Unit 5 A fine balance Starting out Understanding ideas Reading 课件 2026-2027学年外研版英语九年级上册

A fine balance Understanding ideas Unit 5 Learning objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to... understand what life would be like if humans disappeared. form your own opinions about how to protect the environment. have a better understanding of how human activities influence nature. Enjoy the pictures. e c d a b 湿地 草原 雨林 沙漠 河流 wetland grassland rainforest desert river What can you usually find there? fresh water, fish water, grass, birds camels grass, cows, horses, sheep tall trees, wild animals Nature is very important. But humans are part of nature. They can have a big influence on it. Imagine a world without people. What would happen to nature? What does it mean? It means “ stop” or “pause /pɔːz/”. Pre-reading What do you think the passage is about? The passage is about a world without humans. If people __________ from the earth, animals may ________, noise may ______, and trees will not be __________. There will be less _________, and _______will become more beautiful. The passage tells us that people should ______________ nature. disappear increase drop cut down pollution nature get along with 消失 增长 砍伐 污染 与...和谐相处 下降 While-reading When the earth stands still 1 Have you ever thought about this question: what would happen to the natural world if people were gone? Let’s imagine it. One day, all human activities stop. Cars disappear from the roads, boats from the rivers, and planes from the sky. Streets, beaches and parks that are usually full of people remain empty. What happens in such a world? 2 It is no surprise that animals soon increase in number. In cities, traffic noise often means that animals cannot easily hear each other. Without humans, the noise drops greatly as traffic stops. This allows natural sounds to fill the air. It is much easier for animals to find each other and form families. Also, tourists disappear from beaches and seas. Sea animals are not troubled by people around them. 3 But not only animals enjoy the change. Plants benefit, too. Trees grow freely without the danger of being cut down. Forests take back the space that humans now live in. The earth is soon a green world again. 4 The natural wonders which have been hidden by pollution for years appear again. Cleaner air and water allow them to show all their beauty once again. But there aren’t any people to admire such an amazing world. What a sad thing to think about! 5 Throughout history, humans have left so many marks on the earth. The rapid development of human society has made us care less for nature. But the world isn’t a game. We can’t cancel it and start over. We need to think more about how to get along with nature. Perhaps we should remember the wise words which Montaigne once wrote – let us permit nature to have her way. Match the main idea with each paragraph. [ ] Imagine a world without people. [ ] Animals increase and live better. [ ] Plants grow freely. [ ] Natural wonders reappear. [ ] Reflection: Get along with nature. para.1 para.2 para.3 para.4 para.5 Introduction Changes Conclusion While-reading Read para.1 and answer the questions. 1 Have you ever thought about this question: what would happen to the natural world if people were gone? Let’s imagine it. One day, all human activities stop. Cars disappear from the roads, boats from the rivers, and planes from the sky. Streets, beaches and parks that are usually full of people remain empty. What happens in such a world? What is the world like without people? Cars disappear from the roads. Boats no longer sail on the rivers. Planes stop flying in the sky. Streets, beaches and parks remain empty. Can you think of more sentences to describe a world without people? Factories stop working. Wild animals walk freely on the streets. The sky becomes bluer. ...... When humans disappear, the natural world changes a lot. While-reading Read para.2-4 and fill in the table. Changes for animals Changes Reasons Changes for plants Changes Reasons Changes for the environment Changes Reasons Animals soon increase in number. It is much _____ for them to ______ each other and ___________. The ______ drops greatly as traffic stops. _________ are not troubled by people. _________ disappear from _______ and seas. ____ grow freely. _____ take back the space that humans now live in. There is no danger of _____________. The natural wonders ____ again and show all their___. _____ air and water allow them to do so. Read para.2 and fill in the table. While-reading 2 It is no surprise that animals soon increase in number. In cities, traffic noise often means that animals cannot easily hear each other. Without humans, the noise drops greatly as traffic stops. This allows natural sounds to fill the air. It is much easier for animals to find each other and form