Experiencing English

1
Experiencing English

• Book Three

2
Unit 2

• Nobel Prize Winners

3
Procedure

• Lead-in
• Background Information
• The Prize Award Ceremony
• Passage A
• Culture Notes
• Text Understanding
• Structure Analysis
• Language Points
• Difficult Sentences
• Summary
• Follow-up Activity
• Assignment

4
Nobel
Lead-in Background Information
Alfred NobelSwedish Industrialist
Inventor of Dynamite
endowed
9 million fund in
his will. The interest on this endowment was to
be used as
awards for people whose work most benefited
humanity.
First awarded in 1901, the Nobel Prize is still
the most honored in the world.
5
Albert EinsteinPhysicist
Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds in
world history, was born on March 14, 1879 in
Ulm, Germany. His most noted contribution to the
world is his theory of relativity.
6
Chemistry
Physics
Literature
Why is there no Nobel Prize in Mathematics?
Peace
Physiology medicine
Economics
7

• One of the most common and unfounded reasons as
  to why Nobel decided against a Nobel prize in
  math is that a woman he proposed to reject him
  because of a famous mathematician. There is no
  historical evidence to support the story.
• There are more credible reasons as to why there
  is no Nobel prize in math. Chiefly among them is
  simply the fact he didn't care much for
  mathematics,

8

• and that it was not considered a practical
  science from which humanity could benefit (a
  chief purpose for creating the Nobel Foundation).
  
• Further, at the time there existed already a well
  known Scandinavian prize for mathematicians. If
  Nobel knew about this prize he may have felt less
  compelled to add a competing prize for
  mathematicians in his will.

9
The Nobel Prizes

• Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prizes have
  been awarded for achievements in physics,
  chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and
  for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international
  award administered by the Nobel Foundation in
  Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank
  instituted The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in
  Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel,
  founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists
  of a medal, personal diploma, and prize amount.

10
The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony

• The Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry,
  Physiology or Medicine and Literature as well as
  the Economics Prize are awarded on December 10 at
  the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden. Organized
  by the Nobel Foundation, the Nobel Prize Award
  Ceremony is the highlight of the Nobel Week
  focusing on science and literature that includes
  the presentation of the Nobel Lectures by the
  Nobel Laureates.

11
The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm,
Sweden
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
The Nobel Banquet

• The banquet that follows the Nobel Prize Award
  Ceremony is held at the Blue Hall of the
  Stockholm City Hall. Here, 1,300 guests in their
  formal best dine amidst a splendid setting. From
  the flower arrangements to the food, wine,
  dessert and divertissement - everything is
  minutely planned to make the Nobel Banquet a
  memorable experience.

15
(No Transcript)
16
The Prize Award Ceremony
Watching the video of 1934 ceremony
17
Passage A

• Einsteins Compass

18
Albert Einstein
Culture Notes

• He was born in 1879 in Ulm, a city in
  Germany. As a boy, he was slow to learn to talk,
  but later in his childhood he showed great
  curiosity about nature and ability to solve
  difficult mathematical problems. After he left
  school, he went to Switzerland, where he
  graduated from the university with a degree in
  mathematics.

19
Albert Einstein

• In 1905, Einstein began to publish a series of
  papers which shook the whole scientific and
  intellectual world, and for the theories he
  established in the papers he won the Nobel Prize
  for Physics in 1921.

20
Albert Einstein

• Because Einstein was Jewish, when Hitler took
  over Germany in 1933, he had to leave the country
  and finally settled in the United States. There
  he continued his study on the structure of the
  universe until his death in 1955.

Lets go to the USA.
21
The Secret of Success
AXYZ! A standing for success X standing for
hard work, Y standing for rest, Z standing for
less nonsense!
22
Text Understanding

• 1. Why did Einstein look puzzled when his baby
  sister was first presented to him ?
• 2. How did the compass arouse Einsteins
  curiosity?
• 3. What impressed Einstein as Holy when he was
  12 years old ?
• What made Einstein successful in his exploration
  of the universal ?

23
Structure Analysis

• Para.1
• The uniqueness of young Albert
• Para.28
• The reason accounting for Einsteins success
• Para.911
• Einsteins success and pursuit

24
Young Albert was considered a quiet boy. But when
he did speak, hed say the most unusual things.
new baby sister
compass
Young Albert was passionately curious.
25
card building
Young Albert was more than just curious. He was
remarkably persistent and would not easily give
up.
his uncle the medical student
Alberts development was stimulated by the
company of intellectual adults.
26
Euclidean plane geometry
Albert adopted mathematics as the tool to pursue
his curiosity and prove what he would discover.
example about his theories of relativity
He was convinced that beauty lies in the
simplistic.
27
3 fundamental papers in 1905
Alberts wealth of new ideas peaked when he was
26.
achievements in the next 20 years
The curiosity and persistence led him to connect
space and time and find a new state of matter.
28
Language Points

• 1. stir v.
• (1)to excite
• A gentle breeze stirred the leaves.
• The story stirred the boy's imagination.
• (2) to be roused
• Old memories stirred as she looked at the
  photographs.

