四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 Text a A Look at tomorrow I. Introduction 1. Introductory Remarks The pace of scientific and technological progress appears to speed up all the time. New inventions appear and quickly make hundreds of existing devices and procedures out of date. The computer technology is just one of the few most exciting current scientific developments. Ever since 1946 when the first computer came into being, computers have gone through quite a few generations, from the one which was as large as a room, and quite difficult and slow to operate, to the one which is smaller than a book easier to use. and much faster. All this has been made possible mainly because of the rapid advancement of the computer's microprocessor--the computer's brain, which can now be made as small as a baby,'s fingernail yet still can hold a huge amount of information. The increasingly wide applications of the computer are even more fascinating. Just in the past few years, the computer has made the office work quite different from what it used to be; it has also totally changed the way people enjoy their leisure hours at home. a few more years later when we step into the 21st century, a lot more future miracles in the present laboratories will certainly enter our everyday life, making the unthinkable an enjoyable reality 2. Introductory Questions Exercise I Exercise 3 after reading the passage IL Outline A. The Lead -in Topic(Para. 1) Computer's fascinating future and its miracles B. The Exciting Visions of the Future(Paras. 2-5) L Anear -normal brain for the disabled 4. Computerized robots C. The Role of the Silicon Microchip and Its Possible Future( Paras. 6-8) 1. The function of the microchip 2. New generation of computers with Al abilities D. The Conclusion(Para. 9) Computers will be one of the necessities for humans of the future IlL. Detailed Study of the Text I. After all, 40 years ago electronic digital computers didn't exist; It must be remembered that 40 years ago electronic digital computers didn't exist at after all: for a good reason that you should remember(used with emphasis on all) eg. I know he hasn,'t finished the work but, after all, he's very busy
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 Text A A Look at Tomorrow I. Introduction 1. Introductory Remarks The pace of scientific and technological progress appears to speed up all the time. New inventions appear and quickly make hundreds of existing devices and procedures out of date. The computer technology is just one of the few most exciting current scientific developments. Ever since 1946 when the first computer came into being, computers have gone through quite a few generations, from the one which was as large as a room, and quite difficult and slow to operate, to the one which is smaller than a book, easier to use, and much faster. All this has been made possible mainly because of the rapid advancement of the computer's microprocessor--the computer's brain, which can now be made as small as a baby's fingernail yet still can hold a huge amount of information. The increasingly wide applications of the computer are even more fascinating. Just in the past few years, the computer has made the office work quite different from what it used to be; it has also totally changed the way people enjoy their leisure hours at home. A few more years later when we step into the 21st century, a lot more future miracles in the present laboratories will certainly enter our everyday life, making the unthinkable an enjoyable reality. 2. Introductory Questions Exercise 1 Exercise 3 after reading the passage II. Outline A. The Lead-in Topic (Para. 1) Computer's fascinating future and its miracles B. The Exciting Visions of the Future (Paras. 2 - 5) 1. A near-normal brain for the disabled 2. Special functions used in recreation, education and science 3. Banking, shopping and working all from home computer terminals 4. Computerized robots C. The Role of the Silicon Microchip and Its Possible Future (Paras. 6 - 8) 1. The function of the microchip 2. New generation of computers with AI abilities D. The Conclusion (Para. 9) Computers will be one of the necessities for humans of the future. III. Detailed Study of the Text 1. After all, 40 years ago electronic digital computers didn't exist; ... -- It must be remembered that 40 years ago electronic digital computers didn't exist at all; ... after all: for a good reason that you should remember (used with emphasis on all) eg. I know he hasn't finished the work but, after all, he's very busy
