Transcript reading

The interesting world of plants
Match the names and the photos
bamboo
rice
lotus
Which of the plants above
a. is used for building?
b. produces grains?
c. is similar to the water lily?
Questions
1. In China, besides rice, what other plants
do people often eat?
----Wheat, corn, bamboo shoot, sweet potato,
soybean, barley (大麦), sorghum(高粱)…
2. Do you know any other edible(可食用的)
flowers besides lotus?
----Rose, jasmine, chrysanthemum, mint,
peach blossom, honeysuckle(金银花)…
3. Can you name any other plants that are
used to build houses or make furniture
with in Asia?
----Pine, straw(稻草), rattan(藤)…
Read
1 Water lilies can often be seen in China, with
their round leaves, or pads, floating in pounds.
2 Some flowering plants can also be eaten.
3 The banyan tree is an interesting tree with
many roots growing down from its branches.
4 Speaking of trees, a gingko tree believed to be
around 2,800 years old was recently discovered
in Hebei Province, China.
Skimming
1. Where are water lilies found floating in China? ( b )
A. In the sea B. In ponds
C. In swimming pools
2. What can we do with some flowering plants? ( a )
A. Eat them B. Smell them C. Sell them
3. Which tree has roots which grow down from its
branches? ( a )
A. The banyan tree
B. The gingko tree
C. The bristlecone tree
4. Where was an old gingko tree found? ( c )
A. In America B. In Shanghai C. In Hebei Province
Scanning
1
In Asia, parts of it are often
eaten.
the lotus
2
It is one of the oldest of all
trees.
3
It can have very large flowers.
4
It can cover a large area.
the banyan tree
5
It is called the longevity tree in
China.
the gingko tree
the bristlecone
pine tree
the Victoria lily
Replace the italicized words with the
appropriate words in the box. Change the
form of the words as necessary.
speak of
separate
original
serve
float
pad
1. After the accident, the ship could no longer stay on
the surface of the water. float
2. After the main dish, the waiter will bring the
customers the soup. serve
3. Referring back to films, would you like to go to the
cinema later? speaking of
4. After the fire, none of the first or beginning buildings
remained. original
5. The couple were forced to live in different cities
because of their work. separate
6. There were many frogs sitting on the lily flat leaves in
the water. pads
Fill in the blanks
enormous relative trunk bark root
relatives
roots
enormous
trunk
bark
True or False
Both the Victoria lily and the lotus are
flowering plants. T
2. The lotus has many holes in its perple
root. F
3. Eating lotus seeds and roots is very
popular in Europe. F
4. The banyan tree can be found all over
the world. F
1.
5. The roots of the banyan tree can plant
themselves and grow bark. T
6. There are no gingko trees left in China. F
7. The gingko tree is the oldest tree in the
world. F
8. The oldest bristlecone pine tree is more
than forty centuries old. T
9. All the plants mentioned in the transcript
grow in China. F
Match
Para. 1:
This is a Victoria lily, the largest kind of
water lily in the world.
Para. 2:
The lotus, a near relative of the water lily,
is such a plant.
Para. 3:
The banyan tree is an interesting tree
with many roots growing down from its
branches.
Pare. 4:
Many gingko trees have been around for
more than 1, 000 years.
Questions
1. Where does a huge Victoria lily grow?
____________________________________
A huge Victoria lily grows in Hangzhou.
2. On which part of the Victoria lily can
people stand?
___________________________
People can stand on its pads.
3. How large can the leaves of the Victoria
get to be?
___________________________________
The leaves of the Victoria lily can grow
__________________________
to be more than metres wide.
4. What colour are the Victoria lily’s flowers?
_______________________________________
The largest banyan tree can be found in India.
5. Which part of the lotus can be eaten?
________________________________________
The
Victoria lily’s flowers are white or purple.
6. Where can the largest banyan tree be found?
________________________________________
People
can eat the roots and seeds of the lotus.
7. How large an area does the largest banyan
tree cover?
___________________________________
The largest banyan tree covers an area
___________________________
larger than a football pitch.
8. Which plant can look like a forest of small
trees?
_________________________________________
The banyan tree can look like a forest of small
______
trees.
9. What was recently discovered in Hebei
Province? How old is it?
_________________________________________
A gingko tree which is around 2, 800 years old
_____________________________________
has
recently been discovered in Hebei Province.
10. What type of tree can be found in Nevada?
How old is it?
___________________________________
A bristlecone pine tree in Nevada is more
___________________
than 4, 600 years old.
