Goals
“Talk about science and scientists
“Practise describing people and debating
“Learn more about the infinitive
“Write a descriptive paragraph
WARMING UP
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.(Thomas Alva Edison)
It takes a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.
Some things need to be believed to be seen. We see only what we know.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.(Albert Einstein)
You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself. Nothing in this world is to be feared K only understood.(Maria Curie)
These quotes are from famous scientists. What do they mean? Do you agree?
1 Do you know any other quotes about science and thinking?
2 What great scientists do you know? What are they known for?
3 What words and phrases do you need to describe a successful scientist? Make a list of what you already know and what you would like to know.
LISTENING
Who are the famous scientists described on the tape?
Great Mind No 1: _________
1. This great mind was on fire for _______.
*rockets *agriculture *gravity
*radioactivity *outer space
2. The scientistˇs name is similar to the English word for _____.
*something not old *something not short
*interested in something Great Mind No 2:_____________
1. This great mind was on fire for _______.
*rockets *agriculture *gravity
*radioactivity *outer space
2. The scientistˇs name is similar to the English word for _____.
*something not old *something not short
*interested in something
Great Mind No 3:__________
1D What is this man known for?
2D He wants to be called the ______. Why?
3D What do these three great minds have in common? Great Mind No 4: You!______
What are you interested in? Write a short paragraph about what you would like to invent, discover, or be.
SPEAKING
Work in groups. Each group member represents a branch of science. You are going to debate each other to see which branch of science is the most important and useful for society. Decide who will represent each branch, then prepare your role card and let the debate begin!
Biology Maths Chemistry Physics Computer science
Biologist
I think that biology is the most important and useful science because
1 ______________________________________________________
2______________________________________________________
3______________________________________________________
Useful expressions
Thatˇs correct. Itˇs clear that K I doubt that K
There is no doubt thatK Itˇs hard to say. Well, maybe, but K
Thatˇs true. Whatˇs your idea? Have you thought about K
PRE-READING
Scan the text to answer the following questions.
1. Why did Stephen Hawking need a PhD?
2. When did Hawking become famous?
3. When did Hawking visit Beijing?
READING
NO BOUNDARIES
Imagine this: you are twenty-one years old and a promising graduate student at one of the top university in the world. One day, your doctor tells you that you have an incurable disease and may not have more than twelve months to live. How would you feel? What would you do? Most of us would probably feel very sad and give up our dreams and hopes for the future. Here is what Stephen Hawking thought:
(There did not seem) much point in working on my PhD V I did not expect to survive that long. Yet two years had gone by and I was not that much worse. In fact, things were going rather well for me and I had got engaged to a very nice girl, Jane Wilde. But in order to get married, I needed a job, and in order to get a job, I needed a PhD.
Instead of giving up, Hawking went on with his research, got his PhD and married Jane. Nor did he let the disease stop him from living the kind of life he had always dreamt of. He continued his exploration of the universe and traveled around the world to give lectures. In 2002, Hawking visited China and spoke to university students in Hangzhou and Beijing. As his disease his disabled him, Hawking has to sit in his now-famous wheelchair and speak through a computer. He told the students about his theories and thoughts on some of the greatest questions: What is time, how did the universe begin, and what exactly are black holes?
Hawking became famous in the early 1970s, when he and American Roger Penrose made new discoveries about the Big Band and black holes. Since then, Hawking has continued to seek answers to questions about the nature of the universe. In 1988, he wrote A Brief History of Time, which quickly became a best-seller. Readers were pleased and surprised to find that a scientist could write about his work in a way that ordinary people could understand.
In the book, Hawking explains both what it means to be a scientist and how science works. He tells readers how discoveries are made and how they change the world. Science, according to Hawking, is often misunderstood: people often think that science is about ¨true〃 facts that never change. Scientists, on the other hand, Hawking writes, know that their job is never finished and that even the best theory can turn out to be wrong.