四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 Why don't you put the hat on? After all, it is not so hard as it look 2.. as tiny as a babys fingernail It is a simile describing how small microchips are. Simile is the use of an expression which describes one thing by directly comparing it to another. Metaphor, however, is an expression which means or describes something else with very similar qualities without using the words"as"or "like" eg. as white as snow as busy as a bee(similes The plans for a chip look much like a city street plan .. (a simile) It rains cats and dogs.(a metaphor) 3. Surely the future holds still more miracles. It goes without saying that there will be more wonders created by computers in the days to come Some of the computer experiments now going on inspire exciting visions of the future 4.- Some of the computer experiments that are now still in progress give rise to exciting visions of the future. inspire: to fill someone with thoughts, feelings or aims eg. His travels in the Far East inspired the book that soon turned out to be the best seller We should inspire the children always to think by themselves rather than simply give them more book knowledge The good news from the market inspired them with the confidence in the products cf. Inspired by these prospects, they planned to set up more offices here. ( to be encouraged) vision of the future: imagined mental images or pictures of the futur hich could make life easier for the blind and deaf which could make life easier for those who are blind or deaf deaf: unable to hear well or at al e.g. She's partially deaf in her right ear. The deaf find social life difficult cf. The child was always being deaf to what his mother said. (=unwilling to listen) She seems to be blind to his faults. ( not aware of) 6 .. that respond to the electric impulses produced by the human brain. that react to the electric impulses produced by the human brain respond to: to react to, answer e.g. It seems that the children responded badly to that kind of teaching ne car suddenly stopped responding to the controls cf. The illness quickly responded to proper treatment. ( improved result of th treatment 7. Scientists hope that some day a person some day: also spelled someday. At some time in the future which is not yet known or not
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 Why don't you put the hat on? After all, it is not so hard as it looks. 2. .... as tiny as a baby's fingernail ... -- It is a simile describing how small microchips are. Simile is the use of an expression which describes one thing by directly comparing it to another. Metaphor, however, is an expression which means or describes something else with very similar qualities without using the words "as" or "like". eg. as white as snow / as busy as a bee (similes) The plans for a chip look much like a city street plan ... (a simile) It rains cats and dogs. (a metaphor) 3. Surely the future holds still more miracles. -- It goes without saying that there will be more wonders created by computers in the days to come. Some of the computer experiments now going on inspire exciting visions of the future. 4. -- Some of the computer experiments that are now still in progress give rise to exciting visions of the future. inspire: to fill someone with thoughts, feelings or aims eg. His travels in the Far East inspired the book that soon turned out to be the best seller. We should inspire the children always to think by themselves rather than simply give them more book knowledge. The good news from the market inspired them with the confidence in the products. cf. Inspired by these prospects, they planned to set up more offices here. (= to be encouraged) vision of the future: imagined mental images or pictures of the future 5 .... which could make life easier for the blind and deaf. -- ... which could make life easier for those who are blind or deaf. deaf: unable to hear well or at all e.g. She's partially deaf in her right ear. The deaf find social life difficult. cf. The child was always being deaf to what his mother said. (= unwilling to listen) She seems to be blind to his faults. (= not aware of) 6 .... that respond to the electric impulses produced by the human brain. -- ... that react to the electric impulses produced by the human brain. respond to: to react to; answer e.g. It seems that the children responded badly to that kind of teaching. The car suddenly stopped responding to the controls. cf. The illness quickly responded to proper treatment. (= improved as a result of the treatment) 7. Scientists hope that some day a person ... some day: also spelled someday. At some time in the future which is not yet known or not stated
四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 e.g. Some day it will be possible to fly between Australia and Europe in a couple of hours are causing some people to predict new educational uses for computers. are causing some people to forecast new applications of computers in education predict: to say in advance that(something)will happen; forecast e.g. The weather service predicts heavy rain for tomorrow Those who choose to buy foreign currencies may sometimes find the change in value is very difficult to predict to explore the ocean floor, to go to the ocean floor in order to discover more about it explore: to travel into or through(a place) for the purpose of discovery e.g. Columbus discovered America but did not explore the new continent More recently, automobiles and airplanes have been used to explore the remote cf. Let's explore the various ways of investing money. (= to examine carefully) Let's explore this question/issue/topic/idea more fully 10. Cars, too, might be equipped with computers.