Warm-up
What do you know about the following people?
Activity 1: Look at the pictures and discuss
A. Do you konw these people? Say something about them.
B. Who is the real hero in your mind?
Activity 2: Describe one of your classmates / teachers to your partner according to the following four features and let him /her guess who she / he is.
Task 1
[About H. G. Wells]
H.G. Wells, in full Herbert George Wells, (born September 21, 1866, Bromley, Kent, England—died August 13, 1946, London), English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds and such comic novels as Tono-Bungay and The History of Mr. Polly.
As a creative writer his reputation rests on the early science fiction books and on the comic novels. In his science fiction, he took the ideas and fears that haunted the mind of his age and gave them symbolic expression as brilliantly conceived fantasy made credible by the quiet realism of its setting. In the comic novels, though his psychology lacks subtlety and the construction of his plots is often awkward, he shows a fund of humour and a deep sympathy for ordinary people. Wells's prose style is always careless and lacks grace, yet he has his own gift of phrase and a true ear for vernacular speech, especially that of the lower middle class of London and southeastern England. His best work has a vigour, vitality, and exuberance unsurpassed, in its way, by that of any other British writer of the early 20th century.
In this task, you'll hear a brief introductions of H. G. Wells, an English novelist, and his works.
Answer the following questions.
1) Why does the speaker say that Wells had a lot of energy?
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2) What was the great ideal that Wells worked for?
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3) Was The History of Mr. Polly a science fiction?
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4) What happened within thirty years of the publication of The War in the Air?
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5) Could you give the titles of two of Wells’ science fictions?
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6) What does the writer suggest we might discover one day?
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Task 2
Listening Aids
blister (n.): 水泡
easel (n.): a frame for supporting an artist's canvas
flourish (n.): a dramatic or stylish movement
fray (v.): wear away (the edges of fabric, for example) by rubbing
prominent (adj.): standing out or projecting beyond a surface or line
tousled (adj.): tousled hair looks untidy
In this task, you'll hear the descriptions of an artist at work.
A. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.
1) Where could you see the artist?
a) Through the windows. b) In his studio. c) In the sun.
2) What was special about his cheek bones?
a) They were accentuated.
b) They were narrow.
c) They were high and prominent.
3) What did he smooth some of his paint with?
a) A leather strap. b) A paint rag. c) His thumb.
4) What contrasted with the colors on the canvas?
a) His shirt. b) His jeans. c) His sandals.
B. Complete the following sentences with what you hear on the tape.
1) He was _______; his shoulders were ________; his head was _______ with an abundance of dark,
________ hair.
2) He ________ the canvas in front of him and _________ his eyes.
3) He stepped back, ____________________, and remained with one foot in front of the other.
4) He had short, strong, ________ fingers and he used his broad, ________ thumb to smooth some
of the paint on the ___________ he was busy finishing.
5) The jeans he wore were ________ and ________; paint rags hung from each pocket.
6) He _________________ to one side, ________, _________________ and brought his brush slowly towards
the bottom of the canvas, and __________________ signed his name.
