What are the great human inventions to make a wonderful world now?

Stephenson’s “Rocket” (1781-1848)

Telephone Alexander graham Bell

1876

Penicillin( 青霉素 ) 1928

Television 1923

Color television 1940

photocopier 1937

Air conditioner 1902

Electronic digital computer 1942

Atomic bomb 1945

Credit cards 1950

Dolly(1996)

An amphibious car(2003)

Group Discussion

If you were a scientist, what would you invent? And what would you use it for?

Background information

1.   About the author Lord Dunsany

Lord Dunsany (July 24, 1878—October 25, 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist. His full name was Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany.

Lord Dunsany was educated at Eton College and Sandhurst. He served as an officer during the Boer War and World War I.

Lord Dunsany

Background information He was a keen huntsman, and sportsman,

and was at one time the chess and pistol champion of Ireland. His fame arose, however, from his prolific writings of short stories, novels, plays and poetry, reportedly mostly written with a quill pen.

Background information His most notable fantasy short stories wer

e published in collections from 1905 to 1919: he had to pay for publication of the first, "The Gods of Pegana". The stories were set within an invented world, with its own gods, history and geography. His significance within the genre of fantasy writing is considerable.

Background information2. Germ warfare Germ is an informal term for a disease-

causing organism, particularly bacteria. Biological warfare, also known as germ

warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. It is meant to incapacitate or kill an adversary.

Background information Biological warfare is a cause for concern

because a successful attack could conceivably result in thousands, possibly even millions, of deaths and could cause severe disruptions to societies and economies. However the consensus among military analysts is that except in the context of bioterrorism, biological warfare is militarily of little use.

Background information Examples of biological warfare:

1) Rajneeshi Salmonella （沙门氏菌） Attack

In a small town in Oregon, followers of the Rajneesh Yoga attempted to control a local election by infecting a salad bar with salmonella. The attack caused about 900 people to get sick, and was thus quite effective.

Background information Examples of biological warfare: 2) 2001 Anthrax （炭疽菌） Attack

In September and October of 2001, several cases of anthrax broke out in the United States in the 2001 anthrax attacks, caused deliberately. This was a well-publicized act of bioterrorism.

Examples of Biological Warfare

World War II Japanese Germ Warfare

Released plague( 瘟疫 ), anthracnose( 棉苗炭疽病 ) and glanders( 鼻疽病 ) on Chinese mountains, forests, rivers and fields(270,000)

The notorious Unit 731 produced germ weapons based on bacteria experiments on human bodies.

Text analysis 1. Theme of the text

 This text is just a funny little story, not to be taken seriously. The article contains a few important things for us to think about. It should be read as a modern fable.

Text analysis The four important things for us to

think about:1) The realistic description of the world

situation today: the threat of nuclear, biochemical and electronic weapons, the terrorism.

2) The purpose of science: Science is a double-edged sword. It can bring us happiness and can also turn out to be Pandora’s Box.

Text analysis3) What scientists should do in the

circumstances: Should they just concentrate on their research without bothering about the social consequences of their discoveries, or should they pay attention to the moral responsibility they have toward humanity?

Text analysis4) The driving force of scientific

development: the practical need; the support of business and government; human instinct: the desire to know, or intellectual curiosity.

Text analysis2. The structure

Part 1 (Paras. 1—4 ): Why did Jorkens tell the story?

Part 2 (Paras. 5 —44 ): the story itself

Part 3 (Para. 45 ): the concluding paragraph

Writing skillsFantasy , fable and modern fable1) FantasyIt is a situation imagined by an individual

or group, which does not correspond with reality but expresses certain desires or aims of its creator.

Fantasies typically involve situations which are impossible (such as the existence of magic powers) or highly unlikely (such as world peace).

Writing skills1) FantasyIn literature fantasy is a form of fiction,

usually novels or short stories. As a genre, fantasy is both associated and

contrasted with science fiction and horror fiction.

