Unit2

ExploringEnglish--What'sup--Nothingmuch.--How'severything--Notmuch,sameold.What'supWhat'sgoingon/How'severythingtosoundfamiliarlevokeyourmemoryatsixesand

sevenssmall

potatoeswhat'sgoingon toiletwatersth./sb.unimportantor

insignificant

pull

upone'ssockstomakean

effortto

improveyour

workorbehaviour

because

it

is

not

enough.naturalability

ingrowingplants.

greenfingersTherearemanyEnglishexpressionsthatmaycausemisunderstandings.His

name

rings

a

bell.But

I

can't

rememberwhere

we

met.I

think

I

have

heard

his

name.But

I

can't

rememberwhere

we

met.ringa

bellto

sound

familiarIn

the

long

river

of

history,we

are

all

unimportant

people.small

potatoesSomething

unimportant

or

insignificantIn

the

long

river

of

histo

y,we

are

all

small

potatoes.toilet

waterA

lightperfume

that

does

nothave

a

very

strong

smellInsummer,motherslike

toput

some

perfumed(有香味的)

liquid(液體)named

SixGodinthebathbasin.In

summer,mothers

like

to

put

Six

God

toilet

water

in

thebath

basin.Readthefollowingexpressionsandguesstheirmeaning.Ringabellwhat’supSmallpotatoesToiletwaterAtsixandsevenGreenfingersPullupone’ssockstosoundfamiliarwhatisgoingonsomethingunimportantorinsignificantalightperfumethatdoesnothaveaverystrongsmellinaconfused,badly-organised,ordifficultsituationnaturalabilityingrowingplantstomakeanefforttoimproveyourworkorbehaviourbecauseitisnotgoodenough.MisadventuresinEnglishMisunderstandingsinEnglish

Readthefirstpartandanswerthequestions.1.WhereisthepassagetakenfromForum/TheInternet2.WhydowehavemisunderstandingsSomeoftheEnglishwelearnintheclassroomisratherdifferentfromtheEnglishintheoutsideworld.FORUM:awebsiteorwebpagewhereuserscanpostcomments

aboutatopicandreplytootherusers'posts.□

LearningtolearnOnlineEnglish-learningforumscanbeaveryusefullearningresource.Notonlycanyoupostspecificquestions,butyoucanalsobroadenyourknowledge

byreadingpostsfromotherEnglishlearnersaround

theworld.PeoplesaythattheBritishalwaysplaysafewithwhattheyeat.Nottrue!IwenttoasummerschoolinManchesterandmyEnglishteacherwascalledMaggie.Oneday,adifferentteachertookourclass.HetoldusthatMaggiecouldn'tteachthatdayCOZshehadafroginherthroat.PoorMaggie-butwhydidshetrytoeatsuchabigfrog135commentsWhenIfirstvisitedNewYork,Iwenttoadowntownshoppingcentretobuysomewinterboots.Attheinformationdeskattheentrance,Iaskedaladywheretheshoesectionwas.Shesaidthatitwasonthefirstfloor.SoIwentuptothefirstfloor,butcouldn'tfindanyshoes.Idecidedtoleave.WhenIwaslookingfortheexit,Isawthatshoeswereactuallysolddownstairsonthegroundfloor,notthefirstfloor.WhydidshegivemethewronginformationX-(the

first

floorthegroundfloor128

commentsSophieYancyTheBritishmusthavereallyhighstandards.IwaspartofastudentexchangeprogrammebetweenauniversityinEnglandandmyuniversityinChina.IspentdayspreparingandwritingmyfirstEnglishpaper.IknewIhaddoneagoodjobandwaslookingforwardtogettingapositivecomment.WhenIgotthepaperback,Ifoundmyteacherhadwrittenthecomment“Notbad!”NotbadButthereweren'tanyerrorsinmypaper.:-(85commentsI'vegotanEnglishpenfriend,whoIfinallygottomeetinLondonthissummer.Hehadtoldmethathisgrandfatherwas“reallywicked”.ButwhenImethisgrandfather,Ilikedhimalot.Ifounditveryodd.WhydidmyfrienduseanegativewordaboutsuchanicemanZhengXuJulien3Readthedefinitionsofthewordsand

expressions

that

caused

themisunderstandings.Match

the

definitions

to

the

posts.

□

a(British

English)the

floor

of

a

building

above

the

one

at

ground

level;

(American

English)the

floor

of

a

building

at

ground

level

□b

prettygood,betterthanyou

expected

□c

unable

to

speak

clearly

for

a

short

time

because

yourthroat

is

dry

or

blocked

□d

morallywrongandintendingto

hurt

people;(informa)very

good,fantasticKeywordstextinformation&nontextinformationSophie's

postZhengXu'spostYancy's

post

Julien's

postthefirstfloor2WhoWhereWhathappenedSophie

NewYorkIwenttobuywinterboots,andIwastoldtheyweresoldonthefirstfloor,butinfactitwasonthegroundfloor.wicked3morallywrongandintendingtohurtpeople;verygood,fantastic(informal)wicked3WhoWhereWhathappened

LondonJulienAnEnglishpenfriendtoldmehisgrandfatherwas“reallywicked”,butwhenIfinallysawhim,Ilikedhimalot.whowherewhathappenedfeelingsexpressionsmisunderstandings

actualmeaningpersons'posts.StroylexperienceRetellthefourPeoplesaythattheBritishalwaysplaysafewithwhattheyeat.Forexample:Nottrue!IwenttoasummerschoolinManchesterandmyEnglishteacherwascalledMaggie.Oneday,adifferentteachertookourYancyclass.HetoldusthatMaggiecouldn'tteachthatdayCOZshehadafroginherthroat.PoorMaggie-butwhydidshetrytoeatsuchabigfrog135commentsWho:YancyandherEnglishteacher,Maggie.Where:schoolWhathappened:Maggiecouldn'tteachthemthatday,soadifferentteachertooktheirclassFeelings:astonished/surprised/confusedExpression:hadafroginherthroat.Misunderstandings:eatafrogActualm