文档介绍：Reading for Skills and Vision
A New Textbook for
Extensive Reading
Unit Three Changing American Culture
Brief Introduction to the Unit:
The first two articles in this unit are about some new changes in American culture and life, each depicting and revealing some typical American ways of living and thinking. And Text Three tells us about some basic traits of Americans and American culture. Put together, they provide a clue about the links between the ever-changing American culture and the never-changed American traditions.
Questions to Consider Survey the first two texts quickly to find out what specific change(s) each of them addresses.
Answers to Questions
Text A: More and more Americans love to buy bigger and taller Christmas Trees to put up in their houses.
Text B: Hurricane Katrina has changed many Americans’ attitudes towards life, racial relations, and government.
Text A Demand Growing for Taller Christmas Trees
Background Information
A Christmas tree is an absolute must for an American family during the Christmas holidays.
It is usually a fir tree decorated with such lovely ornaments like candies, cards, toys, colored lights, etc. Though artificial Christmas trees are readily available now, many Americans still like to put freshly chopped fir trees in their houses.
An Outdoor Christmas Tree
A Small Christmas Tree
An Extravagant Christmas Tree
Cultural Notes
New Hampshire (N. H.): a state of the . located in New England, the capital of which is Concord
St. Louis: the largest city and traffic hub of the American mid-western state Missouri (Mo.)
Key Words & Expressions
Words
upscale
trimming
function
mission
anecdotal
modate
surplus
Expressions
holiday season
fit in
be suited to
one’s eyes (are) bigger than sth (. one’s stomach)