Warming up & listening

Turn to page 55, look at the pic- tures and describe what you see: Picture 1: a young man and a young woman at a dinner table picture 2: people dancing merrily, a band playing music picture 3: people with guns,flags charging picture 4: three boys stealing money

Charles Dickens ( )

Can you list some of his famous works? Please tick out the novels that he created? ( )1. A Tale of Two Cities ( )2. King Lear ( )3. David Copperfield ( )4. Oliver Twist ( )5. Jane Eyre ( )6. A Christmas Carol ( )7. Great Expectations ( )8. Gone with the Wind ( )9. Dombey and Son ( )10.Tess of D'Urbervilles √ √ √ √ √ √

Something about Charles Dickens Dickens’ father was an office worker in the navy. Well paid as he was, he often ended up in financial troubles though. At the age of 12, his father was put in prison and the young Dickens was sent to work in a factory.From 1827 to 28, Dickens worked as a clerk in a law firm, and later as a newspaper reporter. At the age of 18, he read the works of Shakespeare and other English writers with great interest. A Christmas Carol is one of Dickens’ most loved works.

The main character of Ebenezer Scrooge has attracted generations of readers in the past and at present. Charles Dickens was honoured by the Queen of England three months before his death. He lies buried in the Poet’s Corner in London. The words of his grave read as follows: He was a sympathiser to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world.

The time in which he lived: Industrial Revolution(1840s) Brief introduction to A Christmas Carol the ghost of Jacob Marley, Scrooge’s business partner, on Christmas Eve sends a turkey to his ill-used clerk Bob Cratchit, delivers welfare to the poor (changes by listening to Santa Claus )

Lead-in: (listening) 1.Do you have dreams during your sleep? What are your dreams about? 2.Do you know why writers sometimes use dreams in their novels? People often dream during their sleep and their dreams are usually about what they think of in the day just as a Chinese saying goes: your dreams come from what you experience in the day. Writers use dreams just to make things happen that cannot happen in reality.

Beginning of the listening text: In 1843 Charles Dickens wrote one of his most famous and loved short stories called A Christmas Carol.The story is a bout a selfish, bitter, old man, ( Scrooge )who has a dream. In this dream, he is guided past Christmases in his life, in the past, the present and the future. It shows him the way he was, the way he is and the way he will become. Before meeting his guide, the old man’s former business partner ( Jacob Marley) appears to him in his dream to warn him. And in the dream, they talk: E- Ebenezer Scrooge M- Jacob Marley

1. bitter 2. He is guided past Christmases in his life 3. It is my fate 4. social beings 5. Speak comfort to me 6. My time is nearly up 7. don’t be hard upon me 8. warn 9. escape 10. a fairytale character 11. ridiculous Some words and expressions: go

1. Answer the following questions : (1) What is Jacob Marley’s fate? (2) What does the dream predict? (3) What does Ebenezer Scrooge have to do to avoid Jacob’s fate? Marley’s fate is that even after death he cannot find rest and happiness. The dream predicts that Scrooge will be visited by Santa Claus. He has to meet Santa Claus to escape his fate.

2. Fill in the blanks: (1)Although we don’t know much about Scrooge’s character,we can guess that he is not a very _______ being. (2) The reason why Marley appears in Scrooge’s dream to warn him is proba- bly because Marley was Scrooge’s______ (3) Scrooge believe in neither Marley’s __________ nor in Santa Claus. (4) The hope and chance that Scrooge is offered is that he can ______something from Santa Claus. (5) Santa Claus will visit him___________, by the end of the day. social friend warnings learn tomorrow

Self-assessment: 1. Do you enjoy the song? Do you want to learn it and some others? 2. Can you describe the pictures well? 3.What do you know about Charles Dickens? Do you want to know more about his works? 4. how well do you do in taking notes? 5. Do you feel comfortable as a whole?

Thank you for your attention

E: What do you want with me? M: Much. E: Who are you? M: You’d better ask me who I was. E: Who were you then? M: In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley. E: Can you-can you sit down?' M: You don’t believe in me, do you? E: I don’t. Why do you trouble me? Why do you come to me? M: People are social beings. So, in life, people must spend good times together. If they do, then they will find rest and happiness in life. If they don’t, they will never find rest and happi- ness, not even after death. That is my fate. E: What – what do you mean? Tell me more. Speak comfort to me.

M: I have none to give. I cannot help you. I cannot rest, I cannot stay, I cannot be with you much longer. Listen to me! My time is nearly up. E: Yes, yes. I will, but don’t be hard upon me. M: I’m here tonight to warn you, that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate. E: I knew it. You were always a good friend to me. Thanks! M: You’ll be visited by Santa Claus. E: He’s a fairytale character. Is he the chance and hope you mentioned? M: He is. E:It’s ridiculous. Is there no other way? M: No, there isn’t. Learn from him. Without his visit,there’s no way you can escape my fate. Expect him tomorrow, by the end of the day. back