A scientific theory is the result of the scientific method. Scientists look at the world and try to describe and explain what they see. First, they carefully observe what they are interested in. To explain what they have seen, they build a theory about the way in which things happen and the causes and effects. Finally, the scientists test theory to see if it matches what they have seen and if it can predict future events. If what they are observing can be tested in a practical way, scientists will use experiments. But if, like Hawking, they are studying something that is too large or too difficult to observe directly, they will use a model to test the theory.
People who listen to Hawkingˇs lecture sometimes find it difficult to understand him, because his thoughts and ideas often seem as large as the universe he is trying to describe. The speech computer is not the problem. In fact, people who hear it often say it sounds just like a human voice. Hawking is happy with it, too. ¨The only trouble,〃 says Hawking, who is British, ¨is that it gives me an American accent.〃
POST-READING
1. Choose the best answer to each question.
1 Read the quote in the text again. When was Stephen Hawking told about his disease?
A Twelve months earlier. B When he was getting married.
C Two years earlier. D When he met Jane Wilde.
2 According to Hawking, science is _____________.
A never true B always changing C always true
3 A scientific theory is good if _____________________________.
A it is difficult B it can be tested C it can predict future events
2 Answer the following questions.
1 According to Hawking, how do people misunderstand science?
2 What are the basic steps of the scientific method?
3 What is it that Hawking does not like about his speech computer?
3 Work in pairs. How would you use the scientific method to solve the following problems?
1 How can we grow rice in areas where there is little water?
2 How can I make my bike go faster?
3 How can we know what life was like 5,000 years ago?
4 How can I improve my English?
LANGUAGE STUDY
Word study
Choose the closest meaning to the underlined word in each sentence.
1 The couple used up all their money to seek their 5-year-old son, who got lost six months ago.
A search for B save C see
2 Her unhappiness was so obvious that anyone could see it.
A suddenly seen B often seen C easily seen
3 ¨Why does an apple fall onto the ground instead of rising into the air?〃 Newton asked himself and later discovered the Law of Gravity.
A the natural force that helps objects rise in air or gas
B the natural force that attracts objects toward the earthˇs centre
C the natural force that keeps objects from moving
4 Scientists predict that environmental pollution will increase in the next ten years. They warm that if we donˇt take measures to solve the problem, we will destroy our planet.
A tell before it happens B tell while it is happening C tell after it happens
5 Halley observed the movement of that star for many years and found out that it would return every 76 years.
A recorded B looked carefully at C learnt
6 The police let the man go after they found out that his DNA fingerprint didnˇt match what they had got from the crime scene.
A look exactly like B compete C compare
Grammar
The infinitive
1 Group the infinitives according to how they are used.
1 Subject: _________________ 2 Attribute: ____________________
3 Object: _________________ 4 Adverbial: ____________________
1 Some things need (1) to be believed (2) to be seen.
2 The doctor told him that he may not have more than twelve months (3) to live.
3 (4) In order to get married, I needed a job, and (5) in order to get a job, I needed a PhD.
4 Readers were pleased and surprised (6) to find that a scientist could write about his work in a way that ordinary people could understand.
5 He traveled around the world (7) to give lectures.
6 What does it mean (8) to be a scientist?
7 People who listen to Hawkingˇs lectures sometimes find it difficult (9) to understand him.
8 (10) To explain what they have seen, they build a theory about how things happen and the causes and effects.
2 Rewrite the following sentences with to be done.
EXAMPLE: We need to believe some things to see them.
劵Some things need to be believed to be seen.
1 He didnˇt want his friends to help him. 劵 He _________________________________.
2 He asked his boss to pay for his work. 劵 He ________________________________.
3 She told me that I should fear nothing. 劵 She told me that _______________________.
4 In our lives, there is so much that we should learn. 劵 In our lives, there is ____________.
5 It was reported that someone had stolen the car. 劵 The car _______________________.
3 Rewrite the following sentences using the infinitive.
EXAMPLE: Doctors predicted that he could only live one or two more years.
劵Doctors predicted that he had only one or two more years to live.
