Unit 8
Travel
Text A In the jungle
Text B Illinois journey
Sharing the following quotations
with students
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Travel can be one of the most rewarding
forms of retrospection.
----Lawrence Durrell
The use of traveling is to regulate
imagination by reality,and instead of
thinking how things may be, to see them
as they are.
----Samuel johnson
Test A
In the jungle
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jungle
In the jungle
In the jungle
In the jungle
picture2
Pre-reading tasks
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Discussing the following questions
一What are some distinctive features of an
out-of-the-way，inaccessible place such as
a jungle, desert, or remote mountainous
area？
一Why would such a place appeal to many
people today？
A brief introduction to Test A
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The author Annie Dillard tells of her visit to
the Napo River in the heart of the Ecuadorian
jungle,one of nature’s most unspoiled places.
She describes the beauty of nature’s most
unspoiled places.She describes the beauty of
the forest and her admiration for the people
who live there.
The author Annie Dillard (1945-)is a renowned
nature writer and Prize winner.This reading is
from Teaching a Stone to Talk(1988).
Cultural background
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The Napo River
Ecuador
The Amazon River
Andes
The Napo River
Ecuador
Introduction to Ecuador (1)
Ecuador：republic in northwestern South
America，bounded by Colombia on the north，by
Peru on the east and south，and by the Pacific
Ocean on the west．The country also includes the
Galapagos islands（Colon Archipelago）in the
Pacific，about 965 km（about 600 mi）west of the
mainland． Ecuador straddles the equator
（Ecuador is the Spanish word for“equator”） and
has an area of 272,045 sq km（105,037 sq
mi）． Quito is the country’s capital．
Introduction to Ecuador (2)
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Ecuador has a diverse population composed of people of
European，Native American，and African descent．
The majority are mestizos， individuals of mixed
European and Native American ancestry. Most of the
Native Americans live in poverty in the highlands region，
where a small elite of European descent controls most of
the land and wealth．
Ecuador was a Spanish colony until 1822 when
independence forces won a decisive victory over Spain．
Ecuador has had a democratically elected government
since 1979，but historically the government has alternated
between civilian rule and military dictatorship．Most
political conflicts involved squabbles among groups within
the upper classes who controlled the nation’s Wealth．
Andes
Introduction to Andes (1)
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Andes： the principal mountains of South
America and one of the greatest mountain
systems of the world．The Andes include
some of the world’s highest peaks．more than
50 of them soar higher than 6,100 m（20，
000 ft ） above sea level ． Only the
Himalayas of south central Asia are higher.
The lofty plateaus and high mountain valleys
of the Andes contain some of the highest
permanent human settlements in the world．
Introduction to Andes (2)
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The Andes are the longest system of high mountain
ranges on earth．They extend for more than 8000 km
（5000 mi） in a narrow belt along the western edge
of the South American continent，from the coast of
the Caribbean Sea in the north to the island of Tieffa
del Fuego in the extreme south．Along almost its
entire length，the Andes rise abruptly from the Pacific
coast．The mountains reach into seven countries：
Venezuela， Colombia，Ecuador，Peru，Bolivia，
Chile and Argentina．
Amazon river
Amazon river
Amazon river from the air
Introduction to Amazon river (1)
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Amazon（river）： river in northern South America，
largely in Brazil， ranked as the largest in the world
in terms of watershed area， number of tributaries，
and volume of water discharge Measuring 6，400
km（4，000 mi） from source to mouth， lt is
second in length only to the Nile among the rivers of
the world With its hundreds of tributaries， the
Amazon drains a territory of more than 6 million sq
km（2．3 mullion sq mi）， roughly half of which
is in Brazil； the rest is in Peru， Ecuador, Bolivia，
and Venezuela．
Introduction to Amazon river (2)
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It is estimated that the Amazon discharges between 34
million and 121 million liters （ 9 million and32
mullion gallons） of water per second and deposits a
daily average of 3 million tons of sediment near its
mouth．The annual outflow from the river accounts
for one-fifths of all the fresh water that drains into the
oceans of the world．The outpouring of water and
sediment is so vast that the salt content and color of
the Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of about
320 km（about 200 mi）from the mouth of the river.
While-reading tasks
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Understanding text structure:it can be
divided into three parts
Part 1(Par.1-5)
Part 2(Par. 6-8)
Part 3(Par. 9-18)
Teacher explain the language points
(see language study)
Text structure analysis
Parts
Paragraphs
Main Ideas
Part 1
Par. 1-5
Description of the Napo River and
surrounding jungle scenery at night,
together with the author’s reflections on
it.
Part 2
Par. 6-8
Recalling what happened to her at their
arrival at the village and what others felt
about the Napo River and the people
there.
Part 3
Par. 9-18
Detailed description of journeying in the
jungle and her feelings about it.
