World of the Future Unit 4 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities

World of the FutureUnit 4Section One:Cultural Information

Section Three:Text Understanding

Section Four:Text Appreciation

Section Five:Activities

Section Two:Word Study

Most people are very interested in and curious

about what our future would like. Futurology is a social

science which studies the current trends in order to

forecast future developments. While the speculative

and descriptive aspects of futurology are traceable to

the traditions of utopian literature and science fiction,

the methodology of the field originated in the

“technological forecasting” developed near the end of

the World War II

1. Futurology

2. World Economic Forum3. September11 (9/11)4.George Lucas and his Star Wars5.Science fiction (sci-fi)6. Information Technology (IT)

7.Clone and genetic engineering

8.Robot and artifical intelligence (AI)

9. Space exploration






Alvin Toffler is a world –renowned futurologist. For twenty

–five years , he has been shocking us with his

descriptions of the future . From Future Shock to The

Third Wave, Toffler has argued that we are involved in

nothing less than a change of civilization –as profound as

that from hunter-gatherer to agricultural, from agricultural

to industrial. In his new book, War and Anti-War, Toffler

is as provocative as ever , as he examines the

increasingly bloody consequences of cultures in collision

as the Digital Revolution gathers force.

1. Futurology










The World Economic Forum is an independent

international organization committed to improving the

state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to

shape global, regional and industry agendas.

1. Futurology










September 11, 2001 is the day on which a series of

major terrorist attacks took place in New York and other

places in the US. Terrorists carried out the attacks using

four passengers planes that they hijacked on flights from

the east coast of the US . At 8.46 a.m. the first plane

crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in

New York. At 9.03 a.m. the second plane crashed into

the south tower. Less than 90 minutes later both towers

fell down. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon and

the fourth into a field in Pennsylvania.

1. Futurology










Nearly 3,000people died in the attacks , a greater

number than were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in

the Second World War . The place where the World

Trade Center once stood is now know as Ground Zero .

The attacks were seen as the work of Al Quaeda, a

terrorist organization led by Osama Bin Laden . They

result in strong anti-terrorist laws being passed in many

countries and a US-led war in Afghanistan , where

Osama Bin Laden was thought to be hiding .

1. Futurology










George Lucas is a very successful and influential

filmmaker and directior in the Unite States. He secured

his position in the show biz by his Star Wars Saga, a

box-office hit each time, which includes episodes, shot at

different periods of time.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Episode II : Attack of the Clones (2002)

Episode III : Revenge of the Sith (2005)

EpisodeIV : A New Hope (1997)

1. Futurology










EpisodeV : The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Episode VI : Return of the Jedi (1983)

The term “Star Wars” was later used by President

Ronald Reagan for his Strategic Defense Initiative , and

he also called the USSR “the evil empire “, a phrase

taken from the film .

George Lucas’s devotion to timeless storytelling and

cutting-edge innovation has resulted in some of the most

successful and beloved films of all time .

1. Futurology










Science fiction is a form of fiction that developed in

the 20th century and deals principally with impact of actusl

or imagined science upon society or induviduals . The

term is more generslly used to refer to any literary

fantasy that includes a scientific factor as an essential

orienting component . Science fiction writers’ approaches

included perditions of future societies on Earth , analyses

of the consequence of interstellar travel , and imaginative

explorations of forms of intelligent life and their societies

in other worlds . Acknowledged masters of the genre

include Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov and so on.

1. Futurology










The invention of the electronic computer was among

the most significant achievements of the 20th century .

Many scientific advances would never have been made

without the use of a computer . It greatly shaped our

ways of working anf living . Its rapid development led to

the study of artificial intelligence . Artificial intelligence

has many potential applications in robotics ,

communications , and other fields . Information

technology has digitalized the word and our life .

1. Futurology










Biological engineering is believed to be a most

important technology in the 21st century , in which clone

and genetic engineering attract more public attention .

