Unit10 The Fantastic Spurt in Technology I.Teaching Aims 1.Help the students to get the general idea of the article. 2.Enlarge the students vocabulary by learning the new words and doing the vocabulary exercises 3.Help the students understand the rapid development in technology. 4.Help the students to build up their language skills through more exercises on oral practice,phrases and expression,grammar,writing.etc. II.Key and Difficult Points 1.New Words and Phrases 2.Sentences III.Teaching Methods Discussion,explanation,ask and answer IV.Time:2 periods V.Teaching procedures: Give the students the following questions to discuss and then ask them to answer these questions. 1.Speaking of modern technology what images come first into your mind? 2.What is the fastest means of transport today?How fast is it? 3.What c ges may new inventions bring to our lives in the next twenty years? 2.Background Information (1)Alvin Toffler Alvin Toffler(1928~)is a well-known American futurologist,that is,a person who studies or make forecasts about future developments in science and technology and their effect upo ciety.Bom in New York aduated from Ne he is a former Associate Editor of Fortne magazine and served as visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation and visiting professor at Cornell University.At the New school for Social Research in 1966 he taught one of the first courses devoted entirely to the future.He is the editor of The Fururists and Learning for Tom rrow and author of The Culture Con me1964)F Shock(1970).The Third Wave(1980)and Previews and Premises(1983). (2)Henry Ford Founder of Ford Motor Company and maker of the Model T("the machine that
Unit10 The Fantastic Spurt in Technology I. Teaching Aims 1. Help the students to get the general idea of the article. 2. Enlarge the students’ vocabulary by learning the new words and doing the vocabulary exercises. 3. Help the students understand the rapid development in technology. 4. Help the students to build up their language skills through more exercises on oral practice, phrases and expression, grammar, writing, etc. II. Key and Difficult Points 1. New Words and Phrases 2. Sentences III. Teaching Methods Discussion, explanation, ask and answer IV. Time: 2 periods V. Teaching procedures: Step one Introduction 1. Warm-up questions: Give the students the following questions to discuss and then ask them to answer these questions. 1. Speaking of modern technology what images come first into your mind? 2. What is the fastest means of transport today? How fast is it? 3. What changes may new inventions bring to our lives in the next twenty years? 2. Background Information (1) Alvin Toffler Alvin Toffler (1928~ ) is a well-known American futurologist, that is, a person who studies or make forecasts about future developments in science and technology and their effect upon society. Born in New York in 1928 and graduated from New York University in 1949, he is a former Associate Editor of Fortune magazine and served as visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation and visiting professor at Cornell University. At the New school for Social Research in 1966 he taught one of the first courses devoted entirely to the future. He is the editor of The Futurists and Learning for Tomorrow and author of The Culture Consumer(1964), Future Shock(1970), The Third Wave(1980) and Previews and Premises (1983). (2) Henry Ford Founder of Ford Motor Company and maker of the Model T ("the machine that
changed the world").Henry Ford became one of the world's most famous automobile began hiscareer sa machinist demonstrated his mechanical inventiveness with the construction of a single-cylinde gasoline-powered vehicle. Ten years later,in 1903,he founded the Ford Motor Company and began to develop assembly-line techniques to produce an affordable automobile.The result was the four-cylinder Model T Ford,and by 1914 it had captured nearly half the U.S. automobile market Ford's early reputation as a good employer,who introduced a 5 minimum wage. was subsequently hurt during the 1920's and 1930's when he began to employ labor spies at his plants and sanctioned violence against union organizers.His enduring achievement was,within his own lifetime,to make automobile ownership possible for million the world. (③)Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin was a superstar of silent comedies and one of the greatest icons of the 20th-century film.He was born on 16 April,1889 in London and died on 25 December,1977 in Corsier-sur-Vevey in Switzerland. Chaplin had a rotter childhood and an early start on stag performing even as a child in vaudeville(歌舞杂耍).He went to Hollywood in 1914 and be gan acting in silent comedies for Mack Sennett.By 1915 he controlled most aspects of his films,in which he usually appeared as a character called simply "The Little Tramp":a lovably shabby dreamer with a small moustache.a derby hat.baggy trousers and outsize. shapeless shoes.Chaplin was one of the founders of United Artists Studios (along with actors Do glas Fairba ks and Mary Pickford and director D.W.)an was one of the first movie makers to have complete control over his features His best-known films include The Gold Rush (1925).City Lights (1931).Modern Times(1936),The Great Dictator(1940),Limelight(1952 and A King in New York (1957. Famously outspoken and sympathetic to communism,Chaplin left the United States in 1952 because of increased political pressure.He settled n witzerland where he and his wife Oona raised eight children,including actress Geraldine Chaplin In 1972 he returned to the United States to accept a special Oscar,and in 1975 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. 