1、1Unit Ten Western Holidays. Pre-listening ActivitiesPart 1略Part 21. six; remarrying; unusual 2. tradition; death 3. card; message; great ScriptThe origins of Fathers Day are American and it was inspired by the actions of a man named William Smart. He was a veteran of the US Civil War and his wife di
2、ed giving birth to their sixth child. He raised six children alone without remarrying, which was undoubtedly unusual back in those days. His daughter, Sonora Dodd, realized when she was an adult what her father had sacrificed for his children. It was in the early 1900s and she was actually at church
3、 one day, listening to a sermon on Mothers Day. She thought there should also be a Fathers Day celebration. And so the tradition was born, on the third Sunday every June, close to the anniversary of Sonoras fathers death. Britain took the idea of Fathers Day from the American celebration and it has
4、been celebrated officially since the 1970s.Fathers Day is never quite such the big commercial event that Mothers Day is, probably because it hasnt been in existence for so long. But what do people do for Fathers Day? Well, most people would buy their fathers a card. The card would probably have a ni
5、ce message in it saying what a great Dad their father is. Some people do buy presents as well. Listening TasksTask 1 Understanding News ReportsNews Item One1. A 2. B News Item Two1. B 2. A News Item Three1. B 2. D 3. B ScriptNews Item OneQuestions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.Ame
6、rican filmmakers are actively luring Chinese movie fans to the cinema with more Chinese plots and characters. The motion picture, Kung Fu Panda 3, is a prime example of Hollywood trying to attract more Chinese movie ticket buyers.Comment x1: Comment x2: Comment x3: 2Hollywood understands that China
7、is the second-largest movie market in the world. The country will become the biggest movie market within a year when it overtakes the United States. Last year, cinema ticket sales in China added up to $6.6 billion.The premiere date for Kung Fu Panda 3 was carefully selected to get more people to the
8、 cinemas. The opening date coincided with the Chinese New Year. So the animated American movie earned more than $100 million in ticket sales that day in China.American film companies are making movie viewing more convenient for the Chinese public. Dreamworks is the film company that produced Kung Fu
9、 Panda 3. Dreamworks produced two versions of the film for domestic Chinese audiences. In America, theaters showed the film in both Mandarin and English.Questions:1. How much is the cinema ticket sales in China last year?2. What did film companies do to make movie viewing more convenient for the Chi
10、nese publicNews Item TwoQuestions 1 and 2 will be based on the following news item.Scientists found sea levels are rising faster today than anytime over the past 3,000 years. Another group of scientists found that January temperatures in the Arctic hit a record high.The sea level researchers gathere
11、d information going back 28 centuries. Their findings were released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Robert Kopp, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, is the papers lead author. He said the 20th century rise was “extraordinary” when compared to the past 3,000 years. A
12、nd, Kopp said, “The rise over the last two decades has been even faster.”When temperatures rise, so do sea levels. That is because snow and ice melt, or break off from glaciers. They flow into the sea. The increased water makes the sea levels rise.The best estimates show that temperatures around the
13、 Earth have risen more than a half-degree Celsius since 1880. Scientists say that most of that rise is because of emissions, or gases, released into the air by machines that humans have built. And it is not going to get better. The sea level rise is going to continue to accelerate if theres further
14、warming.Questions:1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the news?2. How many degrees have the temperatures around the Earth risen since 1880?News Item ThreeQuestions 1 to 3 will be based on the following news item.Job growth happened on the east and west coasts of the U.S. la
15、st year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The map shows that most jobs were created in California. The Los Angeles area produced more than 133,000 new jobs. New York City saw the biggest increase in employment. More than 150,000 new jobs were added in the New York City area in 2015. In
16、Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth area witnessed a job increase of nearly 100,000 in 2015. And in the Detroit, Michigan area hurt by years of recession more than 39,000 jobs were created in 2015. Over the past six years, businesses in America created 14 million new jobs. Nearly 2.5 million were added in
17、2014 and 2015.Comment x4: 3The lowest unemployment rate in U.S. history happened in 1953, when the jobless rate was 2.5 percent. Today, Americas unemployment rate is 4.9 percent. But as jobs increased, the average hourly wage in America declined. Many of the jobs created since 2014 are retail and se
18、rvice sector jobs. Many economists believe those jobs are less secure than manufacturing jobs.Questions:1. Which city had the biggest increase in employment?2. How many jobs were created in the Detroit, Michigan area in 2015?3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the news?Task 2 U
19、nderstanding Long ConversationsConversation One1. C 2. D 3. D 4. B 5. C Conversation Two1. C 2. C 3 D 4. A ScriptConversation OneW: Justin, what are you doing?M: I am looking for the bells and trying to decorate the house for the Christmas party tonight before Amanda gets home from the mart.W: The p
20、arty is tonight? Oh my god. I totally forget about it.M: Yeah. Can you do me a favor?W: Sure. What is it?M: Can you pass me the hammer on the table? I need it to nail the wreath on the door.W: Here you go. What else can I help?M: Sure. Can you put the candy cane on the doorway and then hang these co
21、lor balls, bells and ribbons on the tree?W: No problem. But where is the mistletoe?M: Still in the box. Why?W: Id like to hang them first.M: Hoping to be kissed?W: You bet.Questions 1 to 5 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. What is Justin doing?2. When will the Christmas party be h
