(共27张PPT)
Unit 3
Extended reading
A precious family dinner
1. To grasp the content of the article and write a summary;
2. To know more about the customs of the Chinese New Year;
3. To understand the deep meaning of the family dinner on the Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Where are these people heading Why are they in such a hurry
Lead-in
They are heading back to their hometowns which are far away from the cities where they live.
They are in such a hurry because they are eager to be reunited with their family members.
Read the passage quickly and find out the answers to the following questions:
1. What does the passage talk about
2. How often do Luo’s family reunite
3. What is the change in Luo’s journey back home
4. What does this change imply
1. What does the passage talk about
It is about Luo Yan’s happy family dinner on the Chinese New Year’s Eve.
2. How often do Luo’s family reunite
Maybe once a year.
3. What is the change in Luo’s journey back
home
It used to be a long and tiring journey a few years ago, but it takes only 5 hours to reach his hometown now owing to the high-speed train.
4. What does this change imply
It implies the fast development of modern transportation in China. It also highlights the great development and changes happening in our country.
It implies how powerful our country is.
Read the passage again and focus on the activities Chinese families do and get to know more about the meaning of the Spring Festival to Chinese people.
Find out the answers to the following questions:
1. What Spring Festival traditions did Luo’s family observe
They decorated their house with paper-cuttings on the windows, Spring Festival couplets on the door and New Year paintings on the wall. They had fish at dinner. They watched the Spring Festival Gala while eating snacks, chatting with each other and making dumplings. They also set off firecrackers.
2. Why do the Chinese people decorate the house on such an occasion
The Chinese people do so in order to represent joy, luck and happiness to hope everything will be promising in
the coming new year.
3. What is the special meaning of these traditions on such an occasion
It’s a chance for family members to spend time together and enjoy each other’s company, especially for those who are away from home and cannot see their family members often. By observing these traditions, they want to make up for the time they have lost and express their deep love to each other.
4. In Luo’s eyes, home is where all family members are together. Can you make up such sentences to describe what home means to you
Home is where ___________________________________.
Home is a place ___________________________________.
my heart lies
I can have a rest physically and mentally
5. Read the last paragraph and find out what is the true meaning of celebrating the Spring Festival.
All over the country, we are celebrating our good fortune, celebrating our family’s togetherness, and celebrating our nation’s strength.
Do you think the adjective “precious” is
appropriately used And why
This is a precious family dinner because it is the dinner the family has had together after being separated for a long time. The dinner also represents the strength of the family’s bond as shown by their enjoyment of being together for this moment and also their longing to be together in the future.
Focus on the title: A precious family dinner
Write a summary of the feature article. Use the chart below to help you.
Feeling
Time
Place
On the way
back home
During the dinner
After dinner
Close to midnight
On the train
In the house
Outside the house
Excited
Happy
Worried and hopeful
Possible answer
Luo Yan, his wife and his son Bofeng came back from their home in the city to see Luo Yan’s parents. On the train, they chatted with each other, full of excitement. When they finally arrived, Luo Yan’s parents were glad to see them. They had put up beautiful decorations around house for the festival.
On the Chinese New Year’s Eve they had a big dinner together happily and then everyone stayed inside and watched the Spring Festival Gala. They felt comfortable in the warmth, but Luo Yan was also a little worried and hoped he could take his parents to live with him in the city in the future. Close to midnight, the whole family went outside to set off firecrackers. It was a time to celebrate their togetherness and look forward to the future with hope.
What Spring Festival traditions do you observe What are their meanings
I go back to my hometown, visit my extended family and get red packets! The Chinese New Year is a time of family reunion. The annual reunion dinner with members of my extended family is the biggest event of the festival.
We eat Spring Festival cakes, or niangao, which symbolize increasing prosperity in each coming year. Red packets received from the elderly symbolize good luck and fortune.
Discuss how the Chinese people, especially the young, celebrate the Spring Festival nowadays.
Nowadays, the Chinese people, especially the young, are fond of having the family dinner in a restaurant and enjoying a film together with their family members. Sometimes, they spend a few days travelling with their family members around the country, or abroad.
Sending online messages of greetings by social software is the most common way to give their wishes. And they are fond of “grabbing electronic red packets” on their smartphones.
Why do the Chinese people attach so much importance to reunion during the Spring Festival
The answer to this question is deeply rooted in the traditional Chinese culture, which is characterized by a sense of family, or a sense of belonging. The concept of family has a great influence on the Chinese people, and three generations living under the same roof is good proof of a thriving family.
Even if family members live apart, they must get back home at the Spring Festival and bring new year greetings to the family elders. They tell the family about their experiences and achievements while away from home, feeling content that they can bring glory to the family.
Family reunions are also good occasions when children learn about their cultural inheritance, who will pass it down to their own children after they grow up. Traditionally, there are ceremonies of offering sacrifices to ancestors and people exchange new year greetings with their relatives and friends. Brought up in this harmonious atmosphere, children will naturally follow this tradition.
1. Are there any differences between the way you celebrate Spring Festival now and the way in the past Talk it with your parents.
2. What do you think of these changes Write an essay on the changes and your attitudes towards these changes.