1. The Million Pound Bank-Note
Unit 3
The Million Pound Bank-Note
by Mark Twain
TXZH 英语学习辅导报 出品

2. Warming up Mark Twain ▲a great American writer ▲ a famous speaker
▲ liked to tell funny stories
▲ liked to play jokes on his friends

3. Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Fill in the basic information about Mark Twain:
Real name
Pen name meaning
Birth date
Birth place
Grew up places
Famous stories
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
The water is 2 fathoms deep.(=12feet)
Nov. 30th, 1985
Florida
Hannibal, Missouri (along the Mississippi River)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

4. good at writing about children’s adventures
1881
1876

5. Pre-reading
If a rich person gives you a large amount of money to use as you like, for example, one million pound, what will you do?

6. spend them on food
run a business
donate
do some science research
buy a big flat
use them up
clothing
share with friends
toys
save them
trip

7. 1 A brief introduction to the story ACT SCENE Background information
1&2

8. Two rich gentlemen made a bet on what would happen to a person if he was given a million pound note.
Henry, the hero of the story, an American young man, sailed too far, drifted out to the ocean,
A British ship, for London, passing by, fortunately saved him.

9. What would happen to Henry?
Prediction :
What would happen to Henry?

10. ACT
The story began 1
SCENE
Act1, scene 3 3

11. Tell the statements a fact (F) or an opinion (O) after a fast reading.
_____ Henry wants to find a job in London.
_____ Henry is given an envelop by the two brothers.
_____ Henry is an unlucky young man.
_____ The servant is called James.
_____ Henry is foolish to go and meet the two brothers. F F O F O

12. Read carefully and answer the following questions:
Careful - reading
Read carefully and answer the following questions:
1. Where does Henry Adams come from? Does he know much about London?
2. What did he do in America?
3. Why did he land in Britain?

13. 1. Where does Henry Adams come from? Does he know much about London?
Henry comes from San Francisco. No, he doesn’t know London at all.
2. What did he do in America?
He worked for a mining company.
3. Why did he land in Britain?
He was sailing out the bay when he was carried out to sea by a strong wind and was survived by a ship for London.

14. sailing carried spotted London lost called letter
detailed reading
Read again and fill in the blanks.
sailing
A month ago
Henry was ______ out of the bay.
Towards nightfall
Henry found himself _______ out to sea by a strong wind.
The next morning
Henry was ________ by a ship.
Lastly
Henry arrived in ________ by working on the ship unpaid.
carried
spotted
London
lost
Now
Henry was _______ in London and wandering in the street.
Just at that time
Roderick _______ him and asked him to step in.
To Henry’s surprise
Roderick gave Henry a _____ with money in it.
called
letter

15. In pairs describe how Henry’s feelings change during the conversation.
What he says or does
How he feels
Before he enters the brothers’ house
Wandering round London
Miserable, unhappy, anxious
When he introduces himself
Behaves politely and answers questions fully
Curious why he has been asked to go into the house
When the brothers ask him about his plan
Admits his problems and asks for work; explains his situation
Hopeful that he might find a solution to his troubles
When he tells them how he reached London by ship
Blames himself for his carelessness; remembers how hungry he was when he sees the food on the table
Grateful that he was rescued; aware of his hunger

16. When they seem happy that he has no money Replies angrily
In pairs describe how Henry’s feelings change during the conversation.
What he says or does
How he feels
When they seem happy that he has no money
Replies angrily
Angry, irritated
When they give him the envelope
Wants to open the envelope straightaway
Irritated that he cannot open the envelope at once
When they tell him there is money in it
Explains he wants a job not charity
Unhappy to be given money rather than working for it
Before he leaves the house
Agrees not to open the letter till 2 p.m.
Interested and curious

17. Post - reading Come in, please Hello, please come in.
Find all the examples of polite requests. Then rewrite them in informal language.
Come in, please
Hello, please come in.
1. Would you step inside a moment, please?
2 Good morning, sir, would you please come in?
Let me show you the way
Hello Mr. …
3. Permit me to lead the way, sir.
4. How do you do, Mr. …er …?
Why are you in England
Mr. Adams, is it OK if …
5. May we ask what you’re doing in this country?
6. I wonder, Mr. Adams, if you’d mind …

18. Discuss the questions in groups:
Why do you think that the brothers chose Henry for their bet?
it was his first visit to London so nobody knew him.
He had no money so he would have to rely on the bank note.
They thought he looked honest because he asked for a job and not charity.

19. Discuss the questions in groups:
2. What kind of person do you think Henry is? Why do you think so?
Overconfident – he thought he could sail better than he could
Independent – he worked for his passage as an unpaid hand to England.
Honest – tells the truth to the brothers.
Hard-working – wants work but not charity.

20. Retelling Retell the story by filling the following passage.
Henry was an_________. One day he had an
accident in a_____. Luckily he was survived by a
ship for_______. He arrived in London by earning
his passage without pay. He was _____in the street
in_____. To his surprise an ________ thing
happened. Two rich brothers gave him a million
pound bank-note because they had made a_____.
American
bay
London
lost
rags
incredible
bet

21. The characteristics of Henry:
Discussion
The characteristics of Henry:
Find the original sentences in the passage to prove Henry’s characteristic.
honest:
It is my first trip here.
Well, to be honest, I have none. (no money)
Well, I can’t say that I have any plans.
I don’t want your charity. I just want an honest job.

22. hard-working: careless:
I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand.
Could you offer me some kind of work here?
I don’t want your charity, I just want an honest job.
hard-working:
I landed in Britain by accident.
careless:

23. direct: Well, it may seem luck to you but not to me.
If this is your idea of some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s very funny.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be on my way.
direct:

24. Conclusion So, that’s why the two brothers chose Henry for their bet.
Can you tell exactly what the reasons are?
It was his first visit to London, so nobody knew him.
He had no money, so he would have to rely on the bank note.
They see that Henry is honest because he ask for a job but not charity.

25. Prediction
What do you think will happen to Henry?
Will the bank-note help him or get him into trouble?
Give a possible development to the story.