3.Introductory Remarks Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can,and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1 Ouestions (1)According to the text what images does technology conjure up for most people? (2)What is the esymbol of techno 8y% (3)Does this symbol ruy represent mode?Whyor why not? (4)In what way are the old symbols of technology outdated?Can you suggest a new symbol for technology today? (5)What trend can we see from the advance in the means of transportation?Is this
changed the world"), Henry Ford became one of the world's most famous automobile manufacturers. He began his career as a machinist apprentice, but at the age of 30, he demonstrated his mechanical inventiveness with the construction of a single-cylinder gasoline-powered vehicle. Ten years later, in 1903, he founded the Ford Motor Company and began to develop assembly-line techniques to produce an affordable automobile. The result was the four-cylinder Model T Ford, and by 1914 it had captured nearly half the U. S. automobile market. Ford's early reputation as a good employer, who introduced a $ 5 minimum wage, was subsequently hurt during the 1920's and 1930's when he began to employ labor spies at his plants and sanctioned violence against union organizers. His enduring achievement was, within his own lifetime, to make automobile ownership possible for millions around the world. (3) Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin was a superstar of silent comedies and one of the greatest icons of the 20th-century film. He was born on 16 April,1889 in London and died on 25 December,1977 in Corsier-sur-Vevey in Switzerland. Chaplin had a rotten childhood and an early start on stage, performing even as a child in vaudeville (歌舞杂耍). He went to Hollywood in 1914 and began acting in silent comedies for Mack Sennett. By 1915 he controlled most aspects of his films, in which he usually appeared as a character called simply“The Little Tramp”: a lovably shabby dreamer with a small moustache, a derby hat , baggy trousers and outsize, shapeless shoes. Chaplin was one of the founders of United Artists Studios (along with actors Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford and director D. W. Griffith) and was one of the first movie makers to have complete control over his features. His best-known films include The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940), Limelight (1952 ) and A King in New York (1957). Famously outspoken and sympathetic to communism, Chaplin left the United States in 1952 because of increased political pressure. He settled in Switzerland, where he and his wife Oona raised eight children, including actress Geraldine Chaplin. In 1972 he returned to the United States to accept a special Oscar, and in 1975 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. 3. Introductory Remarks Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can, and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1. Questions (1) According to the text what images does technology conjure up for most people? (2) What is the classic symbol of technology? (3) Does this symbol truly represent modern technology? Why or why not? (4) In what way are the old symbols of technology outdated? Can you suggest a new symbol for technology today? (5) What trend can we see from the advance in the means of transportation? Is this
trend true of the progress in any other areas of man's life? (6)What are the three stages of technological innovation? (Why does the author describe the three sta ges as a self-reinforcing cycle? (8)Why is it that technology is now able to advance at a quickening pace Step Three Detailed study Explain the important and difficult points in the text,including the usage of new words and phrases.structure of complex and relevant gramma The fantastic spurt in technology the unbelievably quick process/development in technology 2.To most people the term technology conjures up images of smoky steel mills or noisy machines (1)conjure up:bring a thought,picture,idea,or memory to someone's mind E.g.The singing of birds outside the window conjured up memories of my childhood in the countryside (2)Meaning:The word technology calls up pictures of smoky steel mills or noisy machines in the minds of most people. 3.It is time for our symbols of technology to change 一to catch up with the quickening cha Pattern:It is(about/high)time for sb.to do sth It is (about high)time sb.did sth. e.g.It's high time man controlled the increasing population. 