Unit 2 Reading The honorable games

A free talk with Ss about the Olympics: As we all know, in 2008 the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing. How much do you know about the Olympics, for example, its history, ceremonies and sporting events? Lead-in:

1. How many Olympic games did you see? Where were they held? 2. Do you think they are exciting? 3. Who is your favorite athlete and who do you think is the greatest Olympian? Why?

1. What is the speech about? The history and significance of the Olympic Games. Listening Listen to the passage and try to find the answers to the questions in Part A.

2. Where were the ancient Olympic Games held? At Olympia in Greece. 3. Who restarted the modern Olympic Games? Pierre de Coubertin.

1.According to the speech, the speaker is an athlete. 2. The first ancient Olympic Games were held in AD776. an LOC member 776BC Read the passage again and check the errors in each sentence.

3. In the past, only athletes that spoke Italian were allowed to compete. 4. The aim of the modern Olympic Games is to make countries and people compete side by side. Greek live peacefully

5. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Rome in Deng Yaping won four Olympic gold medals for tennis. Athens table tennis

Try to fill in the form according to the passage. NameNational -ity Which Olympic Olympic achieve- ments Other inform- ation Muha- mmand Ali 1960 Rome Olymp- ics American gold medal, boxing won his first World Boxing Championship ;lit the Olympic flame at 1966 Atlanta Olympics

Michael Jordan 1984 Los Angles Olympics; 1992 Barcelona Olympics two gold medals, basketball the highest scorer for the USA basketball team at the 1984 Olympics Amer- ican

Haile Gebrsel assieEthiop -ian 1996 Atlanta Olympics; 2000 Sydney Olympics two gold medals, distance running first became famous in 1992;broke world record for the 10 km run

Xu Haifeng Chinese 1984 Los Angles Olympics gold medal won the first Olympic gold medal for China

Deng Yaping Chinese 1992 Barcelona Olympics; 1996 Atlanta Olympics four gold medals, table tennis became an IOC member in 2000

Liu Xiang Chinese 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal, men’s 110- metre hurdles the first Asian to win this race

1. Do you think Chinese athletes such as DengYaping and LiuXiang are as great as Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan? Why? Practice

2. In our life, we often hear Sports Spirit. What kind of Sports Spirit can you learn from them? And how can you use the sports spirit in your studies?

Discussion Hosting the Olympic Games is a great honor for a country, but at the same time it costs a lot of money. Do you think hosting the Olympic Games will be a good opportunity to develop the host country’s economy and tourism, or will it be a heavy burden on the economy?

Language points 1. delighted adj. 高兴的 ; 欣喜的 1) He was delighted to be invited to the wedding. 2) I am delighted at your progress made in studies.

2. significance n. 意义 ; 意味 ; 重要性 1) It’s good that he has realized the significance of studying English. 2) You should pay more attention to the significance of the speech delivered by our headmaster. significant adj. 有意义的 ; 重要的

3. compete vi. 竞争, 对抗 compete with/against sb for sth 1) Several dogs are competing with/against each other for a bone. 2) Companies are competing against each other for the contract. competition n. 竞争 ; 比赛 competitor n. 竞争者 ; 选手

4. in honor of sb 为了纪念 ; 向 … 表示敬意 The ceremony was held in honor of those killed in the battle honor sb with sth 给某人以荣耀 1) Will you honor me with a visit? 2) It’s an honor to be invited to the party.

5. record n. 记录记载, 唱片 keep/break/set a record 保持 / 打破 / 创 造一个记录 He holds the world record in the 100 metres.

6. contribution n. 贡献 make contributions to (doing) sth 为 …… 做贡献 1) He made contributions to the film industry. 2) I am determined to make contributions to developing our country.

contribute vt. 捐献, 捐助 ; 投稿 Contributed two stories to the summer issue. contribute to… 起一份作用, 有助于, 促成 Exercise contributes to better health.

7. absence n. 缺席, 缺乏 presence n. 出席, 到场 He made up an excuse for his absence from the meeting. absent adj. 不在场, 缺乏的 be present at 出席 be absent from 缺席 Several workers were absent from the meeting yesterday.

1. Try to remember the useful words, phrases and sentence patterns and know how to use them freely. 2. Finish exercises in Workbook. Homework