Unit Three

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Unit Three
Unit Three

• Understanding Science

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Warm-up activity

• Name of some of the scientific and technological
  discoveries that have changed or will change the
  way people live.

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Brainstorminformation about Stephen Hawking

• What do you know about him?
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Field of research
• Books

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• Jan.8,1942 /the world's foremost living English
  theoretical physicist
• an expert on black holes whose stated intention
  is to unify quantum mechanics with Einstein's
  general theory of relativity, forming a single
  theory to explain the origin (and end) of the
  universe
• a professor of mathematics at Cambridge
  University
• the author of the best-selling book A Brief
  History of Time
• recent book Universe in a Nutshell

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About the Author

• Stephen Hawking (1942- ) a British scientist who
  has greatly influenced peoples ideas on the
  origin of the universe. He has devoted much of
  his life to probing the

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About the Author

• space-time described by general relativity and
  the singularities where it breaks down. And hes
  done most of his work while confined to a
  wheelchair, brought on by the progressive

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About the Author

• neurological disease (ALS)???????? . Hawking
  is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at
  Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton.
• In the late 1960s, Hawking proved that

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About the Author

• if general relativity is true and the universe
  is expanding, a singularity must have occurred at
  the birth of the universe. In 1974 he first
  recognized a truly remarkable property of black
  holes, objects from which nothing was supposed to
  be able to escape. He has written the
  international bestseller

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About the Author

• A Brief History of Time. The book spent more
  than four years on the London Sunday Times
  bestseller listthe longest run for any book in
  history.

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Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)Moral and Political
Philosophy

• English philosopher, best known for his
  political thought, and deservedly so. His vision
  of the world is strikingly original and still
  relevant to contemporary politics.

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• His main concern is the problem of social and
  political order how human beings can live
  together in peace and avoid the danger and fear
  of civil conflict. He poses stark???
  alternatives we should give our obedience to an
  unaccountable sovereign

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• (a person or group empowered to decide every
  social and political issue). Otherwise what
  awaits us is a state of nature--that closely
  resembles civil war--a situation of universal
  insecurity, where all have reason to fear violent
  death and where rewarding human cooperation is
  all but impossible. One controversy has dominated
  interpretations of Hobbes. Does he see human
  beings as purely

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• self-interested? Several passages support such
  a reading, leading some to think that his
  political conclusions can be avoided if we adopt
  a more realistic picture of human nature.
  However, most scholars now accept that Hobbes
  himself had a much more complex view of human
  motivation.

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Frankenstein

• a novel (1818) by an English writer Mary
  Shelley. It is the story of a Swiss scientist,
  Dr. Frankenstein, who makes a living creature
  from pieces of dead bodies. The creature is like
  a man, but stronger,

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Frankenstein

• and although it is gentle at first, it later
  attacks and kills several people close to
  Frankenstein. People sometimes mistakenly call
  the creature Frankenstein, instead of the
  scientist who made it.

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• Part of Frankensteins rejection of his creation
  is the fact that he doesnt give it a name, and
  instead it is referred to by words such as
  monster, creature, demon??, fiend ??,and
  wretch??.

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its connotation

• a creation or invention that gets beyond its
  maker's control and threatens harm or
  destruction

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Frankenstein

• There have been films based on the story and
  variations of it
• Frankenstein 1910
• Silent movie
• Length 16 minutes
• Everybody was dressed up as a ghost, a vampire
  or Frankensteins monster.

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• As Society enters the twenty-first century, with
  opportunities for human cloning within our reach,
  the questions raised by this timeless novel seem
  more pertinent ??than ever What are the
  consequences of creating artificial life? What
  are scientists responsibilities toward their
  work? And what happens if they go too far?
• In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley offers
  harrowing??????? answers to these questions-and a
  chilling tale that has endured for more than a
  century.

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• The book can be seen as a criticism of scientists
  who are unconcerned by the potential consequences
  of their work. Victor was heedless of those
  dangers, and irresponsible with his invention.
  Instead of immediately destroying the evil he had
  created, he was overcome by fear and fell
  psychologically ill.

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• It was also a warning against the over-reaching
  of modern man and the Industrial Revolution,
  alluded ??to in the novels subtitle, The Modern
  Prometheus.
• For Mary Shelley on a personal level, Prometheus
  was not a hero but a devil, whom she blamed for
  bringing fire to man and thereby seducing the
  human race to the vice of eating meat (fire
  brought cooking which brought hunting and
  killing).

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• For Romance era artists in general, Prometheus'
  gift to man compared with the two great utopian
  promises of the 18th century the Industrial
  Revolution and the French Revolution, containing
  both great promise and potentially unknown
  horrors.

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• The story has had an influence across literature
  and popular culture and spawned?? a complete
  genre of horror stories and films. And it is
  considered the very first science fiction novel.

