As an American born Chinese，William Hung with his Chinese name Kong Qingxiang was famous for his performance on the American show，American Idol. In this singing competition，he chose Ricky Martin??s She Bangs. But it seemed that his poor singing,clumsy dancing and out-dated style tormented the judges to death. He was interrupted and questioned why he attended the competition since he did not know neither dancing nor singing. A little embarrassed，William Hung soon recovered himself and calmly said he had tried his best and he had no regrets. Surprisingly，after this show aired on TV，William Hung captured the hearts of many fans. He soon signed with a record label and had his first album Inspiration. In addition，he has also begun his film careershown in Picture 4.
7. Do you know the owners of these three pairs of shoes? Try to find some hints from the appearance.
8. Why do you think the owners have such fancy shoes?
9. If the three famous players wear some shoes that are not so fancy，would you look down upon them? Why or why not?
Some useful fa cts for your r efer en ce:
The three pairs of shoes respectively belong to Michael Jordan，David Beckham and
Yaoming which you can see from the letters on the shoes.
Jordan: known as Air Jordan
Beckham: known as a great football player and for his free kick
Yaoming: a familiar Chinese player in NBA
David Beckham played his first programme for Manchester when he was 18 . By 1996，he was a regular with the team and one of the most popular players in England by helping the team win an FA Cup and a Premier Division title in the same year. In 2002，David Beckham helped England advance to the quarter finals of the World Cup in Korea and Japan，where the English lost to the eventual champions from Brazil.
Ⅱ. Pair wor k
1. What do you like to do in your spare time for recreation? Singing，dancing or any kind of sport? Are you good at it or just so-so? Try to describe it in detail.
2. What does recreation mean to you?
3. How will you reply to others if you are laughed at for your poor performance in your hobbies or recreations?
Some useful informa tion a nd expr essions for your refer ence:
By“recreation”I mean . . .
Frankly speaking，I think recreation means . . .
Ⅲ. Grou p d iscu ssion
1. What equipment do you need if you want to take up running regularly to build up your body?
2. Generally speaking，do you think professional and expensive equipment is necessary for a beginner in any kind of sport，for instance，running and swimming? Why or why not?
3. Personally speaking，what kind of equipment would you buy? Some fancy shoes like Nike and Adidas，some goods at reasonable prices or some equipment on sale?
Why or why not?
P o s t -re ad in g Sp e akin g
Ⅰ. Grou p d iscu ssion
1. Do you agree with the author on being so-so? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the example about the boy??s 427 attempts at a hook-shot? Is it usual or unusual as far as you are concerned? Why do you think he does it? If you were him，would you do this? Why or why not?
3. The author says“I do one or two other things well and that should be enough for anybody”. What do you think the“one or two other things should be”? Give your reasons.
Ⅱ. A prepa red deba te
You are asked to prepare a debate on the topic: Is it bad being so-so?
Instructions:
1. The class is divided into two groups.
2. Each group may assign the first speaker and the last speaker who can state strongly and forcefully in fluent English with supporting arguments and details.
3. Next: students in either group as the pro or the con debaters should present their opposite views in turn. Make sure each student participates.
4. Then the debate can go into a period of free debate for about five minutes. Students in each group may volunteer to defend their opinions. But the pro and con debaters should also take turns to speak.
5. At last，the assigned last speakers can make a brief sum-up of each side in turn.
You may argue like this:
For the pr o group
1. It is bad being so-so.
2. With regard to . . .
3. . . .
For the con group
1. It is not bad being so-so.
2. With respect to . . .
3. . . .
Ⅲ. Assignmen t
Try to take down some viewpoints of your classmates on the debate.
