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必修一 Unit 5 Nelson Mandela
—a modern hero
Using language
Introduction
Language is learned to be used in and for communication. So in this period we shall have the students not only listen but also read and write in English. The most attention goes to reading and writing.
Objectives
■ To help the students listen about the same topic as is read in the first period
■ To help students read another passage about the same person covered in the first period
■ To help students write an imaginary letter making use of the learned words and structures
Procedures
1. Warming up by listening
We have read a story about Elias. Do you remember why it was difficult for him to get a job? Yes, you are right. He didn’t have a passbook. But what is a passbook? Why is it important?
Let’s listen to a short passage and find out. Now turn to page 38. Listen to the tape for the text.
2. Reading and copying
On page 38 you see a passage entitle THE REST OF ELIAS’ STORY. Go over it to find the sentences you can’t understand. And copy down all the useful expressions at the same time.
Useful expressions
make…afraid, escape from…, spend the hardest time, help…in one way, begin a school for…, study very little, during the lunch break, under one’s blanket, make candles, study for one’s degree, allow…to join…,stop…from…, pass the exam, get a degree, feel good about…, finish four years in prison, find a job, work in…, blow up…, lose one’s job, come to power, beg for…, take …round…, feel bad, work for…, show…over…, make …free in one’s own land
3. Acting a text dialogue
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Next we are going to do a group activity. We will do it in groups of four. Suppose one of you is Elias and works as a tour guide. The other three of you are tourists who are very interested in the prison and Mandela’s life.
Tourist: How did you get to know Nelson Mandela?
Elias: It was in 1950. I was working as a miner in Johannesburg but I hadn’t a passbook to live there. So I went to Mandela’s law firm to ask for advice.
Tourist: Can you explain to me some of Nelson Mandela’s political ideas or beliefs?
Elias: Yes. He found that we black people were not treated as equally as the white people and he would fight for our rights. However, he said that we should fight in a peaceful way. Only when this was not allowed did we decide to answer violence with violence.
Tourist: How did he help you through your life?
Elias: First, he helped me to get the correct papers to stay in Johannesburg and keep my job as I mentioned above. Then he taught me to read and write when I was in prison. This is very important to me because it enables me to get more job opportunities. Later he gave me my present job.
Tourist: What was life like on Robben Island?
Elias: Miserable and cruel. The guards and soldiers treated us badly, beat us violently for no reasons and insulted us in different ways.
Tourist: How did you manage to study on Robben Island?
Elias: We studied during the lunch breaks and the evenings when we should have asleep. We read books under our blankets and used anything we could find to make candles to see the words.
Tourist: What kinds of job have you ever done?
Elias: A miner, an office worker and now a tour guide.
Tourist: What do you think of your present job?
Elias: I like it very much. And I am proud to show visitors over the prison, for I helped to make our people free in our own land.
4. Doing a guided writing task
⑴Preparing for writing
Imagine now Mr Mandela is in prison. If you are going to write a letter to the President of South
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Africa asking him to free Nelson Mandela, what would be included? Do you remember the format of a letter? What should be the main content of this letter? How would you try to persuade the president?
Now go over Life of Nelson Mandela on page 39 for any useful information.
⑵ Writing the letter
Doctor 26, 2007
The Honorable President of South Africa
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing you because we think South Africa’s policy toward Mr Mandela is not right, and that we may soon face a threat in our country more serious than any we have known since the end of last century.
Mr Mandela is a great person. He works for the equal rights of the black people. The blacks are human beings. They have the same right as the whites’ to live in this land. In your upcoming New Year’s Speech, you have an opportunity to plan a clear and determined course for meeting this threat. We ask you to seize that opportunity, and to work out a new policy that would protect the interests of the people. That policy should aim, above all, at the freedom of Mr Mandela. We stand ready to offer our full support in this difficult but necessary effort.
We ask you to act decisively. If you act now to end Mandela’s imprisonment, you will be acting in the most fundamental national interests of the country. If you keep him still in prison, you put our interests and our future at risk.
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams, Richard L. Armitage, William J. Bennett
5. Closing down by sharing
To end this period share your letter with your partners and make necessary changes.
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