清华科技英语阅读.ppt

Task 1,Course Introduction,Selected English Readings for Science and Technology,Presented by Dr.James Zhang,Autumn 2012-Spring 2013,1.1 GOAL of this course,Aims atbuilding up updated general knowledge of modern science and technology and;achieving the proficiency of understanding difficult articles in limited timeDeveloping basic academic writing skills,1.2 Topics,1.2.1 Topic selection SourceScientific American(2011-2012)CriteriaBasic disciplines State of Art:most recent development,1.2.2 Topics to Cover,Topic 1:Modern Physics The inflation debateLiving in a quantum worldTopic 2:Biology and MedicineThe inner life of the genomeBlocking HIVs attackTopic 3:NeuroscienceHidden Switches in the mind What make each brain uniqueTopic 4:EvolutionTriumph of titansFirst of our kind,Topic 5:Animal and Plant behaviorThe compass within What a plant smellsTopic 6:Philosophy in ScienceThought experimentWhy math works?Topic 7:Space explorationBound for the moonThis way to MarsTopic 8:Chemistry10 unsolved mysteries The scent of your thoughts,Topic 9:Computing and information technologyThe shadow webHacking the lights outTopic 10:Energy The false promise of biofuelsPlanning for the black swan Topic 11:Climate changeThe last great global warmingA shifting band of rainTopic 12:Sustainability The blue food revolutionCan we feed the world and sustain the plant?,1.3 class activities,Professors presentationA general view of text 1 of the specific topic;Detailed explanation of one or several parts of the text 1Group discussion(3-4 students as a group)Theoretical discussion:basic knowledge of the theory involved in each topic;Further comprehension questions about text 1;General understanding questions of text 2,1.4 Home Assignment,Summary writingBased on the Professors class presentation and class discussion4 articles assigned separately,about 300 words for eachDue:1 week after the assignmentIn-depth writingOn one topic among the 12 you are interested in Due:the 17th week,1.5 quizzes and examination,Quizzes:once for two weeks,about 5-6 in all Word quiz:based on the word list prepared by Prof.Short essay question:knowledge of the topic based on the class discussion and the textFinal Examination Open test Based on the articles not covered in the classQuestion types:word matching,reading comprehension questions,translation,essay questionsLength:90 minutesTime:16th week or later,1.6 Grading System,Class attendance and performance:25 pointsClass attendance:15 points2 late=1 absent1 absent=2 points3 absent=failure Group discussion report and other performance:10 pointsHomework:30 pointsSummary writing:4 X 5=20 points In-depth writing:10 points Quizzes:25 pointsFinal exam:20 points,1.7 Office hour,8:30-9:30 Tuesday9:00-11:00 WednesdayOther times as pre-arranged,Task 2,Get to know each other,Travel to meet each other,FIND SOMEONE WHOCan play a musical instrument,such as piano/violin/erhu.Ever traveled abroad Got a sister or brotherPlay online games for over 20 hours a week Use QQ/YAHOO MESSENGER for daily communication Has at least one foreign friend to communicate in English Writes English Diary/blog on a regular basis Is planning to pursue post-graduate study abroadHas taken new TOEFL or IELTSIs from Tibet/Xinjiang Has got drivers licenseHas not had breakfast/lunch yetCould play Gongfu,Task 3,Topic 1:Modern Physics Text 1:The Inflation Debate-Is the theory at the heart of modern cosmology deeply flawed?,Terms clarification first,Classical Physics vs.Modern PhysicsClassical physics is generally concerned with matter and energy on the normal scale of observation,like the traditional branches and topics recognized and well-developed before the beginning of the 20th centuryclassical mechanics,acoustics,optics,thermodynamics,and electromagnetism.Much of modern physics is concerned with the behavior of matter and energy under extreme conditions or on the very large or very small scale,such as quantum theory,theory of relativity,etc.,Terms clarification first,The Big BangIn the early 20th century,Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding,which prompted rival explanations known as the steady state universe and the Big Bang.The Big Bang was confirmed by the success of Big Bang nucleosynthesis and the discovery of the cosmic microwave background in 1964.,3.1 a general view,Alan H.Guth:born 1947,MIT PhD(1972)“generation of lost scholars”:worked successively at Princeton(1971-1974),Columbia(1974-1977),Cornell(1977-1979),Stanford Linear accelerator(1979-1980),and work in MIT since 1980.,3.1.1 Cosmic Inflation,Basic Idea,Universe started with a big bang and has been expanding for long,but;What happened at the first instants of the big bang?The universe must start with a