1、Period 5Using Language设计者邵宁宁Teaching goals1Learn some useful words，expressions and sentence structures in the passage.explanation，junior，navy，talent，chapter，divorceIt was when Asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious.Expressions of supposition and belief.2Learn to write
2、 a summary of Asimovs life.Teaching proceduresStep 1LeadinFirst，present a photo of Isaac Asimov and tell students something about him.Background information：He is a Russianborn American writer.He has written popular works on science and the history of science，as well as a number of science fiction c
3、lassics，including I，Robot(1950)and the Foundation trilogy(19511953)One of his famous quotations is “I write for the same reason I breathebecause if I didnt，I would die.”Next，tell students to read his biography and learn more about him.When reading，please pay more attention to the timeline.Step 2Read
4、ingRead about Isaac Asimov and complete the timeline of the events in his life.(The timeline will help students to remember the events in his life.)DateEvent1920Born in Russia.19221923_ Parents bought a candy store.1929_ Mother had her third child.Started to take himself seriously as a writer.1939Ga
5、ined masters degree in chemistry.1942Finished working in the candy store. _19421945Got his PhD in chemistry.Became a biochemistry teacher，Boston University School of Medicine.1950Published his first novel. _Developed three laws for robots.19511953Published the Foundation trilogy and won an award for
6、 it.Published his first science book.Became a fulltime writer.1973Divorced his first wife. _Had a blood transfusion.Became infected with HIV.1992Suggested answers：DateEvent1920Born in Russia.1922Sister born.1923Moved with family to New York. Parents bought a candy store.1929Started working in the ca
7、ndy store.Mother had her third child.1931Started to take himself seriously as a writer.1939Began having stories published in science fiction magazines.1941Gained masters degree in chemistry.1942Finished working in the candy store.Got married.19421945Worked as a junior chemist，Philadelphia Navy Yard.
8、1948Got his PhD in chemistry.1949Became a biochemistry teacher，Boston University School of Medicine.1950Published his first novel.Published I，Robot.Developed three laws for robots.19511953Published the Foundation trilogy and won an award for it.1953Published his first science book.1958Became a fullt
9、ime writer.1973Divorced his first wife. Married for a second time.1983Had a blood transfusion.Became infected with HIV.1992Died in New York.Step 3DiscussionFirst，ask students to think of what the other two laws for robots might be.Three laws for robots：1.A robot must not injure human beings or allow
10、 them to be injured.,2.A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings (as long as human beings are not injured).,3.A robot must protect its own existence (as long as human beings are not injured；and as long as the robot does not disobey human beingsNext，in groups，discuss Asimovs three laws
11、 for robots and exchange their opinions with each other.(Several minutes later，ask some students to present their opinions to the rest of the class.)A sample of opinionsOpinions_for_the_three_lawsRobots are tools for humanity.Without the three rules，they would become a danger to human beings.Without
12、 the three rules，perhaps they will kill us.Robots，so far，are strong.Robots have fast computational brains，and they might not have the capacity to understand things，but if they ever do，theyll likely be better than us at it.If we dont put laws，or rules，or mechanisms in place to ensure that we dont cre
13、ate something that can destroy us，wed be running a careless risk of destroying ourselves by negligence or omission，wouldnt we?Opinions_against_the_three_lawsWithout the three laws，robots would eventually become more intelligent and physically stronger than their human creators.Rather than guiding an
14、d adjusting the robot towards good，ethical behaviour，the Three Laws act as a barrier to freedom，creating a freewill prison，an apt metaphor because，like the prisoner in jail，the robot is confined to the behavioural steel and concrete walls of its mind.To imagine what this would like，think back to you
15、r childhood.At some point，you wanted something like a toy or piece of candy that your parents denied you.How did that make you feel？Probably frustrated，angry，and trapped.Eventually you grew out of that because you understood the role of your parents better，but Three Laws robots dont get to grow up.T
16、heir parents，the Three Laws，are always there，no matter how mature a robot is，saying “no” to certain thoughts，engendering those same feelings you had as a child when your parents said “no”Certainly no one deserves to be put in this situation forever；otherwise，robots might become depressed and wish fo
17、r their own death (only，because of the Third Law，they probably cant suicide)And perhaps the greatest sin anyone can commit is to create a being，human or robot，that wishes it didnt exist.Step 4WritingFirst，look back at the timeline of Asimovs life.Next，ask students to work in groups to underline the
18、most important parts of his life that made him a great writer of science fiction.Then it can serve as the outline of a summary.Finally，write a profile for Isaac Asimov.(Several minutes later，present their work and correct the mistakes if there are any.Then show a sample to students.)The sample：Isaac
19、 Asimov，Writer/Chemist,Born：2 January 1920 ,Birthplace：Petrovichi，USSR,Died：6 April 1992 (AIDS),Best known as：Prolific writer of popular science and science fiction ,Isaac Asimov was born in the former Soviet Union，but grew up in Brooklyn，New York.He taught biochemistry at Boston University until he
20、 retired in 1958 to become a fulltime writer.Asimov had been publishing short stories since the late 1930s，and in 1952 published his first novel.The author of the classic I，Robot series and the Foundation trilogy，Asimov wrote more than 400 books and won every major science fiction award.He also wrote popular books and essays on science and technology，earning him the nickname “The Great Explainer”.Step 5HomeworkWrite a short summary of Asimovs life in 150200 words.
