1. Journey Down the Mekong Warming Up: 1. Do you like travelling? If possible, where are you going? 2. The world has many great rivers. If you could travel down only one of them, which one would you choose? Why?

14. While reading activity: I.Read the text quickly and find out the main idea of each paragraph: Para1: Dream Para2: Really stubborn Para3: Plan middle school: dream about graduate from the college: get the chance last year: visit the cousins, get them interested in

15. Para2: Really stubborn Para3: Plan an interesting experience go to the library find the source of the river do the trip properly be excited about the altitude find a large atlas with good maps

16. II. Read the passage more carefully and find out the answers to the following questions: 1.The text tells us about_______. A. the author and her sister’s plan about their winter holiday B. the experiences during the author and her sister’s trip in Qinghai C. anecdotes ( 轶事 ) that happened to their trip D. the plan and the preparations for their trip

17. 2. The first paragraph tells us that they will have a travel towards the____________ of China. A.northeast B. southeast C. southwest D. northwest 3. Why is it so hard to breathe in Qinghai Province? A.The weather is cold. B. Because of the high altitude. C. Because of the rivers. D. Because of the low altitude.

18. 4. From the text, we can infer_______. A.Their trip will be very difficult B. their trip will be very easy because they prepared a lot C. they must be successful after enough preparations D. they knew very well about the Mekong River before

19. Post reading activity: Post reading activity: Work in groups and make lists of Wang Wei’s and Wang Kung’s similar and different attitudes about the trip. Similar attitudesDifferent attitudes Both Wang Wei and Wang Kun think… 1. 2. 3. 4. Wang Wei believes… 1. 2. Wang kun believes… 1. 2.

20. Similar attitudesDifferent attitudes Both Wang Wei and Wang Kun think… 1. 2. 3. 4. Wang Wei believes… 1. 2. Wang kun believes… 1. 2. taking this trip is a dream that comes true. that they will enjoy this trip a lot. they should see a lot of the Mekong. that most of the Mekong will be found in Southeast Asia. they must start in Qinghai where the river begins/see all of the Mekong. that they don’t need to prepare much. it is too cold and high to start in Qinghai. that using an atlas is very important.

21. Find out the following phrases in the passage 1. 梦想作一次伟大的自行车 旅行 2. 作长途自行车旅行 3. 说服某人做某事 4. 看望我们的表兄弟 5. 使某人对某事感兴趣 6. 把旅行安排得尽善尽美 7. 考虑细节 8. 一个坚定的眼神 9. 改变主意 10. 在海拔五千多米的高度 1.dream about taking a great bike trip 2. go for long bike rides 3. persuade sb. to do sth. 4. visit our cousins 5. get sb. interested in sth. 6. do the trip properly 7. care about details 8. a determined look 9. change one’s mind 10. at an attitude of more than 5,000 metres

22. Find out the following phrases in the passage: 11. 对某事感到很兴奋 12. 空气稀薄, 呼吸困难 13. 让步, 屈服 14. 惊奇的发现 11. be excited about 12. The air will be hard to breathe. 13. give in 14. be surprised to learn about…

23. Pay attention to the following long sentences: 1.It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the Mekong River from where it ends. 2. Yunnan Province near the Lancang River, the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries. 3. Although she didn’t know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that we find the source of the river and begin our journey there. 4. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. 5. We found a large atlas with good maps that showed details of the world’s geography.

24. Pay attention to the following long sentences: 6. It becomes rapids as it passes through deep valleys, travelling across western Yunnan Province. 7. As it enters Southeast Asia, it travels slowly through hills and low valleys, and the plains where rice grows.