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)

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.

[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.

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.

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.”

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

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.

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.

homonym: sun, son, song, soon; # sun, son发音完全相同

temperature, degree, minus, Celsius;

mild: moderately warm of soft in taste.

snowy: of or like snow.

rainy: in or on which rain is falling.

sunny: bright with sunlight, exposed to or warmed by the sun.

windy: having wind or exposed to the wind.

stormy: of or affected by storms.

cloudy: of the sky covered with cloud; overcast.

warm: of or at a comfortably high temperature.

Language covered

• Talking about different types of weather
• Describe the weather in China
• Discussing what we do on different days

Useful expressions

• It’s very cold and stormy.
• It’s quite sunny and hot.
• It’s mild but windy.
• What’s the weather like?
• What’s the weather like today?
• What’s the weather like in China?

hot, sun, shining, sunny

The sun is shining today.
It is sunny /hot/sunny and hot/ today.
The earth needs the sun.
The weather is great today. It’s nice and sunny.

wind, windy, blowing

The wind is blowing today.
It will be windy tomorrow.
The strong wind will come from the south.

raining, rain, rainy

It is raining hard today.
It will rain tomorrow.
It will probably be rainy for the whole day tomorrow.

cloud, cloudy

I hope it won’t be cloudy tomorrow.
Look at that cloud.

cold, snow, snowy, snow

It will snow tomorrow.
The weather will be snowy next week.
The snow will come from the north.
The temperature will be very cold – 5 below freezing.

It is + adj /+ doing(Ving)/.

Discussion points

• How do people talk about different types of weather?
• What’s the weather like in China?
• What’s the weather like today?
• What do you wear in a rainy day? I usually wear a raincoat in a rainy day.

Weather forecast

Good afternoon and welcome to the weather forecast.
Let’s take a look at the weather outside now.

What’s it like? Well, it’s raining and cloudy in southern China while northern China is cold and clear(no cloud). The sun is shining, but it’s very cold here in the North!
The temperature is 25 degrees in the southern China and only 15 degrees in North.

What will the weather be like tomorrow?
Well, it will be rainy in the morning in Beijing and windy in Tianjin.
In the afternoon, Beijing will be cloudy.
Tianjin will see rain turning to snow and quite windy, with winds coming from the North-East.

That’s the weather forecast for this afternoon. Have a good day!

[KATE] My boyfriend… he’s nice.
[KATE] But it’s over.
[KATE] He’s good looking.
[KATE] He has a nice smile.
[KATE] Blue eyes.
[KATE] But his hair.
[KATE] It’s long … and … dirty.
[KATE] I don’t think he washes it.
[KATE] He’s an artist.
[KATE] He spends all day painting, and that’s all he does.
[KATE] He doesn’t have a job and he lives his mum’s house.
[KATE] I want a boyfriend who has a plan.
[KATE] Successful. Smart. Funny. Handsome.
[KATE] I want something different now.
———————————————————
[KATE] I’m so sorry!
[KATE] Are you OK?
[PETER] Oops. # ‘Oops’ is an expression used after someone made a mistake.
[KATE] What do we do now?
[KATE] Thank goodness his car’s OK.
[KATE] I’m so stupid. # Kate uses ‘so’ to emphasize the adjectives she uses.
[KATE] He’s so handsome.
[KATE] Brown eyes, dark hair.
[KATE] Clean hair.
[KATE] Why did I hit his car?
[PETER] Do you have your insurance information.
[KATE] Yes, of course.
[KATE] Hold on.
[KATE] Usually, men are no problem for me, but this one’s different.
[KATE] He’s really good looking, and he dresses well.
[KATE] He looks like a doctor or a lawyer or something.
[KATE] Handsome, rich, and with a nice car.
[PETER] So do you have a phone number?
[PETER] For the insurance.
[KATE] Oh, yes of course.
[KATE] Kate, I’ll call you.
[KATE] OK. Again, I’m so sorry!
[PETER] It’s OK, you can’t even see it.
——————————————————–
[LEO] So… what does she look like?
[PETER] Well, she’s pretty fit. # ‘Fit’ usually means healthy and strong. In UK English, however, it can also means sexy. Which do you think Peter means?
[LEO] Blonde?
[PETER] Not this time.
[LEO] But, you love the blondes… # Leo says ‘blondes’ as a noun, meaning ‘blonde girls’.
[PETER] She’s brown hair. Long brown hair, and long legs.
[PETER] Seriously, dude, she looks like a model.
[LEO] How old is she?
[PETER] Well, she looks like young, but I think she’s our age.
[LEO] You have a phone number?
[PETER] Mate, I tell you this girl… # ‘Mate’ is common in the UK and Australia, but less commonly used in North America.
[LEO] You should call her.
[PETER] No, no, not today.

