Unit 2 American Homes and Traditional Chinese Homes

1. Unit 2 American Homes and Traditional Chinese Homes

2. Introduction In this unit, you will learn to use English for • Talking about introducing people and places • Talking about housing and layout of rooms, apartments (flats) and houses • Talking about privacy and individualism • Talking about buying and selling houses

3. Part 1 Communicative Activities

4. Conversation OneStudy the following conversation. Which sentences will be useful in everyday informal conversation? Underline them and then compare them with your classmates. A: Hi, folks, has anyone checked our class mailbox today? B: I have, George. I'm just sorting out the letters. A: Charles, are there any letters for me? B: Let me see. Oh, yes, here's a letter for you. It's from Bob — Bob Henry from Australia. A: You're joking. Bob Henry from Australia? B: Yes. You see, the return address is Sydney, Australia. Who is Bob Henry? Do you know him? A: Do I know him? ! You bet I do. He was one of my classmates at primary school. We haven't heard from each other for ages.

5. Useful Expressions • folks: sometimes used when talking to people in a friendly way(for both males and females in plural form)e.g.Well, folks, what are you going to do today?sort out: to select from others sort sth. out: to select sth. from others ; (colloq.) tidy upsort sb. out: (slang) to deal with or punish 惩罚e.g.Sort out the smaller plants and throw them away. This room needs sorting out. I‘ll sort him out. Just let me get my hands on him. (我就要收拾他了。等我抓到他再说.)return address:the address of the person who is sending a letter or package, that is written on the envelope or package.

6. Return address

7. Here’s…for… [structure]Here’s /There’s + n.+ for + pron. Here’s a phone call for you. You bet…:to be able to be sure that [structure]You bet + object clause --Are you going to the match? --You bet I am. for ages: for a long time

8. Information for role-play • You and your college friends met one of your classmates at middle school in the street by chance. Try to tell him/her where you’re studying now, and who your friends are. • You’re talking to the official in Students Financial Aid Department. Try to tell him/her how many people there are in your family, and what kind of financial situation you are in.You should try to convince the official that your family has done the best to support you, but you also expect the government to provide bursary for your study.

9. Notes: financial aid :money given or lent to students at college or university to pay for their education(经济资助） Scholarship and bursary are two different kinds of financial aid available to students in many western universities. Scholarship may be given according to the academic standing of the applicants, but bursary is often needs-based.

10. Listening 1 Now, two students Tom and Barry are shown around by the house manager. Listen and name the different parts of the apartment, and then answer the following questions. • Where are the facilities located in this apartment? • If they want to save power, what should they do about the thermostat? • What is your apartment like? Describe it on the blackboard.

11. Try to name the different parts in the following floor plan of a student’s apartment Bathroom Cupboards Laundry Room 201 Living Room Kitchen Room 202 The door

12. Discuss the following questions: 1.List the facilities located in this apartment. 2.If they want to save power, what should they do about the thermostat? 3.What if your apartment like? Describe it on the blackboard.

13. Recording script A:Now, let’s go upstairs to see your apartment. …Tom and Barry. …Let’s first see this room on your right. Room 201,Barry, this is your room. B:Mr.Levine, is the next room for me then? A:Yes,Tom. Your room is 202. …Let’s see the facilities in this apartment. C:What’s this? A:It’s called digital thermostat. You may adjust the temperatures inside the apartment according to your needs.But we generally set it at 25 degrees. To save the power, you don’t need to adjust it very often once it is set. This is why we put it on the wall behind the door. …Next to it is the phone jack and TV cable. You may use the TV cable for purchasing Internet service. B:We’ll use our mobile phone service package for Internet service. By the way, are there cupboards in the living room? A: Yes. Across the room are two cupboards for you, one for each.You may put the big stuff such as your suitcase, or boxes there. But they are also used to keep the cleaning tools, such as vacuum cleaner, mops, and brooms. …Do you have any questions?

14. C:No. A:Ok, now let’s have a look at the kitchen in the first room on our left. There are two gas rings on the stove, and you need to turn on the ventilation fan on when you cook. B: Sure.How about the pots and cookers? A:There are three pans and two pots in different sizes. But you have to bring your own electrical cooker if you want to cook rice. C:Yes, we have our own rice cookers. Where is the laundry then? A:It is in the next room. Let’s go over to have a look. …Look, here is the washing machine, fully automatic. B:What is this then? Is it a washing machine, too? A:Oh, no. That’s a dryer. With this, you don’t need to hang your washing outside. …Now between the cupboards and the laundry is the bathroom…

15. thermostat 英音：[‘θə:məstæt] 美音：[’θɝmə,stæt] an instrument used for keeping a room or a machine at a particular temperature自动调温器,恒温器 phone jack：电话插座 TV cable: 电视电缆 cupboard:食橱; 橱柜, 壁橱; 碗柜 vacuum [‘vækjuəm] cleaner：真空吸尘器 gas ring:(环形喷火头的)煤气炉 ventilation fan:[,venti‘leiʃən]排气扇 rice cookers：电饭煲 laundry：洗衣店，洗衣房 dryer:干燥器,烘干机;吹风机

16. Conversation 2 A:Excuse me, my name is Thomas Harry. Haven't we met somewhere before? B: No, I don't think so. My name is Jones Perry, from Switzerland. A:Nice to meet you, Mr. Perry. Welcome to London. B: Call me Jones. It's good to meet you. Thomas, I'd like you to meet my classmate Dennis. Dennis is from Finland. Switzerland:[Switzerland] 瑞士 Finland：[Finland]芬兰

17. Some useful icebreakers: • Hi,my name is…nice to meet you! • Haven’t we met before? My name is… • My name is … I’m from…,glad to meet you here. • Hi, my name is…What is your name?(or How do I call you?)

