1、精選Un it 4 MarriagePart APre-liste ning TaskQuestio ns for Discussi on1.What do you think of marriage? Do you think a happy marriage is the most important thing in yourlife?2.What kind of pers on do you want to marry? What are your sta ndards in choos ing a life companion?3.What do you think is cruci

2、al for a happy marriage?4.What usually causes troubles in a marriage?5.Do you think differe nces betwee n husba nd and wife are un avoidable? If you do, could yousuggest some ways for them to deal with the problem?6.Have you heard of marriage agreements? Do you think a couple should sign a marriage

3、agreement before gett ing married?Additi onal Questi on for Discussi onDo young men and young wome n have the same sta ndards in choos ing a spouse? If not, why not?Lan guage FocusHere are some senten ces and structures that you may find useful in discuss ing the above questio ns.Both men and wome n

4、 con sider marriage a very importa nt part of their lives.Most men would like their spouses to be young and beautiful. Others con sider inner beauty moreimporta nt.When a woma n chooses her spouse, she often puts emphasis on his character / temperame nt /educati on / professi on / in come / appeara

5、nee / family backgro und.Some young wome n today con siderof great importa nee in choos ing a boyfrie nd / lifecompa nion.Happ in ess in marriage does not depe nd on material wealth.Marriages based on mutual love create a happy and harm onious atmosphere in the family.Mutual respect and un dersta nd

6、ing betwee n husba nd and wife con tribute much to a happymarriage.Education is an important condition for a good marriage because a couple whose educationallevels do not match may not have much to say to each other / have con sta nt argume nts overfamily issues, big or small.A marriage based on rom

7、antic love alone will not necessarily last long, for a sense ofresponsibility is also essential to a successful marriage.I would marry some one who loves me and cares for me most.I would marry some one who is gen erous / in tellige nt / ambitious / broad-min ded / con siderate/ good-look ing / kin d

8、-hearted / humorous.I would n like to marry some one who is too mon ey-c on scious / st ingy / selfish / hot-tempered/ n arrow-min ded / rude / impolite / possessive.精選Each in dividual is unique and differe nces betwee n husba nd and wife are therefore un avoidable/ a rule rather tha n an excepti on

9、.It very important for husband and wife to show appreciation of each other / talk and get to knowwhat his or her part ner expects.A marriage agreeme nt sounds too practical / lacks roma ntic flavor / reduces marriage to merebus in ess.I think a written marriage agreement shows how much you and your

10、partner are going to respecteach others n eeds and expectati ons / promises a harm onious relati on ship in married life.Trouble starts in a marriage whe n one part ner keeps compla ining about small thin gs, makingthe other feel rese ntful.Constantly criticizing your partner and his or her family g

11、ives rise to troubles in / may destroy amarriage.Lack of understanding / tolerance over differences may bring troubles to a marriage / cause amarriage to fail.Part BListe ning TasksCon versatio n 1A Marriage Agreeme nt (Part One)Word Bankoutl inev. to describe briefly with few details 概述spouse n. a

12、husband or wife 酉己偶peta. deno ti ng a thing that one feels particularly stron gly about格外的，極其的peeven. sth. that annoys you 惹人生氣的事物bugv. (America n sla ng) to annoy, to irritate 激怒articlen. a secti on of a legal agreeme nt that deals with a particular point 協(xié)議的條款pet peevesth. that you stron gly disli

13、ke because it always annoys you 格外惹人生氣的事Script:(Tom and Linda have signed a marriage agreement. Both agree not to break the rules outlined in theagreeme nt. Joh n, a reporter, is talk ing to them about the agreeme nt.)Joh n: Tom, Lin da, first I like to ask you why you decided to write this unu sual

14、 agreeme nt.Tom: We found that many problems are caused whe n a pers on has differe nt expectati ons from his orher spouse. We wan ted to talk about everyth ing ope nly and hon estly before we started livi ngtogether.Lin da: Also we both know how importa nt it is to respect each other pet peeves. Li

15、ke, I can get veryanno yed if others leave stuff cloth ing, papers, everyth ing! lyi ng around on the floor. Itreally bugged me, so we put that in the agreement.Joh n: This is men ti oned in Article 1: Clea ning Up, is n tit? It says, Noth ing will be left on the flooroverni ght. Everythi ng must be

16、 clea ned up and put away before going to bed. ” Tom: Then I Ilknowclearly what Linda expectations are.精選Joh n: I see. What about Article 2: Sleep ing? It says, We will go to bed at 11 p.m. and get up at 6:30a.m. except on weekends. Im sure some people hearing this will think that this agreeme nt is

