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Lesson 56 Our neighbour, the river
Listening comprehension
1 Introduce the story
T: Today we'll talk about living near a river.
2 Understand the situation
T: What do you think is happening in the picture?
3 Listening objective
T: Listen to the passage (or read it silently) and see if you can answer this question:
Why had the neighbours left their farm?
4 Play the tape or read the story or wait for the students to finish reading silently
5 Answer the question
After the reading, ask the question again: Why had the neighbours left their farm?
Train the students not to shout out the answer. Instead, ask one student, then ask the others to agree ordisagree with a show of hands.
Answer: They had left their farm because they were afraid their house was going to be flooded.
6 Intensive reading
Play the tape or read the text again, pausing after every sentence to check students understand. Obtainbrief explanations to difficulties in the text from the students themselves. Only use Chinese if a confirnatory translation is necessary.
7 Play the tape or read the story again
8 Reading aloud
Ask one or two students to read the text aloud.
Comprehension questions
1 What has always played an important part in the lives of the writer and his family? (The river. )
2 Could they make a living without it? (No, they couldn't.)
3 What water does the family use in the house? (Spring water.)
4 How do they get water for farm use? (They pump it from the river.)
5 What kind of parties do they have in the summer? (River birthday parties.)
6 Do they sometimes go upstream? (Yes, they do.)
7 Or where else do they sometimes have a party? (At the boathouse.)
8 Who built the boathouse? (A predecessor of theirs.)
9 Where did he build it? (In the meadow near the deepest pool.)
10 What do they always welcome by the riverside? (The different seasons.)
11 When might the river overflow its banks? ( After a long period of rain.)
12 But is this a rare occurrence? (Yes, it is.)
13 Which of the writer's fields are affected by flooding? (The lower fields.)
14 One winter, the writer and his family were worried about their nearest neighbours. Why? (Because their farm was low lying and they were newcomers.)
15 What was the first sign of disaster? (A dead sheep floating down.)
16 What came down the river next? (A horse.)
17 Did it manage to land before it became exhausted? (We don't know.)
18 When the raft appeared, what was it carrying? (The whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a birdin a cage.)
19 Had the people become unduly frightened by the rising flood? (Yes, they had.)
20 Did their house have solid foundations? (Yes, it did.)
21 Who managed to pull the neighbours' raft to the bank? (The men of the family.)
Asking questions: Ask me if…
T: Ask me if the river has always played an important part in their lives.
S: Has the river always played an important part in their lives?
T: How …
S: How has the river always played an important part in their lives?
1 the river has always played an important part in their lives. (How)
2 they pump water from the river for farm use. (Why)
3 they have special river birthday parties in the summer. (When)
4 they throw a holly Wreath into the river in the winter. (What)
5 our climate goes to extremes. (How often)
6 they were worried about their nearest neighbours. (Why)
7 the first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down the river. (What)
8 the raft was carrying the whole family. (What)
9 the neighbours' house would have withstood the flood. (Why)
10 the men were able to pull the raft to the bank. (How)
Tell us what happened to the river one bad winter
1 Watched river creep up lower meadows - cattle moved to safety
2 Worried about neighbours - low - lying farm - newcomers
3 Telephone out of order - couldn't keep in touch
4 Watched from attic window - saw dead sheep - first sign of disaster
5 Then swimming horse - then raft (like Noah's ark) - family, hens, etc.
6 Had been unduly frightened by flood - men waded out with boathooks - pulled raft towards bank
Topics for discussion
1 Tell us about a river in China that plays an important part in people's lives.
2 What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of living near a river?
3 Would you like to live on a houseboat by a river? Why/Why not?
Key to Comprehension
1 The family were so dependent on the river because without it they could not make a living.
2 They held festivities by the river to celebrate river birthdays and to welcome the different seasonsspring, midsummer, autumn harvest and winter.
3 The position of their farm was fortunate because only their lower fields were affected by flooding.
Key to Vocabulary
A possible answer
instinctively (1.5) without having to be told
overtake (1.6) happen (to us) suddenly
predecessor (1.9) previous owner
hard by (1.10) close to, very near to
in a heat wave (1.10) in a period of unusually hot weather
a rare occurrence (1.14) a very unusual event
goes to extremes (1.15) gets extremely hot or extremely cold
favourably (1.16) pleasantly, well
Key to Summary writing
Points
1 One bad winter - river rose - our cattle OK - worried about new neighbours
2 Floods put telephone out - couldn't contact them
3 Watched their land from attic wondow - first sign - dead sheep - then swimming house
4 Raft (like Noah's ark) - family, hens, dog, cat, bird
5 obviously unduly frightened by rising flood
6 Men waded out - pulled raft and contents to bank
Summary
One winter, the river rose a alarmingly, and we were worried about our new neighbours. The floods hadput the telephone out of order, so we couldn't contact then. We were watching their land when we saw the first sign of trouble, a dead sheep, and then a swimming horse. Then a raft came down, completewith the family and animals. They had clearly been frightened by the rising flood. Our men waded out andpulled the raft to the bank. (80 words)
Key to Composition
A possible answer
Plan and ideas for composition (b)
Title: A dark and gloomy street
Introduction: Dark and gloomy street - on way home from party - short cut
Development: Someone standing at far end, under lamplight - wasn't frightened - felt person did not meanto harm me - not sure what to do - decided to walk on towards the light
The‘guide’started walking ahead of me - dressed in long gown - dim glow - felt safe andfollowed - part of town, I realized, that I had been warned about - but nothing happened tome - and near bright lights -‘guide’just disappeared
Conclusion: A young person killed that night - was the guide my guardian angel?