certain properties;Guths answer:an exponential growth,a brief burst of hyper-accelerated expansion,Edwin Hubble,He observed that the universe goes beyond the Milky Way galaxy and redshift increases with distance,which become the first observational support for the Big Bang theory which had been proposed by Georges Lematre,a Belgian catholic priest and physicist,in 1927.,Two problems to explain,1.flatness problemWhy is the universe density so nearly at the critical density,or why is the universe so flat?2.horizon problemWhy does the universe,particularly the microwave background,look the same in all directions?The only for two regions to have the same conditions is that they are close enough to each other for information to be exchanged between them so that they can equilibrate to a common state.The photons from the microwave background have been travelling nearly the age of the universe to reach us right now.So it is impossible for the photons to have sufficient time to travel across the universe.,What did inflation do?,Ballooned abruptly in size by a factor of 10 25 in every direction,within 10 30 second;flatness and uniformity problems explained:curves and warps in space ironed out;Horizon problem explained:regions that appear to be isolated from each other were in contact with each other before the inflation period;Galaxies today:out of slight non-uniformities left behind because of quantum fluctuations when space expanding at a mellow pace.,What caused inflation?,In scalar field,potential energy is produced in proportion with forceA repulsive gravitational force driving space to swell rapidly;Energy density is proportional to strength in inflation field;On plateau,strong repulsive force to expand;when it comes to valley,inflation end;and then the potential energy converts into dark matter,hot ordinary matter and radiation that fill the universe today,Three dictums for inflation theory,1.inflation is inevitable;2.inflation explains why the universe is flat and uniform today;3.inflationary theory is powerfully predictive.,3.1.2 case against inflation,Logical foundation challengedDoes the theory really work as advertised?Are the predictions made in the early 1980s still the predictions of the inflationary model understood today?Answers:“no”,Problem 1:“bad inflation”,Good inflation:only for narrow range of parameter to yield galaxy observed todayBad inflation:for less fine-tuned parameter,leading to larger temperature variation,which give rise to more stars Both configures rare,so a flat universe is unlikely overall.The latter is more likely to happen than the former.,Problem 2:eternal inflation,Andrei Linde(1994):inflation never endsRandom quantum fluctuation:delay the time when inflation ends,forming procrastinating regions;When well-behaved inflation ends,it forms an island,which is surrounded by delayed inflation space;The process is eternal;No way to judge which kind of island is more likely in an eternally inflating universe.,Problem 2:eternal inflation,Andrei Linde(1994):inflation never endsRandom quantum fluctuation:delay the time when inflation ends,forming procrastinating regions;When well-behaved inflation ends,it forms an island,which is surrounded by delayed inflation space;The process is eternal;Eternal inflation,combined with quantum fluctuations may result in non-uniformity;And No way to judge which kind of island is more likely in an eternally inflating universe.,3.1.3 some possible solutions to the problems,1.Assuming a special initial state with special form of inflationary energy,so inflation ended everywhere in space before quantum fluctuations had a chance to reignite.But defeats the entire purpose of inflation:to explain the outcome no matter what conditions existed beforehand.2.Ad hoc measure:set up a specific rule to weigh which kinds of islands are most likely,supposing that our observable universe are most likely outcome of inflation;3.Volume measure:island weighed by size;4.Anthropic principle measure:atypical island with just minimal conditions needed to support life.