Pre-task

Step 1.Greetings and Lead-in

Show students a short film about Marco Polo，stimulating their interests.

Task-cycle

Task1. Pre-reading

　　Background of Marco Polo (True or False)

1. Marco Polo was a French traveller.

2. He spent very short time in China.

3. Marco Polo telling stories about China in the prison.

4. He was very clever and skilful in language.

5. China was less developed than Europe when Marco travelled in China.

Task2. Fast reading:

Step1. Read the whole article quickly. Find out the information about Marco Polo and fill out the following form:

• Name: Marco Polo

• Born (when/where):

• Came to China (when):

• Purpose:

• Languages (how many):

• Returned to Italy (when):

• Age of his death:

• The name of his book:

Step2. Listen to the article

After listening, please match the paragraphs with the right topics.

Topics: Paragraphs:

　　　　　　　Marco's amazement at China 3

People's reactions to Marco's book 6

Inventions and developments in China 4

Marco Polo's return to Italy 5

Marco's arrival in China 2

Marco Polo's early life 1

Task3. Intensive reading

Please read the passage carefully for detailed information:

Who was the Chinese emperor when Marco travelled to China?