Unit 2  News media（The First Period）

unit 2  news media
   i. brief statements based on the unit
the activities of this unit, including warming-up, listening, speaking, reading and writing, center on the subject－news and the media, which are connected with our life closely. it provides the students an opportunity to learn the language in using it.
by talking about news and the media, the students get more knowledge about them－not only know about the important parts they play in learning about the world, but also the ways they are written and made. the students must be very interested in this subject. this way, they can learn the language points easily and freely. they will not only learn some useful words and phrases about news and the media, but also learn to express opinions.
besides, the study of the grammar－the past participle can help the students use the language more exactly. by finishing each task provided in the textbook and the workbook,  the students' skills to use language can be well developed.
ⅱ. teaching goals
 1. talk about news and the media.
 2. practise expressing opinions.
3. learn about the past participle (1): used as attribute and predicative.
4. write a comparison paragraph.
 ⅲ. teaching time: four periods
iv. background information
1. radio
in ancient times the only way that men could send messages from village to village was on foot. when men learned to use the horse, communication became much quicker. however, compared to the modern world communication was still quite slow. many parts of the world had no knowledge of events in other places. later, the post was introduced and horse riders carried letters. this meant that communication was further improved. horses drawn coaches could move  people from town to town in quite a comfortable way. at the beginning of the last century the steam train was invented and for the first time really fast communication became possible. not only could letters be sent easily from one part of a country to another, but travel was made easy, too. at about the same time, steam ships helped communication between countries.
the invention of the telegraph in the middle of the last century further increased the speed at which messages could be sent. in this system electrical signals, in code, are sent along metal wires. these signals travel so fast that they could go nearly eight times round the world in one second. a special device is needed to send the code. at the other end another device is used in order to receive the code. by this method messages can be sent over distances of several hundred kilometres. with the invention of the telephone the human voice could be sent over long distances. because of this the telephone system replaced the telegraph for quick communication over long distances. the telegraph is still used, however, by newspapers in order to send news and for other purposes too.