Unit 14 The United States of America

Integrating Skills The Bison on the Plains of America (Page 46 ) The Trail of Tears (Page 120 )

By Leng Tiantian

Symbol of “The Trail of Tears”

( The Trail where They cried )

The Bison on the plains of America

Listen to the tape, and then try to decide whether the statements on the screen are true or not.

1.( ) The first settlers on the plains were farmers.

2.( ) Native Americans willingly gave up land to the settlers.

3.( ) The settlers did not deal honestly with the Native Americans.

4.( ) Settlers ended up with better land than the Native Americans.

5.( ) Later settlers made use of the bison in the same way as the Native Americans.

F

F

T

T

F

Careful reading

Read the reading text quickly, divide the whole passage into proper parts, and try to summarize the main idea of each part.

Part 1 ( Para. 1 and 2 ) The introduction to the American

settlers and the way they use the bison.

Part 2 ( Para. 3 and 4 ) The arrival of the European settlers

and their way to use the bison. Part 3 (Para. 5 ) The killing of the bison changed

the whole wildlife of the plains.

Read one part after another carefully and do some exercises.

Part 1

1. When and where did the native American settlers come from?

2. How did they make a living? 3. How did they make use of the

bison?

Suggested answers: 1. The native American settlers arrived

more than 30,000 years ago by crossing a land bridge from Asia to America.

2. They lived by gathering roots, nuts, and wild fruits and hunting wild animals especially the bison.

3. Bison were killed for their meat, while their fur provide warm clothing during cold winters, and the native American settlers also made tents and water containers from the skins and tools from the bones, and the teeth were used to make necklaces.

Part 2 1. How did the European settlers

treat the native American settlers? 2. How did they make use of

bison?

Suggested answers:

1. The European settlers forced the native American settlers to move away from their old hunting grounds, when they resisted, they were killed.

2. The European settlers killed the bison, cut off the skins and left the bodies behind to rot.

Complete the following diagram after reading Part.3

Settlers

Bison.

Fewer

No falls on the grass.

stop eating the grass shoots.

Fewer fewer prairie dogs.

The becomes poorer.

The grows less well.

Fewer FewerPlants.

Settlerskill

Bison.

Fewerwolves.

No bison waste falls on the grass.

The bison stop eating the grass shoots.

Fewer birdfewer prairie dogs.

The soilbecomes poorer.

The grassgrows less well.

Fewerinsects.

FewerPlants.

The Trail of Tears (Page 120 )

Fast Reading Go through the whole passage as

quickly as possible, and then answer two questions.

1. What happened to the Native Americans when the European settlers arrived?

2. Why were the Cherokee and other tribes driven off their lands?

Suggested answers: 1.They were driven off their land

and even killed by the settlers. Many also died from diseases and starvation.

2. As more European settlers arrived, the need for land increased.

Careful reading Read the text again carefully, and the

n try to translate the following key phrases into English.

1. 美洲土著人 / 美洲印第安人 2. 白人定居者 3. 不遵守诺言 4. 赶走某人 5. 泪的旅程

According to the two passages ,complete the following timeline.

30,000 years ago---1492---1790-1830---by the 1830s---1838------by the end of the 19th century----between 1850

and 1910---20th century

Think more 1. Describe the situation of the

Native Americans today. 2. What do you think should be

done to protect minority groups such as Native Americans?

Homework 1. Finish off all the related exercises

in this unit. Write an essay comparing the USA

with China. ( You may develop your essays from the following areas:

Population, languages, minority groups, important cities )

Name USA PRC

Location

Canada on the north, Mexico on the south, East of the Pacific Ocean, west of the Atlantic Ocean

In the east of Asia, Off the west coast of the Pacific Ocean

Size 9.4 million km² 9.6 million km²

Population 283 million 1.3 billion

Language English, Spain Chinese, Mongolian, etc.

Economy Developed country Agricultural country

Important cities New York, Los Angeles, etc.

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing