Section One: Cultural Information

Never Say Goodbye Unit 1Section One:Cultural Information

Section Three:Text Understanding

Section Four:Text Appreciation

Section Five:Activities

Section Two:Word Study

Types of American Families


Family is the basic unit of society, which plays a

vital role in the growth and development of children.

Traditionally, it is a group of people who live

together and are related by birth (blood), adoption or

marriage. Nowadays many couples cohabit, which

means that they live together as a family, but are not

married or with children. Different families have

different family structures.

1. Nuclear families 2. Extended families3. Step families

4. Single parent families5. Shared care families6. Adoptive families

7. Foster families

Never Say Goodbye Unit 1

1. Nuclear families

These families consist of parents and children who

live together in a home separate from the rest of their

family. There are many reasons for this but main ones

are that parents have had to move away to get the jobs

they want or moving means they can send their children

to better schools or afford a better home for their family.

Section One:Cultural Information








7. Foster families


2. Extended families

Similar to nuclear families but extended-made bigger!

They are made bigger by the addition of grand parents,

aunts, uncles and cousins. They live in the same house or

live very close to each other and meet up on a regular basis.

As there are many people around at all times, the parents

have someone to help them out whenever they need it when

bringing up their children. However, this could be considered

more of a burden if the parents do not feel they have chance

to bring their children up the way they actually want to.









7. Foster families


3. Step families

This is formed when a couple, at least one of whom has

one or more children, marry or cohabit. This relationship

may then result in more children being born; these

children then become stepsiblings to one another. It is

said that in America every one in ten children is part of a

step family.







1. Nuclear families 2. Extended families3. Step families4. Single parent families5. Shared care families6. Adoptive families

7. Foster families


4. Single parent families

The vast majority of single parents are mothers who

bring up their children alone. It has been said that more

than one in four children are part of a single parent family

in America. Families can become single parent families

for a number of reasons; these can include

imprisonment, death of a parent, divorce or separation,

absence of a parent due to work commitments and, in

some cases, single parent adoption.









7. Foster families


5. Shared care families

The divorce or separation of parents may mean that

children are forced to live in two different households so

that they get the chance to spend time with both their

mum and dad. This therefore means that their everyday

care and general upbringing remains the responsibility of

both parents equally.









7. Foster families


6. Adoptive families

Adoption provides a permanent home for a child

whose parents are unable to provide them with any

stability. Adoptive parents come from a wide variety of

social and cultural backgrounds, and must undergo an

extensive and rigorous procedure to ensure they are

suitable to adopt children.








4. Single parent families5. Shared care families6. Adoptive families 7. Foster families


7. Foster families

There are many different reasons why children cannot be

looked after by their natural parents and are therefore placed

with a foster family-this situation can be short or long

depending on the child’s situation. Foster parents come in

number of different shapes and sizes-they may be married,

single, cohabiting with people of either sex and with or

without their own children. The parents have to be thoroughly

checked to make sure that they are deemed suitable careers

by the social services.









7. Foster families


1. confront: vt. Face, meet or deal with a difficult situatio

n or person

e.g. As she left the court, she was confronted by angry crowd

s who tried to block her way.

It’s an issue we’ll have to confront at some point, no matt

er how unpleasant it is.

confrontation n.

confrontational adj.







2. anguish: n. extreme pain or suffering

e.g. Somehow we deal with the anguish of serious illness.

Long afterwards, many would remember those two

days in the first week of October with vividness and anguish.

anguished adj.







3. Brief : adj.

(a) lasting only for a short time

e.g. After a brief peace, fighting broke out again.

Anger is a brief madness but it can do damage that lasts

forever.

(b) using only a few words

e.g. The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are

brief and pithy.

To be brief, we must obtain our competitor’s plans.

After a very brief historical survey we look at applications

to physical operations and to chemical operations.

briefly adv.







4. touch: vt. & vi.

