Unit 2 Extensive reading

A Biography of Isaac Asimov

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

________________________________

________________________________.

Sister bornMoved with family to New York

Started working in a candy store

1931Began having stories published in science fiction magazines

Read about Isaac Asimov and complete the timeline of the events in his life.

Date Event____ Gained Master’s 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.

1941

Got marriedWorked as junior chemist, Philadelphia Navy Yard

19481949

Published “I, Robot”

Date Event1951-1953 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 HIV.1992 ________________________.

19531958

Married for a second time1983

Died in New York

Detailed reading :

1 What’s the main idea of the text ?

Introduction to a famous American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s life and works.

2 How many years did Isaac Asimov work in store?

A 5 B 9 C 11 D 13 D

3. Who was Isaac Asimov?A. An American scientist and writer

who got his PhD in physics in 1948.B. An Russian scientist and writer who

married twice.C. An Russian - American scientist and

writer who became a full time writer in 1958.

D. An American - Russian scientist and writer who had 2 children.

C

4. In which book did he develop a set of three laws?

A. The Foundation Trilogy B. I, Robot C. In his first novel D. In his first science book.

B

5. What was Asimov best known for?

A. His mystery stories.

B. His science fiction stories.

C. His science and history books.

D. His books about the Bible and about Shakespeare.

B

6. All the followings are true except_____.

A. Asimov’s talent for writing wasn’t obvious when he was young.

B. He began having his stories published in science fiction magazine in 1939.

C. He published his first novel in 1950.

D. He published his first science book in 1953.

A

7. Why could Isaac Asimov become a writer ?

A A friend of his made him a writer

B His parents wanted him to be a writer

C He had the talent for writing

D He had so many experiences in his life .

C

8. What might happen in a world where there were robots if Asimov’s three laws didn’t exist?

A. Maybe robots will harm or injure human beings.

B. Maybe robots will disobey human beings.

C. In order to protect their own existence, robots may injure human beings.

D. All of the above.D

9 Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text ?

A Issac Asimov didn’t publish books until he became a fulltime writer .

B Issac Asimov’s ideas about robots completely influenced scientists researching into artificial intelligence

C Robots should protect human beings in “I,robot .”

D Issac Asimov wrote some famous plays about Shakespeare .

C

http://ent.qq.com/zt/2004/xinpian/Robot.htm

阿西莫夫是一位多产得惊人的作家，自 50 年代初，至今已出版了 300 多部著作。

在家中图书室（ 1976 年）

Old photo

阿西莫夫与珍尼特

演讲

军旅戎装

阿西莫夫追悼会现场

作品：

I, Robot 《作品 100》 《最新科学指南》

Language points1. biography n. 传记

bio( 尤其供公开发表的 ) 个人简历 (biography 的缩写 )

bio cards 传记档案卡 ; bio information 传记资料the biography of Byron

the biography of the town

bio- 表示“生命 , 生物”之义biophysics 生物物理学biochemistry n. 生物化学

The singer and dancer _______( be ) coming for a visit .

The singer and the dancer __________ (be) .

Coming for a visit .

A knife and fork _______ ( be ) on the desk .

is / was

are/ were

is / was

2 an American scientist and writer 一位科学家兼作家

3. Asimov had both an extraordinary imagination that gave him the ability to ….and an amazing mind with which he searched for ….

“ 介词＋ which/ whom” 的结构引导定语从句

阿西莫夫不仅有着超凡的想象力 , 使他能对未来世界进行探索 , 而且还有惊人的智力 , 使他能对现在和过去的各种事物作出解析

The Nile , ________electricity is produced ,no longer destroys villages and crops .

A which B from which C form it D from that

----- How do you like the cake ？

------ It’s quite different from _____I had last month .

A that B which C the one D the one what

B

C

4. From 1942 to 1948 he worked as a junior chemist …

junior adj. younger , lower in rank 较年轻的 /职位稍低的

senior: older; higher in rank 较年长的；职位稍高的

He is the junior employee in the firm .

He is two years junior to me.

5 he started to take himself seriously as a writer.

take sb/ sth seriously: regard sb/ sth as important and worth treating with respect

He takes things too seriously.

You can’t take her promises seriously; she never keeps her word.

If you can’t treat your study seriously, you will fail in the coming examination.

反义词： take … for granted 认为…是理所当然的，想当然，不把…当回事

6 Soon after his divorce in 1973, … divorce n.: legal ending of a marriage 离婚 , 脱离

vt.: put an end to a marriage by law 使离婚 , 与 ...

脱离 ask for a divorce; get divorced; divorce … from His wife asked for a divorce. They got divorced last year. They are divorcing each other. She divorced her husband two years ago. We shouldn’t divorce theory from practice.

9 award ( vt / n )

honour / prize / reward

He won the __________for the best student of year .

It ‘s an ___________to hear you speak so highly of me .

He won the Nobel _________for literature .

He got a ________of $ 100 for helping them.

award

honour

Prize

reward