Unit 1Unit 1Little House in the Big Woods

Cultural Cultural background:background:• Westward Movement in America • Results of Westward Movement

Cultural Cultural backgroundbackground

•It’s only more than ____ years since the United States won its independence.

•____ is believed to be the discoverer of America. He was an I____. Christopher

Columbus

Cultural Cultural backgroundbackground

Cultural backgroundCultural background •Since it was the first time for the

Europeans to set foot on this large continent, they called it ____ while Europe and other continents became known as ____.

the New World;

the Old World

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) 劳拉 ·英格斯·怀尔德

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867, in a little log house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin( 威斯康星州 ).

about the about the author:author:

Indian Territory in Kansas( 堪萨斯 )

Grasshopper Country in Minnesota( 明尼苏达州 )

Dakota( 达科他州 ) Territory

about the about the author:author:

•Laura's daughter Rose grew up listening to her mother's stories of those pioneer days.

•She urged her mother to write them down so that other children could enjoy them as well.

about the about the story:story:

about the story:about the story:•So in the 1930s and

40s, Laura recorded her memories of those days of long ago in a children's series known as the "Little House" books.

1932 - Little House in the Big Woods 1871-1872 (4-5)

1933 - Farmer Boy

1935 - Little House on the Prairie 1873-1874 (5-7)

1937 - On the Banks of Plum Creek 1874-1876 (7-9)

““Little House” books:Little House” books:

1939 - By the Shores of Silver Lake 1879-1880 (12-13)

1940 - The Long Winter 1880-1881 (13-14)

1941 - Little Town on the Prairie 1881-1882 (14-15)

1943 - These Happy Golden Years 1883-1885 (15-18)

““Little House” books:Little House” books:

•Although Laura died on February 10, 1957, at her home in the Ozarks of Missouri( 密苏里州 ), she and her family will live forever in the hearts of her readers.

about the story:about the story:

Laura enjoyed autographing books for her fans.

about the story:about the story:

Introduction and Questions:Introduction and Questions:•What did they do when

Ma and Laura saw the big bear?

•Were they safe in the end?

Text:Text:•One day Pa went to town to trade

the furs of the wild animals he had caught all winter.

•At night there came a big bear. How did mother and her daughter get home safely?

•Pa did not return until the next morning.

Please use context clues to Please use context clues to guess the meanings of the guess the meanings of the underlined words.underlined words.•Then one day Pa said that spring

was coming. In the big woods the snow was beginning to thaw.

•At noon all the big icicles along the eaves of the little house quivered and sparkled in the sunshine, and drops of water hung trembling at their tips.

Please use context clues to Please use context clues to guess the meanings of the guess the meanings of the underlined words.underlined words.

•There were so many furs that when they were packed tightly and tied together they made a bundle almost as big as Pa.

Please use context clues to Please use context clues to guess the meanings of the guess the meanings of the underlined words.underlined words.

•The woods were dark, but there was a gray light on the snowy path, and in the sky there were a few faint stars.

Please use context clues to Please use context clues to guess the meanings of the guess the meanings of the underlined words.underlined words.

Language notes:Language notes:•Pa said he must go to town to

trade the furs of the wild animals he had been trapping all winter.

•爸爸说他必须去城里一趟 , 卖掉他一冬捕获的兽皮。

•trade: v. to buy and sell goods•There are many such conversions

in English.

Language notes:Language notes: •He watered the wine before

drinking it. •The earth orbits the sun. •Point this pencil for me, please. •Oil the machine before you

operate it.•She journeys to Europe once a

year on business.

Language notes:Language notes:Please find some examples in the

text.•Pa said he must go to town to trade

the furs of the wild animals he had been trapping all winter.

•Very early one morning Pa strapped the bundle of furs in his shoulders, and started to walk to town.

•Ma said that Laura might come with her while she milked the cow.

•So Laura put on her coat and Ma buttoned it up.

Language notes:Language notes:

Language notes:Language notes:•Ma was worried, but Pa said that

by starting before sun-up and walking very fast all day he could get home again before dark.

