Workbook
LISTENING
Page 48
1. Before you listen , look at the map on the right. It shows some of the places in the world where English is spoken as an official language. Guess what this listening is about. Listen to the tape and see if you are right.
2. Listen to the tape again. Work out the name of each student’s country and find the hints that help you identify them.
I live in South Asia. My country is thousands of years old and now has more than a billion people. Unlike many other countries. Our people speak a lot of languages. So we use English, which we got from British rulers hundreds of years ago. Of course, we have our own way of using English.
script
Well, I live on a huge green island in western Europe. Hundreds of years ago, my people spoke a very different language from English. Then the British rulers came. Now the old language is spoken in only a few villages in the western part of my country.
My country has more than 7000 islands. Some of them are very large but most of them are quite small. Hundreds of years ago, the Spanish rulers changed the way live. Much later, the American rulers taught their own kind of English in our schools. Nowadays, we speak a kind of English that borrows words from American English but is mostly our own.
My country is very small. In fact it’s really a city. It is in southeast Asia and is very rich. People come from all over Asia to do business here. Today , you can hear our kind of English spoken everywhere in the city and on many ships that come here.
USING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Work with a partner to complete the word puzzle. Use the clues to help you.
agreed, said or done by the government
like a line or road that goes in one direction
national, local way of pronouncing words
a polite way of asking for something
the way that the words are used in a language
official
straight
accent
request
usage
1
Page 49
6. the northern central area of the USA
7. someone’s name or a strong feeling of being part of a group, race, etc
8. a powerful flash of light in the sky
9. the way in which a word is spelled
10. truck
11. __________________
midwestern
identify
lighting
spelling
lorry
frequently
Play the game “Find the odd one out”. Pick out the one that does not fit each group.
2
actor elevator visitor doctor director
eastern western northern modern midwestern
windy lorry lucky sandy cloudy
imagine important impolite improve immediately
fluently July gradually frequently actually
unhappy unfriendly untidy unless unnecessary
afraid alone awake aloud alive
natural capital national official traditional
Translate the following sentences into English, using the words and expressions in brackets
3
博物馆要求参观的游客不得在馆内拍照。(request)
邓小平在中国经济的发展过程种起着非常重要的作用。(play a part; economy)
Visitors are requested not to take photos
in the museum.
Deng Xiaoping played an important part
in developing the economy in China.
记者问作家他作品种的人物是以谁为原型的。(base)
她说：“我会穿一件红色的长大衣，这样你肯定能认出我来。”(recognize)
The reporter asked the writer who he
based his characters on.
“I will be wearing a long red coat so you will be sure to recognize me,” she said.
沿着这条路走三个街区，然后右转，医院就在你的左边。(block)

我们有很多工作要做，所以要利用好时间。(make use of)
Go along the road for three blocks and then turn right. You will see the hospital on your left.
We have a lot of work to do, so we have to make good use of time.
他直接去了纽约，没在香港停留。(straight)
这座城市在初夏季节常下雨.(frequent)
He went straight to New York, without stopping in Hong Kong.
Rains are frequent in this city in early summer.
Read the passage on Page 51, then answer the questions and fill in the following form:
Reading Task
on page 51
1).Why were dictionaries invented?
2).Who played an important part in making English dictionaries?
3).The Oxford English dictionary is the largest dictionary. Who is the editor? How many years did it take to complete the dictionary?
Make notes about Murry’s life
No formal education; taught himself while working
Worked in a bank before beginning to compile the OED
1.worked in a shed in his garden and behind his house
2.very cold as it was one meter underground
3.no heating; he had to wear a coat and put his feet in a box to keep warm
4.no electric light; he worked at night with candles
1.commitment
2.perseverance
3.accuracy
at first just james murray; later his two daughters; finished by other editors after his death
1928
first edition took forty; four years to compile
LISTENING TASK
Do you also practise your English outside class? What do you usually do to improve your listening? Discuss with your partner.
1
Listen to what Wang Ting and Chen Peng have to say and find out how they improve their English. Write down the main idea.
2
Wang Ting and Chen Peng are discussing how they improve their English listening outside class.
Listen again and answer the following questions.
What is Wang Ting going to do this weekend?

