The Fun they Had Unit 7 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities Section.

The Fun they HadUnit 7Section One:Cultural Information

Section Three:Text Understanding

Section Four:Text Appreciation

Section Five:Activities

Section Two:Word Study

About the author

About the author

Isaac Asimov was born in 1920, in Russian, into a

Jewish middle class family, and died in 1992. In 1923 his

parents emigrated to the United States when he was

three years old. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York..

Asimov’s main works

About the Film Ⅰ

The three laws of robotics

Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author

About the author

Asimov began his formal education in the New York

Public School system in 1925. He continued on to East

New York Junior High School in September 1930, where

he was placed in the rapid advance course, and

graduated in June 1932. He entered tenth grade at Boys

High School in the fall, and graduated in the spring of

1935. After attending City College for only a few days, he

switched to the Brooklyn campus of Seth Low Junior

College, which provided him with a scholarship of one

hundred dollars.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author

About the author

The college closed after his freshman year, so he

continued at the parent institution, Columbia University.

He graduated from Columbia with a B.S. in the chemistry

in 1939, and he earned his master’s degree in chemistry

in 1941 at Columbia. He continued on at Columbia in

Ph.D. program, and after the gap in his researcher that

lasted from 1942 through 1946 (due to his wartime job

and his army), he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry in May in

1948. In 1948 he obtained a postdoctoral position at

Columbia, researching anti-malarial compounds.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author About the author

In June of 1949 he took a job as instructor of

biochemistry at the Boston University School of

Medicine, and was promoted to assistant professor in

December 1951. He gave up his teaching duties and

salary at the School of Medicine in 1958, but retain his

title, so that on July 1, 1958, he became a full-time writer.

In 1979, the school promoted him the rank of full

professor.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the authorAbout the author

He is an American author and biochemist, a highly

successful and prolific writer of science fiction and of

science books for layperson. He published about 500

volumes. “Over a space of 40 years, I published an

average of 1,700 words a day.” Dr. Isaac Asimov

calculated this remarkable figure toward the end of his

life in 1992. He wrote nearly five hundred books, each

educating and stimulating the minds of thousands then

and thousands today.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author

About the author

Asimov achieved fame winning awards such as “Best

All-Time Novel Series Hugo Award” and “The Nebula

Award”. By the time Asimov died in 1992 due to kidney

and heart failure, he had sealed his place in science

fiction history. Today, thousands pick up Asimov’s novels

dumbfounded by his extraordinary imagination, just as

thousands had then.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author Asimov’s main works

Pebble in the Sky(1950), Foundation(1951), Foundation

and Empire(1952), Second Foundation(19530), I,

Robot(1950)The Stars Like Dust(1951), Foundation’s

Eagle(1982), The Robot of Dawn(1983), The Chemicals

of Life(1954), Inside the Atom(1956), The Human

Brain(1964), Views of University(1981), In Joy Still

Felt(1980), The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov(1980), In

the Beginning(1981),etc.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author

About the Film I, Robot

In August 1967, John Mantley, the producer of the televi

sion show “Gunsmork”, expressed interest in Asimov’s ro

bot stories, and paid for option rights. The option was ren

ewed every year for the next twelve years until finally the

rights to produce a movie were bought. After Asimov refu

sed to do the screen adaptation, Harlan Ellison was hired,

and tough he wrote a screenplay that Asimov was greatl

y pleased with, the movie was never made. Ellison tells t

he story of his battle with Hollywood in the introduction to

I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, published in Decem

ber 1994.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author About the Film I, Robot

In July 2004, Twentieth Century Fox released a movie ti

tled I, Robot, starring Will Smith, that was “suggested by

Isaac Asimov’s book” 。 The film was born as a screenpl

ay titled “hardware” by screenwriter Jeff Vintar, and then,

with the permission of Asimov’s estate, the title was chan

ged and the story modified to use some characters and p

lot elements from Asimov’s stories. Directed by Vintar an

d Akiva Goldsman, the movie uses some of Asimov’s ide

as, but does not attempt to recreate any of the story line i

n Asimov’s short collection.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author The three laws of robotics

1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through

inaction, allow a human being to come harm.

