Unit 9

A Rabbit’s Foot and a Piece of Wood

Deborah Soong

Teaching Activities

Index

Teaching Activities1st period 1. Warm-up

2. The Vocabulary, and Idioms & Phrases within Paragraphs 1-4

3. Reading – Paragraphs 1-42nd period 1.

The Vocabulary, and Idioms & Phrases within Paragraphs 5-9

2. Reading – Paragraphs 5-93. Post-reading

3rd period 1. Word File2. Sentence Patterns3. Expansion4. Writing Practice

4th period Part II Oral & Listening ~ Unit 7

Warm-upVocabulary Idioms & Phrases

Reading~Paragraphs 1-4

The Westerners’

A rabbit’s foot and a piece of wood?

Yes, they believe both the above bring good luck. And what about other traditional superstitions of the westerners?

God bless you!

Someone should say “God bless you” to avoid the devil’s mischief when you sneeze.

You’d better cover your mouth when you yawn—also to avoid the devil’s mischief.

Cover your mouth!

“13” is the number that brings bad luck. You’d better stay away from everything related to the number.

13! Something bad will happen!

Moreover, Friday the 13th is the worst day in a year. Be careful!

中華民國九十三年 2004

六月 June

13星期五

大凶 本日諸事不宜

Don’t do anything on that

day.

The girl who catches the bride’s flowers will be the next one to get married. But... what if a 5-year-old girl catches the flowers?

Who’s the next

bride?Me

!

Don’t worry. 7 years is

not too long.

Breaking a mirror brings 7 years of bad luck, so if you break 10 mirrors, your life will be completely screwed up.

A four-leaf clover brings good luck. You gotta find one.

I’m the lucky guy!

Do you dare to walk under the ladder?

GO GO GO!

A black cat—if you see it on your way out, the best thing to do is turn around and go home.

You’re watching

me?

Do you think we’re the most superstitious all over the world? Not exactly. Actually, the westerners are as superstitious as us, only the views are quite different.

Listen to paragraphs 1-4.

Skip

Where do customs often grow out of ?

Superstitions.

Is number 13 unlikely in all cultures?

No, not exactly.

How many years of bad luck will a broken mirror bring?

Seven years.

What do people in old times think of yawn, sneeze or hiccup?

They thought that a sneeze, hiccup, or yawn was the devil at work.

Reading

You sneeze. Someone says, “Bless you.”

You sneeze. Someone says, “Bless you.”→ Whenever you sneeze, anyone nearby would show his/her concern by praying to God to protect you.

You hiccup. Your friend jumps up and yells,”Boo!”

You hiccup. Your friend jumps up and yells, “Boo!”→ Whenever you hiccup, your friend will make a sudden jump and give out a loud shout to frighten you.

You yawn. Without thinking, you cover your mouth.

介系詞後接動名詞表附帶狀況 .

Without thinking, you cover your mouth.→ Instinctively, you cover your mouth (with your hand).→ It is natural that you put your hand or something over your mouth.

What triggers such reactions to a sneeze, a hiccup, and a yawn?

What triggers such reactions to a sneeze, a hiccup, and a yawn?→ What triggers off such reactions to a sneeze, a hiccup, and a yawn?→ What causes the above reactions to a sneeze, a hiccup, and a yawn?

Actions like these are often a resultof customs.

Actions like these are often a result of customs.→ Such actions often result from customs.→ Customs are often a cause of actions like these.

Other actions stem from superstitions.

Others stem from superstitions.→ Other actions are a result of superstitions.→ Others originate from superstitions.→ Superstitions are a cause of other reactions.

Long ago, for example, many people thought that a sneeze, hiccup, or yawn was the devil at work.

the devil at work→ the evil spirit that was working

More

the devil常見的俗諺語：Give the devil his due.The devil is not so black as he is painted.The devil finds work for idle hands to do.Better the devil you know thanthe devil you don't know.Every man for himself and thedevil take the hindmost. Speak of the Devil and he will/is sure to appear.　

Therefore, they developed little actions to keep the devil from his mischief.

they developed little actions to keep the devil from his mischief→ their little actions developed to stop the devil from playing tricks→ they acquired a course of action to prevent the devil from doing any harm to them

A custom is the usual way of doing something. A superstition is a belief that one event will cause —or prevent — another event which is in no way related.

that引導的名詞子句係同位子句。同位子句的句子結構完整，主詞和受詞不可缺乏 .

in no way相當於 not at all的意思，用來強調否定 .His performance is in no way a success.He would in no way achieve his goal.

Next

A custom is the usual way of doing something. A superstition is a belief that one event will cause — or prevent — another event which is in no way related.

A superstition is a belief [that one event will cause or prevent another event which is in no way related].→ It is a superstition that one event is believed to cause (or prevent) another event though they are definitely not related to each other.

Customs often grow out of superstitions.

Both have been part of everyculture in history, but they differfrom one culture to another.

part 表「整體的一部分」時，且放在 be動詞之後當補語時，前面的冠詞 a 可以省略。 Both have been part of every culture in history, but they differ from one cultureto another.→ Customs and superstitions have existed in every culture in history, but they are as different as cultures.→ Every culture in history has contained customs and superstitions, but they vary from culture to culture.

In Taiwan, for example, the words for the number 4 and for death sound alike, so many Taiwanese think that 4 is an unlucky number.

think A to be B 的結構中， to be 可以省略， B可能是形容詞、分詞或名詞，此為不完全及物動詞的用法 . 這類的動詞有：consider, suppose, believe, declare, feel, find, prove等。Many Taiwanese consider fortune-telling to be important/misleading/a joke.They proved your report to beoriginal/inspiring/a masterpiece. Next

In Taiwan, for example, the words for the number 4 and for death sound alike, so many Taiwanese think that 4 is an unlucky number.

many Taiwanese think (that) 4 is an unlucky number.→ many Taiwanese think the number 4 (to be) unlucky.

Some buildings in Taiwan, therefore, have no fourth floor.

In other cultures, people think the number 13 brings bad luck.

中華民國九十三年2004

六月 June

13星期五

大凶 本日諸事不宜

Customs and superstitions often spring from people's fears and beliefs.

名詞以 -f(e)結尾者，複數加 -s的字尚有：chiefs, roofs,proofs, safes等。名詞以 -f(e)結尾，複數改成 -ves的字有：calf, half, leaf,loaf, self, thief, knife, life, wife等。Customs and superstitions often spring from people's fears and beliefs.→ Customs and superstitions often originate from what people fear and believe.

They are one way to deal with things people don’t understand.

They are one way to deal with things people don’t understand.→ Customs and superstitions are used to explain what people don’t understand.→ People sometimes clear up/dispel their doubt by using customs and superstitions.

Customs and superstitions surround everyday activities ina person’s life — eating, sleeping, working, and playing.

為同位語 Customs and superstitions surround everyday activities in a person’s life —eating, sleeping, working, and playing.→ Customs and superstitions exist around all important things which a person does, such as eating, sleeping, working, and playing.

They also deal with life's majorevents — birth, marriage, illness, and death.

本句的 deal with 與上一句的 surround 呼應，為同義詞語，當作「存在 ; 攸關於」解釋 ; birth...等四個名詞以破折號引介，當作 life’s major events的同位語 .

Back