Unit 2 Extensive reading A Biography of Isaac Asimov 福清二中 吴章云

Leading in 艾萨克 · 阿西莫夫 Isaac Asimov, ( ) ， 美籍犹太人，为本世纪最顶尖的科幻小说 家之一，曾获代表科幻界最高荣誉的雨果奖 和星云终身成就「大师奖」。以他的名字为 号召的「艾西莫夫科幻杂志」，是美国当今 数一数二的科幻文学重镇。

阿西莫夫是一位多产得惊人的作家， 自 50 年代初，至今已出版了 300 多部著 作。

在家中图书室（ 1976 年） Old photo

阿西莫夫与珍尼特

演讲

军旅戎装

阿西莫夫追悼会现场

作品： The Foundation Trilogy 《作品 100 》 《最新科学指南》

My Dictionary obey v. explanation n. talent n. divorce n. to do what one is told to do explaining sth. special ability of doing sth. legal ending of a marriage

 Skimming Skill  This is a reading skill to get the main idea of a passage by reading only the key words.

task1 Skimming: Glance through the passage and then find out the answers to such questions: 1.Which paragraph tells you when and where Asimov was born and died? 2.Which paragraph tells you about his education? 3.Which paragraph tells you about the awards he received?

1.Which paragraph tells you when and where Asimov was born and died? 2.Which paragraph tells you about his education? Para.2 Para.3 3.Which paragraph tells you about the awards he received? Para.5

 Scanning Skill  This is a reading skill used to look for details of a passage. Readers should pay attention to the key words or sentences only.

Date Event 1920 Born in Russia ___________ ___________________________. Parents bought a candy store ___________________________. Mother had her third child. ____ Started to take himself seriously as a writer ________________________________ ________________________________. Sister born Moved with family to New York Started working in a candy store 1931 Began having stories published in science fiction magazines 1.Read about Isaac Asimov and complete the timeline of the events in his life.

Date Event Published “The Foundation Trilogy” and won an award for it. _____ Published first science book _____ Became a full-time writer Divorced his first wife. __________________________. _____ Had a blood transfusion. Became infected with HIV ________________________ Married for a second time 1983 Died in New York

Date Event ____ Gained Master’s degree in chemistry Finished working in the candy store. ________________ ____________________________ __________________. ____ Got PhD in chemistry. ____ Became a biochemistry teacher, Boston University School of Medicine Published his first novel. _____________. Developed three laws for robots Got married Worked as junior chemist, Philadelphia Navy Yard Published “I, Robot”

2.Detailed reading : 1What’s the main idea of the text ? Introduction to a famous American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s life and works. 2 How many years did Isaac Asimov work in store? A 5 B 9 C 11 D 13 D

3. Who was Isaac Asimov? A. An American scientist and writer who got his PhD in physics in B. An Russian scientist and writer who married twice. C. A Russian - American scientist and writer who became a full time writer in D. An American - Russian scientist and writer who had 2 children. C

4. In which book did he develop a set of three laws? A. The Foundation Trilogy B. I, Robot C. In his first novel D. In his first science book. B

5. What was Asimov best known work? A. His mystery stories. B. His science fiction stories. C. His science and history books. D. His books about the Bible and about Shakespeare. B

6. All the followings are true except_____. A. Asimov’s talent for writing wasn’t obvious when he was young. B. He began having his stories published in science fiction magazine in C. He published his first novel in D. He published his first science book in A

7. Why could Isaac Asimov become a writer ? A A friend of his made him a writer B His parents wanted him to be a writer C He had the talent for writing D He had so many experiences in his life. C

8. What might happen in a world where there were robots if Asimov’s three laws didn’t exist? A. Maybe robots will harm or injure human beings. B. Maybe robots will disobey human beings. C. In order to protect their own existence, robots may injure human beings. D. All of the above. D

9 Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text ? A Issac Asimov didn’t publish books until he became a fulltime writer. B Issac Asimov’s ideas about robots completely influenced scientists researching into artificial intelligence C Robots should protect human beings in “I,robot.” D Issac Asimov wrote some famous plays about Shakespeare. C

Isaac Asimov, Writer / Chemist Born: Birthplace: Died: Best known for: summary Dealing with his Bibliography. 2 January 1920 Russia 6 April 1992 (AIDS) writing science fiction stories, and developing a set of three laws for robots.

Asimov’s Laws For Robots First Law : A robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured. Second Law : A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings (as long as human being are not injured ). Third Law : A robot must protect its own existence (as long as human beings are not injured; and as long as the robot does not disobey the human beings).

For against Discuss his three laws for robots.

1.Which law is the story “Satisfaction Guaranteed” based on ? 2.What might happen in a world where there were robots if Asimov’s three laws did not exist. Discussion:

Homework 1.Write down your opinion about the three laws made for robots. 2.Underline the useful expressions in the text.