1、UNIT 5 Overcoming Obstacles Part I Pre-Reading Task Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:1.What happened to the singer?2.What helped her pull through all the hardships she suffered?3.What is the tone of the song?4.Is the song related to the theme of
2、the unit overcoming obstacles?Part II Text A Look at the following two sayings and then see if the story of Michael Stone bears out the points they make.The greater the obstacle,the more glory in overcoming it.Moliere When it is dark enough,you can see the stars.Charles A,Beard TRUE HEIGHT David Nas
3、ter His palms were sweating.He needed a towel to dry his grip.The sun was as hot as the competition he faced today at the National Junior Olympics.The pole was set at 17 feet.That was three inches higher than his personal best.Michael Stone confronted the most challenging day of his pole-vaulting ca
4、reer.The stands were still filled with about 20,000 people,even though the final race had ended an hour earlier.The pole vault is truly the highlight of any track and field competition.It combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder.It also has the element of flying,and the th
5、ought of flying ashigh as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event.As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying.Michaels mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up.Her stories were always ones that described the land from
6、a birdseye view.Her excitement and passion for details made Michaels dreams full of color and beauty.Michael had this one recurring dream.He would be running down a country road.As he raced between golden wheat fields,he would always outrun the locomotives passing by.It was at the exact moment he to
7、ok a deep breath that he began to lift off the ground.He would begin soaring like an eagle.Where he flew would always coincide with his mothers stories.Wherever he flew was with a keen eye for detail and the free spirit of his mothers love.His dad,on the other hand,was not a dreamer.Bert Stone was a
8、 hardcore realist.He believed in hard workand sweat.His motto:If you want something,work for it!From the age of 14,Michael did just that.He began a very careful training program.He worked out every other day with weightlifting,with some kind of running work on alternate days.The program was carefull
9、y monitored by Michaels coach,trainer and father.Michaels dedication,determination and discipline was a coachs dream.Besides being an honor student and only child,Michael Stone continued to help his parents with their farm chores.Mildred Stone,Michaels mother,wished he could relax a bit more and be
10、that free dreaming little boy.On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this,but his dad quickly interrupted,smiled and said,You want something,work for it!All of Michaels vaults today seemed to bethe reward for his hard work.If Michael Stone was surprised,excited or vain abo
11、ut clearing the bar at 17 feet,you couldnt tell.As soon as he landed on the inflated landing mat,and with the crowd on its feet,Michael immediately began preparing for his next attempt at flight.He seemed unaware of the fact that he had just beaten his personalbest by three inches and that he was on
12、e of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event at the National Junior Olympics.When Michael cleared the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches,again he showed no emotion.As he lay on his back and heard the crowd groan,he knew theother vaulter had missed his final jump.He knew it was
13、 time for his final jump.Since the other vaulter had fewer misses,Michael needed to clear this vault to win.A miss would get him second place.Nothing to be ashamed of,but Michael would not allow himself the thought of not winning first place.He rolled over and did his routine of three finger-tipped
14、push-ups.He found his pole,stood and stepped on the runway that led to the most challenging event of his 17-year-old life.The runway felt different this time.It startled him for a brief moment.Then it all hit him like a wet bale of hay.The bar was set at nine inches higher than his personal best.Tha
15、ts only one inch off the National record,he thought.The intensity of the moment filled his mind with anxiety.He began shaking the tension.It wasnt working.He became more tense.Why was this happening to him now,he thought.He began to get nervous.Afraid would be a more accurate description.What was he
16、 going to do?He had never experienced these feelings.Then out of nowhere,and from the deepest depths of his soul,he pictured his mother.Why now?What was his mother doing in his thoughts at a time like this?It was simple.His mother always used to tell him when you felt tense,anxious or even scared,ta
17、ke deep breaths.So he did.Along with shaking the tension from his legs,he gently laid his pole at his feet.He began to stretch out his arms and upper body.The light breeze that was oncehis pole.He felt his heart pounding.He was sure the crowd did,too.The silence was deafening.When he heard the there
18、 was now gone.He carefully picked up singing of some distant birds in flight,he knew it was his time to fly.As he began sprinting down the runway,something felt wonderfully different,yet familiar.The surface below him felt like the country road he used to dream about.Visions of the golden wheat fiel