"Fantasy" seems reserved for fiction that features magic, brave knights, damsels in distress, mythical beasts, and quests.

Writing skills2) Fable It is a short moral story (often with animal

characters) . In its strict sense a fable is a short story or folk

tale with a moral at the end. It often, but not necessarily, makes metaphorical use of an animal as its central character. In some cases usage the term has been extended to include stories with mythical or legendary elements. An author of fables is a fabulist.

Writing skills3) Modern fable fabled characters of more modern

archetypes using familiar characters in an unfamiliar

setting introduce people’s characters in modern

life updated message with contemporary

circumstance and plot line

QUESTION

Which writing style does this story belong to?

Language pointsA. words1. go ashore: go to the shore prefix “a-” 加在名词、动词、形容词前 ,

构成副词或表语形容词 They were walking abreast. He was standing a few steps apart from t

hem.

Language points She left the door ajar. Many of those visitors came from afar.

2. decent: acceptable, good enough a decent meal/job/house/ hotel decent clothes/ wages

Language points3 ． figure You have to watch our diet if you want to

keep your figure. the exact figure both a political and a religious figure a five-digit figure to play the figure of a judge

Language points4. cavalry charges: rushes to attack the

enemy on horseback The hotel charged me $50 for a room for

the night.        (ask in payment) Suddenly the wild animal charged at us.

(rush in or as if in an attack) He was charged with murder and

betrayal. (to declare officially and openly)

Language points The soldiers charged their guns and prepa

red to fire.      (to load) He is always charged with strength and p

ower. (to take in the correct amount of electricity)

Language points5. spur The rider spurred on to his destination. ( 疾

驰 ) He was spurred on by poverty to commit a c

rime.( 刺激 ) To him difficulties were simply spurs to end

eavor.( 刺激（物） ) 雄心是青年人的一种极好的推动力 . Ambition is an excellent spur for the young.

Language points6. fierce fierce emotions fierce attack fierce competition fierce anger

Language points fierce look fierce heat fierce tempest fierce pain

Language points7. bribe take/ offer a bribe bribe sb. into silence commit bribery The children were given candy as a

bribe to be good.

Language points8. glory return with glory in one’s glory go to glory glory to do/in doing sth. glorify oneself a glorious death

Language points9. plague A great many people have been swept

away by the plague. That child is a plague of her life. The little boy plagued his father by

begging over and over to go to the zoo. You’ve been plaguing me with silly

questions all day!

Language pointsB. Expressions

1. what if What if we move the picture over here?

2. let loose You should not let loose your indignation

in this way.

Language points3. have sth. within one’s grasp Success is within our grasp now.

4. keep sb. at sth To do exercise once in awhile is not enou

gh. You’ve got to keep at it. He keeps at his studies, although he is ill. Keep at him for payment.

Language points5. but for: if not for 要不是…要不是他一把抓住 , 我就摔倒了 . I would have fallen but for his sudde

n arm.

要不是你的帮助 , 我无法完成这工作 . But for your help, I would not have fi

nished the work.

Language points6. mark an area off We marked off the limits of our lots with

stakes. mark off spheres of influence Her smiling eyes marks her off from

other girls. The place was marked off as a tennis

court.

Language points7. a strip of a strip of paper/ cloth/ board/ tape a strip of garden/ territory landing strip

Language points8. Brood on/over/about She sat there brooding on whether

life is worth living. Don’t brood over lost opportunities. Just as physicists worry about he

nature of matter, historians brood about the study of man’s past.

Language points9. lose the grip on His mind has lost its grip. The policeman would not lose his

grip on the thief. He has a good grip of several

modern languages.

DISCUSSION “I do not work for use, but for wonde

r.” Do you support this view of science for science’s sake? Should scientists mainly aim at those “purposeful effort”?

In order to make their voice heard, many small nations and nationalities resort to terrorism. Is it a necessary approach for them to get powerful?