师：Hello, boys and girls. Nice to see you. Welcome to Frank's class. Have you got your student's book and worksheet ready? Okay, today we are going to start Unit 4. Look at the slide. What can you see on the slide?
生：Yes, 0 to 9.
师：What do we call them?
生：Good numbers.
师：Where can you see these cute numbers in our daily life?
生：Almost everywhere.
师：Take a look at these numbers. Guess what they stand for? What do the numbers mean and what do the numbers make you think of? The first one stands for a zip code. You can see it on a letter or a postcard from your pen friend. It tells the district or state where you or your pen friend lives. What does this number make you think of?
生：A mass symbol, pi, the number used to calculate the size of circles.
师：Calculate means using numbers to find out a total number or amount. It means “计算”，say after me, calculate. The third one is the answer of the square root of two, which means the number multiplied by itself one time equals 2. When do you often see the number 4:04?
生：Sometimes when we are surfing the internet.
师：Right. What does it mean?
生：The page you're trying to reach on a website can't be found.
师：1,19 is an emergency telephone number for firefighters. And what does No. 13 make you think of?
生：In the West, 13 is an unlucky number. That's why there are no 13th floors in many buildings.
师：Have you got the same ideas as me? I guess so. Numbers help deliver meanings. As words, they are really useful, aren't they? Today we are going to read a passage together. Let's read the title and the introduction part first. What's the title?
生：Yes, numbers, everyone's language.
师：What does language mean? What lesson are we having?
生：English lesson. It's a language lesson as well.
师：What's our own language?
生：Chinese.
师：Say after me, language. What can we learn from the title? What's the use of the column? The writer defines numbers as everyone's language and the international language. What does everyone's language mean?
生：Yes, it means everyone uses and understands numbers.
师：So what do you think the writer will talk about in the passage? Can you make a prediction, Lucas? What's your idea?
生：I think the writer will talk about the history, the development, or the importance of numbers.
师：Good idea. Now, please open your books and turn to page 57. Read the passage and try to get the main idea of it. When you read, quickly go through the subheadings, pictures and the last paragraph, try to figure out what the passage mainly talks about. Go.
（学生阅读）
师：Okay, I've got some questions for you. What is the passage mainly about?
生：It's about the history and language of numbers.
师：How many parts are there in the passage? What are they?
生：There are four parts. They are Asian numbers, zero, calculating machines and brain against computer.
师：The subheadings help us identify the structure of the text. Fourth headings, 4 parts. Now let's take a close look at the passage and read it part by part. Please read through Asian numbers part and tell the meanings of the pictures. Go.
（学生阅读）
师：Okay, what do these pictures refer to?
生：They show the No. 6.
师：How are they different from one another?
生：They are written in different ways.
师：Right. In ancient times, people in different countries wrote numbers in different ways. What do these countries have in common?
生：They are countries with a long history. We call them Asian civilizations.
师：“古代文明”，can you think of any other Asian civilizations?
生：The ancient Indians, the ancient Arabs and the ancient Mexicans.
师：What's the modern way of writing No. 6?
生：（第一排同学回答）Like this.
师：The ancient Arabs. Numbers like these are called Arabic numerals. “阿拉伯数字”，remember the numbers we saw at the beginning of the lesson? They are Arabic numerals. How are these numbers similar to one another?
生：According to the article, it says they nearly all counted in the same way.
师：Intense, what does “they” refer to?
生：Asian people.
师：Right. “Intense” means “十进制”。Why did Asian people count in tens?
生：I guess the reason we count in tens is that we have 10 fingers.
师：What does the word “nearly” imply here?
生：Nearly means almost.
师：Say after me, nearly. Humans have always counted in a base 10 system, but in some other cultures, people do count in bases other than 10. For example, the Maya used a base 20 system, a very different counting system. A system is a group of things or parts that work together. “System” means, say after me, system. So the first part tells us that people have different number - writing systems, but the same counting system. Let's move on and read zero part. Try to find the answers to these questions. Write your answers in your notebook. Go.