UNIT3

II.ListeningSkills

UnderstandingTimesandDates

1.W:Oh,lookattheclock.It’s5:15.I’llbelateforJennifer’sbirthdayparty!Iwassupposedtoleaveat5o’clock.

M:Don’tworry!Youstillhavesometime.Theclockis20minutesfast.

Q:Whattimeisitnow?

2.W:It’s7:50,lazybones,andyou’regoingtobelateforthemeeting.

M:God!Iwassleepinglikeadog.Well,Istillhavetenminutes.

Q:Whenistheman’smeeting?

3.M:Thankyou,Laura.We’dliketogotothebarbecuewithyou.Whattimeshouldwebethere

W:Somepeoplearecomingaround11:00,andwe’regoingtoplaybadminton,butwewon’teatuntilaround12:30.

Q:Atwhattimearetheygoingtoeat?

4.M:IknewDr.Smith’sbirthdaywasOctober26th,butIdidn’trealizeitwasthisSaturday.

W:Let’sgivehimasurpriseparty.Wecouldaskhimtomeetusathisofficeat5,andthenwecouldtakehimtodinnerattherestaurantaround5:30.

Q:WhattimedoesthewomansuggestmeetingDr.Smith?

5.M:IjustreadthatEinsteinwasbornonMarch14,1879,whenverylittlewasunderstoodabouttimeandenergy.

W:Absolutely.ButwhenhediedonApril18,1955,peopleknewalotmore,andnuclearpowerstationshadbeenbuilt.

Q:WhenwasEinsteinborn?

1.D2.B3.C4.A5.B

III.ListeningIn

Task1:APicture

Ihaveapicturethatsitsonmydeskinmybedroom.WhenIhavetroublestudying,orI’mworriedaboutanexam,Ijusttakealookatit.Itisapictureofmybestfriends.Itwastakenyearsagowhenwewereinhighschool.Itremindsmeofthegoodtimewe’vesharedandthesupporttheirfriendshipstillgivesmetoday.Eventhoughourliveshavegoneindifferentdirections,thebondwecreatedhaskeptusclose.Weupdateeachotheraboutwhat’sbeengoingonthroughtextmessaging,Facebook,andTwitter.Ioftengete-mailwithajokefortheday,orwordsofcomfortaboutsomeproblemsinmylife.Myfriendshaveshownupforsurprisebirthdayparties,andoneofthemeventraveledtwohoursfromtheotherendoftownjusttowatchmyfirstEnglishspeechcontest.Ourfriendshiphascarriedmethroughalotofdifficultexperiences,andhasenrichedthegoodones.Itisthekindoffriendshipthatoutlastsdisagreements,changes,andseparation.

1.C2.A3.D4.D5.B

Task2:ProblemofMeetingPeople

Asaforeignstudent,Ihaveanumberofproblems.Thebiggestoneismeetingpeople.Ifeelconfidentaboutmyabilitytocopewithproblemsinmystudies,butI’mnotcomfortablemakingfriendswithotherstudents,especiallylocalones.PerhapsI’mworryingunnecessarily,butIfinditdifficulttotalktothem.Theprimaryreasonsisthelanguagebarrier.MyEnglishisquitestandardandformal,andalthoughthathelpsmewithmyacademicwork,Ihavetroubleunderstandingotherstudentswhentheyarejustchatting.ItseemsIreallyneedinformal,colloquialEnglish.Besides,there’stheculturalgap.That’swhyit’ssodifficultforoverseasstudentsandnativeEnglish-speakingstudentstoreallygettoknoweachother.Ireallywanttoovercomethisdifficulty.Iguessthebestwaytobeginistostarttalkingaboutcourseworkthatweshare;andthenIcouldsuggestgoingforacupofteaorcoffee.Overcoffeewecouldgettoknoweachother.Anotherwaywouldbetojoinacluboncampusbecausethatimmediatelygivesyousomethingincommonwithotherpeoplethere.

Ifeelconfidentaboutmyabilitytocopewithproblemsinmystudies,butI’mnotcomfortablemakingfriendswithotherstudents,especiallylocalone

Theprimaryreasonisthelanguagebarrier.