22、eld?3. Why does Justin need a hammer?4. Which of the following statements is NOT true? 5. What do we know about the mistletoe?4Conversation TwoW: Nicola, youre from England.M: Yes, I am.W: OK. Now in England you have something called “Boxing Day”.M: Yes, we do.W: So, we dont have that in America. Wh
23、at is Boxing Day?M: Well, Boxing Day is always on the 26th of December, the day after Christmas day, and it was originally called Boxing Day because it was the day in England when the very rich people in Victorian times gave presents to their servants, the day after Christmas, and usually it would b
24、e something like money, or food but they would give it to them in a small box, and so on December the 26th, servants would receive their boxes, the Christmas boxes, and thats why it was called Boxing Day.W: OK.M: Today, people dont really receive money or food so much, sometimes you give extra tips
25、at Christmas, but Boxing Day has stuck. So thats the name.W: What do people do on Boxing Day?M: Nothing really. Uh, eat the leftover turkey, turkey sandwiches, watch TV, and in my family we usually go and watch dog racing, grey hound racing. Yeah, and lose some money.W: Lose money!M: Yeah always. At
26、 least I do.W: Wow, cool. Dog track. Is there a dog track near your house?M: Yeah, there is, where I live, yeah.Questions 1 to 4 are based on the conversation you have just heard.1. Which of the following countries observes Boxing Day?2. When is Boxing Day celebrated?3. What would rich people in Vic
27、torian times do on Boxing Day?4. Which of the following is not an activity modern people do on Boxing Day?Task 3 Understanding PassagesPassage OneListening for general comprehension1. minor 2. falseListening for specific comprehension1. C 2. D 3. B 4. D 5. B ScriptListening for general comprehension
28、Halloween (October 31) is a holiday widely celebrated in many countries. Although it originated as a religious holiday, it has lost its religious connections in the United States. It is now celebrated largely as a childrens day, and many American children look forward to it for days and weeks before
29、hand.Comment x5: 删除5The orange pumpkin is harvested at this time of year and is hollowed out, a funny face cut into it, and a candle placed inside as a decoration in the window. City folks, nowadays, sometimes use paper pumpkins for decorations.The holiday was celebrated by dressing up in strange an
30、d frightening costumes and playing tricks on ones neighbors and friends, such as ringing doorbells, throwing bits of corn on the window panes, and in other ways making minor disturbances.More recently, children come to the door to have friends and neighbors admire their costumes and guess who they a
31、re behind the false faces and receive treats of candy, fruit or cookies. They say, “Trick or Treat” meaning, “I will play a trick on those who will not give me treat”.Listening for specific comprehension1. What did Halloween originate as?2. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned on how t
32、he children celebrated Halloween?3. What is the function of the orange pumpkin?4. Which of the following items is NOT used in Halloween celebration?5. What does “Trick or Treat” mean?Passage TwoListening for general comprehension1. lovers express their love for each other 2. varying opinionsListenin
33、g for specific comprehension1. D 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. C ScriptListening for general comprehensionValentines Day or Saint Valentines Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In the Americas and Europe, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentines c
34、ards, presenting flowers, or offering candies.There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentines Day. The most popular one is that Saint Valentine served as a priest and was respected by the young and old, rich and poor, with people of all walks of life attending his services. At this time th
35、e emperor wanted the men in his country to serve as soldiers for his wars. The men preferred not to leave their wives, families and sweethearts to fight in foreign lands. The emperor became angry and declared that no more marriages could be performed and all engagements were cancelled. Valentine tho
36、ught this to be unfair and secretly married several couples. When the emperor found out, he threw Valentine in prison where he died. Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social ga
37、thering or a ball.Listening for specific comprehension1. How do lovers express their love on Valentines Day?2. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Saint Valentine according to the passage?3. What do we know about the emperor?64. What did the priest do to help those lovers?5. How did
38、the emperor punish the priest?Passage ThreeListening for general comprehension1. The passage is about the origin of Thanksgiving Day. 2. No, Thanksgiving Day is for Americans of all faiths and backgrounds.Listening for specific comprehension1. B 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. D ScriptListening for general compre
39、hensionThanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country. In 1620, the settlers sailed to America on the May flower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. During their f
40、irst winter, over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring. All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally, they
41、really had a good harvest. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed. Years later, President of the United States announce the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today
42、.Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the years fortune and ask for continued blessings. Listening for specific comprehension1. When did the first settlers sail to America?2. What happene
43、d to the first settlers during their first winter?3. What did the survivors do after the winter?4. What is the date of Thanksgiving Day?5. Why do all Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day today?. Pronunciation Imitation and Training1. He speaks English slowly and clearly.2. Somebody must have read it
44、. 3. The second student got the first prize.4. He himself closed the door.5. Oh, its wonderful!6. A: Im making a list of food and drinks.B: What for?A: What for? For the party, of course?B: Party? What party?7. Learn English Through a Radio Program1. gifts 2. traditional 3. represents 4. moderate 5. fueled6. losses 7. aggressively 8. purchases 9. linked 10. Financial Script略. Learn English Through Songs1. wishing 2. tear 3. wrapped 4. ring 5. found Script略