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Mary Shelley (17971851)

• Mary Shelley was a prominent, though often
  overlooked, literary figure during the Romantic
  Era of English Literature. She was the only child
  of Mary Wollstonecraft, the famous feminist, and
  William Godwin, a

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Mary Shelley

• philosopher and novelist. She was also the wife
  of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary's parents
  were shapers of the Romantic sensibility and the
  revolutionary ideas of the left wing. Mary,
  Shelley, Byron, and Keats were principle figures
  in Romanticism's second generation.

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• At the age of sixteen Mary ran away to live
  with the twenty-one year old Percy Shelley, the
  unhappily married radical heir to a wealthy
  baronetcy. To Mary, Shelley personified the
  genius and dedication to human betterment that
  she had admired her entire life. Although she was
  cast out of society, even by her father, this
  inspirational liaison produced her masterpiece,
  Frankenstein.

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Mary Shelley

• She conceived of Frankenstein during one of
  the most famous house parties in literary history
  when staying at Lake Geneva in Switzerland with
  Byron and Shelley. Interestingly enough, she was
  only nineteen at the time. She wrote the novel
  while being overwhelmed by a series of calamities
  in her life. The worst of these were the suicides
  of her half-sister, Fanny Imlay, and Shelly's
  wife, Harriet.

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Green Parties

• A Green Party is a formally organized political
  party based on the principles of Green politics.
  These principles include environmentalism,
  reliance on grassroots democracy, nonviolence,
  and social justice causes, including those
  related to the rights of indigenous peoples.
  "Greens" believe that these issues are inherently
  related to ecological, social, and human bodily
  health.

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Green Parties

• There are green parties in North America,
  Europe, and many other areas in the world. They
  are political parties whose main concern is to
  protect the environment.
• A value system unites Greens worldwide. There
  is no definitive, authoritative creed. Green
  Politics isn't like that. Here are several
  renditions of what we call the Ten Key Values of
  the Greens

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The Ten Key Values of the Greens

• Social JusticeCommunity-Based
  EconomicsNonviolenceDecentralisationFuture
  Focus/SustainabilityFeminismPersonal and Global
  ResponsibilityRespect for DiversityGrassroots
  DemocracyEcological Wisdom

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The Sky at Night

• a popular British television program about the
  stars and planets, broadcast every month by the
  BBC since 1957

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The Sky at Night

• In the past, general topics have included
  stellar life cycles, radio astronomy, artificial
  satellites, black holes, neutron stars and many
  others. The program also covers what is happening
  in the night sky at the time it is being
  broadcast, especially when something less common,
  such as a comet or a meteor shower, is present.

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The Sky at Night

• The show has had the same permanent presenter,
  Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24
  April 1957, making it the longest running program
  with the same presenter in the world.
• It is well known for the way in which its
  presenter, Patrick Moore, gives scientific
  information in an entertaining way.

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• In July 2004, he was replaced by a guest
  cosmologist Chris Lintott of Oxford university
  for a month, due to a severe bout of
  Salmonellosis?????.
• On 1 Apr. 2007 Sir Patrick Moore presented the
  50th Anniversary edition of the show, a special
  time travel edition.

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Text Organization

• Part One Paras 1-3
• To make informed decisions about change, the
  public needs a basic understanding of science.

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Text Organization

• Part Two Paras 4-6
• What can be done to educate the public about
  science.

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Text Organization

• Part Three Para 7
• With an informed public, human civilization
  will survive.

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Text Organization

• Two aspects are emphasized
• The importance of the teaching of science in
  schools.
• The role mass media can play, especially what
  television can do.

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Main idea

• To ensure the survival of human civilization,
  measures must be taken to help the public
  understand science

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Structure of the text

• Introducing a topic
• Developing the topic with supporting details
• Supplying a conclusion

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Language Study

• privilege
• In countries where there are not many schools
  education is still a privilege.
• ??????????????(T)
• She had led a life of luxury and privilege.

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Language Study

• do without
• People can do without a lot of things, but they
  cannot do without food.
• If we cant afford a car, well have to do
  without (one).
• Youll have to do without dinner if you dont get
  back in time.

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Language Study

• risky
• Being self-employed is much risky than being a
  wage-earner.
• Its risky to buy a car without some good advice.

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Language Study

• run/take the risk of doing sth.
• If you invest in that business, you are running
  the risk of losing your hard-earned money.
• ??????????,?????????????????
• at the risk of
• He saved my life at the risk of his own.

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Language Study

• risk (v.) sth. or doing sth.
• He doesnt want to risk losing his job. So he
  held his tongue instead of pointing out his boss
  mistake. (T)
• ??????????????,??????????,???????
• Knowing that the lines were tapped, he didnt
  risk a phone call.

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Language Study

• put/turn the clock back
• No one could be so powerful as to be able to put
  the clock back to an earlier age.
• The American Government seems determined to turn
  the clock back to the days of Cold War.

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Language Study

• cut off
• cut off water/electricity/supply
• Their phone has been cut off because they havent
  paid the bill.
• Our country once cut itself off from the rest of
  the world.
• Cf. cut across, cut away, cut in, cut into, cut
  out

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• He cut across the fields so as not to be late.
• The surgeon cut away the tumor with expert skill.
• Sam tried every possible means to cut down his
  daily expenses.
• The driver nearly caused an accident by cutting
  in.
• Dont cut in when other people are talking./She
  cut into our conversation.
• The engine has been cut out.

