Unit 3  Travel journal

although a part of china, tibet has a unique culture of all its own. it is mainly inhabited by tibetans, a minority nationality of old and mysterious people. tourist attractions include the potala palace in lhasa, jokhang temple, and a number of buddhist sacred places.
tibet (xi zang in chinese) is to the south of xin jiang uygur autonomous region and qing hai province, to the west of sichuan, to the northwest of yunnan and to the north of india and nepal. its population of 2.3 million people come from a variety of ethnic groups including tibetan, han, monba and lhota. its capital city is lhasa. northwest tibet, mainly qing hai plateau, is home to a variety of unusual and unique animals. across the northern expanse of tibet, you can see vast grasslands where horses, yak and sheep roam freely. the world's lowest valley, the grand yarlun-tzanpo river valley lies in east tibet. it is freezing cold in most time of the year. most tourists come to visit tibet only in the warmest seasons, june, july, august and early september.
step 2  reading
we know wang wei and wang kun have traveled down the mekong. today they have reached the tibetan mountains. they will stay there for a night. now let’s look at the passage “a night in the mountains” on page 22. read it quickly to find the main idea. show some questions.
1.how does wang kun feel about the trip now?
2.what do you think has changed his attitude?
3.is it natural for wang kun not to feel lonely?
4.would you feel the same way in this situation? why or why not?
step 3 listen and mark
 let the students listen to the recorder and mark the rising and falling tone of each sense group and sentence. then practice reading aloud. pay attention to pronunciation and intonation.
step 4 dialogue
suppose wang wei and wang kun leave their camp the next morning and go on with the journey. make a short dialogue between them.
sample dialogue :
--oh , up so early?
--early? it’s nearly 9 o’clock.
--oops! (look at his watch). i guess you’re right.
--why were you so tired?
--well, i stayed up late last night to watch the stars.
--that’s nice. they must be pretty.
--yes, they are.
then ask students to make up their own dialogues. they may discuss and practice in pairs.
step 5 guided writing
1.reading
in this unit, we have read the first two parts of a travel journal and have listened to the third part of the travel journal. what is the difference between a journal and a diary? let’s read the passage on page 23 and find out the difference between the two.