Teaching Activities Index

Teaching Activities1st period 1. Warm-up

2. The Vocabulary, and Idioms & Phrases within Paragraphs 1-3

3. Reading – Paragraphs 1-3

2nd period 1. The Vocabulary, and Idioms & Phrases within Paragraphs 4-6

2. Reading - Paragraphs 4-63. Post-reading

3rd period 1. Word File2. Sentence Patterns3. Expansion4. Writing Practice

4th period Part II Oral & Listening - Unit 4

Warm-up

Vocabulary Idioms & Phrases

Reading~Paragraphs 1-3

I have to hand it in tomorrow.

1. The thief, Procrastination, steals _____ from people.□ time □ homework□ computer games □ comic books

2. When did Sam have to hand in his homework?□ August 29.□ August 30.□ August 31.□ September 1. I have to

hand it in tomorrow.

3. Sam is a procrastinator. He always ______ things ______, so he couldn’t finish his homework on time.□ puts...on □ puts…off□ puts...forward □ puts...up

4. “Procrastinator’s jail” might mean ______.□ living in the present□ being trapped by unfinished business from the past

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Listen to paragraphs 1-3.

Skip

Now,answer the following questions.

( ) “The mosquito bites” and “the stain on the shirt” in the first paragraph suggest that ______. (A) the speaker is too busy to do his

assignment(B) the speaker does not concentrate on his assignment at all(C) to the speaker, they are more important than his assignment(D) there are many things around the speaker that he doesn’t notice

B

( ) The speaker is supposed to hand in his assignment ______.(A) in a full day(B) in a few days(C) in several weeks(D) in a few hours

D

( ) The word ‘classic’ in the second paragraph means ______.(A) typical(B) secure(C) specific(D) rough

A

Reading

My eyelids droop as I think about the English assignment before me: Write an introductory paragraph to an essay on one of the five selected topics.

essay 後接介系詞 on ，再接主題 (topic) ，此用法與 comment 和 report 相同。Our assignment today is to write a 200-word essay on the painting. When asked about the scandal, the mayor made no comment on it. We had to hand in a report on child abuse after we finished reading the article.

It is late Thursday night.

I give some thought to the topics, but soon I find my eyes as well as my mind wandering to the mosquito bites on my leg.

I give some thought to the topics, but soon I find my eyes as well as my mind wandering to the mosquito bites on my leg.→ I think about the topics for a while. However, soon after that, I find I pay attention to them no more; instead, I look at and think of the mosquito bites on my leg.

“How did they get there?” Next, I notice a stain on the shirt I am wearing. “How did that getthere?” Next, my eyes wander to the clock.

Suddenly, I am pulled back to reality as I realize that in a matterof hours, I will be sitting in English class, and my paragraph still hasn’t been written.

Suddenly, I am pulled back to reality as I realize that in a matter of hours, I will be sitting in English class, and my paragraph still hasn’t been written.→ All of a sudden, I am forced to face t

he music when I realize that I will be sitting in the English class after a few hours, and I still haven’t finished my written assignment.

This is a classic situation for me. I have managed to put off writing this paragraph all afternoon, just as I manage to put off nearly all my assignments for hours, days, and even weeks.

This is a classic situation for me.→ It is typical of me to do this/put off doing my assignments.

Then, when time runs out, I am in trouble. Henry David Thoreau once said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Then, when time runs out, I am in trouble.→ Then, I get into trouble when time ticks away/by.

The life of Henry David Thoreau

Next

Thoreau graduated from Harvard University. In 1845, Thoreau moved to a hut on Walden Pond, where he spent most of his time medititating and observing nature. Emerson accompanied him there from 1847-1848.Only two of Thoreau’s works were published duringhis lifetime.Walden, his most important work, records Thoreau’s meditations on non-materialism and respect for nature. Thoreau’s other writing were published after he died, including Excursions(1863), The Maine Woods(1864), Cape Cod(1865), and A Yankee in Canada(1866).

Then, when time runs out, I am in trouble. Henry David Thoreau once said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

the mass of men → most of the people大多數的人mass 表「大部分，多半」The great mass of the Americans are against violence.The mass of public opinion is against building a nuclear plant there.[ 注意 ] 動詞與 of 後面所接的 名詞的單複數一致。 Next

Then, when time runs out, I am in trouble. Henry David Thoreau once said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

quiet 用來修飾表感覺的名詞If we refer to someone’s quiet desperation or confidence, we mean thathe/she does not say much about the way he/she is feeling.The three candidates are going out of their way to present a picture of quiet confidence.All through his life, he has shown a quietdetermination to get things done.

Because of my procrastination, I belong to that same mass.

Because of my procrastination, Ibelong to that same mass.→ Since I am a procrastinator, I

belong to that same mass of people who lead lives of quiet desperation.

As a result, I waste a great amount of valuable time, and I find myself always one step behind in life.

a great/large/huge amount of 大量的後面多接不可數名詞 .The project of building a reservoir needs a great amount of money.

Next

As a result, I waste a great amount of valuable time, and I find myself always one step behind in life.

As a result, I waste a great amount of valuable time, and I find myself always one step behind in life.→ Therefore/Thus/Consequently/ Accordingly, I waste a lot of precious time, and I find that I am always a little slow or late in doing things in my daily life.

The results of my procrastination can be summed up in Edward Young’s statement: “Procrastination is the thief of time.”

The life of Edward Young

Procrastination is the thief of time.→ Procrastination caused people to waste time as if it were stolen by a thief.

Edward Young (1683 - 1765) was a Poet, born in England. He studied at Oxford. He is best known for the work “The Complaint, or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality”(1742-6), inspired by the deaths in succession of his stepdaughter, son-in-law, and wife. It is a highly acclaimed piece of work, and some of its lines have passed into proverbial use (such as “Procrastination is the thief of time”).

I spend more time thinking up weak excuses for why I can’t do an assignment than working on the actual assignment itself.

think up = invent = make up 想出think up an excusethink up a new advertising sloganThe inventor thought up an impressive name for the new device.We laugh at the absurdity of these laws and wonder how anyone ever thought them up. Next

I spend more time thinking up weak excuses for why I can’t do an assignment than workingon the actual assignment itself.

weak: feeble, flimsy, lame缺乏說服力的a week excusea weak alibi 不在場證明a weak evidence

Next

I spend more time thinking up weak excuses for why I can’t do an assignment than workingon the actual assignment itself.

I spend more time thinking up weak excuses for why I can’t do an assignment than working on the actual assignment itself.→ I spend more time thinking of feeble excuses for my failure in finishing an assignment (on time) than actually doing it.

And the ways I avoid an assignment definitely leave something to be desired, such as calling my friend for the eleventh time today, or watching a television show meant for a four-year-old.

leave something to be desired 有待改進leave nothing to be desired 無懈可擊The service in the restaurant leaves something to be desired.The man’s acting left nothing to be desired, and the audience all applauded for him. Next

And the ways I avoid an assignment definitely leave something to be desired, such as calling my friend for the eleventh time today, or watching a television show meant for a four-year-old.

...the ways I avoid an assignment definitely leave something to be desired…→ ...the ways in which I put off an assignment are certainly not as good as I think they should be.

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