2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human

beings expect where such orders would conflict with the

Fist Law.

3)A robot must protect its own existence as long as such

protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

----Laws of robots from I, Robot, 1950


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov






About the author

Quotes from Isaac Asimov

1) I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them.

2) If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ign

orance that we can solve them.

3) Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition th

at’s troublesome.

4) The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one t

hat heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!”(I found it!),

but “That’s funny…”

5) Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.


About the Film Ⅰ


Quotes from Isaac

Asimov

The Fun they HadUnit 7

1. head: vt. (a) be at the top of (a list or group of people or th

ings)

e.g. The movie heads the list of Oscar nominations.

(b) be in charge of a team, government, organization etc

e.g. Across the region, 45 percent of black families are heade

d by single women and 6 percent by single men.

(c) move in a certain direction

e.g. His teammates were long gone, headed home to celebra

te the biggest victory of their professional careers.

head for/towards

Section One:Cultural Information






2. crinkly: adj. (a)having a lot of small lines or folds

e.g. The leaves turned brown and crinkly.

e.g. She looked fondly at his crinkly face.

(b) Hair that is crinkly is stiff and curly.

e.g. In his crinkly fair hair there was hardly any grey.

crinkle vt. &vi.

crinkle n.







3. scornful: adj. showing contempt for; showing strong disre

spect towards sb/sth that is regarded as worthless.

e.g. He remained scornful of religion and its influence over pe

ople.

scorn n.

laugh sb/sth to scorn = pour scorn on sb/sth







4. slot: n. long narrow hole in a surface, that you can put st

h into

e.g. Alan dropped another quarter into the slot on the pay ph

one.

vt. go into a slot, or put sth in a slot

e.g. These ready-to-use units can be slotted in wherever and

whenever they fit.







5. punch: vt. (a) hit sb or sth hard with your fist. e.g. The woman claimed that she had been punched and kicked by one the policemen. (b) make a hole in sth, using a metal tool or other sharp object e.g. The guard punched my ticket and I got on. (c) push a button or a key on a machine e.g. I sat down in my swivel chair and propped my feet up, punching the replay button on the answering machine. n. （ a ） quick strong hit made your first e.g. I managed to land a punch on his chin.(b) strong effective way of expressing things that makes people interestede.g. 30 years after it was written, Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane still packs a punch.(c) drink made from fruit juice, sugar, water, and use some alcohol







6. superior: adj. (a) thinking that you are better than other

people

e.g. She has that superior tone of voice.

(b) of high quality of value

e.g. Superior goods are very popular among the customers.







7. loftily: adv. Haughtily; in a that shows one is better that other people e.g. The man behaved loftily and turned down any request for help. Lofty adj. (a) Lofty mountains, buildings etc are very high and impressive. e.g. The vaulting is ribbed throughout, lofty and well-proportioned. (b) lofty ideas, briefs, attitude etc show high standard or high moral quantities. e.g. With so lofty a title one might expect a similarly lofty agenda and goals. (c) seeming to think you are better than other people e.g. Burton always had a calm, lofty perspective on his work as a actor.







8. calculate: vt. (a) find out how sth will cost, how long sth w

ill take etc, by using numbers

e.g. Their accountant calculated the total cost of the project.

(b) guess sth using as many facts as you can find

e.g. Researchers calculated that this group was at a higher

risk of heart disease.

calculable adj.

calculation n.







9. in no time (at all): immediately; very quickly; at once e.g. We’ll be there in no time. lose no time in doing sth: do sth immediately in time: before the time by which it is necessary for sth to be done on time: at the correct time or the time that was arranged at one time: at a time in the past at no time: used to say strongly that sth ever happened or should never happened at all times: always over time: gradually during a long period from time to time: sometimes, but not regularly or very often







10. regular: adj. (a) happening or appearing use with the

same amount of time or space between each one and the

text

e.g. Plant the seeds at regular intervals.

e.g. His pulse is not very regular.

