• To know some famous novelists
• To learn something about British great
author J.R.R. Tolkien
• To read for the main idea of the passage
• To read carefully for some detailed
information
• To learn some key words and expressions
Do you know the man?
Liu Cixin
This Chinese man is one of the
most famous science-fiction
novelists all over the world.
His Three Body Problem has
become such an international
cultural phenomenon (现象)
that business and government
leaders have studied the books
and drawn lessons from it.
Three Body Problem won the Hugo
award, the first for an Asian author
Barack Obama
said the book
“wildly
imaginative,
really
interesting”.
Lei Jun, CEO of
Xiaomi, said the
book gave him
ideas about
marketing
competition.
Mark
Zuckerberg,
Facebook
founder,
recommend it.
These are two most recently films based
on his novels. After viewing, can you use
several words to describe the movies?
Crazy
Alien
What do you know
about this English
novelist?
What about his works?
Read the introduction to Tolkien and
answer the questions.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English
writer, poet and university professor, best
known as the author of some of the world’s
most popular high-fantasy novels. With his
limitless imagination, he created new worlds
for his readers to explore. His novels The
Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have made
into films. adj. 无限制的,
无止境的
n. 幻想,想象
1. Have you ever read any of Tolkien’s books
or seen any of the films based on them?
What do you think of them?
A brief introduction of The Hobbit:
A Hobbit’s name is Bilbo Baggins. One morning,
a mysterious visitor, Gandalf who is a wizard (巫
师) met him. He let Bilbo join in the dwarf (矮人)
and take a risk. The thirteen dwarves also met
Bilbo. Then they start the journey. Their purpose
is simple. They want to recover their occupied
hometown—the lonely mountain. Along the way,
they walk on the side to avoid the attack of the
orcas(兽人). Finally, with the help of human and
elves (精灵) they recover the hometown.
A brief introduction of The Lord of the Rings:
An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been
found, and through a strange twist in fate has been
given to a small Hobbit named Frodo.
When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One
Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an
epic quest (史诗任务) to destroy it! However, he does
not go alone. He is joined by Gandalf, Legolas, the
elf, Gimli, the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir and his
three Hobbit friends. Through mountains, snow,
darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and
danger at every corner the Fellowship of the Ring
must go. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the
only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign!
2. What else do you know about Tolkien?
Find out more about him and share
your research with the class.
Some famous works:
The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the
Ring & The Two Towers & The Return of the
King)
The history of Middle-earth
The Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien
Read the passage and find out what
Letters from Father Christmas is about
and why Tolkien wrote these letters.
Letters from Father Christmas is a collection
of Tolkien’s letters to his four children at
Christmas. The letters told wonderful
stories about Father Christmas’s life and
adventures at the North pole. Tolkien wrote
these letters because he wanted to keep
Father Christmas alive for his four children.
Letters from Father Christmas
It is a collection of letters written and illustrated
by J.R.R. Tolkien. After the birth of his firstborn
son, Tolkien began to write his children letters
from Father Christmas. Edited by Baillie Tolkien,
the second wife of his youngest son, the letters
were released on 2 Sept. 1976, the third
anniversary of Tolkien’s death. The
book was warmly received by critics.
The stories are about the adventures
and misadventures of Father
Christmas and his helpers, including
the North Polar Bear and his two cubs.
本文的语篇类型属于书评(book review),是对
一本书的评价,作者会就某本书给出自己的评价,
并简单的介绍书中的内容。
作者可以在书评中给出所评价的书的基本要素,
如:该书的作者,主要著作,获奖情况,写作风
格等。
在书评的内容中需对作品有一个简单的介绍,要
注意介绍清楚书中的主要人物、情节和中心思想。
可能整部作品太大,所以挑出主要人物与情节介
绍即可。作者可以在书评中加入自己对作品的看
法,给出自己对作品主题的意见。
书评的主要目的是对作品做出评价,所以要注意
介绍作品和评价作品二者兼顾。
A book
Review
consists
author’s
information
summary
of a book
comments
background related to
the content of the book
author’s life
Summary should be self-
contained, clear, easy to
understand, and objective.
writer’s own views on the book
name merits (优点) and demerits
discuss its relevance to the
present time
Match the main ideas of each paragraph.
Para 1 Parents try to keep Father Christmas
alive for their children.
Tolkien did keep the magic for his children.
Tolkien’s children could got a handwritten
letter with a North Pole stamp each
Christmas.
The letters told wonderful stories about
Father Christmas’s life, but changed as
his children got older.
Tolkien may be the real Father Christmas.
Para 2
Para 3
Para 4
Para 5
P1 The beginning
P2 author’s
information
P3-4 summary
of the book with
main characters
P5 comments
The author tells us parents try to keep
the image of Father Christmas for their
children.
What’s the main idea of Paragraph1?
Read paragraph 2 and answer:
• What did Tolkien do to keep the magic?
He wrote letters to his children.
• Why could Letters from Father Christmas be
the perfect book for those who regard
Christmas as a special time of year?
Because he succeeded in keeping Father
Christmas alive for his four children over
a period of more than twenty years.
Read paragraph3 and answer the question:
Why did Tolkien use envelopes with North
Pole stamps?
Because he wanted to make his children
believe the letters are from Father
Christmas.
Can you imagine what the letter looked like?
Try to make a similar one with your partners.
Step 1: prepare an envelope
Step 2: draw a North Pole stamp
Step 3: write down
someone’s address
Step 4: write a letter
(pretend that you are
Father Christmas)
Read paragraph 4 and answer:
•What do you think of the stories? Exchange
your idea with your partners.
These words may help you: naughty , vivid,
naive, childlike, interesting, imaginative,
reflective…
• What did Tolkien want to make his children
know as they got older?
