UNIT 2 Fun with Language

UNIT 2Fun with Language

Unit 2 Fun with Language

Opening and Closing a Conversation In everyday life, we often have to open and close a conversation. This exercise focuses on how people perform these communicative functions. Listen to the recording and decide if the first sentence of each short dialogue you hear begins the opening or the closing of a conversation.

Communicative Function Listening Strategy NotesUseful Expressions


Example: -- Would you mind closing the window?

It's cold in here. -- Of course not. a. Opening b. Closing



1. a. Opening b. Closing




1. -- It’s been a really wonderful evening. Thank you very much for inviting us.

-- I’m glad you enjoyed it.

-- Maybe we could get together sometime at my home.

-- Sounds nice.



2.-- Great party, isn’t it?

-- Yeah, really.

-- You look familiar to me. Have we met before?

-- I’m afraid not.



3. -- I’m afraid I have to go now.

-- So soon? Well, I enjoyed our talk together.

-- Me too.



4. -- Excuse me, could you tell me the time?

-- It’s half past five by my watch.

-- Thank you very much.

-- You’re welcome.



5. -- Is this seat taken?

-- Oh, let me move my stuff.

-- Aren’t you Jack Brown? I’m Bill, Bill Stone.

-- Oh, hello, Bill. Fancy meeting you here!



6. -- Hi, Jack. So good to see you.

-- Oh, hi, Andy. It’s been quite a while since we saw each other last. How’re things with you?

-- Just fine. What’ve you been doing these years?

-- Well, I’ve been studying for my Ph.D degree here at the university.

-- That’s wonderful.


Distinguishing between Similar Sounds It is important to distinguish between similar sounds while listening. Names like Jean and Jane, figures like 18 and 80 can sound quite alike. Titles like Mrs. and Miss can also be confusing. Listen to the recording and choose the word you hear in each sentence.

Communicative Function NotesListening Strategy Useful Expressions


1. a. Miss b. Mrs.

2. a. 1913 b. 1930

3. a. can b. can’t

4. a. 20th b. 28th

5. a. Mary b. married



6. a. Black b. Blake

7. a. is b. isn’t

8. a. said b. sad

9. a. bill b. beer

10. a. Ann b. Anna




1. May I introduce Miss Jones to you?

2. John Davis was born in California in 1930.

3. I can’t agree with you more.

4. My birthday is on June 20th.

5. Paul, is your sister married?



6. Look, here comes Mr. Black, our sales manager.

7. Bob isn’t in the library right now.

8. Mr. Taylor is said to be leaving for South Africa soon.

9. Pass me the beer, please.

10. I was wondering if you could help Anna with her music lessons.


Communicative Function Notes

Useful Expressions for Opening and Closing a ConversationOpening a Conversation1. Beautiful day, isn’t it?2. Terrible weather, don’t you think so?3. Excuse me, is anybody sitting here / is this seat

taken?4. I wonder if you can do me a favor.5. You look familiar to me, aren’t you …?

Listening Strategy Useful Expressions


6. Excuse me, haven’t we met somewhere before?7. Excuse me, have you got any stamps?8. Excuse me, could you tell me the time?9. Excuse me, is this the way to the library?10. Sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing － did you me

ntion something about ...?11. Er, do you have a minute? I’m not quite sure what

this word means.



Closing a Conversation1. It was nice talking to you / to see you again.2. It was great seeing you.3. See you again sometime / See you tomorrow.4. Have a good day / a nice weekend / trip.5. Thanks very much for inviting us to your

wonderful party. 6. I hope to see you again soon. Let’s have lunch

together sometime.



7. I’m afraid I have to get back to my office. I’m expecting a phone call.

8. It’s been great seeing you again. Gee, look at the time. I’ve got to run. Talk to you later.

9. Well, thanks for talking to us today.10. I’ve got to be going. I’ll be in touch.11. Well, the time has come for us to say

goodbye.12. Keep in touch. Remember to give me a ring /

send me an e-mail sometime.



Communicative Function

“Have a good day” is an informal expression used when people part from each other.

Similar expressions are “Have a good weekend / trip / evening.”

Listening Strategy NotesUseful Expressions


Here are some useful sentences and structures that you might find handy in discussing the questions in Pair Work: • I often speak English to / with my friends. • To tell the truth, I seldom speak English.• I make mistakes whenever I open my mouth to speak English. • Mistakes are probably unavoidable when we try to speak a foreign language.• No mistakes, no progress.• I’m afraid of making mistakes because I don’t want to lose face, so sometimes I just give up.

Pre-listening Tasks Listening Tasks Speaking Tasks

Pair WorkLanguage Focus


• I think the best way to improve our oral English is to speak as much as possible.• We learn to speak by speaking.• Practice makes perfect.• Reading more and listening more helps to improve oral English.• No input, no output.• Topics like the weather, places, trips, hobbies, films, books ... tend to be safe.• Personal questions should be avoided, I think.