Cloning in the most basic sense id the production of an

organism that is identical to another . In the cloning

process , a scientist takes the genetic information of an

organism and insert it into an unfertilized egg cell from a

member of the same species.

1. Futurology










The egg then begins to develop, functioning under the

direction of its newly acquired genetic code , and

eventually , a genetically identifical organism is created .

There have already been lots of books and movies on

the development of such technological achievement ,

clone is ethnically a controversial topic , especially when

human cloning is concerned.

1. Futurology










Robot is a mechanical being , more or less human in

shape . Common in science fiction , robots are generally

depicted as working in the service of humanity , but often

escaping the control of their human masters and doing

them harm . With the development of computer science

and artificial intelligence , it is hoped that in the future

human beings can make robots with personalities and

intelligence . The movie AI diretted by Steven Spielberg

in 2001 is an expression of such ambitions as well as

worries.

1. Futurology



8.Robot and artifical intelligence (AI)9. Space exploration

World of the FutureUnit 4Section Five:Activities

Section One:Cultural Information




The exploration of space is among the most

fascinating ventures of modern times . It has carried first

instruments , then people themselves , beyond the Earth

atmosphere , into a remoteness that until relatively

recently was hardly know or understood . The space age

began on Oct.4, 1957, when the former Soviet Union

successfully launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik

1, into orbit around the Earth .

1. Futurology










Less than four years later , on April 12,1961, Soviet

cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first human being

to travel in space , as he orbited the Earth aboard the

Vostok 1 spacecraft . Within less than 10 years of

Gagarin’s voyage, US astronaut Neil Armstrong became

the first person to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969.

These journeys were a climax to centuries of speculation

and study and to decade of work on the practical

problems of space exploration.

1. Futurology





World of the FutureUnit 4

1.submarine : n. A type of boat that can travel under the

water as well as on the surface

e.g. During World War II, a lot of merchant ships were sunk

by the Nazi submarines.






World of the FutureUnit 4Section Five:Activities

2. shape: vt . (a) make sth into a particular form e.g. The kids shaped the sand into a mound on the beach . (b) influence greatly e.g His attitudes were shaped partly by early experience . n. (a) form ; look e.g In front of the house are many trees in all shapes and sizes . (b) condition ; situation e.g She’s in good shape after months of training . in shape out of shape take shape






3. shark: n. Large , often dangerous , sea-fish that has

sharp teeth

e.g. Sharks were circling around our boat .







4. purr: vt&vi .make a quiet , continuous , slightly

shaking sound

e.g. With the turn of the sky , the car engine purred into life

smoothly .

Very soon he heard the kitty purring under the table .







5. slide: vi.&vt ( cause to ) go smoothly over a surface

e.g. We slide down the grassy slope.

I was sliding about helplessly on the ice.







6. diving: n. going under the surface of the water

e.g. Weight is cruical in diving because the aim is to cause

the smallest splash possible.

scuba diving / skin diving

dive vi

diver n.







7. jet: n. Jet plane ; aircraft powered by jet propulsion

e.g. The accident happened as the jet was about to take off.

travel by jet

a jet fighter / aircraft / engine

jet lag

vi.

(a) travel or convey by jet plane

e.g. He jetted around the world to sell his project .

(b) gush out in a stream ; flow out forcefully

e.g. Flames jetted out of the nozzles .

The pipe burst and water jetted across the kitchen.







8. skim: vt.vi

(a) move quickly over a surface, near it but without

touching it

e.g. In my childhood the aircraft skimming the roof-tops

always filled me with unspeakable longings.

(b) look through

e.g. I skimmed over the list for my name, but there was

none .







9. sight: n.

(a) eyesight; the faculty or power of seeing

e.g. Some drugs can affect your sight.

(b) vision ; sth. that is seen

e.g. The ship went out of sight in the fog.

The flowers are a lovely sight in spring .

(c) (pl.) places of interest to tourists and other visitors

e.g. Every year millions of tourists come to see the sights of

Hangzhou.