ItseemsIreallyneedinformal,colloquialEnglish.Besides,there’stheculturalgap

Iguessthebestwaytobeginistostarttalkingaboutcourseworkthatweshare,andthenIcouldsuggestgoingforacupofteaorcoffee.

Anotherwaywouldbetojoinacluboncampus.becausethatimmediatelygivesussomethingincommonwithpeoplethere.

Task3:Whatdestroysfriendship?

Therewasacommunityinwhichpeoplewereallgoodfriends.Theygotonwellandoftenhelpedeach.Oneday,awomanrepeatedabitofgossipaboutaneighbor.Withinafewdaysthewholecommunityknewthestory.Thepersonconcernedwasdeeplyhurtandoffended.Laterthewomanlearnedthatitwascompletelyuntrue.Shewasverysorryandwenttoawiseoldmantofindoutwhatshecouldtorepairthedamage.“Gotothemarketplace,”hesaid,“buyachicken,andhaveitkilled.Thenonyourwayhome,pluckitsfeathersanddropthemonebyonealongtheroad,”Althoughsurprisedbythisadvice,thewomandidwhatshewastold.Thenextday,thewisemansaid,“Nowgoandcollectallthosefeathersyoudroppedyesterdayandbringthembacktome.”Thewomanfollowedthesameroad,buttoherdismay,thewindhadblownthefeathersallaway.Aftersearchingforhours,shereturnedwithonlythreeinherhand.“Yousee,”saidtheoldman,“it’seasytodropthem,butit’simpossibletogetthemback.Soitisgossip.Itdoesn’ttakemuchtospreadarumor,butonceyoudo,youcannevercompletelyundothewrong.”

Theneighborwasdeeplyoffendedandhurt.

Itwascompletelyuntrue.

Tofindoutwhatshecoulddotorepairthedamage.

Thewindhadblownthefeathersallaway.

Onceyoudosomethingwrong,youcannevercompletelyundoit.

Task4:AnAnnouncement

TheStudentFriendshipAssociation

outing

schoolgate

6:40

7:00sharp

ontime

IV.SpeakingOut

NowYourTurn

Model1Howwonderful!

Matthew:Hey,Kimberly,guesswhat!

Kimberly:What’sup,Matt?

Matthew:I’vegotthemostwonderfulnews!

Kimberly:What’sthat?

Matthew:Ourschoolbasketballteamwonourgame—andbytenpoints!

Kimberly:Howwonderful!

Model2Congratulations!

Nicole:Hi,Steven!

Steven:Why,Nicole!Youlookedsoexcited.

Nicole:Ican’tbelieveit!Iwonthefirstprizeinthespeechcontests!

Steven:That’sgreat!Congratulations!

Nicole:Thanks.I’msohappy!Ireallyworkedhardthough.

Steven:Youdeserveit.I’mveryhappyforyou.

Model3What’swrong?

Susan:What’swring?Youlookedsotiredandworried.

Sarah:Myroommate,Nicole,hadatemperaturelastnight,ashighas40degreescentigrade!

Susan:Terrible!Issheallrightnow?

Sarah:Idon’tknow.She’sinhospital.

Susan:Ihopeshe’llbefine.

Sarah:SodoI.

V.Let’sTalk

Jack:Hi,I’vebeenlookingforyousincethemorning.Icouldn’tfindyouanywhere.

Jane:Yeah.Idon’tfeellikehangingoutwiththecrowdanymore,especiallysinceSusanstoppedcomingtoschool.

Jack:Iknow.It’ssuchapityaboutherparents:losingoneparentisbadenough,butlosingthembothonthesamedayandinsuchanaccident…It’sterrible!Haveyouseenhersince?

Jane:No.Itriedtalkingtoheronthephone.Shesoundedbad.

Jack:Theotherday,ItalkedtoMr.Smith—youknowthattallguywhoworksintheDean’sOffice.Apparently,Susanisthinkingofdroppingoutofschool.Shehasalmostmoney,youknow.Herparentsdidn’thavemuchsavings.

