School of Foreign Studies Book 1 New Horizon College English Unit 1 : Section B A Worldwide Food Crisis? School of Foreign Studies Nantong University

Warming-up Notes to the Text Reading Skills Text Study Expressions and structures Writing Practice Oral Practice

Warming-up Video watching News report listening Questions discussion

Warming-up Watch the video clip of Global food crisis and discuss the following question.

Warming-up Watch the video clip of Global food crisis and discuss the following question. Why are food prices going up in the world? Tips: the rising price of oil, transportation and fertilizer bad weather Rising demand of food in India and China Food crops being converted into fuel ……

Warming-up Listen to a news report and answer the question. According to the passage, what effect will the steeply rising price of food may have on the world?

Warming-up Tips: poverty; hunger ; instability in the world increased displacement

Warming-up Question Discussion 1. Besides what we have mentioned above, what problems can be caused if food prices rise too quickly?

Warming-up Tips: Families will be forced to allocate a larger share of their income to milk, bread and other basics, and they will be unable to spend as much on clothes, toys, entertainment and other things, affecting overall consumer spending. 2) People will eat cheaper, less healthy food, which can have bad lifelong effects on the physical well-being of them.

Warming-up Question Discussion 2. What effective measures can be taken for China to avoid food crises?

Warming-up Tips: Ensure a fair distribution of food supplies to allow enough nutritional foods for everyone. Assist development of sustainable agricultural practices. Drop plans for bio-fuels as transport fuel and focus instead on doubling vehicle efficiency and reducing demand for fuel. …

Culture Notes Culture Notes 2007-2008 world food price crisis: World food prices increased dramatically in 2007 and in the first and second quarters of 2008, creating a global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both developing and developed nations.

Culture Notes Initial causes of the 2007-2008 price spikes included droughts in grain-producing nations and rising oil prices. Oil price increases also caused general escalations in the costs of fertilizers, food transportation, and industrial agriculture. Root causes may be the increasing use of biofuels in developed countries and an increasing demand for a more varied diet across the expanding middle-class populations of Asia. All of these factors, coupled with falling world food stockpiles, contributed to the worldwide rise of food prices.

Identifying the author’s purpose Reading skills Identifying the author’s purpose For each article, there is a purpose. Usually, the follwing three common purposes of writing can be found when the readers are reading: to inform – to provide the reader with information about a topic; to persuade – to convince the reader to believe a certain viewpoint or to take a certain course of action; to entertain – to amuse the reader in some way.

Reading skills Identifying the author’s purpose There are clues that effective readers can use to help them identify what kind of writing they’re dealing with. Informative writing features facts and evidence, not opinions or value judgments. It often contains dates, statistics or other figures, or quotes from experts or witnesses. Depending on the subject, the language may or may not include technical terms.

Reading skills Identifying the author’s purpose Persuasive writing features evidence and / or emotional appeals: opinions and arguments, rhetorical questions, evaluating language and judgmental language opposing views or counter-arguments. Texts written mainly to entertain can be varied. They often use informal language, simple sentence structures, dialogs, or figurative speeches.

Reading skills Read text B and discuss the following questions

Reading skills 1 What does the title tell us about the content of the text?

Reading skills Tips: The title is a question. By using a question as the title, the author tries to attract the readers’ attention and get them to think. From the title,we can see that the article is about the possibility of a worldwide food crisis.

Reading skills 2. Are there any rhetorical questions in the text? What are they?

There are two rhetorical questions in the text: Reading skills Tip: There are two rhetorical questions in the text: Is there fear grounded?(para. 2) Will current prices astay high and volatile?(para. 6)

Reading skills 3. How would you describe the language of this article? Is it formal, informal, evaluating, judgmental or emotional?

Reading skills Tips: The language of the text can be described as formal, evaluating, and judgmental, as can be shown by the text’s long and complex sentence structure, affirmative tone of writing, descriptive adjectives, and judgmental words like need, must, etc.

Reading skills 4. Is there any quote in the text? Where is it taken from? What is its purpose?

Reading skills Tips: Yes, there is a quote in paragraph 8.It’s taken from a pamphlet by activist peter Singer. The quote is cited to illustrate that large quantities of potential food are now used for producing bio-fuels and large-scale meat production.

