Unit 4 Earthquake

Period Five

Extensive Reading

温二高 李兆丰平三中 林红蕾

August 18,2006

中学英语泛读教学的任务是引导学生进行大量的阅读，理解主要内容，提高学生对文字的快速感知能力。同时巩固和扩大词汇及语法知识，培养学生阅读英语的兴趣和习惯，扩大知识面，培养自学能力。

Teaching aims:

To let students know more about earthquakes.

To learn how to enjoy detail writing and the good use of language to improve their reading ability.

Teaching procedures:

Step 1 Warming up (3 min)

T: An earthquake may happen at any time so

it’s best to be prepared ． REMEMBER:

IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY!

Remember: Drop, Cover and Hold ．

1 Drop to the floor ．2 Cover your head ．3 Hold onto the furniture ．

Remember: Prepare your personal earthquake bag ．

Collect these items and keep them somewhere near you ．

1. a bottle of water   2. money         3. personal washing things  4. food and sweets 5. torch       6. mobile phone   7. blanket      8. medicine

Remember: These things should be avoided

● standing close to a building （ because it may fall on you if it is weakened by the earthquake ）

● standing under a tree （ because it may fall on you ）

● going too close to power lines （ because you may be badly affected by electricity if they fall on you ）

Step 2 Listening (SB P30) (10min) Activity 1. Spot listening （听力内容较难，

通过听后任务的重置降低难度符合学生的认知水平。发给学生听力填空题 . ）

I awoke as I was thrown from my bed ． When I tried to walk, the floor shook so that I fell ． I grabbed my clothing and hurried downstairs ． Suddenly the lights went out, and everyone rushed for the door ．

Outside I saw things I never want to see again ． It was daytime ． The air was filled with falling rock

s ． People around me were getting buried under buildings that were crashing down ． Other huge buildings were shaking ． Every moment there were terrible sounds ． I asked a man standing next to me what happened ． Before he could answer, hundreds of bricks fell on him and he was killed ． All around me were great fires ． As I ran people everywhere were crying and calling for help ． I thought the end of the world had come! Then I met a man who knew the way to a boat, and we ran in its direction ． Men, women and children were trying to dig themselves out of the ruins ． Thousands of people, crazy with worry, were running down the street and

every minute someone was hit by falling bricks ． In some places, the streets had cracked and opened ． Huge holes were all around me ． I saw many frightened cows rush up Market Street and drop into a great crack in the earth ． How I reached the boat I cannot say ． Some people even tore the clothes from the backs of others as they tried to get into the boat ． Later, the survivors searched for water they could drink ． People slept on the streets and hills away from the fires, which made the night bright as day ． Soldiers kept water from the crowds to give to the rescue workers ． The next day the soldiers found more water and some bread to give to those still alive ．

The above writing is an example of a first-person narrative of a doctor ． It was recorded a long time after the 1906 earthquake for the City Museum of San Francisco ． Students may find it unbelievable that hundreds of bricks could kill a man standing next to the doctor but not the doctor himself ． Explain to them that, in English, when we say "next to" it can also mean "near." The doctor was probably standing two or three metres from the man who was killed ．

Added explanation:

Activity 2. Read the listening material to answer the following questions.

Q1. When did the man talk about the earthquake: while it was happening or after it had happened? How do you know? 　 After the earthquake had happened ． The last sentence gives information about the next day ．

Q2. What was the biggest danger for the man: fires, cows or falling building? Why?

The falling buildings were his biggest danger and he didn't know when one might fall on him ． He could at least see the fires and cows coming towards him ．

Q3. How did the man feel about the earthquake? Though shocked, the man could control himself.

Step 3 Pre-reading (3min)

T: In the listening material the writer mainly described what happened during the quake. And the descriptions are objective.

Now, we will read a story written by America’s most popular writer, Jack London. In the article he expressed his own feeling about the San Francisco quake. His account of the disaster is both factual and literary. You may feel it when you are reading the article. At first I’d like to show you some background of this article. Please look at the screen and read the passage.

As luck would have it, at the time of the quake, America’s most famous writer, Jack London just happened to be living near San Francisco. His account of the disaster is both factual and literary, that is he tried to write not only for readers of that time but readers yet to come. London, like most great writers and former journalists, knew a good story when he saw it. He and his wife rode on horseback at a fast gallop from their ranch to the hills overlooking the “ city by the bay.” What they saw both horrified and fascinated them.

Step 4 Reading (10 min)Activity 1. T: Now that we have known the background of the article, and something about the writer. Let’s read the article carefully, with these questions on the screen. Then you can have a discussion. After that we’ll check them together.

The Story of an Eyewitness

by Jack London

1. Write an adjective to describe how the author feels about the earthquake and what it did.

Shocked. London is both greatly surprised and frightened by what he sees, so "shocked" is a good word to describe his feelings ．

Why did you choose this word? Various answers are possible. 2. Write an adjective to describe how the author

feels about the people of San Francisco. sad. London knows that many families lost their l

oved ones and all their possessions ． Why did you choose this word? Various answers are possible.

1 　 Notice the dramatic beginning to his story: Never before in history has a city been so completely destroyed ． This is a classic example of a declarative sentence ．“ Never” is a powerful word and London does not use it carelessly here ． It is soon followed by "nothing," another powerful word ． Other sentences are also short and declarative ． In addition, students should note the repetition of "gone" in the first paragraph, which gives readers an impression of utter hopelessness ． London wanted to make it very clear that the earthquake had caused almost total devastation of this once beautiful, young city ．

2 　 London also uses contrast to good effect ． While fires rage in the city centre and people run screaming through the streets, out at sea it is calm ． Later, even the streets are strangely calm for a time ． After your students become familiar with the reading, you might want to help them to see the literary merit of this article ．

Activity 2. Read the first paragraph in this passage. Then go back to read the listening material from Step 2. (3 min ) Compare the ways both writers write about the earthquake.

( 书本 P65 的练习二要求学生将精读—唐山地震和泛读—旧金山地震第一段关于地震的细节描述进行对比，而我们认为同一题材不同的描写手段更具有可比性，所以我们运用了 P30 的听力材料。 )

1. Which writer shows more feeling about the earthquake? The writer of the listening material. Jack London How do you know? _______________________________

__________________________________

2. Which one of the following statements is true?

Both writers give details of big events before little events.

Both writers give details of little events before big events.

Neither writers give details of little events before big events. √

Discussion (10 min) Divide the students in groups of four, ask them to find one

or two sentences individually and then share their opinions together. At last let two or three group leaders to report their result.

What can we see from the word never in the sentence “Never before in history has a city been so completely destroyed”?

How many negative words are used in the first paragraph, and what can we know from these words?

What’s the feature of the sentences in the first paragraph? What’s the main idea of the second paragraph? What can we learn from the first sentence and the last

sentence?

Answers: From the word never, we can feel that the writer was very

sad. There are six words. They are never, nothing, gone, no,

useless and burst. All the sentences in this paragraph are short ones. Out at sea it was calm. The two sentences give us a contrast. Although the city

was destroyed, the people were not nervous or upset. They just did what they should do. )

Step 5 Homework (1min) 1.Surf the website (http://

www.sfmuseum.org/1906/06.html) to get more information about the Great San Francisco earthquake.

2.Finish some reading comprehension. （为了扩大学生的阅读量，教师可选择由郑秋秋老师主编的《社会热点聚焦》里的 Unit 2 灾难）

Thank you