4.The invention of the horse collar in the middle ages led to major changes in and wa s much a tech nological advance as the invention of the ace centuries later Meaning:While most people would agree tha t the invention of the Bessemer furnace was a technological advance,some people might doubt whether the invention of the horse collar could also be called a technological advance,since the horse collar had nothing to do with factories or machines.But Toffler says the invention of the horse collar ological invention too,because it brought important changes in agricultural methods 5.This acceleration is frequently dramatized by a brief account of the progress in transportation (1)dramatize: V.1)change (a book,a story,ete.)into the form of a play E.g.Jane Austen's Emma was dramatized on TV recently. 2)to show or express in a dramatic (exciting.interesting.colorful.vivid.impressive) wav Don't worry too much about what she said-she tends to dramatize things. (2)Meaning:A brief description of the progress in transportation often makes this acceleration more vivid and impressive (3)Translate it into Chinese 简要地回顾一下交通发展史，工艺技术的这种加速变化往往便可得到生动形象的 说明
trend true of the progress in any other areas of man's life? (6) What are the three stages of technological innovation? (7) Why does the author describe the three stages as a self-reinforcing cycle? (8) Why is it that technology is now able to advance at a quickening pace? Step Three Detailed study Explain the important and difficult points in the text, including the usage of new words and phrases, structure of complex sentences and relevant grammar. 1. The fantastic spurt in technology:the unbelievably quick process/development in technology 2. To most people the term technology conjures up images of smoky steel mills or noisy machines. (1) conjure up: bring a thought, picture, idea, or memory to someone's mind E.g. The singing of birds outside the window conjured up memories of my childhood in the countryside. (2) Meaning: The word technology calls up pictures of smoky steel mills or noisy machines in the minds of most people. 3. It is time for our symbols of technology to change — to catch up with the quickening changes in technology itself. Pattern: It is (about / high) time for sb. to do sth. It is (about / high) time sb. did sth. e.g. It's high time man controlled the increasing population. 4. The invention of the horse collar in the middle ages led to major changes in agricultural methods and was as much a technological advance as the invention of the Bessemer furnace centuries later. Meaning: While most people would agree tha t the invention of the Bessemer furnace was a technological advance, some people might doubt whether the invention of the horse collar could also be called a technological advance, since the horse collar had nothing to do with factories or machines. But Toffler says the invention of the horse collar was a technological invention too, because it brought important changes in agricultural methods. 5. This acceleration is frequently dramatized by a brief account of the progress in transportation. (1) dramatize: V. 1) change ( a book, a story, etc.) into the form of a play E.g. Jane Austen's Emma was dramatized on TV recently. 2) to show or express in a dramatic (exciting, interesting, colorful, vivid , impressive) way Don't worry too much about what she said ―she tends to dramatize things. (2) Meaning: A brief description of the progress in transportation often makes this acceleration more vivid and impressive. (3) Translate it into Chinese. 简要地回顾一下交通发展史，工艺技术的这种加速变化往往便可得到生动形象的 说明
6.So impressive was this invention,so difficult was it to exceed this speed limit, essive:adj.making a deep imp mthe past fow vear Chinee athid impresive achevements in competitive sports. This is an impressive building combining both the Chinese and western architectural styles. (2)Meaning:this invention was so impressive and it is so difficult to exceed this speed lin mit tha Inversion is used in this sentence to emphasize the two adjectives"impressive and "difficult". 7.The first steam locomotive,introduced in 1825,could have a top speed of only thirteen mph and the great sailing ships of the time labored along at less than half that &Mateshlpaetro A:It refers to the top speed of the first steam locomotive of thirteen mph 8.It took only fifty-eight years,however,to go four times that fast,so that by 1938 men in airplanes were traveling at better than 400 mph. Q:What does "that fast er to? A:It refers to the speed of a more advanced steam locomotive in the 1880'sof 100 mph. 9.Whether we examine distances traveled,altitudes reached,or minerals mined,the same accelerative trend is obvious Meaning In the Paragraphs from the third oe to the.the author examne the avan 6000 BC Cto the sapceships toda s is quickening in recent years.if we examine the heights we reached,or the amount of minerals we dug out from the earth at different times,we can see the quickening trend. 9.The pattern,here and in a thousand other statistical series,is absolutely clear and mmistakabla (1Q:What does"pattern"refer to? A:It refers to "the accelerative trend" (2)Meaning:The accelerative trend as shown here and in many,many other series of statistical figures is absolutely clear and unmistakable. 10.Thousands of years go by,and then,in our own times,a sudden bursting of the imits,a fantastic spurt forward Meaning:Thousands of years have passes,during which progress in technology has been slow or insignificant,and then,all of sudden,in our own times,the limits (of speed,flying altitude,etc.)have been broken,and man has made a big leap forward in technology. 11.The reason for this is that technology feeds on itself (1)feed on 1)take as food E.g.Lu Xun once said,"Cows feed on grass but what they produce is milk." 2)become nourished or strengthened from:get support from
