1、Developing ideas Maurice Maeterlinck ( 29 August 1862 - 6 May 1949)was a Belgian playwright, poet and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life. His plays form an important part of the Symbolist m
2、ovement. 1) Do you know the symbolic meaning of the Blue Bird in Chinese and Western cultures? Share your understanding of the meaning with the class. 2) Where do you think the children find the Blue Bird ？ 1 In Western culture the Blue Bird symbolizes happiness and it brings good luck and health to
3、 people, while in Chinese culture the Blue Bird symbolises the messenger. Read the introduction to The Blue Bird and answer the questions: ACT IV SCENE II Characters Tyltyl, (Mytyl,) a troop of Happinesses, the (chief) Happiness Setting Tyltyl and Mytyl have been searching for the Blue Bird in the L
4、and of Memory, the Palace of Night and the Forest. Now they have arrived at the Palace of Happiness. A troop of Happinesses rush into the hall and speak to them. The children come to the palace of Happiness and are welcomed by a troop of Happinesses. The children do not recognise them, but the Happi
5、nesses tell them that they are the only things the children know and they are all around them. Tyltyl wonders whether there are happinesses in his home, and at this, all the Happinesses burst out laughing. The Chief of the Happinesses tell him that his home is filled with Happinesses. The Chief intr
6、oduces himself to Tyltyl as the Happiness of Being Well, and then introduces him to the other Happinesses: of Pure Air, of Loving Ones Parents, of the Blue Sky and of the Forest. Tyltyl just wants to ask the Happinesses one thing: the whereabouts of the Blue Bird. Plot ACT IV SCENE II ACT VI SCENE I
7、I Characters Tyltyl, (Mytyl,) Mummy Tyl, the neighbour Berlingot, the little girl Setting Unable to find the Blue Bird anywhere, the children return home. While they are trying to tell their parents about their adventures, their neighbour comes in. She is asking for Tyltyls bird for her sick little
8、girl. (The neighbour Berlingot, a little woman leaning on a stick, enters Tyltyls home.) Berlingot is telling Mummy Tyltyl that Tyltyls bird is the one thing that will cure her sick daughter. Tyltyl then sees that his bird is blue much bluer than when he left on his adventures. Tyltyl gives his bird
9、 to his neighbours daughter. The little girl is delighted, but as Tyltyl goes to take the bird to show the little girl how to feed it, the bird flies away. The little girl lets out a cry of despair. Tyltyl comforts her and turns to the audience. He asks the people in the audience to return the Blue
10、Bird if they see him, for the bird is needed for their future happiness. Plot ACT VI SCENE II Learning to learn The Blue Bird is a typical full-length play, which means it has several acts and each act is composed of several scenes. The whole play depicts actions that take place over a long period o
11、f time. Various characters appear in different acts and scenes, and the settings and costumes change accordingly. The running time of a full-length play can last for several hours, even days. 1 Which of the following was the first foreign play staged in China? A The Merchant of Venice. B King Lear.
12、C Romeo and Juliet. D The Blue Bird. 2 How many happinesses were mentioned in the passage? A Three B five C Four D Six 3 According to the passage, which of the following is wrong? A The brother and sister didnt find the Blue Bird at all. B Tyltyls turtle-dove cure his neighbours little girl. C Tylty
13、l would take his turtle-dove to the little girl for nothing. D The little girl liked the bird very much. Reading comprehension 4 What do you think the symbolic meaning of the Blue Bird is? A Wealth B Happiness C Health D Freedom 5 Where do you think the brother and sister found the Blue Bird? A In a
14、 remote village. B In a forest. C At their own home. D At a palace. Tyltyl and Mytyl 1_(search) for the Blue Bird in the Land of Memory when a troop of happinesses rushed into the hall, 2_(sing). They introduced 3_(they) to the brother and sister4_(separate), who were surprised that happiness was ar
15、ound. 5_(able) to find the Blue Bird anywhere, the children said goodbye to their friends and returned home. While they were trying to tell their parents about their adventures, their neighbour came to ask for help, 6_ sick daughter wanted Tyltys pet bird. And the neighbour thought the bird could cu
16、re his daughter. 直击高考 had been searching singing themselves separately Unable whose So Tyltyl took his bird to the little girl 7_ nothing. The little girl was so 8_(delight) with the bird! However, the Dove escaped and 9_(fly) away. Tyltyl was determined to catch him again and asked the audience to
17、search for him. The main idea of the play is that happiness is to be found not in luxuries such as wealth, 10_ in simple things that are found in family life, and in acts of friendship and kindness. for delighted flew but Think & Share 1. Why cannot Tyltyl recognise any of the Happinesses? 2. What d
18、oes the author want to express by making the Blue Bird fly away at the end of the play? Because he doesnt realise the fact that the Happinesses are all around him in his home. By making the Blue Bird fly away at the end of the play, the author wants to express a simple truth that happiness, just lik
19、e the Blue Bird, might disappear if we dont cherish it. 3. Are there any Happiness in your home? What are they? Where else can you find them? 4. What different life lessons can you learn from the two reading passages in this unit? 1 Read the play again and discuss how you might present it on stage.