(b) happening or doing sth very often

e.g. Regular exercise helps keep your weight down.

e.g. He’s one of the bar’s regular customers.







11. dispute: (a) vt. Say that sth such as a fact or idea is not

correct or true

e.g. The main facts of the book have never been

disputed.

(b) vi. Argue about sth, esp angrily and for a long time

e.g. The question was hotly disputed in the Senate.

n. verbal controversy; debate

in dispute with: in argument with

under dispute: in dispute







12. scream: vi. (a) make a loud high noise with your voice

because you are hurt, frightened, excited etc

e.g. After the first few shots, people started screaming.

(b) shot sth in a very loud high voice because you are

angry or frightened

e.g. Carla’s been screaming at her kids all morning.

scream for/at: cry out for /at

roar/scream/shriek with laughter: laugh very loudly

let out a scream/shriek: give out a loud cry







13. adjust: vt. (a) change slightly to improve it or make it

more suitable for a particular purpose

e.g. If your employment status changes, your tax code

will be adjusted accordingly.

(b) gradually become familiar with a new situation

e.g. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the

darkness.

adjustable adj.

adjustment n.







14. nonchalantly: adv. Indifferently; coldly; not feeling

excited

e.g. He treated me nonchalantly when I visited him.

nonchalant adj. behaving calmly and not seeming

interested in anything or worried about anything

e.g. He looked nonchalant enough as he strolled along

the Bayswater Road, but inwardly Creed was a mess

of nerves.







15. light up: (a) give light to a place or to shine light on sth

e.g. The flames lit up the sky.

(b) become bright with light or color

e.g. At night the harbor lights up.







16. insert: vt. (a) put sth inside or into sth else

e.g. His hand book slighty as he inserted the key into

the lock.

(b) add sth to a document or piece of writing

e.g. His manager inserted a new clause into his contract.

17. sign: n. act or sound of sighing

e.g. Irene closed the door behind her and breathed a big

sign of relief.







Questions

Paragraph 1

Questions:

(1) When did the story take place?

(The story took place on May 17, 2157)

(2) What did Margie write in her diary on the night of May 17,

2157?

(On the night of May 17, 2157, Margie wrote in her diary,

“Today Tommy found a real book!”)

(3) What rhetorical device is employed in the first

paragraph?

(The eventful day which serves as the beginning of the

story is shown in a flashback?)

Sentence Highlights







Paragraphs 2-31

Questions:

(1) What is the long conversation between Margie and

Tommy concerned with?

(The conversation is concerned with a very old book

about the old kind of school with human

teachers that exist centuries ago.)

(2) What do you know about a Country Inspector?

(He is a human repairman of mechanical teachers.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 2-31

Questions:

(3) What do you know about the old book, the old school,

the kids and the human teacher?

(The book that the kids used in the old days was not a t

elebook. The old book had many pages with words t

hat stood still instead of moving the way they were su

pposed to - on a screen. The kids of the same age we

re sitting together in the schoolroom, learn the same t

hing happily. They could talk about their homework an

d help each other. The teachers were people.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 2-31

Questions:

(4) Why does Margie hate school?

(Because she has to learn at regular hours alone in the

computer room(her schoolroom). She has to do regul

ar homework and write them out in a punch code. Sh

e should put her home work and text papers in the slo

t and the mechanical teacher can do calculation in no

time. She began to learn this way at the age of six.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 32-35

Questions:

(1) What do you know about the schoolroom and the

mechanical teacher?

(The schoolroom was right next to Margie’s bedroom,

and the mechanical teacher was always on at the

same time every day except Saturday and Sunday. It

always asked Margie to insert her home work and

text papers into the slot.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 32-35

Questions:

(2) What was Margie think about?