6. So impressive was this invention, so difficult was it to exceed this speed limit, (1) impressive: adj. making a deep impression on sb. E.g. In the past few years Chinese athletes have made impressive achievements in competitive sports. This is an impressive building combining both the Chinese and western architectural styles. (2) Meaning: this invention was so impressive and it is so difficult to exceed this speed limit that... Inversion is used in this sentence to emphasize the two adjectives "impressive" and "difficult". 7. The first steam locomotive, introduced in 1825, could have a top speed of only thirteen mph and the great sailing ships of the time labored along at less than half that speed. Q: What does "that speed" refer to ? A: It refers to the top speed of the first steam locomotive of thirteen mph. 8. It took only fifty-eight years, however, to go four times that fast, so that by 1938 men in airplanes were traveling at better than 400 mph. Q: What does “that fast” refer to? A: It refers to the speed of a more advanced steam locomotive in the 1880’s of 100 mph. 9. Whether we examine distances traveled, altitudes reached, or minerals mined, the same accelerative trend is obvious. Meaning: In the Paragraphs from the third one to the fifth one, the author examine the progress in transportation from the camel caravan in 6000 BC to the sapceships today. In this examination, one trend is obvious, that is, the rate of progress is quickening in recent years, if we examine the heights we reached, or the amount of minerals we dug out from the earth at different times, we can see the quickening trend. 9. The pattern, here and in a thousand other statistical series, is absolutely clear and unmistakable. (1) Q: What does "pattern" refer to? A: It refers to "the accelerative trend". (2) Meaning: The accelerative trend as shown here and in many , many other series of statistical figures is absolutely clear and unmistakable. 10. Thousands of years go by, and then, in our own times, a sudden bursting of the limits, a fantastic spurt forward. Meaning: Thousands of years have passes, during which progress in technology has been slow or insignificant, and then, all of sudden, in our own times, the limits (of speed, flying altitude, etc.) have been broken, and man has made a big leap forward in technology. 11. The reason for this is that technology feeds on itself. (1) feed on 1) take as food E.g. Lu Xun once said, "Cows feed on grass but what they produce is milk." 2) become nourished or strengthened from; get support from
E.g.Intelligent students learn new things quicker because,in a sense,intelligence feeds on itself Rumour feedsn and superstitio (2)Can you find a word in this paragraph which has almost the same meaning with this phrase? It is"self-reinforcing" 12.The process is completed,the loop closed,when the diffusion of technology gthe new helps generate new creative ideas E.g.Dr.Brown's latest book embodies all his new ideas on education. (2)Put this sentence into English. 当体现这一新思想的技术推广反过来帮助产生新的创造性思想时，这一过程就完 成了，这个循环也就结束了。 13.Thus it is not merely true.as frequently noted,that9 percent of all the scientists who ever lived are now alive,and that new scientific discoveries are being made every day. (1)What does"it"refer to? It refers to the two"that-clauses"in the sentence e the entence into Chir 因此，正如人们常常提到的那样 ·个千真万确的情况是，从古到今的科学家中 有90%的人活在当今世界上，新的利学发现天天都有 (3)What's the implied meaning of the sentence? As we all know,the average life span for a human being is about 70 years.That's to say most of the from which we ca see how fast scienc and technology are developing now.The great majority of all the scientists the world has ever produced are our contemporaries because of the rapid advances of science and technology in this century. 14.It is not that we are more eager or less lazy than our ancestors,but we have,with the passage of time,invented all sorts of social devices to hasten the process. (1) .cause to go faster,accelerate E.g.When I found there were only ten minutes left,I hastened my steps The strike hastened the downfall of the government (2)Meaning:It is not because we are more eager or diligent than our ancestors,but because we have,as time went by,invented all sorts of social devices to speed up the process IV.Summary 1.Main idea of the text Prof.Toffler points out that people should change their views on technology so as to catch up with the quicker ng cha itself.Technology has alwaysbeenm orethanfactoriesand machines It includes techniques or ways as well as machines.The old symbols of technology,assembly lines or blast furnaces,are outdated.Today's new technology,esp.electronics and space industry,is characterized by quiet and clean surroundings.He traces transportation back to 6,000 BC and
E.g. Intelligent students learn new things quicker because, in a sense, intelligence feeds on itself. Rumour feeds on ignorance and superstition. (2) Can you find a word in this paragraph which has almost the same meaning with this phrase? It is "self-reinforcing". 12. The process is completed, the loop closed, when the diffusion of technology embodying the new idea, in turn, helps generate new creative ideas. (1) embody: v. express; represent E.g. Dr. Brown's latest book embodies all his new ideas on education. (2) Put this sentence into English. 当体现这一新思想的技术推广反过来帮助产生新的创造性思想时，这一过程就完 成了，这个循环也就结束了。 13. Thus it is not merely true, as frequently noted, that 90 percent of all the scientists who ever lived are now alive, and that new scientific discoveries are being made every day. (1) What does "it" refer to? It refers to the two "that-clauses" in the sentence (2) Translate the sentence into Chinese. 因此，正如人们常常提到的那样，一个千真万确的情况是，从古到今的科学家中 有 90％的人活在当今世界上，新的科学发现天天都有. (3)What’s the implied meaning of the sentence? As we all know, the average life span for a human being is about 70 years. That's to say, most of the scientific discoveries in history were made within the past 70 years, from which we can see how fast science and technology are developing now. The great majority of all the scientists the world has ever produced are our contemporaries because of the rapid advances of science and technology in this century. 14. It is not that we are more eager or less lazy than our ancestors, but we have, with the passage of time, invented all sorts of social devices to hasten the process. (1) hasten: v. cause to go faster; accelerate E.g. When I found there were only ten minutes left, I hastened my steps. The strike hastened the downfall of the government. (2) Meaning: It is not because we are more eager or diligent than our ancestors, but because we have, as time went by, invented all sorts of social devices to speed up the process. IV. Summary 1. Main idea of the text Prof. Toffler points out that people should change their views on technology so as to catch up with the quickening changes in technology itself. Technology has alwaysbeenmorethanfactoriesand machines . It includes techniques or ways as well as machines. The old symbols of technology, assembly lines or blast furnaces, are outdated. Today's new technology, esp. electronics and space industry, is characterized by quiet and clean surroundings . He traces transportation back to 6,000 BC and
reviews the accelerating development of transportation to show the great progress.at and diffusion hnology 2.Structure Partl:Para.1-2 People may have inadequate and misleading ideas on technology and the need to change their views. Part2:Para.3-6 Our times have witnessed a great leap forward in technology. Part3:Para.7-11 Technology feeds on itself. 3.Words and expressions V.Homework 1.Memorize the new words and phrases in the text. 2 Do exercises on p246-256 3.Leamn the text inReading Activity"by 4.Write a composition about 120 words describing the functions of technology VI.References 1.College English Intensive Reading 3,LinYinhua(ed.),Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.2006. 2.College English Intensive Reading 3,(Teacher's Book),Zhang Zengjian(ed.). reign Language Education P 8s,2006 3rdvaed eamerEnlis-Chnse Dictionary( university press The Commercial Press,2004. 4.大学英语语法.薄冰主编.山西：山西教育出版社，2006. 5.大学英语实用语法讲解与练习.任福洪等主编.北京：国防工业出版社， 2004 6.实用英语语法.张道真.北京：外语教育与研究出版社.2002
reviews the accelerating development of transportation to show the great progress. At last he points out that the stepped-up pace of invention, application and diffusion reinforces the development of technology. 2. Structure Part1: Para. 1-2 People may have inadequate and misleading ideas on technology and the need to change their views. Part2: Para. 3-6 Our times have witnessed a great leap forward in technology. Part3: Para. 7-11 Technology feeds on itself. 3. Words and expressions V. Homework 1. Memorize the new words and phrases in the text. 2. Do exercises on p246-256 3. Learn the text in “Reading Activity” by yourself. 4. Write a composition about 120 words describing the functions of technology. VI．References 1. College English Intensive Reading 3, LinYinhua(ed.), Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2006. 2. College English Intensive Reading 3, (Teacher’s Book), Zhang Zengjian(ed.), Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2006. 3. Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary（6 th edition）, Oxford university press﹠The Commercial Press, 2004. 4. 大学英语语法. 薄冰 主编. 山西：山西教育出版社，2006. 5. 大学英语实用语法讲解与练习. 任福洪等主编. 北京：国防工业出版社， 2004.6.实用英语语法. 张道真.北京：外语教育与研究出版社. 2002
