Art and architecture（The First Period）

     do you know when the tower was first built? and why do we call it “the yellow crane tower”?
     there is a legend that long long ago an old man named wang zhian rode on the backof a yellow crane, flew away from the tower and later became an immortal being. it is also said that another man named fei wenyi returned to the tower to have a rest with the help of a yellow crane.
     another story goes like this: a window by the name of xin set up a public house by the snake hill in wuchang. a taoist often came to drink here. each time he was allowed to drink without payment. once before leaving, the taoist drew a yellow crane on the wall with a piece of orange skin. the yellow crane flew down off the wall and danced happily immediately after the people clapped their hands. on hearing the news many, many people came here for a drink. mrs xin got richer and richer. so she decided to build a tower in memory of the crane. it was named the yellow crane tower.
     in fact, the yellow crane tower was first built more than 1 600 years ago. that is in the early years of the three-kingdom period. it stood on the south bank of the changjiang river in wuchang.
     in the beginning, the tower was only used by the armies, but after a certain period of time it was open to the public. the tower has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, and it has been a well-known historical building for centuries. many poets wrote excellent poems in praise of the tower.
      however, before liberation, the yellow crane tower was not well protected. when wuhan was liberated, only a very shabby tower remained.
      in october 1981, the government decided to rebuild the yellow crane tower, and now on the top of the snake hill stands a new magnificent five-storeyed yellow crane tower, overlooking the beautiful river city of wuban.
      who says that the yellow crane had flown away and would never come back? with the rapid development of our socialist country, the yellow crane tower is reborn! seeing the great yellow crane tower, everychinese should certainly have a sense of national pride.

the first period
teaching aims:
1. improve the students' listening ability.
2. improve the students' speaking ability.
3. learn and master some useful words and  expressions.
teaching important point:
train the students' listening and speaking abilities.