Transcript Unit1 Fight with the Forces of Nature

Unit1 Fight with the Forces of
Nature
Text A The Icy Defender
Text organization
Part one Paras 1-2 Introduction—Both Napoleon’s and
Hitler’s military campaigns failed because of the severity
of the Russian winter.
Part two Paras 3-11 Napoleon’s military campaign against
Russia
Part three Paras 12-20 Hitler’s military campaign against the
Soviet Union
Part four Paras 21 Conclusion—The elements of nature
must be reckoned with in any military campaign.
Pre-reading activities
Cultural Notes
1. Background Information
Throughout the history of mankind, there have been
many conquerors. Chengis Khan spent his entire life
conquering neighboring peoples and expanding the
Mongolian Empire. Many Roman Emperors did the
same for the Rome empire—so much so that at one
time they ruled modern-day Great Britain.
Both the Mongolian and Roman Empires had their rise
and fall in the distant past. Yet if we want to examine
conquerors, there is no need to go back that far.
This text will focus on Napoleon and Hitler.
Pre-reading activities
2. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
Emperor of the French, who consolidated and
institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution.
One of the greatest military commanders of all time, he
conquered the larger part of Europe.
During 1802-1815 Napoleon tried to gain control of the
whole of Europe. He had great success against all his
enemies except Britain, whose navy under Nelson
defeated the French navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in
1805.
Pre-reading activities
3. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
German political and military leader
and one of the 20th century’s most
powerful dictators. He converted
Germany into a fully militarized
society and launched World War 2
in 1939.He hoped to conquer the
world, and for a time dominated
most of Europe and much of North
Africa. He instituted sterilization
and euthanasia measures to enforce
his idea of racial purity.
Pre-reading activities
4. Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)
General secretary of the Communist
Party of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics and chairman of
the Council of Ministers of the
USSR. Under his leadership the
USSR was built into a modern
economic and military power that
repelled Hitler’s armies in World
War 2 and rivaled the United States
during the Cold War period.
Pre-reading activities
5. World War 2 (1939-1945)
A war whose European
operations took place
between the Axis powers
(Germany, Italy and
Japan) and the Allies
(Britain, France, and later
the USSR and the USA).
The picture on the right is
a map indicating the
situations in this period.
Pre-reading activities
Par 1 : Read the
quotations listed on
the right column. Try
to learn them by heart
if you can. And think
the question that
human being and
nature, which one is
more powerful, then
air your viewpoint in
the class.
Nature, to be commanded, must
be obeyed.—Francis Bacon
Accuse not Nature, she hath
done her part; Do thou but
thine.—John Milton
The first casualty when war
comes is truth.—Hiram Warren
Johnson
Pre-reading activities
Part 2: Pre-reading questions
1. What does “the icy defender” refer to?
2. What did Napoleon expect when he assembled his
army to attack Russia?
3. What did the Russians do in the face of Napoleon’s
offensive? What strategy did the Russians adopt?
4. What did Napoleon discover after he occupied Moscow?
5. What happened to Napoleon’s army when it was
retreating from Moscow?
6. How many soldiers were there left after the army
limped to Vilna?
7. What did Napoleon do when Paris was captured?
Pre-reading activities
Keys:
1. The “icy defender” refers to the severe winter of
Moscow.
2. He expected a quick victory, predicted the conquest of
Russia in five weeks.
3. The Russians treated eastward, burning their crops and
homes as they went.
4. He found that the occupation of the city was an empty
victory.
5. The Russians launched hit-and-run attacks on the
French.
6. Less than one hundred thousand were left.
7. He abdicated and went into exile.
While-reading activities
Part 1: Language Study
1. In the case of : as far as…is concerned
e.g. The rise in interest rate will be disastrous in the case of
small firms.
Formal training will take at least 3 years in the case of
interior decoration.
2. Stand\get\be in the way: prevent from doing sth.
e.g. Many teachers complain that they can’t make any
improvement in teaching methods as the existing exam
system is in the way.
Fierce competition keeps getting in the way of kids’
development.
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3. Raw: cold and wet; not cooked, refined, processed,
organized or analyzed
e.g. The events took place on a raw February morning.
This cutting board is only used to cut raw meat.
Industrial plants processed the raw material into
finished products for export and for domestic
consumption.
4. Launch: start; send on its course
e.g. Beginning in the early 1960s, humans launched probes
to explore other planets.
