Jack's English Classroom: 2012

2012年7月10日星期二

春季班結業考範圍

Reading:

Chapter 1: Earworms

12: Meat Under Fire

13: Another Earth

15: the Small House Movement

17: How to Survive a Mountain Lion

24: A Company Prospers by Saving Poor People’s Lives

Grammar:

Tenses: Units 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14

Passive: Units 40, 41, 42, 44

Subjunctive Mood: Units 36, 37, 38, 39

2012年5月26日星期六

結業考複習

updated Quizlet

2012年5月10日星期四

Review

Quizlet

2012年5月1日星期二

Meat Under Fire

1. pre-reading
vocabulary: Quizlet

2. comprehension questions

What is a controversial issue in America? (P1)
What are the three reasons people do not want to eat meat? (P2-5)
What do meat eaters suggest? (P6)
How does the society handle the problem with the poor treatment of animals raised for food? (P7)
How do meat eaters protect their health and the environment? (P8)
What changes have been made in society about the war over meat eating? (P9)

3. phrases

in horror (3)
at best (4)
at worst (4)
at the center of ... (7)
had a great respect for ... (14)
as a result (22)
a concern for human health (25)
establish a connection (26)
be harmful to (33)
over time (33)
environmentally minded vegetarian (35)
dedicated to (39)
contribute to (51)
deal with the objections (65)
wander around (70)
in the meantime (94)
follow suit (101)
on the defensive (107)

4. usage and grammar

... an acre of land dedicated to growing plants ... (39)
These gases are known to contribute to rising temperature ... (50)
They advocate solutions that do not involve giving up meat altogether, such as creating farming practices that are more humane to animals. (62) / But what if meat could be produced in a way that did not harm animals ... (83)
By combining meat with peas, ..., people can easily decrease ... (77)
This will benefit not only human health but the health of ... (80)

2012年4月25日星期三

Up a Tree

1. pre-reading
vocabulary: quizlet

2. comprehension questions

Did the author like the new environment? / What did he/she think about the new school? / What was his/her consolation in addition to books? (lines 1-17)
Who was Rhonda? / What was her invitation? (lines 18-33)
Where were Rhonda and the author headed for? / How was the journey? / Where did they go in the end? / What did Rhonda want to do out there? (lines 33-54)
How was the tree climbing? Did the author follow Rhonda all the way to where Rhonda was headed for? (lines 55-70)
What happened to Rhonda when she got over the white birch? (lines 71-83)
Was Rhonda OK? (lines 84-91)

3. phrases

the property we live on (12)
along with (12)
go horseback riding (23)
slide off (35)
hit me in the face (35)
gallop at full speed (39)
alert to the forest (42)
round a corner (44)
pull out some gum (46)
sit in the shade (51)
break the silence (53)
layers of branches (61)
swing herself into the tree (63)
take hold of a branch (64)
work her way (71)
wave at me (75)
connected to (78)
separate from (78)
grab at it (79)
hang on (79)
a tangle of branches (81)
let go of the branch (85)
a sharp intake of breath (86)
a sigh of relief (87)
in disbelief (87)
roll over onto her side (88)

4. usage and grammar

These country people ... were very different from my beach friends ... (7-9)
I spent all my free time reading library books ... (9-10)
She ... and asked if I wanted to ... (22-23)
I had the feeling that her mother had forced her ... (23-24) / I got Gunther ... where she had suggested ... (26) / I was beginning to wish I had stayed home ... (36) / ... she said she had taken her sister's horse ... (47) / The gum I had been chewing fell straight down ... (84)
... looked as scary as she did. (28)
Looking up at her, I suggested she lead the way. (28)
... emerged from the cool showy road into bright hot sunlight (44)
Then pushing her hair ..., she eased her foot ..., carefully shifting her weight ... (72-73)
Barely connected to the trunk ..., it slowly separated from the tree. (78)
She was laughing too hard to speak. (90)

2012年4月10日星期二

My Invisible Garden

1. pre-reading:

vocabulary
If you had a chance to keep a garden, would you like to grow plants?

