大學思辨英語教程寫作第2單元

1、大學思辨英語教程寫作第2單元Empathy and JusticePre-class exploration2. Look at the people around you. Select one of them and make a carefulobservation of this person such as his or her appearance, clothing, hairstyle, facialexpression and behavior (such as chewing gum or typing a text message). As youlook at the

2、person, what general impression do you get? Do you like his or her lookor not? Does the person make you smile, chuckle, frown or feel annoyed? Then writedown your observations and discuss them with your partner. Suggestions for instructors:1 The instructor can ask students to describe someone in cla

3、ss in detail and let the others guess who that person is.2 The instructor can provide some pictures from newspapers or magazines so that the students can use those as discussion materials. Ask one group to describea certaincharacter in words and another group to draw the characterbased on the descri

4、ption.Activity 1 Beaver Goes ShoppingRead the following story and discuss with your partner the techniques used in developing the character Beaver.What Beaver saysBeaver talked to different animals about what food to buy. He communicated with several animals about his food.What Beaver doesBeaver tal

5、ked and acted and kept trying different food after listening to different peoples advice.What Beaver thinks and feelsHe felt sad ( unhappy) when he couldnt find the food he wanted and happy when he got the carrots.Activity 2The following two passages are about two best friends, Deanna and Beverly. R

6、ead thetwo passages carefully and discuss with your partner the techniques the authors useto develop the characters in each passage. In Passage 2, highlight those sentences thatcan correspond tothe sentences (1, 2, 3 and 4) in Passage 1 and think about theimpact of these differences on readers impre

7、ssions of the two characters.The technique here is whether using showing or telling in character development. While the first uses telling, the second mostly used showing with specific details and dialogues.Activity 3Read Text A and consider how the author keeps moving the plot of the story forward.

8、 What techniques are employed to develop the characters?Task 1 Understanding the textTask 2 Responding to the textWrite your answer to each question in full sentences. Then discuss your answers withyour partner.1) What had happened in the past 20 years to Jimmy and Bob?Jimmy became a policeman while

9、 Bob got rich by involving in criminal activities.2) What kind of person was Jimmy in the eyes of Bob? Could you imagine Bobsfeeling while he was waiting for Jimmy?Jimmy was a nice and honest guy. He was excited and proud that he had been “successful”.3) How did Jimmy deal with the awkward situation

10、?He did not reveal his real identity.4) If you were Jimmy, how would you deal with the awkward situation?Answers may vary.Activity 4Read Text B and consider how the author presents the change of the Selfish Giant. What techniques are employed to develop the character Giant?Task 1 Understanding the t

11、extComplete the chronological outline of the text. Include the most important events in the story.1) Children liked to play in the Giants garden. 5) Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played withthe Giant.6) Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble.7) One win

12、ter morning he looked out of his window he found a tree covered with lovely white blossomsand underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.8) When the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying deadunder the tree, all covered with white blossoms.Task 2 Responding to the textWrite

13、your answer to each question in full sentences. Then discuss your answers with your partner.1) Why was the Giant unhappy to see the children playing in his garden when he cameback from his visit to his friend? Have you ever seen a similar phenomenon in your life?He thought the garden was his and he

14、did not want to share it with others.2) How did the author present the Giants realization of his selfishness?Through a monologue “my own garden is my own garden” and his action of putting a no trespassing sign.3) What did the Giant gain by allowing the children to play in his garden?He gained happin

15、ess.4) What role did the little boy play in the development of the story?The little boy changed the selfish giant into a loving giant and as a symbolic figure(angel); he was very important.Activity 5Read Text A and Text B and find more examples of concrete language and figurative language. Then disc

16、uss their functions with your partner.Activity 6The following sentences are developed from the sentence Sheila replied,“I dontknow where he is.”With different concrete details, Sheila becomes different kindsof person.Discuss with your partner your understanding of what kind of personSheila is in eac

17、h context.1) Sheila rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, then threw up her hands in exasperation and replied curtly, “I dont know where he is.”Sheila was quick-tempered.2) Staring blankly out of the window, Sheila exhaled softly, closed her eyes for a moment and replied, “I dont know where he is.”Shei

18、la was gentle.3) Sheila stared at her mother, teary-eyed, shuddering with fear, and sobbingly replied, “I dont know where he is.”Sheila was timid /fearful.4) Sheila continued to pass the items over the scanner, staring down at the counter, and without even looking at the customer, replied indifferen

19、tly, “I dont know where he is.”Sheila was impolite.Activities 7-8Suggestions for instructors:These two activities would help students to practice the characterization skills as well as characterization through concrete and/or figurative language.We suggest that the teacher could ask students to work

20、 on the two activities themselves first. If in class, the teacher could ask students to select one task from each activity and work in pair about 10 minutes. Then the teacher could ask students to share their work and arrange the whole class to appreciate their writing.More examples for Activity 8Th

21、e old woman looked old and sad.A.When I came out of the train, I heard someone sobbing. I headed towards the direction whereby the sobbing came from. I spotted an old woman with wrinkled skin and silver hair. She had teeth that had yellowed with age. She also looked miserable and gloomy. The old wom

22、an was sitting in a humid corner whereby no one cared about her. As I went closer to her, I could see tears streaming down her face. I realized that she was hunched-back. I could tell from her appearance that she was a burden to her family.B.The frail-looking lady inched forward like she only had a

23、limited space to move her feet. From a far distance, I could see her wrinkled skin and her teeth that had yellowed with age. She looked cheerless with sunken eyes and cheeks. Her sinewy hands looked like she had worked hard for many years. She looked really feeble and seemed like she could not even

24、swat a fly without missing it. Her silvery hair was no longer bright and shiny, but instead it was dull. Her face was gloomy and her smile was gone. She hunched her back and took a couple of steps forward. She looked up in dismay and sighed.If time permits, the instructor can ask students to work in

25、 groups and list five ways to show that a person is sad, or angry or happy.For example:On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.The Story of My Life The Diamond NecklaceShe wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sisters arms.The Story of an HourAfter Harry Potters parents were killed, baby Harry was put onto the doorsteps of his uncle and aunt which made Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore sad:For a full min