Passage A
Before Reading
Activity 1
Please read the famous quote below, understand the quote by consulting the reference and then recite it.
No matter what line are you in, you need professional skills.The genius always should be accompanied by the kind of intelligent continuous practice that leads to a goal.Without this, even the most fortunate talent will disappear without a trace.
— Eugène Delacroix
Activity 2
Please enjoy a video clip “How to Make a Good First Impression in College” which is relevant to the passage we are going to learn.Fill in the blanks while watching.
How to Make a Good First Impression in College
The first is really easy:1) .You don’t have to dress up all the time, but you should look nice.Secondly, be on time.Being on time just shows respect.It’s a 2) for your whole life.Thirdly, study hard.It’s tempting you are away from home and you are having fun, but you have to learn, so make sure you can make 3) and do it first.So I think if you 4) the impression that you are willing to learn, and you want to learn,that is 5) to make a good first impression.
Activity 3
Please conduct a survey by completing the questionnaire below.
Activity 4
Please report to the classmates the result of the survey in reference to the following suggested sentence structures.
To introduce:
■ The purpose/aim of this report
■ As requested
■ This survey was carried out/ conducted by means of
■ The questionnaire consisted of
■ ...
To generalize:
■ In general
■ Generally
■ On the whole
■ ...
To refer to a fact:
■ The fact is that
■ In fact
■ In practice
■ ...
To conclude/ summarize:
■ In conclusion
■ All things considered
■ To sum up
■ All in all
■ It is not easy to reach any definite conclusions
■ If any conclusions may be drawn from the data
■ It is clear that
■ The survey shows/indicates/demonstrates
■ ...
Play with Words
Challenge Your Classmates
Before you start to work on this unit, please complete the questionnaire below.
Use this questionnaire to interview your classmates, and then report your f indings in class.
Develop Your Understanding
My First Class in College
Try to f ind answers to the following questions.
1.How did the author feel about the coming of the first day in college?
2.Why did the author run to the class?
3.Why could everyone in class see the author when he came in?
4.When did the author know he got the wrong class?
5.What did the author do when he got out of the wrong class?
I was most curiously waiting for the day on which I would start my college life.However, when it came,the excitment soon gave way to the embarrassment.My college like most others is pretty big; even small schools have several classroom buildings, just enough to make things confusing.
That happened in my first class.I remembered running to class for I only had five minutes left before it would start.What’s worse, the door of the classroom was behind the teacher, so when you entered, all the students were facing you.It was a lecture theater, where the next row was higher than the one before so everybody could really see you.
As I entered, the teacher was already there so I hurried to find a seat at the last row.While settling myself in the seat, I looked around and found the textbooks in students’ hands quite different from mine.It came to me that I entered a wrong classroom.How embarrassing!Then I had a choice to make.One was to stay and pretend I did that class; the other was to leave and walk all the way across the classroom.
Either way, I was doomed to lose face.So I took a deep breath, stood up and walked straight out of the room looking down and not making any eye-contact with anybody.
I was late for my actual class.But soon I got absorbed in it, for the method of teaching in college was different from that in high school.The professor didn’t criticize us if we failed to learn the lesson.He simply told us to be conscious of our responsibilities and do what we believed.I found here an atmosphere I lacked in high school, easy and comfortable.
curiously / 'kjʊərɪəsIɪ / ad.好奇地
embarrassment / ɪm'bærəsmənt /n.使人为难的人或事物
pretty / 'prɪtɪ / ad.相当地；颇
confusing / kən'fjuːzɪŋ /a.混乱的；混淆的；令人困惑的
settle / 'setI / v.使……坐下；安顿好
embarrassing / ɪm'bærəsɪŋ /a.使人尴尬的；令人为难的
pretend / prɪ'tend / v.假装，伪装
straight / streɪt / ad.直接地
method / 'meθəd / n.方法
criticize / 'krɪtɪsaɪz / v.批评
fail / feɪI / v.失败；没做成某事
responsibility / rɪs,pɒnsə'bɪIɪtɪ /n.责任；职责；义务
atmosphere / 'ætməsfɪə / n.气氛
lack / Iæk / v.缺乏；不足
comfortable / 'kʌmfətəbI /a.舒适的，舒服的
give way to 为……所替代；让位于
be doomed to 注定
get absorbed in 专注于
be conscious of 意识到……
fail to 未能……
Check Your Study
Activity 1
Choose the best answers according to the passage.
1.The word “that” in the passage（Line 1, Para.2）probably refers to _________.
