The world meets China
Unit 3
Starting out & Understanding ideas
—Reading comprehension
读前清障
Ⅰ.匹配单词(请把单词和其对应的英语解释连线)
1.glorious A.relating to religion
2.boast B.the amount or way that sth. covers an area
3.religious C.very beautiful and impressive
4.peak D.to make something stronger or more effective
5.strengthen E.to have or own something to be proud of
6.coverage F.the highest,strongest,or best point,value,or
level of skill
Ⅱ.选词填空
vary from...to...,bring...to life,date from,seal up,be
testimony to
1.___________ the 1st century,it had been stolen from a museum in southern Rome in 1988.
2.The pyramids _________________ the ancient Egyptians’ engineering skills.
Dating from
are testimony to
vary from...to...,bring...to life,date from,seal up,be
testimony to
3.The plants were placed at distances ____________ 50 ___ 300 cm for a period of three months.
4.It is apparent that fresh flowers can _____ a dull room back _____.
5.The reason why the cave ______________ all those years ago remains a mystery.
varying from
to
bring
to life
was sealed up
How much do you know about the Confucius Institute?
The Confucius Institute is a non-profit educational organization run by the Chinese Ministry of Education, aiming to promote Chinese language and culture abroad and to encourage cultural exchange. The first institute opened in 2004, and today there are over 500 institutes around the world. In addition to Chinese language courses, the institutes also support activities, such as art exhibitions, concerts and film festivals.
Did You Know?
1.The reason why Liang Ran decided to work for the Confucius Institute.
2. The working environment at the Institute.
3. The troubles he had during teaching.
4. A special moment from his time at the Institute.
5. What he learnt from his students.
6. The friends he made in New York.
Listen to the conversation and choose the topics covered.
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Liang Ran spent 1.__________abroad working as a teacher at 2.__________________________.He said it was a difficult decision, because it would mean 3. ______________. Finally, he decided to go as he wanted to help foreigners learn Chinese and learn about China. He also wanted to 4. ______________________________________.
a whole year
the Confucius Institute in New York
delaying his studies
experience life abroad and learn about Western culture
Listen again and complete the passage.
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At first, Liang was surprised at 5.________________________, as they were quite varied. They were all interested in Chinese culture, however. One challenge they met was that they 6. ________________________________, so Liang had to give them a lot of support.
the different ages of the students
had some difficulty with Chinese characters
Liang’s most memorable experience was at the end of the year when students learnt about traditional Chinese dancing and 7._______________.Liang said their 8. _____________ was amazing.
Chinese costumes
enthusiasm
Working there made Liang a better person. Through teaching Chinese, he 9.____________________________, and through interacting with students, he 10._________________________.
became even more proud of China
learnt more about the world
Friend: Liang Ran, I’m so glad to see you again! Has it really been a whole year? Welcome back!
Liang Ran: Thanks! It’s so good to be back in China.
Friend: So you spent a whole year at the Confucius Institute in New York working as a Chinese language teacher, right?
Liang Ran: I did, yes.
Friend: But that meant you had to put university on hold for a year. Wasn’t that a tough decision? Weren’t you worried about delaying your studies?
Liang Ran: It was a difficult decision to make. But the reason why I went is that I think helping people learn Chinese is a good thing. Also, I wanted to experience life abroad and learn about Western culture. The job at the Confucius Institute was the perfect opportunity.
Listening material
Friend: What was your work like?
Liang Ran: I was a bit surprised at first. That was due to the different ages of the students. Some were teenagers, some were young adults, and some were in their forties and fifties. The thought of teaching people much older than me made me really nervous.
Friend: I would have been nervous, too. Did everything work out OK?
Liang Ran: Yes, I shouldn’t have been at all worried. My students were all really interested in Chinese culture and happy to learn from me. They did have some difficulty with Chinese characters, and I had to give them lots of support there. On the whole, it was a wonderful experience.
Friend: Do you have any special memories?
Liang Ran: Hmm...Yes! Right at the end of the year, there was a show of traditional Chinese dancing at the institute. The very next day, I came into class to find my students practising the dances...
Friend: They were learning Chinese dancing?!
Liang Ran: Yes! [laughing] They ended up organising their own dance show. It was impressive seeing them dance in Chinese costumes. Their enthusiasm was amazing.
Friend: Do you think you’ve changed in any way?
Liang Ran: To sum up, the whole experience made me a better person. Through teaching them Chinese, I realised that there are people all over the world who are fascinated by Chinese culture, which made me become even more proud of China. And through interacting with my students, I learnt more about the world, which will help me in my studies and career. In short, I learnt a lot this year.
Complete the boxes with the expressions from the interview.
? On the whole, ...
? To sum up, ...
? In short, ...
? The reason why ... is that ...
? That was due to...
Giving reasons Drawing conclusions
The reason why... is that...
That was due to...
On the whole,...
To sum up,...
In short,...
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Think of a way about what you can do to spread Chinese culture and share it with your classmates using the expressions in this section.
Work in pairs.
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本课结束