Reading skills 5. Are there any counter-arguments in the text?

Reading skills Tips: Yes. There are two counter-arguments: Is their fear grounded? Consultancy firms measuring the status of commodities like wheat don’t think so.(para. 2) However, this rosy picture provides only temporary security. The bigger picture disclose a reality not so optimistic.(para.3)

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: Why does the author say that the food crisis can quickly become a worldwide phenomenon? (Para. 1) Recent droughts along the equator, and in Russia and Ukraine – two countries which account for one-fourth of world wheat exports – caused wheat price surge.

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: 2.According to the text, the consultancy firms don’t think the food crisis will be worldwide. Why? (Paras. 2-3) Stocks of wheat are at sufficiently high levels, and harvest turnout from other big producers is expected to stay strong, meaning wheat prices should eventually calm down and level off.

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: 3. What is the main factor that will contribute to high food prices over the next several years? (Para. 4) Though there is a growing global consensus about the need for reform in farming, repairing world agricultural practices is expensive process, and we’re really only at the beginning of a long way.

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: 4. Why is food not like garments or other products traded on world markets? (Para. 5) The issue of food is filled with emotion. Intermittent uncertainty in food markets will animate people to act when they would otherwise remain calm.

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: 5. What are the enormous structural problems with the agriculture industry that have caused the great imbalance between supply and demand? (Paras. 6 - 8) Global funding for rural infrastructure or technological research to keep yields growing has been very small. More grain gets turned into livestock feed instead of food for people. The new demand for bio-fuels.

Understanding Answer the following questions: Text Study—Understanding Understanding Answer the following questions: 6. What advice is given by the author to neutralize this problem and dodge the future crisis? (Paras. 9 - 12) Give more subsidies to agriculture. Create a coherent international plan to deal with hunger. Build the capacity of the developing world.

Expressions and structures 1 Key phrases 2 Key structures

Key phrases Practical Phrases Specific Meanings 1. account for 2019/2/24 Key phrases Practical Phrases Specific Meanings 1. account for （在数量或比例上）占，占据 2. calm down 恢复平静；恢复正常 3. level off 变得平稳；保持稳定 4. be starved of 缺乏… 5. run out of 用光…；耗尽… 6. rescue …from ... 挽救；营救 7. keep ... at bay 使某事物无法接近；防止某结果产生 8. point to 表明（真相或重要性）

Key phrases （在数量或比例上） 占，占据 account for 短语逆译 短语应用 意群提示 电脑用电占这个国家商业用电的5%。 意群提示 (account for / commercial electricity consumption) Computers account for 5 percent of the country’s commercial electricity consumption.

Key phrases 恢复平静；恢复正常 短语逆译 calm down 短语应用 意群提示 这里的情况实在糟糕。在一切恢复平静之前，你最好呆在朋友或亲戚那儿。 意群提示 (calm down) The situation here is really bad. You’d better stay with a friend or relative until things calm down.

Key phrases 变得平稳；保持稳定 短语逆译 level off 短语应用 意群提示 这份报告说，肉价短期内也许偏高，但几周内会稳定到合理的价位水平。 意群提示 (for a short while /somewhat higher/level off) The report says, for a short while, meat prices may be somewhat higher, but within a few weeks they will level off to a very reasonable level.

Key phrases 短语逆译 be starved of sth. 缺乏… 短语应用 意群提示 这个地区的人们缺乏饮用水。 (people in this region / be starved of sth./drinking water) People in this region are starved of drinking water.

Key phrases 用光…；耗尽… 短语逆译 run out of sth. 短语应用 意群提示 我用来为情人节做点特别准备的时间所剩不多了。 意群提示 (running out of / prepare something special for/) I’m running out of time to prepare something special for Valentine’s Day.

Key phrases rescue sth. / sb. from sth. / sb. 挽救；营救 短语逆译 短语应用 意群提示 他们仍然在从救生艇中救人吗？ 意群提示 (rescue sth. / sb. from sth. / sb. / lifeboats) Are they still rescuing people from the lifeboats?

