Conquer your fear

广东 陈丽芳

Marina was extremely afraid of the darkness.When the lights went out, everything and every shadow appeared to her as the most terrible monsters.Her parents explained to her every day with great patience that these things were not monsters.Marina understood her parents, but she could not stop feeling an awful fear whenever it was dark.

One day her aunt Valerie came to visit.Valerie was an incredible woman.She was famous for her courage, and had been to many journeys of adventure, some of which had been made into books and movies.Marina wanted to conquer her fear of the dark, so she asked her aunt how she became so brave, and whether she had ever been frightened.

“A great many times, Marina,” answered her aunt.“I remember when I was young, I was terribly afraid of the dark.I couldn't stay in the dark for even a moment.” Marina became very excited.How was it possible that someone so courageous could have been afraid of the dark?

“I'll tell you a secret, Marina.It was some blind children who taught me how to be brave.They can't see, so if they had never discovered the secret of how not to be afraid of the dark, they would have been forever frightened.”

“It's true! ” said Marina.“Can you tell me that secret?”

“Of course! The secret is to change your eyes.Since blind children can't see, their hands are their eyes.Close the eyes of your face and open the eyes of your hands like them.Let's make a deal: Tonight, when you go to bed and put out the light, if anything makes you afraid, close your eyes, carefully get out of bed, and use your hands to see what makes you scared.Tell me how you're getting on with the fear tomorrow.” Marina accepted.However, she was rather worried.When her parents took her to bed, she put out the light by herself.After a little while, she felt afraid of one of the shadows in the bedroom again.

Reading Check

阅读上面的短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。

注意：

1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。

Paragraph 1:

Following the advice of Aunt Valerie, she closed the eyes of her face and opened the eyes of her hands.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2:

The next morning, Marina came into the kitchen with a big smile on her face._

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

写作导引

一、语篇研读

Ⅰ.Sort the elements

Genre 1.Characters Marina, Marina's parents, 2.When & Where when it's getting dark, in the bedroom Beginning Marina 3.the darkness.Plots Development Marina's aunt Valerie came to visit and Marina turned to her for help.Climax Valerie told Marina how to conquer her fear by using 4.as eyes in the darkness.

Ⅱ.Analyze the characters' personalities

Characters Clues Personalities/Feelings Marina Marina's parents Aunt Valerie Marina was extremely afraid of the darkness.When her parents took her to bed, she put out the light by herself.frightened first and becoming 1.________ later Her parents explained to her every day with great patience that these things were not monsters.2.________ and considerate Valerie was an incredible woman.She was famous for her 3.________, and had been to many journeys of adventure, some of which had been made into books and movies.incredible, brave and courageous

Ⅲ.Explore the theme

What is the text about?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

二、语言学习

Ⅰ.Analyze language features

1.which引导非限制性定语从句，which代替前面的先行词journeys，整个从句起补充说明的作用。

She was famous for her courage, and had been to many journeys of adventure, some of which had been made into books and movies.(Para.2)

2.现在分词作伴随状语，与逻辑主语为主动关系。

Following the advice of Aunt Valerie, she closed the eyes of her face and opened the eyes of her hands.(续写开头句)

Ⅱ.Useful expressions

1.be afraid of 害怕

2.can not stop doing sth 不能停止做某事

3.be famous for 因……而出名

4.put out the light 关灯

5.awful 可怕的

6.courageous 勇敢的

7.mysterious 神秘的

8.be scared to death 被吓得要死

9.feel terrible 感觉害怕

10.can't help trembling 忍不住颤抖

11.be filled with horror 充满恐惧

12.summon up courage to do 鼓起勇气去做

三、情节构思

续写步骤

(一)文章主要讲述了玛丽娜害怕黑暗，向瓦莱丽阿姨寻求帮助的故事。听完瓦莱丽阿姨的故事和建议，玛丽娜决定尝试挑战自己。瓦莱丽阿姨曾经也非常胆小，但她最终克服了恐惧。 按照这个线索去续写的话，玛丽娜是可以成功克服她之前的恐惧的。

(二)根据续写第一段的段首句，我们可设置以下问题链并进行推测：

1.How did Marina feel?

2.Was Marina still feeling frightened or did she become brave enough?

3.What did Marina do to overcome fear?

(三)根据续写第二段的段首句，我们可设置以下问题链并进行推测：

1.Who would be in the kitchen?

2.What would Marina say to the people in the kitchen?