29
Language Points

• 2. fool.into to deceive sb. into doing sth.
• He was fooled into spending all his money on the
  lottery tickets.
• Many people were fooled into giving money to the
  cheater.

30
Language Points

• 3. up to as a maximum number of the amount
• Up to one hundred people died in this air crash.
• This classroom can hold up to about 200 people.

31
Language Points

• 4. come over/ come upon /come up with
• come over to make a short informal visit
• Whenever in trouble, she would come over to us
  for help.
• I will come over to see you on my next day off.

32
Language Points

• come upon to meet, find, or discover sth. by
  chance
• We came upon a little cottage just on the edge of
  the wood.
• I came upon a little man sitting beside the path.

33
Language Points

• come up with to think of /to produce
• Scientists will come up with new methods of
  increasing the worlds food supply.
• It may help them come up with new drinks on Earth.

34
Language Points

• 5. in no way not at all
• Gray's comments should in no way be considered
  official policy.
• The damage is very slight and in no way reduces
  the value of the painting.
• This will in no way influence our original
  decision.

35
Language Points

• 6. condense v. to reduce in size
• This whole chapter could be condensed into a few
  paragraphs.
• How could he condense all he had lived through
  into a sixty-minute speech?
• I'd like to condense that statement still further.

36
Language Points

• 7. peak v. to reach the highest level
• Sales tend to peak just before the holidays.
• n. the highest point or level
• The climbers made camp half-way up the peak.

37
Language Points

• peak hours, i.e. when demand for sth., e.g.
  electricity, is highest
• peak time, e.g. when the greatest number of
  people are watching television
• peak rate, i.e. highest prices charged at the
  busiest periods by hotels, airlines, etc

38
Language Points

• 8. push for to try very hard to get
• Workers are pushing for higher wages through
  strikes.
• Our country is pushing for stable economic
  development.

39
Language Points

• 9. spark vt. to be the cause of / to lead to
• The police response sparked outrage in the
  community.
• A discarded cigarette sparked a small brush fire.
• The shootings have sparked a national debate over
  gun control.

40
Language Points

• 10. press sb for---to keep asking for sth
• e.g. The company is pressing me for a quick
  decision on their offer.
• 11. relate to to understand and accept
• e.g. Many parents find it hard to relate to
  their children when they are teenagers.

41
Difficult Sentences

• 1. They might have thought him slow, but there
  was something else evident.
• If there had been no other evidence, they might
  have thought him slow (not quick to learn).

42
Difficult Sentences

• 2. The invisible force that guided the compass
  needle was evidence to Alert that there was more
  to our world that meets the eye.
• The invisible force that guided the compass
  needle made Albert believe that there were things
  we couldnt see / that were hidden to us.

43
Difficult Sentences

• 3. Its not that Im so smart, its just that I
  stay with problems longer.
• I can do this not because Im very smart, but
  because I am more persistent at thinking over the
  problems.

44
Difficult Sentences

• 4. While the expressions of his mathematics
  might be accessible to only a few sharp minds in
  the science,
• While the expression of his math might be
  understood by only a few perceptive scientists,

45
Summary

• In this passage we learn something about the
  young Albert Einstein. It seems he was never
  exactly an ordinary child but the writer
  pinpoints a case when he was given a compass at
  the age of five, which ignited his inspiration.

46
Summary

• Not only was the young Albert passionately
  curious, he was also remarkably persistent and
  would not easily give up on a problem. Alberts
  development was also stimulated by the company of
  intelligent adults such as an uncle who was an
  engineer and a medical student who was a friend
  of the family.

47
Summary

• Einstein was inspired to take up math by
  Euclidean geometry. According to the passage, his
  true genius lay in his ability to express complex
  ideas in simple language. By the age of 26
  Einstein had already produced his most famous
  work, although he never stopped looking for
  answers.

48
Follow-up ActivityA Humor Einstein and the
Driver

• How many times had the driver heard the lecture?
• A. 20 B. 30 C. 40
• Who gave the lecture at last?
• A. Albert Einstein.
• B. The professor.
• C. The driver.

Listen to the story and do the exercise
Key B C
script
49
Einstein and the Driver

• Albert Einstein was traveling around the
  universities in a car giving lectures on his
  theory of relativity.
• One day, while on the way to a university, the
  driver said, Dr. Einstein, Ive heard you giving
  the lecture 30 times, I know it by heart, and I
  am sure I can give it myself.

50
Einstein and the Driver

• Very well. Ill give you a chance, said
  Einstein, They dont know me at the next
  university. When we get there, Ill put on your
  hat, and you introduce yourself as me, and give
  the lecture.
• The driver recited Einsteins lecture without
  making any mistakes at the university.

51
Einstein and the Driver

• But when he finished and started to leave, one of
  the professors stopped him and asked him a very
  complex problem. The driver thought fast. The
  solution to this is so simple. He said, that
  Im surprised you have to ask me. In fact, to
  show you how simple it is, Ill ask my driver to
  come here and answer it for you.

