Unit 2 What is happiness to you?
t: of course! in my opinion, the time i spend with my family and my friends is the happiest time in my life.
s: the feeling of overcoming difficulties is happiness. we may experience hard time and suffer a lot both physically and mentally during the process. after we overcome it, we will feel relaxed and excited. i think that is happiness.
t: excellent! do you have such experiences?
s: yes. i came to this class after the mid-term exam. at first i found most of the students did better than me in study. i was afraid i couldn’t catch up with others. so i was determined to study harder. i have made much progress now. i feel very happy.
t: i’m so touched by your determination. i believe you can do better in the future. thank you.
step ⅱ reading (text a)
t: just now, we talked about our opinions of happiness. how do people in different age groups think about happiness? have you ever thought about that? well, next, we will read two passages. they are about two person’s attitude towards life. please turn to page 30. read the passage golden days carefully and then answer the questions.
show the students the following questions.
1. in the writer’s opinion, when was the happiest time of his life?
2. when the writer was a child, what did he do on weekends?
3. as an innocent child, what didn’t he have to do?
4. what is an important part of happiness?
5. what does he wish now?
the teacher may go around the classroom and give help if ne cessary.
several minutes later, check the answers.
t: let’s look at the first question: in the writer’s opinion, when was the happiest time of his life?
s: he thinks those golden days at school were the happiest of his life.
t: yes, you are right. his most vivid and happiest memories are those of school days, the happiest time in his life. so next question: when the writer was a child, what did he do at weekends?
s: when he was a child, he could see friends, visit his grandparents, read books, or play sport at the weekends.
t: that’s the answer! good! all he had to do was go to school and spend a few hours studying when he came home. he could spend all day outside, playing in the sunshine with his friends, and they always had interesting things to talk about. that’s happiness, right?
ss: yes!
t: now let’s move to the third question.
s: he needn’t think about problems at work, or worry about income or how to take care of a family.
t: yes. actually, that’s all the adult has to worry about. as a child, all he had to do was enjoy his adolescence. then the next question: what is an important part of happiness?