大学英语精读第三版第二册U4教案

Unit 4 The Professor and the Yo-Yo

Teaching Time: 8 hours

Students’ level: non-English majors of the second semester of the 1st year.

Teaching Objectives:

1. Make students have an idea about the Einstein’s unusual personality whether as a scientist or as an average man.

1). Analyze the personal characteristics of Einstein.

2). Understand the way of life of Einstein.

2. About the text, Ss should grasp the text content, text structure, basic vocabularies and required grammar points of the section.

Words: ambition, application, approach, argue, bewilder, capable, correspond, display, exclusively, mainly, fortune, function,

immune, impress, modest, observe, present, profound, pursue,

puzzle, relatively, series

Phrases & Expressions: at ease, off balance, come to terms with, as far as, mean nothing to, believe in, so much so that, a series of,

take apart, work out, capable of, single out

Grammar: be made to, that clause

3.About the reading, Ss should acquire the skill—reading beyond lines.

4.About the writing, Ss should get to know the paragraph developing —writing in logical order.

5.About the listening, Ss finish Unit 4 directed by the teacher. Teaching Procedures:

I.Pre-reading Activities

1.Background information: Einstein & his achievements

Introductory remarks: Einstein is one of the greatest scientists of all time. His ideas and theories have, directly or indirectly, influenced many areas of the modern world ——science, art, and philosophy. In spite of his great achievements and fame, he always remained a simple man: he was honest and open, very easy to get along with; he lived a plain life and had simple habits, caring very little for material well-being. And the text The Professor and the Yo-Yo, whose author is the son of a close friend of Einstein’s, sheds more light on Einstein’s personality both as a scientist and as a man.

2.Key words and expressions:

1). modest:

a. having, showing, not a too high opinion of one’s merits, abilities, etc. For example:

Asian women are more modest and shy, yet they tend to have an inner force.

b. moderate; not large in size or amount- For example:

The police came to suspect the man who lived a luxurious life on a modest income.

2). balance:

Useful phrases: keep one's balance; lose one s balance: be in balance; be out of balance; off balance.

Special attention: “in the balance”, means 'undecided'. For example: Though her life was in the balance, she thought only of the safety of her fellows.

3)impress:

a) have a strong effect on the mind or feeling of. For example:

I was deeply impressed by the scenery there.

He impressed me as a modest scholar.

My parents impress on me the importance of honesty time and again. b) fix (sth.) deeply or firmly on the mind or memory

E.g. His words were strongly impressed on my memory.

4)immune:

be immune to: be free from or unaffected by. For example: Vaccination makes people immune to smallpox.

It seems to me that few people are immune to vanity or jealousy.

5)exclusively:

only; completely. For example:

Eton college is an exclusively male public school in Britain.

The report is written exclusively for the country's top leaders.

6). pursue: