Unit 1 Laughter is good for you Reading To gain some knowledge about stand- up comedy To master some basic skills of how to guess the meanings of new words To master the words and expression in this article Important words: stage, tease, previous, variety, style behave, visual, performance, affection little-known, technical, amuse, saying Important phrases: stand up for, trip over, have affection for come up with, silent film, queue up Words preview the area in a theatre which is often raised above ground level and on which actors of entertainers perform; a part of an activity or a period of development; to laugh at sb. or say unkind things about them the characteristic of often changing and being different happening or existing before n. stage vt. tease n. variety adj. previous to act in a particular way a way of doing sth, esp one which is typical of a person, group of people, place or period how well a person, machine, etc. does a piece of work or an activity relating to seeing a feeling of liking for a person or place to make a loud sound, usually to express pain, sadness etc. v. behave n. style n. performance adj. visual n. affection vi. howl to entertain people by dancing, singing, acting or playing music; to do an action or piece of work relating to particular skills and methods that are used in a particular activity to entertain sb, especially by humorous speech or action or by making sb laugh or smile a well-known and wise statement, which often has a meaning that is different from simple meanings v. perform adj. technical vt. amuse n. saying Lead-in Discussion : 1. What do you know about Charlie Chaplin? 2. When we talk about him, what kind of image will appear in your mind? This period, were going to read a passage entitled Stand-up for your health! What is the exact meaning of stand- up? Reading Tips (skimming) (scanning) (skimming) (topic sentence) (extension) (explanation) (scanning) , (supporting sentences), (transition), , , (slow down your pace) (conclusion), a general idea certain information titles and headings the first and last sentences of paragraphs the first and last paragraphs pictures and charts Scan the text for key words and phrases, dates, etc. Do not need to read the whole text. Guess meanings Find new words Read Sentences around Make a guess Check by dictionary Guess words meaning Skimming to get general ideas Skimming Reading Comprehension I 1. What is the article about? The article is about stand-up comedy. 2. After starting as a stand-up comedian, what did Billy Crystal go on to do later in life? He went on to act in films. 3. What is laughter good for? Laughter is good for our health. Careful reading to solve difficult points Stand up for your health! Types of stand-up A famous comedian Laughter is good for your health! Billy Crystal A famous comedian Billy Crystal He has become famous as television and film actor. Billy Crystal has become famous as a television and film p________. He has h______ the Academy Awards broadcast l____ on TV 8 times. One Reason Crystal has become so famous Is that he is very q______ ________, and is often able to c____ __ ____ new jokes about the people and things around him. erformer osted ive uick thinking Fill in the blanks according to the reading material. ome up with He is p______ with all age groups and his ability to a______ people all over the world proved that stand-up can be enjoyed by everyone. He has no plans to stop making films or telling jokes. He hopes to f_____ in the footsteps of other famous comedians to keep working until the end of his life. muse ollow opular Scanning to get detailed information Scanning Reading Comprehension II Read the sentences and decide T or F. 1.Visual homour can be boring when you cannot see what the comedian is doing. 2.One comedian did not lose any weight even though he had been doing a lot of physical exercise for a month. T F 3. People usually laugh at comedians doing impressions because they do not like the person being made fun of. 4. The old actors speech at the Academy Awards was like a silent film because there was no sound. 5. Bob Hope and George Burns lived for a long time probably because they laughed a lot. F T T Scanning Reading Comprehension III 1.Where is stand-up comedy usually done? On a stage. 2.How might a stand-up comedian decide what jokes to tell? A stand-up comedian might decide what jokes to tell depending upon how the audience reacted to his or her previous jokes. 3.How many types of stand-up are mentioned? Four. 4.When did Billy Crystal begin practising stand-up? When he was a child. 5.What is one reason Billy Crystal has become so famous? Because he is very quick thinking and is often able to come up with new jokes about the people and things around him. 6.Who were Bob Hope and George Burns? They are famous comedians. 7.What does your brain do when you laugh? It sends chemicals around your body that are good for you. 8.What is the English saying about laughter mentioned in the text? Laughter is the best medicine. Part E on page 5 1. comedians 2. got his start 3. variety 4. stage 5. performance 6. previous 7. affection 8. perform Discussion 1. What kind of comedy do you enjoy the most? Why? 2. Laughter is good for you and every one else. How do you make other people laugh? Homework 1. Read the passage after class and pay attention to the new words and expressions. 2. Prepare a funny story to tell your classmates. Share your funny story Language points 1. depend upon/on = rely on 1) The country depends heavily on its tourism. 2) You can depend on Jane she always keeps her promises. 