1. Dom Deluise 2. "hand to mouth" having just enough to live on 3. distance- space between 2 places 4. widow- woman whose husband died 5. fond of- likes 6. crickets蟋蟀 chirping 啁啾，唧唧叫，吱喳叫 7. beans 豆；豆莢；菜豆；豆科植物 8.trail 9. squirrels 松鼠 10. cholesterol 膽固醇 11. windowsill- shelf below a window 12. glutton 貪吃的人 (Glut) 13. stout- fat, solid looking 14. tremble- shake with fear 15. fireflies- night insect whose tail gives off light 16. disagreeable- not nice 17. "straw that broke the camel's back" （壓垮駱駝的）最後一根稻草；（一系列不快事件中）最終使人無法忍受的事，使人最終崩潰的一擊 18.rump- ass, roast-BBQ 19. install- put in something 20. (police) custody 監禁，拘留 21. smorgasbord 22. sent packing- kick someone out 23. Good riddance! 總算擺脫了，終於走掉了
The rock star Prince has died at his home in Minneapolis, aged 57. Last week, he went to
hospital with dehydration and the flu. His death has shocked the
entertainment world. Madonna wrote online: "He changed the world. A true
visionary." Barack Obama called him, "One of the most gifted and
prolific musicians of our time". He said: "Prince…was a virtuoso
instrumentalist…and an electrifying performer."
Prince Rogers Nelson was the son of a jazz
pianist. He became famous in the 1970s. His singing, songs, guitar playing,
and performances changed the music world for four decades. The Washington
Post called him, "one of the most popular, inventive and influential
recording artists of his generation". The music magazine 'Rolling Stone'
put Prince at number 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
1.solstice /'sol stis/- the 2 times of the year when
the sun is at its greatest distance from the earth's equator
2.equator /'ee kway dr/- the imaginary (not
real) line the divides earth into 2 parts
3.hemisphere /'hem is feer/- hemi means to
divide into two, sphere means a round object like the earth. Hemisphere means
one half of the circle. The northern hemisphere means above the equator or
(middle) of the earth.
4.ancient /'ayn shent/- very old
5.come to pass- happen
6.ceremony
June
21st (or 22nd) is the summer solstice for the northern hemisphere*. Solstice in
Latin means "sun standing still." On that day it seems like the sun
is standing still because there is more daylight than on any other day. It is
the first day of summer and a special day for many groups of people.
Many
ancient cultures had ceremonies on solstice. They celebrated light and fire.
Many people also thought it was a time for love and growth. Nowadays many
places around the world have parades or parties.
The
great English writer, William Shakespeare, said** whatever you dream on this
night will come to pass. Have great dreams on June 21! And if you are in the
northern hemisphere, enjoy the longest day of the year.
* Summer solstice is on December 21 (or 22nd) in the
southern hemisphere. June 21 (or 22nd) is the southern hemisphere's Winter
solstice.
** in his play A Midsummer's Night Dream
There
is a lot of anger on social media because of an advertisement for a Chinese
laundry detergent. Some newspapers are saying it could be the most racist
advert ever made. The commercial was created for the washing detergent
company Qiaobi. In the ad, a young Chinese woman puts a detergent tablet into
the mouth of a black man. She pushes him into a washing machine, closes the
lid and then turns it on. The next scene shows the result of the wash – the
black man has turned into a white Chinese man. The woman looks happy when she
sees the fairer-skinned man. The ad is a month old but went viral 24 hours
ago, after it was shared on social media.
Many
news agencies are attacking the ad because of its racist content. The website
Buzzfeed called it, the "most racist ad of 2016". It said the ad
would make you feel dirty. It wrote: "The commercial will likely leave
you feeling like you need a shower." One blogger complained that:
"Chinese companies fail to understand the sensitivity of racism, which
is a shame, but common in China." Another blogger asked: "How can
these marketing people have no knowledge of racism?" The owner of Qiaobi
told the BBC that he didn't realise the ad was racist until someone pointed
it out. He said: "To be honest, I didn't really pay that much attention
to the advertisement."
TRUE / FALSE:
There
is anger over an advert for a Chinese laundry detergent.
T / F
Some
newspapers say it is the most racist ad ever made.