10. cliff: n. high , very steep area of rock

e.g. The car rolled over the edge of the cliff into the gorge.







11. valley: n. Flat land that lies between two lines of

mountains or hills

e.g. The little bridge overlooks a picturesque, arid valley.

the Nile valley

The Silicon Valley







12.come true: happen in the way one hopes or dreams

e.g. A lot of our dreams never come true.







13. wonder: n. sth. that causes one to feel surprise or

admirations

e.g. At this very moment, through the wonder of

telecommunications, more people are seeing and hearing

what we say than on any other such occasion in the whole

history of the world.

the seven wonders of the world

do/work wonders (for sth )

It’s a wonder(that)... no/little/ small wonder(that )

vt.&vi. feel curious; desire to know; feel doubt

e.g. We wondered at the speed with which it arrived.







14. liner: n. large ship that carries people a long way

e.g. It was the most luxurious transatlantic cruise liner at that

time .







15. for sure: without doubt

e.g. I think he lives there but I couldn’t say for sure .







16. colony: n.

(a) country or area settled or conquered by people

from answer country and controlled by that country

e.g. Algeria was formerly a French colony.

(b) group of people from a foreign country living in a

particular city or country

e.g. The African colony in Paris is quite different from the

mainstream French communication.







17. outpost: n. outstation ; frontier

e.g. You’d better get petrol here--- where we’re going is the

last outpost of civilization.







18. blink: vi .& vt .

(a) ( cause to) wink

e.g. He blinked in the bright sunlight.

(b) flicker

e.g. Harbor lights were blinking on the horizon.







19. suit: n. set of clothes that one wears for a particular

activity

e.g. In ancient times soldiers had to wear a suit of armor in

battle.

a business suit / a space suit / a diving suit

vt.&vi. fit; match ; be suitable

e.g. That color doesn’t suit your complexion

In Hong Kong there’s a range of restaurants’ to suit all

tastes.







20. observatory: n. place from which scientist watch the

moon , stars , weather , etc .

e.g. A lot of students assembled Beijing Observatory to

watch the lunar eclipse.







21. giant: adj. extremely large

e.g. In two decades Samsung has grown up to a giant

electronics company in the world.

n.

(a) unusually large person , animal , plant , business

organization , etc

e.g. Shell is a multinational oil giant.

(b) person of unusually great ability or genius

e.g. Shakespeare is the giant of poets.







22. telescope: n .scientific instrument that makes distant

objects look nearer and larger

e.g. Details on the moon’s surface can only be seen through

a telescope .

It’s hoped that the telescope will enable scientists to see

deeper into the universe than ever before .

radio telescope







23. planet: n. large body in space that moves round a

star

e.g. The planets of our solar system are Mercury,

Venus ,Earth , Mars , Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus , Neptune and

Pluto.







24. arithmetic: n. working with numbers to find an

answer

e.g. Apart from looking after the kids , the babysitter also

taught them the basics of reading , writing and arithmetic .

If my arithmetic is right, the total income would exceed

200 thousand this year.







25. skate: n. boot with a thick metal blade on the bottom

that is used for moving over ice

e.g. With his skate on the little boy dare not walk

vi. glide across ice with ice skates ; glide across a hard

surface with roller skates

e.g. He skillfully skated a figure of eight on the rink .

They all went skating together in the winter







26. telepathy: n. communication of thoughts between

people’s minds without speaking

e.g. He must have known by telepathy that his parents were

suffering.

telepath n.

telepathic adj.







27. helmet: hard hat to protect the head

e.g. Make sure that you wear crash helmet while riding a

motorcycle.







28. tune: n. melody ; state of having the correct musical

pitch ; harmony

e.g. Modern music has no tune to it .

The violin is not quite in tune with the piano.

vt. Adjust ( a musical instrument or note ) to the correct

pitch

e.g. He is tuning his guitar for the performance .

tune in to sth: realize or understand what is happening

or what other people are thinking

e.g. Try to tune in to your partner’s needs .

The company aims to be more tuned in to customer

needs.







