Unit 20 Futurology
一、教学课型：阅读课
这是本单元第一篇阅读文章，它给学生提供了一个近距离感受科学技术迅猛发展的机会，让学生了解到什么是未来学和未来学家，从而鼓励学生积极、勇敢地面对人类社会所面临的经济、政治、文化等多方面的挑战。 二、教材分析 1、教学内容 (1) Before reading
21 century Mobile Phones
Generations 1G 2G 3G Features Receive\\make calls within the mobile phone network Send SMS cheaply Send photographs and video images\\Access the Internet What of the future? It has been predicted that mobile phones might soon replace our wallets. For example, instead of handing over cash to pay for groceries, our mobile phones would be scanned and the cost added to our next phone bill. The idea that in the future we won’t need to carry money seems crazy, but 80 years ago, the idea that you could walk out of your house with your phone in your hand probably seemed crazier! Mobile phones have become a major part of our lives and one wonders what the next technological advance will be. (2) Reading
Hannah Jones looks into the future of futurology.
I love talking about the future --- and I am not the only one. Over the centuries, people have always wondered about the future. Some like to read fantasy stories and imagine what the world will be like in 10, 50 or even 1’000 years’ time. Others foresee future opportunities and problems. They plan the future of the world for a living. These people are called futurologists. This weekend, hundreds of futurologists are meeting at Newcastle University. The seminar starts on Friday and the experts will be discussing the influence of technology on the future. The future
st
is now big business. I clicked into the websites of some futurologists and here’s what they’re predicting:
·The technology already exists, so very soon all of us are going to use our voices to give instructions to computers. ·In the next few years, we will be communicating with our friends around the world using life-sized video screens in our living rooms.
·By the year 2024, computers will already have become more handy and also more powerful than the human brain both in terms of intelligence and the amount of information they can store. ·By the year 2030, development in biochemistry and medical science will make it theoretically possible for us to live for at least 150 years. Tiny, insect-like robots may be sent around our bodies to carry out repairs and keep us healthy.
·By the middle of the century, computers that are millions of times smarter than us will have been developed. We will be linking our brains to these computers and a huge database. A new species might have developed!
·By the end of the century, we will have discovered other places in our solar system suitable for living and will have discovered ways to go further into space.
I’ll be there in Newcastle this weekend. At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, I’ll be sitting in the front row and listening to the great Duke Willard talking about the future of my brain. If you can’t beat the future, join it! (3) Post-reading
a) The Programme of the futurologists’ conference Friday 4-5:30 p.m 6-7:30 p.m 8 p.m Saturday 9-11:30 a.m 12-1:30 p.m 2-3:30 p.m 4-5:30 p.m Prof. Howard Green: Alternative Sources of Energy-New Concept Group discussion: Love and Friendship in the 21 century Reception Prof. Duck Willard: The Future of the Human Brain Dr.B.A. Lorry: Vehicles of the Future Lunch Prof. Stella Spacek: Exploration of Mars and Venus st6-7:30 p.m 8 p.m Sunday 9-11:30 a.m 12:00 p.m Dr. D.N.A. Gene The Energy of the Atom – Hope or threat? Reception Group discussion: Earth in 2050 Closing ceremony Tell the statements T or F according to the information in the table. If false, correct it. ( ) 1) At 5 p.m on Friday Prof Howard Green will be giving a lecture on alternative sources of energy.
( ) 2) By Saturday lunchtime, they will be listening to two lectures. ( ) 3) At 2.30 p.m on Saturday, everyone will have had lunch. ( ) 4) On Sunday night, they will be having a reception.
( ) 5) On Sunday morning, the participants will have identified a few problems of the future. ( ) 6) At noon on Sunday they will have attended the closing ceremony. b) Title: _____________________________
ISRAEL: In our world's oceans, wind, waves and underwater currents spread dissolved air through the water. At a depth of 200m below the sea, there is still about 1.5% dissolved air. Fish gills work comfortably with this amount of air, and now Israeli inventor Alon Bodner has designed a way for man to do the same, eliminating the need for cumbersome oxygen tanks and expensive air compression units. If it goes to plan, a tankless underwater breathing system in the form of a vest that will be attached to a diver should be available in a few years time. (4) Homework
a) Match the vocabulary with the explanations. 1)wonder about a. estimate in advance
2)foresee b. survive or continue living with difficulty 3)meet c. go into a website 4)seminar d. get together
5)click into e. (of things or places) convenient, useful 6)predict f. feel curiosity
7)exist g. know or see something in advance
英语北师大版选修7Unit20NewFrontiersLesson1《Futurology》教案
