Unit8EducationalProblems.docVIP

Unit 8 Educational Problems Before Reading Fable 2 Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations 3 U.C.L.A. 4 Global Reading Part Division of the Text 5 Further Understanding 5 Detailed Reading 7 After Reading Useful Expressions 16 Sentence Translation 16 Dubbing 17 Text Analysis 17 Reading and Speaking 18 Writing Practice 18 Proverbs and Quotations 20 Supplementary Reading Culture Notes 21 Reading 23 Comprehension Tasks 27 Before Reading Fable I. A Brief Introduction to Fable The term fable refers to a short story in which animals or inanimate objects speak and behave like humans, usually to give a moral point. The term comes from the Latin fabula, “a telling.” The greatest teller of fables was Aesop. He was believed to be a Greek slave who lived in the 6th century B.C. Another great teller of fables was Jean de La Fontaine. He wrote in France in the 17th century. La Fontaine based many of his fables on those of Aesop. Some of their best-known fables are The Lion and the Mouse, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Fox and the Grapes, The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf, The Fox and the Crow, The Dove and the Ant, and The Fox and the Stork.  In the Chinese language, some idioms come from fables such as The Frog in the Shallow Well (井底之蛙), His Spear against His Shield (自相矛盾), Making His Mark (刻舟求剑), Ostrich Logic (掩耳盗铃) and Blessing or Bane (塞翁失马). Aesop (620?~560? B.C.) ancient Greek writer of fables Jean de La Fontaine (1621~1695) French writer II. Two Famous Fables Here are some pictures about two famous fables. One is an Aesop’s fable; the other is a Chinese one. In small groups, students are required to talk about the pictures and think of the following questions. 1. What are the names of the fables? 2. What lessons can we draw from the fables? The Fox and the Grapes One day a fox passed under a vine. From the vine a lot of grapes were hanging. He was very hungry and thirsty. He said, “What a fine vine it is! The grapes on the vine look very nice an