Questions for Discussion1. You have learned English for several years, but do

you often speak English with your classmates and friends?

2. Are you afraid of making mistakes?3. How can you improve your English conversation

skills?4. If you want to talk to a native speaker of English you

meet for the first time, what topics are appropriate?5. How would you start and close a conversation?




1. appropriate a. suitable, proper 恰当的，合适的 2. smoothly ad. easily, without difficulty 顺利地，无困难地3. half the battle the thing that counts most in succ

essfully carrying through a difficult task 成功的重要条件


Exercise 1 Exercise 2Word Bank Language and Cultural Notes


Background information Language is closely related to culture. There are cultural differences between China and the English-speaking countries. In Chinese, questions like “Have you had your breakfast?” or “Where are you going?” are often used to greet a person or to initiate a conversation. However, to native speakers of English, the question about the meal would suggest an invitation and therefore may cause misunderstanding.

Word Bank Language and Cultural Notes


Exercise 1 Exercise 2


Similarly, the question “Where are you going?” in English is normally a request for information and only used by someone in authority or between very close friends. Therefore, in conversations with native speakers of English, we have to guard against inappropriate topics. In the West, directly asking adults, especially women, their age is generally regarded as impolite. “How much do you earn?” is also an embarrassing question. Income is considered as an extremely personal and private affair, and even within





a family, one may not know the exact salary of another family member. Asking native speakers of English directly how much they paid for something is also regarded as an invasion of their privacy. If you really want to get information about the above-mentioned matters, you should use indirect ways. For example, instead of “How much did it cost?” you can say “Is it very expensive?” This gives your partner a choice of reply. In addition, do not give them advice, such as “Put on more clothes” and “Drink plenty of water”.





Such remarks seem to them to be rather too parental. In a word, we have to make our English not only grammatically correct but also socially acceptable. In other words, we should be developing a cross-cultural perspective in learning English. There are also similarities in the two cultures, despite the differences. Appropriate topics can be jobs, hobbies, housing, holidays and outings, films, TV programs, and other forms of entertainment.





Listen to the recording once and then do the following.

1. Rearrange the order of the following sentences according to the passage you hear.

a. Use some strategies to carry on the conversation. b. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, which are

unavoidable. c. Choose an appropriate topic to start a

conversation. b c a

Exercise 1Language and Cultural Notes

_______________

Word Bank


Exercise 2


2. Which of the following does the speaker intend to convey to the listeners?

a. Courage and a willingness will definitely result in errors.

b. Starting a conversation is more difficult than closing it.

c. Choose an appropriate topic and the conversation will be a success.

d. Mistakes are unavoidable when you learn to speak a foreign language.

Exercise 1Language and Cultural NotesWord Bank


Exercise 2



Listen to the recording once again and complete the

answers to the following questions. 1. What are inappropriate topics to open an

English conversation according to the passage?a. age b. money c. people’s appearance

____ ________ ______________________

Language and Cultural NotesWord Bank



2. If your partner speaks too fast for you to follow, what can you say? a. Excuse me, but could you say that again? I didn’t catch it.b. Could you speak more slowly, please ? ______________________________

__________________________

________

Exercise 1 Exercise 2Language and Cultural NotesWord Bank



3. How do you close a conversation politely?a. Well, I really need to be going .b. It was nice talking to you .

___________________________

___________________

Exercise 1 Exercise 2Language and Cultural NotesWord Bank



Exercise 2Exercise 1Language and Cultural NotesWord Bank



Listen to the conversations and repeat after the recording. Practise the conversations with your partner, playing the role of A or B. Then work with your partner to create your own conversations by replacing the underlined parts with your own words.


Conversation 1 Conversation 2Pair Work


A: Excuse me, Jack, 1)do you have a minute?B: Yes. 2)What can I do for you?A: Well,3) I wonder if you could tell me how I could imp

rove my oral English. B: Mm. Do you often speak English with your friends?A: I wanted to, but 4)every time I open my mouth I see

m to make errors, so sometimes I just give up.

Conversation 2Pair Work Conversation 1



B: I guess speaking in a foreign language isn’t easy. 5)You must be willing to make some errors at the beginning.

A: You mean 6)I shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes. B: That’s right.A: And I should 7)try to speak English as much as I can.B: 8)Exactly.A: Thanks for the advice. B: Any time.




Substitution1) … are you free now / can I talk to you for a

second?2) How can I help you / What’s up?3) I wonder if you could give me some tips to

improve my spoken English / I wonder if you could tell me how to better my spoken English.

4) The minute I begin to speak English I make mistakes / I’m so nervous when I speak English that I keep making mistakes.




5) You need to understand that mistakes are unavoidable for a beginner / You needn’t worry about making mistakes at first.

6) … it’s all right if I make some mistakes / making some mistakes is OK.

7) … try my best to speak English / try to speak as much English as possible / try to speak English at every opportunity.

8) That’s right /That’s it.