(Margie was thinking about the old school her

grandfather’s grandfather had when he was a little

boy. The kids could study together in the same room

and they could play together in the schoolyard. She

was meditating on how fortunate the kids were and

what great fun they had at school.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 32-35

Questions:

(3) What massage do you think the writer conveyed

about school education in the story?

(Computerization may play a very important role in future

education. Children in the distant future dislike the

school with a mechanical teacher only and they hope

to have human teachers teaching them instead of the

mechanical ones.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


1. The turned the pages, which are yellow and crinkly, and i

t was awful funny to read words that stood still instead o

f moving the way they were supposed to – on a screen ,

you know.

be supposed to do sth: be expect to do sth

Paraphrase: They felt it very amusing to read a book with

words printed on it motionless as they flipped the worn-

out pages, because in their eyes words in a book shoul

d be moving the way they ought to – on a screen.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


2. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it

away, I guess.

Paraphrase: When you have finished reading the book,

you merely cast it away, I believe.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


3. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the

teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to

put it together again, but he knew all right, …

Put together: assemble

Paraphrase: With a smile the inspector gave Margie an

apple, and put the machine into several pieces. Margie had

hoped that he wouldn’t have difficulty assembling the

mechanical teacher, but to her disappoint, he knew it clearly,

…






Questions

Sentence Highlights


4. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away

together.

Paraphrase: She had been hoping that they would carry

the mechanical teacher to another place once for all.

5. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked

beneath his arm.

Paraphrase: he whistled a tune as he moved away,

holding the dusty book under his arm.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Text Appreciation

Text Appreciation

This narrative text tells a simple story that is imagined to

have happened on May 17, 2157. The story is told in the third

person from a future perspective, with a long conversation

between the two leading characters running through most of the

plot. It is mostly organized and developed in a chronological

order except the beginning part of the story, where the last

event of that eventful day is record, and with a flashback

unfolding in the near middle of the story. In addition, the last

part of the story gives details description of Margie’s

psychological activities, which helps to highlight the theme of

the story.

Language Appreciation







1. Today Tommy found a real book! (para.1)

The expression of “real book” stirs readers’ interest. It

creates a suspense that many arouse readers’

curiosity for reading the story. The function of this

interjection is to catch readers’ attention.






Text Appreciation



2. What’s there to write about school? (para,10)

That’s a rhetorical question, which calls for no answer.

A positive rhetorical question is negative in meaning.

The rhetorical question here means: there is nothing

at all to write about school.






Text Appreciation



Activity 1 Role-play

Act out the conversation between Margie and Tommy

about the school life in the old days.

Activity 2

Activity 3







Group work

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of human

teachers and mechanical teachers in school education.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3


Oral activity: II on p.107

Language support

1. When expressing their own opinions, students may use th

e following expressions and structures.

From my part, …

As to me, …

As far as I am concerned, …

I’d like to agree to …

My favor goes to …

In my opinion, …

Frankly speaking, I think …

With reference/respect/regard to …, I’d like to …






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3



Language support

2. When eliciting questions, students may use the following e

xpressions and structures.

Regarding …, I want to ask you …

Why do you think …?

If so, what do you think has more fun, A or B?

Would you please tell me …?

My question is …






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3


Oral activity: II on p.107 Language support3. When defending and challenging opinions, students may

use the following expressions and structures. I want to reinstate my opinion that …I totally agree with you, but my opinion is that …Fortunately what you said coincides with my view that …To be honest, I don’t think …I am afraid I don’t quite agree with you. My view is that …Let us (now) turn to your statements, and we may find some

problems.First, …, furthermore, …,finally, …As for the reasons you mentioned, I want to point out that …






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3



Language support

4. When making general statements, students may use the f

ollowing expressions and structures.

To sum up briefly, …

To summarize, …

In short, …

All in all, …

In conclusion, we may say that …

We may safely conclude that …

In summary, I would like to say that …

Personally, I am in favor of the former/the later.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

The Fun they Had Unit 7 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities Section.

Documents

activities section

text understanding section

text appreciation section

cultural information

author asimov

author isaac asimov

isaac asimov slide

word study