Sometimes, you can’t get all you want.
Remember there are some poor and starving
people.
Read Paragraph 5 and answer:
• What can we learn from Letters from Father
Christmas?
The true spirit of giving.
• Why is Tolkien the real Father Christmas?
Because he express his love for his
children in such a special way.
Choose the sentence that best explains
the title of the passage.
1 The real Father Christmas was actually
Tolkien himself.
2 Tolkien is the real Father Christmas,
because he wrote letters using the name
“Father Christmas”.
3 Tolkien’s love and care for his children
made him very like Father Christmas.
Complete the notes with expressions
from the passage.
Title of the book:___________________________
Author:________________
Background information:
Every Christmas, Tolkien’s children would get an
envelope with ____________________. Inside it,
they would find ____________________________
___________. Of course, the letters were written
by Tolkien.
Letters from Father Christmas
J.R.R. Tolkien
a North Pole stamp
a handwritten letter from Father
Christmas
Contents of the letters:
They tell wonderful stories about ___________
________________________________________
_____. In one letter, Polar Bear ____________
__________and ___________________of Father
Christmas’s house. In another letter, Father
Christmas complained about _______________
________________________________with the
toys.
Father
Christmas’s life and adventures at the North
Pole
fell through the roof
how he could
not stop his helpers playing games
climbed the
North Pole
1 Would you like to read the book
Letters from Father Christmas ? Give
your reasons.
2 What is the most special gift you have
received from your family? Why is it
special to you?
Tips:
1) Students can discuss the questions
with their group members.
2) Ask some students to answer the
questions, and their partners can
add something if necessary.
1. With his limitless imagination, he created
new worlds for his readers to explore.
limitless adj. 无限的
limit n. 限制;限度;界线
vt. 限制;限定
构词法:n. + less 构成形容词,与n. +ful的
形容词意思相反。
eg help---helpful---helpless
care---careful---careless
【拓展】
I believe teaching should not be limited to the
classroom.
There is a limit to the number of students in
our school.
【语境应用】翻译下列句子,注意limit的结构。
1) 我认为教学不应该局限在教室内。
2) 我们的忍耐是有限度的。
3) 在我们学校,对学生的人数是有限制的。
There is a limit to our patience.
2. That is why letters from Father Christmas
could be the perfect book for those who
regard Christmas as a special time of year.
情态动词could在此句中表示可能性,在时间
上指的是现在或将来。此外,could也可用作
can的过去式,意为“能,会”。
“could + have+过去分词” 可以表示对过去
的推测,意为“可能已经”。
eg The present is not in my bag. I could have
left it in the classroom.
regard…as: to think of sb. or sth. in a particular
way
e.g. Teachers should regard students as
their own kids.
Mid-Autumn Festival is regarded as a
time for families to get together in
China.
近义短语:treat…as… think of… as…
consider…as…
3. It was addressed to Tolkien’s children.
e.g. That letter was addressed to me.
address…to: to write on an envelope, package,
etc the name and address of the person who
receives it
【拓展】
address v. 写……地址;演讲,演说;解决
address sth to sb: to say sth directly to sb.
向……说话
address sb as sth: to use a particular name or
title for sb. 称呼,冠以
【语境应用】用address的正确短语翻译下列句子。
1) 她已经在会议上发表演讲。
2) 他用英语和我说话,我很诧异。
3) 对法官应该称呼“法官大人”。
4) 我们必须解决环境污染问题。
She has addressed a meeting.
I was surprised when he addressed me in
English.
The judge should be addressed as “Your
Honour”.
We must address the problem of
environmental pollution.
4. The letters were also beautifully illustrated-
each must have taken its true author, Tolkien,
a long time to complete.
must have +过去分词 表示对过去相当肯定
的推测, 意为“一定已经”
它的否定为 can’t /couldn’t have done 意为
“过去一定不可能”
eg The ground is wet, it must have rained
last night.
地面很湿,昨晚一定下过雨。
5. In another letter, Father Christmas complained
about how he could not stop his helpers playing
games with the toys instead of wrapping them up.
complain的常见用法有: complain about / of/ to
/ that从句等。
eg Dan’s been complaining of severe headaches
recently.
Neighbours complained to the police about
the dogs barking.
She complained that no one had been at the
airport to meet her.
句中的how he could not stop… wrapping
them up 作complained about 的宾语,是一
个宾语从句。
能否将about how改
为that?若是能改,
改后句意有变化吗?
6. Interestingly, the letters did not contain the
usual warnings to children that they might
not received their presents if they were not
good.
此句中interestingly的用法是英语中一个常
用表达,即用副词(常置于句首)修饰整个
句子。其他常用的副词还有fortunately,
luckily, thankfully, hopefully, generally
speaking等。
eg Thankfully, you are back safe and sound.
that they might not receive their presents if they
were not good是同位语从句,是对抽象名词
warnings的进一步解释说明,与定语从句不同
的是,that在从句中不充当任何成分。
情态动词might在此句中表示推测,意为“可
能”,主要用于肯定句和否定句。might可能性
要比may小。
eg Mum may be preparing for the festival in the
kitchen. Let’s go and see!
They might have a lot of work to do now, but
I’m not sure.
7. Letters from Father Christmas tells us that as well
as enjoying the adventures of Father Christmas,
Polar Bear and other characters at the North Pole,
we can all share the true spirit of giving at
Christmas time.
as well as: in addition to,常见的搭配有as
well as sth. / doing sth.
eg They sell magazines as well as books.
The organisation gives help and support
to people in need, as well as raising
money for local charities.
Write a short passage based on the
following questions:
What is the most special gift you have
received from your family? Why is it
special to you?