Period 4 Using Language：Listening，Speaking and Writing
Teaching aims
1．Enable students to express supposition and belief.
2．Learn to write a passage describing a new type of robot.
Teaching procedures
Step 1 Lead－in
1．First，ask students to look at the words below.Many of them are used to describe Claire's feelings in the story.Carry out the following tasks in pairs.
alarmed embarrassed amazed awful amused surprised attracted disturbed envied impressed satisfied hurt frightened upset
(1)Find as many of these words in the text as possible and underline the sentences.
(2)Write a short paragraph to describe Claire using some of these words.
(3)Tell a story using at least five of these words.
Sample writing：
Claire is a very emotional woman who needs a good friend.She finds this friend in a robot called Tony，who comes to help her in her home.She is attracted to him because he is so handsome and sympathetic.He becomes her best friend.She is impressed by his abilities but embarrassed by her feelings for him.She is disturbed because she thinks of him as a man (even though he is not) but is amused that other women envy her and think they are having an affair.Claire succeeds in overcoming her sense of failure，but in doing so falls in love with Tony.His visit leaves her upset，frightened and hurt，which has replaced her sense of failure.She has been hurt by Tony because he is too nice rather than because he is not nice enough.
2．Next，have a small talk about the story.
(1)Why did Tony have to be rebuilt?
(2)How would you feel if you had a robot like Tony in your house?
Suggested answers：
(1)Because you can't have women falling in love with machines.
(2)Various answers are possible.Students are encouraged to speak out their feelings freely.
Step 2 Listening
1．Molly and Kate are discussing the story “Satisfaction Guaranteed”．Read the questions and then listen to their conversation.Tick the correct boxes.
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Questions |
Molly |
Kate |
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1.Who really likes the st |
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2.Who thinks that Claire loved Tony？ |
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3.Who thinks that Tony loved Claire？ |
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4.Who thinks that the purpose of Tony's action was to make Claire feel good about herself？ |
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5.Who thinks taking Tony away must have hurt Claire？ |
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6.Who said that making a robot so much like a man was bound to cause trouble？ |
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Keys：
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Questions |
Molly |
Kate |
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1.Who really likes the story？ |
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2.Who thinks that Claire loved Tony？ |
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3.Who thinks that Tony loved Claire？ |
√ |
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4.Who thinks that the purpose of Tony's action was to make Claire feel good about herself？ |
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5.Who thinks taking Tony away must have hurt Claire？ |
√ |
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6.Who said that making a robot so much like a man was bound to cause trouble？ |
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2.Next，listen again and find answers to the following questions.
(1)What does Kate think the difference between robots and human is?
(2)How does Kate think Claire was hurting herself?
(3)Why would one of the girls like a robot such as Tony living at her house?
(4)What does Kate think the company's biggest mistake was?
Suggested answers：
(1)Robots can't feel emotion of any kind.
(2)By seeing herself in a negative way.
(3)She likes the idea of a handsome man whose only purpose was to please her.
(4)Making the robot look so much like a real man.
3．Listen to the tape again and write down the expressions of supposition and belief.
Keys：
[来源:学.科.网]
Step 3 Discussion
Students are asked to work in groups and imagine having a robot in their houses to do the housework.Discuss what the positive or negative effects of the situation would be.(Don't forget to use expressions of supposition and belief.Students are given five minutes.Five minutes later，ask some students to present their ideas to the whole class.Encourage every student to use his imagination，because there're no right or wrong answers，only different opinions.After students present their opinions，the teacher speaks out his or her opinion.)
A sample
Positive_effects
I think it is wonderful for people to have robots in their houses to do the housework.After a day's work，when people get home，they can be really relaxed with everything prepared by their robots.A robot never gets tired.Nor does it complain.Life will be very easy and comfortable.
Negative_effects
Maybe people can enjoy a very comfortable life with the help of their robots.But at the same time I believe people will lose the ability to do housework.As time goes by，people cannot live well without a robot's help.I think that kind of life would be terrible.
Step 4 Writing
Students are asked to work in groups.First decide the purpose of the robot，then make a list of the abilities the robot has.Next draw a picture on a piece of paper and name its parts and explain what each part does.Finally write a passage describing the robot and what it can do.Show the following to help students to design their robots.
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Tips on designing your robots |
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For each robot that you build，you will have to choose options for six major robot characteristics.Each characteristic gives rise to one or more questions.These are： |
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Looks：What does the robot look like？Is there a reason for it to look as it does？ |
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Sensing：How does the robot “know” or figure out what's in its environment？If it we |
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Movement：How does the |
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Manipulation：How does the robot move or manipulate other objects within its environment？Can a single robot move or manipulate more than one kind of object？ |
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Energy：How is the robot powered？Can it have more than one energy source？ |
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Intelligence：How does the robot “think”？What does it mean to say that a robot “thinks”？ |
Note：Not all robots have to have all six characteristics.For example，some robots don't need to manipulate things，so they have no manipulating characteristics.Some robots have more than one manifestation of a characteristic.For example，a robot may be able to sense its environment using both a vision system and sonar.
Students are asked to discuss first.If there is not enough time，they should finfish it after class.
Step 5 Homework
Write a passage describing a new type of robot.
Sample writing：
Remote Presence Robots
Remote Presence Robots allow a medical expert to visually examine and communicate with a patient from anywhere in the world，via the machine，using wireless technology.The robot runs on a wireless system with the doctor at another location.It is controlled via a secure broadband Internet connection.The doctor (controller) and patient are able to have a real－time two－way audiovisual interaction，with the controller in full command of the robots movements，head monitor and camera.The doctor “driving” the robot can view the patient，ask questions and read patient records，view X－rays and test results from the console.The patient sees the doctor's image on the robots “face”．
Although the robot does not physically examine the patient，it allows face－to－face contact between the doctor and patient，providing immediate access to specialists.
Our robots certainly would never replace all doctors on ward rounds，but they are a communication tool which allows doctors to have direct contact with their patients if they are unable to get to them.And this may be a significant step for patient care.
The rubbish collector robot[来源:Zxxk.Com]
The rubbish collector is a robot about half the size of a small car.Its body is square and contains a large rubbish bin inside it.It has a camera attached to the top front of its body.Also at the front is a pair of arms.Underneath it has four wheels and six legs.With the camera it can “see” rubbish such as paper，glass，and plastic.If the surface of the ground is smooth，it runs on its wheels，and if the ground is rough，it unfolds its legs and walks.
When it sees a piece of rubbish，it stops and uses its arms to pick it up and put it in its rubbish bin.However，when it sees a person，an animal or a plant，it goes around it as it is able to recognize when something is not a piece of rubbish.
The company should make this robot as it would be very popular with schools.It would clean the outside grounds of the school and so give the students more time to spend on their studies.It would also be a great advantage to have at sports grounds or any other area where rubbish is dropped by the public.