17、ntvery roma ntic.Tom: Well, we disagree. We think it s very roma ntic. This agreeme nt shows that we sat dow n andtalked, and really tried to understand the other person. A lot of problems occur in a marriagewhen people don talk about what they want.Lin da: Thats right. When we disagreed about somet

18、h ing, we worked out a soluti on that was good forboth of us. I would much rather have Tom really liste n to me and un dersta nd my n eeds tha ngive me a bunch of flowers or a box of can dy.Exercise 1Listen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.1. Which stateme n

19、t best summarizes the marriage agreeme nt betwee n Tom and Lin da?a. It is a set of rules that will restrict their pers onal freedom to a certa in exte nt.b. It is a set of rules that will en able them to live up to each other s expectati ons.c. It is a set of rules that will preve nt them from gett

20、 ing a divorce.d. It is a set of rules that will save their marriage.2. Accord ing to Tom, what will give rise to problems in a marriage?a. Differe nt in terests.b. Different pet peeves.c. Different expectati ons.d. Different sleep ing habits.3. What can be in ferred about Linda from the con versati

21、 on?a. She is sen sible and well-orga ni zed.b. She does ntlike flowers or candy very much.c. She is too practical to be a good wife.d. She is quick-tempered and domin eeri ng.Exercise 2Listen to the conversation again and complete the answers to the following questions.1. Why did Tom and Linda deci

22、de to sig n the agreeme nt?Because they wan ted to un dersta nd each others expectati ons so that pote ntial problems couldbe avoided and they could live happily together.2. What is Article 1 about?Cleaning up. Everything must be cleaned up and put away before going to bed.3. What is Article 2 about

23、?Sleeping. Time for bed: 11 p.m.; time to get up: 6:30 a.m. except on weekends.Con versatio n 2A Marriage Agreeme nt (Part Two)Word Bankupdatev. to make sth. up-to-date 更新make it upto become friends again after a quarrel 爭(zhēng)吵后和解figure outto work out the soluti on to a problem 想出Script:精選Joh n: Lin da,

24、 do you spe nd a lot of time check ing to see if the other pers on is follow ing the rules?Argui ng?Lin da: No, not at all.Tom: A lot of couples argue because they donunderstand each others expectations. I think we spe ndless time arguing tha n most couples because we both know what the other pers o

25、n expects.Joh n: What happe ns if one of you breaks a rule?Tom: Well, thatin Article 13 of our agreement.Joh n: Is it? Oh yes, Article 13: Break ing Rules.“f you break a rule, you must apologize and dosomething nice for the other person to make it up.”Lin da: Yeah, like last time Tom broke the rule

26、of driv ing.Joh n: Whatthe rule?Lin da: The rule is we must ask for direct ions if we are drivi ng and get lost for more tha n fivemi nu tes.Joh n: What happe ned?Tom: We were drivi ng to a friendweddi ng, and we got lost. Linda wan ted to stop at a gas statio n toask for direct ions, but I thought

27、I could figure it out.Lin da: Then we drove forty miles in the wrong directi on and en ded up being late for the weddi ng.Tom: So I took her out to dinn er. I knew what I should do to apologize.Joh n: Thatvery importa nt, I think, knowing how to apologize. By the way, do you pla n to update youragre

28、ement at all? What if things change in your life and a rule doesnwork anymore?Lin da: We ve thought about that too. Article 14 states that we must review this agreeme nt once a yearand make n ecessary cha nges.Joh n: Well, it was really nice talk ing to you both. Thank you very much for your time.To

29、m & Lin da: Thank you.Exercise 1Listen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.1. How many articles are probably in Tom and LindaVmarriage agreeme nt?a. 12.b. 13.c. 14.d. 15.2. How do Tom and Linda feel about their marriage agreeme nt?a. Linda is not very happy wit

30、h some of the articles in the agreement.b. Tom thinks some of the articles in the agreement are too strict.c. Both Tom and Linda are satisfied with it.d. Both Tom and Linda are not satisfied with it and they want to make a lot of changes to it.3. What will happen to their marriage agreement in a yea

31、rVtime?a. They will review the articles and make changes to update them.b. They will sit dow n and write out a new agreeme nt.c. They will not make any cha nges to the agreeme nt.d. They will not n eed it anymore, as they are both familiar with its conten ts.精選Exercise 2Listen to the conversation ag

