Unit 1 Cultural relics Using Language Reading and listening 1 Read this passage and think about the difference between a fact and an opinion. 月RcT0 R AN OPINION? What is a fact? Is it something that people believe? No. A fact is anything A fact or an that can be proved. For example, it can be proved that China has more opinion ? people than any other country in the world. This is a fact Then what is an opinion? An opinion is what someone believes is true but has not been proved. So an opinion is not good evidence in a trial For example, it is an opinion if you say""Cats are better pets than dogs". It may be true, but it is difficult to prove. Some people may not agree with this opinion but they also cannot prove that they are right In a trial, a judge must decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe. The judge does not consider what each eyewitness looks like or where that person lives or works, He/She only cares about whether the eyewitness has given true information, which must be facts rather than opinions. This kind of information is called evidence 2 Now read a man's story about what happened to the Amber room quickly. Do you think it is a fact or an opinion Give your reasons Hello, Im Jan Hasek, an old miner from the Czech Republic. In April 1945 I heard something explode at midnight. I got up and ran outside. The sound came from a mine that hadn't been used for a long time. Suddenly I saw some German soldiers by the light of the moon. They were taking wooden boxes from trucks and putting them in the mine A week later I decided to go and see for myself. To my surprise the entrance to the mine was closed. Some people say that the Amber room and some gold were buried in the mine. I think it might be so, as the amber room has never been found 3 Read the story again and fill in the table Name Job Place Time What he heard What he saw What he believes 4 Now you are going to hear another two people talk about what happened to the Amber Room Listen to part a and write down where the Amber room was lost 2 Listen to Part B and write down how the amber room was lost 5
Unit 1 Cuitural relics 5 Listen to the tape again. Stop after each part and fill in the blanks Part A Name Hans Braun Job a sailor Place Konigsberg He was told to ut some One onto the ship night The soldiers said that the heavy boxes g urn The ship the war On the voyage. the ship and sank. Almost He had to swim three kilometres before Part B Name Anna Petrov Job a maid Place Konigsberg came to the castle with One night in 1941 took the boxes into the castle She heard that a special in the castle was shown to She heard and she saw At the end of She found some melted pieces of something that looked like August, 1944 The soldiers told her that the melted pieces could have come from eakin 1 Discuss in pairs which person gave the best evidence, using the information in the former section. The following expressions may help you. Do/Don't you think that. Would you consider.? Why/ Why not… Do you have any idea about. How do you know that? Are you sure that he/ she was telling the truth? What do you think? What do you think of…? What's your idea/opinion of What would you say…? How do you feel about Who do you think was . What are your reasons for saying that? I think / don't think that . Sorry, I agree /dont agree with you. In my opinion It can be proved. That cant be true don' t believe… because think…. is telling the truth because… 2 Write down the reasons for your choice EXAMPLE: It can be proved thar gave the best evidence because Share your ideas with another group and choose the one with the best reasons. Present your discussion to the class 6
Unit 1 Cultural relics Reading and writing 1 Read this letter from a German newspaper. The writer gives his opinion about what should be done with a cultural relic 2 With a partner decide whether you agree with him. Discuss each question in turn and think of some reasons for your ideas Dear Editor. I'm a student at a high school in Berlin. I think highly 5 Questions for the discussion of those who are searching for the Amber Room. E I Who do you think the Amber dont agree that they should retum the treasure to S Room belongs to? Russia if they find it, Nor do think they should give it s 2 What should you do with to any government. The search has cost them a lot of things you have found even time and money. So I think that those who find the if the search cost you time and Amber Room should decide what to do with it. money? Yours s 3 Do you agree with Johann? Johann Weber 3 Read the following tips for organizing an informal class debate then have a class debate and take notes of the main ideas of the two sides and their reasons At the end take a class vote Tips for an informal class debate There must be a question with two possible answers There must be a chairperson There must be two sides in the class: for"or against"the question. Each side takes turns to debate and gives reasons for their opinion At the end there should be a class vote The chairperson says which side wins and why 4 Write a report on your debate, using the following guidance. Paragraph 1: State the question Paragraph 2: Give the ideas that agree with the question and the reasons. Paragraph 3: Give the ideas that disagree with the question and the reasons Paragraph 4: Give your opinion and the result of the class vote
Unit 1 Cultural relics SUMMING UP Write down what you have learned about cultural relics From this unit you have also learned ● useful verbs: ● phrasal verbs ● useful expressions: ● new grammar items: LEARNING TIP Go to a museum and look at some real cultural relics. Read the information that is provided for the visitors Learn as much as you can about the history of your hometown or city. Then if you have time you can work as a guide for visitors to the museum. You can also help foreign visitors by explaining things in English. To do this well, you need to learn more English. It will not only give you a chance of practising your English but also of developing an interest in local history at the same time READING FORFUN 小:: Thoughts on the coliseum An excerpt adapted from Childe Harold s Pilgrimage by Lord Byron While stands the Coliseum Rome shall stand When falls the Coliseum Rome shall fall And when Rome falls -the world "From our own land Visitors spoke in this way about those mighty walls In Saxon times, which we like to call Ancient: this mighty building was still On its foundations, and unchanged Rome's greatness was past and gone but The World is still the same- full of thieves
The Olympic Unit Games Warming Up Work in pairs and ask each other the following questions Questions Answers I Where did the ancient Olympic Games start? 2 How many countries competed in the ancient Olympic Games? 3 Who could not take part in the ancient Olympic Games? 4 When and where did the modern Olympic Games start? s Who was China's first gold medal winner and for what event? 6 What are the three words that show the spirit of the Olympic Games? 7 What do the five rings on the Olympic flag stand for? 8 What are the official mascots for the Beijing Olympics? Pre-reading Do you know any differences between the ancient and modem Olympic Games? List two of them 2 when and where will the next Olympic Games be held? 3 Look at the title and the pictures and predict the content. Then read it quickly and see if you were right bumped AN INTERVIEW Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2,000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th, 2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interviewing Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic games P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call"Ancient Greece"and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my homeland. May I ask you some questions about the modern Olympics?