Unit 1 Making a difference

Pre-reading

Brief Introduction Birth date Birth place University Disability Achievement 8 January years after the death of Galileo Oxford, England Oxford & Cambridge motor neuron disease 运动神经元病 Big Bang, black hole, the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time

While-reading  Skim the title and pictures for the answers to the question: What’s Hawking’s life like?

Listen to the text to answer the following questions. Q1. Why did Stephen Hawking need a PhD? Q2. When did Hawking become famous? Q3. When did Hawking visit Beijing? Hawking needed a PhD because he wanted to get a job and marry Jane Wilde. He became famous in the early 1970s. He visited Beijing in 2002.

Hawking was told that he had an incurable disease when he was just 21 years old. Finally Hawking had to give up PhD and his research. He and Roger Penrose made new discoveries about the Big Bang and black holes. “A Brief History of Time” is too difficult for people to understand. Science is about true facts that never change. When Hawking gives lectures, he always speaks through a computer. Read the passage carefully and finish the true or false questions.

Careful reading Para 1What did he suffer from and what might have happened to him? Para 3What is his research about? Para 4What made him famous in the early 1970s? Para 5How do people often misunderstand science? Para 6What are the basic steps of the scientific method? Para 7What is it that Hawking does not like about his speech computer?

Para 1:  What did he suffer from and what might have happened to him?  He suffered from an incurable disease and might not have more than 12 months to live.

Para 3:  What is his research about? And what are some the greatest questions that he answered?  His research is about the universe (i.e. what is time, how did the universe begin. And what are black holes?)

Para 4:  What made him famous in the early 1970s?  The new discoveries about the Big Bang and black holes.

Para 5:  How do people often misunderstand science?  They think that science is about “true” facts that never change.

Para 6:  What are the basic steps of the scientific method? StepsWhat to dowhyHow 1st 2nd 3rd Observe Build a theory Test the theory To explain what they have seen To see if… and if… Use experiment Use a model

Para 7:  What is it that Hawking does not like about his speech computer?  An American accent.

Further reading Give one word to each paragraph. dream para2 successes para4 opinions para5 problems para7 disease para1 Hawking Steps of scientific research para6 Strong will para3

Finish Ex.1 on P4.

Comprehension 1.Which of the following best expresses the main idea? A.Hawking is famous for his discoveries. B.People should come to terms with the facts. C.A scientific theory is always wrong. D.Anyone with great determination will achieve his success.

Comprehension 2. From the passage, we can infer that ___? A.Hawking got married to Jane Wild before he fell ill. B.Science is always true. C.Hawking is an American. D.Great scientists always want to know more.

What makes a scientist successful? a successful scientist Useful expressions: A good scientist must be … and … Great scientists use their … and … to come up with new ideas. Scientists must also be … and … imagination persistence

Post-reading Discussion: What characteristic is the most important for a successful scientist? And why? a successful scientist imagination persistence curiosity strong will creativity …