•妈妈很担心。但爸爸说，如果日出前就出发，并且快些走，他可以在天黑前赶回来。

Language notes:Language notes:•Sun-up is an American expression

for sunrise. Note that sometimes American English and British English have different words for the same thing.

BrE. AmE.•商店： shop store•汽油： petrol gas

BrE. AmE.•电影院： cinema movie

theatre •铁路： railway railroad •裤子： trousers pants •公寓： flat apartment •出租汽车： taxi cab •出纳员： cashier teller •分数： marks grades

Language notes:Language notes:

BrE. AmE.•人行道： pavement sidewalk •秋天： autumn fall •电梯： elevator lift •橡皮： rubber eraser •药房： the chemist's the drug store •理发店： hairdresser's beauty parlor •糖果： sweets candies

Language notes:Language notes:

Language notes:Language notes:•The sun sank out of sight, the woods

grew dark, and he did not come. Ma started supper and set the table, but he did not come. It was time to do the chores, and still he had not come.

•太阳已经不见了 , 森林也渐渐暗了下来 , 爸爸没有回来。妈妈准备好晚餐 , 摆好了桌子 , 爸爸还是没有回来。到了平时干杂活的时间 , 他依然没有回来。

Language notes:Language notes:•It’s sides were of tin, with places

cut in them for the candle-light to shine through.

•灯笼壁是用锡皮做的 , 上面有一些豁口，以便烛光透出来。

•The preposition of here means made from.

•e.g. The dress is of silk.•The crown is of gold.

Language notes:Language notes:•The woods were dark, but there

was a gray light on the snowy path, and in the sky there were a few faint stars.

•森林里已经暗下来。铺满白雪的小路隐隐泛着灰色的光，夜空中悬挂着几颗暗淡的星星。

Language notes:Language notes:•woods is different word from its

singular form, wood. •Woods mean a place where trees

grow thickly, smaller than a forest.

•color ：颜色 •colors ：军旗 •custom ：风俗，习惯 •customs ：海关，关税 •damage ：损害 •damages ：赔偿金 •pain ：疼痛 •pains ：努力

Language notes:Language notes:

•regard ：注意 •regards ：问候，致意 •spectacle ：场面 •spectacles ：眼镜 •spirit ：精神，情绪 •spirits ：酒精

Language notes:Language notes:

Language notes:Language notes:•“But he could have hurt us,

couldn’t he?” she asked.•“但刚才它本可能伤到我们的，是吗？”她问道。

•Note that the question is put in its subjunctive mood.

•Without those protections, the bear will have hurt them.

Language notes:Language notes:•She was sitting up late, waiting for

Pa, and Laura and Mary meant to stay awake, too, till he came.

•劳拉和玛莉原也想等爸爸回来再睡，但最后还是睡着了。

•mean to do something: intend to do something, or plan to do something.

Try to retell the story.Try to retell the story.•spring snow thaw Pa town trade

furs trap evening bundle morning strap Ma worried sun-up presents

•chores milk button mitten lantern faint surprised barnyard barn slap snatch slam

Try to retell the story.Try to retell the story.•bear safe supper prayers bed

mend frightened rocking-chair sit up

•morning candy calico happy tracks barn safe

What did this story reflect in What did this story reflect in the end?the end?

•Pioneer women can be as strong and brave as men. It shows us that pioneer women were smart people who contributed as much to the families as did men.

•The snow is ______.•Make sure the frozen

chicken is properly ______ before you cook it.

•I ______ with fear at the sound.

Vocabulary:Vocabulary:

•The police set a ______ to catch the thief.

•She ______ the bag onto her back.•______ up your coat—it’s cold

outside.•The young soldier ______ in the

hot sun.

Vocabulary:Vocabulary:

•She ______ his face.•He ______ the papers

down on my desk and angrily walked out.

•They went to the mosque to ______.

Vocabulary:Vocabulary:

•He says his ______ every night before he goes to bed.

•The little girl was ______ by the big dog.

Vocabulary:Vocabulary:

Reading skills:Reading skills:•What is “previewing”?•What steps will be taken to

preview a textbook?•Please make clear those words

and phrases: title, table of contents, preface, index, glossary, appendix, bibliography, supplement