Unit One Christmas Spirit
Text A
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
Unit One Text A:
1. Teaching Aims and Requirements
2. Teaching Focus
3.Cultual Background
4. Text organization
5. Abstract of the Text
6. Text A study
7. Summary of Text A
1. Teaching Aims and Requirements
1. Teaching Aims and Requirements
A. Grasp the main idea and structure
of the text.
B. Master the key language points
and grammatical structure in the text.
C. Conduct a series of reading,
listening, speaking and writing
activities related to the theme if the
unit.
2. Teaching Focus
a. Grammar Review:
Most English adjectives are adjectives,
which means that they can have
different possible degree of
strength. Such adjectives can be
used in comparative and superlative
forms.
Examples:
This table is larger than the other one.
Of all the three tables in the meeting room,the one
in the middle is the largest.
2. Teaching Focus
2)non-gradable adjectives
Adjectives are non-gradable if their
meaning cannot have different
degrees.
Examples: wooden,
American, Chinese, British , Japanese ( and
other nationality adjectives)
Biological/ electric/ monthly/ previous/
3. Cultural Background
3. Cultural Background
How do Americans Celebrate Christmas?
Millions of Americans celebrate Christmas on December
twenty-fifth. It is the most widely celebrated religious holiday
in the United States. People buy gifts to give to family
members and friends. They fill homes and stores with
evergreen trees and bright, colored lights. They go to parties
and prepare special Christmas foods. Many people think
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Many
Christians go to church the night before the holiday or on
Christmas Day. They celebrate Christmas as the birthday of
Jesus Christ. Christian ministers will speak about the need for
peace and understanding in the world. This is the spiritual
message of Christmas. Church services include traditional
religious songs for the holiday. One of the most popular is
“Silent Night.”
3. Cultural Background
How do Americans Celebrate Christmas?
Many Americans celebrate Christmas as an important, but
non-religious, holiday. To all, however, it is a special day of
family, food, and exchanging gifts. For many people, Christmas
means traveling long distances to be with their families.
Christmas is probably the most special day of the year for
children. One thing that makes it special is the popular
tradition of Santa Claus. Young children believe that Santa
Claus is a fat, kind, old man in a red suit with white fur. They
believe that — on the night before
Christmas — he travels through the air in a sleigh pulled by
reindeer. He enters each house from the top by sliding down
the
hole in the fireplace. He leaves gifts for the children under the
Christmas tree.
3. Cultural Background
How do Americans Celebrate Christmas?
Americans spend a lot of time and money buying
Christmas presents. The average American family
spends about eight hundred dollars. Stores and shopping
centers are crowded at this time of year. More than
twenty percent of all goods sold during the year are sold
during the weeks before Christmas. This is good for stores
and for the American economy. Some people object to all
this spending. They say it is not the real meaning of
Christmas. So, they celebrate in
other ways. For example, they make Christmas
presents, instead of buying them. Or they volunteer to
help serve meals to people who have no homes. Or they
give money to organizations that help poor people in the
United States and around the world.
3. Cultural Background
How do Americans Celebrate Christmas?
Home and family are the center of the Christmas holiday.
For many people, the most enjoyable tradition is buying a
Christmas tree and decorating it with lights and beautiful
objects. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, people
gather around the tree to open their presents. Another
important Christmas tradition involves food. Families
prepare many kinds of holiday foods, especially sweets.
They eat these foods on the night before Christmas and
on Christmas Day.
4. Text Organization:
P. 9
Part One
Para
1
Part Two
Paras
2-16
Part Three
Paras
17-23
After reading each part, we’ll sum up
the main idea.
Part One: Main Idea
Para 1: Quite a few things went wrong
with the author and his family : Their
hotel were tourist trap, their rented car
broke down and they checked into a
shabby hotel.
The main idea of Part One:
The writer’s family had a bad time in the
days leading up to Christmas last year.