2. comprehension

How did the author engage himself/herself in talking about his/her garden? What did he/she talk about? (lines 1-14)
How did the friend react when the author talked about the garden? (lines 15-21)
How did the author take care of the parsley? (lines 22-31)
What did the author think about weeding? (lines 32-45)
How come the author did not seem to pay attention to the friend's talking? (lines 46-60)
How did the friend feel about the way the author talked about his/her garden? (lines 61-73)

3. phrases

lose track of (2)
trail off (8)
nod at (16)
settle for buying some plants (29)
in exchange for (33)
think of (38)
go about (44)
smile at (46)
take the perfect picture (62)
passionate about things (65)
bring up little details (67)

4. usage and grammar

... wonder if marsh hay was too salty ... (4)
... I tell them from the weeds. (13)
I'd wandered by ..., intending to give ... (26)
... as big as a flea (34)
... keep bringing up little details (67)

2012年3月13日星期二

A Company Prospers by Saving Poor People's Lives

1. pre-reading

vocabulary: Quizlet

2. comprehension questions

What is Vestergaard-Frandsen? / What are the products Vestergaard-Frandsen produces?
How special is Vestergaard-Frandsen?
What is the interest of Mikkel Vestergaard-Frandsen?
What is Mikkel's father business?
How did Mikkel and his father face business competition from Asia?
How was LifeStraw invented? How was this product of help to the world?
How do people think about Mikkel?
What is Mikkel's challenge?
What is the attitude of Vestergaard-Frandsen?

3. phrases

plenty of charitable foundations (8)
entertain thoughts (40)
strike a deal (51)
end up (65)
roll up his sleeves (96)
throw his own employees at a problem (96)

4. usage and grammar

... public agencies devoted to helping the world's poor (9)
... not only life-saving but even beautiful (22)
... it looked so bad that no housewife would have it ... (60)
having it cut into blankets (64)
..., Mikkel has gone beyond being a supplier to helping set global policy (92)

2012年3月1日星期四

Life of Pi

1. pre-reading

Quizlet
What would you do if you were in the man's situation?

2. comprehension questions

What is the irony of the story? (P1)
How do we know that the tiger was happy? / How do know that it was friendly? (P2)
What are the types of sounds tigers can make? How do we feel about each of the sounds? (P4)
What kind of sound is the most special to the narrator? (P5)
Why did the narrator want to tame the tiger? (P8)
What is the secret of the narrator? (P9)

3. phrases

calm down (4)
look at me intently (7)
take ... in (13)
twitch his ears (14)
prick up my ears (17)
a variety of sounds (19)
go woof (21)
put out throaty, coughing roars (24)
rusty hinges (27)
distinguishes big cats from small cats (31)
except for (36)
on a walking visit to ... (38)
die shortly of natural causes (50)
count on (50)
keep me from thinking (58)

4. usage and grammar

..., the narrator, ..., finds himself alone in a small life raft at sea. (1)
After a time I recognized the gaze. I had grown up with it. (7) | Clearly Richard Parker had eaten ... (10) (past perfect tense)
He kept twitching his ears ... (14)
And tigers hiss and snarl, ..., sounds either like autumn leaves ..., or, ..., like a giant door ... (24) / Prusten is the quietest of tiger calls, a puff ... (39)
It is one of the characteristics that distinguishes big cats from small cats. (30) (subject-verb agreement)
If I knew of it, it was because Father had told me ... (36)
He looked exactly as if he were asking me a question. (42)
There being no immediate threat, my breath slowed down, ... (44)
Only if I tamed him could I possibly ... (52)

2012年2月21日星期二

Twenty-four Rooms in One

1. pre-reading

vocabulary: Quizlet
Questions

2. reading comprehension questions

What did you see in the above video? (P2-P4)

use a remote control to raise the screen
fill the room with radiance
the wall-mounted television
countertop
worktop
sliding wall units
fold-down tables

What was Gary Chang doing? (P1)
Why did Gary Chang colorize the window? (P2)
How can Chang change a living room to a kitchen? (P3)
How can Chang change the layouts of his room so easily? (P4)
How did Gary Chang take advantage of the small space in his apartment? (P6)

What can we learn from Chang's Murphy bed? (P7)
What was Chang's thought on the shortage of space in Hong Kong? (P9)
What was his solution to this problem? (P11-12)
What did he think about buying a new apartment? (P14)

3. phrases

on a recent Saturday morning (2)
work up an appetite (9)
wall-mounted television (18)
impose layouts on ... (29)
was partitioned into ... (42)
fold out the bed (57)
take over the lease on their old apartment (66)
tear down the walls (69)

4. usage & grammar

Gary Chang stood in the middle ..., looking at a wall-size screen. / He stepped on the balance board ..., moving in time ... (present participle)
His mother suggested that he (should) take over the lease ... (65)