Electronic Teaching Portfolio Book Two
Unit One: Living in Harmony
Part I Get Started
Section A Discussion
▇ Sit in groups of threes or fours and discuss the following questions.
1. You are now living on campus. How do you get along with your classmates? 2. Are you willing to help out a stranger? Why or why not?
3. Do you think it possible to be a true friend to someone whose name you don’t know?
▇ Answers for reference: 1. A possible answer:
I get along with my classmates pretty well. We help each other and take good care of each other. When anyone is in trouble or difficulty, we do all we can to lend a helping hand. I love campus life. I believe that the time spent in this university will be an unforgettable experience in my life.
2. Possible answers:
a. To be honest, with all the stories about how certain individuals take advantage of people’s kindness and how people set out to help out a stranger but end up getting into big trouble, I would think twice before helping out a stranger.
b. I am willing to help out a stranger, even if it means I would get myself into trouble, because I would feel bad if I passed by someone in need. After all, we’re not living on a one-man island. We need to rely on each other’s kindness. What’s more, I believe most people on earth are good and they do not take advantage of others’ kindness. 3. A possible answer:
Yes, I think so. True friendship lies in the communication between souls, and you don’t have to know the person’s name in order to know the soul.
Section B Quotes
▇ Study the following quotes about language learning. Do you accept the ideas expressed in the quotes? State your reasons. ▇
Albert Einstein
⊙The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite (陈腐的) objects of human
efforts — possessions, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible (不值得一顾的).
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—Albert Einstein
Interpretation:
What gives me the courage to face challenges in life and move on optimistically is the showing and receiving of kindness and the pursuit of the good, the beautiful and the true. Humans tend to seek worldly possessions, fame, success, and luxury in life, but these things don’t interest me at all.
About Albert Einstein (1879-1955): US physicist and mathematician, born in Germany, who developed the Theory of Relativity, which completely changed the way that scientists understand space and time.
George Sand
⊙ Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.
—George Sand
Interpretation:
Kindness is a virtue that we need to cultivate and value. With kindness, we know how to give selflessly without thinking about our losses. With kindness, we know how to lose and gain honourably.
About George Sand (1804-1876): a French female writer of novels, whose real name was Amandine Aurore Dupin. She is known for her long relationship with the composer Chopin and for wearing men’s clothes to show her belief that women should have the same rights as men.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
⊙ You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interpretation:
If you want to perform an act of kindness to help others, just do it now before it is too late.
About Ralph Waldo Emerson (1808-1882): a US poet and writer who had great influence on the religious and philosophical thought of his time.
Section C Watching and Discussion
Watch the following video clip “Simple Acts of Kindness -- Give it a try” and do the tasks that follow:
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插入视频片段： “Simple Acts of Kindness -- Give it a try.wmv” 1. What are the simple acts of kindness presented in the video clip?
? a teenager gives his seat to a middle-aged woman burdened with several bags;
? a man offers to pay for a young mother with a baby in her arms whose credit card is expired;
? a woman offers her lunchbox to a homeless person;
? a young man lets an exhausted mother take the parking space he’s been waiting patiently for;
? a woman gets a card with heart-warming words on it.
2. Have you ever been touched by simple acts of kindness from strangers? Share your
experiences with your group. (Open.)
Script：
A simple act of kindness
A simple act of kindness found me. A simple act of kindness saved me.
A simple act of kindness brought me home.
Well I don’t know if you could see there was a soul inside of me. If not for the kindness of a friend,
Well maybe now you couldn’t tell but I’d be just an empty shell. If not for the kindness of a friend,
I know how dark a human heart can be out there.
I was so far gone I thought that no one ever could see me. (Chorus)
I would be a lost and broken man. If it weren’t for the reaching of a hand, I’d be on that dark and lonely road.
A simple act of kindness brought me home.
It wasn’t all that long ago I would have thrown away my soul, If not for the kindness of a friend,
But now and then, I feel the sting of almost losing everything. If not for the kindness of a friend,
I know how dark a human heart can be out there.
But now I know compassion was the only thing I could figure. (Chorus)
I would be a lost and broken man. If it weren’t for the reaching of a hand, I’d be on that dark and lonely road.
A simple act of kindness brought me home. And now I’m glad I’m here and that I’m free. To pass along what someone gave to me.
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