Unit 10 Man and Animals
Teaching Objectives:
In this unit students are required to:
1. Practice listening skills;
2. Get to know some uful information concerning the topic of this unit;
3. Do some preparation activities such as discussion, group work to enhance their spoken English and communicative skills;
4. Learn new words and phras to further broaden students’ scope of vocabulary;
5. Read the in-class reading passage within limited time for a general idea of the passage and then do detailed reading for a command of uful expressions;
6. Do post-reading exercis and some after-class reading to test how far they have gone in grasping reading skills and language points;
7. Translate some key ntences in the unit to upgrade students’ translation abilities;
Teaching Methodology
Communicative approach;
Multi-media teaching;
Teaching process: Pre-task------Task cycle------Post-task
Time Distribution
Listening & Speaking: 2 periods;
In-class Reading :2 periods;
Exerci & After-class Reading :2 periods;
Further Development &Writing :2 periods.
Period 1 &2 Listening and Speaking
I、Teaching Focus
1. Background information introduction
2. Preparation
3. Listening to tapes
II、Teaching steps
1. Background Information:
Man’s relationship with animals has always been ambivalent. On the one hand, animals have been worshipped and attributed with all kinds of mysterious and superior powers. On the other hand, they have been hunted domesticated, exterminated, and even exploited as a source of entertainment. In many countries, man has also created imaginary creatures that play a major role in popular cultures. The Chine dragon is perhaps one of the most famous examples.
Comparisons between animals and man have been made through out the countries. In some cultures, the sinister and aggressive aspect of man is regarded as the animal side of human nature. Recent rearch on human behavior, for example, draws parallels between aggressiveness of modern man and the abnormal behavior of a caged animal. Some scientists believe that on natural conditions, such as overcrowding and alienating routine jobs, cau people to perform acts of violence. Other scientists feel that aggression is a natural instinct that should be directed towards positive and creative activities.
The idea of a negative animalistic side of human nature is foreign to the North American Indians who regard animals as equals of man. They are not only equal to man, but they are considered to be the founders and guardians of their tribes. The raven, the eagle, the bear and other animals always appear in stylized forms on their totem poles.
Ever since the dawn of civilization, animals have been ud to help and to rve man in many ways. Sheep and goats were bred to provide wool, meat, and fat. Larger animals li
ke oxen, water buffalo and hors were ud to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads. Capable of nsing water from a great distance and going days without water, camels proved to be the ideal animal for the nomadic people of the dert. The dog, known in English-speaking countries as “man’s best friend,” is one of the most versatile animals. Dogs have been bred to hunt, to guard, to herd sheep and cattle, to find people in the snow or in the rubble of earthquakes, to lead the blind and to sniff for illegal drugs.
For many countries in the West, it was thought that animals did not feel pain and that there was no such thing as cruelty to animals. It was in England in the eighteenth century that advocacy of animal rights began. It should be said, however, that respectful treatment of animals had existed in the East for thousands of years as a result of the influence oh Hinduism and Buddhism. The first national animal welfare organization was created in England in 1824 under the name of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The SPCA, as it is commonly known, now exists throughout the world.
The animal rights movement has grown considerably in recent decades. As a result of pr
otest by animal rights groups, hunting of endangered species has been banned in most countries. Many efforts have been made, for example, to stop the killing of elephants by hunters participating in the ivory trade. Some animal rights groups have focud their attention on the treatment of animals in scientific rearch and on the u of animals in the testing of beauty products such as perfumes, creams and makeup. Zoos and pet stores are now constantly inspected and criticized by animal rights groups. Many people regard zoos as cruel environments and favor safari parks where animals are free to roam in a more natural tting.
The destruction of forests and other natural habitats has resulted in the disappearance of many species of animals throughout the world. Wild life protection organizations have conducted educational campaigns drawing public attention to the rious decline in the biological diversity of the planet as more and more species disappear becau of pollution and industrial development.
