|
IV. Background Information 1. THE BEGINNING OF TIME AND A REMARKABLE MAN CALLED STEPHEN HAWKING If you have ever thought about how the universe began and whether time has a beginning or an ending, then you should know about a 55-year-old Englishman called Stephen Hawking. Why? Because he is considered to be one of the brainiest men in the world and to be the modern successor of Albert Einstein. Stephen has spent his life studying and thinking about the origins of the universe and how it can be explained by using the modern theories of physics such as Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. His discoveries and his scientific proposals have been revolutionary. People call him a genius. Just as amazing is the fact that since his early twenties, he has been suffering from an incurable disease of the nervous system which has affected his movements and his speech. But, fortunately, although he must use a wheelchair and other technical aids to do things, his brain functions perfectly. In- deed, it functions better than the vast majority of people’s. So, in spite of a severe disability, he has made tremendous contributions to our understanding of our universe. So, what does Stephen think about the beginnings of our world? Well, he thinks (along with others) that it began around fifteen billion years ago. He also thinks that our universe was probably created by an enormous explosion, a “Big Bang”. This is a view held by many cosmologists (scientists who study the universe). But scientists hold different views about what the universe was like before the Big Bang. Some people think that there is no way that modern physics can explain or predict anything before the Big Bang. Many other people think that the Big Bang must have been the work of God. Stephen Hawking has his own view on what the universe was like before the Big Bang. He has suggested that, yes, we can say that the universe and time began at one particular point (a Big Bang). But, this one point was just an ordinary point in time like, say, the north pole is a point on the smooth surface of the earth. It was not a point of real beginning, just a point. Stephen believes that if we can use our present knowledge of the laws of physics to understand how the universe began, then we will not have to believe that a “God” or a spiritual force made the Big Bang. What do you think about our beginnings? If you would like to read more about Stephen's ideas on the origins of the universe, then you should read his best seller A Brief History of Time. In spite of his difficult illness and his confinement to a wheelchair, Stephen Hawking works as a Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge; holding the same position held by another famous scientist, Isaac Newton, in1663. It may be that the name Hawking could become just as well known in history as that of his famous predecessor. 2. Stephen Hawking in China Stephen Hawking, the disabled author of A Brief History of Time is launching his second journey to China in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province. His first visit was over 10 years ago. The great theoretical scientist has been invited to attend a state-of-the-art mathematics research institute at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou-based Dushi Kuaibao reported. On Sunday evening, he made his debut at a press conference held at Shangri-La hotel, Hangzhou. Hawking appeared at about 5:00 p.m. with his wife. The 50-year-old man answered a total of nine questions with the help of his computer. “Experts in theoretical science are dispersed around the world, but we need communication. I am very glad that the world's first-class conference is being held in China this time,” he said. “I find the real universe much more interesting than the one in the film Star Wars,” Hawking joked. “I encourage young people to study theoretical physics first if they are interested in it.” Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great scientific development of the first half of the 20th century. One consequence of such a unification theory would be that black holes would not be completely black, but emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science. But the talented man who has produced such rich work suffers serious Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He is one of the350 000 sufferers in the world. The disease kills over 100 000 people every year. “I like life and I love life, my family and music give me the greatest happiness, ”smiled Hawking, who can only move three fingers. In the coming year, Hawking said he is scheduled to write a new edition of A Brief History of Time for young children. “A Brief History of Time is my first book for common people. But I later found that I could write it in a more simple way,” he answered. “So I decided to rewrite it so that all people can read it easily. ” The First Period Teaching Aims: 1. Learn and master the following words: inspiration, perspiration, undertake, analysics, obvious, within, quote 2. Talk about science and scientists. 3. Listen to the description of some scientists. 4. Do some speaking, describing people and debating. Teaching Important Points: 1. Train the students' listening ability by listening practice. 2. Train the students' speaking ability by talking about science and scientists, describing people and debating. Teaching Difficult Points: 1. How to improve the students' listening ability. 2. How to help the students finish the task of speaking. Teaching Methods: 1. Warming up to arouse the students' interest in science. 2. Listening-and-answering activity to help the students go through the listening material. 3. Individual, pair or group work to make every student work in class. (责任编辑：admin) |