Unit

3

Backtothe

pastWelcometotheunit&Reading

(I)If

youhada

time

machine,(1)which

dynastywouldyou

go

back

to

and

why?(2)which

historical

figure

would

you

liketomeetandwhatwouldyou

saytohim/

her?Havea

free

talkWarmupLooking

into

a

mirror,we

canseetrueimagesofourown;with

our

knowledge

of

thepast,the

present

can

be

betterknown.

一Chen

Shou

Readingforenteringthe

situationMain

ideaZhengHe'sandColumbus'sexplorationonthe

sea,including

where

they

went,what

they

did,

why

they

sailed

the

oceans

andwhat

influences

their

voyageshad.1.Whatmightbecovered

in

thetwohistoricalarticles?Tips:according

tothetitle,subtitlesand

picturesPredictionZheng

He's

explorationChristopher

Columbus's

explorationThe

first

VoyageDeparture

timeIn

the

summer

of

1405On

3

August

1492DeparturepointTaicangSpainFleet

sizeOver

200

shipsThree

shipsNumber

ofcrew

membersAlmost

28,000peopleAbout90

crewmenPlaces

of

arrivalAs

far

as

the

eastcoast

of

AfricaThe

shores

of

the

CaribbeanTotal

number

of

voyagesSevenFourReadingSignificanceColumbus's

discoveryinspired

explorers

toexplore

and

discover

morevast

areas

of

the

world.His

voyages

opened

a

newchapter

of

the

Age

ofExploration,a

period

which

witnessed

many

importantgeographical

findings

andallowed

for

an

international

exchange

of

ideas

andcultures.Zheng

He's

voyageshelped

develop

andstrengthen

harmoniousrelations

with

thecountries

and

regions,exposing

foreign

people

to

Chinese

culture,and

allowing

the

Chinese

tobetter

understandoverseas

lands.Reading(1)Why

were

Zheng

He's

ships

loaded

with

china,silk,tea

and

other

treasures?Because

these

are

gifts

to

foreign

rulers.(2)What

helped

prove

that

the

records

of

Zheng

He'svoyages

were

not

legends?An

enormous

shipyard

was

discovered

inNanjing,wherethefleethad

been

built.Reading(3)What

challenges

did

Columbus

and

his

crew

encounter

during

the

journey

in

1492?It

took

longer

than

expected,they

almost

ranout

offood

and

water

entered

one

ofthe

ships.(4)Why

did

Columbus

call

the

natives

Indians?Becausehewasconvincedthathewas

in

theEastIndies.ReadingTheyboth

set

out

to

discover

theworld

andthis

had

a

profoundinfluence

on

the

world

in

someway.Their

voyages

also

give

us

anidea

ofthe

challenges

and

amazing

experiences

they

had,which

arequite

different

from

modernvoyages.Furthermore,Zheng

He's

voyages

not

only

represent

China's

splendid

history

ofsailing

but

also

highlight

their

contribution

tonavigation.1.By

comparingthe

stories

ofthetwo

explorers,what

can

youlearn

about?FurtherthinkingOur

modern

world

is

the

result

ofthe

discoveries

made

by

explorers.If

some

of

these

discoveries

werenot

made,our

lives

would

be

vastly

different,from

the

food

we

eat

tothe

ideas

we

have,even

to

thelanguageswe

speak.For

example,the

voyages

made

by

explorershelped

establish

regular

contactbetween

different

parts

of

the

world.Indoingso,languageshaveevolved

andcultureshavespread,creatinga

morecolourful

world.2.How

mightexplorers

havechangedthecourseof

history?Further

thinking1.What

factors

made

the

voyages

of

ZhengHe

and

Columbus

so

successful?Use

theinformation

in

the

articles

to

support

youropinion.2.What

have

you

learnt

about

the

spirit

ofexploration

from

the

articles?Discuss

the

following

questions

in

groups.GroupdiscussionColumbuslovingsailinggreat

interest

in

geographyhispassion

for

explorationfinancialsupport·being

brave

andknowledgeableovercomingmany

challenges·····Zheng

Headvanced

technologyshipbuilding

skillshis

navigation

skillslearningfromothersby

treating

them

in

afriendly

manner1.What

factors

made

thevoyages

ofZheng

He

andColumbus

so

successful?Groupdiscussion····The

spirit

ofexploration

is

extraordinarily

strong

in

humans

and

that

it

is

animportant

part

of

our

existence.It

is

human

nature

to

discover

new

things

andbecause

we

are

generally

curious,and

we

are

not

afraid

ofhardshipor

danger.This

kind

ofspirit

encourages

us

to

try

new

things

and

push

the

limits

ofwhatis

possible.Ifwedidnot

have

thestrongspiritof

exploration,ourspecieswould

never

progress,and

we

would

never

know

of

the

amazing

diversityfound

on

the

Earth.Similarly,if

we

are

not

willing

to

explore

new

things

orare

afraid

oftaking

risks

in

daily

life,we

may

lose

many

chances

to

expandour

understanding

of

the

world.2.Whathaveyoulearntaboutthe

spirit

ofexploration

from

the

articles?GroupdiscussionHistoricalarticleswritteninthethirdpersonhaveanobjective

tone

andnota

subjectivetone.Additionally,theactivevoiceprevents

sentences

frombecoming

long,wordyandunclearbecauseitsstructureisplainand

easyto

understand.Thechronologicalorderhelpspresenthistorical

events

asthey

occurred

intime,making

it

easyforthereaderto

followthe

logical

flow

ofevents.1.Readthe

two

articles

carefully

and

think

aboutthis

question:Whatwriting

techniquesmake

good

historicalarticles?Language

appreciationStudents

shout

slogans

while

running

on

theplayground,with

small

red

flags

in

their

hands.

which

leavesa

deep

impression

on

us.(1)A

fleet

of

over

200

ships

navigated

the

blue

seas,withalmost

28,000

people

on

board,which