Jane:Yeah.I’vebeenquiteworriedabouther.Butsimplyfeelingssorryforherisnotenough;wehavetothinkofsomewaytohelpher.Haveanysuggestions?

Jack:Well,Ihaven’treallythoughtaboutit.Icouldpossiblygivehersomemoney.I’vesavedupfrommypart-timejob.

Jane:Wow.You’resogenerous!But…thatwouldn’tbealong-termsolution.

Jack:That’strue…Perhapswecouldhelpherfindapart-timejob.

Jane:Goodidea!TheladywhorunstheshopwhereIworkatnightcouldbehelpful.IfSusanisinterested,Icanintroducehertothelady.

Jack:Great!Onceshegetsaregularincome,thingswillbebetter.Morethananythingelse,itwilltakehermindoffhertragedy.

Jane:Hmm…Iwaswondering,couldweorganizeafund-raiserforher?

Jack:Well,I’mnotsosurehowthatwouldwork.Youknow,takinghelpfromus,herbestfriends,isonething,butgettingthewholeschoolinvolvedmaynotbeagoodidea.

Jane:Yeah.You’reright.We’llthinkofsomethingelse.Inthemeantimelet’sgoaheadwithwhatwe’veplanned.(Lookingatherwatch)Oh!It’sfivetotwo.Ihaveaclass.Igottarun.Let’smeettonight.Bye!

Jack:Bye!

JaneJackJackJackJaneJaneJack

ForReference

A

A,breakthebednewsaboutMarytoB.

It’sterrible!IheardthatMary’sfatherdiedofcancer.

B,saywhatyoufeelaboutthenews.

Oh,my.Iamsosorrytohearthat.Whatterriblenews!

A,tellyourworryaboutMary’slifeandstudy.

Herfatherisarealbreadwinnerofthefamily.Marywillhavetoquitschool.

B,suggestdoingsomethingtohelpMaryout.

Well,that’stoobad.Whatshallwedothenashergoodfriends?

A,giveyoursuggestion.

Isthatpossiblethatweraisemoneyfromamongourfellowschoolmatestosupporther?

B,showyouragreementwithA.

SoundsOK.Let’sgiveitatry.

B

A,tellBthatJohnisgoingtobebacktoschool.

IheardthatJohnisgoingtobebacktoschool.

B,saywhatyoufeelaboutthenews.

Oh,really?He’sbeeninhospitalforsuchalongtime.

A,showyourconcernaboutJohn’smissedstudy.

Well,hemustbeveryworriedabouthisstudy.

B,suggesthelpingJohnwithhisschoolwork,

Let’staketurnstohelphimcatchuponweekends.OK?

A,showyouragreementtoB’sopinion.

Good.Iwouldalsolovetobehelpful.

VI.FurtheringListeningandSpeaking

Task1:Myfriendsavedme

Oneday,Isawakidfrommyclasswalkinghomefromschool.HisnamewasRobert.Itlookedlikehewascarryingallofhisbooks.Ithoughttomyself,“WhywouldanyonebringhomeallhisbooksonaFriday?”Then,Isawabunchofkidsrunningtowardshim,knockingallhisbooksoutofhisarms.Hisglasseswentflying.HelookedupandIsawterriblesadnessinhiseyes.Myheartwentouttohim.AsIhandedhisglasses,therewasabigsmileonhisface.Ihelpedhimpickuphisbooks.Wetalkedallthewayhome,andIcarriedhisbooks.Mondaymorningcame,andtherewasRobertwiththehugestackofbooksagain.Overthenextfourdays,webecamethebestfriends.Ongraduationday,Robertgaveaspeechonbehalfoftheclass.Hesaid,“Iamheretotellyouastory.”Ijustlookedatmyfriendwithdisbeliefashetoldthestoryofthefirstdaywemet.Hehadplannedtokillhimselfthatweekend.Hetalkedofhowhewascarryinghisstuffhome.“Thankfully,”hesaid,“myfriendsavedmefromdoingtheunspeakable.”NotuntilthatmomentdidIrealizethatsometimes,withonesmallgesture,youcanchangeaperson’slife.

1.runat2.terriblesadness