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Language Study

• inspiring encouraging, or making you feel you
  want to do something
• She was an inspiring example to her followers.
• Without an inquiring mind, one cannot be a
  creative scientist. (T)
• ????????????,?????????????????

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Language Study

• inquire to ask for information
• He sent me on the mission of inquiring about the
  trains to London.
• We must inquire further into the matter.
• The police stopped me to inquire my name.

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Cf. acquire, require

• He has acquired a good knowledge of English by
  reading extensively.
• You are required to respect the contract.

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Language Study

• suppress end by force prevent
• suppress human rights/revolt/information
• After Mary finished making her unfavorable
  comment on his ability, Jims eyes were no longer
  mild but glittered with suppressed anger.
• Even the grave old gentleman could not suppress a
  laugh. (T)
• ????????????????

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Language Study

• initiative a new action or movement, often
  intended to solve a problem
• The peace initiative was welcomed by both sides.
• What makes you think that he lacks initiative?
  (T)
• ??????????????

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Language Study

• on ones own initiative
• In the absence of my commanding officer, I acted
  on my own initiative. (T)
• ??????????,??????
• take the initiative
• He has taken the initiative to improve relations
  with her.
• It is up to country to take the initiative in
  banning nuclear weapons.

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Language Study

• ensure make sure
• It is his industry and ability that has ensured
  his success.
• Please ensure that all the lights are switched
  off at night.
• assure tell sb. positively or confidently
• I assure you that they will be perfectly safe
  with us.

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• assure sb./oneself of sth. cause to feel certain
  
• She was able to assure herself that nothing had
  been taken from her purse.
• insure make a contract the promises to pay sb.
  an amount of money in case of accident, injury,
  death,etc.
• I insured my house against fire.

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Language Study

• be in two minds to be unable to decide about
  sth.
• The committee itself appeared to be in two minds
  over the issue.
• I was in two minds about leaving Shanghai my
  friends were there, but the job abroad was a good
  one.

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Language Study

• harness to control sth. usually in order to use
  its power
• There is a great deal of interest in harnessing
  wind and waves as new sources of power.
• A good leader should know how to harness the
  talents of his subordinates to a common end. (T)
• ???????????????????????????

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Language Study

• by rote to learn sth. in order to be able to
  repeat it from memory, rather than in order to
  understand it (slightly disapproving)
• It is really not clever of him to copy his
  teacher by rote.
• He is speaking his lines by rote. (T)
• ??????
• rote learning

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Language Study

• in terms of as expressed by with regard to
• The figures are expressed in terms of percentage.
  
• In terms of customer satisfaction, the policy
  cant be criticized.
• In terms of treasure, Italy is one of the riches
  countries in the world.

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• on terms with sb.
• I am not on speaking terms with him at present.
• come to terms with sth.
• It took Mary a long time to come to terms with
  the death of her husband.

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Language Study

• grasp v/n to understand sth., esp. sth.
  difficult
• I think I managed to grasp the main points of the
  lecture.
• Applied mathematics was beyond the grasp of most
  of her students.
• She has a good grasp of the English language.

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Language Study

• convey to express a thought, feeling or idea so
  that it is understood by other people
• Their bright eyes and smiling faces conveyed the
  impression that they were very excited.
• Words cannot convey how delighted I am that
  youll come and spend the weekend with us.

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Language Study

• put across to express your ideas and opinions
  clearly so that people understand them easily
• The speaker doesnt know how to put his ideas
  across to his listeners.
• The government needs to put across the message
  that the economy is starting to recover.
• Cf. put away, put out, put forward, put off

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• Put away your books. It is time for supper.
• The fire had been put out when the firemen
  arrived./Your paper will put out next season.
• The theory of evolution put forward by Darwin
  changed mans view of himself.
• Never put off what you can co today till tomorrow.

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Language Study

• entertain to amuse/ to invite someone to your
  house and give food and drink to them
• Childrens television programs not only entertain
  but also teach.
• We entertain a lot of people, mainly business
  associates of my wife's.
• The villagers entertained us to barbecue.

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Style

• The differences between narration and exposition

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Style

• Expository writings usually employ longer
  paragraphs in which there are longer and more
  involved sentences.
• For the purpose of objectivity, third-person
  narration is often adopted in exposition.

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Style

• A typical piece of expository writing begins with
  statement of opinion, then goes on to give
  supporting details.
• If we look closer at Part III of this text, we
  will find it to be a mini-exposition, its topic
  being how to educate the public in science.
  Afterwards three

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Style

• concrete solutions are proposed. They are
• science education in schools,
• replacing equations with words and diagrams,
• and making use of popular media such as
  newspapers, magazines and above all TV.

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Synonyms

• advance---
• stop from---
• accurate---
• express---
• in terms of---
• go back to---
• Large audience

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antonyms

• minority---
• quantity ---

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Essay writing

• How _____Changes Our Lives