Unit 6 An old man tried to move the mountains.

Section A

1b Listen and check (√) the facts you hear.

Which story are Anna and Wang Ming talking about?

Hi, Anna. In my Chinese class today, we read a famous story called Yu Gong Moves a Mountain.

Oh, how does the story begin?

Well, once upon a time, there was a very old man.

There were two mountains near his house.

They were so high and big that it took a long time to walk to the other side.

So what happened next?

Well, the old man told his family that they should all help him to move the mountains.

Mm, but an old man probably couldn't even move a small tree.

Yes, that's what his wife said, too.

And where would they put all the earth and stone from the mountains?

Yu Gong said they could put it into the sea because it's big enough to hold everything.

So they all started digging the next day.

2a Listen and number the pictures   in order to tell the story.

Let me tell you the rest of the story about Yu Gong.

Yu Gong and his family began to move some of the earth and stone to the sea.

One day, a man saw Yu Gong and his children when they were working on moving the mountains.

He told Yu Gong that he could never do it because he was old and weak.

As soon as the man finished talking, Yu Gong said that his family could continue to move the mountains after he died.

His family would live and grow, but the mountains could not get bigger.

So Yu Gong and his family kept on digging day after day and year after year.

Finally, a god was so moved by Yu Gong that he sent two gods to take the mountains away.

This story reminds us that you can never know what's possible unless you try to make it happen.

2b Listen again and circle the words you hear.

Let me tell you the rest of the story about Yu Gong.

Yu Gong and his family began to move some of the earth and stone to the sea.

One day, a man saw Yu Gong and his children when they were working on moving the mountains.

He told Yu Gong that he could never do it because he was old and weak.

As soon as the man finished talking, Yu Gong said that his family could continue to move the mountains after he died.

His family would live and grow, but the mountains could not get bigger.

So Yu Gong and his family kept on digging day after day and year after year.

Finally, a god was so moved by Yu Gong that he sent two gods to take the mountains away.

This story reminds us that you can never know what's possible unless you try to make it happen.

2d Role-play the conversation.

So what do you think about the story of Yu Gong?

I think it's really interesting.

Yu Gong found a good way to solve his problem.

Really? I think it's a little bit silly.

It doesn't seem very possible to move a mountain.

But the story is trying to show us that anything is possible if you work hard!

Yu Gong kept trying and didn't give up.

Well, I still don't agree with you.

I think we should try to find other ways to solve a problem.

But what could Yu Gong do instead of moving the mountains?

Well, there are many other ways.

For example, he could build a road.

That's better and faster than moving a mountain!

You have different opinions about the story, and neither of you are wrong.

There are many sides to a story and many ways to understand it.

3a Read the passage and answer the questions.

In November 1979, pupils in England were able to watch a new TV program called Monkey. Most of them were hearing this story for the first time. However, this story is not new to Chinese children. The Monkey King or Sun Wukong is the main character in the traditional Chinese book Journey to the West. 

The Monkey King is not just any normal monkey. In fact, he sometimes does not even look like a monkey! This is because he can make 72 changes to his shape and size, turning himself into different animals and objects. But unless he can hide his tail, he cannot turn himself into a person. 

To fight bad people, the Monkey King uses a magic stick. Sometimes he can make the stick so small that he can keep it in his ear. At other times, he is able to make it big and long. The Monkey King has excited the children of China for many years. And as soon as the TV program came out more than 30 years ago, Western children became interested in reading this story because the clever Monkey King keeps fighting to help the weak and never gives up.