Unit 1 · p.19 Family Matters

Back to the Bennet sisters for a few minutes. Exercise 5. Eight words or phrases are highlighted in yellow in the extract. Find them, and for each one, who said it and about what?

学生回到 p.18 找高亮词。

"Account for". Who says it?

Elizabeth: "But how did he account for it?" She means, how did Bingley explain why he didn't know Jane was in London.

So definition 1, explain. Number 2, chose someone for special attention or privilege?

Singled out. Jane says "Why am I singled out like this from my family?"

3, bad luck.

Misfortune. At the end: the family was "marked out for misfortune".

4, getting information that makes you believe something untrue.

Being misled. "Being mize-led."

Right word, but I have to stop that pronunciation! It's the past of "mislead". Mis-LED. Not "mize-led". Everybody makes this mistake when they first read it.

Being misled. Mis-LED. "To see you again being misled by Miss Bingley's pretended good opinion."

5, happen.

Occur. "Those hours of separation that must sometimes occur."

6, 7, 8.

Whisper, be on good terms, and was totally ignorant of.

Careful with 8. "Ignorant" in modern English often means rude or uneducated. Here it means?

He just didn't know. He knew absolutely nothing about Jane being in London.

So: account for, singled out, misfortune, being misled, occur, whisper, be on good terms, was totally ignorant of. Let's get the stress right. Say them after me.

逐个领读，强调 misLED、ocCUR、acCOUNT for、on good TERMS。

Which would you use today?

"Account for" and "be on good terms" are still common. "Singled out" too, usually negatively: the teacher singled me out.

Exactly. Use one about your own family.

I'm on good terms with all my cousins, except one who's always borrowing money.

Exercise 6. Full sentences, please. I'll be listening for nice expressions. Question 1: who's older, Jane or Elizabeth?

Jane, I think. She's listed first in the background box.

That's evidence. Anything in the extract itself?

Not directly. But Elizabeth acts a bit like the protective younger sister, and Jane talks like an older sister wishing her well.

In the novel, Jane is the eldest. Good reasoning. Question 2. You're Elizabeth. Someone asks you about Jane.

Jane? She is the most kindest person I know.

Lovely, and very Elizabeth. But "most" and "-est" do the same job. Pick one.

Jane? She's the kindest person I know. She tends to think well of everyone, even people who don't deserve it.

"Even people who don't deserve it", meaning?

Miss Bingley!

Ha! Question 3. You're Jane. Tell me about Lizzy.

Lizzy is clever and very funny. Admittedly, she can be a bit sharp, and she's always making jokes about people. But she'd do anything for me.

Admittedly, always -ing, and a personality description. Three units in one answer. Question 4: evidence of a very close relationship?

Jane tells Elizabeth everything about Bingley. And when Bingley isn't there, she needs Elizabeth to talk to.

And Jane's biggest wish isn't for herself, it's that Elizabeth will be as happy as she is.

And Elizabeth protects Jane to Miss Bingley.

Absolutely right about the protection. The preposition: protect someone FROM someone.

Elizabeth protects Jane from Miss Bingley. She's pleased Jane isn't being misled anymore.

Great reuse of "misled". Some lovely expressions today. I heard "think well of", "she'd do anything for me", and "being misled". Those go on the board.

把好的表达和词汇错误写到黑板上讨论。

Our last text in this unit is an email, and it's about a family secret. Two minutes, read quickly, answer the five questions.

计时 2 分钟。

Question 1. How is Helen related to Sam?

Sam is her grandfather.

Read the first lines again. Whose brother is Sam?

He's great-aunt May's brother. And she heard about him from her grandmother. So he's her grandmother's brother: her great-uncle.

Exactly. Great-uncle, your grandparent's brother. Question 2: how did Sam get on with his siblings?

Not very well. He was the youngest of five and his parents' favourite, so the others felt he was quite spoiled.

Hm! Youngest, favourite, spoiled. Where have we heard that this week?

Cathy's brother on page 16! And the stereotype about the youngest.

So it really does come back. Question 3: how did he fall out of favour?

He was a conscientious objector in World War II. He refused to fight.

Conscientious objector: someone who refuses to fight for moral reasons. How did his parents react?

They thought he'd brought great shame on the family, so they sent him away to Scotland.

Question 4. What happened that his parents never knew?

He became a policeman, won a medal for bravery, and had five children.

And he never made up his parents.

True, and so sad. But the phrasal verb needs "with": make up WITH someone.

He never made up with his parents, and they never met his five children.

Question 5?

She's determined to find her missing Scottish relatives.

Would you do the same?

Definitely. Imagine having five cousins' families you've never met.

Exercise 8, Analyse. Six pieces of information. Put them in the order Helen mentions them.

两人一组 2 分钟。

What comes first?

The little she already knew. She'd heard a few things from her grandmother, and there was a rumour.

Why start there and not with the exciting discovery?

To build suspense. Like a detective story. First the mystery, then the answer.

Exactly. Second?

How she made the discovery: they found a leather briefcase in her great-aunt's attic.

Third is the evidence, the newspaper and the medal.

Good memory, but look at the order in the text. What comes right after "guess what"?

Oh, the scandal comes first. "It turns out that, apparently, he was a conscientious objector." Then the consequence, they sent him away. Then the evidence, the cuttings and the medal.

So: knew 1, discovery 2, scandal 3, consequence 4, evidence 5, plan 6. Where's the turn in the email, the moment it changes from mystery to answer?

"Well, guess what." It's very informal, like she's excited.

And the ending?