18. Your conversation Leave your seat and introduce you and your friends to other newly acquinted classmates in English. A: Excuse me…

19. Listening 2 1.What is their traditional house like? 2.Draw a picture in the box below that fits the couple’s description. 3.What is the function of the wall in front of the gate according to the local tradition? 4.Discuss the differences between three words: house,home, and apartment

20. Drawing a picture according to the couple’s description Traditional stove Bedroom Bedroom Living room and kitchen yard Shadow wall Apple trees The door

21. Recording script Wang wei: Jane, I’d like you to meet my wife, Lili. Lili, this is Jane. Jane is an American student from the Chinese department. She’d like to see the traditional Chinese residence in the village. Lili: Welcome, Jane. Jane: Thank you, Mrs.wang. Lili: Let me show you around. Look, this is my parent’s residence. They have been living here for almost 50 years. The room in the middle serves as both a living room and a kitchen…Look, here is our traditional stove. People use firewood to cook. Bedrooms are on both sides of it. This kind of house is very common in the rural areas, especially in the northern China. My parents have a large house. Jane: Yes, it looks lovely.

22. Lily:Thank you. My parents plant several fruit trees in the front yard.You see, these are apple trees. If you come in spring, you would certainly enjoy the view… Jane:How lovely! I have a question. Why do you put a wall before the gate? Lily:Oh,it’s called shadow wall. According to our tradition, villagers put up a wall in front of the gate in order to ward off evils from entering the house. So family members would not catch diseases, or other disasters. … shadow wall:影壁墙 ward off：to ward off a danger or illness means to prevent it from affecting you or harming you

23. The residence is quite traditional and common in the rural northern China with four walls enclosing the living quarters for the family. Entering the front gate, you will immediately see a shadow wall, which, according to the local tradition, is to ward off evil spirits from harming the family members. The bedrooms are arranged on the both sides of the middle room.In front of the rooms is a garden with several apple trees.

24. house, apartment and home The three words are often confusing for Ss. For example, Please come to my home for a dinner. (In fact the speaker and his family are living in an apartment in the city.) Therefore, it is more appropriate to say in this case “Please come to my apartment for a dinner” House is a building in which a family lives, and home is the place(a house or an apartment) where one lives.

25. Introduction • It is quite easy to introduce people to each other in English. One way is just to say the names, pointing at each person as you name them. Imagine you want to introduce Mary and Carmen to each other. First of all (talking to Mary), you can point at Carmen and say " Carmen", then you turn to Carmen and say "Mary". Or instead of just saying the names, you can say "This is Carmen"and"This is Mary". If you want to speak in a more formal way( perhaps to introduce older or more important people to each other), you can say to the first person, "Can I introduce Mr/Mrs X?", or "I don't think you've met...". When you speak to the second person, you can just say "This is ...". When people are introduced, they usually say "Hello", "Hi" (friendly and informal) or "How do you do?" (more formal). " How do you do?" does not mean the same as "How are you ?", and is not really a question at all. It is just an expression that people use when they are introduced. It is quite common to introduce people using their Christian name and surname (instead of Mr/Mrs, etc.+surname).You can't always do this, it depends on the people's age, social class, and social attitude, and on your relationship with them. If you are not sure, it is safer to use 'Mr /Mrs' etc.

26. Useful expression • You may introduce yourself like this:Good morning, Mrs. Black, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jane.Let me introduce myself. My name is Mary Brown.I don't believe we've met. I'm Li Zheng.Glad to meet you. I'm Catharine Black.It's Catharine, but please call me Kate.Hi. I'm John. I'm a new comer.You may introduce people like this:May I introduce you to Mrs. White, my English teacher? Mrs. White, this is Mrs.Brown. I'd like you to meet Jane.This is Liu, the manager of our department.Meet my friend Bai Mei. Hi, John, this is Jane. Jane, this is John. • Common Answers:Nice to meet you, Jane.How do you do, Mrs. Brown?Pleased to meet you.Hello!Glad to meet you.It's nice to meet you.It's a pleasure to know you.Hi!

