● 1. You are going to listen to an instructor talking about attitude words and phrases. Listen carefully and fill in the blanks with the missing words.

      An attitude, by dictionary definition, is a judgment (判断)  or opinion toward a fact or state. There are many attitude words and phrases in the English language. Nine times out of ten, an attitude word or phrase is placed at the beginning of a sentence. There, it reflects judgment or opinion to what follows. 

      You are free to take an attitude toward a particular event. As a matter of fact, your accurate (准确的)  use of an attitude word or phrase indicates (表明)  your proper expression of a judgment or opinion. If you want to say something personal, you can say personally, in my opinion, from my point of view, or if I may say so. If you want to say something direct, you can say to be frank (坦率的) , frankly, to be honest, honestly, or to tell the truth. If you want to say something precise, you can say to be precise (精确的) .

● 2. Familiarize yourself with more attitude words and phrases. After that, raise questions on different subjects and topics and encourage the class to voice their attitudes or opinions using appropriate attitude words or phrases.

●  3. Before you listen to the upcoming conversation, read the following words and expressions which may be new to you.

A. Listen to the following conversation twice and fill in the blanks with the missing words.

Amy: That was great!

Paul: Yes, the cinematography was terrific! 

Amy: Personally, I think the settings were superb — those colors were gorgeous.

Paul: I am with you. What do you think of the acting?

Amy: Naturally, I was very struck with Zhang Ziyi.

Paul: She’s a good actress. Actually, she’s my favorite movie star.

Amy: How about Wang Dandan?

Paul: To my surprise, she didn’t seem natural.

Amy: No question, she overdid her role. 

Paul: How do you feel about the story?

Amy: Frankly, it didn’t tell us much. 

Paul: But the ending was good.

B. Now listen to the above conversation again and answer the following questions.

1. What were they talking about?

 They were talking about a movie.

2. Is there anything particular about the movie they were talking about?

 They were talking about the cinematography, settings, and the acting.

3. What did Amy say about Zhang Ziyi?

 She said that she’s a good actress and that she’s her favorite movie star.

4. What did Amy say about Wang Dandan?

 She said that she seemed unnatural.

5. What did Amy say about the story?

 She said that it didn’t tell us much.

● 4. Read the following words and expressions which may be new to you.

A. Read the following informal letter silently while listening to the recording.

My dear Francesca,

      Thank you very much for your letter. Surely, it makes an old uncle very happy to know that his niece is interested in what he thinks about her ideas and plans. To my surprise, you are thinking of leaving home. Frankly, I must say that I think it would be a very unwise thing to do.

      Fran, I know that you are a very sensible girl. I also know that, quite properly, your parents have brought you up to think for yourself. In your ‘open’ family you will have heard all the arguments for and against this sort of thing many times and, of course, you won’t be interested in hearing them again, least of all from me. Nevertheless, I really must say something: what you are thinking of doing could make you (and everyone else) very unhappy. 

      You say that you find school boring, and that what you do there is irrelevant. Quite likely I agree with you, but obviously, if you want to do anything with the rest of your life, you have got to keep going just a little bit longer — at least until you’ve got some paper qualifications. Without them you won’t be able to do much at all. Undoubtedly, you will have thought about these things, but I wonder if you have considered how serious they really are.

      Plus, to my surprise, you say that you’re going to live with your boyfriend in London! As far as I remember, he hasn’t even got a job, has he? What on earth are you going to live on? Seriously, just think about it — you’re a bright, intelligent girl. You and I really need to have a serious talk together. 

      So, Fran, please come and see me before you finally decide. If anything awful ever happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. 

Fondest love, as ever,

Uncle Patrick

● 5. Read aloud the above letter in class. Pretend you are either the niece or her uncle and get ready to answer questions from the class. Then dramatize the situation in class.

● 6. Read the following words and expressions which may be new to you.

A. Pretend you are a businessman who is looking for an apartment. Read the following advertisement for information.

LUJIAZUI CBD,

3 Apartments for Rent

10 min walk to JINMAO Building, fully furnished

167 sqm, 141 sqm and 123 sqm, 3 bedrooms,

2 bathrooms, dining room, living room, office,

kitchen (European standard), 

one apartment all rooms with floor heating, 

50″ TV, YAMAHA home cinema, 

65 sqm or 50 sqm garden with BBQ terrace. 

Health club free, car park available.

Cleaning and service included.

Pls call: 86 — 21 — 87654321

B. Ask three questions over the phone for more information (write down your questions if necessary).

* Question 1 about the monthly rent: 

a. How much is the rent?

b. How much do I have to pay for the monthly rent?

* Question 2 about the distance to the nearest subway station: 

a. Is there a subway station nearby?

b. Is it close to the subway station?

c. Is it possible to walk to the nearest subway station?

* Question 3 about the possibility of subletting: 

a. Is it possible to sublet?

b. Can I share an apartment?

c. Can I sublet the apartment to someone?

