Transcript Advanced English

Unit 7
The Age of Miracle Chips
Teaching Objectives
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Get to know some background knowledge
about the development of science and
technology
Grasp the main idea and the theme of
this passage
Learn to use some terms and expressions
connected with computer
Appreciate the writing skills of the
passage
Teaching Points
I. Background information
II. Text analysis
III. Detailed study of the text
IV. Rhetorical devices
V. Questions for discussion
II. Text Analysis
 Type of literature:
-- a piece of exposition
 Thesis:
New microtechnology will transform society.
This inert fleck has astonishing powers that are
already transforming society.
II. Text analysis
 1. making effective use of specific
verbs and adjectives
 2. employing various methods to
make the science writing
understandable and interesting
II. Text analysis
 1st Part:
 Section 1: What it is like, the outlook,
the appearance of the miracle chip.
 Section 2: Its uses, the advantages /
superiority of microcomputer over the
old type of computers.
 Section 3: The significance of this
miracle chip.
II. Text analysis
 2nd Part:
 Section 1. (Paras. 1. It is 7:30. 2. After her
husband. 3. Wellsian fantasy?)
 The matutinal scenario of Mr. Aladdin's family,
an ordinary family in latter-day American
society when equipped with computers.
 Section 2. (Paras. from "The microelectronic
revolution promises..." to "beyond the ken of
many educators") The many uses of this
microelectronic revolution.
 Section 3. Conclusion: the computer revolution
is... to a higher order of existence.
III. Detailed Study
 fleck: a small mark or spot
brown cloth with flecks of red
a fleck of milk on the baby's chin
 powers: general natural abilities
 calculating capability: the ability of processing
complex mathematics problems in large
amounts
Detailed Study
 hulking: massive and clumsy, heavy and
awkward
Caliban of vacuum tubes
his tyrant of a father
her doll of a daughter
a giant of a soldier
a palace of a house
Detailed Study
 read-out: the information removed
from a computer and displayed (here,
on the screen)
Detailed Study
 commandeer: to place an order, to
seize sth. (esp. private property) for
esp. military use
The policeman commandeered a taxi to
chase the robbers.
During the battle, all the houses along
the river bank were commandeered.
Detailed Study
 terminal: an apparatus by which a
user can give instructions to and get
information from a computer. Here a
controlling board
 recipe: a set of instructions for
making sth. from various ingredients
a recipe for moon cakes
Detailed Study
 Byzantine art and architecture include
not only works done in the city of
Byzantium after it became the capital
of the Roman Empire (A.D.330), but
also work done under Byzantine
influence, as in Italy, Syria, Greece,
Russia, and other Eastern countries.
Detailed Study
 conjugation: the way verbs change
their forms in accordance with
number, person, mood, voice and
tense
verb conjugation: the different
inflectional (inflexional) forms of
verbs, such as do, does, did, done &
etc.
 47. groovy: (sl.) very good, pleasing,
deeply satisfying
Detailed Study
 Herbert George Wells (1866-1946),
the son of a gardener and a lady’s
maid, He went to the Normal School
of Science in London and studied
biology under Professor Thomas
Henry Huxley, the principal exponent
in England of Darwin's Theory of
Evolution.
Detailed Study
 By 1895, he had published The Time
Machine, the Wonderful Visit and a
volume of short stories. These made
Wells the pioneer of science fiction in
the world.
 Among his works, besides the above
mentioned, The Invisible Man, The
War of the Worlds, The First Men in
the Moon and The War in the Air are
outstanding.
Detailed Study
 With this microelectronic revolution, it
becomes certain that life will be more
comfortable, that the quality of life
will be improved, and that life will be
much simpler.
Detailed Study
 enrich: to make rich, to improve by
adding sth.
The discovery of the gold mine will
enrich the district.
 dreary: dull, uninteresting, tedious,
depressing, cheerless
Detailed Study
 capricious: tending to change
abruptly and without apparent reason
A spoiled child is often capricious.
We can't go camping while the weather
is so capricious.
The capricious woman bought and
exchanged three dresses in a week.
Detailed Study
 virtually: almost, very nearly
This word is very close in meaning to
practically, and actually.
With the boss out sick, the secretary is
virtually in charge.
The king was so much under the
influence of his wife that she was the
virtual ruler of the country.
Detailed Study
 The computer will be as much a
part of the home as….
The household computer will be a
part of the home as much as the
kitchen sink.
He is as much an important a
member of our team as the
captain.
IV . Rhetorical Devices
 1. antonomasia
 2. metaphor
 3. alliteration
V. Questions for Discussion
 1. What does a miracle chip look like?
What is it made of?
 2. What is the significance of the computer
revolution?
 3. Is the computer a humanizing or
dehumanizing factor?
 4. The author tries to make his science
writing interesting and popular. What are
some of the methods he employs to
achieve this?