Soviet launched the world’s first artificial satellite on
Oct 4,1957.
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5. Campaign: a series of military operations or planned
activities with a particular aim
e.g. Hitler’s advisers tried to persuade him to avoid the risks
of a winter campaign in the Soviet Union and wait until
spring.
6. Efficient: able to work well or producing a satisfactory
result without wasting time or resources
e.g. Remote terminals in the home, connected to data bands,
make the home the most efficient place to work in many
case.
To cut back on fossil fuels, we should build more
efficient cars.
While-reading activities
7. Conquest: conquering, defeat
e.g. The year 1939 had witnessed the conquest of Poland by
Germany.
Hitler assumed the conquest of USSR would be simple.
8. Decisive: producing a definite result or conclusion;
having or showing the ability to decide quickly
e.g. Most of the decisive land campaigns of World War 1
occurred on the continent of Europe.
Lincoln took decisive measure to end slavery.
The adoption of the euro is widely viewed as a decisive
step toward a single European government.
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9. Retreat: move back or withdraw when faced with danger
or difficulty
e.g. After a fierce battle, the troops retreated southward.
We adopted the following strategies: when the enemy
advances, we retreat; when they retreat, we pursue.
10. Be\get bogged down: be unable to make progress
e.g. Most of the tanks were bogged down because of
mechanical defects and inexperienced crews.
The local government got bogged down in problems of
how to handle the emission of hazardous chemicals by
industrial facilities.
While-reading activities
11. Engage: begin fighting with sb; take part in or do;
occupy or attract sb’s interest, ect.
e.g. The commander ordered the soldiers to engage the
enemy immediately.
I have no time to engage in gossip.
We failed to engage any active support for our project.
12. Be faced with: have to deal with
e.g. I am faced with the awful job of breaking the news to
the boy’s family
The assistants were faced with the huge task of listing all
the books.
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13. Crucial: very important (followed by to)
e.g. Amazingly, our soccer team won the victory in the
crucial final game.
Improved consumer confidence is crucial to economic
recovery.
14. Take a gamble: take a risk
e.g. The company took a gamble by cutting the price of their
products, and it paid off.
I think she’s taking a gamble investing all her money in
stocks.
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15. Press on\ahead: continue doing sth. in a determined way
e.g. Our school authorities are keen to press on with
educational reform.
Organizers of the strike are determined to press on.
16. Occupation: the seizure and control of a country or
areas;one’s trade, profession, or business
e.g. During the Japanese occupation of China, millions of
innocent Chinese people were killed by Japanese soldiers.
Many schools have struggled to meet the educational
requirements of new technology-based occupations.
While-reading activities
17. Bide one’s time: wait patiently for a chance
e.g. His political rivals are biding their time for an attack on
his policies.
He bided his time until Harvard University offered him
a professorship.
18. Minus: below zero; made less by; slightly lower than the
mark stated
e.g. Tomorrow’s temperature will be as low as minus ten
degrees centigrade.
I got B minus in the final examination which made me
very upset.
While-reading activities
19. Drag on: move slowly and with effort; continue
endlessly and tediously
e.g. These compensation cases have already dragged on for
one year.
How much longer is the meeting going to drag on?
20. Stroke: any of a series of repeated movements; single
successful or effective action or occurrence; blow
e.g. I saw a chance of solving all my problems at a stroke.
He drove in a nail with one stroke of the hammer.
He won a car in the lottery last week. That’s his first
stroke of good luck.
While-reading activities
21. At the cost of: with the loss of
e.g. Berman saved Johnson at the cost of his own life.
The local government developed its economy but at the
cost of environment.
22. Limp: walk with difficulty, especially when one foot or
leg is hurt
e.g. That dog must be hurt—it’s limping.
I injured my ankle and had to limp.
During the race he fell down but he kept to limp on.
While-reading activities
23. Weaken: (cause to) become weak or weaker
e.g. The Asian financial crisis severely weakened some
countries.
Pneumonia often proves fatal to people with a weakened
immune system.
24. Alliance: a union or an association formed for mutual
benefit, esp. between countries or organizations
e.g. NATO is considered as the most powerful military
alliance in modern history.
Japan and Germany made their formal alliance in 1940.
While-reading activities
25. Invasion: an entering or being entered by an attacking
military force
e.g. The country remained free from invasion for 60 years.
