Saving the earth（The Third Period）
(then go on with the second part.)
t: now, let's do the second part. first, you should study the words in the box
carefully. then put them into two categories. at the end, state your reasons. are you clear?
ss: yes.
t: you can begin now. work in pairs.
(after a while, teacher checks their work. )
suggested answers:
adverbs: really, unfortunately, absolutely, especially, successfully
adjectives: lonely, lively, ugly, lovely, friendly
step v presentation
(teacher shows the following sentences on the screen. )
1. conferences like the earth summit help people understand that there exist serious problems and that there is still time to take action.
2. among the speakers was chinas then premier zhu rongji, who stressed the need for equality and fairness in the world.
3. not until we know more will we be able to improve the situation.
4. only by changing the way we live can we save the earth.
5. had i known that air conditioners cause so much pollution, i would never have bought one.
6. a better understanding of the environment is necessary, as is the willingness to act.
7. without international cooperation, developing countries cannot prosper, nor will sustainable development be possible.
t: now, please look at the sentences on the screen and pay attention to the word order of each sentence. in what way are these sentences different from the usual sentences?
ss: the word order is not “subject + verb” but “verb + subject” or “auxiliary/ modal + s + v”.
(teacher writes the structures on the bb.)
t: yes. this kind of sentence is called inversion, which happens in questions and in a number of other cases. look at the sentences carefully again, paying attention to the underlined words. in the first sentence, “exist” is used after
“there” to express a state for existence like“there be” structure; the second
sentence begins with a preposition phrase. in these two sentences, the whole predicate verb comes before the subject. the third sentence begins with a negative adverb; in the fourth sentence, “only” is placed at the beginning of the sentence with an adverbial. in these two sentences, part of the predicate comes before the subject. in most cases, an auxiliary verb or a modal verb comes before the subject and the rest of the predicate verb comes after. if there is no auxiliary or modal, do, does or did should be added. can you understand?
ss: yes.
t: then look at the fifth sentence and change it into another sentence with the same meaning, which begins with “if”.