Unit 3 Travel JournalPRE-READING

READING

FR

WORLD’S GREATEST RIVERS

“Greatest rivers” here means rivers that are either quite large and/or play an important role in the regions where they are located.

Yangtze River

Yellow River

Names of river Location

Mekong river

Seine

Nile

Congo

Amazon

Mississippi

Thames

England

Egypt

Central Africa

US

France

China,SE Asia

Brazil

The great rivers in the world

……

2. How do people who live along a river make use of it?

Brain

go swimming

travel along a river

to irrigate( 灌溉 ) their fields

to make electricity

storming

Journey down the Mekongreading

Unit 3 Travel JournalPart1 The dream and the plan SB Reading P18

Part2 A night in the mountans P22

SB Using Language (Reading and discussing)Part3 Chatting with a girl P23

SB Using Language (Listening and speaking)Part4 Our journey through Laos p55

Wb ListeningPart5 By the river in Laos p58

Wb Listening taskPart6 The end of our journey p59

Wb reading task

BACKGROUND

FACTS ABOUT THE MEKONG RIVER

Location: the source is located in the Jifu Mountains in Zaduo County,Yushu Tibet Autonomous[ ɔ:'tɔnəməs ] Prefecture[ 'pri:fektjuə, -tʃuə ] of northwest China’s Qinghai Province, which is some 5,200 meters above sea level.

Countries it passes through:

China, Myanmar[ 'mjænmɑ:(r) ], Thailand[ 'tailænd ], Laos, Cambodia[ kæm'bəudiə ], and Vietnarm[ .viət'næm ]

Exact length :4909km. Chinese section: 2,198km

Names for the Mekong River:

Tibetans:Dza Chu,which means “River of rocks”

People of Yunnan: the Lancang Jiang “wild river.”

People of Thailand: “mother of waters” (or Mekong).

Laos: “the sea of Laos”

Cambodians: “great water”

Vietnam: “river of nine dragons”since it divides into nine tributaries[ 'tribjutəri ], or smaller rivers, in the delta of that country.

Map of the

Mekong

Scan the passage and then list the countries that the Mekong River flows through.

Laos

Thailand

Burma

Cambodia

Vietnam

China

Some necessary words• journal n. 日记 ; 杂志 ;

定期刊物• fare n. 费用• transport n.&vt. 运送 ;

运输• Vientiane[ vjen'tjæ

n ]  • n. 万象 [ 老挝首都 ]

( 在湄公河中游北岸 ,隔河为泰国 )

• Laos n. 老挝国（东南亚国家）

• Phnom Penh [ pə'nɔm'pen ]n.金边 ( 今之柬埔寨首都 )

• Cambodia n. 高棉 , 柬埔寨

• Ho Chi Minh n. 胡志明 ( 越南民主共和国主席 ,1890-1969)

• Vietnam n. 越南• Mekong 湄公河

Temple in Vientiane

Laos & the Mekong River

Traditional house

northern Laos

Laos - Burma – Thailand, here they meet

Central market of Phnom Penh

The Silver Pagoda of Phnom Penh

Angkor wat Cambodiasouthern Cambodia

Ho Chi Minh Statute

Pond in Ho Chi Minh

Mekong Delta, in Vietnam

Church in Southern Vietnam

One Foot in China & One Foot in Vietnam

Reading through paragraph 3, try to find out the geographical terms(地理术语 ). (P18)

Glacier Rapids Valley Waterfall

Plain Delta

Glacier

a large body of ice moving slowly down a high valley.

Rapids

a fast—moving part of a river

Valley

a long, low, wide place between hills

Waterfall

a high place from which a river suddenly goes down

Plain a large flat place

Delta

Yangtze delta

the low place where the river enters the sea

Skimming:

1. Who are Wang Kun and Wang Wei?

2. What was their dream?

3. Who are Dao Wei and Yu Hang?

Reading through paragraph 1, then answer the questions below:

1.Who are Wang Kun and Wang Wei?

They are brother and sister,

and both are college students.

2. What was their dream?

Their dream was to take a great

bike trip.

3.Who are Dao Wei

and Yu Hang?

They are Wang Kun’s cousins who

are at a college in Kunming.

Reading through paragraph 2, then decide true or false.

1. Wang Wei does not care about the source of the river.

2. Wang Wei had looked at a map before she started her journey.

3. Wang Kun though it would be an interesting experience.

4. Wang Wei thought it would be hard to breath there.

5. According to Wang Kun, Wang Wei is a stubborn girl.

F

F

F

F

T

Answer the following questions (Page19)

1. Where is the source of the Mekong River and which sea does it enter?

2. What can you see when you travel along the Mekong?

3. Is it a difficult journey to cycle along the Mekong? Why?

The source of the river is in Qinghai province and it enters the South China sea.

You can see glacier, rapids ,hills, valleys, waterfalls and plains.

Yes. The journey begins at an altitude of more than 5,000metres, where it is hard to breathe and very cold.

Read again and get the main idea of each paragraph:

Para.1

Wang Kun and Wang Wei’ dream.

Para.2

Wang Wei is stubborn.

Para.3

Preparing for their trip.

Homework:

Read the passage and find out the sentences or expressions you appreciate and then share them with your desk mates.

Canyon

a deep, very wide valley, usually with a river

Read again and get the main idea of each paragraph:

Para.1

Wang Kun and Wang Wei’ dream.

Para.2

Wang Wei is stubborn.

Para.3

Preparing for their trip.

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Louvre Museum

Tian’anmen Square The Great Wall

Forbidden City The Heaven Temple

Ss read and answer the following questions:

1. What was Wang kun and Wang Wei’s idea of a good trip ？

2. Who planned the trip to the Mekong?3. Who are Dao Wei and Yu Hang?4. Where is the source of the Mekong

River and which sea does it enter?5. What can you see when you travel

along the Mekong?6. Is it a difficult journey to cycle along

the Mekong? Why?