Unit  3           School Life

Part  A                           

Communicative Function

Expressing  Likes  and  Dislikes

       There are various ways to express likes and dislikes. They can be expressed by using verbs, phrasal verbs, adjectives as well as adjectival phrases.

Listen to the recording and complete the following passage with the missing words.

       Maggie likes swimming but she doesn't care for skiing. She loves flying on planes and traveling by train but hatesgetting on buses because they are often too crowded. She is interested in playing the piano and is fond of reading and playing computer games. At weekends Maggie loves going to Chinese restaurants and her favorite food is spicy Sichuan bean curd. After work she is keen on listening to music. She prefers light music to rock, because light music makes her feel relaxed. In the evening she enjoys watching TV in her own room. She thinks a lot of news programs but sitcoms are the last kind of thingfor her to watch.

Useful Expressions for Likes and Dislikes

Likes

l  I like / love (music).

l  I prefer (talk shows) to (soap operas).

l  I’m interested in (literature).

l  I enjoy (net chatting).

l  My favorite sport is (swimming).

l  I think a lot of (Professor Smith's lectures).

l  I'm keen on (gardening).

l  I'm crazy / mad about (football).

l  I'm fond of (reading).

l  I have a fancy for (that purple scarf).

l  Do you go in for (dancing)?

Dislikes  

l  I hate (being laughed at by others).

l  I don't care for (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

l  I can't stand / bear / put up with (the heat).

l  I think little of (fast food).

l  That's the last thing I need.

l  I'm tired of (rainy days).

l  I'm fed up with (your rudeness).

l  I'm bored to death with (this kind of show).

l  (Long speeches) bore me.

l  I especially dislike (onions).

l  That sort of music is rubbish.

l  Ballroom dancing is not my cup of tea.

Notes

1.  The phrase “think a lot of something” means “to have a good opinion of something”. And “not think much of something” means “to have a bad opinion of something”.

2.   The sentence "sitcoms are the last kind of thing for her to watch" means "she doesn't want to watch situation comedies at all". "Sitcom" = "situation comedy" 情景喜剧

3.   The phrase “my cup of tea” means “something I like”. The whole sentence means “I don’t like ballroom dancing.”

Speaking Activity

Purpose:

This activity is aimed at improving students’ oral ability. They are to practice “likes” and “dislikes” with fun by using the above Useful Expressions for Likes and Dislikes. Besides, they can also practice “He” or “She” with the third person singular of the present tense.

Procedure:

1.       Students are divided into groups of 5 or 6 and each group forms a circle. It’s advisable that girl students are matched with boy students.

2.       The first student says: I like football, but don’t like basketball. Then the second one repeats: He/she likes football, but doesn’t like basketball. I love ping pong, but dislike swimming.

3.       The third speaker: He/she likes football, but doesn’t like basketball. He/she loves ping pong, but dislikes swimming. I am fond of music and hate singing. …

4.       The next speaker tries to repeat as many “likes and dislikes” as possible and the loop goes on until the last speaker fails to repeat. Then a new loop starts.

Listening Strategy

Identifying Numbers

       It is necessary for us to listen for specific words that contain the information we need.  This exercise focuses on one kind of required information—numbers.

Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks with the numbers you hear.

1.    Remember to put down the zip code when you address the envelope. Mine is 92381.

2. Sally's aunt has just come back from France. Now she's staying at the Park Hotel, Room 2608.

3.    Mr. Davis lives at 1540, Water Street.

4.    It usually takes about 75 minutes to get to the airport from here.

5.    The new coat cost me 156 yuan.

6.    The Tower of London is more than 900 years old.

7.   Mr. Baker has been working in the City Bank of New York for two years. He now has an annual income of $84200 .

8.    New York is 1,735 miles away from here.

9.  Please get to the Shanghai Museum no later than 9:40. (twenty to ten)

10.  The clock in the reading room must be fast. It's 5:45 (five forty five) by my watch.             

Part  B                           

Pre-listening Task

Questions for Discussion   

You are going to talk about your school accommodation. Read the following questions and discuss them with your partner.

