Unit 19　Modern agriculture

 (teacher collects the answers when the first five students have finished)
t:(after all the students finish.)have you finished?
ss:yes.
t:sb and sc,give us the two answers,please.
sb:he was born in yidu,shandong province.
sc:he said that when you plough the soil,plough deeply the first time and less deeply the second time,and the autumn ploughing should be deeper than the spring ploughing.
step ⅲ.reading
t:quite right.now let's read the text again and discuss the questions on the screen.pair work or group work.
1.what advice did qi min yao shu include?
2.what should you do first as a farmer?
3.what must be done before sowing or planting crops?
4.why did jia sixie let sheep or cows walk on the land?
5.what should we do if we want to reach the best harvest?
6.should wheat be planted close together or with space?
(a few minutes later.)
t:are you ready?(ss:yes.)who will give us the first answer?
sd:it includes the following advice:growing green vegetables and fruit trees,keeping cows,sheep and fish in lakes.there are also instructions for making wine.
t:please go on with the questions.vo-lunteers!
se:2.firstly as a farmer,you should remember to do things at the right time of the year,if so,your work will be less and the result will be better.
sf:3.before you sow or plant crops,you must clean rough ground and remove weeds.
sg:4.because he wanted the animals to destroy the weeds or eat them.
t:do the farmers get rid of weeds in this way now?
sg:no,they pull up the weeds or destroy them with a hoe.
t:yes,they hoe up the weeds or use weed killer.please go on.
sh:5.if you want to reach the best harvest,you should change the crops in your fields.
t:what does that mean?
sh:for example,if you plant rice in a field one year and wheat in the field the next year,you will harvest good crops.that is to say,do not plant the same crop year after year in the same field.
si:6.wheat should be planted close together instead of with space.because jia sixie did experiments and showen that.
t:your answers are right.that is because you have a full understanding about the text.thank you.next,i'll explain some language points to you.please look at the screen.
notes to the text:
a.jia sixie was an important agricultural pioneer of the northern wei dynasty(386~534ad).
b.spent his time on research into agriculture:note the preposition“spend time on something/doing something”and also“research into something”.
c.go against nature=do things that are the opposite of the natural way.
d.do things at the wrong time of year=do things at a time of year when the weather conditions are unsuitable.