On Hitler’s orders, the invasion of Poland began on
September 1,1939.
26. Declaration: formally announcing; a formal
announcement (followed by of)
e.g. The Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941 without a
declaration of war.
The opening speeches sounded like declarations of war.
While-reading activities
27. Catch sb. Off guard: take sb. by surprise
e.g. The invitation to his wedding caught me off guard.
The manager didn’t know what to say, it was clear that
my question had caught him off guard.
28. Instruct: give orders or directions to somebody
e.g. The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for
compensation.
The professor instructed us that we had one month to
conduct the project.
He instructed family members in nursing techniques.
While-reading activities
29. Render: cause (sb.\sth) to be in a specified condition
e.g. Hundreds of people were rendered homeless by the
earthquake.
The drug will render the tiger harmless for up to two
hours.
He was rendered unconscious by a blow on the back of
the neck.
30. Casualty: a person who is killed or injured in war or in
an accident
e.g. The precise number of casualties in yesterday’s bomb
explosion is not known.
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31. Die from\of : have as the cause of death
e.g. Some animals died of starvation in the snow.
All the plants were dying from lack of rain.
32. Siege: a military operation in which an army tries to
capture a town, etc. by surrounding it and stopping the
supply of food, etc. to the people inside.
e.g. We must do everything possible to lift the siege.
They are hopeful of bringing the siege to a peaceful
conclusion.
The city was under siege for six months.
While-reading activities
33. Bring to a halt: stop completely
e.g. Air traffic in Poland had been brought to a halt by an air
traffic controllers’ strike.
Our journey was brought to a halt by a storm.
34. Offensive: aggressive action, attack
e.g. The Red Army brought its winter offensive to a
successful conclusion.
In January 1944 a Soviet offensive raised the long siege
of Leningrad.
Faced with the invasion, they took immediate offensive
action.
While-reading activities
35. Turn the tide(against): change what looks like defeat into
victory (over)
e.g. The appearance of Joan of Arc turned the tide of war.
Soviet victory in Stalingrad turned the tide of the war in
Europe.
36. Thanks to: because of
e.g. Thanks to her financial support, the two children in the
remote village could go to school.
Thanks to their tireless efforts, the performance was a
great success.
While-reading activities
37. Heroic: having the characteristics of a hero; very brave
e.g. The soldier saved the girl at the cost of his own life. His
heroic deeds were appreciated by all the people in the
community.
he was famed for his heroic deeds during the war.
38. Region: area
e.g. When examining a large geographic unit, geographers
often divide it into smaller regions.
In recent years increasing numbers of tourists have
visited Antarctica to appreciate the region’s majestic
scenery and wildlife.
While-reading activities
39. Reckon: count; consider; think
e.g. The existence of the U.S. is reckoned from the
Declaration of Independence.
Many people reckon him to be a great basketball player.
40. Toll: the number of people or animals killed or injured in
particular circumstances; money paid for the use of a
bridge or road.
e.g. The toll of road deaths and injuries is on the rise.
The local government was allowed to charge tolls for
the use of the roads.
His hard work has taken its toll on his stomach.
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
1. Soil\ Earth
2.
Campaign\ Battle
3.
Decisive\ Crucial
4.
Stick\ Bog
5.
Attack\ Assault
6.
Flee\ Retreat
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
1. Soil: the top layer of the earth in which plants grow;
on British soil\French soil: in Britain, in France
sb’s native soil= sb’s own country
Earth: the world that we live in
substance that plants grow in
the hard surface of the world, as opposed to sea
what\why\how on earth: used when you are
asking a question about sth that you are very surprised
or annoyed about
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
2. Campaign: a series of actions intended to achieve
particular result, especially in politics or business;
a series of battles, attacks intended to achieve
particular result in a war.
Battle: a fight between opposing armies, groups of ships
etc, especially one that is part of a larger war;
a situation in which opposing groups or people
compete or argue with each other when trying to achieve
success or control
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
3. Decisive: an action, event etc that has a powerful effect on
the final result of something;
leading to a clear result and ending doubt;
to be one of the most important causes of sth;
definite and not able to be doubted.