Part Two: Main Idea
The main idea of Part Two:
In a boring-looking restaurant , most
of the dinners seemed to have no
festival mood expect for the American
sailor.
Part Three: Main Idea
The main idea of Part Three:
The Christmas gift from the American
sailor changed everything and led to
a most wonderful Christmas.
5. Abstract of the Text
Christmas time does not stop bad things
from coming our way and leaving us in a bad
mood. A flower from an American sailor in a
far from ideal restaurant , however, changed
a gloomy Christmas Eve for its unhappy
diners into a joyful celebration.
Abstract of the Text

圣诞节没能阻止一些糟糕的事情的发生而让
我们的心情很低糜，在一个并非理想华的餐
厅里，一朵来自美国水手的花把一个对每位
用餐者来说沉闷的圣诞前夕变成了欢快人心
的庆祝。
Text A
A Sailor’S Christmas Gift
Unit six
Book One
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
For five wretched days everything had gone wrong. Our
hotels were “tourist traps”; our rented car broke down; we
were all restless and irritable in the crowded car. On
Christmas Eve, when we checked into a shabby hotel in
Nice, there was no Christmas spirit in our hearts.
It was raining and cold when we went out to eat. We
found a boring looking little joint carelessly decorated
for the holiday. It smelled greasy. Only five tables in the
restaurant were occupied. There were two German
couples, two French families, and an American sailor, by
himself. In the corner a piano player monotonously
played Christmas music
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
I was too stubborn and too tired and miserable to leave. I
looked around and noticed that the other customers were
eating in stony silence. The only person who seemed happy
was the American sailor. While eating, he was writing a
letter, and a half-smile lighted his face.
My wife ordered our meal in French. The waiter brought us
the wrong thing. I scolded my wife for being stupid. She
began to cry. The boys defended her, and I felt even worse.
Then, at the table with the French family on our left, the
father slapped one of his children for some minor fault, and
the boy began to cry. On our right, the German wife began
scolding her husband.
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
All of us were interrupted by an unpleasant blast of cold
air. Through the front door came an old French flower
woman. She wore a dripping, ragged overcoat, and
dragged herself in on wet, rundown shoes. Carrying her
basket of flowers, she went from one table to another.
“Flowers, monsieur? Only one franc.”
No one bought any.
Wearily she sat down at a table between the sailor and us. To
the waiter she said, “A bowl of soup. I haven’t sold a flower
all afternoon.” To the piano player she said hoarsely, “Can
you imagine, Joseph, soup on Christmas Eve?”
He pointed to his empty “tipping plate.” The young sailor
finished his meal and got up to leave. Putting on his coat, he
walked over to the flower woman’s table
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
“Happy Christmas,” he said, smiling and picking out two flowers.
“How much are they?”
“Two francs, monsieur.”
Pressing one of the small flowers flat, he put it into the
letter he had written, then handed the woman a twentyfranc note.
“I don’t have change, monsieur,” she said. “I’ll get some
from the waiter.”
“No, ma’am,” said the sailor, leaning over and kissing the
ancient cheek. “This is my Christmas present to you.”
Straightening up, he came to our table, holding the other
flower in front of him. “Sir,” he said to me, “may I have
permission to present this flower to your beautiful
daughter?” In one quick motion he gave my wife the flower,
wished us a Merry Christmas, and departed.
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
My wife ordered our meal in French. The waiter brought
us the wrong thing. I scolded my wife for being stupid.
She began to cry. The boys defended her, and I felt even
worse.
Then, at the table with the French family on our left, the
father slapped one of his children for some minor fault,
and the boy began to cry. On our right, the German wife
began scolding her husband.
All of us were interrupted by an unpleasant blast of cold
air. Through the front door came an old French flower
woman. She wore a dripping, ragged overcoat, and
dragged herself in on wet, rundown shoes. Carrying her
basket of flowers, she went from one table to another.
