By Xu Weiliang
Teaching aims:
(1) Make students pay attention the environment problems and think what they can do to help protect the environment.
(2) Improve the Ss’ other basic abilities: listening and speaking.
(3) Enable the students to learn to read a debate.
Important points & difficult points:
(1) Help the students learn how to keep the balance between economy and environment.
(2) Help the students learn to read a debate.
(3) Enable the students to debate in English.
Teaching methods:
(1) Fast reading to get a general idea of the passage.
(2) Careful reading and listening to understand the passage better.
(3) Discussion to help the student understand what they have learnt.
(4) Individual, pair work and group work to enable the students take active part in the class.
Teaching aids:
(1) A tape recorder
(2) A multimedia
(3) The blackboard
Teaching procedure:
Step 1: Greeting
Greet the whole class as usual
Step 2: Lead-in
Look at the pictures on the screen carefully. Answer me two questions.
(1) What can you see in the pictures?
(2) How to solve the problem?
(3) What can you see in these pictures?
(4) How to solve the problem?
To solve the problem of starvation, we should develop the economy. But with the development of economy, serious environmental problems come. The economy or the environment-must we choose?
Do you want to know more information on the problem?
Ok. Let’s come to the text.
Step 3: Fast reading
Read the following debate as quickly as possible and answer the questions：
1. What side does Mr Lin Shuiqing and Mr Qian Liwei each represent?
(Mr lin represents the society for Environment Presevation while Mr Qian an economist)
2. By how many times has the world’s population increased since 1800?
(More than six times)
3. According to Mr Qian Liwei, What should be done to factories that pollute the environment?
(Those factories should have to pay higher taxes)
Step 4: Listening & careful reading
Listen to the tape carefully, pay attention to some detailed information and try to finish the exercises after the passage.
1. C1 How well did you understand the details of the debate? Read the debate again and answer the following questions.
1.What society does Lin Shuiqing belong to?
(Lin Shuiquing belongs to the society of Environment Preservation.)
2.What does Lin Shuiqing started his speech by talking about?
(The way large areas of the world are damaged by industrial waste.)
3.What is happening to large amounts of fish?
(Large amounts of fish are being caught and they have no time to lay eggs)
4.What does Lin Shuiqing think we should teach people about?
(We should teach people about environmentally friendly ways of living)
5.Why does Qian Liwei think production should be not be cut back.?
(Because it means that jobs will be lost and that people are more important than fish and trees.)
6.What does Qian Liwei say we should produce more?
(More things from recycled materials.)
7.What does Qian Liwei say we need more of?
(More effective laws to preserve the environment, which still allow the economy to grow.)
8.What does Qian Liwei say many people are willing to do?
(Many people are willing to pay slightly higher prices for things that are environmentally friendly)
2. Read the debate again and complete the following chart according to the passage.
Attitude Lin Shuiqing’s Qian Liwei’s
Industry Cut back on production because industry produces waste, pollutes the environment
A healthy environment and a stable economy should be possible at the same time
population More people need more land to live on and more food to eat
People are more important than fish and trees
Recycling Expend our recycling industry Produce more things from recycling materials
ution ①Cut back on production,
②recycle rubbish,
③teach people about environmentally friendly ways of living
① recycle rubbish,
② effective laws,
③ control how many trees are cut down and how many fish boats can catch
④ heavy taxes on the factories producing pollution.
C2. Put the subjects each speaker talks about in the correct order.
Liu Shuiqing
recycling
industrial waste
Population
fishing
water
pollution
production
Qian Liwei
Taxes
recycling
factories
production
laws
D. Look at these words from the debate and match them with their meanings.
1 voice
2 awful
3. wiped out
4. approaching
5. cut back on
6.beneficial
7.obvious
8 stable
a. constant, steady
b. tell, express
c. killed off
d. coming near to,getting close to
e..helpful, useful, favourable
f. terrible,shocking
g. easy to see or understand,
clear,apparent
h. reduce,make less
E Fill in the blanks with words from the box.
industry population waste economy responsibility reduce recycled Earth pollution environment
My aim in life is to save the (1) ____________ for future generations. I want to become an environmentalist after I finish school. Too many people think that (2)____________cannot be stopped if we want the (3)_____________to continue developing. But that is ridiculous. We can (4)__________ dangerous and dirty(5)____________from factories if we are smart about what we buy. I want to teach people to buy (6)_________ products. The production of recycled thing is much better for the environment, because it means we do not need to cut down more trees and cause the destruction of more forests. The (7)___________will still grow, but Earth will not have to suffer. We should also pay attention to what we eat. People should take (8)_______________for not buying certain kinds of fish, because there are not many left in the ocean.
We also have a problem with (9)____________. The number of people in the world keeps growing, and we are producing more rubbish, What if we run out of space? If we all work together, we can solve these problems and keep (10)_________ clean and healthy.
Step 5 Reading strategy:
This is a passage of debate. In today’s reading strategy, we are going to learn How to read something about debate.
(1) In a debate, one side gets the opportunity to present their points first. The other side follows and presents theirs. In an actual debate, there is often a discussion after both sides have presented their views
(2) Speakers in a debate will represent opposite views on the subject being discussed.
(3) While reading or listening to a debate, remember that each speaker’s speech is meant to convince you.
Step 6: Discussion
1. We have talked so much about the passage. Now it is time to discuss. Talk these questions with your partner. You may use the following conversation as an example.
A: My dad says he doesn’t mind a little bit of pollution, as long as it means people have jobs. Personally, I agree. What do you think?
B: I don’t think it has to be a choice. We should be able to have a clean environment and lots of jobs.
A: But do you really think that is possible?
B: Yes, I do. If companies are careful, they can provide jobs and reduce their pollution. Don’t you think that is the best solution?
2. As is known to all, pollution is now becoming more and more serious.
Where have you seen pollution? How did it make you feel?
What do you think is the biggest danger to our environment today?
What can you do to help clean up the environment?
All right. You know, the earth is our home. Destroy the earth is to kill ourselves. So let’s take some measures to stop polluting our home, shall we?
Step 7: Summary and homework
In this period, we’ve learnt something about the relationship between economy and environment. We know that protect the earth is to protect ourselves. After class, you should go through the passage again and tick out the important and useful phrases and sentence structures by yourselves.
Meanwhile, you should devote yourselves to protecting the environment.