UnitActive Reading 讲稿

1、Unit 2 Active Reading (2)ChocolateContents: Pre-reading ActivitiesRelated InformationSummary (Dictation)Words & ExpressionsUnderstanding the TextAssignment. Pre-reading Activities:Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.1. Do you like chocolate? If so, how often do you eat, and when? I

2、f not, why not?2. What are the good and bad effects of eating chocolate?3. What events or ideas do you associate with chocolate? 4. Why do we love chocolate? . Background Information & Cultural Notes：1. The history of the development of chocolateChocolate Through the Years The story of chocolate

3、, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America. Until 1492, the Old World (指欧洲大陆，相对于美洲大陆) knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions. The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal

4、ingredient (原料) of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and laid before the Spanish throne (王位) a treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. Among these were a few dark brown beans that looked like almonds (杏仁) and seemed most unpromising (无指望的). They were cocoa beans,

5、today's source of all our chocolate and cocoa.The King and Queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for Hernando Cortez (科尔特斯), the great Spanish explorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of the New World offerings.Spanish monks, who had been consigned (托运) t

6、o process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. It did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed (受到欢迎) throughout Europe as a delicious, health-giving food. For a while it reigned (主宰) as the drink at the fashionable Court of France. Chocolate drinking spread across the Channel to Great B

7、ritain, and in 1657 the first of many famous English Chocolate Houses appeared.Chocolate Spreads to EuropeThe 19th Century marked two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. In 1847, an English company introduced solid "eating chocolate" through the development of fond

8、ant (半软糖) chocolate, a smooth and velvety (光滑柔和) variety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse grained (颗粒粗糙的) chocolate which formerly dominated (统领) the world market. The second development occurred in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to the c

9、hocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.Chocolate Comes to AmericaIn the United States of America, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. It was in pre-Revolutionary New England-1765, to be exact-that the first chocolate

10、factory was established in this country. During World War II, the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the nourishment and group spirit of the Allied Armed Forces, so much so that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans. Many soldiers were thankful for t

11、he pocket chocolate bars which gave them the strength to carry on until more food rations could be obtained. 2. Chocolate: Food of the GodDuring his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm, "chocolate," meaning

12、 warm liquid. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolate to his Spanish guests in great golden goblets (高脚杯), treating it like a food for the gods.For all its regal (王室的) importance, however, Montezuma's chocolate was very bitter, and the Spaniar

13、ds did not find it to their taste. To make the concoction (调制品) more agreeable to Europeans, Cortez and his countrymen conceived the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.The new drink quickly won friends, especially among the Spanish aristocracy (贵族). Spain wisely proceeded to plant cacao in its ov

14、erseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.3. The origin of the word chocolateThe word "chocolate" is said to derive from the

15、Mayan. The Mexican Indian word "chocolate" comes from a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water"); early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form. As part of a ritual in twelfth-century Mesoamerican marriages, a mug of the frothy chocolate was shared

16、. Arthur W. Knapp, author of The Cocoa and Chocolate Industry (Pitman, 1923) points out that if we believe Mexican mythology, "chocolate was consumed by the Gods in Paradise, and the seed of cocoa was conveyed to man as a special blessing by the God of the Air." Swedish naturalist Carolus

17、Linnaeus (1707-1778) was dissatisfied with the word "cocoa," so renamed it "theobroma," Greek for "food of the gods." . Summary (Dictation)Listen to the recording read by Frank McCourt himself and fill in the blanks. . Words & Expressions: 1. confess : vi. to admit

18、that you have committed a crime 承认；供认；招供；交代Ø confess to sb / confess to (doing) somethingEdwards confessed to the priest before he died2. crush: vt. to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition Ø Their plot to overthrow the government was crushed. 他们企图推翻政府的阴谋被粉碎了。 3. flavou

19、r: n. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on peopleØ add/give a/an flavour (to sth)e.g. The torch of the Beijing Olympic Games has a very strong Chinese flavour. 4. inherit vt. 1) to obtain from someone after their death 2) to receive from a predecessor 

20、16; coinherit something from somebody e.g. He has inherited his grandfather's skill in making money.5. meltvi. 1) to become or cause to become soft or liquid 2) to gradually disappear Ø The snow on top of the mountains melted away under the sun.山顶上的雪在阳光下融化了。 6. popularity: n. the quality of

21、 being widely admired or accepted Ø gain/grow/increase in popularitye.g. Golf has gained in popularity among the wealthy in my country. 7. stimulating: adj. rousing or quickening activity or the senses Ø 使人感兴趣的讨论a stimulating discussion Ø 刺激人们的视觉神经stimulating people's visual sense

22、Ø 扩大国内需求stimulating domestic demand 1 account for be the reason or explanation forØ Too much rain accounted for the poor crop. 引起，导致Ø It accounts for 30 per cent of all railway accidents. （在数量或比例上）占Ø How do you account for your long absence from classes without asking for leave?

23、做出解释或说明2 have an/ some/ little/ no effect on Ø Punishment had little effect on him. Ø It has been found that smoking does no effect on the health of the smoker.Ø They have an effect on health. . Understanding textLook through the paragraphs of the text to find answers to the questions.1. After reading the passage, do you think chocolate is good or bad for you?Reference: I think chocolate is good for me in general, but one should not have too much of it.2. Do you agree that chocolate gives you a similar feeling to whe