Unit 1 Fighting with the Forces of Nature

1. Unit 1 Fighting with the Forces of Nature

2. Teaching Objectives Students will be able to • be familiar with some words about the forces of nature • grasp the main idea and structure of the text • do a comparison and contrast between Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union • master the key language points and grammatical structures in the text

3. Lead-in Activities I Class Discussion • What is nature? • What are the forces of nature?

4. Lead-in Activities What is nature? Everything in the physical world that is not controlled by humans, such as wild plants and animals, earth and rocks, and the weather.

5. Lead-in Activities What are the forces of nature? The forces of nature mean the powerful aspects of nature and weather, for example, wind and storm, etc. Can you think of other examples of nature showing its forces?

6. Forces of nature flood

7. Forces of nature draught

8. Forces of nature volcano

9. Forces of nature earthquake

10. Forces of nature snowstorm

11. Forces of nature avalanche

12. Forces of nature sandstorm

13. Forces of nature hurricane

14. Forces of nature • The difference between hurricanes and typhoons: • Hurricanes happen in the Western Atlantic Ocean. • Typhoons happen in the Western Pacific Ocean. typhoon

15. Forces of nature

16. Lead-in Activities II Listening Practice Directions: Listen to a piece of news and answer the follow question. Words to know before listening capsize : overturn churn: shake evacuate: withdraw torrential: very heavy pummel: beat

17. Listening Practice It is about the most powerful typhoon happening in China in 50 years. Q1. What is the news about? Q2. Which part of China was hit? The southeastern cost. Q3. Are there any deaths reported? Yes, dozens of deaths are reported and the number might grow.

18. The most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades has smashed intothe country's southeastern coast, destroying homes and capsizing boats along the way. Dozens of deaths are reported and it's feared that number will grow. The Typhoon is packing winds of up to 135 miles per hour and is bringing heavy rains that are making umbrellas all but useless. Before making landfall Thursday, the storm churned waves that capsized two ships. Chinese officials evacuated some 1.5 million people beforehand and built up earthen barricades along some cities. While the wind is doing massive damage, there are fears that the storm will produce torrential rains over the next few days that could trigger deadly landslides. This is the 8th major storm to hit China this year. Forecasters there are blaming warmer-than-normal Pacific Ocean currents that they say are fueling the typhoons and drawing them farther inland. Even as the storm pummels the country, forecasters are already keeping a watch on another potentially deadly typhoon, that is now swirling 110 miles off the country's coastline. Lead-in Activities They evacuated about 1.5 million people beforehand and built up earthen barricades along some cities. Q4. What did the Chinese officials do? Q5. What did the forecasters say? Another potentially deadly typhoon is now swirling 110 miles off the country's coastline. Script

19. The Icy Defender Nila B. Smith

20. Contents • Cultural Notes • Text Organization • Language Points • Text Analysis • Useful Expressions • Word Study • Assignment

21. 1. Cultural Notes • What do you know about Napoleon and his wars against other nations? • Napoleon Bonaparte • Conqueror • French revolution • one of the greatest military commanders conquering the larger part of Europe • the battle of Waterloo • Napoleonic Wars

22. 1. Cultural Notes Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821): one of the greatest military commanders and the emperor of the French. During 1802-1815 he tried his best to get control of the whole Europe. He defeated all his enemies except Britain.

23. 1. Cultural Notes In 1812, he lost 500 thousand men when he invaded Russian, and in 1814, the British, Prussians, Austrians and Russians entered Paris. They sent him to rule the island of Elba in the Mediterranean, but he collected his army and came back to Paris. He was soon defeated again. In 1815, at the battle of Waterloo he was sent to the island of St Helena in the south Atlantic. He died in 1821.

24. 1. Cultural Notes Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945): German political and military leader and one of the 20th century’s most powerful dictators. He converted Germany into a fully militarized society. In 1939 he launched World War II. He ever built Nazi party and made anti-Semitism a keystone of his propaganda and policies. He hoped to conquer the whole world, and dominated most of Europe and much of North Africa for a time.

