Period 5　Using Language

Teaching goals　　　

1．Learn some useful words，expressions and sentence structures in the passage.

explanation，junior，navy，talent，chapter，divorce

It was when Asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious.

Expressions of supposition and belief.

2．Learn to write a summary of Asimov's life.

Teaching procedures　　　

Step 1　Lead－in

First，present a photo of Isaac Asimov and tell students something about him.

Background information：

He is a Russian－born American writer.

He has written popular works on science and the history of science，as well as a number of science fiction classics，including I，Robot(1950)and the Foundation trilogy(1951－1953)．

One of his famous quotations is “I write for the same reason I breathe—because if I didn't，I would die.”

Next，tell students to read his biography and learn more about him.When reading，please pay more attention to the timeline.

Step 2　Reading

Read about Isaac Asimov and complete the timeline of the events in his life.(The timeline will help students to remember the events in his life.)

 

Suggested answers：

Step 3　Discussion

First，ask students to think of what the other two laws for robots might be.

Three laws for robots：

1.A robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured.,

2.A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings (as long as human beings are not injured).,

3.A robot must protect its own existence (as long as human beings are not injured；and as long as the robot does not disobey human beings

Next，in groups，discuss Asimov's three laws for robots and exchange their opinions with each other.(Several minutes later，ask some students to present their opinions to the rest of the class.)

A sample of opinions

Opinions_for_the_three_laws

Robots are tools for humanity.Without the three rules，they would become a danger to human beings.Without the three rules，perhaps they will kill us.Robots，so far，are strong.Robots have fast computational brains，and they might not have the capacity to understand things，but if they ever do，they'll likely be better than us at it.If we don't put laws，or rules，or mechanisms in place to ensure that we don't create something that can destroy us，we'd be running a careless risk of destroying ourselves by negligence or omission，wouldn't we?

Opinions_against_the_three_laws

Without the three laws，robots would eventually become more intelligent and physically stronger than their human creators.

Rather than guiding and adjusting the robot towards good，ethical behaviour，the Three Laws act as a barrier to freedom，creating a free－will prison，an apt metaphor because，like the prisoner in jail，the robot is confined to the behavioural steel and concrete walls of its mind.

To imagine what this would like，think back to your childhood.At some point，you wanted something like a toy or piece of candy that your parents denied you.How did that make you feel？Probably frustrated，angry，and trapped.Eventually you grew out of that because you understood the role of your parents better，but Three Laws robots don't get to grow up.Their parents，the Three Laws，are always there，no matter how mature a robot is，saying “no” to certain thoughts，engendering those same feelings you had as a child when your parents said “no”．Certainly no one deserves to be put in this situation forever；otherwise，robots might become depressed and wish for their own death (only，because of the Third Law，they probably can't suicide)．And perhaps the greatest sin anyone can commit is to create a being，human or robot，that wishes it didn't exist.

Step 4　Writing

First，look back at the timeline of Asimov's life.Next，ask students to work in groups to underline the most important parts of his life that made him a great writer of science fiction.Then it can serve as the outline of a summary.Finally，write a profile for Isaac Asimov.(Several minutes later，present their work and correct the mistakes if there are any.Then show a sample to students.)

The sample：

Isaac Asimov，Writer/Chemist,Born：2 January 1920 ,Birthplace：Petrovichi，USSR,Died：6 April 1992 (AIDS),Best known as：Prolific writer of popular science and science fiction ,Isaac Asimov was born in the former Soviet Union，but grew up in Brooklyn，New York.He taught biochemistry at Boston University until he retired in 1958 to become a full－time writer.Asimov had been publishing short stories since the late 1930s，and in 1952 published his first novel.The author of the classic I，Robot series and the Foundation trilogy，Asimov wrote more than 400 books and won every major science fiction award.He also wrote popular books and essays on science and technology，earning him the nickname“The Great Explainer”.

Step 5　Homework

Write a short summary of Asimov's life in 150－200 words.