Reading Unit 2 Poems

Which poemABCDEF GH describes a person? tells a story? describes an aspect of a season? is about sport? is about things that don’t make sense? is recited to a baby? describes a river scene? has rhyming words at the end of lines? repeats words and phrases?

The reading passage discusses five kinds of poems. What are they?

Five kinds of poems Nursery rhymes 童谣 Cinquain 五行诗 List poems 清单诗 Tang poems 唐诗 Haiku 俳句诗

Poetry is a great form of literature. There are different kinds of rules for poems, so the forms of poems are quite different from country to country. The passage in Reading will tell us something about forms of English poems. Now read the text on P 10 and find out information to complete the following form.

Forms of poems Features Nursery rhymes(A) List poems (B and C) Cinquain (D and E) Haiku (F and G) Tang poems (H) Strong rhythm and rhyme, a lot of repetition, easy to learn and to recite Repeated phrases and some rhymes Made up of five lines, convey a strong picture in just a few words Give a clear picture and create a special feeling in just a few words The translations have a free form.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s going to buy you a mockingbird. If that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s going to buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns to brass, Papa’s going to buy you a looking glass. If that looking-glass gets broke, Papa’s going to buy you a billy-goat If that billy-goat runs away, Papa is going to buy you another today.

Listen to the tape and find the words that rhyme: word sing broke mockingbird ring brass Looking-glass billy-goat away today Poem A

1. What is the baby’s father going to buy if the mirror goes broken? 2. What is the baby’s father going to do if goat runs away? He’s going to buy the baby a billy-goat. He’s going to buy the baby another billy-goat. Poem A

I saw a fish-pond all on fire I saw a fish-pond all on fire, I saw a house bow to a squire, I saw a person twelve-feet high, I saw a cottage in the sky, I saw a balloon made of lead, I saw a coffin drop down dead, I saw two sparrows run a race, I saw two horses making lace, I saw a girl just like a cat, I saw a kitten wear a hat, I saw a man who saw these too, And said though strange they all were true

We should have won… If Jack had scored that goal, If we’d had just a few more minutes, If we had trained harder, If Ben had passed the ball to Joe, If we’d had thousands of fans screaming, Our first football match

If I hadn’t taken my eye off the ball, If we hadn’t stayed up so late the night before, If we hadn’t take it easy, If we hadn’t run out of energy. We should have won… If we’d been better!

1.What sports do you think the speaker is writing about? 2.Did his or her team win the game? 3. How many excuses did they make to explain why they didn’t win? 4. Does the speaker really believe his or her own excuse? How do you know? Football No Nine No, because at the end of the poem the speaker admits that they just did not play well enough to win Listen to POEM C and answer the following questions

Brother Beautiful, athletic Teasing, shouting, laughing Friend and enemy too Mine Summer Sleepy, salty Drying, drooping, dreading Week in, week out. Endless 兄弟 爱美，又爱运动 爱闹，爱叫，又爱笑 是我的朋友 也是我的敌人 夏日 困乏，刺激 干涸，枯萎，恐怖 周而复始 永无止境

Poem D & E 1.What subject is the speaker writing about? Poem D:____________ poem E:________ 2. Does the speaker like the subject? His or her brother summer

A fallen blossom is coming back to the branch. look, a butterfly! (by Moritake) Snow having melted, The whole village is brimful of happy children (by Issa) 落下的花朵 回到了树枝上。 瞧啊，是个蝴蝶！ 作者 Moritake 雪儿融化了, 整个村庄充满着 欢乐的儿童。 作者 Issa

Where she awaits her husband, On and on the river flows Never looking back, Transformed into stone. Day by day upon the mountain top, wind and rain revolve. Should the journey return, this stone would utter speech. (by Wang Jian) 望夫石 王健 望夫处，江悠悠。 化为石，不回头。 山头日日风复雨， 行人归来石应语。

望夫石 王建 望夫处，江悠悠， 化为石，不回头！ 山头日日风复雨， 行人归来石应语。

1. Read and listen to the passage. Which poem do you like best? Give reasons. 2. Answer these questions about the reading passage.

What is the main topic of the reading passage? What five kinds of poems does the reading passage talk about? Which two poems have rhyming lines? Circle the pairs of rhyming words. Some simple forms of English poems Poem A and B. Each poem has four beats a line. Nursery rhymes, List poems, the Cinquain, Haiku and Tang poems.

Which poems give you one clear picture in your mind? Most probably Poems F, G.

Poem D,E 1. What subject is the speaker writing about? The speaker is writing about his / her brother in Poem D. In Poem E, the writer is writing about Summer.

2. Does the speaker like the subject? Give a reason for your answer. Poem D: Yes. Although the speaker describes a couple of negative aspects of his/ her brother, the reader can feel the affection that the speaker feels for his/ her brother. Poem E: No. The reader gets the feeling that the speaker can’t wait until the summer is over. The words drooping, dreading, week in week out and endless convey this feeling.

What is the story that the poem tells? Tell the story in your own words A woman’s husband has gone away. The woman waits for him by the river where she last saw him. she waits and waits never moving form that spot and never speaking, while the river continues to flow and the wind and rain come and go. Poem H

Discussion: Are poems good for our life? What can we get from poems? 1. Poems bring passion ( 激情 )to our life. 2. Poems help us to understand life, virtues, beauty and romance. 3. Poems make us know we are here and that we can make our life and the world more colorful and beautiful!

回乡偶书 贺之章 少小离家老大回, 乡音无改鬓毛衰. 儿童相见不相识, 笑问客从何处来. Try to translate the following Chinese poem into English.

Coming Home ( a Tang poem) I left home young and not till old do I come back, My accent is unchanged, my hair no longer black. The children don’t know me,whom I meet on the way Where do you come from,revered sir?they smile and say.