(a)influence sb or sth emotionally, or cause feelings o

f sympathy in sb

e.g. He never seems to have been touched with the slightest

remorse for his crimes.

an appeal that touched us deeply

(b) (of two or more things) be so close together that th

ere is no space between: be in contact

e.g. His hair is touched with grey.

He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

touched adj.

touching adj.







5. laughter and tears: happiness and unhappiness

e.g. He was caught between laughter and tears.

Rainbow reflects our colorful life with laughter and tears.







6. generation: n. (a) all the people of about the same age within a society or within a particular family e.g. There were at least three generations-grandparents, parents and children- at the wedding. It’s our duty to preserve the planet for future generations. (b) period of about 23 to 30 years, in which most human babies become adults and have their own children e.g. A generation ago, home computers were virtually unknown. (c) group of products or machines which are all at the same stage of development e.g. Scientists are working on developing the next generation of supercomputers.







7. well up: start to flow

e.g. Dirty water welled up out of the damaged pipe.

As she read the letter tears welled up in her eyes.







8. feel: vt. & vi.

(a) experience sth physical or emotional

e.g. My eyes feel really sore.

I could feel the sweat trickling down my back

(b) produce a particular sensation, esp through the se

nse of touch

e.g. The water feels 30 degrees Celsius..







9. easy : adj.

(a) not difficult: needing little effort

e.g. Easy come, easy go.

(b) comfortable or calm: free from worry, pain, etc

e.g. They both retired and went off to lead an easy life in the

Bahamas.

You can rest easy in the knowledge that you have done

all you could.







10.reply:

(a) vi. Answer: react to an action by sb else

e.g. I wrote, but she did not reply.

reply to a question

She replied to the threats by going to the police.

(b) n. answer

e.g. There were very few replies to our advertisement.

In reply to their questions, she just shrugged.







11. through one’s tears: when one is crying

e.g. The girl looked up at him through her tears.

She couldn’t refrain from smiling through her tears.







12. for a moment: for a while

e.g. Excuse me for a moment

the situation permits of no delay for a moment.

Cf: for the moment: If you do something for the mome

nt, you are doing it now, but might do something differen

t in the future.

at the moment: now: presently

e.g. Let’s carry on with what we agreed for the moment.

Let’s leave the matter aside for the moment.

I’m afraid she’s not here at the moment.







13. final: adj. (a) not to be changed or reconsidered e.g. On such an important issue, we’re not in a position to give the final decision The final version owed, in fact, more to British than to American expertise. (b) last e.g. a final warning/offer the final chapter of a book n. (a) the last in a series of games, races or competitions e.g. Our team has qualified for the semi-final. (b) test taken on a subject at the end of a school year or college course e.g. The final for this class will be on May 21stfinalist n. finalize vt. finally adv.







14. have… in common: share the same quality or

interest

e.g. We don’t really have much in common.

They have nothing in common with each other.







15. look into: examine the facts about a problem or

situation

e.g. We’re looking into the possibility of merging the two

departments.

Police are reported to be looking into the case.







16. whisper: (a) vt. & vi. Speak softly

e.g. She leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

(b) n. soft speech produced without full voice

(c) If you think of something or someone in a particular

way, you have that opinion about them.

e.g. What do you think of(= Do you like) my new dress?

I think of him as someone who well always help me.







17. brief: adj.

(a) lasting only for a short time

e.g. After a brief peace, fighting broke out again.

Anger is a brief madness but it can do damage that lasts

forever.

(b) using only a few words

e.g. The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are

brief and pithy.

To be brief, we must obtain our competitor’s plans.

After a very brief historical survey we look at applications

to physical operations and to chemical operations.

briefly adv.







18. give in to: yield to; succumb to

e.g. The government cannot be seen to give in to terrorists’

demands.







19. instead: adv. in plave of sb or sth else

e.g. If you can’t sign your name, make a cross instead.

We went by train instead of by car.