Composition
It was a dark and gloomy street. I was on my way home from a friend's party and had decided to take a short cut. I had just turned the corner from the main street and had started walking towards the light at the endof the short street.
Suddenly, almost by magic, I thought, there was someone standing at the far end, under the lamplight. Most people would have been frightened, perhaps terrified. I wasn't at all frightened. Perhaps I should havebeen. There was someone there. I felt somehow that the person - and I couldn't see whether it was a man ora woman - did not mean to harm me. Although I wasn't frightened, I still wasn't sure what to do. Should Iwalk on towards the end of the street and towards the light and towards the person? or should I go back the way I had come? I decided to walk on towards the light.
The‘guide’, as I called the person later, stood and seemed to wait until I was halfway down the street, and then started walking ahead of me. Even now I couldn't describe him or her: he or she seemed to be dressed in a long gown, but there was a dim glow all around him/her. Certainly I felt safe and followed the person down several streets that I did not know. It was a part of town, I realized, that I had been warned about - but nothing happened to me - and as soon as we were near the bright lights of the main road, my‘guide’just disappeared.
The following day I heard that a young person had been killed walking home alone not very far from where I was that night. I don't care what other people think. I am sure that the‘guide’was my guardian angel and that he or she looked after me. (317 words)
Key to Letter writing
Special Note: From this point, while the Students' Book suggests a choice of two Letters, only one is chosen as a model.
A possible answer for letter (b) (body of letter only)
Some time ago you told me that you enjoyed going to the theatre. I have just been given two free tickets for a performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet and wonder if you would like to go with me.
The performance is on Saturday, 15th July at the‘New World Theatre’and starts at 7．30. We could go from my flat or meet at the theatre.
Please let me know as soon as you can if you would like to come. If you can't, then I know one or two other people who would like the ticket (96 words)
Key structures and special difficulties
Key to KS and SD exercises
See text.
Repetition drill
The gerund
Chorus, group or individual repetition
To elicit statements involving the use of an accusative personal pronoun before a gerund (fused participle construction).
T: Drill 56. Listen. Do not speak.
(1) T: He wants to go to the party. I'm sure that's something you won't try to prevent.
S: You're wrong. I will try to prevent him going.
(2) T: He wants to borrow some money. I'm sure that's something you won't object to.
S: You're wrong. I will object to him borrowing money.
(3) T: She'll shout when she's ready. I'm sure that's something you won't hear.
S: You're wrong. I will hear her shouting.
T: Now you do the same. Ready?
1 As in (1) above.
2 As in (2) above.
3 As in (3) above.
4 T: He'll get in through the window. That's something you won't see.
S: You're wrong. I will see him getting in.
5 T: They'll talk during the lesson. That's something you won't stop.
S: You're Wrong. I will stop them talking
6 T: They'll cheat during the exam, you know. That's something you won't notice.
S: You're wrong. I will notice them cheating.
7 T: She wants to sing every evening. That's something you won't enjoy.
S: You're wrong. I will enjoy her singing.
8 T: She wants to come next week. That's something you won't look forward to.
S: You're wrong. I will look forward to her coming
9 T: They want to cross the road by themselves. I'm sure that's something you won't see.
S: You're wrong. I will see them crossing the road.
10 T: It'll rain during the night. That's something you won't hear.
S: You're wrong. I will hear it raining.
11 T: She wants to play the piano every day. I'm sure that's something you won't like.
S: You're wrong. I will like her playing the piano.
12 T: She'll work hard. I'm sure that's something you won't think of.
S: You're wrong. I will think of her working hard.
13 T: It'll shake. I'm sure that's something you won't feel.
S: You're wrong. I will feel it shaking.
14 T: He'll knock. I'm sure that's something you won't hear.
S: You're wrong. I will hear him knocking.
15 T: They want to see each other. I'm sure that's something you won't stop.
S: You're wrong. I will stop them seeing each other.
Key to Multiple choice questions
1 b 2 a 3 c 4 c 5 d 6 c
7 b 8 c 9 a 10 d 11 c 12 a