1.         Where do you live?

2.         How far is it from here?

3.         Is where you live near a bus route/subway station?

4.         What facilities are there in your dorm/apartment?

5.         Does your room have a nice view?

6.         Do you share your room/apartment with others?

7.         What is the rent per month?

8.         What do you like about your apartment/room?

9.         What do you dislike about your apartment/room?

10.     What kind of student accommodation does your college offer?

Demo:

8. What do you like about your apartment / room?

I really like our dormitory room. It's on the fourth floor of a 7-floor dormitory building. One of the reasons I like the room is that it is spacious enough for 4 persons to live in. Each of us has a double-deck bed and a desk for study. Besides, the room has its own WC, i.e. water closet. So we can keep it clean and also our room tidy. Another reason I'm fond of the room is that it faces south and the sunshine can shed its light directly on almost half of the room in winter. With heaters in the dorm, we are free from the cold winter.

9. What do you dislike about your apartment / room?

    Well, there are several things I don't like about our dorm. Firstly, the room is not so quiet as the classroom. When evening or weekend comes, it becomes really noisy. Because some students like to listen to music and others want to sing or play computer games. These sounds become a major source of noise pollution. Secondly, the corridor is sometimes dirty. Some students like to throw rubbish on the floor. In my opinion, these people are selfish, or at least they are not considerate enough for others.

Language Focus   

Here are some useful sentences and structures that you might find handy in discussing the questions:

l  I live in John Adams Hall / a dormitory / an apartment building on campus.

l  We don’t live on campus, but very near it.

l  We ride bicycles to school on fine days.

l  My friend (Tom/Daisy) and I have rented a room / an apartment not far from the campus.

l  It’s a furnished apartment with all kinds of facilities. Washing machine, refrigerator, microwave oven, gas stove, air-conditioners—you name it, we have it.

l  But living off-campus costs you both money and time ’cause the rent is higher and you have to commute to and from school every day.

l  No meals are provided and you have to cook for yourself.

l  It’s a 5 minutes' walk / within walking distance / half an hour's ride from here.

l  It's near a bus route on a busy road.

l  There is a washroom and a public bath on each floor of our dorm building.

l  Four of us share a two-room apartment and it has two bathrooms, but no kitchen.

l  The room is small, but it’s cozy.

l  The rent is cheap.

l  There’s no central heating in our dorm building. It can get very cold in winter.

l  The room faces north, but it has a view of / looks out on a beautiful lawn.

l  The rent is 500 yuan per month.

Listening Task

A  Conversation            Accommodation for College Students

Word Bank

accommodation      n.  a place to live in 住所

self-catering         a. (of a living place) in which one cooks one’s own meals 自供伙食的

site                 n.  location 地点

 private              a.  owned by an individual or a group  私营的

 run                 v.  to operate; manage  管理，经营

 staff                n.  workers, employees  员工，职员

 contact              v.  to get in touch with   联系

 hall of residence      a building in a college or university where students live (大学的)宿舍楼

 single room          a room with a bed for only one person 单人房间

 double room         a room with two beds for two persons 双人房间

 university-owned      owned by university 大学所拥有的

 Students’ Union       a club for students 学生会

 It all depends.        It varies... 那得看情况。

Script

Accommodation for College Students

R：Good morning.  Can I help you?                                                           

S:  Yes, please. I'm a new student and I'd like to have some information about the ...em...the accommodation for students.

R:  Right. The university provides two types of accommodation, halls of residence and self-catering accommodation.

S:    How much does it cost for the self-catering accommodation?

R:  For a single room, ￡37.86 per week, that's about ￡5.40 a day.  For a double room, it's ￡52.78 per week. This will apply throughout this academic year.

S:  I'd like to stay in the self-catering accommodation. How far is it from the residence to the university?