T / F
The
ad shows a black man having to wash a white woman's clothes. T
/ F
The
ad is more than three weeks old. T / F
The
site Buzzfeed called the ad the most racist in advertising history.
T / F
The
ad showed people in need of a shower. T /
F
A
blogger asked why marketing companies knew so little about racism. T
/F
The
company's boss said he knew the ad was racist when he saw it.
T/F
Answer the questions:
What
is the advertisement for?
Who
is saying the ad could be the most racist ever made?
Where
does a Chinese woman put a black man?
What
does the woman close?
When
did the article go viral?
What
did the website Buzzfeed call the ad?
What
did Buzzfeed say you might need after watching the ad?
Who
questioned why marketing people have no knowledge of racism?
Which
news agency did the company boss talk to?
What
did the boss of the company not pay much of attention to?
ROLE PLAY!
My Role is_______
Think About it:
Why are people racist? Why might countries not understand racism in 2016?
Why does racism hurt society? How are people racist in Taiwan?
Muhammad
Ali, perhaps the world's greatest ever sporting legend, passed away on
Friday, aged 74. Ali had spent the previous few days in hospital in Phoenix,
Arizona with breathing problems. His children flew to Phoenix to join their
father for his final days. Ali is thought to be the best boxer in history. He
was the world heavyweight champion three times. He is widely known by his
nickname – The Greatest. However, many people believe he was the greatest
because of what he did outside the boxing ring, not inside it. He was a civil
rights hero and strong opponent of the Vietnam War in the 1960s. He was an
ambassador for world peace and worked tirelessly for charities for five
decades after.
World
leaders, sporting figures and celebrities have been paying tribute to Ali.
Boxing promoter Bob Arum said: "Ali transformed this country and
impacted the world with his spirit. His legacy will be part of our history
for all time." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Ali for
changing the world. He said Ali used his charm, wit and grace to fight for a
better world, "and used his platform to lift up humanity". The
daughter of Martin Luther King wrote: "You were a champion in so many
ways." Ali once said: "I would like to be remembered as a man who
won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated
everyone right… As a man…who tried to unite all humankind through faith and
love."
The 301 class watched the two documentaries with their homeroom teacher revolving around the themes of being a minority in Han Chinese society, discrimination and identity. Its been challenging to try and find a suitable time in our schedules to have a live, joint interaction with the class from Beijing. It couldn't happen, sadly the timing is terrible, and this is 301's graduating week. Last week we tried filming 301's response, which was hardly a success; they were uncomfortable and shy in front of the camera. They did answer in writing, Jocelyn's 3 questions she said she would ask her students, I changed the 2nd one a little. Fortunately, I had one student (Sharon from B class) sit down with me and discuss what she wrote. My students answers were focused on Jocelyn's film, Nowhere to Call Home.
I. After Video Join Discussions
Some of the questions Jocelyn is discussing with her class are:
1. Which stereotypes, perceptions or attitudes contributed toconflict and why?
2. How did perceptions or attitudes contributed to resolving a problem, and why?
3. What could various characters have done to defuse conflict (make the situation less tense)?
There are some common themes in all of 301's ideas about conflict resolution for Han discrimination against Tibetans: Foremost is a call for the Chinese government to legislate anti-discrimination laws to protect minorities, (which included giving Tibetans ID cards) and for the foreign media to expose such blatant racism. Both of those solutions seem to be influenced by my kids taking for granted living in a democratic society. Other popular answers were using NGOs, educating Chinese kids on treasuring minority cultures and teaching empathy. There were a few suggestions that Tibet declare independence, and again, I think my students don't know much background history on Chinese-Tibetan relations. I'm not so sure how easy it would be to convince Beijing of any of 301's solutions. Also from their unit on Colonialism, no one seemed to remember that looking at Natives as inferior and backward was part of the narrative that condoned the land grabs of the Americas, Africa and SE Asia by Europeans. Since 301 and Jocelyn's class watched the recent racist Chinese laundry ad that went viral a few weeks ago, Jocelyn's students filmed their reactions and reviews, which I know that we over the Strait are deadly curious to hear (download here). With my class, I'd like to discuss a recent article about Tsai Ingwen using aboriginals to make her case of Taiwanese identity being separate from the mainland (NPR's June 11 report). Here are two timelines of Chinese-Tibetan relations one from the BBC, the other from Free Tibetthat would be useful for my class.
