Section One Pre-reading Activities

I. Reading aloud

Read the following sentences aloud, paying special attention to strong and weak forms.

Strong forms are in boldfaces, while weak forms in italics.

1. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess.

2. “In my house,” he pointed without looking because he was busy reading.

3. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again.

4. Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.

5. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her.

 

II.Cultural information

1. Quote

William Shakespeare: Books are the nutrient of the whole world. A life without books is like a life without sunlight; wisdom without books is like a wingless bird.

2. Science Fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possibilities. The settings for science fiction are often contrary to the known reality, but the majority of science fiction relies on a considerable degree of suspension of disbelief provided by potential scientific explanations to various fictional elements.

These may include:1. A setting in the future, in alternative timelines, or in an historical past that contradicts known facts of history or the archaeological record; 2. A setting in outer space, on other worlds, or involving aliens; 3. Stories that involve technology or scientific principles that contradict known laws of nature; 4. Stories that involve discovery or application of new scientific principles, such as time travel or psionics, or new technology, such as nanotechnology, faster-than-light travel or robots, or of new and different political or social systems (e.g., a dystopia, or a situation where organized society has collapsed)

 

III. Audiovisual supplements

Watch a video clip and answer the following questions.

1. What’s your most impressive help that human beings get from the machine in the cartoon?

2. What does the last part of the video clip imply?

Answers to the Questions:

1. The captain can get almost all kinds of information that he needs from the computer. And he also can move to anywhere with the help of the machine.

2. When human beings are used to relying on the computer to get the information he needs, they will forget the real books.

 

Video Script:

Video: Greetings and congratulations, Captain. If you are seeing this, that means your Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, or EVE probe, has return from Earth with a confirmed specimen of ongoing photosynthesis. That’s right. It means it’s time to go back home.

Captain: Home? We’re going back?

Video: Now that Earth has been restored to a life-sustaining status by golly, we can begin Operation Recolonize. Simply follow this manual’s instructions to place the plant in your ship’s holo-detector and the Axiom will immediately navigate your return to Earth. It’s that easy.

Captain: Huh!

Video: Now, due to the effects of microgravity, you and your passengers may have suffered some slight bone loss. But I’m sure a few laps around the ship’s jogging track will get you back in shape in no time.

Captain: We have a jogging track?

Video: If you have any further questions, just consult your operation manual. See you back home real soon.

Captain: Uh … Manuel, relay instructions. Manuel? … Wow! Will you look at that?

 

Section Two Global Reading

 

II. Structural analysis

1. How is the story organized and developed?

The story is mostly arranged in a chronological order, with the exception of the beginning, where the last event of that eventful day is recorded, and with a flashback unfolding in the near middle of the story.

2. Work out the structure of the text by completing the table.

Paragraph(s)	Main idea
1	It serves as the background of the story.
2-30	It tells us a conversation between the two leading characters, Margie and Tommy, running through most of it.
31-35	It tells us something about the schoolroom, the mechanical teacher, and Margie’s thoughts. It also reveals indirectly how children in the distant future dislike school with a mechanical teacher only and how they wish to have human teachers teaching them.

 

 

Section Three Detailed Reading

Text I

The Fun They Had

Issac Asimov

1.     Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2157, she wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”

2.     It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.

3.     They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.

4.     “Gee,” said Tommy, “what a waste! When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.”

5.     “Same with mine,” said Margie. She was eleven and hadn’t seen as many telebooks as Tommy had. He was thirteen.

6.     She said, “Where did you find it?”

7.     “In my house,” he pointed without looking because he was busy reading. “In the attic.”

8.     “What’s it about?”

9.     “School.”

10.     Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write about school? I hate school.”

11.     Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

12.     He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.

13.     Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. So she said to Tommy, “Why would anyone write about school?”

14.     Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes, “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago.” He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”

15.     Margie was hurt. “Well, I don’t know what kind of school they had all that time ago.” She read the book over his shoulder for a while, and then said, “Anyway, they had a teacher.”

16.     “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

17.     “A man? How could a man be a teacher?”

18.     “Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions.”

19.     “A man isn’t smart enough.”

20.     “Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.”

21.     Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that. She said, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.”

22.     Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie. The teachers didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there.”

23.     “And all the kids learned the same thing?”

24.     “Sure, if they were the same age.”

25.     “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the minds of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”

26.     They weren’t even half-finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!”

27.     Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.”

28.     “Now!” said Mrs. Jones. “And it’s probably time for Tommy, too.”

29.     Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some more with you after school?”

30.     “Maybe,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.

31.     Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

32.     The screen was lit up, and it said: “Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.”

33.     Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old school they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it.

34.     And the teachers were people.

35.     Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

 

Paragraph 1

Questions:

1. When did the story happen?

  The story took place on May 17, 2157.

