任教课程年月日Unit 5一、授课时间：第9周3次课；第10周2次课二．授课类型：课文分析8课时；习题讲解2课时三．授课题目：Silent Spring四．授课时数：10五．教学目的和要求：通过讲授课文使大学生了解有关环境保护的有关知识，学会用英语解释句子以达到学以致用的目的。

要求学生主动地预习课文，课前准备练习，学会分析文章体裁和进行段落划分。

六．教学重点和难点：1）背景知识的传授：About the author；2）文章的体裁分析及段落划分；3）语言点的理解：Word study: to change; to exchange; beside; besides; except; used to; be used to; to shiver; to tremble; to shake; to shudderGrammar Focus: Study and learn how the words such and so are used; Study such patterns as considering…; given time; it is no accident that; it is not my contention that.七．教学基本内容和纲要Part One Warm – up1.1 W arm-up Questions1. What is the message given to us in the essay? What are Rachel Carson’s main arguments? Have they stood the test of time?2. We are faced with all kinds of environmental problems nowadays. But what is the one that Rachel Carson dealt with in her book Silent Spring?3. How do chemicals affect the environment and people?4. Does Carson mean that insecticides should never be used in agriculture?1.2 Define the following words and phrases1. be geared to2.introduce…into3. a great variety of…4.hold sth within bounds5.built-in6.check7. a limit on…8.set the stage for任教课程年月日9.explosive (increases)10.live on (wheat)11.a/another factor in…is…Part Two Background Information2.1 Rachel Carson (1907-1964) biologist, writer, ecologist1. intense love for nature since her childhood→“Humans have now acquired a fateful power to alter and to destroy nature. But Man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”―Rachel CarsonShe was once bitterly attacked:“an anti-humanitarian crank, a priestess of nature, and a hysterical woman”But she courageously went on fighting until her idea caught on and more and more people joined in.→the mother of modern environmental movementAbout the book:1. When was it published?2. Who was the author?3. What is it about? What is its central argument?4. How was it received?5. How significant is it now?6. Does it still make sense now?Part Three T ext Appreciation3.1 Text Analysis1.Questions for thinking:a.What can you infer about Carson’s view of the relation between man and nature?b.Was her view common in her time?c.How do you arrive at this inference?3.1.2 S tructure of the textPart I: paras.1-6a town before & after the disasterPart II: paras. 7-9cause of the disaster: chemicalsPart III: paras. 10-14character & impact of man’s tampering with naturePart IV: paras. 15-18reasons why pesticides fail to solve the pest problemPart V: paras. 19-24cause of modern pest problem and possible solutions任教课程年月日Part VI: para. 25conclusionLogic & T echniqueWhat: from interest to concern descriptionHow: from general to specific expositionfrom nature to manWhy: from effect to cause argumentationHow: from cause to solution exposition & argumentationRelevant questions:1. Why did Carson devote a whole paragraph to describe the spreading of species in nature before she mentioned man’s role in the process?2 Did she always first describe the mechanisms in nature before talking about man’s tampering with nature?3. Why did she present her ideas in this way? What’s her hidden argument?3.1.3 Detailed Analysis of the textPart I: Main IdeaContrast: a town before & after the disasterBefore AfterColor ColorSound SoundMotion MotionOverall impression: Overall impression:vibrant, lifeless,harmonious, deserted,beautiful awfulPart II: Discussion1.Why did the author paint such a beautiful picture of a non-existent town?2.What was she trying to appeal to?Part III: Discussion1. How has man changed the relation between organisms and their surroundings?Human NatureDirection: Direction:life →environment environment →lifeSpeed: Speed:Character: destructive Character: adaptativeirrecoverable2. In what way has man’s power changed in character？(para. 11)3. How do chemicals affect our life? (para. 11)“passing from one to anotherin a chain of poisoning and death”任教课程年月日4. What are the two examples given by the author as man’s tampering with nature? (paras. 11-13)5. Why is man’s change of the world particularly devastating? (paras. 12-14)Part IV: Discussion1. Why are pesticides not a good solution? (3 reasons)They kill indiscriminately, reducing biodiversity. (para. 16)They contaminate the entire environment. (para. 16)–residual effectThey couldn’t solve the pest problem. (para. 17)–resistance to chemicals–resurgence induced by pesticides2. What does the “endless spiral” refer to? (para. 17)3. What does the author mean by saying “all life is caught up in its violent crossfire”? (para. 17)4. What is the author’s attitude towards man’s use of che micals? How is it implied?Rhetorical questions:“Can anyone believe it is … ?”(para. 16)“How could intelligent beings…?” (para. 18)Part V: Discussion1. What principles should we follow to solve the pest problem? (para. 19)2. How did the pest problem come into being?intensification of agriculture (para. 20)invasion of imported species (paras. 