1 Is there anything that I can eat? 劵 Is there anything ___________________?
2 I need a pen that I can write with. 劵 I need a pen _______________________.
3 Do you have anything that you want to add? 劵 Do you have anything ___________?
4 He is looking for a box in which he can put the two rabbits.
劵 He is looking for a box _______________________________.
5 It would be comfortable to live in this house. 劵 It would be a comfortable house _______.
4 Hawking knows exactly what his dream is and how to make it come true. What about you?
Hawkingˇs Dream Your Dream
In order to get married, I need a job, and in order to get a job, I need a PhD.
INTEGRATING SKILLS
Reading and writing
MARKING A DIFFERENCE
It is not necessary to be a great scientist to make a difference in this world, but there are things we can learn from the best minds in this planet. Great scientists like Stephen Hawking always want to know more. They are never satisfied with a simple answer and are always looking for new questions. The Italian astronomer Galieo Galilei was so curious that he invented both a microscope and a telescope in order to be able to take a closer look at things great and small. By asking why, how and what if, curious minds find new ideas and solutions.
If knowledge is power, as Sir Francis Bacon famously wrote in 1597, then perhaps creativity can be described as the ability to use that power. Scientists must be creative and use their imagination all the time. When Zhang Heng, the Chinese astronomer and geographer, wanted to draw a map of the heavens, he wasnˇt satisfied with a simple paper map. Instead, he built a model that could move in order to show how the position of the stars changed from season to season.
We must also believe in what we do, even when others donˇt. Both Galileo and Zhang Heng found it difficult to make people believe that their theories were correct. People laughed at Zhang Heng when he first introduced his seismograph and it was only later that the world recognized his greatness. Galileo used his observation show that Copernicus, another great astronomer, was right and that the earth moves around the sun, not the other way around. At that time, everybody thought that the earth was the centre of the universe and Galileo was punished for his theory. Today, both Zhang Heng and Galileo are known as scientific pioneers who helped us better understand the world.
Perhaps the most important thing if we want to make a difference is to find something that we like to do and that we are good at. Knowing who we are means knowing how we think and what we like to do. Everyone has his or her special skills and interests, and only by discovering what we do best can we hope to reach our goals and truly make a difference.
1 How did the discoveries and inventions of Galileo and Zhang Heng help us better understand the world?
2 Of all the characteristics mentioned above, which do you think is the most important? Why?
3 Work in pairs or groups. What do great scientists like Stephen Hawking, Galileo Galilie and Zhang Heng have in common? Find out more about them and how they work and think. Use the questions below to get started.
〈 What is the scientific spirit? 〈 How do scientists solve problems?
〈 How do scientists make a difference? 〈 What can we learn from great scientists?
Writing
Who is your favourite scientist? Use a library or the Internet to find out more about him or her and then write a paragraph to describe your favourite scientists.
Before you write, think carefully about what you want to write. What does the reader need to know about the scientist? How can you best describe him or her? What is the most important or interesting fact about the scientist? Why do you like him or her? Use your answers to these questions to write your paragraph.
The following ideas, words and expressions may help you.
A good scientist must be curious and careful. Great scientists use their creativity and imagination to come up with new ideas.
Scientists must also be intelligent and patient. The experiment proved that her theory was correct. Other scientists were surprised by her discovery and called it a success.
She used a model to solve the problem.
Tips Some scientific methods to help you learn English well
You can use the scientific methods when you are studying English, too.
〈 Observe how new words and structures are being used.
〈 Try to make a simple rule to explain how the word or structure is used.
〈 Test your theory by using the words or structures and see if your theory is correct.
You can also experiment with new ways of studying. Ask your classmates and teacher how they study and try different ideas V find out how you like to learn.
Checkpoint 1
Grammar The Infinitive
“ The goal of Stephen Hawkingˇs research is to _______ and to _______ is his biggest dream.
“ The doctor thought he only had three more years to _____, which turned out to _________.
“ We took a taxi to catch _____. We hurried there, only to find ______. We were unhappy to miss ____.
Try to analyse this sentence. How is the infinitive used?
(1) To learn about the universe, you need (2) to have a telescope (3) to observe the stars.
Which words in this unit help you describe a great scientist?