Module 11 Unit 3 Reading The Secret of Success

Century of inventions: Matching game Penicillin The photocopier Windows computer program The first computer The first piloted helicopter First gas-powered and manned plane First gas-powered and manned plane The first piloted helicopter Penicillin The first computer The photocopier Windows computer program The Wright Brothers (莱特兄弟) 1903 Paul Cornu (保罗·科尔尼) 1907 Alexander Flemming (弗莱明) 1928 Konrad Zuse (康拉德·楚泽) 1936 Chester Carlson (切斯特·卡尔逊) 1937 Microsoft 1985

-- the man who brought technology to the man in the street Sir Clive Sinclair -- the man who brought technology to the man in the street ordinary working-class people

Listening Comprehension When was Clive Sinclair born? On July 30, 1940. 2. What did Sinclair’s grandfather and father do? They were both engineers. 3. What was Clive’s first job? His first job was working as an assistant editor for a radio magazine. 4. What society was Clive chairman of? He was chairman of British Mensa, a club for clever people.

Skimming and Scanning Task 1: Read the text quickly and decide which of the following is the main topic of the whole text. A. Sir Clive’s stories. B. Sir Clive’s mini inventions. C. How Sir Clive ran his company. D. Sir Clive Sinclair’s life and inventions.

Skimming and Scanning Task 2: Find out the main idea of each paragraph Para. 1. Sinclair’s childhood Para. 2. Sinclair’s first company and the fact that he was good at making little things Para. 3. Sinclair’s greatest achievements in the field of personal computers Para. 4. Sinclair’s first big failure during the 1980s Para. 5. Sinclair saved Mensa as a chairman Para. 6. Sinclair is still inventing and selling new things Para. 7. reasons or qualities for Sinclair’s success

Detailed Reading Task 1: Fill in what happened in each year 1957 1961 1972 1976 1977 1980 1982 He got a job as an assistant editor for a radio magazine. He resigned from his job and founded his own company, producing pocket-sized radios. However, the man providing money to start the company pulled out of the project at the last minute. He had to get a job as a technical editor to support himself. He produced the world’s first pocket calculator. He produced the world’s first digital watch. He produced the world’s first pocket TV. He introduced the ZX80 computer. He sold more than 20,000 ZX80 computers in eight months. He became chairman of British Mensa. He introduced the ZX Spectrum computer.

Detailed Reading Task 2: Questions and answers 1. Why didn’t Sinclair go to university? He thought that university would teach him nothing new. 2. What was the first thing that Sinclair made and sold? The first thing he made and sold was pocket-sized radios. 3. Why was the ZX80 computer so popular? Because the ZX80 computer was the first computer in the world that cost less than ￡100. 4. What did the ZX Spectrum prove most useful for? It was good for playing computer games on. 5. What was Sinclair’s first big failure? It was Sinclair C5, a three-wheeled vehicle which used batteries and had an electric motor. 6. What did the growth of Mensa show? The growth of Mensa showed Sinclair’s managing skills and strength of personality.

Task 3: Find the phrases with the same or similar meanings. Detailed Reading Task 3: Find the phrases with the same or similar meanings.

as a result rather than get a job as resign from one’s job found a company pull out of the project support oneself in one’s spare time put out advertisements take off in addition to put together in all be marketed as a computer tire of throw oneself into under one’s direction slow down fold up cycle to and from work 1. as a consequence 2. instead of 3. work as 4. give up one’s job 5. set up a company 6. stop being involved in the project 7. earn/make one’s own living 8. in one’s free time 9. broadcast or produce advertisements 10. become successful or popular very quickly 11. besides/apart from 12. make sth. by joining different parts 13. in total 14. be advertised and sold as a computer 15. become bored with 16. devote oneself to 17. under one’s management 18. become less active in sth. 19. make sth. smaller by bending it 20. go to and from work by bike

Detailed Reading Task 4: Secrets of Sinclair’s success intelligent Qualities Supporting details He began designing and making things when he was very young. By the time he was ten years old, his teachers at his primary school said that he was already so good at geometry and algebra that they could not teach him anything more. intelligent He resigned form his job and founded his own company at the age of 21. ambitious/enterprising He restarted his company even after the first one had folded. persistent/determined Mensa’s membership figures boomed under his direction and he made the society a very well-known organization. skilled at managing and strong personality

Writing Everyone has the desire to succeed, but only part of them can make their dreams come true. What makes a person successful? To be successful, one has to be ________, _________, and above all, _________.

Some famous sayings by successful people about the secret of success 1. The real secret of success is enthusiasm. Walter Chrysler（沃尔特•克莱斯勒）, 1875-1940, American automobile manufacturer who founded the Chrysler Corporation in 1925 It tells us if we want to be successful we must be interested in what we want to succeed in. 2. The secret of success is constancy to purpose. Benjamin Disraeli（本杰明•迪斯雷利）, 1804-1881, British politician who served as prime minister of the UK in 1868 and 1874-1880 It tells us that we must keep on trying to achieve our goals even if we face difficulties. 3. The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows. Aristotle（亚里士多德）, 384 BC-332 BC, ancient Greek philosopher and scientist It tells us that to be successful, a person must be clever and educated. 4. The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way. Dale Carnegie（戴尔•卡内基）, 1888-1955, American educator It tells us that a successful person is not afraid of making mistakes and will learn from them and not give up.

Something more to remember Success favours only the well-prepared mind. Success is not measured by position you reach in life, it is measured by obstacles you overcome.

Homework Finish the writing. (150 words)