Jack: Hey, do you want to do something tonight? Let’s meet up!
Jill: Yeah, sure. What do you want to do?
Jack: I think playing badminton is fun. Do you like playing badminton?
Jill: Yeah sure. But I usually wear a T-shirt and shorts to play badminton. I’m wearing pants and a shirt at the office at the moment.
Jack: I’m also at work at the moment. I’m wearing a shirt and tie. I usually wear a T-shirt and shorts to play badminton too. Right, it’s five thirty now. Let’s play at seven o’clock.
Jill: Great, see you later.

I have two ears and one mouth. I have five fingers on each hand. I also have two feet and ten toes. I use my month to eat and speak. I have blue eyes and one nose in the middle of my face. I’ve got long brown hair.

Hi everyone. I’m Sheryl. I’m tall and thin. I have long, straight, blonde hair. I’m young and happy. My boyfriend is handsome. But he’s always hungry and tired.
Hi everyone. I’m Chris.  I’m short and fat. I have short curly brown hair. My girlfriend is beautiful. She is tall and thin. I’m not good looking, but she is.

Sam’s a firefighter. He works in the fire department. He puts out fires and saves people’s live. His best friend John is a lawyer. John’s sister is a nurse and works at the hospital. Her best friend is a student at the university. They all live in the same town. Many of their friends are taxi drivers and waiters.

Her name is Sue.She’s a teacher in a school.She’s twenty-eight years old.She has long, blonde hair, brown eyes and a happy smile.She has one brother. He’s a teenager. He’s a student. Her father is an engineer. Her mother is a housewife.

Francis:
I’m a 25 year old guy with curly, curly, brown hair. I’m tall and thin and people say I’m handsome. I have brown eyes and a long nose. Talking is one of my hobbies and I’m a lawyer. My mouth is big too! I like swimming and dancing. I’m looking for an adult, friendly woman who likes to travel and also loves dogs. Send your picture and a description of what you like doing on weekends to francis@getmequick.com.
Stuart:
Hi. I’m 22. I have short blond hair and blue eyes. I’m quite short. I have small ears and a small nose. I’m very funny an I like playing sports. I’m a sports teacher. Sometimes, I also like reading books and staying indoors. Do you like sports? How about playing tennis with me? I’m looking for a good-looking woman to play sports and have fun. stuart@coldmail.com

Hi, my name’s Joan. I’m 25 years old. I’m fairly tall 190 centimeters. I quite thin. I’m a happy person, I smile a lot and I’m nice to person. Actually, I’m very friendly. I’m a nurse. I like my job. Sometimes it makes me very tired, but I get to meet people and help people and that makes me feel good.

There are five people in my family: my mum, dad, little brother, grandmother and I. My dad’s very tall, just like me, maybe 195 centimeters. He’s also fairly thin. He’s a bus driver, and he’s very friendly.
My mother is short and very fat. She’s a teacher and is often tired. She work hard. My brother is a student. He’s nineteen. He studies history. My brother’s nice, friendly and happy. But he’s also very lazy.  # ‘very’ is strong, ‘fairly’ is weak.

I have long, straight, black hair and big, brown eyes. I’m very tall and fairly thin. I look like my father. I have long legs and long fingers. I wear glasses.

This is my daughter. She’s always smiling in my pictures! In the first picture she’s wearing my red jacket. In the second photo, she’s wearing her pink jacket. I like that jacket too! My husband is wearing jeans and a black shirt with a jacket in the big picture. I have short red hair and am wearing a black coat and red scarf. In the picture in the middle, she’s wearing my favorite hat! She has blue eyes. In the big picture, she’s on the beach. In the last picture, she’s a baby. She’s wearing a white top. My husband is wearing a white T-shirt. She’s looking at her sheep! Her hair is very short. Here, she is short and fat, like a baby! I think she looks like me. My mother says I look like her!