29. robot : n. machine that can move and that can be

made to do some of the work that a person does

e.g. Many production-line tasks I car factories are now

performed by robots .

Today we use robots to do a lot of dangerous work

undertaken by men in the past.







30. playmate: n. friend who shares in children’s games

and play

e.g. The young girl loved to stay with her playmates.

For a lot of kids their only playmate is their computer.







31. wrench: n. mental tool with end shaped so that it can

be used for turning nuts

e.g. He held the piston with a big wrench .

He pulled the handle off with a wrench .

vt.&vi. twist or turn suddenly and forcibly

e.g. She must have wrenched her ankle when she fell .

He wrenched his arm away.







32. artificial: adj. not genuine or natural but made by

people to seem like sth. natural

e.g. Today artificial flowers look just like teal ones .

Her artificial gaiety disguised an inner sadness.

Artificial insemination

Artificial intelligence

Artificial respiration

artificially adv.







33. screwdriver: n. tool for turning screws

e.g. Bosch is a major manufacture of electric screwdrivers

and drillers .







34. blend: vt.vi

(a) mix together thoroughly

e.g. Oil and water do not blend .

Blend the eggs with the milk

(b) Combine with sth in a harmonious way ; look or

sound good together

e.g. Those cottages blend perfectly with the landscape .

blender n.







35. healthful: adj. wholesome ; conducive to good health

e.g. Chinese cooking is both low in calories and healthful.

Healthful mountain air is more effective than medicine.







36. cure: vt.&vi.

(a) make sb healthy again ; provide a successful

remedy for (an illness , etc)

e.g. The doctors cured her of cancer .

This illness cannot be cured easily

(b) find a solution to (sth) ; put an end to

e.g. Minister hoped that important controls might cure the

economy’s serious inflation .







n.

(a) act of curing or process of being cured

e.g. The doctor cannot guarantee a cure .

Her cure took six weeks .

(b) substance or treatment that cures ; remedy

e.g. Is there a certain cure for cancer yet?

He has tried all sorts of cures , but without success .







37. delicious: adj. pleasing to the senses of taste or

smell ; tasty

e.g. It small delicious !

There’s always a wide selection of delicious meals to

choose from.







38. keep on: continuing doing

e.g. The naughty boys kept on talking even while the teacher

was staring at them .

They kept on working through it was already late I the

midnight.







39 .screen: n. (a) the glass surface of a television where the picture appears e.g. If you stare at your computer screen for too long a time every day , your eyesight will get seriously hurt . He went on staring at the TV screen . (b) shelter ; defense ; camouflage ; cover e.g. Because of the light behind the screen we can clearly see what’s going on over there . He was using his business activities as a screen for crime . vt. cover ; shield e.g. The business will screen us while we change .







40. hang on: persist ; persevere ; hold on

e.g. I’ll hang on as long as I can .

hang around/round/about

hang out

hang together

hang up







41.steer: vt.&vi . control the direction that a vehicle is

going in , by using the wheel ; pilot ‘ direct

e.g. You steer and I’ll push .

Keep steering north. You will soon get there.

steerer n.

steering-wheel n.







42.smash: vt.vi. (a) crash sth , usu causing a lot of

damage ; break or shatter sth into pieces

e.g. The lock was rusty , so we had to smash the door open .

The mob began to smash the windows of the City Hall .

(b) strike ; thump; punch ; smack

e.g. I’ll smash you in the eye if you look at me that way

again .

The batsman smashed the ball up into the air .







43.dome: n. round roof on a building

e.g. The dome of St Paul’s cathedral can be seen far away.

the dome of a hill /the night sky/ a bald head







44. keep out: prevent sth from entering

e.g. The sign said “ Ministry of Defence , Danger , Keep Out”







Questions

Paragraph 1-4

Questions:

(1)Do you believe that such wonders as hotels,

farms ,mining camps and factories can be seen on the

bottom of the sea in the distant future ? Give your

reasons.