27. e a c Functions 1. Showing somebody around the campus. 2. Saying who you are and greeting people. 3. Greeting one of your friends. 4. Introducing a new classmate to your mother. 5. Introducing a guest speaker to the audience at a meeting. 6. Trying to identify someone. Actual words spoken a. My name is John Smith. How do you do? b. Who's this? Is it Jack? c. Hello, Bill, how have you been recently? d. Mum, this is Mary, my new classmate. e. That is our new library. f. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Professor Brown, President of Blueville University. d f b

28. Read the sentences below and do the matching exercise that follows. 1. Hello! Is Tom there? ... This is Auden speaking. 2. Excuse me, madam. My name is John Smith. I'm from Jingle Bell Company of Beijing. 3. Let me introduce Ms. Jane Walsh to you. Jane is from Scotland... 4. May I present Mr. Brown Close, managing director of ABC Leather Company? 5. Jack, what's that sound? Did you hear it? 6. It's a privilege to know you. 7. Who's speaking? Is it Mary? 8. This is my younger brother. He was ten years old then. 9. Hello! I'm John Thomas. What's your name? 10. Oh, Mary, I'm like you to meet my family. This is my father, ... Which of the above sentences matches the following situation? Put the numbers into appropriate blanks a. Asking someone to identify a sound. b. Introducing oneself at the registration desk of a conference. c. Introducing oneself on the phone. d. Identifying a speaker on the phone. e. Introducing a person very formally. f. Introducing someone to one's family. g. Identifying a person in a picture. h. Offering to introduce someone. i. Responding to an introduction very formally. j. Greeting and getting to know a stranger. 5 2 1 7 4 10 8 3 6 9

29. New word: privilege: something that you are lucky to have the chance to do, and that you enjoy very much

30. Proverb • By the time you finish paying for the house in the suburbs, it’s no longer in the suburbs.

31. Cultural background about this saying In the US there has been a tendency in the past few decades for many newly established middle class families to move out of the city centre to suburbs where only the wealthy could afford to live in the past. The concept of suburbs is undergoing a gradual change from quiet residential areas with pastoral settings in the past to the current idea of neighborhoods for middle class families. Driven by a desire for privacy and peace and quiet the wealthy are moving further out into the countryside or mountains .In this sense, the real suburbs become farther and farther away from town. So by the time the middle class families can afford to live in the suburbs, they are no longer regarded as suburbs, but rather as part of the city. Cultural Note: Actually, the wish to move to the countryside and mountains really has little to do with mixing with middle class neighbors, but has more to do with the desire for privacy and living in a less crowded area.

32. Part 2 Reading and language Activities Text: American Homes and Traditional Chinese Homes Pre –reading Discussion: What differences can you find out between the two houses on your text book?

33. For example

34. American homes

35. Chinese homes

37. Text Reading task 1 Put the sentences below into the correct positions within the article. 3 5 7 2 8 4 1 6

38. the structure of traditional Chinese house The door

39. Reading task 2Read the story again to answer the question below and fill the table with facts from the reading passage.

40. Language work 1.It is believed that this shadow wall keeps the home from direct exposure to the unseen spirits when the gates are open . According to folk beliefs, the shadow wall would protect the home from being harmed by the outside evil influence.

41. 2.Parents have little liberty in the rooms of the children, and children cannot do what they want in those parts of the house regarded as pre-eminently their parents’ domain. In the area as defined to belong to children, parents are not free to touch their children’s belongings and the children are not allowed either to touch their parents’ possessions in the area as defined belonging to their parents.

42. 3. The lack of privacy within the Chinese home finds its extreme expression in many well-to-do families of North China. The extreme cases of the lack of privacy can be found in many rich families of North of China.

43. 4. But many Chinese adhere to a variation of the common linear arrangement even when they have more rooms and space in which to spread out. Even with more rooms and space in their homes, many Chinese still build their homes in a way that is similar to the layout of the five rooms arranged in a row in those rich families of North of China.

44. Word work 1.curtains Meaning: a piece of cloth hanging on the window, generally used in plural form, such as drawing/pulling/opening/closing curtains 2.blinds Meaning: small pieces of cloth or plastic hanging on the window, especially one made of a roll of fabric that is fixed at the top of the window and can be pulled up and down usually used in plural form, such as raising/lowering/opening/closing/drawing blinds 3.spirits Meaning: (a) ghost , (b) feelings of happiness or unhappiness, or (c) alcoholic drinks, usually used in plural form, such as evil spirits, or in low/high spirits or raise/lift sb's spirits(=make someone happier)wines and spirits

45. 4.quarters Meaning: the place where someone lives such as living quarters Most of the officers live in married quarters (=houses where soldiers live with their wives) . 5.belongings Meaning: things that belong to a person, someone’s possessions, be sure to take your personal belongings with you when you leave 6.possessions Meaning: things that belong to someone, such as the family lost it possessions in the fire

46. Phrases • shieldv [T] to protect someone or something from being harmed or damagedshield sb/sth from sb/sthHe held up his hands, shielding his eyes from the sun. • keep (sb/sth) from sthto prevent someone from doing something or prevent something from happeningHis ex-wife had kept him from seeing his children. • Separate 【BE BETWEEN】 [T] if something separates two places or two things, it is between them so that they are not touching each otherThe lighthouse is separated from the land by a wide channel.【DIVIDE】 [I and T]cause things or people to) come apart; divide This patient should be separated from the others. 【RECOGNIZE DIFFERENCE】 [T]to recognize that one thing or idea is different from anotherShe finds it difficult to separate fact from fantasy.