T: As we now know, the writer spent three days there. Did he / she have a positive impression of the city?

Ss: Yes.

T: Can you tell me whether the style is formal or not? And how do you know?

S: The style is informal. From the sentences such as "Well, that's what Claire says", "Tomorrow we are going to rent bikes", we can see the writer just wants to tell us his/her experience in a casual way.

StepⅡ Writing a postcard

T: Well done. Suppose you are a visitor to Amsterdam, and you have three postcards to send to your friends. The pictures on the postcards are related to the places visited by the writer. But you must write a short introduction which is about 50 words on each card. In other words, use the important information to write a summary of each paragraph of the passage. Got it?

Ss: Yes.

T: Now, get down to writing please.

　The teacher gives the students some time to write the summary, and then ask three of them to read out their summaries.

Sample versions:

Picture 1: This is Van Gogh, who is generally considered the greatest Dutch painter. He powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. His works, all of which were produced during a period of only 10 years, hauntingly conveys through its striking colour, coarse brushwork, and contoured forms the anguish of a mental illness that eventually resulted in suicide.

Picture 2: This is the road condition in Amsterdam. Many of the roads follow the canals which are not straight, so it is easy to get lost. And because it always takes a long time to reach your destination, most people don't walk, travelling by train, by bus, by bike, or by boat.

Picture 3: Look at the astonishing houses here. The houses are tall and thin, and