S7: Astronomy is the scientific study of the universe and the heaven bodies (such as the sun, moon, and stars), gas, and dust within it.

　　T: What do we call people who study astronomy?

　　S8: Astronomer.

　　Step 2 Warming up

　　Talk about universe and solar system

　　T: Let's follow this astronomer to learn about universe. How did the universe come into being?

　　S9: After the "Big Bang", the universe came into being.

　　T: Do you know the solar system in the universe? What is it made up of?

　　S10: The solar system contains eight planets and many comets and other objects.

　　(Note：According to the present day scientific study, there are only eight planets, with the Pluto excluded. Why the planets remove the Pluto?)

　　T: Can you name the eight planets?

　　S11: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

　　T: Which planet do we live on? Can you describe what it looks like?

　　S12: Earth. It supports a variety of life and 70% of the earth is covered with seas or oceans.

　　T: Is there life on other planets?

　　S13: Not yet.

　　T: Right, there is a famous saying "Water is the headspring of life". But how did the water appear on the earth? If you want to get the correct answer, please read the passage on P25. It will tell you.

　　Step 3 Reading

　　Task1: Fast-reading

　　Fast reading for the main idea and the structure

　　1. Ask the students to number the paragraphs and pay attention to the first and the last sentences of each paragraph.

　　2. Ask the students to read the whole passage quickly and match the main idea of each paragraph.

　　Para. 1 The development of plants and animals

　　Para. 2 The importance of water

　　Para. 3 The formation of the universe

Para. 4 The arrival of human beings