【正文】
ll read aloud twice, too. 2. Reading and underlining Now please read and underline all the useful expressions or collocations in the passage. Copy them to your notebook after class as homework. Collocations from JOURNEY DOWN THE MEKONG dream about, take a great bike trip, graduate from, got the chance to do sth., cycle along the river, go for long bike rides, mountain bike, persuade sb. to do sth., grow up, get sb. interested in sth., be stubborn, know the best way of getting to places, the source of the river, care about, give sb. a determined look, change one’s mind, at an altitude of, seem to do, the air be hard to breathe, an interesting experience, make up ones mind, give in, a large atlas with good maps, keep doing sth., at first, pass through, be surprised to do sth., half of, at last, the South China Sea 3. Reading aloud and understanding Next we are going to read aloud the text and then answer some questions. 1) Who are Wang Kun and Wang Wei? (They are brother and sister, and both are college students.) 2) What was their dream? (Their dream was to take a great bike trip.) 3) Who are Dao Wei and Yu Hang? (They are Wang Kun’s cousins who are at a college in Kunming.) 4) Where is the source of the Mekong River and which sea does it enter?(The source of the river is in Qinghai Province and it enters the South China Sea.) 5) What can you see when you travel along the Mekong?(You can see glacier, rapids, hill, valleys, waterfalls and plains.) 6) Is it a difficult journey to cycle along the Mekong? Why? (Yes. The journey begins at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, where it is hard to breathe and very cold.) 4. Discussing We have got the general meaning of the passage, and we know Wang Wei and Wang Kun have some similar and different attitudes about the trip. You may have a short discussion with your partners and then fill in the chart. Similar attitudes about the trip Different attitudes about the trip Both Wang Wei and Wang Kun thinks: 1). taking this trip is a dream that es true. 2). that they will enjoy this trip a lot. 3). they should see a lot of the Mekong. 4). that most of the Mekong will be found in Southeast Asia. Wang Wei believes: 1). they must start in Qinghai where the river begins/see all of the Mekong. 2). that they don’t need to prepare much. Wang Kun believes: 1). it is too cold and high to start in Qinghai. 2). that using an atlas is very important. IV. Closing down Closing down by answering questions What should you do before traveling? (Before traveling, we should make good preparations, that is, to make a plan, decide the place to visit and get enough information about the plac