The Merchant of Venice

 

                            Lesson 41—42 ( SB 3A )

 Step 1 : The introduction to the play

        The play, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare , was probably written around 1596. The scenes have been adopted and the language has been modernized, but remains formal and appropriate for a court in Venice. There are not many new words and you (the students ) should be able to work out the meaning of the whole play.

     

         Sth. About Shakespeare: A world-famous British playwright. He wrote tragedies, comedies and historical plays. His famous plays include:  Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Twelfth Night,  All’s Well That Ends Well,  Henry VIII. Romeo and Juliet. and so on.

 

          Some characters in the story and the relationship between them. Show the Ss the following on the screen.

                          

   ( 以上“人物关系图示”用法说明：把鼠标拉入绿色块 双击 ，然后任意 单击 ，结束请 单击右键，再选中 结束放映。 最后把鼠标拉出框外， 结束演示。另：当听到伴随打字机的声音拉出Shakespeare 后，再单击左键3—4下，后面还会出现一幅莎翁主要作品介绍。注意：千万别按退格键(Backspace), 否则将消除图表。)

 

 

 

 

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  Step 2:  Presentation

      Ask Qs about the picture.

             Who  are  the  picture?  /  What did Shylock want to do?

             What kind of a man was Antonio?  /   Say sth. about Portia.

             Say sth. about Shakespeare.    /    What kind of city was Venice in the

              16th century? ( An important trading center )

             What do merchants do? (They buy and sell goods, often goods from from abroad)

 

    Step 3: Reading (Introduction)

          Ask the Ss to read with the following Qs as quickly as possible.

       Qs: 1. Where were Antonio’s ship?

          2. Who was Antonio’s best friend and what did he want to do?

          3. What was the problem?

          4. Who lent Antonio the money?

          5. What was the agreement between Antonio and Shylock?

            ( If Antonio did not pay the money back at the end of three months, Shylock could take a pound of fresh from any part of Antonio’s body.)

          6. What news did Antonio receive?

          7. What did Portia decide to do?

            ( She decided to pretend to be a lawyer to save Antonio.)

 

    Step 4: Reading (Part 1) & Listening

           Get the Ss to listen to the introduction part and Part 1 ,and then ask the following Qs about Part 1.

        Qs: 1. What did the Duke ask Shylock to do? (He asked him to have mercy on Antonio.)

           2. What was Shylock’s reply? (He asked for a pound of flesh from Antonio.)

           3. What did Bassanio offer? (He offered Shylock six thousand ducats for the three thousand that Antonio had borrowed.)

           4. What was Shylock’s reply? (He still wanted to get his pound of flesh.)

           5. What letter did Nerissa bring? (A letter from a famous lawyer)

           6. What did the letter say? (The lawyer couldn’t go to court because of his illness, but he was sending a learned doctor of law. He would give judgement instead of him.

    

Step 5: Comprehension and Listening to Part 2

           Get the Ss to listen to Part 2 and answer the Qs :

       

 

 

 

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 Answers to the 6 Qs on p.63 in the textbook:

1.       Probably it was not the custom of that period for men to marry rich women if they were poor themselves.

2.       He is merciful.

3.       He is cruel.

4.       Shylock hated Antonio because Antonio had many times scolded him publicly for being greedy and cruel.

5.       Literally, with the heart which he shall cut out of my body. / Metaphorically, whole-heartedly or willingly.

6.       Herself. She was Bassanio’s wife, but she is wearing the clothes of a lawyer and Bassanio did not realize who she was.

 

Step 6: Language points:

    Explain the following L.P.’s with some examples

1.       trade  v. 经商， 做买卖， 交换

eg. China has traded in industrial and agricultural products with many countries.

   trade   n. eg.  foreign trade  对外贸易     free trade  自由贸易  etc.

2.       be in love with …  爱上， 相爱

He says he is in love with her, but does he know what love is?

They have been in love with each other for 3 years.

3.       on condition that … 按… 条件

You can keep the book for a few days on condition that you return it next week.

                4.  have mercy on / upon sb.     //    show mercy to sb.

eg. He begged me to have mercy on the children whose parents died in the fire.

5.       It is useless trying to argue with Shylock.

It is useless/ no use/ no good/…       followed by ---ing

eg. It,s no use sending him over.  It’s too late already.

   It’s no good eating too much food which is high in fat.

             6.  比较 take one’s seat  /  take a seat  /   be seated  /  seat oneself

eg. a. More men entered the room and took their seats.

   b.Take a seat , please.

   c. They were seated at their desks.

   d. He asked me to be seated.

   e. She found her daughter seated at the piano with her hands arrested on the

keys.

                   f. They seated themselves on a bench that stood beside the verge.

   

     Step 7:  Consolidation and Workbook (Homewok)

             Finish off the Workbook exercises.

     

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