2. What did Margie write in her diary on the night of May 17, 2157?

  Margie wrote , “Today Tommy found a real book!”

 

Words and Expressions

1. head. vt.

1) to be at the front or top of something

e.g. The chapter was headed My Early Life.

   这一章的标题是“我早年的生活”。

The Queen's carriage headed the procession.

2) to be in charge of a group or organization

e.g. She heads one of Britain's leading travel firms.

    她是英国一家主要的旅游公司的领导人。

Synonym:

 lead

 

Paragraphs 2-30

Questions:

1. What is the conversation concerned with?

  A very old book about the old kind of school with human teachers that existed about two centuries ago.

2. Why does Margie hate school? (Paragraph 13)

  Because learning with the help of a machine teacher is both boring and full of pressure.

 

Words and Expressions

2. crinkly: adj.

1) having many thin folds or wrinkles; curly

e.g. The pages of the book are yellow and crinkly as a result of long age.

Derivation:

  crinkle vt./ n.

 

3. be supposed to:

1) to have to; to have a duty or a responsibility to

e.g. They were supposed to be here an hour ago.

    他们应该在一小时以前到达这里。

What are you doing out of bed? You're supposed to be asleep.

You're not supposed (= allowed) to park here.

2) to be intended to

e.g. These batteries are supposed to last for a year.

     这些电池应该可以用上一年。

We were supposed to have gone away this week, but Debbie's ill so we couldn't go.

Synonyms:

  ought to , should

 

4. plenty:

1) n./ pron. (the state of having) enough or more than enough, or a large amount

e.g. As I had plenty of money I was able to help her.

我有很多钱，所以能帮助她。

If a lawyer has plenty of clients, he grows rich.

律师如果有大量的诉讼委托人，就会财源不断。

A growing child needs plenty of sleep.

正发育的孩子必须有充足的睡眠。

    "Would you like some more wine?" "No thanks, I've had plenty."

2) adv. as much as necessary

e.g. This car cost me plenty (= a lot of money).

There's plenty more beer in the fridge.

Synonym:

enough adv.

Collocations:

plenty more 还有很多, 大量的;

  in plenty 很多；处于优裕环境之中,，（过）优裕的生活

 

5. scornful: adj. showing contempt or disrespect for

e.g. He felt humiliated by her scornful remarks.

他因为听到她那些嘲讽的话而感到屈辱。

He gave a scornful laugh at my proposal.

他对我的建议轻蔑地一笑。

Synonyms:

contemptuous, disdainful

Collocation:

be scornful of

e.g. He is scornful of the greed of others.

   他看不惯别人的贪心。

 

6. mechanical: adj.

1) of or moved, worked, or produced by machinery

e.g. The new car had to be withdrawn from the market because of a mechanical defect.

那种新汽车因有机械缺陷只好撤出市场。

2) without thinking about what you are doing, especially because you do something often

e.g. He was asked the same question so many times that the answer became mechanical.

    同样的问题人们问得太多了，所以他的答案也是千篇一律。

I was taught to read in a mechanical way.

Derivation:

  machine n.

 

7.send for: ask sb. to request sb. else to come

e.g. The child is running a high fever. We must send for a doctor at once.

孩子在发高烧，我们必须马上派人去请医生。

There is something wrong with the TV.You have to send for someone to repair it.

电视机坏了，你必须请人来修理。

Synonym:

call

  

8. slot: n. a long narrow hole, especially one for putting coins into or for fitting a separate piece into

e.g. Pick up the receiver and deposit a coin in the slot.

    拿起听筒之后，放一个硬币在这个小口子里。

I put my money in the slot and pressed the button but nothing came out.

 

9. in no time: very quickly or very soon

e.g. It's all ready and I'll get you something to eat in no time

   都准备好了，我马上给你们弄点吃的。

   We'll have that leak fixed in no time.

Synonyms:

  quickly, soon

 

10. superior:

1) adj. better than average or better than other people or things of the same type; higher in rank or social position than others 

e.g. I'll report you to your superior officer!

    我要把你的情况报告给你的上司！

This is clearly the work of a superior artist.

这显然是出自一位优秀的艺术家之手的作品。

 2) n. a person or group of people who are higher in rank or social position than others

e.g. He always does what his superior tells him.

    他总是听从上级的命令。

I will pass your complaint on to my superior.

Derivation:

  superiority n.

Antonym:

  inferior

Collocation:

  be superior to: be better than or be of higher position than

e.g. For all babies, breastfeeding is far superior to bottle-feeding.

对于所有的婴儿来说，母乳喂养远胜于牛奶喂养.

 

11. regular: adj. 

1) happening or doing something often

e.g. I am a regular reader of this newspaper.

    我是这份报纸的长期读者。

Top footballers make regular appearances on TV.

2) usual or ordinary

e.g. He has very regular features.