Key phrases 使某事物无法接近；防止某结果产生 短语逆译 keep / hold sth. at bay 短语应用 意群提示 许多人都用这种喷剂驱蚊子。 意群提示 (spray / keep mosquitoes at bay) Many people use the spray to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Key phrases point to 表明（真相或重要性） 短语逆译 短语应用 调查结果表明我们医院的人事管理需要做些调整。 意群提示 (point to / human resources management ) The results of the survey point to the need for changes in human resources management in our hospitals.

Key structures Functional Patterns Functions & Usages 1. There is a growing … about … 用于表达“人们对…有越来越多的…” 。 2. All signposts point to… 用于表达“所有的迹象都表明…”。 3. It doesn’t take an oracle to foretell that… 用于表达“毫无疑问，未来将会发生…”。 4. have the foresight to 用于表达“有远见”

Key structures 句型提炼 应用提示 句型应用 There is a growing … about … 用于表达“人们对…有越来越多的…” 。 句型应用

Key structures 典型例句 意群提示 尽管经常有戏剧性的消息见诸媒体，人们对这座城市, 尤其是它的历史与文化, 越来越感兴趣。 (dramatic news/ There is a growing … about …) Despite the often dramatic news in the press, there is a growing interest about this city, particularly its history and culture.

Key structures 原句译文 逆译练习 句型提炼 所有的迹象都表明，有必要把发展中国家的粮食产量翻一番。 框框有点多，页面不够简洁，下同 逆译练习 All signposts point to the need for food production in developing countries to almost double. (Para. 11, L1) 句型提炼

Key structures All signposts point to… 句型提炼 应用提示 用于表达“所有的迹象都表明…”。 句型应用

Key structures 典型例句 意群提示 所有的迹象都表明我们都有着光明的前途。 (all signposts point to / bright future ) All signposts point to a bright future for us all.

Key structures 原句译文 逆译练习 句型提炼 未来20 年，让世界上所有人都吃饱饭将是全球经济所面临的巨大挑战，这一点很明确，不需要通过行家来预言。 原句译文 逆译练习 It doesn’t take an oracle to foretell that the fight to feed the world will be a huge challenge facing the global economy over the next 20 years. (Para. 4, L1) 句型提炼

Key structures 句型提炼 应用提示 句型应用 It doesn’t take an oracle to foretell that… 句型提炼 应用提示 用于表达“毫无疑问，未来将会发生…”。 句型应用

Key structures 典型例句 意群提示 毫无疑问，我们的训练使得我们能够胜任将来的工作。 意群提示字号小么？ 典型例句 毫无疑问，我们的训练使得我们能够胜任将来的工作。 意群提示 (it doesn’t take an oracle to foretell) It doesn’t take an oracle to foretell that our training will equip us for the future job.

Key structures 原句译文 逆译练习 句型提炼 印度、塞内加尔等一些国家的议员、立法人员及政府机构已经独具慧眼地认识到了这一事实，并且正在给予农业更多的资助。 原句译文 逆译练习 Councilors, legislators and bureaucratic agencies of some countries like India and Senegal have had the foresight to realize this fact and are giving more subsidies to agriculture.(Para. 9,L4) 句型提炼

Key structures had the foresight to 句型提炼 应用提示 用于表达“有远见” 。 句型应用

Key structures 典型例句 意群提示 最明智的领导人具有远见卓识，可以高瞻远瞩，并为了遥远的目标而抗拒一切压力。 (have the foresight to / look at a distant objective / stand up against) The wisest of leaders have the foresight to look at a distant objective and in its name stand up against all pressures.

Matching 1. 重创 harshly struck 2. 短暂的安心 temporary security 3. 揭示的现实不容乐观 disclose a reality not so optimistic 4. 充满感情色彩 be filled with emotion 5. 时断时续的不确定性 intermittent uncertainty 6. 有两面性 have a dual nature 7. 大规模挨饿 large-scale starvation 8. 规避未来的风险 dodge the future crisis 9. 食物链上的高端食品 foods higher up on the food chain

Writing Practice Writing an article about food crisis You may include the following points: the main factors cause the food crisis the politics that should be carried out

Writing Practice Tips: The changed weather; The dwindling arable land because of the industrialization; More and more food is used to produce the bio-fuels; Protect the environment; Protect arable land; Develop science and technology.

Oral Practice 富有来自节约。 How can you economize the food in daily life ? From saving comes having.

Thank You！