Important
sentences
1. Its pads are more than two metres wide and its
white or purple flowers can grow as large as 45
centimetres across
它的浮叶有两米多宽，白色或紫色的花可以长
到45厘米宽。
across在此处为副词，“从一边到另一边；宽”。如：
That river is more than half a mile across.
那条河有半英里多宽。
2. The lotus, a near relative of the water lily, is
such a plant.
与睡莲同科属的荷花就是这样一种植物。
a near relative of the water lily“与睡莲同科属的植物”
在句中作主语the lotus的同位语。名词或名词作同位
语可用来进一步说明所修饰的名词，常位于逗号后。
如：
Mrs. Woolard, a distant relative of little Tom, adopted
him after his parents died.
小汤姆的父母去世后，一位远亲—伍德太太收养了他。
3. The banyan tree is interesting tree with many roots
growing down its branches.
(1) with “有；带有”, 与所接名词一起构成介词短语，
作定语，修饰前面的名词。如：
Children like to read books with many interesting
pictures.
(2) growing down from its branches是一个现在分词
短语，其功能 相当于一个定语从句，在句中修饰名
词roots. 如：
Do you know the boy chatting with Jane?
Do you know the boy who is chatting with Jane?
4. Even though it is only one tree, it looks like a
whole forest!
even though为复合连词, “尽管，虽然”, 引导
让步状语从句。如：
I like the little girl very much, even though she
can be very annoying sometimes.
5. Speaking of trees, a gingko tree believed to
be around 2,800 years old was recently
discovered in Hebei Province, China.
(1) believed to be around 2,800 years old是一个过去分
词短语，在句中作定语。如：
The French lady, moved to tears by the poor boy’s
story, decided to finance him until he finished his
university education.
(2) speaking of是一个固定的现在分词短语，
意为“提起，说到”。可单独放在句子前作
状语，也可作插入主，其逻辑主语和句子的
主语可以不一致。其他类似的常见现在分词
短语有：
generally speaking,
judging from…,
considering…,
talking of….,
supposing..,
time permitting…,
6. Many gingko trees have been around for
more 1,000 years—that is the reason why
they are known as ‘longevity trees’ in
China.
around 在本句中是副词，意思是“存
在 着，活着”。如：
The dog is very healthy, and is going to
be around for many years yet.
7. While gingko trees can live for a long time,
they are not even near being the oldest
trees.
while在此句中是连词，意为“虽然，尽
管”，while引导的让步状语从句位于句首，
相当于although. 如：
While he became quite wealthy, he still led
a simple life. 尽管他变得非常富有了，他仍
然过着一种朴素的生活。
8. Bristlecone pine trees in America
are among the oldest living trees.
介词among意思是“在……中；……之
一”，后可接复数名词、代词或集合名词。
如：
Books and pens were among the materials
sent to the schools in the poor mountain area.
送往贫困山区学校的物品中有书和笔。
Exercise
1.Perhaps this is the only market ______ we can
get such cheap goods.
A. that
B. of which
C. by which
D. where
2. There are times ______ I wonder why I do this
job instead of that.
A. as
B. while
C. when
D. which
3. He reached London in 2001, ______, some time later,
he became a famous actor.
A. where
B. when
C. which
D. that
4. Jane still lives in the house, the door ______ faces to
the southeast.
A. which
B. whose
C. where
D. of which
5. I’ll never forget the days ______ we spent together
ten years ago.
A. on which
B. that
C. when
D. for which
6. I can still remember the place ______ my
girlfriend and I used to walk after supper.
A. which
B. what
C. where
D. that
7. We’re just trying to reach a point ______ both
sides will sit down together and talk.
A. where
B. that
C. when
D. which
8. To tell you the truth, I don’t like the way ______ he
spoke to his parents.
A. which
B. by which C. in which D. on which
9. The company has 1,000 employees, ______ 800 are
women.
A. of whom B. whose C. that
D. of which
1. In China, besides rice, what other plants do
people often eat?
(Wheat, corn, bamboo shoot, sweet potaton,
soybean…)
1. Can you name any other plants that are used
to build houses or make furniture with in
Asia?
Strategy
Finding the topic sentence and examples
Paragraphs which explain something usually have a
topic sentence, which tell us what the paragraph is
mostly about. The topic sentences is often the first
sentence in the paragraph. A paragraph also has
details that help explain the topic. One type of detail is
an example. In order to understand what a paragraph
is about, you need to be able to see the difference
between the topic and details (i.e., the examples).