他五官端正。

 Her regular secretary was off sick for a week.

I couldn't see my regular dentist.

Derivation:

  regularity n.

Synonyms:

  even; often; ordinary

 

12.dispute

1) vi. /vt.  to argue about sth. esp. angrily and for a long time

e.g. They are disputing about the rights and wrongs of the case.

他们正在激烈争论这个事件的是非曲直。

The question was hotly disputed among these scholars.

Collocations:

  dispute about

  dispute over

Synonyms:

  argue, debate

2) n. an argument or disagreement, especially an official one between, for example, workers and employers or two countries with a common border

e.g. It's a matter of dispute whether they did the right thing.

    他们做得对还是不对，这是有争议的。

    The two countries are involved in a border dispute.

    They have been unable to settle/resolve the dispute over working conditions.

Collocations:

beyond (all) dispute: certainly

e.g. He is beyond all dispute the finest actor in Hollywood today.

in dispute: being doubted

e.g. I don't think her ability is in dispute.What I question is her attitude.

open to dispute: not certain

e.g. He says it's the best musical equipment you can buy, but I think that's open to dispute.

Synonyms:

  argument, difference

 

13.adjust:

1) vt./ vi..to change something slightly, especially to make it more correct, effective, or suitable

e.g. This kind of desk can be adjusted to the height you need.

这种书桌的高低可以按照你的需要调节。

Over the years, we all learned to adjust, to become more comfortable with each other, and to adapt to our new family arrangement.

年复一年，我们都学会了调整自己，学会了彼此宽容，学会了适应我们新的家庭规则。

2) vt./vi. to arrange your clothing to make yourself look tidy

e.g. She adjusted her skirt, took a deep breath and walked into the room.

3) vt. to become more familiar with a new situation

e.g. He can't adjust himself to the busy life in this big city.

    他无法适应这个大都市的忙碌生活。

I can't adjust myself to living on my own.

Her eyes are slowly adjusted to the dark.

Synonym:

  adapt

Derivation:

  adjustable

 

14. tuck: vt. put something into a safe or convenient place

e.g. Tuck your gloves in your pocket so that you won't lose them.

     把你的手套放进口袋里以免弄丢了。

She had a doll tucked under her arm.

她腋下夹着一只布娃娃。

Eventually I found the certificate tucked under a pile of old letters.

Collocation:

tuck sb. in: to make someone comfortable in their bed, especially a child, by arranging the     covers round them

e.g. He was asleep before I tucked him in.

我还没来得及给他盖好被子，他就睡着了。

 

Activity: Story Retelling

   Direction: Retell the story from Paragraphs 1-30 by using the following words.

   head, crinkly, be supposed to, plenty, scornful, mechanical, send for, in no time, superior, regular, dispute, adjust, tuck

 

Paragraphs 31-35

Questions:

1. What do you know about the schoolroom and the mechanical teacher? (Paragraph 31)

  The schoolroom was right next to Margie’s bedroom, and the mechanical teacher appeared at the same time on weekdays. It asked Margie to insert her homework and test papers in the slot.

2. What was Margie thinking about? (Paragraph 33)

   She was thinking about the old school the children had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy and the fun they had.

 

Words and Expressions

15. light up:

1) (cause to) start to burn, give light to

e.g. The fire lit up her face.

火光照亮了她的脸。

A brilliant sun lit up their rooms.

灿烂的阳光照亮了他们的屋子。

2) cause to become bright with pleasure or excitement

e.g. The girl’s face lit up with joy when she saw her mother.

那个女孩看到母亲时，脸上闪耀着喜悦之情。

 

16. insert: vt. put something inside something else, or to add something, especially words, to something else

e.g. She inserted the key into the lock.

    她把钥匙插入锁中。

I've filled in the form, but you still need to insert (= add) your bank details and date of birth.

Synonym:

  tuck

 

17. sigh:. 

1) vi. to breathe out slowly and noisily, expressing tiredness, sadness, pleasure, etc.

e.g. She sighed as she lay back on the bed.

   她在床上向后一躺，叹了口气。

   She looked out of the window, sighing for her lost youth.

   她看着窗外，为她失去的青春而惋惜。

2) n. a slow noisy breath

e.g. He gave a deep sigh and continued to work.

    他深深地叹了口气，又继续工作了。

With a hopeless sigh, he turned away.

他发出一声绝望的叹息，转身走开了。

 

18. neighborhood: n. the area of a town that surrounds someone's home, or the people who live in this area

e.g. The whole neighborhood praises him.

    周围的邻居都称赞他。

   You'll find the hotel in the neighborhood.

   你会在附近找到这家旅店。

Synonym:

vicinity

 

Activity: Sentence Making

  Direction：You are supposed to make sentences by using the following words.

 light up, insert, sigh, neighborhood