19、ds seemed to fill his thoughts.When he took a deep breath,it happened.He began to fly.His take-off was effortless.Michael Stone was now flying,just like in his childhood dreams.Only this time he knew he wasnt dreaming.This was real.Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.The air around him was
20、 the purest and freshest he had ever sensed.Michael was soaring like an eagle.It was either the eruption of the people in the stands or the thump of his landing that brought Michael back to earth.On his back with that wonderful hot sun on his face,he knew he could only see in his minds eye the smile
21、 on his mothers face.He knew his dad was probably smiling too,even laughing.What he didnt know was that his dad was hugging his wife and crying.Thats right:Bert If You Want It,Work For It Stone was crying like a baby in his wifes arms.He was crying harder than Mildred had ever seen before.She also k
22、new he was crying the greatest tears of all:tears of pride.Michael was immediately surrounded by people hugging and congratulating him on the greatest accomplishment of his life.He later went on that day to clear 17 feet 6 1/2 inches:a National and International Junior Olympics record.With all the m
23、edia attention and sponsorship possibilities,Michaels life would never be the same again.It wasnt just because he won the National Junior Olympics and set a new world record.And it wasnt because he had just increased his personal best by 9 l/2 inches.It was simply because Michael Stone is blind.New
24、Words and Expressions bear out prove that(sth.)is true 证实 sweat vi.出汗 n.汗水 towel n.毛巾，手巾 pole-vault vi.,n.撑竿跳高 vault n.撑竿跳高(=pole vault)；撑物跳跃 grace n.quality of being smooth and elegant,esp.in movement or structure 优美，优雅；雅致 gymnast n.体操家，体操运动员 body builder n.健美运动员 mere a.nothing more than 仅仅，只不过 fan
25、tasy n.幻想 numerous a.very many 许多的，无数的 passion n.strong feeling,esp.of love 热情 detail n.small,particular fact or item 细节，琐碎的事 recur e or happen again 再来；再发生 outrun(outran,outrun)vt.run faster or better than;go beyond 跑得比快；跑得比好；超过 eagle n.鹰 coincide vi.happen at the same time;be in agreement 同时发生；一致
26、coincide with 与同时发生；与一致 hard-core a.顽固不化的 core n.the most important part 核心 realist n.a person who deals in a practical way with situations as they actually are 现实主义者 motto n.格言，座右铭 work out go through a physical exercise session 体育锻炼，训练 weightlifting n.举重（运动）alteinate a.every other or second;happen
27、ing by turns 交替的；轮流的 coach n.（体育运动的）教练 dedication n.giving oneself,time,effort,etc.(to sth.)奉献，献身 relax v.make or become less tense,worried or nervous 放松，松弛 on one/two/several occasion(s)有一（两，几）次 vain a.too pleased with ones own abilities or looks 虚荣的，自负的 bar n.横杆；条；块 inflate v.fill(sth.)with air（使）
28、充气，（使）膨胀 mat n.垫子；席子 competitor n.竞争者，对手 emotion n.情感，感情 preparation n.the act or process of preparing 准备 be ashamed of feeling foolish or uncomfortable because of(sth.)因感到难为情 finger-tipped a.using or operated by the fingers 用手的 push-up n.(AmE)俯卧撑 runway n.跑道 startle vt.give a sudden shock or surpri
29、se to 使大吃一惊 bale n.（一）大捆，（一）大包 hay n.干草 intensity n.the state of being intense 强烈、剧烈，紧张 anxiety n.a feeling of worry or fear 忧虑，担心 tension n.worry or nervousness 紧张，不安 tense a.feeling worried or nervous;making people worried or nervous 紧张的；令人紧张的 along with together with 连同 stretch out 伸展 breeze n.微风
30、，轻风 deafen vt.make(sb.)unable to hear,esp.for a short time 使聋 deaf a.unable to hear at all or to hear well 耳聋的 sprint vi.run at ones fastest speed,esp.for a short distance 疾跑 take-off n.起跳；（飞机）起飞 effortless a.needing little or no effort 容易的，不费力气的 eruption n.爆发 erupt vi.thump n.(noise made by)a heavy
31、 blow 重击（声）bring(sb.)back to earth 使回到现实中 in ones minds eye 在想象中 congratulate vt.祝贺 media n.大众传播媒介 sponsorship n.资助；赞助 Proper Names David Naster 大卫纳史特 the Olympics=Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动会 Michael 迈克尔（男子名）Bert 伯特（男子名，Albert,Herbert,Bertram 的昵称，亦作Burt）Mildred 米尔德里德（女子名）Language sense Enhancement 1.Read
32、aloud paragraphs 9-10 and learn them by heart.2.Read aloud the following poem written by the American deaf-blind writer and educationist,Helen Keller(1880-1968).Facing Fate Helen keller Security is mostly a superstition.It does not exist in nature,nor do the children or men as a whole experience it.
33、Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.Life is either a daring adventure,or nothing.To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.3.Read the following quotations.Learn them by heart if you can.You might need
34、to look up new words in a dictionary.Although the world is full of suffering,it is full also of the overcoming of it.Helen Keller No pain,no palm;no thorns,no throne;no gall,no glory;no cross,no crown.William Penn All rising to great place is by a winding stair.Francis bacon If we face our tasks wit
35、h the resolution to solve them,who shall say that anything is impossible.Wilfred Grenfell 4.Read the following humorous story for fun.You might need to look up new words in a dictionary.A missionary unexpectedly met a lion in the jungle.Not seeing any way to escape,he fell to his knees in prayer.He
36、was comforted by seeing the lion kneeling next to him.Dear Brother,how delightful to join you in prayer when only a moment ago I feared for my life,the missionary said.Dont interrupt,said the lion,Im just saying grace.Proverbs:Where there is a will,there is a wayRome wasnt built in a dayGod helps those who help themselvesYou shall reap what you sow.Constant dripping wears away the stone,Please write about your way of overcoming obstacles.According to the above proverbs.Words:freely
