Britain or the United States?
2. Is it possible to buy national newspapers published in London anywhere in the country on the same day? Why?
3. Are daily papers printed every morning in London only?
4. How do quality papers differ from the more popular paper?
5. What is the difference between "The Sunday Times " and "The Sunday Mirror"?
6. What is meant by
1).papers in Britain are perhaps less extreme than in some countrues?
2). they are less obviously committed politically?
3). they are less dramatic and sensational in content?
7. From the statements above, can you infer what papers in some other countries are like?
8. What kind of local papers cover not only local but national and international news?
9. What does the word "press" mean?
10. Do men and women in China differ in interest when they read newspapers? If so, in what ways?
Reading II
1. What kind of information can we get from the newspaper?
2. Do A and B have the same interest ? How do you know?
IV. Vocabularies:
cafeteria sophomore metropolis orientation grocery deliver exclusively angle linotype circulation editorial comic strips
Unit 4
I.Language structure practice
A. Modal auxiliaries "can/could and be able to "used to express "ability"
e.g. Was she able to /Could she sing so well a year ago?
Both "can" and "be able to" express one's ability in doing something. But "can" has only two forms, the present form and the past form. To express one's ability in doing sth. in tenses other than the simple present and the simple past we use "be able to", e.g.
Have you been able to tell the twins apart?
I won't be able to solve the problem.
For the present and the past actions, both of them are used to express ability. However, for the present ability, "can" is more usual than "be able to". For the past ability, "be able to" means that one succeeded in doing sth. Whereas"could" does not have this implication, cf.