作者存档: Harry

Reading – Bridges

作者: 日期: 03/28/2011 没有评论

Reading: Bridges

I love bridges! Walking across large river, a busy road or over a railway line is very exciting for me. Sometimes, if the bridge is very high, I feel like I’m flying. If the bridge is very long, I think there may be a problem arriving at the other side. if the bridge is very narrow, I think it may break! When I travel I like to cross bridges. In the USA I crossed the Golden Gate, in Zimbabwe I crossed the Zambezi river to Zambia, in Australia I crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and when I was in Thailand crossed the Friendship Bridge to Laos.

Luckily live in London and there are many bridge here. In fact there are about 70 bridges across the river Thames and 32 of there are in the capital. I live near Chelsea Bridge. So you can imagine how excited I was to hear that there was a new bridge to celebrate the millennium. A new bridge in London! The first new pedestrian bridge for 100 years! A bridge just for people, so no cars, trains or pollution.

Every weekend I went to see the building of the bridge. It was great to see it changing and growing.#1 Then at last it was finished and it looked beautiful. It runs from St Paul’s Cathedral to Southwark, it is 320m long and 4m wide.#2

I was really happy the day the bridge opened. It was a sunny Saturday in June 20. I went with my friend Janice and we waited with all the other people who wanted to cross the bridge too. Everyone was very happy and talking about the bridge. The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: “It will be so good to actually walk across the river peacefully, without cars and trains thundering by.” Then, at last, we walked across the bridge! There were many people on the bridge at the same time. We walked slowly and looked down at the river 11m below. I was very excited!

Then I could feel the bridge move a little. It moved to the left and then it moved to the right. Janice could feel it move too. Then it moved again to the left and to the right again. I wasn’t excited now, I was a little afraid. The other people stopped talking and looked at each other. The bridge was swinging to the left and right! I was very happy to arrive at the other side of the river without a problem.

The next day the bridge was closed and it had a new name: not the Millennium Bridge but the Wobbly Bridge! The architect said there was not a problem: the bridge is designed to move. But the bridge was closed and reopened again 20 months later. It is now my favourite bridge in London and I try cross it as many times as possible!

PS.

#1 see somebody/something doing
#2 St Paul’s Cathedral. St = saint

——————————————-

Script

I arrived in London at last. The railway station was big, black and dark. I did not know the way to my hotel, so I asked a porter. I not only spoke English very carefully, but very clearly as well. The porter, however, could not understand me; I repeated my question several times and at last he understood. He answered me, but he spoke neither slowly nor clearly. ‘I am a foreigner,’ I said. Then he spoke slowly, but I could not understand him, My teacher never spoke English like that! The porter and I looked at each other and smiled. Then he said something and I understood it. ‘You’ll soon learn English!’ he said. I wonder. In England, each man speaks a different language. The English understand each other, but I don’t understand them! Do they speak English?

PS.

  • I arrived in somewhere. (big place)
  • I arrived at somewhere. (small place)

Talking a flight

作者: 日期: 03/27/2011 没有评论

Script

Check in clerk: Good morning! Where are you flying today?
Passenger: To Dallas.
CIC: How many bags are you checking in?
P: Two.
CIC: Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?
P: I’ll take a window seat, please.
CIC: Oh! I’m sorry, sir… Your flight is cancelled.
P: Cancelled!
CIC: Yes, sir. You’ll have to go to the ticket agent to reschedule.

Ticket agent: Can I help you?
P: My flight to Dallas was cancelled. I have to get to Dallas!
TA: I have a direct flight – 656 this afternoon, or flight 777 that leaves in an hour with a stop in Atlanta.
P: I’ll take the 777 flight.
TA: Here’s your boarding pass. You’ll have to check in your bags over there.
P: Thanks

Security officer: Where are you flying, sir?
P: Dallas, flight 777.
SO: I’m sorry sir, that flight is delayed. It is boarding from terminal C, gate 22.
P: Terminal C! Where is that? # Where is gate 22? / What gate is flight 777?
SO: Take the stairs to the shuttle bus. Bus 736.
P: Thanks.

Airport announcement: Welcome to Dallas! Bags from flight 777 will be on belt number 6.
P: Where are my begs? Excuse me, where are my bags?
Airline staff: What was your flight number?
P: Flight 777. Here is the claim ticket.
AS: Your bags are in Atlanta, sir.
P: Atlanta! What will I do now?
AS: I’ll send them to your hotel when they arrive this evening. Please fill out this form.
P: I hate flying!

Vocabulary

(iLab 4.2.1; 4.2.3)

conveyor belt, jet lag, brief, stopover;

People/Places in the airport

  • baggage claim
  • check-in desk
  • shuttle bus
  • gate
  • security officer
  • ticket agent

Items/issues at the airport

  • cancelled flight (weather conditions)
  • delayed flight
  • missed flight (you were late)
  • rescheduled flight (airline changes the times)
  • lost luggage
  • problems at security check points (thing you can’t take)
  • problems finding the gate / terminal (gate / terminal change)
  • passport problem
  • an e-ticket

Grammar

(iLab 4.2.3; 4.2.4)

  • Where are you flying today?
  • Your flight was delayed.
  • I’ll take an aisle seat.

Apply

You are a passenger. Look at the information.