52
Assignment

• Please do the exercises (Ex. 4, Ex. 5 and Ex. 6)
  in page 37 and hand them in next Monday.

53
Passage B

• The Wake-up Call from Stockholm

54
Procedure

• Warm-up Activities
• Culture Notes
• Structure Analysis
• Language Points
• Difficult Sentences
• Summary
• Follow-up Activities
• Assignment

55
Warm-up Activities

• 1. What would you do if you were awarded the
  Nobel Prize?
• 2. Who is Dr. Zewail? How much do you know about
  him?

56
(No Transcript)
57
Culture Notes

• What would a football match on TV be without
  slow motion revealing afterwards the movements
  of the players and the ball when a goal is
  scored?
• Chemical reactions are a similar case. A. Zewail
  has studied atoms and molecules in slow motion
  during a reaction and seen what actually happens
  when chemical bonds break and new ones are
  created.

58
Pauling Chair(1901-1994)

• One of the most influential and controversial
  figures of the twentieth century. The only
  individual to date to receive two unshared Nobel
  Prizes.

59
Pauling Chair(1901-1994)


He impacted science, politics, activism, and
nutrition. The British journal, New Scientist
included him in their list of the 20 greatest
scientists of all time, along with Galileo,
Charles Darwin Galileo and Isaac Newton. The only
other individual selected from the twentieth
century was Albert Einstein.
60
Mediterranean climate

• Caltech is located in Pasadena, California. This
  region is characterized by a climate with dry
  summers and warm, dry winters, which is typical
  of the Mediterranean climate.

61
Climate Classification
62
Structure Analysis

• Para.14
• The reaction of Zewails family to his being
  awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry
• Para.5 6
• Zewail was awarded the Nobel Prize for femto
  chemistry.
• Para.7 12
• The academic career of Zewail.

63
Language Points

• 1. zoom v. to move quickly (costs, sales etc.)
  increase suddenly and quickly
• Film the whole building first, then zoom in on
  the door.
• Overnight trading caused share prices to zoom
  (up).

64
Language Points

• 2. groundbreaking a. original and important
  showing a new way of doing or thinking about
  things
• His latest film is interesting, but not
  groundbreaking.
• groundbreaking research

65
Language Points

• 3. probe v. to search or examine
• I don't want to probe too deeply into your
  personal affairs.
• Police probed claims that he had sold drugs.

66
Language Points

• 4. forefront n. the most forward position
  leading position
• The company has always been at the forefront of
  science and technology.
• Prison conditions have been pushed to the
  forefront of public debate.

67
Language Points

• 5. prestigious a. enjoying fame esteemed.
• One of the most prestigious universities in the
  country is looking for a new president.
• Women are attaining powerful and prestigious
  managerial positions.

68
Language Points

• 6. transition n. passage from one form, state,
  style, or place to another
• It's difficult for someone who's been a stage
  actor to make the transition to television.
• The transition from a communist system to a free
  market economy will be difficult.

69
Language Points

• 7. breakthrough n. the making of an important
  advance or discovery
• Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the
  treatment of cancer.
• This was an important breakthrough that had an
  enormous impact on the scientific community.

70
Difficult Sentences

• 1.Two thousand e-mails would zoom his way
  within a few days with congratulations from
  friends and colleagues.
• In a few days he would receive as many as
  two thousand e-mails. His three phone lines would
  be kept busy because American and Egyptian press
  will call him eagerly for interviews and his
  friends and colleagues will call to congratulate
  him on his award.

71
Difficult Sentences

• 2. Zewails path to the forefront of the
  international science arena has been elegant and
  swift.
• Zewail has moved smoothly and quickly to the
  leading position in the international scientific
  research.

72
Difficult Sentences

• 3. He will continue to push the envelope of
  what is possible.
• He will go on exerting all his strength to
  achieve whatever is possible.

73
Summary

• This passage profiles Ahmed Zewail, who was
  awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1999.
  Beginning with his reactions to the prize and
  those of his family, friends and the
  international media, the passage goes on to
  describe his academic career from undergraduate
  studies at Alexandria University in his native
  Egypt to a professorship at the prestigious
  Caltech in the United States.

74
Summary

• It also explains something about his work and
  how he put physics and chemistry together,
  leading to a scientific revolution - the ability
  to observe the movement of atoms during a
  chemical reaction.

75
Follow-up Activities
Directions Watch the video and then
discuss the topics as follows
1. Is genius the result of nurture or the result
of nature?
2. Are there any secrets to being creative?
76
(No Transcript)
77
Path of thinking

• Do you agree with Edisons saying Genius is one
  percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration?
• Give your reasons or examples.

key
78
Path of thinking

• Have you ever experienced the sudden arrival of a
  bright idea?
• Do you have any secrets for being creative?

key
79
Assignment

• Please learn the Reading Skills Practice
  section and do its following exercises.