1、2.Background InformationBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Reading3.Topic-related Prediction4.An English Song1.Warm-up QuestionsGeorge OrwellGeorge Bernard ShawEclipsesPlaying CardsThe Flat Earth Theory and the Round Earth TheoryBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingWarm-up Questio
2、ns 1.How did people think of the shape of the earth in history?2.What do you think is the shape of the earth?Can you give any evidence to support your view?Detailed Readingflat,oval,sphere,pear-shapedBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingWarm-up Questions 3.Where do you get most of your knowledge
3、,from experiments or from books?4.Do you think everything in books worth believing?Did you ever question the book knowledge?Why or why not?Detailed Reading George Orwell Before ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingLife TimePlace of BirthNationalityPersonal Experiences19031950IndiaBritishserving with th
4、e Indian Imperial Police in Burma(19221927)living in poverty after his return to Europefighting in the Spanish Civil War on the republican side and was severely woundedDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingWorksDown and Out in Paris and London(1933)Homage to Catalonia(1938)Animal
5、Farm(1945)Nineteen Eighty-Four(1949)Detailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed ReadingOrwell,George(19031950),pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair,British novelist and essayist,whose brilliant reporting and political conscience fashioned an impassioned picture of his life and times.
6、His best-known novels are Animal Farm(1945)and Nineteen Eighty-Four(1949).Throughout his career as a writer,Orwell stresses the importance of truth and objectivity,and the need to be willing to question the trustworthiness of those from whom we take our opinions and beliefs.Before ReadingGlobal Read
7、ingAfter ReadingGeorge Bernard Shaw 18561950the Nobel Prize for Literature(1925)Widowers Houses(1892)Mrs.Warrens Profession(1898)Arms and the Man(1898)Man and Superman(1905)Major Barbara(1905)Pygmalion(1913)Saint Joan(1923)the greatest British dramatist since Shakespeare and the greatest British sat
8、irist since SwiftDetailed ReadingLife TimePlace of BirthHonorWorksIrelandInfluenceBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed Reading Shaw,George Bernard(18561950),Irish playwright,critic and novelist,is widely considered the greatest British dramatist since Shakespeare and the greatest Britis
9、h satirist since Swift.Shaws plays often ridicule governmental or social hypocrisies or mock the conventions of polite society.In the long prefaces to the printed editions he aired his views on all sorts of subjects.In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.Among his most famous plays ar
10、e Widowers Houses(1892),Mrs.Warrens Profession(1898),Arms and the Man(1898),Man and Superman(1905),Major Barbara(1905),Pygmalion(1913)and Saint Joan(1923).Before ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingThe Flat Earth Theory and the Round Earth Theory Detailed Readingin the fourth century B.C.Aristotle cam
11、e to the same conclusion because the earths shadow,during a lunar eclipse,is round.during the Middle Ages The clergymen disapproved the spherical theory of the earth and claimed that the earth was the center of the whole universe and the earth is a flat disc with Jerusalem at the center.The Greek ph
12、ilosopher Pythagoras believed that the earth was a sphere which he considered the most perfect of shapes.He reasoned that because the moon and the sun are spherical,the earth is too.in the sixth century B.C.Before ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed Readingin 1521The Portuguese navigator Mage
13、llans voyage around the world proved that the earth was round.nowadaysThe earth is somewhat pear-shaped.It is slightly flattened at the poles and has a bulge at the equator.Also there is another very small bulge at the North Pole.Before ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed ReadingBefore Readin
14、gGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingEclipses In astronomy the word“eclipse”is used to describe two different things:an eclipse of the sun or an eclipse of the moon.An eclipse of
15、the sun is called a solar eclipse(日食日食).It occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun.As seen from various points on the earth,the moon blocks out the sun.An eclipse of the moon is called a lunar eclipse(月食月食).It occurs when the full moon passes behind the earth into the earths shadow.
