高 二 英 语 Module 9 Unit 3 The meaning of color Reading-1 National flags, colors and cultures

Canada EnglandGermany South Korea BrazilJapan

What is our national flag like? Can you describe it?

The red colour of the flag represents the revolution, the blood and lives of the revolutionary martyrs. The color of the five stars is yellow, which symbolizes the bright future.

Among the five stars, the bigger one stands for the Communist Party of China while the other four represent the different groups of people in China who are all united behind the party.

Reading Strategy Before reading an article: Read the headline and the first paragraph to get an idea of the theme or topic. Think about the topic and what you already know.

Skim the Internet article quickly, get the structure of the passage and answer the following questions: Reading and Comprehension

The National Flag of France The meanings of national flags The structure of the text The National Flag of the USA The National Flag of Indonesia What we can get from national flags

1. What is the French national flag sometimes called? 2. How many stars are there on the national flag of the USA? 3. What colour is the Indonesian flag? Tricolore (tricolor). Fifty. Red and white.

Listen to the recording of the text, scan the Internet article carefully and answer the following questions:

1. What do the colours on a national flag symbolize? (not more than12 words) 2. What was the motto of the French Revolution? (4 words) The origin of the country, with its values, beliefs and culture. Liberty, equality and fraternity.

3. Why was the Revolution such an important time in France’s history? (not more than15 words) Because it succeeded in ridding society of inequality, influencing many other countries, particularly European ones.

4. Why were the people who lived in the USA unhappy with British rule? (not more than15 words) Because they couldn’t tolerate the bureaucratic way of Britain’s ruling it and desired independence.

5. What do the stars and stripes on the American flag represent? (not more than 16 words) The fifty states and the original thirteen states joining together to fight for independence from Britain separately.

6. What was the Indonesian national flag like in the 13th century? (not more than 7 words) It had nine red and white stripes.

7. What are the different explanations for the meaning of the Indonesian national flag?

Red stands for blood, or physical things. ---brave and considerate nature of the Indonesians; ---fire coming from Indonesia’s volcanoes ---the fact that the equator goes through the country White represents the spiritual, or the color of sugar. ---looking like rice. ---regarded as a symbol of purity.

8. What similarities are there in the red and blue of American and French national flags? (not more than 9 words) The red represents strength and bravery, while blue justice.

9. What similarity does the red of French and Indonesian national flags have? (not more than 6 words) It / The red represents blood and bravery.

10. What conclusion do we draw from the red of American, French and Indonesian national flags? (not more than 4 words) The red symbolizes bravery.

FranceUSAIndonesia White Blue Bravery; revolution; strength ; blood of the French Strength; bravery Blood or physical things; the color of sugar; the brave and considerate nature of Indonesian people; fire; the fact that the equator goes through the country Peace; honesty Purity; innocence Liberty; justice Hard work; justice the spiritual; rice; purity --- red

Dear Juanya, I read an interesting article about national flags today. It said that the (1)_______ used on a flag (2)_________ things about that country. I also learnt that the same colour can correspond to different meanings in different cultures! The French flag is red, white and (3)_____. The colour white represents peace and honesty, red stands for (4)_______, revolution, strength and blood of the French, and blue symbolizes (5) _____ and justice. This flag was first used at the start of the French Revolution that brought liberation to the people. colours represent blue bravery liberty E on page 37

The USA also began using a red, white and blue flag following a (6)_________. The USA was once a land colonized by (7)______. Colonists had to pay a lot of taxes but got nothing in return. They refused to resign themselves to this status, so they started a revolution. After separation form Britain, the flag has reminded Americans that they had to fight for (8)_____________. Indonesia’s red and white flag also has special meanings. The most common explanations is that red represents blood and white stands for (9)________things. However, some people say the colors relate to food because Indonesians eat a lot of rice, which is white, and a tasty kind of (10)_____ that is red. revolution Britain independence spiritual sugar

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