Language focus

Blond and blonde

In English, ‘yellow’ is not used to describe hair color. Instead, ‘blond’ or ‘blonde’ is used. For example:

• He has short, blond hair.
• She has long, blonde hair.

Notice that when a woman’s hair is described, an ‘e’ is added.

1. What goes where?
2. What does  it represent?

lotus seed, ginkgo nut, black moss seaweed, dried beancurd (tofu), bamboo shoot, whole fish, whole chicken, uncut noodles;

chestnut, peanut, longan, lotus root, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn on the cob;

beef steak, rate, medium rate, medium well, well-done;

Read the passage

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of  November to gives thanks  for a successful harvest. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated almost 400 years ago. Pilgrims thanked the Native Americans for their help during a long, cold winter. In keeping with the idea of celebrating a plentiful harvest, preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of most Thanksgiving celebrations today. Thanksgiving menus usually include many different foods. The meals are large, but the foods eaten at Thanksgiving are quite simple. They celebrate the country and traditional farming life. Corn was essential: the Pilgrims wouldn’t have survived if the Native Americans hadn’t taught them about this native crop, so corn is symbol of  the survival of the colonies, as well as the harvest and the fall season. There is no official reason or  declaration for the use of turkey. It just happened to be the most plentiful meat available at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621, starting the tradition. Cranberries were probably on the first Thanksgiving table. The American Indians taught the Pilgrims to make a cranberry sauce called “ibimi”, meaning bitter berry. When the colonists saw the berry,they re-named it “crane-berry”, because its flower resembled the long-necked bird called the crane. Both the regular and sweet potato were important crops because they were hardy enough to survive strong winters. Pumpkin is also a strong crop, as well as a versatile vegetable, which can be used in sweet of savory dishes.

Writing

1. Write about your favorite holiday and how food makes it more interesting.
2. Do you like the idea of food symbolizing so many different things in our holidays? Why of why not?

I think action movies are my favorite. I like them best because they’re exciting. My favorite movie is Countdown to the End of the World. I don’t like science fiction movies. I don’t think they’re very interesting. The stories are always pretty boring. I love comedies though; they make me laugh.

A: What kind of movies do you like?
B: I like horror movies.
A: Oh, really? Not me! They are too scary.  I like comedies and historical movies.
B: I like comedies, bu I think historical movies are boring.
A: Have you seen Dumb Warriors? I really loved it!
B: Oh, I agree. It was interesting.

Do you agree with the statements? Why or why not?

• Cats make better pets than dogs.
• Big cities are better places to live than small towns.
• Only women like to shop.
• Soccer is more fun to play than tennis.
• English is difficult to learn.
• Summer is the most beautiful season of the year.
• Beach vacations are more interesting than vacations in the mountains.
• Reading books is boring.

Vocabulary

comedy, action, disaster, animation, horror, historical, documentary, science fiction, (non-fiction / fictional), dramas, chick flick;

funny, exciting, scary, romantic, awesome;

genre, kind, style, Halloween, vampire, werewolf, emperor, alien;

agree, disagree; / I agree with you.

Recipe

French crepes

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of  flour
• 2 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• a pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Pour the milk into the flour.
2. Stir will.
3. Add the oil, the beaten eggs, and the sugar.
4. Stir again.
5. Take a frying pan, oil it, Pour in a small amount of batter, and spread it on the bottom.
6. Cook on one side, then the other.
7. Serve with butter, sugar, jelly, or melted chocolate.

Grammar

• Add sugar.
• Mix all ingredients.
• Put in the oven and bake for 30 mins.

The sentences are brief and short. When we give instructions, the imperative form of the verb is often used. The verb is moved to the beginning of the sentence and the subject is omitted.

• You should mix the ingredients.  –> Mix the ingredients.
• You should turn the oven on. –> Turn the oven on.

Task

Recipe For _________________

From _____________________

Serves ____________________

__________________________

__________________________