families. Also, tourists disappear from beaches and seas. Sea animals are not troubled by people around them. Changes for animals Changes Reasons Animals soon _________________. It is much _______for them to ______ each other and _____________. The _______ drops greatly as traffic stops. Sea animals are not __________ by people. _________ disappear from _________ and seas. easier find form families noise troubled Tourists beaches increase in number Read para.2 and answer the questions. While-reading 2 It is no surprise that animals soon increase in number. In cities, traffic noise often means that animals cannot easily hear each other. Without humans, the noise drops greatly as traffic stops. This allows natural sounds to fill the air. It is much easier for animals to find each other and form families. Also, tourists disappear from beaches and seas. Sea animals are not troubled by people around them. Why does the writer say “ It is no surprise”? A. Because animals always prefer modern cities to forests. B. Because when people go away, animals naturally live better and increase. C. Because scientists have written many books about this. While-reading Read para.3 and fill in the table. 3 But not only animals enjoy the change. Plants benefit, too. Trees grow freely without the danger of being cut down. Forests take back the space that humans now live in. The earth is soon a green world again. Changes for plants Changes Reasons Trees___________ . Forests _________ the space that humans now live in. There is no danger of ______________. What does “ take back” suggest? It suggests that the space originally(起初) belonged to nature, but humans took it away . grow freely take back being cut down 夺回；拿回 While-reading Read para.4 and fill in the table. 4 The natural wonders which have been hidden by pollution for years appear again. Cleaner air and water allow them to show all their beauty once again. But there aren’t any people to admire such an amazing world. What a sad thing to think about! Changes for the environment Changes Reasons The natural wonders _______ again and show all their______. _______________ allow them to do so. What’s the sad thing? appear beauty Cleaner air and water There aren’t any people to admire such an amazing world. Try to retell the changes according to the information. Retell wn In a world without people, animals... because... While-reading Read para.5 and answer the questions. 5 Throughout history, humans have left so many marks on the earth. The rapid development of human society has made us care less for nature. But the world isn’t a game. We can’t cancel it and start over. We need to think more about how to get along with nature. Perhaps we should remember the wise words which Montaigne once wrote – let us permit nature to have her way. 1. What problem has the rapid development of human society caused? 2. Why does the writer say “ the world isn’t a game”? Because we can’t cancel it and start over. 3. What is the writer’s final advice? We should think more about how to get along with nature and permit nature to have her way. Do we need to stop development? It has made us care less for nature. What do Montaigne’s /mɒnˈteɪn/words “let us permit nature to have her way”mean? A. We should stop all human activities and keep away from nature completely. B. We should respect nature and let it grow and develop in its own way, instead of controlling or changing it all the time. C. We should use our technology to make nature grow faster and better than before. Think and share 蒙田(1533-1592)是法国文艺复兴时期的作家，思想家， 也是现代随笔的重要开创者，代表作《随笔集》。 What changes can you make to “permit nature to have her way”? Think and share Turn off lights/the tap when not using them to save energy. Plant more trees to provide homes for animals.. Use less plastic and recycle more to cut down pollution. Stop cutting down trees. Protect wild animals and their homes so that they can live safely. Walk or ride bikes instead of driving when possible. Even a small action can make a big difference . Let’s follow the laws of nature and keep it in balance. Choose the purpose of writing the passage. a To remind readers that nature is important in our lives. b To call for a different relationship between people and nature. c To argue that people should disappear from the world. Post-reading 提醒 呼吁 主张 4 Complete the chart. disappear empty increase find each other form families troubled grow freely take back air and water all their beauty get along with nature. Lead-in Pre-reading While-reading Post-reading Summary Homework To get along with nature is not to disappear, but to appear wiser. 与自然共处，不是消失，而是更智慧地存在。 Homework Must do: 根据课堂上的思维导图，写一段80词左右的短文， 总结人类消失后地球发生的变化。 参考词汇： disappear, increase, cut down, pollution,get along with Choose to do: 结合课文主题 “ A fine balance”, 设计一张英文环保海报，呼吁人们 “ Let nature have her way”. Thank you ! $