Language study (1)
1.in the heart of： in the center of
1．
Examples：
1) The metropolitan museum is located in the heart of the city．
2) Apartments in the heart of the city are too expensive to
purchase．
2． hush： be or become silent
Examples:
1) Hush， you’11 wake up the baby！
2) Having cried for half an hour, the little boy hushed．
Language study(2)
3．illumine：shine light on
Examples：
1)
2)
The sky was illumined by flashes from the volcano.
My balloon was illumined by the sun that was just
rising．
4．now．．．now．．．：at one time．．． at
another time．．．
Examples：
1) The junior officer who came into the room looked
nervous； his eyes swiveled quickly, now this way
now that， as if he were scanning the room for
danger．
Language study(3)
5. in（all/complete）silence：with（complete）
absence of sound or noise
Examples：
1) The kids were listening to the music in the classroom，
in complete silence．
2)The soldiers stood in the glaring sun as the minutes
ticked away， in all silence．
note： Students should be advised that “in all silence”
is rather literary and can sound odd in normal contexts．
Simply“in silence”or“in complete silence”is safer for
them to use．
Language study(4)
6．tangle：catch in or as in a net，trap；mix together or
intertwine in a confused mass
Examples：
1) The bushes were tangled with vines.
2) I have the soft of hair that tangles easily．
7．trail：extend over a surface
Examples：
1) Roses trailing over the walls made her garden so
beautiful．
2) The strawberry is a trailing plant belonging to the rose
family．
Language study(5)
8．loop：form or bend into a loop
Examples：
1) The man looped the rope over the wooden pole.
2) She looped the scarf round her neck and went out into the
cold night air．
9．mute：reduce or stop the sound of
Examples:
1) At the sight of their teacher walking into the classroom，
they muted their voices.
2) The strings are muted throughout the closing bars of the
symphony.
Language study(6)
10． dissolve： fade away， disappear
Examples：
1) The panda ate the bamboo rapidly and then dissolved
into me shadows．
2) The characteristics of gases vary widely．Some gases
are transparent，some dissolve in water，and some
have a strong smell．
11．loose：untie，release
Examples：
1) The hunter loosed the arrow without warning.
2) It’s not a healthy habit to loose your belt when you full.
Language study(7)
12．slump：sit or fall down heavily
Examples：
1) Kennedy had been hit and slumped to the floor of
the automobile．
2) He slumped into a chair ，
completely
exhausted．
13. be dying to do sth/for sth：desire（to do）
sth． ; eagerly
Examples：
1) She was dying to tell them the good news that
she had won first prize in me speech contest.
Language study(8)
14． get one’s hands on： catch hold of,
find or get（sth.）; same as lay one’s hands on
Examples：
1) I wish I could get my hands on a copy of Hurry Potter．
2) I need to get my hands on a good computer.
3) The book’s here somewhere， but I don’t seem to be
able to get my hands on it just now．
15．take apart：separate into its different parts
Examples：
1) When I was young， my parents never blamed me for
taking my toys apart．
．Language study(9)
16. spectacular：extraordinary；very attractive or
impressive
Examples:
1) The British museum, one of the most spectacular
museums in the world, is renowned for its extensive and
diverse collections.
2) The Sun’s movement can produce spectacular sunrises
and sunsets under the right atmospheric conditions.
17. fringe：the outer edge or limit of sth．
Examples：
1) Near the outer fringes of the solar system lies dark blue
Neptune, a gas giant that probably has no true surface.
Language study(10)
18．hollow：a space sunk into something
Examples：
1) The explorer fell into a muddy hollow while walking
in the forest．
2) water gathers in a hollow and forms a pond．
19. in detail: with specifics
Examples：
1) The Police asked the victim of the robbery to describe
what happened to him in detail．
2) To maintain their place in the media world, newspapers
try hard to cover news events in greater detail than
television and radio do．
Language study(11)
20.opaque： not clear enough to allow light through
Examples：
1) Usually transparent，glass can nonetheless also be
opaque．
21. smear： make（sth.）dirty；spread（a thick liquid
，etc.）over a surface（used in the patterns: smear on
／over sth.／sb．;smear sth.／sb．with sth．)
Examples：
1) Don’t smear the glasses；I’ve just polished them.
2) The boy’s face was smeared with mud．
Language study(12)
22．flock：a group of certain animals
Examples：
1) Large flocks of geese Pass this way in autumn ，
searching for a resting Place.
2) The police are warning moonsets that a flock of sheep
has／have escaped onto the road
in flocks： in groups
Examples： Many small birds feed in flocks．
23．dart：move suddenly and rapidly
Examples：
1) The lizard darted out its tongue at a fly.