A）the excitment
B）the embarrassment
C）mixing the things
D）running to class
2.Which is NOT the reason why the author got the wrong class?A）The campus was big.
B）He got short time.
C）He was not familiar with school.
D）He didn’t know his actual class.
3.According to the author, _________ made him lose face.
A）taking a deep breath
B）having different textbooks
C）walking out of the wrong class
D）not making any eye-contact
4.The author was interested in his actual class because of _________.
A）the way the teacher lectured
B）the responsibility
C）the first class itself
D）the class that was his
5.The impression the author gained from his own class was_________.
A）embarrassing
B）boring
C）simple
D）fresh
Activity 2
Read the passage quickly, and f ill in the blanks.
My First Class in College
The main idea:
With many buildings on campus, I got the 1）__________ classroom in my first class, embarrassed and nervous.But later the teacher in my actual class made me feel better for his friendliness and teaching 2）__________.
My f irst class experience:
At f irst:I ran to a classroom for I only had five minutes 3）__________ before it would start.How I thought:
A）I stayed there and 4）__________ I did that class.
B）I left and walked all the way across the classroom.
How about the teacher:
A）He was very friendly because he didn’t 5）__________ the students.
B）He encouraged us to be responsible.
Activity 3
Read the passage carefully and f ill in the blanks with proper words or phrases.Then try to recite it.
As I entered, the teacher was already there so I 1）_________ to find a seat at the last row.While settling myself in my seat, I looked around and found the textbooks in students’ hands quite different from mine.It 2）_________ to me that I entered a wrong classroom.How embarrassing! Then I had a choice to make.One was to stay and 3）_________ I did that class; the other was to leave and walk all the way across the classroom.Either way, I was 4）_________ to lose face.So I took a deep 5）_________,stood up and walked 6）_________ out of the room looking down and not making any eye-contact with anybody.
Activity 4
Work with your partner according to the clues given below.
You may still remember your first English class experience.Now, let’s talk about it.
Suggested questions:
■ What about your first English class?
■ What was your first impression of the English teacher?
■ What kind of teachers do you like best?
■ ...
Useful expressions:
■ speak with a local accent
■ interesting, helpful, useful, boring
■ graceful, humorous, understanding,lovely, cool
■ impatient, talkative, careless
■ shy, nervous, strict
■ ...
Useful sentence paは erns:
■ It was helpful / boring / interesting / attractive.
■ The English lesson was great and I enjoyed it very much.
■ The teacher is a lovely lady with beautiful eyes.
■ Her voice sounds sweet and she speaks English fluently.
■ She always encourages us to speak English.
■ I like careful and patient teachers.
■ ...
Further Your Skills
Exercise 1
Match the words in Column A with those in Column B, and then fill in the blanks with proper expressions.Remember that each may be used once only.
1.Hallery House is a family run hotel with a welcoming, relaxed and ____________.
2.Setting up one’s own business is a ____________ deal.
3.Things will go better if you can explain to him where he was wrong without making him ____________.
4.She had great need of a moment of silence, to ____________ and consider how much she could tell.
5.The choice of ____________ depends largely on the information or skill that is being taught.
Exercise 2
Fill in each blank with the proper form of the word given in brackets and rewrite the sentence according to the requirement written below.
1.Steve is（curiously）__________ about what we usually do to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival.
（Steve改为they）_____________________________________________________________________________
2.He looked a bit（embarrassment）__________.
（he改为she）________________________________________________________________________________
3.Most foreign tourists are（confuse）__________ about the different dynasties in China.
（改为 it is 形式主语）_________________________________________________________________________
4.It is difficult enough to be（criticize）______ of our own mistakes.
（改为不定式作主语）_________________________________________________________________ is difficult.
5.That is the（different）__________ between college and high school.
（改为疑问句）What is ________________________________________________________________________?
6.The marriage was a（fail）__________ and they both wanted to be free of it.
（改为因果关系句）Because _____________________________, _____________________________________.
7.The airline is legally（responsibility）__________ for the safety of its passengers.
（将主语改为they）____________________________________________________________________________.
8.I was sitting（comfortable）__________ in the sofa, reading a newspaper.
（改为while引导的从句）__________________________________ while I was sitting comfortably in the sofa.
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences by translating the given Chinese into English.
1.She should _________（让位于）a younger, more decisive leader.
2.It ____________（渐渐明白）me that something like honesty and loyalty to society was very important in our lives.
3.Everyone in the world _________（意识到）the seriousness of the COVID-19.
4.He sat down and soon _________（专注于）the newspaper.
5.He _________（意识到）his shortcomings after several failures.