3) The amount you pay depends on where you live. 2. queue up = queue v. to form or join a line of people or vehicle waiting to do sth A lot of people queue up to buy tickets for the film Harry Potter. queue for queue for a bus queue for tickets The queue for the cinema went right round the building. form a queue join a queue stand in a queue jump a queue queue Cn. ---- to make a joke about someone that is insulting or makes them feel bad. e.g. The kids at school always made fun of Jills clothes. Im not making fun of you. I admire what you said. 3. make fun of Phrases related to fun have fun --to have an enjoyable time for fun/for the fun of it --- you do sth because you enjoy it and not for any other reason in fun --- if you make a joke or say sth, about someone in fun, you do not intend it to be insulting Consolidation 1. _________________________________ ( ), I hated to call them in. 2. We drove all the way to the beach, ____________ ( ). 3. Dont get upset Betty, she said it __________ ( ). 4. The children were having so much fun just for fun in fun This is not a match. Were playing chess just for fun. 4. later on At first things went well, but later on we ran into trouble. sooner or later no later than See you later! 5. such such a, an a, an such such a lovely baby one such lovely baby ten such books no such people all such comedians 6. in front of / in the front of in front of behind; in/at the front of at/in the back of in (the) front of The child took a seat _______________ of the bus. The child ran out ___________ of the bus. in/at the front of in front of 7. living / alive / lively / live alive live /la v/ lively / / / / / living / / , / / a _____ fish Do you like a _____ show or a recorded show? improve the _______ conditions of people He had a strange way of making his classes _______ and interesting. He is dead, but his dog is still ______. English is a ______ language. No man ______ is greater than he. The enemy was caught ________. live living lively alive ______ water living alive living a _____ imaginationa _____ discussionlively alive 8. come up with (1) ( ) Is that the best excuse you can come up with? (2) ( ) 1 How am I supposed to come up with $10,000? 9. He said, It seems appropriate that he got his start in silent films! appropriate adj. Is this film appropriate for small children? at an appropriate time take appropriate measures ? silent adj. silence n. in total/complete/dead silence keep/remain silent about/on sth buy ones silence break silence silence vt. eg. She silences her sons crying by a piece of bread. 10. amuse vt. amusement n. [C] ; ; [U] ; amusing adj. ; ; amused adj. amuse sb. by doing sth. to ones amusement be ________ at/by/with an ________ story/situation amused amusing The program offers a variety of amusements. To my amusement, his false beard fell off. Everyone was amused at/by the story about the dog. They amused themselves by looking at old photographs. 11. follow (in) the footsteps follow suit follow sbs example/lead follow the herd/crowd follow your nose follow a trend/pattern/course / / follow a profession/way of life , as follows ( ) 12. Laughter is good for you. laughter Un. She roared with laughter (= laughed very loudly). As we approached the hall we could hear the sound of laughter. : burst into laughter roar/howl with laughter be good for (1) beneficial ; Is this kind of food good for me? Sunshine is good for your plants. (2) suitable ; She would be good for the job. This beach is good for swimming but bad for surfing. be bad for; be harmful to 13. make up 1) ---invent a story, a poem, an excuse, etc. He is ____________ a story; Dont believe him. making up 2) --- to put special paint, colour etc. on someones face in order to change the way they look. , They made him up as an old man for the last act of the play. 3) ---to prepare or arrange sth. by putting things together I could make up a bed for you on the couch. 4) ---to combine together to form a particular system, group, result etc. 30%. Women make up only 30% of the workforce. 5) ---to make an amount of a number complete. , I saved as much as I could, and my mum made up the rest of the money. 6) ---to repay or give an amount in return Im trying to make up the time I lost while I was sick. 7) ---to become friendly with someone again after you have had an argument. ? Have you made up with Jack yet? make up for ---to make a bad or unpleasant situation seem better, by providing sth. pleasant. That one weekend made up for all the disappointments Id had. 1. Everybody in the village likes Jack because he is good at telling and ______ jokes. (2006 ) A. turning up B. putting up C. making up D. showing up 2. American Indians ______ about five percent of the U.S. population. (2008 ) A. fill up B. bring up C. make up D. set up 3. My morning ______ includes jogging in the park and reading newspapers over breakfast. (2007 ) A. drill B. action C. regulation D. routine 4. The lawyer seldom wears anything other than a suit, ______ the season. (2008 ) A. whatever B. wherever C. whenever D. however 5. Could I speak to ______ is in charge of International Sales, please? [2007 ] A anyone B someone C whoever D no matter who 6. Dogs have a very good ______ of smell and are often used to search for survivors in an earthquake. (2008 ) A. sense B. view C. means D. idea II: Fill in the blanks according to the Chinese. 1. Its time we ______ ____ _____ our right. 2. The post office was really busy, and we had to _____ ____ for a long time. queue up stand up for 3. That film star ____ ______ ________ for Nanjing. 4. I think they _____ ____ the whole thing. 5. His father was an actor, and he wanted to _____ ___ ___ _________. follow in his footsteps has great affection made up 6. One ___________ ( ) fact is that he was once a __________ ( ) comedian. 7. Bi Fujian is very_________( ) with all age groups due to his __________ ( ) hosting style. little-known well-loved popular humorous 8. He is also famous _____ _______ ( ) the Academy Awards. for hosting Homework 1. Try to retell the whole passage in your own words. 2. Review the language points. 3. Preview Word Power.