16、Within the shadow the moon is no longer directly lighted by the sun.When the whole moon or the whole sun is eclipsed,we speak of a total eclipse(全食全食).When only part of the moon or sun is eclipsed,we speak of a partial eclipse(偏食偏食).Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Reading A pack of
17、 ordinary playing cards consists of four 13-card suits:,and .Each suit contains a ,and 10 cards assigned numbers from 1 to 10.The 1-card is known as an .An order of rank for the various cards within a suit is established for each game.In bridge,for instance,ace is the highest,followed by the king,qu
18、een,etc.clubs_diamonds_hearts_spades_king_queen_jack_ace_ Playing Cards Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Reading22Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Reading22Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Rea
19、ding22Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore Re
20、adingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Reading Topic-related Prediction George Orwell put forward the question“Why do we believe that the earth is round?”in the title.Lets predict what will be talked about in the text by answering the following questions:From what you learned about the author in t
21、he background information,what do you think he might talk about in this article?2)What is his purpose for writing this article?To show why the earth is round or something else?Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingMoon river than a mile Im you in style some dayOh,dream maker,you b
22、reaker youre goingIm going your Two drifters to see the Theres such world to seeWere after the same rainbows endWaiting round the My huckleberry friendMoon river and meWere after the same rainbows endWaiting round the My huckleberry friendMoon river and mebend_wider_crossing_heart_Wherever_way_off_w
23、orld_a lot of_bend_ An English SongMoon River1.Part Division of the Text2.Further UnderstandingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingFor Part 1For Part 2For Part 3True or FalseTable CompletionQuestions and AnswersAfter ReadingPart Division of the TextMain IdeasLinesParts 111321446
24、34759Detailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal Reading Shaws remark on modern credulityThe author tries to prove the Round Earth Belief.Much of our knowledge rests on authority,not on reasons or on experiment.3.According to Shaw,the average man has enough reasons for thinking that the earth is round.Glob
25、al ReadingAfter ReadingBernard Shaw remarks that we are less credulous today than we were in the Middle Ages.2.The widespread belief that the earth is round is cited as an example of modern credulity.F()According to Shaw,the average man can advance not a single reason for thinking that the earth is
26、round.T()F()Bernard Shaw remarks that we are more credulous today than we were in the Middle Ages.True or FalseDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingIn the question“Why do we believe that the earth is round?”,“we”refers to the astronomers,geographers and so on.In the question“Why
27、do we believe that the earth is round?”,“we”refers to the ordinary newspaper-reading citizen.F()4.The twentieth-century mentality refers to the twentieth-century way of thinking.5.T()Detailed ReadingBefore ReadingHow do I know the eclipses of the moon are caused by the shadow of the earth?the analog
28、y of the sun and moon:They are round.Global ReadingAfter Readingsignal words of orderfive cards against the Oval Earth man refutation by the Oval Earth manthe first card1)They may be flat discs.2)Why must the earth be the same shape as them?my second cardthe earths shadow:It appears to be the shadow
29、 of a round object during eclipses.my queen of trumpsHave I tested it?Would I know a way of testing it?Table Completionthe opinion of the experts:Astronomer Royal says the earth is round.Detailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter Readingmy aceone way of testing it:Astronomers opinions are sou
30、nd because they can foretell eclipses.only one card leftmay possibly have some kind of counterAncient Egyptians who thought the sun goes around the earth could also predict eclipses.navigationDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter Reading1.What does most of our knowledge rest on?Most of o
31、ur knowledge rests on authority.2.Does the author think that his reasons for thinking that the earth is round are well-grounded?No,he thinks they are rather precarious.3.When does the expert become an ignoramus?As soon as he strays away from his own specialty,he becomes an ignoramus.Questions and An
32、swersDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter Reading4.What would most people say if they were asked to prove that the earth is round?They would start off by saying that“everyone knows”the earth to be round,and if pressed further,would become angry.5.Do you think the authors conclusion is c
33、orrect?Why?(open-ended)Yes.Because a mans knowledge consists of two parts,one coming from direct experience and the other coming from indirect experience.All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience.But one cannot have direct experience of everything,nor is he able to test everything;as a m