Instead, she thought Wang was the type of student wh

o had the wrong idea of “cool”.







20. lock…away: put sth in a safe place and lock the doo

r in order that sb else cannot get it

e.g. If you keep valuables in your house, lock them away s

omewhere safe.







21. well up: start to flow

e.g. Dirty water welled up out of the damaged pipe.

As she read the letter tears welled up in her eyes.







22. part: vt. & vi.

(a) separate or cause to separate

e.g. A huge rock parts the stream.

To be parted from him even for two days made her sad.

(b) If two people part, they leave each other, often at th

e end of a relationship.

e.g. If we must part, I hope we can part as friends.

parted: adj. separated

parting: n. the state of being separated or divided

adj. done while leaving or separating







23. bring back: (a) make sb think about sth from the pas

t

e.g. We talked about our time together in Edinburgh and it r

eally brought back memories.

(b) return from somewhere with sth

e.g. Please me back the saw.

(c) restore or refresh

e.g. to bring back youth when medicine is taken

(d) make sb start talking about a particular subject agai

n

e.g. This talk of holidays brings me back to my original que

stion, which was “What are we doing this summer?”







24. beloved: adj. Loved very much

e.g. He had concluded that his beloved career was robbing

him of his life.

She sorrowed over her beloved child’s death.

one’s beloved: sb that one loves or with whom one has

a romantic relationship

e.g. He’s sending some flowers to his beloved..







25. when it comes to one’s turn: when it is one’s turn to

do sth

e.g. When it comes to your turn, do your best.

When it came to his turn, he stood up and declared ag

ainst the proposal.







26. reach for: stretch out your arm in order to get or

touch sth

e.g. He reached for the phone and knocked over a glass.

He reached his hand out for the money.







27. when it comes to one’s turn: when it is one’s turn to

do sth

e.g. When it comes to your turn, do your best.

When it came to his turn, he stood up and declared ag

ainst the proposal.







28. reach for: stretch out your arm in order to get or tou

ch sth

e.g. He reached for the phone and knocked over a glass.

He reached his hand out for the money.







29. make up: (a) constitute; form e.g. Road accident victims make up almost a quarter of the hospital’s patients. The book is made up of a number of different articles. (b) invent sth, such as an excuse or a story, often in order to deceive e.g. My dad was always really good at making up stories. Can’t you make up an excuse? (c) reduce or replace sth, usu an amount of time or work, that has been lost e.g. We’re hoping to make up time on the return journey by not stopping at night. (d) forgive sb and be friendly with them again after an argument or disagreement e.g. They kissed and made up, as usual.







30. mean: vt.

(a) express or represent sth such as an idea, thought, o

r fact

e.g. What do you mean by that remark?

(b) used to add emphasis to what you are saying

e.g. Give it back now! I mean it.

(c) intend

e.g. The books with large print are meant for our partially si

ghted readers.

Do you think she meant to say 9 a.m. instead of 9 p.m.?

adj. not willing to give or share things, esp money

e.g. He’s too mean to buy her a ring..







Questions

Paragraph 1

Questions:

(1) How long had the author lived in that big old house?

(About 10 years.)

(2) How did the author like the family life of four

generations living together?

(He enjoyed his family life, and he thought they had lived

harmoniously and experienced both happiness and

sadness.)

Sentence Highlights







Paragraphs 2-4

Questions:

(1) What reveals the author’s reluctance to part with the

old house?

(He sat alone on the back porch, shedding tears.)

(2) What do you know about the author’s grandfather?

(He is fatherly: giving the author a pat on the shoulder;

he is friendly: sitting down on the steps beside the

author; he is a man with a sagacious perception:

Goodbye seems too final, to cold, for friends to use.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 5-9

Questions:

(1)What did the author say was beautiful?

(The red rosebush.)

(2) Why, to Grandfather, were the roses so beautiful?

What did Grandfather mean to say?

