Unit 2 Let’s celebrate!
Understanding ideas
新标准《英语》高中必修第二册
Lead in
Read the festival descriptions on page 13 and complete the sentences.
• ___________ is to celebrate the harvest.
• ___________ is to celebrate a season.
• ___________ is to honour an event.
• ____________________ is to honour a person.
Thanksgiving
May Day
Freedom Day
Dragon Boat Festival
Activity 1
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?
2. What else do you know about Tolkien?
Find out more about him and share your
research with the class.
Activity 2
Read the passage and find
out what Letters from Father
Christmas is about and why
Tolkien wrote these letters.
Activity 3
Which of the sentences best explains the tile 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 make him
very like Father Christmas.
Activity 4
Complete the notes with
expressions from the
passage.
Letters from Father Christmas
J.R.R. Tolkien
a North Pole stamp
a handwritten letter from
Father Christmas
Father Christmas’s life and
adventures at the North Pole
climbed the North Pole
fell through the roof
how he could not stop his
helpers playing games
Step 2 Careful-reading
Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer.
1. Which of the following is not the novel edited byJ. R.R. Tolkien?
A. The Lord of the Rings B. Letters from Father Christmas
C. The Hobbit D. The Million Pound Bank Note
2. What is Letters from Father Christmas about?
A. Christmas Day. B. Polar Bear.
C.The real love in a special way. D. Wonderful stories at Christmas time.
3. Why did Tolkien write these letters?
A. He wanted to give his children presents. B. Christmas is a special time of year.
C. He is the real Father Christmas. D. He tried to keep the love alive for his children.
4. Which wonderful story doesn't belong to the letters?
A. Father Christmas's life at the North Pole.
B. Polar Bear's adventures at the North Pole.
C. Polar Bear fell through the roof of Father Christmas' S house.
D. Father Christmas complains he can't stop his helpers playing games with the toys.
• After reading the passage,please fill in the following blanks.
• With his 1._______( limit) imagination, Tolkien known 2.______the
author of high- fantasy novels created a book 3_______( call) Letters
from Father Christmas. The children received 4________envelope
with a North Pole stamp every Christmas. T hey must have been very
5._______( excite) after opening the envelope 6.________ they would
find a handwritten letter from Father Christmas.
• Wonderful stories about Father Christmas's life and adventures
7.______( tell) in the letters. However, they did not contain the usual
8.________( warn) to children that they might not receive
9._______( they) presents if they were not good. By
10.________(express ) love for his children in such a special
way,Tolkien may indeed have been the real F ather Christmas.
limitless as
called
an
excited where
told
warmings
their
expressing
I. Read the passage quickly and fill in the following
blanks with suitable words.
The Real
Father
Christmas
Part1: the
magic of
Father
Christmas
Part2:
(Paras2-5)
J.R.R.Tolkie
n wrote a
book:Letters
from Father
Christmas
Para.1:Para. l: Parents try to keep the magic of
magic of Father1.________for their children
Para. 2:J. R. R. Tolkien kept writing letters to his
four children for more than 2._______years.
Para.3: Every Christmas, the children
were3.________when they open the letters.
Para.4: The letters told wonderful stories about
Father Christmas's4.________and 5._________ at
the North Pole.
Para.5: We can all share the true spirit of
6._______at Christmas time.
alive
twenty
excited
life adventure
giving
The real father Christmas
真正的圣诞老人
•1 Many people still remember the magic of Father
Christmas from when they were children. As
parents, they try to keep that magic alive for their
children for as long as they can.
•来自童年时代的圣诞老人的魔力,很多人(长大以
后)还依然记得。为人父母之后,他们也想让自己
的孩子尽可能长久地相信这份魔力的存在。
• 2 That is why Letters from Fatber Christmas could be the perfect
book for those who regard Christmas as a special time of year.
The man who wrote these letters is one of the most famous
names in English literature - J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of
the Rings. The letters were Tolkien's way of keeping Father
Christmas alive for his four children, over a period of more than
twenty years.
• 有些人把圣诞节视为每年的特别时光,对于他们, (圣诞老人的
来信)是再合适不过的书了。写这些信的人是英国文坛的一位巨
匠一(魔戒) 的作者」R. R.托尔金。在二十多年的时间里。托尔金
以写信这种方式让他的四个孩子相信圣诞老人真的存在。
• 3 Every Christmas, an envelope with a North Pole stamp
arrived. It was addressed to Tolkien's children. Who could it be
from? The children must have been very excited as they
opened it. Inside, they would find a handwritten ltter from
Father Christmas. The letters were also beautifully ilustrated一
each must have taken its true author, Tolkien, a long time to
complete.
• 每年圣诞节,托尔金的家里都会收到一封贴有北极邮票的信,
收信人是托尔金的孩子们。会是谁寄来的呢?孩子们打开时一
定非常兴奋。他们会看到里面有一封圣诞老人的亲笔信。 信
里还配看精美的插图一它们真正的作者托尔金- 定花了很长时
间去完成每一幅画作。
• 4 The ltters told wonderful stories about Father Christmas's lifte and
adventures at the North Pole. A regular character in the ltters was Polar Bear,
who once climbed the North Pole (an actual pole in this case) and fell through
the roof of Father Christmas's house. In another letter, Father Christmas
complained about how he could not stop his helpers playing games with the
toys instead of wrapping them up. Interestingly, the letters did not contain the
usual warnings to children that they might not receive their presents if they
were not good. The letters did, however change as Tolkien's children got older:
• 这些信里讲述了圣诞老人在北极生活和探险的精彩故事。信中经常出现的一
个角色是北极熊。 有-次, 它爬上北极' (在信中,北极是一根真的杆子),结
果摔下来砸穿了圣诞老人家的屋顶。在另一封信中,圣诞老人抱怨说,他那
些助手们非但没有把玩具包装起来,反而拿着玩其玩起了游戏,他怎么也没
法让他们停下来。值得关注的是,信里并没有那些常见的对孩子的警告,比
如表现不好就可能得不到礼物之类的话。不过,随着托尔金的孩子们渐渐长
大,信的内容确实发生了一此变化:
• ... but if you find that not many of the things you asked for bave
come, and most perbaps quite as many as sometimes, remember
that this Cbristmas all over the world there are a terrible mumber
of poor and stanving people.
• “...但是,如果你发现自己并没有得到很多你想要的东西,有时
甚至所获无几,请你记住。在这个圣诞节,世界上还有很多贫穷
而饥饿的人。”
• 5 Letters from Fatber Cbristmas 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. By
expressing love for his children in such a special way, Tolkien may
indeed have been the real Father Christmas.
• 《圣诞老人的来信》告诉我们,在圣诞节,除了欣赏圣诞老人、
北极熊和其他共生活在北极的人物的冒险故事之外,我们还可以
共同体会真正的给子精神。托尔金用这样一种特别的方式来 表
达对儿女的爱,他可以算得上是真正的圣诞老人。
Think & Share
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?
Homework