25. 1. Cultural Notes Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953): general secretary of the communist party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The USSR was built into a modern economic and military power under his leadership. He also led his army repelled Hitler’s armies in World WarⅡ. During the cold war period he rivaled the United States.

26. 2. Text Organization Introduction— Both Napoleon’s and Hitler’s military campaigns failed because of the severity of the Russian winter. Napoleon’s military campaign against Russian. Hitler’s military campaign against the Soviet Union. Conclusion— The elements of nature must be reckoned with in an military campaign.

27. Understanding the Text Questions for Part One • What does the “icy defender” refer to? • In what way was Hitler’s offensive against the Soviet Union similar to Napoleon’s campaign against Russia?

28. Understanding the Text Questions for Part Four What conclusion does the author draw from Napoleon’s and Hitler’s military campaigns?

29. 3. Language Points Para. 1 (Line 2) He was prepared for the fierce resistance …… What other words can fierceuse with? e.g. fierce competition 激烈的竞争 attack 猛烈的攻击 battle 激烈的战斗 opposition 猛烈的反对 criticism 猛烈的批评 fierce person 凶恶的/残忍人 animal 凶猛的动物 fierce wind 强风 cold 强冷 storm 狂风暴雨

30. 3. Language Points Para. 1 (Line 5) But he was not prepared for thedevastatingenemy. devastating:adj 1) completely destructive: devastating storm/tsunami/war/hurricane 2) very good; able to obtain the desired result (infml): You look devastating tonight, my dear. His jokes were completely devastating. (=very funny). devastatevt. to destroy completely; make impossible to live in Towns and villages were devastated by a long war.

31. 3. Language Points Para. 2 (Line 9) His war machine had mowed down resistance in most of Europe. mow down: 1) To destroy in great numbers as if cutting down, as in battle. 大批毁灭，如在战场上 2) To overwhelm 战胜： They mowed down the opposition with strong arguments. 他们用强有力的论据驳倒对方

32. 3. Language Points Para. 7 (Line 36) ……but the occupation of the city became an empty victory. empty: 1) having nothing inside an empty box 2) not used an empty chair empty hours 空闲时间 3) meaningless or insincere empty talk 空谈, 废话 empty promises 空洞许诺 empty lip service 说得好听的空话 4) unhappy because nothing is interesting empty life 空虚的生活

33. 3. Language Points Para. 7 (Line 37) The Russiansfledtheir capital. flee: 1) v.i. run away or vanish The enemy fled in disorder. 敌人溃逃了。 Color fled from her cheeks. 红晕从她的双颊上消失了。 2) v.t. run away from Citizens were forced to flee the besieged city. 居民被迫逃离这座被围困的城市。

34. 3. Language Points Para. 7 (Line 39) “We shall let the Russian winter fight the war for us.” What does this sentence mean? Since the Russian winter was raw, bitter, bleak and the Grand Army’s supply was slow, the Russian Czar was confident that the Grand Army would be defeated.

35. 3. Language Points Para. 8 (Line 41) …he could not feed, clothe, and quarter his army… … he could not provide food, clothes and places to sleep to his army. quarter:formal to provide someone with a place to sleep and eat, especially soldiers Our troops were quartered in Boston until June. 军队驻扎在波士顿直到六月。

36. 3. Language Points Para. 9 (Line 48) Exhausted horsesfell deadin their tracks.死在路上 in (one's) tracks: Exactly where one is standing 正是某人站的地方 She stopped him right in his tracks. 她当场制止了他。 Other Expression： be on the right track: to be correct in what you say or think be on the wrong track/tack: believe something that is wrong

37. 3. Language Points Para.13 (Line 72) …to “scorch the earth” in front of the German invaders. What does “scorch the earth”mean? It means to burn everything so that Hitler’s army couldn’t get supply.