R:  It all depends. The residences at Elms Road and Palm Road are about one and a half miles from the university main site and the Freemen's Common Houses at William Road are half a mile.

S:    When do I need to apply?

R:    Are you an undergraduate or a postgraduate?

S:    Undergraduate.

R:  Then you should apply for it as soon as possible, since places in university-owned accommodation are limited and if you don't apply before the end of the month, you are not likely to get a place.

S:    Could you possibly tell me what to do, if no vacancy is available?

R:  Yes, you may consider private accommodation. The university runs an Accommodation Information Office and its staff will help you.

S: Where’s the office?

R: In the Students’ Union Building.

S: Whom can I contact?

R: Mr. Underwood. David Underwood, the manager of the accommodation information office.

S: Thank you very much.

R: You are welcome

Language and Culture Notes

1.         Background information Many British and American universities provide limited accommodation to students. In Britain, university students almost always have their own rooms, but in America it is quite usual for two students to share a bedroom. There, if a student applies early enough to get a place in university-run accommodation, she/he is usually asked to supply information regarding the kind of prospective roommate she/he likes, information concerning personality, habits, ethnicity, etc. Some universities also provide a limited number of self-catering apartments to students, especially to graduates and professional students who may have their spouse with them. If students are unsuccessful in obtaining a place in the university-run accommodation, they may have to consider private housing off-campus. And the best place to go for assistance is the housing office of the university, which usually maintains a bulletin complete with a map of the city, realtors’ names, rates, and locations of apartments.

2.         halls of residence   Notice the British term ‘hall’ means the same as the American term ‘dormitory’. For example, most students live in halls. (Br. E) Most students live in dormitories. (Am. E)

3.         self-catering accommodation residences where students can cook their own meals

4.         private accommodation rooms or apartments rent out by their owners, i.e., not owned by the university

Exercise 1:  Listening for general understanding 

Listen to the recording once and then choose the right answers to the questions you hear.

1.    What does the conversation mainly tell us?

       a. The university provides two types of accommodation.

b. Students must apply early since the places in university-owned accommodation are limited.

c. A student can choose from university-owned accommodation or private accommodation.

       d. Most students prefer self-catering accommodation.

2.    Which of the following is not included in the conversation?

       a. The cost for self-catering accommodation.

       b. The location of the self-catering accommodation.

       c. Where to get help about finding private accommodation.

       d. The cost for private accommodation.

Exercise 2:  Listening for details             

Listen to the recording twice and fill in the blanks in the following passage with the missing information.

There are two types of 1) accommodation. One is university-owned and the other is 2) private. For the university-owned type, it can be further divided into two: 3) halls of residence and self-catering accommodation. For the latter, there are two kinds of rooms. A single room costs 4) ￡37.86 per week and a 5) double room costs ￡52.78 per week. University owned accommodation offers 6) limited places. Therefore, you should apply 7) early/as soon as possible/before the end of the month. If you want to apply for 8) private accommodation, you may go to the accommodation information office in the 9) Students’ Union Building and contact David Underwood, who is the (10) manager of the office.

Speaking Tasks

Pair Work

Listen to the conversations and repeat after the recording. Practice the conversations with your partner, playing the role of A or B. Then work with your partner to create your own conversations by replacing the underlined parts with your own words.

Conversation 1                                                                                                                                                                             

(On campus)

A:    I hear you're moving into 1) the new student apartment building ..

B:    2) Actually, I moved into it last week.

A:    3) Aren't you lucky!  I applied for it. But they told me 4) there was no vacancy.

B:   5) What a pity!  6) You should have applied earlier.  Places in apartment buildings are always so limited.

A:    7) I guess so.

B:    But why don't you 8) rent an apartment near school?

A:    Oh, no. I like living on campus. It's 9) more convenient, isn't it?

B:    Yes, 10) that's true.  Come and see me if you have time. I'm in 302.

A:    I will. See you. 

B:    See you.

Substitution

Conversation  2

A:  Good afternoon. Can I help you?

