unin13 The USA(一)

Step 2　Presentation and discussion

　　SB Page 1, Part 1. Find out how much the Ss know about New York. Write the title of the text on the Bb and ask the Ss to tell you what they know. Put any useful notes and key words that arise out of this discussion on the Bb. Teach the new words skyscraper, avenue, etc. Get Ss to talk about the picture and describe what they can see.

Step 3　 Reading for general understanding

　　Read the task aloud. Allow the Ss enough time to read the text and tick the subjects which are mentioned in the text. Check the answers with the class. (Population; history; government; sports; transport; parks; buildings.)

Step 4　Reading

　　Wb Lesson 49, Ex. 1. Go through the exercise and make sure the Ss know what to do. Let them read the whole passage carefully and answer the questions, working in pairs or small groups. Check the answers with the whole class. This is a good time to deal with any language problems. See if the Ss can guess the meaning of handful.

Notes：

a　New York is the largest city in the USA, with an estimated population of 7,165,000 in the city and 9,119,737 in the metropolitan area (1984 dates). It is made up of five boroughs： Manhat tan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. It is the largest US port, the country's trade centre, and, with its banks and stock exchange, the financial centre of the world. The United Nations has its headquarters in New York.

b　The group of islands includes Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island.

c　The first westerner to discover： Point out the structure “the + superlative/ordinal number + noun + to + infinitive”. The meaning is the first westerner who discovered.

d　In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian in the service of the French King Francis I, discovered the island of Manhattan. In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river which is named after him. He was on a voyage for the Dutch East India Company in his ship Half Moon.

e　In 1624 the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was started on lower Manhattan.

f　a handful = the amount of goods that can be held in one's hand (s). Similar expressions： mouthful, armful, pocketful.

g　Peter Minuit is said to have bought the island of Manhattan for $24 worth of goods.

h　making it = when New York grew to 125,000 people, it became the largest city in the USA.

i　was torn down = was destroyed. Tear down is usually used with buildings, but can also be used with large notices and political banners.

j　reaching from 59th Street ...： Manhattan is organized on a grid system. Avenues run north to south and streets run east to west.

k　the age of mass arrivals = a time when people arrive in the US in large numbers

l　Ellis Island is in Upper New York Bay. From 1892-1943 it was the chief entry station for immigrants to the US.

m　went up = was built

n　The tallest building in the US is the Sears Tower in Chicago. It was completed in 1974, has 110 storeys and is 443 metres high (32 metres taller than the World Trade Center).

o　this is no mistake = this is not a mistake

p　This is because： This refers to the previous sentence.

Q　New York never sleeps： Point out that things, like cities, can be compared to human beings.

r　the underground railway： in American English subway. The first subway was built in 1904.

s　all-night = which stay open all night long

t　the city ugly and dirty ... unsafe： Point out the ellipsis and the omission of is in these three phrases.

u　a very exciting place to be： a set expression (= it is very exciting to be there)

Step 5　Discussion

Get Ss to work through these questions in pairs or small groups, then check the answers at the end.

　　1　Islands provide safety from attack and shelter for ships from storms.

　　2　They feel that they were “robbed” in an unfair business deal.

　　3　Manhattan Island is made of solid rock, which provides firm foundations for tall buildings.

　　4　Because land is scarce and very expensive.

　　5　 A, B and C are all good answers.

　　6　 C

　　7　 C

Step 6　Reading aloud

Speech Cassette Lesson 49. Play the tape of the passage for the Ss to listen and follow. Play the tape of part of the passage once more; this time the Ss listen and repeat. Suitable sections might be the paragraph “In 1892 ...” to practise sentence stress and intonation in longer sentences, also the paragraph “The building of skyscrapers in New York began ...” to practise numbers.

Step 7　Workbook

Wb Lesson 49, Exx. 2-3.

　　Get the Ss to read through the sentences in Ex. 2 and discuss in pairs. Then check the answers with the whole class.

Ex. 3 can be done as part of consolidation in the next step if time permits.

Step 8　Consolidation

　　Ask Ss what they have learnt about New York in this lesson, especially anything that was new for them. Get them to tell each other in pairs first, and then get pairs to tell the rest of the class.

Homework

　　Read the passage again.

　　Finish off the Workbook exercises.

　　Get the Ss to make notes about New York.