(On the way to class) A: 1)Cold this morning, isn’t it?B:Yes, and it’s supposed to 2)get even colder. A: I hope it 3)won’t get as cold as last night.B: Speaking of last night, did you attend the

English Speech Contest?




A: Yes, I did. It was 4)terrific. 5)That guy who won the first prize speaks really fluent English. I do admire him.

B: Me, too. We’ll just have to work harder. Maybe one of us can win the next English contest.

A: Yeah, maybe. Who knows? B: Well, I have to run now. 6)I have an

appointment with the dean. Bye.A: Bye.




Substitution 1) Hot this morning / Humid today2) become even hotter later in the day / get more

humid in the afternoon3) won’t be so hot as / won’t turn so humid as4) marvelous / amazing5) I’m really impressed by the first prize winner.

His English is so fluent. / The first prize winner does speak such fluent English. I think he’s great.

6) I have to see the dean. / I have to meet someone at the library.




Movie Time Time to TalkAdditional Listening

A Passage Smile When You Read This Listen to the passage and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Correct the ones that are false.


1. The smiling students could remember more of the happy article than the frowning students.

__T ________________________________________2. The smiling students could also remember more

of the angry article than the frowning students. F. The frowning students remembered the angry article better.

_______________________________________________________

_______________

_______________________________________________________



3. According to the speaker, facial expressions might affect a person’s memory.

__T ________________________________________4. Nowadays the specialists understand why facial

expressions can help to improve memory. F . The specialists still don’t know why facial expressions help memory.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_____________________________



Movie Time

New Words Exercise

Additional Listening

Movie

Time to Talk


Saturn n. [ 天 ] 土星approval n. 赞成，同意galaxy n. 星系factor in 包括，把…计算在内orbit v. 绕轨道运行；在…轨道上运行mature a. 成熟的evolve v. 进化consume v. 消耗；大吃，大喝vegetarian n. 素食者anniversary n. 周年纪念

New Words ExerciseMovie

Movie TimeAdditional Listening Time to Talk


1. What was the boy interested in? a. The hotdogs. b. The evening party. c. The camp fire. d. The outer space and planets.




2. What did they observe through the telescope? a. Many Earth-like planets. b. A new galaxy. c. A planet orbiting the sun. d. The Moon.




3. Why didn’t the boy want the hotdogs? a. He’d decided to be a vegetarian. b. He was too tired to eat. c. He was unhappy. d. He’d already had his meal.




4. What did the father and son pledge? a. They would not argue any more. b. They would go to school together tomorrow. c. They would not part from each other forever. d. They would finish the job.




ExerciseNew WordsMovie



PicturesLook at these pictures of university students and describe them one by one. Use your imagination as much as possible.



1. A happy chat:

an Asian and a black,

laugh happily, have some activities, take a walk, have a break;

in a wooded ( 小树林 ) area, lovely trees and grass



2. Friendly conversations:

several groups, students of different ethnic ( 种族的 ) backgrounds ( 背景 )

around a table, outdoors, waters, soft drinks;

a discussion with classmates / friends, exchange ideas ( 交流思想 ), explain something, listen attentively ( 转注地 )



3. Translate one language into another:

have a meeting, discuss something;

speak different languages, may not understand one another, difficult to communicate;

translator in a small room, listen with a headphone ( 耳机 ), translate at the same time;

simultaneous interpreting ( 同声翻译 ) ， help people communicate




1. The picture shows a happy chat between an Asian and a black. The Asian girl is laughing happily while talking to the black woman. Though we don't know what she is laughing at, we do know that they are having a wonderful time. Maybe they are having a picnic in a wooded area, with lovely trees and grass all around.



2. Several groups of students are sitting around tables in an outdoor café. Though they are from different ethnic backgrounds, they are talking to each other friendly while having some soft drinks. One student is explaining something while others are listening attentively.



3. From the picture we can see some people are having a meeting or discussing something. Maybe they speak different languages and cannot understand one another. But we can also see a translator in a small room helping them to communicate. With a headphone on her head, she listens and translates at the same time. This is called the simultaneous interpreting.


A Passage Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.

Test Your Listening


1. What condition does the expression “beside oneself” describe today?a. It describes something that really is not possible.b. It describes the possibility of having two of the same person appear together.c. It describes someone who is completely helpless because of anger.d. It describes someone who is extremely excited because of anger or joy.

Test Your Listening


2. What is meant by the expression “flip your lid”?a. You may do something strange in extreme excitement.b. You are beside yourself with happiness.c. You lose self-control due to happiness or anger.d. You turn over the lid of your cooking pot to let the heat out.

Test Your Listening


3. What does the passage mainly discuss?a. Expressions used to describe someone in great joy.b. Origins of some expressions describing someone in great anger.c. Meanings and effectiveness of some common expressions.d. People’s excitement and related expressions.

Test Your Listening


Test Your Listening

UNIT 2 Fun with Language

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Transcript of UNIT 2 Fun with Language