Words and Expressions:
shabby: adj. untidy and in bad condition
Hugh’s jacket was old and shabby.
Fortunately, she met Jim, who offered her a
job in his rather shabby restaurant.
幸运地是，她碰到了吉姆，吉姆在自己不景气的
餐馆里给她提供了一份工作。
Words and Expressions:
Wretch : adj. extremely bad or unpleasant
What wretched weather!多么令人讨厌的天气！
The house was in a wretched state.
I was shocked to see their wretched living
conditions.
Words and Expressions:
Break down : stop working
The car broke down just north of Paris.
Collocation:
break
break
break
break
break
break
away (from) 逃脱，逃离
in 闯入
off 突然结束，中断
out 突然发生，爆发
through 突破，有新的发现
up 结束，断绝关系
Paragraph 1
For five wretched days everything had gone wrong. Our
hotels were “tourist traps”; our rented car broke down; we
were all restless and irritable in the crowded car. On
Christmas Eve, when we checked into a shabby hotel in
Nice, there was no Christmas spirit in our hearts.
A place, such as a shop or resort area,
that offers overpriced goods and
services to tourists.
一连五天都倒霉，没有一件事顺心。入住的旅馆尽是些“宰客的黑店”，租用
的汽车也坏了，一家人挤在车上各个显得烦躁不安。圣诞节前夕，我们住进了
尼斯一家邋遢的旅店，心里没有半点圣诞的感觉。
Paragraph 2
I was too stubborn and too tired and
miserable to leave. I looked around
and noticed that the other customers
Paraphrase
the sentence.
were eating in stony
silence.
I was so tired and unhappy that I in
on staying here instead of looking f
better restaurant
我情绪低落，加之疲惫不堪，执意不愿意离开这里去
找别的餐馆了，我环顾四周，只见顾客们默默地吃饭。
Words and Expressions:
greasy
adj. covered in grease or oil
The food was heavy and greasy.
The shampoo is for greasy hair.
太多油腻的食物对你不利。
Too much greasy food isn’t good for you.
Words and Expressions:
Defend
辩护
Examples:
She was always defending her husband in
front of their daughter.
Students should be ready to explain and
defend their views.
Pattern：
defend sb. against/from sb./sth.
Words and Expressions:
Slap: vt. hit someone with the flat part of the hand
He slapped her across the face.
If you touch me again I’ll slap you.
Collocation:
Collocation:
a slap in the face 侮辱，打击
a slap on the wrist 轻微的处罚，温和
的警告
a slap on the back 表扬，赞许
Words and Expressions:
permission: 许可
Did he give you permission to take that?
We have obtained permission from the directors to
use some of our funds.
Collocation:
ask/request/apply for permission 请求许可
give/grant permission 准许
get/obtain/receive permission 获得许可
have permission (to do something) 许可
refuse/deny (somebody) permission不许
with/without (somebody’s) permission 经过许可/未经许可
Words and Expressions:
enthusiasm: 热情
Employers showed little enthusiasm for
the new regulations.
Collocation:
with enthusiasm 热情（烈）地
great/much/considerable/enormous enthusiasm 巨
大的热情
little enthusiasm 没什么热情
lack of enthusiasm 缺乏热情
full of enthusiasm 充满热情
show (great/considerable) enthusiasm 显示出巨大的
热情
lose enthusiasm 失去热情
fire somebody with enthusiasm 使……充满热情
generate enthusiasm 激发……的热情
Difficult sentences:
We found a boring looking little joint carelessly
decorated for the holiday. （para.2)
我们找到了一家小餐馆，这小店看着很乏味，
只是随便装饰了一下来应节。
Difficult sentences:
I was too stubborn and too tired and miserable to
leave.（para.3)
Paraphrase the sentence.
I was so tired and unhappy that I insisted on
staying here instead of looking for a better
restaurant.
Difficult sentences:
I was too stubborn and too tired and miserable to
leave.（para.6)
What can you infer from the sentence?
