College English Unit One, Book Three

Extensive Reading

Why the Tortoise’s Shell Is Not smooth

Contents I. Pre-tasks Pre-read the text in 15 minutes before hand. Do pre-reading exercises.

II. During-tasks Answer question. Find out the topic sentences of the text. Summarize the text.

III. Post-tasks Do abstract exercises. Analyze the structure of the text.

I. Pre-tasks: 2. Do pre-reading exercises.

Talking About Tortoise Directions: Discuss the following questions in gro

ups.

What characteristics come to your mind when you think of a tortoise?

Can you guess why the shell of the tortoise is not smooth? Give a brief explanation.

Do pre-reading exercises.

Useful Words and Phrases

cut sth. into pieces ( 砍 / 切成碎片 )

slip on the ice ( 摔倒在冰上 )

inherit

fall into pieces

look beautiful

protect himself

Do pre-reading exercises.1) What characteristics come to your mind when you

think of a tortoise?Sample: We can see the tortoise in the zoo but never think of why its ba

ck is not smooth. Usually a tortoise doesn’t have a good reputation. A t

ortoise is very slow, very foolish. It is ugly but it has a long life. It is often the symbol of longevity.

But we have a story about “Tortoise and Hare”, which depicts the tortoise as clever and determined. In the story, the tortoise has a race with the hare. Even though the hare runs much faster than the tortoise, the tortoise doesn’t give up and finally wins the race because the hare is too proud and takes a nap while the tortoise is crawling.

Do pre-reading exercises.

2) Can you guess why the shell of the tortoise is not smooth? Give a brief explanation.

Sample: Maybe it inherited from its mother or father; maybe

it once made people annoyed so people cut it; maybe it looks more beautiful, so on and so forth.

I think his shell was smashed by something very hard. One day he was so hungry that he wanted to go to a castle to get some food. The place was very dangerous and it was at night, he didn’t see that there were some traps. When he was approaching a pig’s liver, which he liked very much, a big iron bar fell off and hit him. His shell was broken into pieces. Some kind-hearted mice brought him to a witch, who mended his shell.

Do pre-reading exercises.

3) I think he fell from the sky and his shell was broken into pieces. One day some birds invited him to visit their summer home in the sky. Since he couldn’t fly, he was asked to bite the middle of a stick, with two birds holding the stick in their mouths while flying. During the flight, he mustn’t speak no matter what happened. At first, everything went well. But later on, some villagers saw them, and said, “What an odd sight!” He couldn’t refrain from talking, and said, “It’s none of your business.” With that, he fell to the ground.

Ⅱ. During-tasks: 1. Answer question.

Why were the birds very happy?

Because they were invited to a feast in the sky. How did the Tortoise know about the birds’ activit

y?

He saw the birds were busy preparing. What was Tortoise’s plan?

He planned to go to the feast with the birds. How was the Tortoise able to convince the birds?

With a sweet tongue, he convinced the birds that he was a changed man.

Answer question.

Who ate first after all the delectable dishes and wine were served?

The tortoise. How did the tortoise plan to go home after all the

birds took back the feathers they had lent him? He asked the birds to take a message to his wife to

bring out all the soft things in his house and cover the ground so that he could jump down without hurting himself.

2.Find out the topic sentences of the text.Para 1.: Ekwefi is telling a story about Tortoise.

Para 2.:Long long ago, there was a famine, and the birds got an invitation from the sky to attend a feast there.

Para 3-8.:Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet tongue he persuaded the birds to take him with them and son each bird lent him a feather.

Para 1.: Ekwefi is telling a story about Tortoise.

Para 2.:Long long ago, there was a famine, and the birds got an invitation from the sky to attend a feast there.

Find out the topic sentences of the text.

Para 3-8.:Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet tongue he persuaded the birds to take him with them and son each bird lent him a feather.

Para 9-11. :Tortoise cunningly thought of an idea that enabled him to have all the food by naming himself “All of you”.

Para 12-16. : When they reached the sky, they received a warm welcome and soon the food was presented to them. And the tortoise ate almost all the best food.

Para 17-21. : The birds became very angry and took back their feathers before flying home. Without feathers, the tortoise has to jump onto the ground and his shell was broken into pieces.

3. Summarize the text- 1

Once upon a time, all the birds were invited to a feast in the sky. Tortoise, a man full of cunning, discovered it and persuaded the birds to take him with them. Each bird gave him a feather, with which he made two wings. When the great day came, Tortoise asked each bird to take a new name and he chose “All of you” as his own new name. When the dishes were served, Tortoise asked, “For whom have you prepared this feast?”

Summarize the text- 2

The answer, as he expected, was “For all of you”. So Tortoise ate the best part of the food. The birds were so angry that each took back the feather he had lent to Tortoise. Parrot agreed to take a message for Tortoise's wife, but he told her to bring out all the hard and sharp things. When Tortoise fell onto the ground, his shell broke into pieces. Fortunately, a doctor nearby gathered all bits of his shell and stuck them together. That's why the tortoise's shell is not smooth. The moral of the story is that honesty is the best policy. If you deceive others, it's equal to deceiving yourself.

Ⅲ. Post-tasks: 1. Do abstract exercises.Sample: Why the Tortoise’s Shell is not Smooth

Sunny College English Department of Bohai University

Abstract: Ekwefi is telling a story about Tortoise. Long long ago, there was a famine, and the birds got an invitation from the sky to attend a feast there. Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet tongue he persuaded the birds to take him with them and son each bird lent him a feather. Tortoise cunningly thought of an idea that enabled him to have all the food by naming himself “All of you”. When they reached the sky, they received a warm welcome and soon the food was presented to them. And the tortoise ate almost all the best food. The birds became very angry and took back their feathers before flying home. Without feathers, the tortoise has to jump onto the ground and his shell was broken into pieces.

Key Words: tortoise ; shell; birds

2. Analyze the structure of the text.

Style:

本篇课文是一篇寓言故事。基本结构为故事体的结构，也就是说包括了时间、地点、人物和事件几个基本要素。故事的发展也是从这几个方面进一步展开的。

The structure of the text:

The text can be divided into 9 parts as follows:

Para 1.: Ekwefi is telling a story about Tortoise.

Para 2.:Long long ago, there was a famine, and the birds

got an invitation from the sky to attend a feast there

Analyze the structure of the text.-2

Para 3-8.:Tortoise learned about it and with his sweet tongue he persuaded the birds to take him with them and son each bird lent him a feather.

Para 9-11. :Tortoise cunningly thought of an idea that enabled him to have all the food by naming himself “All of you”.

Para 12-16. : When they reached the sky, they received a warm welcome and soon the food was presented to them. And the tortoise ate almost all the best food.

Para 17-21. : The birds became very angry and took back their feathers before flying home. Without feathers, the tortoise has to jump onto the ground and his shell was broken into pieces.