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授课题目： College—The Ladder to Success?

授课时间：第____周 第____周

授课类型：理论课

授课时数：4

教学目的：

After finishing this unit, students will be able to: 1. To talk about the significance of humanities; 2. Get deeper insights into the text;

3. Make creative use of words, phrases and sentence patterns;

4. To master the essay writing skill: focus on an advantage\\disadvantage; 5. To read with the skill “reading for major details”.

教学重点和难点：

1. To further understand the text;

2. To apply the words, phrases and sentence patterns; 3. To read with the skill “reading for major details”;

4. To write an essay with the skill “focus on an advantage\\disadvantage”.

教学方法和手段：

Various kinds of teaching methods are used:

1. Teaching in class. Explain the profound theoretical knowledge in class; 2. Case study. Provide case study during teaching, and make the students to discuss about the case;

3. Bilingual and full English teaching;

4. Applying modern multimedia teaching technologies; 5. Taking advantage of abundant network teaching resources.

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教学内容和过程：

Section A The humanities: Out of date?

Step One Warming-up Activities 30 minutes I. Lead-in:

Discuss the following questions:

1.How do you think of your current major? If you were given a second chance to choose your major, what would you select and why?

— If I were given a second chance to choose my major, I would choose …/ I think being a … is …

— accounting, computer science, psychology, — civil engineering, philosophy, medical technology …

— popular, interesting, enjoyable, promising, practical, meaningful, beneficial, well-paid …

2. What liberal arts / humanities courses do you learn in college? Do you think they are necessary for your education?

— I learn Chinese, English, philosophy, psychology, history … in college. I think they are an essential part of the college education and benefit me a lot. ? gain more insight in life and society

? better understand and predict human behavior ? realize different interpretations of life and history ? understand the past which has created the present ? be aware of cultural and religious differences

II. Cultural background 1. What are the humanities?

The humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative. Therefore, they are distinguished from the approaches of natural sciences. The humanities, called social sciences, include history, anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies, law, linguistics, etc. 2. Why are the humanities important?

Through exploration of the humanities, students learn how to think creatively

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and critically, to reason, and to ask questions. Because these skills allow students to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to business models and politics, humanistic subjects have been at the heart of a liberal arts education. Today, humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring and understanding the human experience.

Step Two Text Study 80 minutes I.

Interactive reading of the text

1) Why do many students calculate they can’t major in English or history? 2) Why does the author say that a college education is more and more seen as a

means for economic betterment rather than a means for human betterment? 3) How do you understand “These days, labs are more vivid and compelling

than libraries” (Para. 3)?

4) Why does the author say that the inner aspect of our being has captured our

imagination from the very beginning?

5) According to the author, what are the advantages of studying the humanities? 6) What are “well-rounded human beings” (Para. 10) according to the author?

2. Structure of the text Part 1 (Para, 1-5) Introduction

To improve their future chances of finding a job, college students are now moving away from the humanities and taking accounting or some “hard-skill” courses. The humanities will continue to be in bad shape due to the economic downturn. Nevertheless, the humanities can bring true value to people’s lives, and the basis of study of the humanities is formed by the inner power that has driven human beings to either greatness or destruction.

Part 2 (Para. 6-9) Body: Why the humanities?

This part presents the author’s argument to stand up for the true value that the humanities bring to people’s lives. Part 3 (Para 10) Concluding part

The humanities help to create human beings with insight and understanding of the passions, hopes and dreams common to all humanity. The humanities will never be out of date. They are as useful and relevant in our modern age as they have always 1. Reading comprehension

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been.

3. Summary of the Text

Retell the text according to the following tips.

1）(Part I) When the job market worsens, many students calculate ... Probably, the humanities will continue …. Once …, the humanities now …

2）(Part II) Here, please allow me to … that the humanities add to people’s lives. Studying the humanities improves… Most importantly, studying the humanities invests us with …, thereby… Perhaps the best argument in favor of the humanities is… In fact, increasingly… is seen as the ideal in…

3）(Part III) In summary, the humanities help to create …, teach us to … and… It makes sense to …, our outstanding and remarkable … II.

Language Focus Words and expressions

1. when the going gets tough: when the situation becomes difficult

When the going gets tough, women can get as tough as men.当形势变得严峻时，女人可以变得跟男人一样坚强。 2. calculate: vt.

1)make a judgment about what is likely to happen using the available information 估计，预测，推测

It is difficult to calculate the long-term effects of these changes in the law. 这些法律上的变化带来的长期影响是难以预测的。

2）find out how much sth. will cost, how long sth. Will take计算，核算 Let me calculate the cost of the journey. 让我计算一下旅途的用费。

3. boost：increase or improve sth. to make it more successful 促进，推动，使兴旺 These changes will help to boost share prices. 这些变化将有助于提高股票价格。

4. prospect：n. sth. that is possible or likely to happen in the future, or the possibility itself 可能的事情，前景

The prospect for East Asia’s economic development is promising. 东亚经济发展的前景是光明的。 5. persist

1）continue to exist 继续存在，持续

If the bad weather persists, the farmers will suffer great losses this year. 如果恶劣天气持续，农民今年将遭遇巨大的损失。

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