(Honda has one in an experiment Cars, too, might be provided with computers Is the ship fully equipped for be equipped with: to be provided with e.g. The expedition was fully equipped with food, tents, medicine and other supplies Quite a few buses in Shanghai are now equipped with air-conditioning Honda: the Japanese company which produces motorcycles and cars; a motorcycle or car de by th or to communicate with home and office computers. or to keep in touch with home and office computers communicate with: to share or exchange(news, information, etc. e.g. We can now communicate with people in most parts of the world by telephone Young people sometimes complain of not being able to communicate with thei parents communicate sth(to):to pass on e.g. Radio, television, and newspapers quickly communicate news to all parts of the world The radio stations communicated the storm warnings to the people on that small 12. A growing number of factories such as the General Motors plant in Newark, Delaware General Motors: the largest maker of cars and trucks in the US, including Chevrolet, Oldsmobile Pontiac and Buick Newark: a large city and port in New Jersey, US, across the Hudson River from New York Delaware: a state in the eastern US. It was one of the 13 original colonies. Except the rho
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 e.g. Some day it will be possible to fly between Australia and Europe in a couple of hours. 8 .... are causing some people to predict new educational uses for computers. --... are causing some people to forecast new applications of computers in education. predict: to say in advance that (something) will happen; forecast e.g. The weather service predicts heavy rain for tomorrow. Those who choose to buy foreign currencies may sometimes find the change in value is very difficult to predict. 9 .... to explore the ocean floor, ... -- ... to go to the ocean floor in order to discover more about it .... explore: to travel into or through (a place) for the purpose of discovery e.g. Columbus discovered America but did not explore the new continent. More recently, automobiles and airplanes have been used to explore the remote regions. cf. Let's explore the various ways of investing money. (= to examine carefully) Let's explore this question/issue/topic/idea more fully. 10. Cars, too, might be equipped with computers ... (Honda has one in an experimental car) ... -- Cars, too, might be provided with computers ... Is the ship fully equipped for its voyage? be equipped with: to be provided with e.g. The expedition was fully equipped with food, tents, medicine and other supplies. Quite a few buses in Shanghai are now equipped with air-conditioning. Honda: the Japanese company which produces motorcycles and cars; a motorcycle or car made by the company 11 .... or to communicate with home and office computers, -- ... or to keep in touch with home and office computers. communicate with: to share or exchange (news, information, etc.) e.g. We can now communicate with people in most parts of the world by telephone. Young people sometimes complain of not being able to communicate with their parents. communicate sth. (to): to pass on e.g. Radio, television, and newspapers quickly communicate news to all parts of the world. The radio stations communicated the storm warnings to the people on that small island. 12. A growing number of factories such as the General Motors plant in Newark, Delaware, ... General Motors: the largest maker of cars and trucks in the US, including Chevrolet, Oldsmobile Pontiac, and Buick Newark: a large city and port in New Jersey, US, across the Hudson River from New York Delaware: a state in the eastern US. It was one of the 13 original colonies. Except the Rho
四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 Island. it is the smallest state 13. Some executives get a gleam in their eyes as they envision the spread of these " perfect workers"…, The ever growing number of these"perfect workers"in the future makes some executives so excited that their eyes light up If someone has a gleam in their eyes, their eyes show a particular feeling. This expression is used in written English 4. As chips become even more complex, easier to make, and less costly costly: expensive; costing much Note: Many adjectives can be made into adverbs by adding -ly, but some words that end in ly are adjectives, not adverbs. For example: friendly, lovely, lonely, likely, ugly, deadly, cowardly silly, costly, etc. These words cannot be used as adverbs. Some words that end in-ly can be botl djectives and adverbs. Examples are daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, early, etc e.g. a daily paper is published daily We get up early to catch an early train 5. A group of Japanese scientists is working on a new generation generation: a single stage in the development of a type of a product e.g. The new computers are much better in performance than the previous generation cf. He left those thoughts which still influence our generation. (all people born at about the Steam and water power are used for the generation of electricity. (production) 16 .and automatically try out alternate solutions to a problem to come up with the best answer: and automatically put to test two or more than two different solutions so as to think of the best answer try out: to experiment with sth in order to test it e.g. The idea seems good but it needs to be tried out As Western society has become more urbanized, mechanized, and specialized young people are hardly able to try out a variety of roles and values cf. try on: to put on a piece of clothing to see if it fits you or if it suits you e.g. She tried the shoes on but they were too small come up with: to think of (a plan, reply, idea, etc.) e.g. The airline has come up with a new solution to the airsick problem He could al ways come up with a reason for them to forgive him 17. Some people say that the humans of the future will never be without the eir companion computers. It is the opinion of some people that human beings in the future will rely heavily depend upon computers-- their close companions, without which they just couldn,'t be: to exist, remain untroubled e.g. Whatever is, is right