21-23)3. Does spreading of organisms to new places happen in nature? How does it happen? What is the primary factor in this natural process?geological element, i.e. separating and rejoining of lands which took millions of years to complete (para. 21)4. What are the sensible measures to solve the pest problem? (para. 24)to avoid suppressing “pests”to get more knowledgeto promote an even balance5. In what ways have we done wrong in using chemicals?3.2 Writing Devices1. What is good writing?Her measured, carefully-worded (language) yet passionate prose (passion, love) was all the more damning because she, herself, was a scientist (ideas; information).2. How can we write with power and precision?2.1 EloquenceParallels任教课程年月日…until they emerge and combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and work unknown harm on those who drink from once pure wells. (para. 11)…to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil… (para. 16)Rhetorical questionsCan anyone believe…? (para. 16)How could intelligent beings… ? (para. 18)Antitheses:(juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in one grammatical structure)The rapidity of change follows the impetuous pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature. (para. 13)…this imagined tragedy may easily become a harsh reality we all shall know. (para. 8)2.2 PrecisionQualifying expressions:To a large extent, the physical form and the habits of theearth’s vegetation and its animal life have beenmolded by the environment. (para. 10)This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable. (para. 11)And even this, were it by some miracle possible,would befutile. (para. 14)Special verbs:n.–v.: flame, coat, line adj.–v.: still, brown, damp3.3 Sentence Paraphrase1. There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with it surroundings.Once upon a time there was a town in the central part of America where all living things seemed to exist peacefully with their environment.2. In autumn, oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered across a background of pines.In autumn, the oak, maple and birch trees turned yellow, red or brown, making a beautiful show of colors against the dark green of pine trees.3.Then some evil spell settled on the community: mysterious diseases swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep sickened and died.Then, as if by some evil power, disease struck the community: strange diseases quickly struck down large numbers of chicken; the cattle and sheep became ill and died.4.The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted.No birds came to eat or drink what was there at the feeding stations.5.On the mornings that had once throbbed(有规律地颤动) with the dawn chorus of scores of任教课程年月日bird voices there was now no sound;The morning air used to vibrate with the singing of birds, but there was now no sound…6.a harsh reality we all shall know.some serious consequence that we all have to face7. This book is an attempt to explain:This book, Silent Spring, intends to explain what has caused the disasters in many towns in America.8. a history of interaction between living things and their surroundingsa history of how living things and their environment affect and relate to each other.9.T o a large extent, the physical form and the habits of the earth’s vegetation and its animal life have been molded by the environment.The physical features and habits of the living things on earth have been greatly shaped by their surroundings.10. Considering the whole span of earthly time, the opposite effect, in which life actually modifies its surroundings, has been relatively slight.When we think of the long history of life on earth, the degree living things affect their environment has been insignificant as compared with the effect of the environment on plant and animal life.11.but it has changed in characterbut the nature of this power to alter the environment has changed.12. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable.In most cases, the polluted air, soil, rivers and the sea cannot be restored to their original natural state.13. Or they pass mysteriously by underground streams until they emerge and combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and work unknown harm on those who drink from once pure wells.Or they get deeper into underground streams, undergo some chemical process somewhere, and then become new substances that contaminate wells, kill plants and make cattle as well as people that drink the water sick.14. The rapid change follows the impetuous pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature.Man is changing nature rapidly while nature adjusts to the changes slowly. Therefore adjustment can never keep up with change, and anew balance between living things and their environment can hardly be reached.15. The chemicals are the synthetic creations of man’s inventive mind, having no counterparts in nature.Nature does not produce such things as chemicals. They are man-made and the result of man’s creative power.16. And even this, were it by some miracle possible, would be futile, for the new chemicals come from our laboratories in an endless stream;It would take some magic power to make living things adjust to these chemicals in the life of generations. Even if this were possible, it would be useless, because new chemicals are continuously being created and produced.任教课程年月日17. to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on the soilto kill the birds and fish, to cover the leaves with a thin layer of death-causing chemicals and to stay in soil for a long time18. - all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects.all these serious consequences come about perhaps just because man wants to destroy a few weeds or insects.Part Four Language Study4.1 Phrases and ExpressionsTranslation1. 化学制品在农业上被广泛地、无区别地使用。