editionalleyrectangularmopfragrantcastundertakepreservation

n. 版本n. 胡同 , 小巷adj. 长方形的n. 拖把adj. 有香味的vt. 投下vt. 着手做 , 从事n. 维护 , 保存

Words preview

squeezearchthirstcontainerrelayspoonfulturning point

vt. 挤n. 拱顶n. 口渴n. 容器vt. 转达 , 传送n. 一匙之量转折点

Words and expressions preview

Look at the photos and the title, and

predict where these people live, what

their life is like and what the article is

about.

Have you ever visited some Hutongs in Beijing?

北京的胡同，从元朝时就形成规模，经历元、明、清时发展、演变，成为老北京的胡同版图，延续至 21世纪。元朝时，北京的胡同街制规定：大街宽 24步（约 37.2米），小街 12步（约 18.6米），胡同 6步（约 9.3米）。侯仁之主编《北京历史地图集》证实元朝的街巷、胡同规划整齐如棋盘一般，纵横交错井井有条，成为建筑群落——有人美誉它是“凝固的音乐”，传唱至今。

北京最长的胡同——东西交民巷，它与长安街平行，从崇文门内大街，往西到北新华街。明代时，它叫东西江米巷，从东单到西单长 6.5里（比长安街短 1.5里）。比东西交民巷稍短的北京胡同就是崇文门外大街，往西到前门大街东西打磨厂街；其稍短的胡同，东西绒线胡同，东起人民大会堂西路，西至宣武门内街。 最短、最窄的街巷、胡同——尺大街，它才十来米长，在琉璃厂东街东口东南，桐梓胡同东口至樱桃胡同北口，这一条街东西走向，是一条北京最短的胡同。

Look at the photos and the title, and

predict what the article is about.

What is a hutong ?

When did hutongs come out?

Why were hutongs built?

√√

√

How many hutongs are in Beijing?

What is the difference between

huongs in Beijing and those in

Tianjing?

Something about Siheyuan.

Is there any change in Beijing’s

hutongs? √

Reading Strategies: Summarising

Read the text to get the general idea and identify paragraph topics.Underline the key sentence in each paragraph (often the beginning but not always). Then find information that backs it up.Write notes of the main points and the key information. Use your own words.

Read the article quickly and check

your prediction. Then choose the best

title for the article from the list below.

a) Beijing Urban Planning

b) Chinese Buildings

c) Beijing’s Hutongs

d) The History of Hutongs

Read each paragraph again. Match the headings to the correct paragraphs.Para. A a) Bad times for hutongs

Para. B b) When and why hutongs

were built

Para. C c) Beijing’s hutongs today

Para. D d) What is a hutong?

Para. E e) Connecting lives

True or False questions:

1. Sanmiao Street is the longest hutong in

Beijing.

2. Wealthy people lived in hutongs close to

the Forbidden City.

3. The oldest hutong in Beijing is 900 years

old.

4. Tourists don’t like hutongs.

F

T

F

T

Complete these notes on the article.

1. Hutongs are _________ that connect

the courtyards of traditional Chinese

houses.

2. The term hutong is nowadays used to

describe the alleys, courtyards and

the ___________ that live there.

little alleys

communities

3. The Emperors organised Beijing in

blocks of houses because this made

the city easier to ________________.

4. Most of Beijing’s hutongs were built

during the _____, _____, and _____

Dynasties.

control/supervise

Yuan Ming Qing

5. Wealthy and important people

lived in hutongs built close to the

____________________________.

6. Near the end of the Qing Dynasty,

conditions in Beijing’s hutongs

went down because of __________

_________________.

royal palace/the Forbidden City

the unstable

political situation

7. After the People’s Republic of China

was set up, conditions in Beijing’s

hutongs _________.