32、ain and complete the answers to the following questions.1. What is stated in the rule of drivi ng?It is stated that if they get lost for more tha n five minutes whe n they are driving, they must stop_ andask for directions.2. What is Article 13 about? What does it say?Article 13 is about breaking ru

33、les . The article says,breakypcule, you must apologize anddo something nice for the other person to make it up . ”3. What is Article 14 about? What is stated in the agreeme nt?It is about reviewing the contents of the agreeme nt. It states that they must review this agreementonce a year and make nec

34、essary changes.Speak ing TasksPair WorkDebating Arguments for or against giving first priority to economic status in choosing aspouseA SampleNowadays, some young people give first priority to econo mic status in choos ing a spouse.Are you for or aga inst this sta ndard in choos ing a spouse? Express

35、 and defe nd your views from theperspectives given in the card below.Topic: Is it right to give first priority to economic status in choosing a spouse? Perspectives:1. From the perspective of a stude nt (positive)2. From the perspective of a social worker (n egative)Possible Argume nts (for refere n

36、ee)From the perspective of a stude nt (positive)I thi nk it is very n atural for people to give first priority to econo mic status in choos ing a spouse.We all know how importa nt money is. Without mon ey, we can hardly do anything. Lack of money in amarriage will cause problems to the couple. Even

37、though the couple may have married for love, beingalways hard-pressed for money, love will soon be replaced by quarrels and endless worries overmoney matters. If this happens, can they live happily together? So I think it is very importa nt to first consider if your future spouse is able to share th

38、e resp on sibility of support ing a family. If no t, just wait.From the perspective of a social worker (n egative)Nowadays, some young people con sider econo mic status the most importa nt factor whe n theychoose a spouse. They think money can bring everyth ing they wan t, like a big apartme nt, a c

39、ar, or atrip abroad. However, can these material thi ngs really en sure happ in ess? I don th ink so. A marriagebased solely on material wealth will not necessarily be a happy one. Countless examples have show n精選that rich people often have un successful marriages. A happy marriage is built on a dee

40、p love andaffecti on betwee n husba nd and wife, which cannot be bought by mon ey.Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner.Topic: Is it right to give first priority to a university degree in choosing a spouse? Perspectives:1. From the perspective of so

41、me stude nts (positive)2. From the perspective of some other stude nts (n egative)Some Ideas for Refere neeThe Argume nt (positive)1.A uni versity degree is the first thing I d con sider whe n I choose my life compa nion. I think twopeople with very differe nt educati onal backgro unds would have pr

42、oblems incom mun icatio n.2.A pers on with a uni versity degree has bee n exposed to a wide range of kno wledge / iswell-educated.3.What great pleasure it is to spe nd your life with some one who can share your enjoyme nt of music,art and literature, or discuss with you all sorts of subjects from th

43、e beauty of n ature to alie ns inouter space / new adva nces in scie nee and tech no logy.4.A well-educated pers on tends to be more cultured, and more un dersta nding, which will en surehapp in ess in a marriage.5.A well-educated pers on is more likely to have a good career.6.A uni versity degree i

44、s almost a must in the competitive job market no wadays. Therefore a goodeducational background is key to a successful career, which will bring harmony and security tofamily life.The Coun ter-argume nt (n egative)1.I don think a university degree is so important in choosing one life companion. Perso

45、nality is thefirst thing I would take into con sideratio n whe n I choose a spouse.2.To my mind, affecti on, hon esty, gen erosity, kindn ess, sympathy, and courage are the qualities Ivalue more.3.I think a pers ons moral virtue is very importa nt and it is not decided by the amount of schooleducati

46、 on he or she has received.4.A uni versity degree does not n ecessarily bring happ in ess to a marriage. Mutual affect ion and understa nding are key to a happy marriage.5.A pers on with a uni versity degree is not n ecessarily well-educated. It depe nds on how mucheffort she or he made while at col

47、lege.6.I believe in love / love at first sight. Ilike to marry the person I love, and together we can pursuethe dreams of our life.7.I don tthink a university degree can ensure success in a career. Experienee is sometimes moreimporta nt tha n formal educati on. As a matter of fact, many en trepre ne

48、urs in Chi na have nevenreceived sec on dary educati on. Their success actually relies on their unu sual pers on ality and精選opport un ities available.Part CTest Your Liste ningA Con versatio nListen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear.1.Which of the follow ing is true of the woma n shusba nd?a.He does ntshare housework at home.b.He does ntk now how to put thi ngs in order.c.He does ntcare for his wife and