Pictures for a short break
Language study(13)
24. repute： believe， consider（If you say that
something is reputed to be true， you mean that
people say it is true， but you don’t know if it is
definitely true； often used in passive；a formal
word．）
Examples： She is widely reputed to be over
twenty years younger than her husband．
25. strip：a long narrow region of land or body of
water；a long narrow piece
Examples： About 30 million People live along
the Californian coastal strip
Language study(14)
26. paddle： move（a canoe） through the water
using a paddle
Examples：
1) Canoes can be Paddled by one or more Persons.
2) One of the things you will be taught at the training
school is how to paddle a Canoe.
27. out of sight： no longer in view
Examples：
1) When out of slight of land， ancient seafarers used to
derive clues about their location by observing the
position of the Sun．
Language study(15)
28. striped：marked with or having stripes
Examples：
1) She looked slim in her green and white shirt.
2) The room was decorated with striped wallpaper．
29. clatter： vi．move quickly and noisily；make
continuous loud noises by hitting hard objects
against each other
Examples:
1) she dropped the bucket and it went clattering down the
stairs.
Language study(16)
30. fuss： bustle about； give too much attention to small
and unimportant matters（often followed by
about／over）
around／
Examples：
1) As soon as they saw the manager the waiters began fussing
around the tables．
2) My wife was fussing over the food we were going to take
．
31.slap：shoot，throw with force；
hit with something flat
Examples：
1) Catherine responded to the man’s attempt by slapping him.
Language study(17)
32．out of range：too for away to be reached，
seen or heard
Examples：
1) We thought that we were out of range of their rifles
until the bullets started kicking up the dust in front of
us．
2) It was said the flying object was well out of range of
their rockets．
33．thrash： move wildly or violently
（followed by about／around）
Examples：
1) The swimmers were thrashing about in the water．
Language study(18)
34. heap：an untidy pile of something； plenty of，
a lot of（usu． in plural）
Examples：
1) He left this books in a heap on the floor．
2) There is heaps of time before take the examination.
35. glide:move quickly and silently with ease ；
fly through the air without power
Examples：
1) At the sight of me she glided across the dance floor to
greet me．
2) The waiters glided between tightly packed tables bearing
trays of pasta.
Language study(19)
36. swarm： move in a crowd
Examples：
1) A dark cloud of bees came swarming out of the hive.
2) Panic-stricken ， people swarmed to the shops ，
buying up everything in sight.
37. hop：（or a person）jump on one foot；
（of a bird or other animals）Jump with two or
all feet at once）
Examples：
1) He hopped down the steps like an athlete．
Post-reading tasks
Text Analysis
The text is beautifully written．That’s why we
arrange a post-reading activity simply for
students to share favorite sentences with each
other.
It may be true that the functional use of
English will dominate in their life，but it pays to
expose them to the aesthetic side of English．
There is an abundance of sensory impressions
in the essay．
Theme-Related Language
Learning Tasks
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Group Discussion: Tell about your
impressions of a science area you have
visited.
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Essay Writing: How to write reservations?
Homework(1)Translation exercise:
Translating the following passage into English ,using
the words and phrases given below:
loop ; fuss ; hush ; flock; be dying for ; now…now…
; glide ; in all silence; spectacular; out of range
昨天，我和我的同学大卫一起游览了朱家角，那是一个
四周环水的著名城镇。当我们到达时，大卫激动地向他看到
的第一座桥飞奔过去，然后便在那里高声唱了起来。突然他
的嗓音静了下来，原来他发现自己惊动了离我们不远的一群
鸭子。当时大卫太想乘船了，于是我们决定坐船游览。大卫
跟河里的所有的动物时而高声、时而低语说着话而且不停地
瞎忙乎，而我则默默地看着船儿在水面上轻轻地滑过。虽然
我们没有见到任何壮观的景物，我们享受了在这个远离大城
市喧嚣的镇里度过的每一分钟。
Key to the above translation
Yesterday, my classmate David and I visited zhujiajiao, a
well-known town looped all around by streams. When we
arrived at the town, David was so excited that he darted
towards the first bridge he saw and began singing loudly
there. Suddenly his voice hushed when he found that he had
startled a flock of ducks not too far from us. Now as David
was dying for a boat ride, we decided to tour the town by
boat. Now loud, now soft, David talked to all the creatures in
the stream and was fussing about everything while I looked
at the boats gliding over the water in all silence. Though we
did not see anything spectacular, we enjoyed every minute in
the town that lies out of the range of the heavy traffic and
noise of the large city.
Homework(2)
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Test B for home reading: presentation for
next week ---Describe the author’s
impressions of the cornfield of Illinois.
Suppose you are thinking of taking a trip
to a holiday resort and you would like to
reserve a room in a hotel.Write to a resort
hotel requesting that a room be reserved.