1) Say them out loud in class one by one.

(1) If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know.

(2) Let me know if there's anything I can do.

(3) I'll always be there for you.

(4) I'll go to bat for (支持) you.

(5) I'm here if you need me.

(6) You've got my backing.

(7) You can put faith in me.

(8) You can count on me.

(9) You've got my vote.

(10) I'm on your side.

(11) I'll stand by you.

(12) I'm behind you.

(13) I'm with you.

2) Play the roles of Jennifer, Michael and Lucy in the following dialogue, paying attention to the underlined expressions.

Jennifer: Kids, I've got to say it: I love the high cost of gas. It's forced our family to rethink our spending habits and our carbon footprint.

Michael: Are you talking about our minivan?

Jennifer: Yes. But think — how can we reduce even more our dependence on it?

Lucy: I'll try anything you want. You can count on me.

Jennifer: How about carpool on the way to school?

Michael: You've got my vote. Let me know if there's anything else I can do.

Jennifer: OK kids, from now on, no more car rides to swim practice. We'll go there on foot or by bike.

Lucy: I'm with you! Anyway, bicycling is a good way to explore where we live. I bet we'll be surprised at how many sights we'll see that we've entirely missed when traveling the same route by minivan.

Jennifer: Hmm… But that's still not enough. I'm sure we can do much more with even less than we've been used to.

Michael: Actually, there're great restaurants less than a mile from home. We don't even have to drive downtown for dinner anymore.

Jennifer: Now that's a great idea — you've got my backing!

Lucy: Fine, then why drive to the gym either? We can go for runs in our own neighborhood!

Michael: Totally, I'm with you on that one! You guys are great!

* Give a short oral presentation on the topic below. The following text serves as an example.

Making It Too Expensive to Drive

Can you imagine the whole country on wheels? It's hard, isn't it? There are so many automobiles around us. Even worse, they're increasing in number. Carbon dioxide emissions are constantly mounting as a result of our dependence on oil.

Owning a car creates more problems than it solves. The most important one is the big threat it causes to the environment we live in. We can give up smoking. But we can't give up breathing. We're forced to breathe carbon dioxide, especially in the cities crowded with cars. But we can't go on like this.

There are things that can be done. We can use economic levers (杠杆) to deal with such problems in the market economy. But the best approach is to place heavy taxes on gasoline, ones that make it too expensive to drive. Then those tax funds can be invested in environmental protection.