B:    Yes. I wonder if 1) you have a one-bedroom apartment to rent.

A:  Let me check. Yes, we have one.

B:  Where is it?

A:    It's on 2) Maple Street, near 3) a shopping center and a subway station.

B:  4) Sounds nice. Which floor is it on?

A:  5) Fourth.

B:  Does it face south?

A:  Well, the bedroom faces 6) east and the living room 7) west. But it looks out on 8) a beautiful park.

B:  Mmm. Is the living room large?

A:  Yes, it’s quite big. And there’s a small kitchen and a bathroom as well. It’s very 9) comfortable.

B:  Well, what’s the rent per month?

A:  10) 800.

B:    Mmm. It’s more than I have in mind. Let me think it over. I’ll call you back11) in a day or two.

A   Certainly.

Substitution

Part C           

Additional Listening         

A Passage            What College Professors Do

Listen to the passage and fill in the blanks with the missing information.

College professors seem to teach few classes but they actually lead busy lives. Every week the average professor spends between six to fifteen hours in the classroom but works from sixty to eighty hours.  Professors spend part of that time readingbecause they must remain current in their fields. After reading, they will work on their class lecture notes to revise and update them. Besides, they must grade papers, prepare their lessons, write articles and books, or work on various projects.  So, college professors have very full schedules.

Script

What College Professors Do

College professors are often believed to lead easy lives of quiet thinking while teaching one or two classes every week. But college professors do much more than go to class. The average professor spends between six and fifteen hours in the classroom weekly. And that same college professor works from sixty to eighty hours a week.

Because they must remain current in their fields, professors spend part of that time reading, reading, reading. That leads to additional hours during which they revise and update their class lecture notes. It takes far longer to prepare notes than to deliver them in class. Professors may spend time conducting experiments, working on college projects, or advising students. They may be writing books, articles, or papers for delivery at conventions.

When not in the classroom or in the office, professors are still working, behind closed doors in committee sessions or at home grading papers and preparing for tomorrow’s classes. To accept this sort of schedule willingly, they must feel strongly about the importance of the college experience.

Movie Time

Watch a video clip. After watching it, choose the right answer to each of the following questions.

Word Bank

randomness             n.  随机性，偶然

determinism             n.  宿命论；决定论

jump in                 v.  投入

preceding               a.  在前的

elaborate               v.  详细描述

Fahrenheit              n.  华氏(温度)

helium                 n.  氦

nitrogen                n.  氮

celestial                a. 天体的

riveting                a.  非常精彩的，引人入胜的

coincidence             n.  巧合

mutation               n.  变异，变化，（生物物种的）突变

Script

                                                 A Professor’s Lecture

Professor: We're going to pose a topic to get you thinking along the right lines for your term paper. It's the subject of randomness versus determinism in the universe. Who's jumping in? Jessica?

Jessica:  Determinism says that occurrences in nature are causally decided by preceding events or natural laws, that everything leading up to this point has happened for a reason.

Professor: That's right. That's what determinism says. Spencer? Tell me something about the sun.

Spencer: It's hot.

 (Students laughing)

Professor: Elaborate.

Spencer:  Temperature's about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface, 27 million degrees at the core.

Professor: Good. Stacey? A word or two about the composition.

Stacey:   Mostly hydrogen. Also helium with some carbon and nitrogen thrown in there.

Professor: Excellent. Now, I want you to think about the perfect set of circumstances that put this celestial ball of fire at just the correct distance from our little blue planet for life to evolve, making it possible for you to be sitting here in this riveting lecture. But that's a nice thought, right? Everything has a purpose, an order to it, is determined. But then there's the other side of the argument, the theory of randomness, which says it's all simply coincidence. The very fact we exist is nothing but the result of a complex yet inevitable string of chemical accidents and biological mutations. There is no grand meaning. There's no purpose.

Stacey:  What about you, Professor Koestler?

Professor: What?

Stacey:  Well, what do you believe?