(This is an open question.) (Yes, I do. I believe so because

in the distant future the land on Earth will be too limited to

support the growing population and the development of

sciences and technologies will make it possible to make

good use of the undersea world.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 1-4

Questions:

(2)How does the author attract the readers’ attention?

(The author describes a future journey to the wonderful

undersea world in the simple present tense, which makes

the narration very vivid and fascinating , as if the readers

are following the author along the journey . The readers’

interest in continuing reading is aroused .)

(3)What’s the function of the 3rd and 4th paragraphs?

(The third paragraph brings up the theme and defines the

future time. The fourth paragraph puts forward a question

whose answer is provided through the whole passage.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions Paragraph 5-7

Questions:

(1)How does the author shift to a new topic?

(The author uses a transitional paragraph to connect the

preceding part with the following part (Para.5))

(2)According to the text, what can you see on the moon?

(On the moon we can see the Moon Camp, an observatory

where a giant telescope looks far into the space, the moon

mines. Etc)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 5-7

Questions:

(3)Of the three planet mentioned in the sixth and the

seventh paragraphs, which planet is the closest to us?

And which one is the remotest?

(Of the three planets mentioned in the sixth and the

seventh paragraphs, the moon is the closest to us, while

the Venus is the remotest.)

(4)Will man be able to live in other planets? Which planet

do you prefer to go to in that case?(Open)

(5)How will man take their space travel in the future? Cite

sci-fi or movies to support yourself ?(Open)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 8-12

Questions:

(1)Is it possible for you to ride a small flying saucer in the

future? Account for your answer.

(This is an open question which is open to two entirely

different answers. But the most likely answer is yes.) (Yes,

I think it is possible. I believe so because science and

technology will become so advanced in the far future that

most desirable or wonderful things will come true.)

(2)Do you think we still need bicycles in the time described

in the text?

(Open)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 8-12

Questions:

(3)Point out the particular functions of telepathy helmets in

the future.

(There may be telepathy helmets in the future. They will be

devised and made to send though waves from your brain

to that of your friend miles away. You can have secrets

with each other that nobody else can tune in on! So

telepathy helmets in the future will fulfill wonderful

functions.)

(4)In line with the ideas in the text, describe what our

reading would be like in the future. Do we still need to go

to school for education?

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 13-21

Questions:

(1)If you are a child living in the era of 100 years later,

what kind of toys would you like to have?

(Open)

(2)Besides health food, what other ways will be found to

make life last longer according to the text?

(Scientists of the future will almost certainly find other

ways to make life last longer. They probably will find cures

for most diseases. Hospitals will probably have “body

banks “that can give you almost any new part you need to

keep on living . People of the future may live to be a lot

older than 100years.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 13-21

Questions:

(3)Do you think that people of the future will be able to be

more than 100 years? Give sufficient reasons for your

answer.

(Yes, I do. Because all kinds of health food will be made

available, our environment will be

made much cleaner , and other living conditions will be

greatly improved . Besides, scientists will find users for

most diseases. Hospitals will probably have “body banks”

that can give you almost any new part you need to keep

on living.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 13-21

Questions:(4)Is it really a blessing for our human beings that we can go to the body bank to replace any organ in our body when they do not work properly? Should we really live as we hope, say more than 100 years old? (Open)(5)Why does the writer say that a very small child properly will be able to drive a car? ( Because nobody will need to steer. Electric signals will hold each car on the right road to get wherever the “driver” wants to go . And it probably will be impossible for cars to collide into each other or make all speeding cars miss each other or will put on the brakes . Driving by car will be as safe as staying at home.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 13-21

Questions:

(6)Do you think the vehicles and transportation will really

be like that described in the text? (Open)

(7)According to the writer, what is the most wonderful

surprise in the future?

(According to the writer, “The most wonderful surprise in

the future will be weather control. Cities may have giant

plastic domes over them to keep out snow, rain, or storms.

