Unit4 I used to be afraid of the dark.
2d Role-play the conversation.
Alfred: This party is such a great idea!
Gina: I agree. It’s been three years since we last saw our primary school classmates.
Alfred: It’s interesting to see how people have changed.
Gina: Billy has changed so much! He used to be so shy and quiet.
Alfred: Yeah, his face always turned red when he talked to girls!
Gina: I used to see him reading in the library every day.
Alfred: That’s because he was a really good student. He studied hard and got good scores on his exams.
Gina: Did he use to wear glasses?
Alfred: Yes, and he used to be thin, too. But look how big and strong he is now!
Gina: He’s so popular now. Look at all the girls around him!
3a Skim the article and identify the paragraphs in which the following information appears. Number the information [1–3].
From Shy Girl to Pop Star
1 For this month’s Young World magazine, I interviewed 19-year-old Asian pop star Candy Wang. Candy told me that she used to be really shy and took up singing to deal with her shyness. As she got better, she dared to sing in front of her class, and then for the whole school. Now she’s not shy anymore and loves singing in front of crowds.
2 I asked Candy how life was different after she became famous. She explained that there are many good things, like being able to travel and meet new people all the time. “I didn’t use to be popular in school, but now I get tons of attention everywhere I go.” However, too much attention can also be a bad thing. “I always have to worry about how I appear to others and I have to be very careful about what I say or do. And I don’t have much private time anymore. Hanging out with friends is almost impossible for me now because there are always guards around me.”
3 What does Candy have to say to all those young people who want to become famous? “Well,” she begins slowly, “you have to be prepared to give up your normal life. You can never imagine how difficult the road to success is. Many times I thought about giving up, but I fought on. You really require a lot of talent and hard work to succeed. Only a very small number of people make it to the top.”
2b Read the passage and underline the problems that Li Wen used to have.
He Used to Cause a Lot of Trouble
Li Wen is a normal 15-year-old boy who works hard in school and gets good grades.It is hard to believe that he used to be a “problem child” until a conversation with his parents influenced his way of thinking. Li Wen lives in the Sichuan countryside.As a small child, he seldom gave his parents any problems, and they were proud of him. However,____________, the boy’s life became more difficult. He had to move in with his grandmother.
Li Wen began to cause problems for himself and his family. He was no longer interested in studying. He was often absent from classes, and he failed his examinations. Finally, his parents made a decision to send him to a boarding school. Li Wen no longer lived with his grandmother. He studied, ate and slept at the school, and he hated it. There were so many rules, and he used to keep breaking them. One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school.____________ .
The head teacher advised his parents to talk with their son in person. His parents took a 40-hour train ride and a five-hour bus ride to go back to their hometown. To Li Wen’s surprise, their conversation changed his life. “It was exactly what I needed,” he said. “My parents helped me to understand how much they had given me. They also told me that even though they couldn’t be there to take care of me, they were always thinking of me and would take pride in
everything good that I did.____________. I realized that since my parents moved away, I’ve been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my parents pay more attention to me.”
____________. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. His parents’ love has made him feel good about himself. “It’s very important for parents to be
there for their children,” Li Wen says.
Unit5 What are the shirts made of?
2d Role-play the conversation.
Pam: China is famous for tea, right?
Liu Jun: Yes, both in the past and now.
Pam: Where is tea produced in China?
Liu Jun: Well, in many different areas. For example, Anxi and Hangzhou are widely known for their tea.
Pam: How is it grown?
Liu Jun: Well, it’s planted on the sides of mountains. When the leaves are
ready,they are picked by hand and then are sent for processing.
Pam: What happens next?
Liu Jun: The tea is packed and sent to many different countries and places around China.
Pam: It seems that Chinese tea is drunk all over the world.
Liu Jun: Yes, people say that tea is good for both health and business!
3a Read the passage. What two things did Kang Jian want to buy in America? Where were they made?
The Difficult Search for American Goods in the US
If you go to another country, what kinds of things would you buy? Would you buy a camera in Japan, some beautiful clothes in France,or a watch in Switzerland? No matter what you may buy, you might probably think those products were made in those countries. However, you could be wrong. Kang Jian is a 17-year-old student from Shanghai. Last year he went to visit his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. He found it interesting that so many products in the local shops were made in China. “I wanted to buy a toy car for my cousin, but even though most of the toys had American brands, they were made in China.”
Toys are not the only things made in China. “I wanted to buy a pair of
basketball shoes,” he explains. “But I had to visit five or six stores before finding a pair made in America!” He realized that Americans can hardly avoid buying products made in China. “In fact,” he continues, “there are so many things made in China —footballs, handbags, pet food, mobile phones. Even American flags are made in China!” Kang Jian thinks it’s great that China is so good at making these everyday things. However, he wishes that in the future China will also get better at making high-technology products that people can buy in all parts of the world.
2b Read the passage and complete the chart below.
Beauty in Common Things
Each different part of China has its own special forms of traditional art.These usually try to show the things that are important in life such as love, beauty and family. The most common things, from paper to clay to bamboo, are turned into objects of beauty.
According to Chinese history, sky lanterns were first used by Zhuge Kongming. He sent them out to ask for help when in trouble. Today, sky lanterns are used at festivals and other celebrations. They are made of bamboo and covered with paper. When the lanterns are lit, they slowly rise into the air like small hot-air balloons for all to see. They are seen as bright symbols of happiness and good wishes.
Paper cutting has been around for over 1,500 years. Paper cutting sounds very easy but it can be difficult to do. The paper, usually red, is folded before it is cut
with scissors.The most common pictures are flowers, fish, animals, and things about Chinese history. During the Spring Festival, they are put on windows, doors and walls as symbols of wishes for good luck and a happy new year.
Chinese clay art is famous because the clay pieces are so small but they look very real. The pieces are usually cute children or lively characters from a Chinese fairy tale or historical story. The pieces are carefully shaped by hand from a very special kind of clay and then allowed to air-dry. After drying, they are fired at a very high heat. They are then polished and painted. Finally, materials such as wood or paper are added to make different things. It takes several weeks to complete everything. These small pieces of clay art show the love that all Chinese people have for life and beauty.