(It’s the special feeling that one cherishes that makes

them so beautiful. He meant what was important to a

friendship was the joyful and happy times you spent

together which made the friendship perpetual.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 10

Questions:

(1) When did Grandfather plant those roses?

(The day his first son was born.)

(2) What did the rosebush mean to Grandfather?

(A way of saying thank-you to God; something bringing

back his pleasant memories.)

(3) What narrative sequence does the author employ in

this paragraph?

(A flashback.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 11-12

Questions:

(1) What does “a great evil” in paragraph 12 refer to?

(The Fascist Nazi.)

(2) How did Grandfather respond to his son’s death?

(He felt rather san when he heard the news that his son

died. Paragraph 12 and some previous paragraphs also

imply that Grandfather later might often remember the

joyful and happy times when his son was alive, instead of

the last “goodbye”.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 13

Questions:

What role does this paragraph play in the text?

(This is the most important paragraph in the text, for it

conveys the message of the text-refusal to give in to

sadness.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 14-20

Questions:

(1) What did Grandfather do after retuning from the

hospital? What does it imply?

(He wanted to move his bed next to the window where he

could see his beloved rosebush. The sight of the

rosebush would remind him of the joy and happiness of

life he had experienced, and accordingly make him feel

nice and happy. This implies that grandfather would not

give in to sadness although he was dying, that is, leaving

the family forever.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 14-20Questions:

(2)How did the author and his grandfather part with each

other? Did they use the word “goodbye”?

(They parted with each other calmly and even cheerfully,

and neither said the word “goodbye”.)

(3) What is the significance of the last s4entence of

paragraph 20 to the whole text?

(The last sentence is echoes of the message of the text

mentioned in paragraph 13-never give in to sadness.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


1. One day a terrible war came, and my son, like so

many sons, went away to fight a great evil. (Para.12)

Paraphrase: A dreadful war broke out one day, and

many young men, including my son, joined the army and

went to the battlefront to fight against the Fascist Nazi.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


2. All I could think of was that the last thing I said to him i

n this life was goodbye. (Para.12)

think of: remember

Paraphrase: At that time(when the bad news came), I w

as so sad that I could hardly remember anything. I could

only remember that at the train station I said goodbye to

him which was the last word I said to him in this life.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


3. When you and your friend must part, I want you to reach

deep within you and bring back that first hello. (Para.13)

Paraphrase: When you and your friend must separate, I

hope that you could try your best to remember that first

friendly greeting.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


4. When he returned from several weeks in the hospital,

he wanted his bed next to the window, where he could

see his beloved rosebush.(Para.14)

Paraphrase: He was in hospital for several weeks, and

when he returned from the hospital, he wanted his bed to

be placed next to the window because he wanted to see

through it the rosebush which he loved very much.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


5. Suddenly, and truly, I knew what he had meant about

never saying goodbye-about refusing to give in to the sad

ness. (Para.20)

Paraphrase: It was true that suddenly I understood what

he had implied by the words“never saying goodbye”, that

is , we should never give in to sadness.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Text Appreciation

Text Appreciation

The text is narrative in a chronological sequence with

a flashback in its middle part paragraphs 10 and 12).

Many words and phrases appear in the text to indicate

such an order. Meanwhile, they also help to achieve

coherence in the text.

Words and phrases which indicate a chronological

order: when I was ten, when the final day came, I

continued to, a year and half later, then, when it came to

my turn,…

Words and phrases which indicate a flashback: a

long, long time ago, one day,…

Language Appreciation







Text Appreciation

In a narrative essay, there often exist five elements.

Context: The author had to part with the big old

house where he lived ever since his birth.

Selection of details: my reluctance to leave the house

(paragraph 2); the death of Grandfather’s first son and

his response (paragrph12); the parting between the

author and his grandfather (paragraphs16-19)

Organization: a chronological sequence with a

flashback in its middle part

Point of view: first person

Purpose: We should never give in to sadness.






