take great care.

　　4. Stay at home.

　　Option Two: Pre-reading discussion

　　Open discussion before reading

　　The teacher can design a discussion question like this:

　　Have you ever been in a sandstorm? /Have you ever experienced a sandstorm? If yes, describe it to us. If not, please imagine what it will be like.

　　→ Step 3 Fast reading

　　Option One: (For common students)

　　Read the text quickly with the tape of it and try to find out the answers to the following 3 questions:

　　1)What's a sandstorm?

　　(A possible key: Sandstorms are strong, dry winds that carry sand. )

　　2)Where in the world are the main four sandstorm places/areas? And how about in China?

　　(A possible key: Central Asia, North America, Central Asia & Australia. Northwest China)

　　3)What's the weather experts' advice when a sandstorm comes?

　　(A possible key: They advise us not to go out. If we have to, we'd better wear a mask. )

　　Option Two: (For better students)

　　Find the main points of each paragraph.

　　Ask students to read the passage as quickly as they can, and try to get the main idea of each paragraph.

　　The possible main ideas:

　　 Paragraph 1: Sandstorms have been a major disaster for centuries.

　　 Paragraph 2: Sandstorms in Asia.

　　 Paragraph 3: Sandstorms in China appear to have increased as a result of "desertification".

　　 Paragraph 4: Sandstorms sometimes affect Beijing.

　　 Paragraph 5: Sandstorms do a lot of damage to people.

　　 Paragraph 6: The government plants trees to prevent sandstorms.

　　Option Three: (For high level students)

　　True or false questions:

　　Directions: Decide if the following statements are true(T)or false(F).

　　(1)Scientists have tried many ways to deal with sandstorms. (T)

　　(2)Land becomes desert only because people cut down trees and dig up grass. (F)

　　(3)The Chinese Central West Station can not forecast a sandstorm before it comes. (F)

　　(4)Our government has planed more than 30 billion trees and plants to continue planting for the next 5 years. (T)

　　→ Step 4 Careful reading

　　Fast reading has enabled students to get a general idea of the passage. Let students read the passage again carefully and try to get some details. First, let them check if they have mastered the words in Activity 3.

　　The teacher may ask students to find the answers individually, then check with the whole class.

　　The teacher shows the questions on the screen.

1. sand dunes mean_____________ .