Step I. Revision
Check the homework with the whole class.
Step II. Warming up
Ask the students to read the instructions and make sure they know what to do, and then have a discussion about the two pictures.
T: Today, before we begin our reading, I’d like to ask you a question, “What is the biggest sound you have heard in your life?”
S1: The sound of wind that blew in a winter night when I was very young. It sounded like a ghost who was howling. I was very frightened at that time.
S2: The biggest noise was the one that I heard when my neighbor was quarrelling with his wife. Perhaps, they broke their TV set.
T: That’s too terrible.
S3: The noise when planes take off.
S4: The sound of trains.
T: Good! I agree that all of them are big sound. But did you once heard the sound that the heaven falls and the earth cracks, in Chinese it is 天崩地裂?
Ss: No, we have no chance to hear that.
T: If there is a sound like this, what is it?
S5: When someone hears something unexpected and terrible. For example, when one of his loved families dies, he will feel this sound.
T: Terrific! You are using a literary way to express the sound.
S6: When an earthquake happens.
T: Great! I have waited for this answer for a long time. Today we’ll learn something about earthquakes. I think most of us have heard of earthquakes. Can you imagine how terrible it is ?
S7: The earth is shaking . All the buildings will fall down.
S8: Many people will die. And perhaps many children will lose their parents.
T: Yeah, earthquakes are disasters to everybody. Now look at the two pictures of Tangshan and San Francisco. Can you describe what you see in the pictures?
S1: Tangshan is a beautiful city. It has beautiful gardens, broad roads and some tall buildings.
S2: From the picture of San Francisco, I can see that it is a very big city. There are many tall buildings thickly standing on the earth. I think the population of the city is very large.
T: Good! What will happen if there has been a big earthquake in these two cities? Work in pairs and discuss it. Then I’ll ask so me of you to show your opinion.