Text Appreciation



1. My whole life, brief as it was, had been spent in that

big old house, gracefully touched with the laughter and

tears of four generations. (Para.1)

Rhetorical inversion is used here, which aims to

emphasize the fact that I was very young at that time.

2. When the final day came, I ran to the haven of the

small back porch and sat alone, shuddering, as tears

welled up from my heart. (Para.2)

The italicized words and phrases imply the author’s

sadness and even pain on the day he had to move from

the old house.






Text Appreciation



3. “It isn’t just the roses that are beautiful, Billy. It’s that

special place in your heart that makes them so.” (Para 9)

Note the use of emphatic pattern in both sentences.

4. Take that special hello and lock it away within you-in

that place in your heart where summer is an always time.

(Para.13)

Metaphor is employed in this sentence. “Summer” is

figuratively used to mean “happiness”.






Text Appreciation



Activity 1

Group work Sing the following song together, and then work out the difference between the words “farewell” and “goodbye” used in this song. And work together to figure out the main idea of this song.

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Never Say GoodbyeGoodbye, farewellWell it seems like only yesterdayWhen we first started making our wayI knew it was a start of something Makin’ up some magic momentsI knew I had a friend that would be down until the endStick around through the thick and the thinAnd now it is the time for parting in makin’ our livesAs bright as the stars in the sky







Never Say Goodbye

And we’ll be movin’ (on and on)

But we’ll never say goodbye (never say goodbye)

This may be farewell my friend

But we’ll never ever say goodbye

I wanna make a vow to you

Cause I’m feelin’ full inside

This will not be the end my friend

This is only farewell not goodbye






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Never Say Goodbye

And we’ll be movin’ on and on

But we’ll never say goodbye

This may be farewell my friend

But we’ll never ever say goodbye

Never (never)

Said never (never)

Said never, never, never, never will we say goodbye, whoa,

yeah






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Oral activity: I on p. 11

Students can act either of the following two episodes:

the episode of the author’s reluctance to leave the big old

house or the episode of the parting b0tween he author and

grandfather.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Oral activity: II on p. 11

Language Support

As the conversation moves along, you might have some co

mmunication problems. Here are some key questions that m

ay be helpful whenever you have trouble:

Could you repeat that please?

Could you speak more slowly,please?

How do you spell blah, blah, blah?

What does blah, blah, blah mean?

Do you mean to say blah, blah, blah?






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Oral activity: III on p. 11

Language Support

(1) Phases and sentence patterns helpful in expressing opini

ons and preferences:

I think…, In my opinion…, I’d like to…, I’d rather…, I’d pre

fer…, The way I see it…, As far as I’m concerned…, If it wer

e up to me…, I suppose…, I suspect that…, I’m pretty sure t

hat…, It is fairly certain that…, I’m convinced that…, I honest

ly feel that…, I strongly believe that…, Without a doubt,…






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


(2) Phrases and sentence patterns helpful in expressing disagreement: I don’t think that…, Don’t you think it would be better…, I don’t agree, I’d prefer…, Shouldn’t we consider…, But what about…, I’m afraid Id don’t agree…, Frankly, I doubt if…, Let’s face it , The truth of the matter is…, The problem with your point of view is that…(3) Phrases and sentence patterns helpful in giving reasons and offering explanations: To start with, The reason why…, That’s why…, For this reason…, That’s the reason why…, Many people think…, Considering…, Allowing for the fact that…, When you consider that…






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Story-telling

Step 1: Ask the class to imagine what their graduation far

ewell party will be 4 years later, and prepare a story each ab

out the party or and event that happens at the party. Control

the total length of the story within 5 minutes.

Step 2: Ask several students to tell their stories in class.

Step 3: Ask the other students in the class to comment o

n their stories and figure out the context, the organization, t

he point of view, and the purpose of their stories.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Documents

Section One: Cultural Information