Professor: I think shit just happens. But that's me. Class dismissed.

Exercise

1. What was the subject of the lecture?

a.         The solar system.

b.         Two theories about the universe.

c.         The temperature of the Moon.

d.         The natural laws.

2. What was randomness?

a.         Everything happened for a reason.

b.         Every event that happened was simply coincidence.

c.         Anything could happen in the universe.

d.         The natural laws decided what could happen.

3. What was determinism?

a.         Everything happened for a reason.

b.         The natural laws decided what could happen.

c.         The sun determined the movement of planets.

d.         The orbit of a planet was pre-determined.

4. Which theory did the professor believe in?

a.         He was on the side of randomness.

b.         He was on the side of determinism.

c.         He believed in both randomness and determinism.

d.         He believed in neither randomness nor determinism.

Time to Talk

Look at these pictures and describe them one by one.

Hints:

  1. a girl’s dormitory room:

a visit to friends’ room，happy conversation among the three;

a double room in a dormitory, simple but comfortable furniture,

bunk beds (双层床), computer, pictures on the wall

  2. studying in front of a residence hall:

an old-styled dorm building, a garden, sculpture;

sit on the ground, read her book, do some studying, enjoy a quiet time by herself

  3. dining room:

a friendly cook, lots of fresh vegetables, pan cakes (薄煎饼);

cut the vegetables, cook vegetables in front of a student, wrap them up in a pancake;

clean dining room, not crowded, line up to get food

Demos:

1.         This is a girl’s dormitory room. The room is spacious with a bunk bed on the right. It’s a typical double room for foreign students in a residence hall, simple but with comfortable furniture. A boy student visits the girls and there is a happy conversation among the three. Some nice pictures and a computer can be seen in the room.

2.         This is a part of the university campus. An old-styled dorm building sets in the background with a sculpture in front of it. A girl student is sitting on the ground, reading her book. She is doing some studying and enjoying a quiet time by herself.

3.         This is a student dining room, where a friendly cook is serving students. In front of him, there are lots of fresh vegetables, and a stake of pan cakes. Students can choose what they like. The cook cuts the vegetables, cooks them and wraps them up in a pancake. The whole dining room is very clean and not crowded. Students line up to get their food.

Part  D                           

Test Your Listening                    A Passage

Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.

1.       What does the passage mainly tell us? How to live with your roommates. 

a.        How to win the respect of your roommates.

b.        How to be good friends of your roommates.

c.        How to be nice to your roommates.

2.       What’s the only way you will be able to live with your roommates according to the passage?

a.         To have talks with your roommates often.

b.         To be considerate towards your roommates.

c.         To make compromises when problems arise.

d.         To change your habits and ask your roommates to change theirs.

3.  Which of the following is true?                   

a.  If you try hard, you will be able to solve the problems you have with your roommates.     

b.  It is hard for roommates to get along well because they disturb one another.

c.  The best way to deal with your roommates is to stick to what you want to do.                 

d.  If you have friends over and therefore may disturb your roommates, make apologies.           

Script

Despite what your parents and others try to make you believe, life at college may not be the best experience you will ever live through. Why?

       The simple one word answer is: Roommates. One has often heard about the guy that never sleeps or the girl who always has her friends over or the one who studies all the time and becomes very disturbed by the slightest movement you make. Okay, they are not all that bad. So how do you get them to stop?

       You can't do it. It's impossible. The only way you will be able to live with your roommates is by compromising. If you like to have friends over, but your roommates want to study, take your friends out. If you don't like to listen to music while you are studying but one of your roommates does, ask him to use headphones. Talk about your habits and ask your roommates about theirs. Respect your roommates and your roommates will respect you. 

       You may not be friends with your roommates by the end of the year but you may be friends with them the year after, when you are no longer rooming together. This is alright though. Sometimes it's too difficult to try to live together and be good friends at the same time. Roommates are not always meant to be your best friends. 

       Remember: Not only do you have roommates, you are a roommate. Be good to your roommates.