38. 3. Language Points Para. 14 (Line 76) The Germansclosed inon Leningrad. close in : to move closer to someone or something, especially in order to attack them The snake closed in for the kill. close in on/around/upon etc The enemy soldiers were closing in on them from all sides.

39. 3. Language Points Para. 15 (Line 84) “General Mud” slowed down the movement of the German’s lightning attack. Who does “General Mud” refer to? It refers to the muddy roads.

40. 3. Language Points Para. 16 (Line 91) The Russian winter brought the Germanoffensiveto a halt. offensive: 1) n. a continued attack, usu. with large military forces launch an all-out offensive against the enemy led a massive military offensive. 发动全面的军事攻击 2) adj. causing offence; unpleasant 冒犯的 offensive remarks/ advertisements to women a sight too offensive to look at Cf. defensive

41. A comparison-and-contrast analysis of the two invasions Text Analysis SovietUnion Russia Hitler Napoleon Spring,1812 6/22/1941 The largest land campaign in history 600,000

42. Quick victory, conquest of Russia in 5 weeks Blitzkrieg, lasting no longer than 3 months Refusing to stand and fight; retreating eastwards, burning crops and homes “scorch the earth”, fierce fight to defend major cities Yes No Smolensk, Borodino, the Berezina River Leningrad, Stalingrad By Napoleon, rejected by the Czar. no

43. Heavy rain, “General Mud”, snow, freezing temperature Snow, freezing temperature 1943, when the Soviet troops pushed the German forces back. Oct. 1812,when Napoleon ordered a retreat Only 100,000 survived Heavy losses Napoleon abdicated and went into exile, his empire at an end Hitler committed suicide, his empire collapsing.

44. Useful Expressions a fierce resistance a short campaign 1. 奋勇抵抗 2. 速战速决 3. 助一臂之力 4. 面临一个抉择 5. 孤注一掷 6. 撤往安全之处 come to an aid of be faced with a crucial decision take a gamble retreat to safety

45. Useful Expressions an empty victory 7. 毫无意义的胜利 8. 等待时机 9. 降至零下4度 10.向… 提出停战… 11. 成为一场噩梦 12. 凭借幸运 bide one’s time drop to minus 4 degrees Celsius offer a truce to turn into a nightmare by a stroke of luck

46. Useful Expressions begin without a declaration of war 13. 不宣而战 14. 被打得措手不及 15. 饿死 16. 反击 17. 突然袭击 caught off guard starve to death launch a counterattack a surprise attack

47. Word Study • raw • launch • engage • reckon • render • casualty • toll

48. raw: 1 ▶FOOD◀ not cooked 生的：未煮过的： raw meat Cabbage can be eaten raw. 2 ▶SUBSTANCES◀ in a natural state and not treated or prepared自然状态的，未加工过的 raw silk The cost of our raw materials has risen significantly. 3 ▶INFORMATION◀ collected but not organized, examined, or developed原始的，未处理的 Software can convert raw data into usable information.

49. 4 ▶BODY◀ if a part of your body is raw, the skin there is red and painful 露出肉的： The skin on my feet was rubbed raw. 5 ▶INEXPERIENCED◀ not experienced or not fully trained 生疏的，无经验的 Most of our soldiers are raw recruits. A raw hand 6 ▶WEATHER◀ very cold 阴冷的，阴潮的 She shivered in the raw morning air. 7 raw deal: unfair treatment 不公平的 Customers are getting a raw deal and are rightly angry.

50. launch： 1 ▶START SOMETHING◀ to start something, usually something big or important launch an attack/assault/offensive The organization has launched a campaign to raise $150,000. 2 ▶PRODUCT◀ to make a new product, book etc available for sale for the first time The company hopes to launch the new drug by next October. 3 ▶BOAT◀ to put a boat or ship into the water launch a ship 4 ▶SKY/SPACE◀ to send a weapon or spacecraft into the sky or into space A test satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral.