1. What do you know about the place in the photo?
2. What do you think of when you hear the phrase "cultural heritage"?
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1. What do you usually do online?
2. Can you name some apps of social media?
3. Look at the online activities in the box and match them with the pictures. Then tick the pictures of the activities that you like to do when you are online.
2. What are they doing?
3. What are their clothes like?
4. What are they wearing on their heads?
Expressing feelings and emotions
□It was fantastic! □How wonderful! □How exciting!
□That’s amazing. □It was great fun! □It’s very exciting.
□It was great to... □I’m really happy that... □I’m pleased to...
Discuss these questions in groups and then fill in the table.
What festivals do you celebrate with your family each year?
Why do you think people celebrate different festivals?
| Names of the festivals | Reasons for celebrating the festivals |
7 . A FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMS
There are various reasons why people compose poetry. Some poems tell a story or describe a certain image in the reader’s mind. Others try to convey certain feelings such as joy and sorrow. The distinctive characteristics of poetry often include economical use of words, descriptive and vivid language, integrated imagery, literary devices such as similes and metaphors, and arrangement of words, lines, rhymes, and rhythm. Poets use many different forms of poetry to express themselves. Now we will look at a few of the simpler forms.
Some of the first poems a young child learns in English are nursery rhymes. They are usually the traditional poems or folk songs. The language of these rhymes, like Poem A, is to the point but has a storyline. Many children enjoy nursery rhymes because they rhyme, have a strong rhythm, and often repeat the same words. The poems may not make sense and even seem contradictory, but they are easy to learn and recite. By playing with the words in nursery rhymes, children learn about language.
One of the simplest kinds of poem is the “list poem”, which contains a list of things, people, ideas, or descriptions that develop a particular theme. List poems have a flexible line length and repeated phrases which give both a pattern and a rhythm to the poem. Some rhyme (like B and C), while others do not. Another simple form of poem that amateurs can easily write is the cinquain, which is made up of five lines. With these, you can convey a strong picture or a certain mood in just a few words. Look at the example (D).
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 17 syllables. It has a format of three lines, containing 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. It is not a traditional form of English poetry, but is very popular with English writers. It is easy to write and, like the cinquain, can give a clear picture and create a special feeling using very few words. The haiku poem (E) on the right is a translation from Japanese, which shows a moment in the life of a delicate butterfly.
English speakers also enjoy poems from China, those from the Tang Dynasty in particular. A lot of Tang poetry has been translated into English, such as this one (F).
With so many different forms of poetry to choose from, you may eventually want to write poems of your own. Give it a try!
| A | Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. If that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns to brass, Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass. If that looking glass gets broke, Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat. If that billy goat won’t pull, Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull. |
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| B | Only One Mother Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky, Hundreds of shells on the shore together, Hundreds of birds that go singing by, Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather. Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over. George Cooper |
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| C | LIFE Life can be good,Life can be bad, Life is mostly cheerful, but sometimes sad Life can be dreams, Life can be great thoughts Life can mean a person, Sitting in court. |
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| D | Brother Beautiful, athletic Teasing, shouting, laughing Friend and enemy too Mine |
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| E | A fallen blossom Is coming back to the branch. Look, a butterfly! |
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| F | Where she awaits her husband On and on the river flows. Never looking back, Transformed into stone. Day by day upon the mountain top, wind and rain revolve. Should the traveller return, this stone would utter speech. Wang Jian |
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| Type of poem | Characteristics | Example | Topics and poetic devices |
| Nursery rhyme | • concrete but creative language | A | • love between father and baby • rhymes, repetition |
| List poem | B | ||
| C | |||
| Cinquain | D | ||
| Haiku | E | ||
| Tang poem | F |
A.people to give music lessons
B.choir members
C.people to run food stands (打理食品摊位的人员)
D.people to sell festival tickets
E.people to sell music CDs
F.people to set up equipment (布置设备的人员)
G.musical performers
THE STONE IN THE ROAD
Once upon a time there was a king who often thought, “Nothing good can come to a nation whose people only complain and expect others to solve their problems.” One day, he had an idea.
Early one morning, the king disguised himself and went to a local village. He placed a large stone in the middle of the main street and hid gold coins under the stone. Then he hid behind a huge maple tree and watched.
The first person down the street was a milkman with his cart. He crashed into the stone, spilling the milk everywhere. “What fool put this stone here?” he shouted. He picked himself up and angrily went away.
After a while, a group of women came along, each balancing a pot of water on her head. One woman tripped over the stone and her water pot went crashing to the ground. She picked herself up and limped away in tears. Neither she nor her friends thought about moving the stone out of the road.
The king watched all day as many people complained about the stone, but he found nobody making an attempt to move it. The king was in despair. “Is there no one in this village who feels any responsibility to keep their neighbours from harm?”
Just then, the king saw a young girl coming along. She was the daughter of a local farmer. She had been working all day and was very tired. But when she saw the stone, she said to herself, “This stone is a danger to anyone who comes down the street after dark. I’ll move it out of the way.”
The girl pushed the stone with all her might. After a great deal of effort, she finally succeeded in moving it to the side of the street. Imagine her surprise when she saw the gold coins where the stone had been!
Just then, the king stepped out from behind the tree. “Oh sir,” the girl said, “does this gold belong to you? If not, we surely must find the owner, for he will certainly miss it.”
The king said, “My dear, the gold is mine. I put it in the road and moved the stone over it. Now the gold is yours, because you are the only person who has learnt the lesson I wanted to teach my people.”
1. Fast readingThis passage is a
2. Careful reading
True or False
(1) Early one morning, the king went to a local village, followed by his attendants.
(2) The milkman saw the the large stone in the middle of the street and went away round it.
(3) The group of women all tripped over the stone and their water pots went crashing to the ground.
(4) At last a girl pushed the stone to the side of the street and found the gold coins.
(5) The girl found the owner of the gold coins and returned them.
MY AMAZING NAADAM EXPERIENCE
I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually lasting for three days. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, which are all so exciting to watch!
On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people wearing fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were chatting or taking photographs. Burin told me that Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for centuries.
After the opening ceremony and some amazing performances, the wrestling competition began. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by weight. The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After singing some songs, the competitors danced onto the green field, waving their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of strength and grace.
I absolutely enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, I was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children’s safety, but Burin said, “Don’t worry. They’ve been riding horsed all their lives. They’ll be just fine.” That was the moment I started to understand why people say “Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture”.
I’m finally back home now, feeling really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. I can’t wait!
1. What does Naadam mean?2. In the passage, the author describes what he sees and hears while attending
3. (1)．The Naadam Festival usually lasts for a week.
(2)．The Naadam Festival has a history of several hundred years.
(3)．Mongolian wrestling is the same as the wrestling in the Olympic Games.
(4)．At the Naadam Festival, of the three events, the author likes wrestling best.
4. How long does the Naadam Festival last?
| A．2 days. | B．3 days. | C．4 days. | D．5 days. |
| A．has a long history |
| B．only allows men to take part in |
| C．has only three events |
| D．falls on the fifth day of the sixth month |
| A．Mongolian wrestling is the same as the wrestling in the Olympic Games. |
| B．The archery was my favorite part of the three sports events. |
| C．The riders were boys and girls because they are lighter. |
| D．I was not worried about the children’s safety at all. |