34、atter of fact,most of our knowledge comes from indirect experience.Detailed ReadingBefore ReadingCan you prove that the earth is round?Go ahead and try!Will you rely on your senses or will you have to draw on the opinions of experts?Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter ReadingBefore Rea
35、dingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingWhy Do We Believe That the Earth Is Round?George OrwellSomewhere or other I think it is in the preface to Saint Joan Bernard Shaw remarks that we are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages,and as an example of modern credulity he cites th
36、e widespread belief that the earth is round.The average man,says Shaw,can advance not a single reason for thinking that the earth is round.He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth-century mentality.Now,Shaw is exaggerating,but there is somethin
37、g in what he says,and the question is worth following up,for the sake of the light it throws on modern knowledge.Just why do we believe that the earth is round?I am not speaking of the few thousand astronomers,geographers and so forth who could give ocularDetailed ReadingBefore ReadingGlobal Reading
38、After Readingproof,or have a theoretical knowledge of the proof,but of the ordinary newspaper-reading citizen,such as you or me.As for the Flat Earth theory,I believe I could refute it.If you stand by the seashore on a clear day,you can see the masts and funnels of invisible ships passing along the
39、horizon.This phenomenon can only be explained by assuming that the earths surface is curved.But it does not follow that the earth is spherical.Against the Oval Earth man,the first card I can play is the analogy of the sun and moon.The Oval Earth man promptly answers that I dont know,by my own observ
40、ation,that those bodies are spherical.I only know that they are round,and they may perfectly well be flat discs.I have no answer to thatImagine another theory called the Oval Earth theory,which claims that the earth is shaped like an egg.What can I say against it?Detailed ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter
41、Readingone.Besides,he goes on,what reason have I for thinking that the earth must be the same shape as the sun and moon?I cant answer that one either.Before ReadingMy second card is the earths shadow:when cast on the moon during eclipses,it appears to be the shadow of a round object.But how do I kno
42、w,demands the Oval Earth man,that eclipses of the moon are caused by the shadow of the earth?The answer is that I dont know,but have taken this piece of information blindly from newspaper articles and science booklets.Defeated in the minor exchanges,I now play my queen of trumps:the opinion of the e
43、xperts.The Astronomer Royal,who ought to know,tells me that the earth is round.The Oval Earth man covers the queen with his king.Have I tested the Astronomer Royals statement,and would I even know a way of testing it?Here I bring out my ace.Yes,I do know one test.The astronomers can foretell eclipse
44、s,and this suggests that their opinions about the solar system are pretty sound.I am,to my delight,justified in accepting their say-so about the shape of the earth.Detailed ReadingGlobal ReadingAfter ReadingBefore ReadingIf the Oval Earth man answers what I believe is true that the ancient Egyptians
45、,who thought the sun goes round the earth,could also predict eclipses,then bang goes my ace.I have only one card left:navigation.People can sail ships round the world,and reach the places they aim at,by calculations which assume that the earth is spherical.I believe that finishes the Oval Earth man,
46、though even then he may possibly have some kind of counter.It will be seen that my reasons for thinking that the earth is round are rather precarious ones.Yet this is an exceptionally elementary piece of information.On most other questions I should have to fall back on the expert much earlier,and wo
47、uld be less able to test his pronouncements.And much the greater part of our knowledge is at this level.It does not rest on reasoning or on experiment,but on authority.And how can it be otherwise,when the range of knowledge is so vastDetailed ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter Readingthat th
48、e expert himself is an ignoramus as soon as he strays away from his own specialty?Most people,if asked to prove that the earth is round,would not even bother to produce the rather weak arguments I have outlined above.They would start off by saying that“everyone knows”the earth to be round,and if pre
49、ssed further,would become angry.In a way Shaw is right.This is a credulous age,and the burden of knowledge which we now have to carry is partly responsible.Before ReadingWhy Do We Believe That the Earth Is Round?George OrwellSomewhere or other I think it is in the preface to Saint Joan Bernard Shaw
50、remarks that we are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages,and as an example of modern credulity he cites the widespread belief that the earth is round.The average man,says Shaw,can advance not a single reason for thinking that the earth is round.He merely swallows thi
