Teaching aims:
Enabling the students to:
1) know more about the writer’s ride on a train
2) grasp the language points in the passage
Teaching steps:
Step I:
Ask some students to retell the text using their own words. Correct the mistakes if any.
Ask the students to work in pairs to describe a journey. Say how old they were, where they went, who they went with and how they traveled, etc. They can use the text as a model.
Step II:
Ask one or two to report their partners’ trips to the rest of the class.
Step III:
Ask the students to read the passage again and try to underline where they have difficulty understanding.
Step IV:
Deal with the language points:
1. distance n. space in between
1) in the distance / at a distance
Trees should not be planted close together but at a distance.
He had disappeared in the distance before I could greet him.
2. abandoned adj.
1) abandoned farms/ abandoned land/ abandoned car/ abandoned baby…
2) abandon vt. (go away without intending to return, not want any more=desert)
abandon one’s family/ country/ friend/ post/ a ship
He abandoned his house to the new comers.
Don’t just abandon yourself to a life of pleasure.
3) abandon vt. (give up)
abandon one’s hope/ a habit / a plan/ a project/ a scheme
Because of the crowd trouble, the match was abandoned
3. desert n & v
1) n [c, u] in the desert/ a desert island/ desert land
2) vt. go away without intending to return = abandon
desert a house/ a village/ one’s wife and children
4. exhausted adj.
1) very tired
He was totally exhausted after the long ride through the desert.
2) exhaust. vt. make a person or an animal very tired.
use sth up completely make empty.
The long cycle ride exhausted her.
exhaust one’s patience/ strength/ money
exhaust a well/ one’s pocket
5. supply v & n
1) v. give sb sth. which is needed , provide sb. with sth.
supply sth. to / for sb.
supply sb. with sth.
The company supplies us with electricity and gas.
2) provide sth. for sb. / provide sb. with sth./ provide sb. sth.
3) [u] n. supplying or being supplied
[c] n. thing that is supplied, stock or store of things provided or available
food supplies / water supplies
Helicopters dropped supplies (of food and clothing) to the villagers.
4) a supply of / supplies of
in short supply
6. allow vt. & vi.
1) permit sb to do or let sth happen
sth .
allow sb. to do sth.
doing sth.
sb .+ adv
They are not allowed to smoke in the office.
They don’t allow smoking in the hospital.
The doctor allowed him up for two hours only, for he is still in poor health.
2) Let sb. have sth.
allow sb. money/ freedom/ a rest/ time…
He allowed his students two hours for playing football each week.
7. refer to
1) turn to sb/ sth for information
refer to books/ dictionary
2) mention or speak of
The expert referred to at the meeting is Dr. Li.
3) be relevant to sb. / concern sb.
The discipline refers only to soldiers.
The new law only refers to the camels used for delivering food.
4) reference [u] n
for reference / reference books
8. more than one
More than one visitor likes the scenery here.
9. on the coast ~ off the coast.
Soon the ships appeared off the coast.
There are some hills on the coast and you can see some islands off the coast.
10. for the first/ last/ next… few …
11. be short for.
WTO is short for the World Trade Organization.
be short of = lack
Though they are short of money, his parents managed to send him to college.
12. play with
play with fire / water / toys…
play basketball / sports / the piano/ computer games / sports…
13. in the 1920s / in the 1920’s
in the 20’s / 20s
in one’s 20s
14. at a speed over 400 kilometers per hour
at a / the speed of 1000 meters a second.
at full / top / high speed
at the top of one’s speed
with speed / with great speed.
Step V: Homework Make some sentences with the language points learned in this period.