When you plan a picnic in a park, you won’t have to worry

about rain. It will rain only when the ‘weatherman’ thinks it

is needed to fresh the air inside the city. All other days will

be fair and warm.”)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 13-21

Questions:(8)If the future generation is really able to control weather, what kind of impact will it have upon our future? (Open)(9)This text says nothing about the environmental protection. If the pollution and abuse of natural resources continues, do you think we would have such a bright future?(Open)(10) How dose the author introduce the wonderful things one after another? (He begins these paragraphs with a topic sentence, three of them in the form of a question. The questions asked attract the readers’ attention and draw their concentration on the paragraph topics.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions Paragraph 22

Questions:

(1)Do you agree that the future should be a wonderful time

in which to live? Justify your reply .

(Yes, I do. / Of course , I do . There is no doubt about it,

because so many wonderful things will come true in the

future, as scientists say. Students should cite example in

the text to support their reply.)

(2)Provide example to prove that the time we are living in

now was also “ a wonderful future” to the people who lived

100 years ago.

Sentence Highlights







Questions

Paragraph 22

Questions: (There are numerous examples that can be used to show that the time we are living in now was also “a wonderful future” to the people who lived 100 years ago. For example, our living conditions are better than those in the past and by far better than those in the remote past. We have more than enough to eat and wear. We can be cured of various diseases. Also , our working conditions are much better or more wholesome . Computers relieve us of various kinds of mental work. In addition, our life is made more colorful by advanced science and technology. We can go wherever we wish to by bus, by train , by ship or by plane.)

Sentence Highlights







Questions Paragraph 13-21Questions:

(3)How does the author end this articles ?

(The author says “The future should be a wonderful time

in which to live ” ,which brings the articles to a logical and

natural conclusion since there will be so many wonderful

things then . At the same time, he points out a solid

historical fact which is thought-provoking: the time we are

living in now was also “ a wonderful future” to the people

who lived 100 years ago .)

Sentence Highlights







Questions

1. The door is closed behind you , and powerful engine

purrs to life . Down slides the submarine---like a shark

diving . (para.1)

Paraphrase: The door is closed after you , and then the

powerful engine starts with a sound . The submarine goes

smoothly down into the sea like a diving shark .

2. Some of the underwater wonders are almost ready to

come true now . (para.3)

Paraphrase: Some of the imagined miracle under the sea

will soon become reality.

Sentence Highlights







Questions

3. Let’s go back to dry land and take a future journey the

other way ---up instead of down . (para.5)

Paraphrase: Let’s go back to land and travel upward into

space .

4. You can have secrets with each other that nobody else

can tune in on !(para.12)

Paraphrase: You can share your secrets with each other

and they will not be heard by anyone else . Or: You have

only between you and your friends secrets that are not

accessible to anybody else.

Sentence Highlights







Questions

5. These artificial things will be blended so skillfully by food

chemists that the food of the future probably will be

delicious .

Paraphrase: These man-made materials will be skillfully

mixed together by food chemists , so the food in the future

will probably taste good .

6. It probably will also be healthful because all the things

that you need to live a long and healthy life will be put into

it .(para.16)

Paraphrase: The food will also be good to your health

because all nutritious elements you need will be added

into the food .

Sentence Highlights







Questions

7. Controls that won’t ever have to be touched will make

all speeding cars miss each other or will put on the

brakes .(para.19)

Paraphrase: You don’t have to touch the control devise . It

will automatically prevent the high-speed cars from

running into each other or stop them.

Sentence Highlights







Text Appreciation Text Appreciation

In this text the author first describes a future journey to

the wonderful undersea world in a vivid and fascinating

manner, attracting the readers to continue reading, then

brings up the theme (i.e. Scientists think that wonderful

things may come true in the future) and defines the

futures time. This is a very smart arrangement for the

structure of the text. After that, he puts forward a

question whose answer is provided throughout the whole

passage. The whole piece of description revolves around

the theme.

