莆田二十八中 英语组

Background knowledge about Mark Twain and his play.

Getting to know a great literary giant: Mark Twain Task 1:

Real name of Mark Twain Meaning of his pen name Birth Date Birth Place His famous works Samuel Langhorne Clemens Hannibal, Missouri, along the Mississippi The Adventures of Tom Sawyer The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Life on the Mississippi

This play was made into a film.

Two rich gentlemen in London made a bet on what would happen to a person if he was given a million pound bank-note. An American young man who sailed too far was carried out to sea, but was saved by a British ship for London. So he was now in London, tired,hungry and penniless…… Task 2: Getting to know the story.

Try to gain as much information as possible from the story through reading and train reading skills.

Task 1. Scanning Reading strategy: Go through the play for specific information.Don’t read sentence by sentence.

Characters （人物）： Henry Adams Henry Adams : a lost American businessman in London “Roderick” and “Oliver” “Roderick” and “Oliver” : two brothers and rich Englishmen

sailing carried spotted London Towards nightfall Lastly About a month ago The next morning Henry was _____ out of the bay. Henry was ______ out to sea by a strong wind. Henry was ________by a ship. Henry arrived in __________ by working as an unpaid hand.

Roderick _______ him and asked him to step in. Roderick gave Henry a _________ with money in it. lost called letter Roderick gave Henry a _________ with money in it. Now Henry was______ in London and wandering in the street. Just at that time To Henry’s surprise letter

Task 2. Skimming Reading strategy: Go through the play for the gist which is the general idea of the play.Don’t worry about the language.

Answer the following questions: 1. Where does Henry Adams come from? Does he know much about London? 2. What did he do in America? 3. Why did he land in Britain? Henry comes from San Francisco. No, he doesn’t know London at all. He worked for a mining company. He was sailing out the bay when he was carried out to sea by a strong wind and was survived by a ship for London.

Henry wandered in London streets. About a month ago Henry Adams was sailing out of the bay. The next morning he was spotted by a ship. Towards nightfall he found himself carried out to sea by a strong wind. On the ship he earned his passage by working as an unpaid hand. Put the following events in correct order

Task 3. Detailed-reading Reading strategy: Read the play carefully and try to get as much information as possible.Try to keep them in mind.

The story happened in _________ in ________. Henry, a tramp who came from ______________ landed in Britain ____________. He earned his ________ by working as an _________ hand. He was _____in the street in_____. Two rich brothers gave him a million pound bank- note because they had made a_____. London 1903 San Francisco by accidentpassage unpaid lost rags bet Retell the story

Think about what kind of person Henry was?

It is my first trip here. Well, to be honest, I have none. (no money) Well, I can’t say that I have any plans.

I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand. Could you offer me some kind of work here? I don’t want your charity, I just want an honest job.

Well, it may seem luck to you but not to me. If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be on my way.

Let ’ s learn some important words and expressions:

1. A large quantity of money= a large sum of money 2. Make a bet make a bet on sth. With sb= bet on sth with sb. I bet … = I ’ m certain … 我肯定 … 3. Permit sb. To do sth. E.g. : Her mother would not permit her to come back late. permit doing sth. E.g. :We do not permit smoking in the office.

4. Find oneself carried out to sea ( 发现某人自己被 漂流到海上） find one’s + 介词短语 / 分词 （发现某人自己不知 不觉 …) He found himself walking in the direction of the park. 5. Account for （说明 / 解释某事的原因） E.g. His illness accounts for his absence.

6. by accident= by chance E.g. I only found it by accident. 7. stare at stare at angrily= glare at 8. to be honest= to tell you the truth = honestly speaking 9. pretend to do pretend to be doing 10. take chances of doing sth./on sth.( 冒险 / 碰运 气）

Rewrite the play in to a story in your own words.