Unit 1 the land of the diversity Reading

General knowledge quiz about the USA1.How many states are there in

the USA ? A. 49 B. 50 C. 51 D. 482.The most important and

largest river in the United States of America is______ ?

A. the Ohio River B. the Colorado River C. The Missouri River

D. the Mississippi River

B

D

3. California is the ________ largest state in the USA. A. third B. Second C. fourth D. fifth4. California, a state in the western USA, borders ________.A. the Pacific Ocean B. the Indian OceanC. the Atlantic Ocean D. the Arctic Ocean5. _____ is California’s largest and the nation’s second largest city.A. Sacramento B. Los Angeles C. San Diego D. San Francisco

A

A

B

Work with a partner and know more about 5 pictures on page 1-3 through the text and say something about the pictures.

Discuss how each picture is relevant to the history of California.

Discussion

Pictures on page1: A native American Indian------ one of the first people to live in California.A gold miner------the discovery of gold in California created a gold rush which brought people from all over the world to California.A building in Chinatown, San Francisco------many Chinese have settled in California and many of them live in Chinatown in San Francisco.

Picture on page 2:A Spanish monk------The first people to settle in California after the American Indians were Spanish monks from South and Central America who went to teach the Christian religion to Native Americans.Picture on page 3: African American------ originally brought to America as slaves, their descendents now live in California as American citizens.

read the text carefully and finish EX 2 and Ex3 on P3 and P4

Discussion

15,000 years ago

16th

century:

1821

1846

1848

1850

First settlers crossed the Bering Strait from Asia. These people are now known as Native American

Spanish soldiers arrived in South American

Became part of Mexico

The US declared war on Mexico

Gold was discovered in California

California became the 31st state of the US.

EX 2

• Russians• Chinese• Africans• Italians• Jewish• Japanese• Cambodians• Koreans• Danish• Pakistanis

• Early 1800s• Late 1840s/ early 1850s• 1800s• Late 1800s• 1920s• Early 1900s• From about the 1970s• From about the 1970s• 1911• From about the 1970s

EX 3

•Discussion • Why is California in the 21st century

such a multicultural ?• Because European, African and Asian • people have been immigrating to the • state for the last 200 years. Before • their arrival, Native American people • from all over the world are still coming • to settle in California because of its • good climate and the lifestyle it offers.

Native American According to the traditional beliefs of California Indians, they are people who were created here and who have lived forever in their ancestral homelands. Most anthropologists believe that the aboriginal population of California descended from ancient people who crossed into North America from Asia over the land bridge connecting the two continents during the glaciations of the late Pleistocene Epoch. No one knows when those first people reached California, but it is likely that Native Americans were living here for fifteen thousand years before European explorers first sailed along the California coast in the sixteenth century.

SpainSpain is a country in Europe, between Franceand Portugal. It is a member of European Union. Madrid 马德里 is its capital

Mexico Mexico is a country to the south of the US, Mexico city is its capital.The official language is Spanish, It has a strong influence on US culture, especially on its food and language, Before the arrival of Europeans, there were several important native American civilizations in Mexico such as Maya.

The gold rush periodIn 1860s, gold was found in California, which attracted people from everywhere. In two years, the producing rate of gold doubled. Some people made their fortune, but most of them didn’t , and some even died .

Language points

1.California is the third largest state in the …

序数词可以修饰形容词的最高级 The Yellow River is the second longest river

in China.

可以修饰形容词最高级的词： far / by far /much

可以修饰比较的词： no / a little / a bit / any / slig

htly

You ‘re standing too near the camera . Can you m

ove ____?

A a bit far B a little farther

C a bit of farther D a little far

B

2. population un / cn. 人口 The population of China_______ large. And

70% of the population of China_________ pea

sants.

表示整体人口时谓语动词用单数，表示部分人口时谓语动词用复数。 而形容人口的多少通常用 large / small.

is

are

对人口的多少进行疑问时，可用What’s the population of ….?

What’s the population of Guangdong?

have a population of …. 有多少人口China has a population of 1.3 billion.

an increase / growth in population 人口3. multicultural adj.

multi- 多、多方面、多方向的 multi-coloured 多色的 multi-racial 多种族的 multi-media 多媒体

4. When the first people arrived in

what we now know as California,… 宾语从句= the place that we now know as California.

定语从句George Washington was born in ______ is

now the state of Virginia.

A.which B. where C. that D. what

= George Washington was born in the place

that is now the state of Virginia.

D

1.Pudong Development Zone is no longer a

rural area ________ it used to be.

2. Pudong Development Zone is no longer _

_______ it used to be.

A. what B. where C. that D. there

C

A

定语从句 , 先行词是 , 作关系词

表语从句

5. by means of…: by using … 用……办法，借助 He crossed the river by means of a raft.

We express out feelings by means of words.

小偷想从一条暗道逃走，但被捉住了。 The thief had wanted to escape by means of

a secret tunnel, but was caught.

means 单复数同形。 All possible means have been tried.

The quickest means of travel is by plane.

6. in addition : besides 此外 , 再者You need time and money. In addition,

you need diligence.

我打算进城看望我的老师 , 此外还要买点东西 .

I am going to visit my teacher. In addition,

I need to buy some articles of daily use.

what’s more; furthermore; moreover;

in addition to .. 除…外In addition to cakes and candies, guests

were provided with fruits.

7. majority n. 大多数… The majority____________ for the budget.

The majority of students ________ hard-working.

The majority of the damage _______ easy to repair.

单独做主语时，若强调整体，谓语动词用单数， 强调个体时，谓语动词用复数 。 the majority of + n. 后可用不可数名词，也可用 可数名词复数 , 谓语动词由后面的名词决定。 minority 少数的……

was / wereare

is

8. declare vt.

1 ） To make known publicly or officially 宣布 , 宣告 The chairman declared the results of the election.

War was declared on the enemy.

警方现在已经对这个地区的毒贩宣战了 .

The police have declared war on drug dealers in

this area.

2 ） To state with great forces so that there is no

doubt about the meaning. 宣称 , 声称 , 断言 She solemnly declared that she knew nothing

about it.

他郑重声明此事属实 .

He declared that it was true.

9. Russian- Americans 美籍俄罗斯人 Chinese – Americans 美籍华人

10. make a life 开始新生活，习惯于新的生活方式 Many farmers go to the big cities to make a life.

It’s not easy to make a life in a new country.

11. …it was the building of the railway from the

west to the east coast that brought even larger

numbers to California in the 1860s.

强调句

12. immigrant: who immigrates 移民者 immigrate : come as a settler 移民 Lots of the rich choose to immigrate to another

country, nowadays.

13. percentage:

-- What percentage of students in your school

go to college ? -- 97 percent .

percentage 百分比，百分率， 前面不能用具体 的数据。 percent 百分之……， 通常有具体的数据。

14.It is believed that…

It is said that …

It is hoped that…

It is supposed that…

It is suggested that…

It is reported that

主语从句It is reported that some European countries

are flooded severely .

It is hoped that the cost of medical care ca

n be cut down.

15. mix 混合 n.

We have to come up with a mix of policies

to please the voters.

v.

You can mix yellow and blue together to

make green.

We can not mix work with pleasure.

mixture n. 混合物 , 混合体 The drink is a mixture of 3 different sorts of

drinks.

16.nationality 国籍 She has American nationality but lives in China.

--What’s your nationality?

--Chinese.