What does Wang Ting think about listening to English songs?
3
Wang Ting is going to buy some CDs to improve her English.
She likes to listen to English songs to learn idiomatic English expressions.
3. Did Chen Peng often watch English
films? Does he watch them now?
4. What does Chen Peng like watching on
CCTV 9?
No, he used to watch English films. He doesn’t wath them now as he thinks they are too hard without Chinese subtitles.
He likes listening to Chinese people and reading the English subtitles.
5. What does Wang Ting ask Chen Peng to do?

6. What does Chen Peng’s teacher say about
learning English? What does she mean?
She asks him to listen to native speakers more often.
The teacher asks him to learn “little and often”. She means that he should do a little extra listening every day to make the best improvement.
Write down the three ways Wang Ting suggests to improve English skills.
Listening to _____________is an easy way to ______ some idiomatic __________ .
Watching ________________________ is a good way to _______ your _____________ of English.
Listening to ______________ can improve your ____________ .
4
English songs
learn
expressions
the news and the interviews
practise
understanding
native speakers
listening skills
SPEAKING TASK
Imagine that the leaders of your hometown have asked your school to help beginners to learn English. They have suggested these three methods
Listening to English programmers on the radio.
Watching English films
Reading English newspapers
Now make your recommendation. Compare your idea with another pair and make a final decision. Tell your teacher your idea and your reason for choosing it.
S1: Now what helped us most to learn English?
S2: I remember extra reading helped me. Why don’t they read newspapers?
S1: Yes, a good idea. I found they helped me increase my vocabulary, but I found listening the most difficult.
S2: Perhaps they could listen to the radio. I like to listen to native speakers but they used to speak rather fast for me. Now I’ve been listen every day for some time I can understand the different accents better. That has been very good practice.
S1: What about watching English films? Did that help you?
S2: The action films are very good to watch. Sometimes the accents made it difficult, but it doesn’t matter. You can follow the story and understand some of the English through the action. Did you find that?
S3 and S4: I did! I did!
S1: So we should say that we learned our English by listening to native speakers on the radio, by extra reading that was not too difficult and by watching films. That seems very clear. So let’s fill in the chart.
hear native speakers get used to different accents
they speak rather fast
action films are easy follow, you can understand some of the English
the language may be spoken too fast
it helps improve your English
they may use infamiliar vocabulary
Now make your recommendation. Compare your idea with another pair and make a final decision. Tell your teacher your idea and your reason for choosing it.
WRITING TASK
Page 53
What problems do you have in learning English?
Make a note about your problems or difficulties.
Share your problems with your friends and discuss how you can solve them.
List your solutions to two of your problems.
Decide a title and draft your composition.
1
Read the sample writing and study how the text is organized. Then write about your problems in your English study.
2
Ways of improving listening
Of the four skills, I think listening is the hardest. I like watching English films but I can’t understand them without the Chinese subtitles.
I am not satisfied with this situation, so recently I had a talk with my friend Wang Ting. She told me some good ways of improving listening.
She suggested using CDs to listen to English songs and learn English expressions, watching the news and interviews on CCTV 9, and trying to listen to native speakers.
I will do as she advised. I’m sure I will gradually make progress.
Studying the text
Text type: personal recount
Paragraph1: the main problem
Paragraph2: suggestions on how to solve the problem
Listen to CDs
Watch CCTV 9
Listen to native speakers
Paragraph3: conclusion
Make a brainstorming map
My problems

Ideas for improvement
Conclusion
Listening
Writing
Words
…….
Listen to BBC.
Get an e-pal.
Memorize new words every morning.
……
Paragraph1
Paragraph2
Paragraph3
I’ll …
I should…
I’m sure…
It’s necessary…
…….
My experience of improving English
Para 1 My problems in learning English.
Para 2 How can I can improve my English.
Para 4 How I hope to make use of my English.
I have a great progress in English learning. But at first, I had many difficulties in learning English. I found listening really hard. Sometimes, it was just impossible to understand. Besides, my written English was not very good. And it was hard for me to memory new words.
My experience of improving English
How