Exceptional People

Read about the people below, and discuss the questions with partners. Have you heard of any of these peolple?
Hãy đọc thông tin về những nhân vật dưới đây, và thảo luận những câu hỏi sau với các bạn. Bạn đã từng nghe thông tin về những người này chưa?

Harriet Tubman (c.1820-1913) American abolitionist. Born a slave, she became of the most successful leaders of the Underground Railroad, an organisation created to help slaves escape to the North. She personally led more than 700 slaves to freedom. Although she is not a well-known individual outside of the U.S, she is widely respected in American history.	Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) (1940) Brazilian soccer player. Pelé is one of the best-known players in the history of soccer. He won his first World Cup with Brazil when he was only 17 years old. He made soccer a better-known sport throughout the world. Pelé changed the game forever, and he is considered a pioneer of modern soccer.	Stephen Hawking (1942) British theoretical physicist. He has written about the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe and theorised about black holes. His best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, is a popular account of modern cosmology. Since his early twenties, he has suffered from a disabling disease, which has not prevented him from continuing.

1. What sort of impact have these people had on other people? On history?
2. Who do you think are there of the most important international figures of the last thirty years? What did they achieve?

Discuss:
Hãy thảo luận:
Who are three people from your country who have made a significant impact. Make brief notes about them, and make a brief class presentation about one of them.

Name	Field	Key information about his/her life	Major achievements and impact

Brainstorm:
Hãy động não:
1. Many exceptional people were driven by one or two guiding principles that shaped the way they lived. Look at these quotations from famous people. Can restate these principles in your own words?

2. What are your guiding principles?
Think over:
Hãy suy ngẫm:
What are the most important principles you follow? Write one or two principles for each of the situations below. Then discuss them with the members of your group. Do you share any of the same principles?

• Dealing with other people
• Setting goals for yourself
• Coping with problems at work or school

Read and think:
Hãy đọc và suy nghĩ:
You must find out as much as you can about Nelson Mandela from other students. After you have finished asking other students for information about Mr. Mandela, share with your partners what you found out.

Nelson Mandela launches comic book

 Nelson Mandela has launched the first in a series of nine comic books based on his life. Mandela is a real-life super hero in South Africa and most of the world because of his fight to end apartheid.
 Five young African illustrators and cartoonists drew the pictures for the books. The aim is to re-awaken young South Africans to their rich history. One million free copies were sent to schoolchildren across the country. The series will eventually be translated into South Africa's 10 other official languages. The books will also go global. They should sell well in Japan's $7 billion a year comic book market.
 Artist Nic Buchanan, a white South African educated at a top university, wants people to know the truth about his country’s history. He criticized his own education, which he says did not focus on black history. He is sad that the history he was taught started with the arrival of the first white people to South Africa in 1652. He said, “Everything before then was written off as savagery or barbarism”. He also said, “Any story that involved heroism was about white people.” Buchanan is angry that until 1994, white governments had hidden their knowledge of black history from South Africans.
Talk together:
Hãy thảo luận:
a. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
b. How do you think Nelson Mandela might feel about becoming a comic book hero?
c. Do you think black South African schoolchildren will enjoy learning the truth about white governments?
d. What can we learn from Nelson Mandela?
e. Would you like to read the new comic books about Mr. Mandela?

Think and talk:
Hãy suy nghĩ và thảo luận:
1. Read what this person says about heroic behaviour. What is this person’s definition of a hero? Do you agree with the definition?

2. Discuss these questions.
1. Can you add three more examples of everyday heroism?
2. Has someone been a hero to you recently? Describe what happened.
3. Have you been a hero to someone lately? What did you do?

Give presentation:
Hãy trình bày:
You must give a presentation on a great world hero (or one nearer home). Use the cues below to create the information for your presentation:

	INFORMATION
Family background
Political situation at time of birth
Childhood
Events that influenced the person
Struggles
Hardships
Turning points
Victories
Achievements
How the person changed the world

1. Discuss what you wrote or thought about.
2. Give feedback on how to improve your presentation information.
3. Borrow good sentences or ideas from your partner(s) and add them to your own.
4. Give your presentations and vote on the best ones.
5. With new partners, talk about what you learned from the presentations.

Present your ideas:
Hãy trình bày ý kiến của mình:
1. Think of someone that you admire: a public person or someone you know personally. Why do you admire him or her? Make notes in the chart.

2. Describe the person you choose. Give details and examples of why you admire this person.
3. Decide which qualities you most admire in other people.

Discuss these situations. What would you do to make a difference?
Hãy thảo luận về những trường hợp sau. Bạn sẽ làm gì để tạo nên sự khác biệt?

Share ideas about these points with the others.
Chia xẻ ý kiến về những đề tài sau với các bạn.

1. Have you ever met a famous person or received a letter from someone famous? Tell the class about it
2. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of being high achievers? Make two lists.
3. Do you think the lives of all famous people are affected by the points on your lists? Name some people who are, or have been, most affected.
4. What would you most like and most dislike about being famous or rich?
5. Why do you admire certain people? What do you think might be admirable about the people in the pictures?
6. It has been said that in the future, everyone will be famous for at least fifteen minutes. Do you think this is likely to happen to you?
7. If you were famous, how would you use your fame?
8. In your opinion, what are “the keys to success” in your life? Discuss.
9. Have you ever met someone who had s strong influence on you? How did they influence you?