  1. You wanted to arrive early to get an aisle seat.
  2. You are very tall.
  3. You got in a traffic jam. You arrived late.
  4. Go to check in.
  5. You don’t usually like to sit in the emergency exit.
Name Flight City Departure Destination Arrival Stops Airline Baggage claim no. Gate
J Smith AB123 New York 7:15 AM Washington 10:30 AM Boston Air Boston 989 6

 

Talking about past events

作者: 日期: 03/25/2011 没有评论

Movie Script

[LEO] I had a great day.
[EMMA] Yesterday. What a bad day!
[LEO] I got up at ten thirty!
[LEO] I ate breakfast.
[LEO] I watched TV.
[EMMA] I got up at seven in the morning.
[EMMA] I went for a run.
[EMMA] Dad made breakfast.
[LEO] In the morning, I cleaned the flat. # ‘Flat’ is British English. In American English, ‘apartment’ is more common.
[LEO] I did the dishes.
[LEO] I did the washing.
[EMMA] I ironed my clothes.
[EMMA] I had a job interview.
[EMMA] I know, on a Saturday?
[EMMA] Goodbye Dad.
[LEO] I called my mate.
[LEO] And I left the house.
———————————
[LEO] In the afternoon, I went to Pete’s. # The verb ‘go to’ is irregular in the past tense.
[LEO] We had lunch and watched a match.
[LEO] All right man I’m off.
[PETER] Yeah Later dude.
[LEO] Hey are you going to throw that away?
[PETER] That one?
[LEO] The coffee table.
[PETER] Yeah.
[LEO] Can I have it?
[PETER] You take it.
[LEO] It’d be great I think it would suit my apartment.
[PETER] Take it.
[LEO] Great. Thanks a lot. Later.
[LEO] Peter gave me a table!
[EMMA] At three I started off for a job interview.
[EMMA] My shoe broke.
[LEO] I got to the station at three thirty.
[EMMA] I got to the station at three thirty.
—————————————————–
[EMMA] No no no no no.
[EMMA] My shoe broke.
[EMMA] I had juice on my shirt.
[EMMA] and I was late for my job interview.
[EMMA] I’m never late!
—————————–
[LEO] So. What happened to you?
[EMMA] Excuse me?
[LEO] What happened?
[EMMA] Well I fell, and my shoe broke and now I’m late, thank you.
[LEO] Sorry.
[EMMA] Nice table.
[EMMA] Did you steal it?
[LEO] It was my mate’s.
[EMMA] Mate? So you have friends?
[LEO] Yeah, one or two, actually.
[LEO] I met them both here, at the train station.
[LEO] They helped me out with some chairs.
[EMMA] Really?
[LEO] No.

Describing the weather

作者: 日期: 03/25/2011 没有评论

Script

Windy weather in Beijing today, the temperature’s 10 degrees. Cold weather in Harbin, it’s 2 degrees today. Cloudy weather in Urumqi and temperature of 12 degrees. Sunny weather in Nanjing, the temperature’s 20 degrees and the weather’s warm in Shanghai with temperatures of 17 degrees. Wet weather in Kunming with temperature of 32 degrees.

Grammar

Is Shanghai a cold city?

  • Shanghai is cold in January. (1℃)
  • Beijing is cold January. (-8℃)

Beijing is colder than Shanghai in January.

hot hotter
wet wetter
warm warmer
cold colder
long longer
short shorter
dry drier
cloudy cloudier
windy windier
sunny sunnier

Vocabulary

What is the weather like? # be like

rainfall, average, gloomy, dust storm, rainy season, sun block, tan, snow storm, air heating system, lantern, ice sculpture, snow sculpture;

cats and dogs #形容瓢泼大雨

Pronunciation

Weather of wetter?

/θ/ “Martha Smith’s an author and an athlete.”

thick sick
think sink
thank sank
math mass
worth worse
fourth force

/ð/ “My father and mother live together with my other brother.”

they day
breathe breeze
bathe bays
bathe bays
weather wetter

Apply

  • Shanghai is wetter than Beijing.
  • Cairo is drier than London.
  • Summer in Hong Kong is longer than in Moscow.
  • Cape Town is sunnier than Moscow.
  • London is rainier than Sao Paulo.
  • Tokyo is hotter than Paris in summer.
  • Tokyo is colder than Paris in winter.
  • Tokyo is rainier than Paris.
  • Tokyo is bigger than Paris.

Talking about the weather

作者: 日期: 03/22/2011 没有评论

Script

It’s rainy during summer in most parts of China. Summer weather in China is very hot and quite wet, especially during July and August, when there is a lot of rain. The cities of Wuhan, Chongqing, and Nanjing, though, are known for their sunny summer months. In Tibet, it’s very comfortable in summer – warm days and cool nights.

Winter in China is very cold, especially in the north. It’s often snowy. There is a very strong wind and it can be cloudy a lot of the time. Beijing is usually very cold, but dry and sunny. In the south, there is often no snow, and compared to the north, it’s quite warm.

Language summary

Functions (iLab 3.2.1)

  1. In summer, it’s hot, rainy, wet and sometimes foggy.
  2. In winter, it’s cold, snowy and sometimes cloudy.
  3. The weather in Shanghai is warm and dry.
  4. The weather in Tibet is cool and sunny.

Vocabulary (iLab 2.8.1)

Seasons: summer, winter, spring, autumn, rainy season, dry season;

Weather conditions: hot, warm, cool, cold, dry, sunny, foggy, rainy, wet, snowy, windy, cloudy;

Typhoon, Hurricane, Tornado, Tsunami.

Choose the correct word in parentheses

  1. There’s so much (rain/rainy)! I want to go out, but it’s too (warm/wet).
  2. If it’s (sum/sunny) tomorrow, and not too (wind/windy), I’ll go to the park.
  3. 30 degrees outside! It’s so (cool/hot) in summer, and there’s never any (wind/windy).
  4. It’s always (cloud/wet) on the weekends. Why can’t it be (dry/cloud) sometimes?

Discussion

Talk about you favourite destination and what the weather is like there.

Describe the weather conditions today.