教材试题 Unit 2 Reading,discussing

Unit 2 RobotsUsing LanguageReading and discussingA BIOGRAPHY OF ISAAC ASIMOV Isaac Asimov was all American scientist and writer who wrote around 480 books that included mystery stories, science and history books, and even books about the Bible and about Shakespeare. But his best known work was his science fiction stories. Asimov had both an extraordinary imagination that gave him the ability to explore future worlds and an amazing mind with which he searched for explanations of everything, in the present and the past. Asimovs life began in Russia where he was born on 2 January, 1920. It ended in New York on 6 April, 1992 when he died as a result of an HIV infection that he had got from a blood transfusion nine years earlier. When Asimov was three, he moved with his mother, father and his one year-old sister to New York City. There his parents bought a candy store which they ran for the next 40 or so years. At the age of nine, when his mother was pregnant with her third child. Isaac started working in the candy store. He worked there through his school and university years until 1942, a year after he had gained a Masters degree at university in chemistry. From 1942 to 1945 he worked as a junior chemist at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In 1948 he got his PhD in chemistry. The next year he became a biochemistry teacher at Boston University School of Medicine. In 1958 he gave up teaching to become a full time writer. It was when Asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious. He had told a friend two chapters of a story he had written. The friend thought he was retelling a story from a book. This really surprised Asimov and from that moment, he started to take himself seriously as a writer. Asimov began having stories published in science fiction magazines in 1939. In 1950 he published his first novel and in 1953 his first science book. Throughout his life, Asimov received many awards, both for his science fiction books and his science books. Among his most famous works of science fiction, one for which he won an award was “The Foundation Trilogy”(19511953), three stories about the death and rebirth of a great empire in a galaxy of the future. He is also well known for his collection of short stories, “I, Robot” (1950), in which he developed a set of three “laws” for robots. For example, the first law states that a robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured. Some of his ideas about robots later influenced other writers and even scientists researching into artificial intelligence. Asimov was married twice. He married his first wife in 1942 and had a son and a daughter. Their marriage lasted 31 years. Soon after his divorce in 1973, Asimov married again but he had no children with his second wife. 1 Read about Isaac Asimov and complete the timeline of the events in his life. Date Event1920 Born in Russia. 1922_1923_Parents bought a candy store. 1929_Mother had her third child. _Started to take himself seriously as a writer. 1939_Gained Masters degree in chemistry. 1942 Finished working in the candy store. _1942-1945 _Got PhD in chemistry. _Became a biochemistry teacher, Boston University School of Medicine. 1950 Published his first novel. _. Developed three laws for robots. 1951-1953 Published “The Foundation Trilogy” and won an award for it. _Published first science book. _Became a full-time writer. 1973 Divorced his first wife. _Had a blood transfusion. Became infected with HIV1992 _2 Isaac Asimov developed three laws for robots. The first law was：“A robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured”. In groups, discuss what the other two laws might be. Write them down on a piece of paper. Then exchange your piece of paper with another group. 3 In your group, read Asimovs laws on the next page and then carry out the following tasks. 1 Compare Asimovs laws with those written on the piece of paper that the other group gave you. 2 Which set of laws do you think is better? Give reasons. 3 Which law isthe story “Satisfaction Guaranteed” based on?4 Still in your group, discuss what might happen in a world where there were robots if Asimovs three 1aws did not exist. ASIMOVS LAWS FOR ROBOTSFirst Law robot must not injure human being or allow them to be injured.Second Low robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings (as long as human beings are not injured.)First Law 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.)Answer key for Exercise 1：Date Eventl920 Born in Russia. 1922 Sister born. 1923 Moved with family to New York. Parents bought a candy store. 1929 Started working in candy store. Mother had the third child. 1931 Started to take himself seriously as a writer. 1939 Began having stories published in science fiction magazines. 1941 Gained Masters degree in chemistry. 1942 Finished working in candy store. Got married. 19421945 Worked as junior chemist, Philadelphia Navy Yard. 1948 Got PhD in chemistry. 1949 Became a biochemistry teacher, Boston University School of Medicine. 1950 Published his first novel. Published “I, Robot.” Developed three laws for robots. 19511953 Published The Foundation Trilogy” and won all award for it. 1953 Published first science book. 1958 Became a full-time writer. 1973 Divorced his first wife. Married for a second time. 1983 Had a blood transfusion. Beca