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 Island, it is the smallest state. 13. Some executives get a gleam in their eyes as they envision the spread of these "perfect workers" .,. -- The ever growing number of these "perfect workers" in the future makes some executives so excited that their eyes light up. If someone has a gleam in their eyes, their eyes show a particular feeling. This expression is used in written English. 14. As chips become even more complex, easier to make, and less costly, ... costly: expensive; costing much Note: Many adjectives can be made into adverbs by adding -ly, but some words that end in -ly are adjectives, not adverbs. For example: friendly, lovely, lonely, likely, ugly, deadly, cowardly, silly, costly, etc. These words cannot be used as adverbs. Some words that end in -ly can be both adjectives and adverbs. Examples are daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, early, etc. e.g. A daily paper is published daily. We get up early to catch an early train. 15. A group of Japanese scientists is working on a new generation ... generation: a single stage in the development of a type of a product e.g. The new computers are much better in performance than the previous generation. cf. He left those thoughts which still influence our generation. (all people born at about the same time) Steam and water power are used for the generation of electricity. (production) 16 ....and automatically try out alternate solutions to a problem to come up with the best answer. -- ... and automatically put to test two or more than two different solutions so as to think of the best answer. try out: to experiment with sth. in order to test it. e.g. The idea seems good but it needs to be tried out. As Western society has become more urbanized, mechanized, and specialized, young people are hardly able to try out a variety of roles and values. cf. try on: to put on a piece of clothing to see if it fits you or if it suits you e.g. She tried the shoes on but they were too small. come up with: to think of (a plan, reply, idea, etc.) e.g. The airline has come up with a new solution to the airsick problem. He could always come up with a reason for them to forgive him. 17. Some people say that the humans of the future will never be without their companion computers. -- It is the opinion of some people that human beings in the future will rely heavily depend upon computers -- their close companions, without which they just couldn't survive. be: to exist; remain untroubled e.g. Whatever is, is right
四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 To be or not to be, that is the question If the baby is sleeping, let her be 18. Predicting the future can be tricky, of course.-- Needless to say, it could be rather difficult to tell in advance what will be like in the future tricky: (of a situation, piece of work, etc. difficult to handle or deal with; full of hidden or unexpected difficulties e.g. I'm in a rather tricky position, can you help me out? 19 . that there would never be enough demand for computers to justify going into the business! that there would never be many people who wanted to buy computers, and therefore there exist no good reasons for computers to become a profitable business in the market justify: to be a good reason for; show that(a person, statement, act, etc. ) is right, e.g No company in Britain had enough annual output to justify installing a moving assembly line until 1932 Today many reasons are frequently cited to justify the important role government plays in the so-called"free-market"industrialized economies IⅤ. Summary of the Text Nowadays computers are widely used in different fields and you will see video games computerized special effects on movies and real life training machines for the army and computerized robots "hired"in some factories as well. All these we owe to the invention of microchips which make small enough to make all sorts of task What's more, some computer experiments are causing some people to predict near-normal brain control for the disabled and the use of home computer terminals for banking and shopping. Futurists think increasingly complex microchips would show their limitless V. Text-related Information 1. Digital computer: Two main types of computers are in use today, analog and digital, but the term computer is often used to mean only the digital type. Digital computers solve problems by performing sums and by dealing with each number digit by digit A digital computer is not actually a single machine, in the sense that most people think of computers. Instead, it is a system omposed of five distinct elements: (1)a central processing unit; (2)input devices;(3)memory storage devices;(4)output devices; and (5)a communications network, called a"bus, that link all the elements of the system and connects the system to the external world 2. Microprocessor: minute, inexpensive central processing unit(CPU)of a small computer, which can also be used independently in a wide range of applications. A microprocessor is built onto a single piece of silicon, called a wafer or chip that is commonly no longer than 0.5 cm(0.2
