Unit 3 Tomorrow’s world

Project: Writing a science fiction story

1. Have you ever read any science fiction stories? Do you like them? 2. Do you know about some science fiction writers? Who are they? 3. Have you ever heard of Jules Verne or H. G. Wells?

Jules Verne (February 8, 1828 — March 24, 1905) was a French author and a pioneer of the science fiction genre. Verne was noted for writing about space, air, and underwater travel long before they were possible.

Herbert George Wells (September 21, August 13, 1946) was an English writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.

Science fiction is a type of writing based on fantasy. Science fiction writers often write about what will happen in ‘tomorrow's world’.

Read the first story written by Jules Verne. Then answer the following questions. 1.With whom did Professor Lindenbrock make the journey? Professor Lindenbrock made the journey with his nephew Axel and Hans, the guide he hired in Iceland.

2. What was the destination of the journey? How did they go there? They went to the centre of the Earth. They went there in the boat they built.

3. What did they see during their journey? They saw many strange things--- a large ocean in a vast room, huge mushrooms, two dinosaurs fighting each other, huge insects and many strange creatures, including a man, who was at least four metres tall.

4. Which do you think was the most thrilling experience during their journey? Why? The two dinosaurs rose to the surface of the ocean suddenly and fought each other. Because they didn’t expect that they would see dinosaurs there, since dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.

Have you ever read about or seen a film about a time machine? What do you think a time machine can be used to do? Many people are interested in such a machine. Can you think of the reason(s)?

Read the second story and answer. 1.What did the writer decide to see using the time machine the writer had made? 2. Which year did the writer go to? What did the writer find there?

3. The writer described a picture about the future. What is his idea about the future of the world? What is your opinion about the future?

If you had a time machine, what would you like to see, the future or the past? Why? What would you expect to see there?

1. They came across huge insects and many strange creatures. come across （偶然）遇到，发现 e.g. She came across some old photographs in a drawer. 她在抽屉里偶然发现了一些旧照片。

come across 还可以表示 “ 被理解 ” ， “ 使 产生 …… 印象 ” e.g. He spoke for a long time but his meaning didn’t really come across. 他讲了很久，并并没有人真正理解 他的意思。 She comes across well in interviews. 她在面试中常给人留下很好的印象。

2. Days and nights zipped by and everything changed before my eyes. zip vi./vt. ( 使沿某方向）快速移动，拉上 拉链 e.g. I’m just zipping into town to buy some food. 我正急着到镇上买点吃的。 A sports car zipped past us. 一辆跑车从我们身边呼啸而过。

This jacket zips up right to the neck. 这件夹克的拉链一直拉到脖子。 zip 还能作名词，表示 “ 拉链 ” e.g. My zip is stuck. 我的拉链卡住了。

3. The Morlocks even tried to catch and kill me, but luckily I was able to use the Time Machine to escape. escape vi./vt. 逃跑，避开，被遗忘 e.g. He escaped from prison this morning. 他早上从监狱里逃跑了。

As a child he would often escape into a dream world of his own. 小时候他常常躲进自己的梦幻世界中。 She managed to escape from the burning car. 她设法从燃烧的汽车里逃出来。

As they were wandering around, they noticed a man sitting against a tree in the distance--- he was at least four metres tall.

句中 as they were wandering around 用作时 间状语； sitting against a tree in the distance 是现在分词短语，用作宾语 a man 的补足语。介词 against 意思为 “ 靠着 ” 。 e.g. My dad placed the piano against the wall. 我爸爸把钢琴靠着墙放着。

Writing a science fiction story Now you are going to write your own science fiction story. You will be able to start your project after you answer the following questions.

1. What interesting science fiction stories have you read? 2. Which one do you like best? Why? 3. What would be a good setting for a story? 4. Who will be your main characters?

5. What do the main characters do? 6. How many paragraphs will your story have? 7. Who will write each paragraph? 8. Who will read the story to your classmates?

Homework 1. Finish the WB exercises(D1, D2) 2. Finish writing a science fiction story.