S4: Let me try. Pygmalion was a gifted artist. One day, he decided to make a stone statue of a beautiful woman. He worked day and night and at last he finished. Then he clothed the figure, decorated it with the jewellery, and even named it the Sleeping Love. The work was so beautiful that he couldn't help thinking that if the statue could be brought to life, he'd very much like it to be his wife. Therefore, he asked the Greek Goddess to help make it alive. Finally the Goddess was moved by his sincerity. His wish was granted. Pygmalion threw himself to his feet, the girl smelt down at him. Afterwards, they fell in love with each other and married.

T: Wonderful! You did a good job! Now let's have a discussion. Do you think that Pygmalion and his statue-wife will be happy together?

S: No, I don't think so.

T: What problems do you think they will have?

S1: Maybe they can't understand each other, because they come from different world.

S2: It's very hard for Pygmalion to understand his wife, because his wife is made from a stone. She doesn't know the words, behavior, anything about him.

...

T: Good. How do you think they might solve them?

S3: Pygmalion loves the girl so much that he decides to teach her how to speak and how to behave herself. Little by little, they understand each other well and live happily.

T: Good imagination! The story is so interesting that it was made into a film My Fair Lady, which was based on the play by Bernard Shaw. Do you know this famous playwright?

Step Ⅲ Discussion

Make a brief introduction about Shaw.

T: George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist, literary critic, a socialist spokesman, and a leading figure in the 20th century theater. Shaw was a freethinker, defender of women's rights, and advocate of equality of income. In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Shaw accepted the honour but refused the money. He was a very humorous playwright. Here is a story about him. One day, Shaw took part in a grand party, in which he met the then Prime Minister Churchill. Churchill was very fat at that time whereas Shaw was very thin. Churchill said to Shaw very sharply, "When people see you, they will know how poor your country is". And then Shaw answered very quickly, "When people see you, they will know the reason why our country is so poor." From it we can see how witty Shaw is!

T: Have you seen the film My Fair Lady？

S1: Yes. It was about a flower girl who became a lady in the upper class, helped by the expert in phonetics, Professor Higgins.

T: Do you like the film? Why?

S1: Yes, I do. What makes "My Fair Lady" special is the great musical score by Mr. Loewe with lyrics by Mr. Lerner. Most of the songs are by now, standards that have delighted us since they were written and have been sung by practically all the best