Language Appreciation







Text Appreciation Throughout the text, the writer describes or tells the

wonderful things of the future face to face with you as a

reader, which is appropriate and impressive, and which

sounds more objective and believable. Some questions

are asked either to introduce the main topic or to project

paragraph topics. Throughout the text, scientist, and

scientists think are repeated and the simple future tense

is used , which adds to the credibility and possibility of

the described or related wonderful things of the futures.

Based on all the wonderful things introduced previously,

the last paragraph draws the text to a natural and

objective conclusion.








Text Appreciation

1. At the docks you step into a shiny mental submarine that is shaped like a shark. The door is closed behind you, and powerful engine purrs to life. Down slides the submarine –like a shark diving. Deeper and deeper under the water (para.1)Soon all sunlight is done. The headlights of the diving ship are turned on. The, six miles below , you come to the sea bottom . From the diving submarine, you change to a tiny jet boat and ride along close to the bottom of the ocean, almost as you would skim over the land in an airplane .As you travel , you have fun looking out the window at the sights on the bottom of the ocean. You see strange fish and underwater mountains, cliffs, and valleys. But more than that ---hotels and mining camps and farms and factories!(para.2)Note the tense used in these two paragraphs. The simple present tense is often used to narrate something occurring in the past or in the future so as to make the narration more vivid ---as if it is happening right now in front of you.








Text Appreciation 2. Paragraph 5,8 ,and 13

Note how the author uses such transitional paragraphs to

link the preceding part with the following one.

3. What about use of the phrase “What about”. With them

the author smoothly shifts to a new topic.








Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Pair work

Ask one student to predict what one aspect of our life

would be like in the distant future . Make sure his pediction is

based on today’s technology and its natual tendency

ofdevelopment . Then ask the other atudents to challenge

his prediction .







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Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Oral activity :I on p. 58

Language Support

When discussng a question with others , one may or may

not agree with his interlocutors on some issues . Here are

some suggestions on how to agree or disagree with others .

Ask the students to use them in their convensation .







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A.How to Agree Strongly with an Opinion 1. I couldn’t agree more ! 2, That’s absolutely true ! 3. Absolutely ! 4.I agree with your point. 5. I’d go along with you on that . 6. I’m with you on that . 7. That’s just what I was thinking . 8. That’s exactly what I think . 9.That’s a good point. 10. That’s just how I see it . 11. That’s exactly my opinion .







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B. How to Half Agree with an Opinion 1. Yes , perhaps , however ... 2. Well , yes , but ... 3. Yes , in a way , however ... 4. Hmm , possibly , but ... 5. Yes , I agree up to a point , however ... 6. Well , you have a point there ,but ... 7. There’s something there , I suppose , however ... 8. I guess you could be right , but ... 9. Yes , I suppose so , however ... 10 . That’s worth thinking about , but ...







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C. How to Disagree Strongly with an Opinion 1. I disagree . 2. I disagree with your ideas . 3. I’m afraid I don’t agree. 4. I’m afraid your ideas is wong . 5. I can’t agree with you . 6.I could’t accept that for a minute. 7. You can’t actually mean that . 8. I wouldn’t go along with you there . 9. You can’t be serious about that . 10. You must be joking . 11. It’s possible you are mistaken about that .







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Oral activity : II on p.58

Language Support

When discussing a question with others, one may have

several arguments to support himself . Ask students to use

the following words or phrase to list or enumerate :

first , second , third

first , furthermore , finally

to begin , to conclude

next

in the end







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Activity 4

Ask student to use the following phrases to reinforce their

statements in their discussions :

also

furthermore

moreover

what is more

in addition

besides

above all

as well

in the same way

not only ...but also







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Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Oral book report

Step 1: Ask several students to report one sci-fi book or

movie they read or saw .

Step 2: Ask other students to discuss which story or

movie they like most .

Step 3: Ask students if they have ever read any Chinese

science ficton . If so , ask them to give a brief account of the

fiction they read and discuss what is the gap between

Chinese and foreign science fiction . If not , ask them why .






Documents

World of the Future Unit 4 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities