Period 4 Reading and discussing

What is a robot?A robot is a machine designed to do jobs that are usually performed by humans.

A biography of Isaac Asimov

Reading

Skimming:

Glance through the passage and then find out the answers to such questions:

1.Which paragraph tells you when and where Asimov was born and died?

2.Which paragraph tells you about

his education?

3.Which paragraph tells you about

awards he received?

Para.2

Para.3

Para.5

Listen to the text and then find out the answers to the following questions:

1.What subject did Asimov teach?

2.When did he start having stories published?

3.How many children did he have?

Scanning

He taught biochemistry.

In 1939.

Two children, a son and a daughter.

Read the biography carefully and completed the timeline of the events in his life.

Detail reading

Date

1920

1922

1923

1929

Event

Born in Russia.

Parents bought a candy store.

Started to take himself seriously as a writer.

Mother had her third child.

19311931

Sister born.

Moved with family to New York.

Started working in candy store.

1939

_____

1942

1942-1945

_____

_____________________________________________________.Began having stories published in science fiction magazine

Gained Masters degree in chemistry.

Finished working in candy store.

________________________.Got married

__________________________________________________________.

Worked as junior chemist, Philadelphia Navy Yard

Got PhD in chemistry.

1941

1948

_____

1950

1951-1953

_____

_____

Became a biochemistry teacher, Boston University School of Medicine.

Published his first novel.

______________________. Developed three laws for robots.

Published “I, Robot”

Published “The Foundation Trilogy” and won an award for it.

Published first science book.

Became a full-time writer.

1949

1953

1958

1973

_____

1992

Divorced his first wife.

____________________________.

Had a blood transfusion. Became infected with HIV.

___________________________.

Married for a second wife

1983

Died in New York

Asimov’s Laws For RobotsFirst Law : A robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured.

Second Law : A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings (as long as human being are not injured ).

Third Law : A robot must protect its own existence (as long as human beings are not injured; and as long as the robot does not disobey the human beings).

1.Which law is the story “Satisfaction Guaranteed” based on ?

2.What might happen in a world where there were robots if Asimov’s three laws did not exist.

Discussion

Translate the following expressions into English.科幻小说

由于……的 结果

认真对待某人某物

获得硕士学位

放弃教学成为专职作家

因……而出名

作为……而出名

为（某人）所知或熟悉

science fiction stories

as a result of

take sb./sth. seriously

gain a Master’s degree

be famous/well-known for

be famous/well-known as

be famous/well-known to

give up teaching to become a full-time writer

Difficulties 难点1.Asimov had both an extraordinary imagination that gave him the ability to explore future worlds and an amazing mind with which he searched for explanations of everything, in the present and the past. 阿西莫夫不仅有着超凡的想象力，使他能对未来世界进行探索，而且有着惊人的智力，使他能对现在的和过去的各种事物做出解释。

2.It was when Asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious.

在阿西莫 11岁的时候，他的写作才华就已经显露出来了。

1.Have you got any ideas about the recent development of robots?

If you haven’t, you can search the internet for more information after class.

2.Can you finish the table on page17 by yourself just now?And how many answers can you get correctly?

If you can’t, you should practice reading more.

3.How many phrases can you write out just now? (8 in total)If you can’t write out them,you should read the passage carefully after class.

What have you learned in the class?

Homework

1.Surf the internet to learn more about robots and science fiction.

2.Design a robot and write a paragraph describing your robot and what it can do.