Crucial: something that is crucial is extremely important
because everything else depends on it
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
4. Stick: =push, if a pointed object sticks into sth or you
stick it into sth it is pushed into it;
=fix, to fix sth to sth-else with a sticky substance, or
to become fixed to a surface
=difficult to move, if sth sticks it becomes fixed in
one position so that is is difficult to move
Bog: to become too involved in thinking about or dealing
with one particular thing;
to become stuck in muddy ground and be unable to
move
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
5. Assault: the crime of attacking someone;
a military attack to take control of a place
controlled by the enemy;
an attempt to achieve sth difficult, especially
using physical force.
Attack: an act of deliberately using violence against
someone;
the act of using weapons against an enemy in a
war;
a statement that criticizes someone strongly.
While-reading activities
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
6. Flee: to leave somewhere very quickly in order to escape
from danger;
e.g. We were forced to flee the country.
Retreat: to walk back and away from someone or sth
because you are afraid or embarrassed;
to move away from the enemy after being
defeated in battle;
to go away to a place that is quiet or safe;
to change your mind about a promise you have
made because the situation has become too difficult.
Post-reading activities
Part1: Points for discussion
Divide the students into small groups and discuss the
following questions.
1. In what way was Hitler’s offensive against the Soviet
Union similar to Napoleons’ campaign against Russia?
In what way were they different?
2. Do you think the harsh Russian winter the only factor
that led to Napoleon’s and Hitler’s defeat? Why or why
not?
3. How do you define “war” and do you think war can be
avoided in today’s world? Why or why not?
Post-reading activities
Invading country
France
Germany
Country invaded
Russia
Soviet Union
Starter of war
Napoleon
Hitler
Starting time
Spring, 1812
June 22, 1941
Prediction
Quick victory
Lightning war
Capture of the capital
yes
No
Truce offer
By Napoleon, being
rejected by Czar
No
Biggest enemy for the
invading force
Snow, freezing
temperature
Heavy rain, snow,
freezing coldness
Post-reading activities
The harsh Russian winter was an
important factor that led to
Napoleon’s and Hitler’s defeat, but it
was not the only one. The Russians
had strong will-power and they
united together to fight the enemies.
Many soldiers died for their
motherland, they are brave soldiers
of the great nation; they are brave
sons of their mothers; they are brave
fathers of their kids. The blood of the
martyrs makes the flag red.
Post-reading activities
Prussian military strategist Karl
von Clausewitz said, “War is
nothing but the continuation of
politics with the admixture of
other means.”
War: fighting between two or
more countries or opposing
groups within a country,
involving large numbers of
soldiers and weapons.—From
Longman dictionary of
contemporary English
1.
2.
3.
4.
World War 1
World War 2
Vietnam War
Persian Gulf
War
5. Iraq War
Let the students
to collect the
information if
they want.
Post-reading activities
Part 2: Words and Phrases to drill
Fill in the gaps with words or phrases chosen from the
box below. Change the form where necessary.
Alliance\limp\declaration\heroic\minus\region\siege\stroke
1.The Labor Party’s electoral strategy, which was based on a
tactical__with other smaller parties, has proved successful.
2. The New York fire fighters’__deeds in rescuing the
September 11 victims were celebrated across the country.
3. By a __of good luck, Carol, who had been buried in the
rubble for more than 20 hours, came out alive.
4. My brother was not badly hurt, but he injured his leg and
had to __around for a few weeks.
Post-reading activities
5. The aircraft was subjected to a test of temperatures of
__65 degrees Celsius and plus 120 degrees.
6. Tax incentives will be used to attract companies to the
western __of our country away from the east coast.
7. The opening speeches sounded more like__of war than
offerings of peace.
8. After a three-day __ by the police, the terrorists who had
seized the restaurant had to give in.