20、Consider the following: Plot Is there anything you will cut from, or add to the play? Setting What costumes and props will you need? Roles Will you need a narrator to give the background to the play and introduce the new scenes? Group work: Work in groups and act out the play. Language Will you revi
21、se the language to make it easier to remember? 2 Adapt the play based on your discussion. You may refer to the original play for more ideas if necessary. 3 Decide roles for each group member and practice performing the play. 4 Act out the play in class. Now talk about how well your group performed.
22、Vote for the best performer in the play. Read the summary of The Blue Bird and answer the questions. 1 Which paragraph introduces the main characters, setting and start of the play? 2 What is the climax of the play? 1 The first paragraph. 2 The plays climax of the play happens when Tyltyl discovers
23、the Blue Bird has been there right in his home all the time. 3.What is the theme of the play? The theme of the play is that happiness is not found in material objects, but in simple things, such as family life, and acts of friendship and kindness. Learning to learn When writing a summary of a long s
24、tory, your purpose is to convey the basic ideas of the original: what is it about and what does the author want to communicate? First, identify the title and author of the piece. Then use your own words to describe relevant details that lead to the climax of the story. State the central idea of the
25、story but dont give your own opinion of it. A good summary needs to be concise, precise and to the point. Title and author of the play Main character(s) Start of the play Climax Conclusion Choose another play you have read and write a summary of it. Organise your ideas by completing the table. Work
26、in pairs. Make improvements to each others summaries and share them with the class. Now think about how well you used concise and precise language to summarise the play and what you could do to improve. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeares best plays. A young man called Bassanio is in love
27、with Portia, who comes from a wealthy family and lives in the city of Belmont. Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan so that he can travel from Venice to see Portia. As Antonio has invested all his money in trading ships, he instead suggests that Bassanio takes a loan from one of the moneylenders in Veni
28、ce and he, Antonio, will guarantee this loan. The Merchant of Venice In Venice, the two friends approach a Shylock, Jewish moneylender. Shylock has long had bitter feelings towards Antonio, but nonetheless offers to lend Bassanio three thousand ducats with no interest. However, if the loan is not re
29、paid, Shylock will receive a pound in weight of Antonios own flesh. Bassanio travels to Belmont, where he wins the love Portia and the couple get married. Shortly afterwards, news is received that the ships in which Antonio has invested, have been lost at sea. This means that Antonio cannot repay th
30、e loan and Shylock can take his pound of flesh. Antonio and Portia travel to Venice to plead with Shylock to save Antonios life, and a trial takes place to decide the matter. Portia attends the trial disguised as a man, and manages to persuade Shylock to accept money from Bassanio instead of flesh f
31、rom Antonio. Bassanio and Portia return to Belmont, where they hear the good news that Antonios ships have in fact returned safely. The drama, in my opinion, focuses on several main themes, such as the strong friendship between Bassanio and Antonio, the strength of character of women in overcoming t
32、he restraints set by society of that time, and so on. Look at the book covers and answer the questions. 1 What do you know about the works? Share what you know with the class. 2 What life lessons can you learn from them? Do more research if necessary. Presenting ideas Oliver Twist is one of Charles
33、Dickenss best-known works. It was the first of the authors works to realistically describe the impoverished London underworld and to illustrate his belief that poverty leads to crime. It has been adapted for film several times. The Analects is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chin
34、ese philosopher Confucius and his followers. It was probably compiled by the succeeding generations of Confucius followers. King Lear is one of the tragedies written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the aging King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, allotting each a porti
35、on in proportion to her declaration of love. Madame Curie : A Biography is a book about Madame Curie written by Eve Curie. It tells readers in detail the life of Madame Curie. Madame Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and she was the only woman to win the award in two different fields. Happiness is always around you!
