——Preferred Discussion Topics
刘 萍 （陕西省府谷职业中等专业学校 陕西 榆林 719499）
中图分类号： G71文献标识码： Ａ文章编号：ISSN1004-1621（2017）04-055-01
I. 教学目标:
1.知识与能力
(1).To know how Americans carry on a conversation.
(2).To compare the differences between Chinese and Americans.
(3).To understand some important language points.
2.方法和途径
(1).Ways:To think about some relevant questions, and then to understand the text fully, last to make the conclusion.
(2).Methods:Task-based method;group-discussion.
3.情感与评价
(1).To learn the way Americans carry on a conversation actively.
(2).To learn different cultures and to master different values.
II.Important and difficult points.
1.Important points.
To master the common preferred discussion topics in America and England.
2.Difficult points.
To avoid the topics that the people in western countries dislike talking about.
III.Teaching aids.
Multimedia，PPT.
IV.Teaching methods.
Task-based method;group-discussion.
V.Teaching procedures:
Step 1．Lead-in.
(1)Look at the picture and tell me what they are doing.
(2) Leading out the title: Conversations-Preferred Discussion Topics.
Step 2. Introduce the cultural background of the text.
在英语国家文化中，人们常谈论的话题包括天气、周围的环境、近期的娱乐活动等。男士之间经常谈论汽车、体育运动、工作等。女士之间则常谈论家庭、时装、化妆品等。
英美人及其他西方人一般不谈论俩类话题。一类是容易引起争论的话题，如政治、宗教等。英语国家文化很看重人们之间避免争论，保持表面的一致。另一类是涉及个人隐私的话题，如年龄、经济收入、生活来源、婚恋、拥有的物品的价格等。英语国家文化很重视隐私权。我们在与英美人及西方人交际时要尽量避免谈论涉及对方个人隐私的话题。
Step 3. Think-about.
(1) What are the preferred topics of "small talk" between Americans who do not know each other well?
(2) What are the topics Americans try to avoid in "small talk"?
(3) Are there any differences between American and Chinese "small talk"? If there are, what are they?
Step 4. Read the text and then analyze the important language points.
A．… Americans engage in a kind of conversation they call "small talk".
美国人一见面总要来一番他们所说的那种"闲聊"。
1). a kind of 某一…一种（不明确的东西）。
eg：a). I have a kind of feeling that we are being followed.
b). It was a kind of animal with long ears and a short tail.
2). small talk 闲谈，聊天
3).big talk 牛皮，大话
eg：a) I'm not here to make small talk. l really have something important to tell you.
b) He is giving a lot of big talk. l don't believe a word of it.
B. …There are topics related to the life situation of the people.
……有的话题还涉及到人们的生活现状。
期刊文章分类查询,尽在期刊图书馆
related to… 形容词短语做后置定语，修辞topics.
(be) related to 和…有关，和…有联系。
eg: A) The Dutch language is closely related to German.
B) Income tax rates(税率) are related to one's annual income.
C. Discussing religion or politics may lead to an argument.
讨论宗教和政治问题会引起争论。
lead to "导致"，"引起"。
eg: a)A bad cold can lead to pneumonia
b) Different opinions led to heated arguments.
lead someone to (+名词) 使得某人…"
eg: Self-examination may lead us to a knowledge of ourselves.
自我反省可使我们又自知之明。
D．…Inquiries about a person's salary or the amount someone paid for an item are not accepted as proper topics.
打听某人的薪水或工资，或买某样东西花了多少钱是不礼貌的。
Note:a）salary 指对事务性或专门性工作所支付的薪金，主要以每年、每月、每半月等较长时间为单位支付。
eg. I receive a monthly salary of $1850.
b) wages 指对较简单的劳动以每小时、每日、每周等单位支付的工资。
eg: The workmen collected their wages at the end of the week.
c)pay是上述两种的薪金和工资的统称，是普通用语。
eg: I get my pay everyday.
d)income指定期的收入（包括显性收入和隐性收入）
eg: He changed jobs to get a bigger income.
Step 5. Listen to the text again and choose the one that best completes each of the following statements according to the text.
1. The most common topic of small talk between Americans is ____.
A. sports B. their jobs C. the weather
2. Students are likely to talk about ___.
A. sports B. a TV program C. their teachers and classes
3.Men may talk about _____.
A. sports or cars B. their children C. personal care
4. Housewives are more likely talk about _____.
A. their social lives B. sports or cars C. their children
5. Americans don't talk about religion and politics _____.
A. if they know each other very well
B. if they don't know each other very well
C. if they think the topics are too personal
6. Americans don't inquire about a person's salary or wages because the topic _____.
A. is too general B. is too personal C. may lead to an argument
Step 6. Summary.
It's a rewarding passage which contains the message of the way Americans carry on a conversation. In the USA, the most common topic of small talk between people is the weather, next is the speaker's physical surroundings, and then is his family members, but be brief. To them, religion and politics are not proper topics, neither is a personal affair.
Step 7. Homework.
1. P 16 Vocabulary Exercises in text-book.
2. Discuss the way Americans carry on a conversation.
VI.教学反思：
Firstly, the students are not familiar with the differences between Chinese and America, especially their different cultures. I should give them more interesting stories about it.
Secondly, they cannot compare Chinese with American.
Thirdly, they are not in high spirits.
Fourthly, their reading ability is weak. It's necessary to exercise fast-reading.
论文作者:刘萍
论文发表刊物:《科学教育前沿》2017年4期
论文发表时间:2017/7/5
标签：话题论文; 英语论文; 收入论文; 薪金论文; 府谷论文; 工资论文; 西方人论文; 《科学教育前沿》2017年4期论文;