8. Hutongs are still an important part of

Beijing. They attract many _______

each year.

tourists

improved

Speaking

Work in your groups. Use your notes

from Exercise 5 to tell each other about

what you read. Try to use your own

words.

little alleys…, connect the rectangle courtyards…, a feature of…, refer to…, were built…, keep control over…, place guards…, keep an eye on…, connect people’s homes…, connect lives…, help was needed and shared the joy and sadness…, network…, political situation…, improved a great deal…, important part …, link past and present…, ancient yet modern city…

Language points

1. flock

vi. ( 常与 to, together 连用 ) 聚集成群 It rarely happened that people in the

town flocked to the theatre to see the

new opera.

镇上的人蜂拥到剧院去看那部新歌剧 , 这是难得有的事。

2. see sights 观光3. grand

adj. 壮丽的 ; 堂皇的 ; 重大的 It’s not a very grand house.

这房子并不是十分富丽堂皇。 The wedding was a very grand

occasion.

婚礼场面非常隆重。

4. leave an impression on sb.

留下……的印象 What he said left a deep impression on

me.

他说的话给我留下了深刻的印象。 be impressed by...

I was deeply impressed by the beauty

of the countryside.

我被乡村的美景打动了。

5. refer -rr- ( 常与 to 连用）涉及 ; 提到 Don’t refer to this matter again, please.

The new law does not refer to farm

land.

新法律与耕地无关。 This paragraph refers to the events of

last year.

这一段说的是去年发生的事。

6. keep control over 控制7. keep an eye on sb./sth.: make sure that

sb./sth. is safe, etc; look after sb./sth.

Keep an eye on the baby.

Could you keep an eye on my suitcase

for a moment ?

8. date back (to/from) 追溯至 This castle dates from the 14th century.

This castle dates back 6 centuries.

Our partnership dates back to 1960.

9. wander v. 漫游 ; 漫步 ; 漂泊　走神 ; ( 思想 ) 开小差 ; 蜿蜒 The children wandered in the woods.孩子们在森林里漫步。 The river wanders through beautiful country. 那河蜿蜒流过美丽的村庄。Try not to let your mind wander.尽量别让你的思想开小差。

10. an ancient yet modern city

a beautiful and tender lady

an ugly yet tender lady

他们花了一整天，到处跑跑，参观名胜古迹。They spent the whole day wandering about seeing the sights.

许多小说不能留给读者印象。Many novels leave no impression on their readers.

请不要再提这件事了。Don't refer to this matter again, please.

我们从 1960 年就合伙了。Our partnership dates back to (ie We have been partners since) 1960. 

Use the words in the box to complete the sentences.

Vocabulary

alley, thirst, arch, squeeze, undertake, turning, cast, fragrant, recipe, mop, guard, grand, ancient, rectangle, edition

Answers

1. alley 2. edition 3. thirst 4. undertook, arch 5. grand, casts 6. fragrant 7. mop 8. guard 9. rectangle 10. ancient 11. recipe 12. turning, squeeze,

Write an article (100 words) about an

ancient building of your hometown.

Remember to include a title and the

most important information about the

building.

Write an article (100 words) about an

ancient building of your hometown.

Remember to include a title and the

most important information about the

building.

Filling the blanks. Hutongs are a ______ of ancient

Chinese architecture. Nowadays, the

word “ hutong” has come to mean

more than just the _____ that connect

the courtyards. It also refers to the

__________ themselves and even to

the ___________ that live there.

feature

alleys

courtyards

communities

The ________ of Beijing’s hutongs

were built between the 13th and 19th

centuries during the Yuan, Ming and

Qing Dynasties to help the Emperors

keep _______ over the city.

majority

control

By connecting people’s homes, the

hutongs in fact _________ people’s

lives. Because of the hutongs,

courtyards were joined together for

miles around creating a _______ of

people working, playing and living

together — a real __________.

connected

network

community

Towards the end of the Qing Dynasty,

China’s ________ suffered due to

political ________ and the conditions in

Beijing’s hutongs ___________. After the

establishment of the People’s Republic of

China, conditions _________ a great deal

and many of the original hutongs were

_________.

economysituation

went down

improved

preserved

Hutongs are still an _________ part

of Beijing life. They not only ____

Beijing’s streets and communities but

also its past and present, showing that

Beijing is truly an ancient ___ modern

city.

important

link

yet