(Awaiting further explanation from you:p42-43),5.Cyclic theory:authors point of view Quantum physics rather than classical physics rules inflation;Big bang is not the beginning of time and space,but rather;A bounce from preceding contraction phase to new expansion phase cyclically accompanied by the creation of matter and radiation;Smoothing of universe occurs before big bang,actually during contraction.Smoothings consequence can be observed that quantum fluctuations generate gravitational waves,which leave imprint on the microwave background radiation.And amplitude of the waves are proportional to the energy dense.When the universe is extremely dense with energy,inflation would occur;and contraction would occur when the universe is empty.So the predicted imprints would be very different.,Detailed study of text 1,Quantum effects(p40)Random fluctuationsSpatial variation:cause inflation to end at different times in different regionsGives birth to stars and galaxies,Coins analogy(p 42)There is no way to judge which coin is more likely when the number of coins is infinite.There is no way to judge which kind of island is more likely in an eternally inflating universe.,Alternative explanations:p 42-431.special initial state hypothesis2.weighing measure3.volume measure4.anthropic principle measure,Gabriele Veneziano,Italian theoretical physicistPioneer of String theoryString theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity.It is a contender for a theory of everything(TOE),a self-contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter.String theory posits that the elementary particles(ie.electrons and quarks)within an atom are not 0-dimensional objects,but rather 1-dimensional oscillating lines(strings).,CERN,Conseil Europen pour la Recherche Nuclaire,an international organization whose purpose is to operate the worlds largest particle physics laboratory.Established in 1954,the organization is based in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the FrancoSwiss border,and has 20 European member states.CERNs main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research-as a result,numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN following international collaborations.It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web.,Task 4,Appendix 1:some reading strategies over academic articles,(1)Skimming:looking quickly at the title,section headings,abstract or summary,first and last paragraphs,first and last sentences of intervening paragraphs,topic sentences in each paragraph,in order toIdentify what the text is about(topic)Identify the main idea of the textDecide how useful the text is for your purposesDecide how you will use the text,(2)predicting:use your prior knowledge to guess what kind of information the text will contain and how useful it will be,(3)scanningInvolves finding words or other symbols,such as figures which have particular importance to you.When you scan,you already know the form of the words or symbols you are looking for,and you focus on small parts of the text only.,(4)search readingMeans quickly find ideas which are particularly important to you.When you do search reading,you dont know before hand the exact words you are looking for and can not make a direct match.,(5)identify the main ideasInvolves understanding the writers main points.,(6)inferring Means obtain the meaning from the text that the writer has not explicitly stated.Sometimes,the writer needs you to fill the gap in the text;Sometimes,you may wish to infer what the author wrote from the text,i.e.,the writers purpose and also the writers attitude to what s/he is writing about.,(7)dealing with unfamiliar wordsWhen you find a word you dont understand in a text,you need to decideWhether you need to know the word now to help you understand the text and use it later under different circumstances.Guess the meaning from the context;or Check it in a dictionaryWhether you only need to know the word now to help you understand the text.Technical words or low-frequency wordsRecord it as well as use it so it became part of your active vocabularyWhether you dont need to know this word either now or in the future.If it occurs several times,look it up and record it.,(8)detailed comprehension of sentences and paragraphsIn academic context,you need to have a precise understanding of specific sentences and paragraphsIt may involve analyzing the relationship between ideas within a specific sentence or between a sequence of sentences of up to a paragraph length-or even beyond.,(9)text analysis Is to understand how a text is organized At the global level:the way the text is organized into sections and paragraphs according to the purpose of the text and the type of text.For example,the report of an experiment has the following pattern of organization:Title,abstract,introduction/background,method,results,conclusions,references/bibliographyAt the local level:within complex sentences or paragraphs,While it is important to be aware of many different aspects of academic reading,it is also important to Develop a flexible reading styleDecide which is best way to read a text depending on the particular academic purposeRemember that the more you read,the better you will readRegular impendent reading outside the classroom is essential to develop fluency,greater reading speed,vocabulary acquisition,and strategies for successful reading.,