Key: 1.alliance\2.heroic\3.stroke\4.limp
5.minus\6.regions\7.declarations\8.siege
Post-reading activities
Part 3: Translation
Translate the following passage into English, using the
words and phrases given below:
Casualty
Engage
Stroke
Instruct
decisive offensive
be faced with
launch take a gamble
press on
get bogged down
thanks to
minus
at the cost of turn the tide catch off guard
Post-reading activities
原文：
攻势已经持续了三天，但是我们并没有取得多少进展。
我们在前线与敌人交战的部队遇到了强力的抵抗。师
长命令我们营绕到敌人后方发起突然袭击。然而，要
绕到敌人后方，我们必须越过一片沼泽地。我们很多
人担心会陷入泥潭之中。我们营长决定冒一下险。我
们在夜幕掩盖下出发，不顾困难，奋勇向前。幸运的
是，夜间温度突然下降到摄氏零下20度，烂泥地都结
上了冰。由于这寒冷的天气，我们于天亮前到达并从
敌人后方发起进攻。这一下扭转了战局。敌人没有戒
备，不久便投降了。
Post-reading activities
Key of Translation
The offensive had already lasted three days, but we had
not gained much ground. Our troops engaging the enemy
at the front were faced with still resistance. The division
commander instructed our battalion to get around to the
rear of the enemy and launch a surprise attack. To do so,
however, we had to cross a marshland and many of us
were afraid we might get bogged down in the mud. Our
battalion commander decided to take a gamble. We
started under cover of darkness and pressed on in spite of
great difficulties. By a stroke of luck, the temperature at
night suddenly dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and
Post-reading activities
the marsh froze over. Thanks to the cold weather, we
arrived at our destination before dawn and began
attacking the enemy from the rear. This turned the tide of
the battle. The enemy, caught off guard, soon surrendered.
Hints: division commander( 师长)
battalion (营)
marshland(沼泽地)
Text B Normandy Landing
Part 1: Cultural notes
1.Normandy Landing:it is
the largest and most
ambitious military
expedition in history.
American,British and
Canadian forces landed
on Normandy, which
was in northwest France,
on the English Channel.
Text B Normandy Landing
2. Dwight David Eisenhower (18901972):
艾森豪威尔是格兰特总统之后第二位职
业军人出身的总统。他在5 0 岁之前默
默无闻，甚至在军界也不为人所熟知。
第二次世界大战中，他脱颖而出，锋芒
毕露，在指挥盟军打击纳粹德国的重大
战役中，屡建战功。四年之内，由陆军
上校晋升为五星上将。但在两届总统任
内，政绩平平。在任期内朝鲜战争刚结
束，越南战争尚末开始，是战后美国比
较稳定的时期。
Text B Normandy Landing
3. He is the German field
marshal, noted for his
brilliant generalship in
north Africa in World
War 2. Later a
commander in France.
He committed suicide
after the officers’ plot
against Hitler.
Erwin Rommel
(1891-1944):
nicknamed the
Desert Fox.
Text B Normandy Landing
Part 2 : Vocabulary
Artillery 大炮 aircraft 飞机 troop 军队
fleet 舰队
Sea-borne troop 渡海部队
airborne unit 空降部队
Paratrooper 空降兵
pathfinder 伞降信号兵
Armada 舰队 naval vessel 军舰 battery 炮台
Transport plane 运输机 anti-aircraft 高射炮
Assault craft 强击艇 minesweeper 扫雷舰
Anti-personnel 杀伤地雷 landing craft 登陆艇
Cavalry squadron 骑兵中队 shelter 掩体
Naval bombardment 舰炮轰击
Text B Normandy Landing
Part 3: Comprehension questions
1. If you had to choose a subtitle for the passage, which of
the following would be the best?
A: Fooling the Germans
B: The Role of General Eisenhower
C: The Largest Invasion Ever
D: Gambling with the Forces of Nature
Text B Normandy Landing
2. It can be inferred that___.
A: planning the invasion was not complicated except for
predicting the weather.
B: it was impossible to predict how any of the forces of
nature would behave.
C: moonlight was needed by the navy.
D: the planners were wise to allow for the possibility of
delay
Text B Normandy Landing
3. The weather forecast for 6 June predicted that___.
A: the storm would have completely ended.
B: the storm might die down for a while.
C: the storm would get worse before it got better.
D: the weather would be as expected for the time of year.
Text B Normandy Landing
4. It can be inferred that the Germans did not expect the
invasion on 6 June because___.
A: they thought that weather would be bad.
B: they believed the Allies could not agree.
C: the allied decoys had fooled them into believing the
invasion would take place later.
D: they expected the landings on the seventh.
Text B Normandy Landing
5. Many paratroopers landed in the wrong place because__.
A: the pathfinders had been blown away from the correct
landing sites.
B: of enemy anti-aircraft fire.
C: visibility was poor.
D: of bad planning.
Text B Normandy Landing
6. The ships’ guns were ineffective because of ___.
A: poor visibility
B: fear of hitting the troops as they landed
C: the high seas
D: the strength of the German defense
Keys: 1.D 2.D 3.B 4.A 5.B 6.D