"I'll keep you posted on what I find out." And "Must run but looking forward to hearing from you soon!"

"Keep you posted" means I'll tell you the news as it happens. 有消息随时告诉你. Steal that structure for your own email.

Exercise 9. Five sentences from the email, with words missing. From memory first. Number 1: "She was very old, over a hundred, blank."

I believe.

Read it without "I believe". "She was very old, over a hundred." What changes?

Without it, it sounds like a fact. With it, she's not completely sure. Maybe she was ninety-nine.

Number 2: "Anyway, blank blank blank that he'd done something terrible."

There was a rumour said that he'd done something terrible.

Right word, one extra word. A rumour doesn't "say". There was a rumour THAT…

Anyway, there was a rumour that he'd done something terrible.

Number 3: "My mother had blank blank known what it was blank blank."

Never really, and for sure. "My mother had never really known what it was for sure."

That's two hedges in one sentence. Number 4.

"It turns out that, apparently, he was a conscientious objector."

Interesting. "It turns out" sounds certain. Why add "apparently"?

Because she only knows from the letters. She didn't hear it from Sam.

Exactly. Number 5.

"Sadly, it seems he never made up with his parents."

So, the big question: what's the effect of all these words?

They make the information sound less certain. More honest.

Why does Helen need that?

Because it's a family secret. If she writes it as a fact and it's wrong, it could hurt people. And she only has letters and rumours.

That's our big question. How do you tell a family story when you're not sure it's true? You signal the doubt. Which ones show other people said it?

"There was a rumour" and "apparently". "I believe" and "never really… for sure" are about her own knowledge.

So I can write: "Apparently, it seems that maybe he was a hero."

You've definitely learned the words! But three hedges in a row make you sound like you know nothing. One is enough.

Apparently, he was a hero. Or: it seems he was a hero.

Exercise 10. Four sentences that sound far too certain. Make them less certain using the Exercise 9 expressions. There are various ways, so give me more than one for each.

学生独立改写 3 分钟。

Number 1: "He wasn't very well liked by other members of the family."

Apparently, he wasn't very well liked by other members of the family.

Or: it seems he wasn't very well liked.

Number 2: "He was a hero in the First World War."

I believe he was a hero in the First World War.

And if your source is a newspaper?

Apparently, he was a hero in the First World War.

Number 3: "He'd spent some years in prison."

There was a rumour he'd spent some years in prison, apparently.

Two hedges from two different directions. It's not wrong, but it's heavy. Choose one.

Apparently, he'd spent some years in prison.

Number 4: "I never found out if it was true." This one's different. How can it be less certain?

I never really found out if it was true.

Or: I never found out for sure if it was true.

Both work. Now, which version sounds most like gossip, and which like a careful historian?

"There was a rumour" sounds like gossip. "It seems" and "I believe" sound more careful.

So, for a family secret, which tone do you want?

Careful. It's someone's real life.

That's a mature answer. Now you'll write one.

Exercise 11, Produce. You've recently found out about an interesting relative. Write an email to a friend, 220 to 260 words. This can be homework, or done together in pairs now. We'll plan now and finish at home.

First, think of the relative. It can be real, half-remembered, or completely invented. Every family has a story nobody tells.

My grandad's older sister went to Malaysia in the sixties, and nobody ever talks about her.

Perfect material. How is she related to you?

She's my grand-aunt from father side.

Close! In English: she's my great-aunt, on my father's side. "Great", not "grand", and "on" my father's side.

She's my great-aunt, on my father's side. My grandad's older sister.

How did she get on with the family?

I think there was a big argument when she left. Apparently, her parents wanted her to get married and stay at home.

Notice you just used "I think" and "apparently" without me asking. What did she do that was interesting?

I'm not sure, but there's a rumour that she ran a newspaper.

Use Helen's structure: what you knew, the discovery, the story, the consequence, the evidence, your plan. Use narrative tenses. Which ones?

Past simple for the main story, past perfect for things that happened before, like "she'd left home".

And from page 14, for past habits?

Used to and would. "She would write to my grandad every month."

Plan your four paragraphs now. Five minutes. Write the first two sentences in full.

巡视，帮学生确定"不确定"的部分放在哪里。

Hi Max, I think I told you my grandad's older sister used to live in Malaysia. Well, guess what – last weekend my dad found a box of her letters.

That's a hook. Your reader has to keep reading. Finish it at home. Homework: next lesson you'll swap emails. Don't correct every mistake. Ask: what further information would I like? How could the vocabulary be better? Any punctuation or spelling problems?

Last exit ticket of the unit. Two parts. First: how do you tell a family story when you're not sure it's true? Two sentences.

You signal what you're not sure about, with words like "apparently" or "it seems". That way you're honest, and nobody is misled.

"Nobody is misled", with the correct pronunciation! Second part: write the closing paragraph of your email. A plan, and a question for your friend.

写 3 分钟，同桌按全单元 checklist 检查。

Sadly, it seems she was never really on good terms with her parents again. I've made it my mission to find out what happened to her newspaper, and I'll keep you posted! Have you ever discovered anything surprising about your family?

Attitude adverb, hedge, conflict phrase, Helen's closing. Partner, did you find something from every lesson?

Yes, but he wrote "she never made up her parents".

And what's missing?

"With". She never made up with her parents.

Look back at this unit. You started with photos and "might be". You questioned research, learned four ways to talk about habits, five ways to sound emotional, eight ways to show your attitude, and now, how to tell a story honestly.

And the thread through all of it: families are complicated, and good English lets you describe them without boxes, without wars, and without pretending you know more than you do. Great work, everyone.