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 To be or not to be, that is the question. If the baby is sleeping, let her be. 18. Predicting the future can be tricky, of course. -- Needless to say, it could be rather difficult to tell in advance what will be like in the future. tricky: (of a situation, piece of work, etc.) difficult to handle or deal with; full of hidden or unexpected difficulties e.g. I'm in a rather tricky position, can you help me out? This problem may prove rather tricky for the government. 19 .... that there would never be enough demand for computers to justify going into the business! -- ... that there would never be many people who wanted to buy computers, and therefore there exist no good reasons for computers to become a profitable business in the market. justify: to be a good reason for; show that (a person, statement, act, etc.) is right, reasonable or proper e.g. No company in Britain had enough annual output to justify installing a moving assembly line until 1932. Today many reasons are frequently cited to justify the important role government plays in the so-called" free-market" industrialized economies. IV. Summary of the Text Nowadays computers are widely used in different fields and you will see video games, computerized special effects on movies and real life training machines for the army and computerized robots "hired" in some factories as well. All these we owe to the invention of microchips which make computers small enough to make all sorts of tasks faster and easier. What's more, some computer experiments are causing some people to predict the possible near-normal brain control for the disabled and the use of home computer terminals for banking and shopping. Futurists think increasingly complex microchips would show their limitless possibilities. V. Text-related Information 1. Digital computer: Two main types of computers are in use today, analog and digital, but the term computer is often used to mean only the digital type. Digital computers solve problems by performing sums and by dealing with each number digit by digit. A digital computer is not actually a single machine, in the sense that most people think of computers. Instead, it is a system composed of five distinct elements: (1) a central processing unit; (2) input devices; (3) memory storage devices; (4) output devices; and (5) a communications network, called a "bus," that links all the elements of the system and connects the system to the external world. 2. Microprocessor: minute, inexpensive central processing unit (CPU) of a small computer, which can also be used independently in a wide range of applications. A microprocessor is built onto a single piece of silicon, called a wafer or chip that is commonly no longer than 0.5 cm (0.2
四川建筑职业技术学院 授课教案 in )along one side and no more than 0.05 cm(0.02 in)thick. Despite its small size, a microprocessor may be programmed to perform a great number of information-handling tasks. It an serve as a general-purpose computing machine for instructional or word-processing use, for controlling other machines or industrial processes, for monitoring hospital patients, and for hand-held calculators. The coming of the microprocessor was made possible by the progressive miniaturization of integrated circuits and by advances in semiconductor technology toO co 3. Computer terminal: A computer terminal is an input-output device whereby a user is able mmunicate directly with a computer 4. IBM: IBM(International Business Machines) is the largest computer manufacturer. IBM made office equipment long before the 1950s, when it started making computers. In 1981 IBM introduced the IBM PC, which quickly became one of the most popular microcomputers. Now many other companies produce software or peripherals designed to be used with the IBM PC, and several companies produce computers designed to run the same programs as the IBM PC. The headquarters of IBM is in Armonk, New York
四 川 建 筑 职 业 技 术 学 院 授 课 教 案 in.) along one side and no more than 0.05 cm (0.02 in.) thick. Despite its small size, a microprocessor may be programmed to perform a great number of information-handling tasks. It can serve as a general-purpose computing machine for instructional or word-processing use, for controlling other machines or industrial processes, for monitoring hospital patients, and for hand-held calculators. The coming of the microprocessor was made possible by the progressive miniaturization of integrated circuits and by advances in semiconductor technology. 3. Computer terminal: A computer terminal is an input-output device whereby a user is able to communicate directly with a computer. 4. IBM: IBM (International Business Machines) is the largest computer manufacturer. IBM made office equipment long before the 1950s, when it started making computers. In 1981 IBM introduced the IBM PC, which quickly became one of the most popular microcomputers. Now many other companies produce software or peripherals designed to be used with the IBM PC, and several companies produce computers designed to run the same programs as the IBM PC. The headquarters of IBM is in Armonk, New York
