-
Unit 1
The power of language
A famous quote
Language is the dress of
thought.
——
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), British man
of letters, one of the
most
outstanding
figures
of
the
18
th
century
in
England.
He
made
lasting
contributions
to
English
literature
as
a
poet,
essayist,
moralist,
literary
critic,
biographer,
editor
and
lexicographer. Johnson has been
described as
“
arguably the
most
distinguished man of letters in
English history
”
.
Speaking Activity
Making Suggestions
Sample
dialogue
Read
the
following
conversation.
Pay
attention
to
how
the
speakers
make suggestions.
Steve:
Hi, Jenny, would you like to do
something with me this
weekend?
Jenny:
Sure.
What shall we do?
Steve:
I don
’
t know. Do
you have any ideas?
Jenny:
Why don
’
t we see
a film?
Steve:
That sounds good to me. Which film
shall we see?
Jenny:
Let
’
s see Action
Man 4.
Steve:
I
’
d
rather
not.
I
don
’
t
like
violent
films.
How
about
going to Mad Doctor Brown?
I
hear it
’
s quite a funny
film.
Jenny:
OK. Let
’
s go see
that. When is it on?
Steve:
It
’
s at 8
o
’
clock at the Rex. Shall we
have a bite to eat
before the film?
Jenny:
Sure,
that sounds great. What about going to that new
Italian restaurant
Michetti
’
s?
Steve:
Great
idea! Let
’
s meet there at
six.
Jenny:
OK.
I
’
ll see you at
Michetti
’
s at six. Bye.
Steve:
Bye.
Guided
practice
Directions:
Give
your
friends
some
suggestions
on
a
place
where you can spend
your vacation. Use your own information.
You may use the following tips to help
you.
Would you like to
…
?
Shall we
go
…
?
Let
’
s
go
…
?
Why
don
’
t we (you)
go
…
?
How (What)
about going
…
?
That
’
s a good
idea.
Good suggestion.
Thanks for the advice.
Test A
Pre-reading Questions
1.
Do you usually
challenge the idea an author represents? What
do you think is active reading?
2.
what
suggestions
do
you
expect
the
author
will
give
on
reading critically?
Critical Reading
Critical reading applies to non-fiction
writing in which the
author
puts
forth
a
position
or
seeks
to
make
a
statement.
Critical
reading
is
active
reading.
It
involves
more
than
just
understanding
what
an
author
is
saying.
Critical
reading
involves
questioning
and
evaluating
what
the
author
is
saying,
and forming your own
opinions about what the author is saying.
Here are the things you should do to be
a critical reader.
Consider
the
context
of
what
is
written.
You
may
be
reading something that was written by
an author from a different
cultural
context than yours. Or, you may be reading
something
written some time ago in a
different time context than yours. In
either
case,
you
must
recognize
and
take
into
account
any
differences
between
your
values
and
attitudes
and
those
represented by the
author.