1. Journey down the Mekong
Period 2
Journey down the Mekong

2. About the Mekong
The Chinese part of the river is called the Lancang.
The Thai and the Lao refer to it as Mae Kong or Mae Nam Kong, meaning ‘mother water’.
The Mekong River flows through 6 countries, namely China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.
About 60 million people live in the Mekong River basin.
It begins in a glacier on a Tibetan mountain.
The Mekong River serves as a key transport channel as well as a trading centre.

3. glacier rapids meander waterfall delta Para 3 2 1 Learning tip:5 1 4 2 3
glacier
rapids
meander
waterfall
delta
Learning tip:
Guess the meaning of a word by
Word formation
Context
Common sense

4. Read for gist
The passage is mainly about
______ and ____ of taking a _____ along ___ _______ ____.
Wang Kun and Wang Wei’s
dream
plan
bike
trip
the Mekong River
Learning tip:
Read the title and the 1st paragraph to get the main idea.

5. Read for gist
Match the main idea with the paragraphs.
& plan
plan &
the Mekong River
plan
dream
Para 1
Para 2
Para 3
Learning tip:
Read the first sentence (s) and the last sentence (s) to get the main idea.

6. ? √ √ √ √ Para 2 A. buy a mountain bike B. others to join them
C. visit a colleague for advice on such a journey
D. plan
E. go to the library for more information from
the atlas.
get by giving good
reasons
persuade √ √
what to do and when to do it
a schedule √ ?
Now she is planning our schedule for the trip.

7. ? Now she is planning our schedule for the trip.
Because she knows the best way of travelling.
Because she knows more about the Mekong River than Wang Kun.
Because her way is always the proper way.
Because she is too stubborn to take Wang Kun’s advice.
A. 坚决 B. 固执 C. 热情 D. 开朗
stubborn
Now I know that the proper way is always her way.

8. Para 2
Wang Wei can be really stubborn.
…she insisted that she organize the trip properly.
She gave me a determined look—the kind that she would not change her mind.
Once she has made up his mind, nothing can change it.
Wang Kun had to give in.

9. Read for understanding
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. They would meet a lot of difficulties during the journey
B. They would cycle a long distance.
C. Wang Wei and Wang Kun are both fond of traveling
D. They got much information from the library.

10. ? Discussion Journey down the Mekong Part 1 The Dream and the Plan

11. Homework
Introduce one of your classmates by giving one word to best describe her character (determined, kind, …) and one example to support your opinion of her.
2. Read the passage again and finish off Ex. 1-3 on P20.