C. Act out the above short conversation in class.

● 7. Read the following words which may be new to you.

A. Listen twice to the taped conversation below between a student and a landlady whose role you are supposed to play. First, put down your answers to the student’s questions during the timed pauses. Second, speak your answers out loud.

Paul:  Hello, I’m calling about the ad for the one-bedroom apartment. Is the apartment still available?

Landlady:  Yes, it is. Do you want to take a look?

Paul:  I’d like to. But how much is the rent?

Landlady:  It’s $250 a month.

Paul:  Does that include utilities?

Landlady: It includes water but not gas and electricity.

Paul:  How about the deposit?

Landlady:  A one-month deposit.

Paul:  Is it convenient for shopping? 

Landlady:  Yes, it’s close to a supermarket.

Paul:  Can I take a look at the place today?

Landlady:  Anytime.

B. Act out the above conversation in class.

● 8. Listen and, during the timed pauses, translate orally into English the Chinese sentences in each of the following three short conversations.

1. A Female Voice: Uh, listen, I was wondering if you could help me. Do you happen to know where there’s a good place to buy art supplies?

You: 我也拿不准，嗨，让我想想看，噢，对了，有个新地方，叫人民广场——就在大街那一头，知道吗？

2. A Male Voice: Well, what do you think of this, Mary? Do you like this restaurant?

You:  噢，亲爱的，看上去很好。喂，让我们瞧瞧能否在那边靠窗而坐，这样可以看到湖光水色。

3. A Male Voice:  Oh, really, where are you going to go, if you get out?

You:  嗯，你知道，我想去巴黎。我从未去过那里，我总是不断听人说起它那些了不起的东西。不过，我不知道，噢，我还没拿定主意是去那里还是去别的什么地方。

* Transcript & Key: 

1. A Female Voice: Uh, listen, I was wondering if you could help me. Do you happen to know where there’s a good place to buy art supplies?

You:  I’m not really sure. Hey, let me think for a minute. Oh yeah, there’s that new place, People’s Square — you know, it’s down the main street.

2. A Male Voice:  Well, what do you think of this, Mary? Do you like this restaurant?

You:  Oh, honey, it looks very nice. Oh, look, let’s see if we can sit over there by the window so we can look at the water.

3. A Male Voice:  Oh, really, where are you going to go, if you get out?

You:  Well, you know, I want to go to Paris. I’ve never been there, and I just keep hearing all those great things about it. I don’t know, uh, I haven’t made up my mind if I’m going there or somewhere else.

●  9. Take a close look at the picture below.Think about it for one minute.Then give a two-minute oral presentation to tell the class what you think it means.

Empty nest: A growing social issue has evolved as younger generations vacate the family home for a more independent life.

The following expressions may help your presentation: 

1. sit alone 一个人坐着  

2. a big round table 一个大圆桌

3. light up sth. with candles 用蜡烛点亮…

4. a brightly lit birthday cake 一个蜡烛已被点亮的生日蛋糕

5. look sad and lonely 看上去伤心孤独  

6. burn low (蜡烛)快要烧完

7. make a wish 许愿  

8. blow out the candles 吹蜡烛

* Suggested Presentation: 

      An old man is sitting alone at a big round table. All the other chairs are empty. On the table is a bottle of wine and a birthday cake lit up with candles. It looks as if a party were about to begin. Yet the only guest is his cat, who is sleeping under the table, uninterested. No one else is coming.

      It’s the old man’s birthday, a special time in his life. Yet this empty room, bare table, and sleeping cat make up the only party he will have. Yes, he has a brightly lit birthday cake. But it brings little joy — the man looks sad and lonely.

      You can imagine he is thinking, “I wish someone would come say happy birthday to me! I wish I could have a real party!” The cake’s candles are now burning low. He must quickly make a wish. Oh, if only the cheerful, happy voices of his grandchildren and children were there as he blows out the candles! But the room is quiet. No one hears his silent wish.

      Why is the old man completely alone at his birthday party?

      The picture describes an empty nest. The old man’s children and grandchildren are all distant from him. Maybe some are too busy to come to the party. Maybe others live too far away to come. What can be done?

● 10  Have a discussion on the topic below.

* Try This Discussion: 

Student A:  As we all know, respect for old age is a tradition in China, an important part of China’s heritage. With our living standard now raised, the average life expectancy is growing longer. So, we are living in aging cities and towns. 

Student B: That’s true. You know, old age is when people are most likely to have medical problems. The aged need both physical care and emotional support. Some of them like to stay in nursing homes. It’s so important to create a good social environment for the aged. 

Student C:  Yes. When you are old, what you most need is loving care. As the younger generation, we’re supposed to take responsibility for that. I’m glad right now we are building a nationwide social security system for the aged. 

Student D:  Right. The structure of care provision here in China needs improvement, so that old people can receive high quality of care. Through its tradition of respect for the elderly, China’s heritage will be carried on from generation to generation.