She was so poor that she had to sell flowers even
on a rainy Christmas Eve. It seemed that she
hadn’t sold any flower, so she had to go on selling
until she was completely wet and it was time to
have Christmas dinner.
Difficult sentences:
… “may I have permission to present this flower to your beautiful
daughter?”
（para.16)
Why did the sailor use “daughter”?
It was probably a compliment, meaning that the wife
looked young, or he might intentionally said so just to
cheer them up.
Difficult sentences:
King Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus was the Duke of Bohemia (波希米亚)
who was murdered in 929 AD.
As the song
indicates, he was a good, honest, and strongly
principled man. The song praises his high moral
character by describing King Wenceslaus braving
a fierce storm in order to help feed a poor
neighbour. Wenceslaus believed that his Christian
faith needed to be put into action in practical
ways. He was Bohemia’s most famous martyr and
patron saint. His picture appeared on Bohemian
coins, and the Crown of Wenceslaus became the
symbol of Czech (捷克) independence.
Difficult sentences:
One of the French families called for
champagne — made the rounds, kissing each
of
us on both cheeks.（ Para 21）
其中的一家法国人要来了香槟——到每
张桌上给人敬酒，亲吻每个人的双颊。
The walls shook as hands and
feet kept time to the Christmas
carols. （Para 22）
人们和着圣诞歌的节奏手舞足蹈，声音
震动了餐厅的四壁。
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
Everyone had stopped eating. Everyone had been watching
the sailor. Everyone was silent. A few seconds later,
Christmas exploded throughout the restaurant like a bomb.
The old flower woman jumped up, waving the twenty-franc
note. Hobbling to the middle of the floor she did a lively folk
dance and shouted to the piano player, “Joseph, my
Christmas present! And you shall have half, so you can have a
feast, too.”
The piano player began to sing loudly “Good King
Wenceslaus,” beating the keys with magic hands, nodding
his head in rhythm.
My wife waved her flower in time to the music. She was
radiant and appeared twenty years younger. The tears had
left her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up in
laughter. She began to sing, and our three sons joined her,
bellowing the song with uninhibited enthusiasm.
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
“Gut! Gut!” shouted the Germans. They jumped on their
chairs and began singing the words in German. The waiter
embraced the flower woman. Waving their arms, they sang
in French. The Frenchman who had slapped the boy beat
rhythm with his fork against a bottle. The lad climbed on
his lap, singing merrily too.
The Germans ordered wine for everyone. They delivered it
themselves, hugging the other customers.
One of the French families called for champagne — made the
rounds, kissing each of us on both cheeks. The owner of the
restaurant started “The First Noel,” and we all joined in, half
of us crying.
A Sailor’s Christmas Gift
People crowded in from the street until many customers
were standing. The walls shook as hands and feet kept
time to the Christmas carols.
The miserable evening in a dull restaurant ended up
being the very best Christmas Eve we had ever
experienced just because of a young sailor who had
Christmas spirit in his soul. He released the love and
joy that had been smothered within us by anger and
disappointment. He gave us Christmas.
Difficult sentences:
The First Noel
The First Noel” is a traditional English
Christmas carol, most likely from the
16th or 17th century, but possibly dating
from as early as the 13th century. The
word Noel comes from the French word
Noël meaning “Christmas”.
Difficult sentences:
Good King Wenceslaus
One of the best loved Christmas
carols is the 129-year-old carol “Good
King Wenceslaus.” In 1853, John
Mason Neale chose Wenceslaus as
the subject for a children’s song to
exemplify generosity. It quickly
became a Christmas favorite.
Summary of Text A
Quite a few things went wrong with me and my family On
Christmas Eve, so they did not feel in a festival mood at all,
A flower from an American sailor in a far from ideal
restaurant , however, changed a gloomy Christmas Eve for
its unhappy diners into a joyful celebration.