The Virtual World Text AA Virtuallife

1、1,unit 4 the virtual worldtext a a virtual life,1. pre-reading activities 2. cultural notes 3. main ideas 4. text organization 5. language study 6. summary of key words, phrases, and structures 7. text analysis,2,1. pre-reading activities,1. pre-reading listening: a. listen to the recording of a poe

2、m - surfing the internet b. answer the questions about the poem: 1) what was “i” doing when the boss came in? (surfing the internet) 2) how did he act in front of his boss? (he pretended to be surprised at the computer which had crashed “unexpectedly”.,3,2. give antonyms of “virtual world” and “virt

3、ual life”; (real world, real life) 3. give synonyms for “virtual world”; cyberspace, cyberia (cyberspace), etherworld, virtual reality, internet world, net world, etc,4,4. please say what people can do on the internet. (communicating with people; shopping, reading, entertainment, education, working,

4、 publishing, hacking = secretly find way of getting information from someone elses computer or change information on it,5,2. cultural notes,internet 1. when did internet first emerged? (the internet emerged in the united states in the 1970s but did not become visible to the general public until the

5、early 1990s. 2. when did china start to use internet? (the early 1990s.,6,3) what do you know about early networks ? the first computer networks were dedicated special-purpose systems such as sabre (an airline reservation system) and autodin i (a defense command-and-control system), both designed an

6、d implemented in the late 1950s and early 1960s. by the early 1960s computer manufacturers had begun to use semiconductor technology in commercial products, and both conventional batch-processing,7,nbc (the national broadcasting company): major american commercial broadcasting company, now a subsidi

7、ary of general electric company (ge). it was formed in 1926 jointly by the radio corporation of america (rca), ge, and westinghouse electric corporation. created by david sarnoff, rcas president (or, from 1947, chairman), nbc was the first american company organized solely and specifically to operat

8、e a radio broadcasting,8,pbs(the public broadcasting service): a private, nonprofit american corporation whose members are the public television stations of the united states, (puerto rico, the virgin islands, guam, and american samoa). pbs provides its member stations with quality programming in cu

9、ltural, educational, and scientific areas, in childrens fare, and in news and public affairs; headquartered in alexandria, virginia,9,abc (the american broadcasting company): a major american television network that is a division of the walt disney company. its headquarters are in new york city. the

10、 companys history traces to 1926, when the radio corporation of america (rca) and several other firms founded the national broadcasting company (nbc) to operate a nationwide radio broadcasting network. nbc expanded so rapidly that by 1928 it split into the separate red and blue networks . to avoid a

11、 communications monopoly, nbc was forced to sell the blue network in 1941. its buyer, edward j. noble, gave the company its present name,10,liverpool,city and seaport on the n side of the river mersey estuary, merseyside, nw england, founded in the 10th century, became a free borough in 1207, and ex

12、panded rapidly to be britains largest port,albert dock, first light,11,3. main ideas,despite the many negative effects of virtual life, the author prefers it to real life,12,4. how she feels about the real day-to-day world,4. text organization,contents,paragraphs,1. description of the authors virtua

13、l life,2 - 3,2. how she feels about it after staying on the net for a while,1, 4-10, 13,3. what she does in trying to return to the real world,11,12,13,5. language study,virtual( the title): 1) created and exist only in a computer; e.g. -some people spend too much time escaping from reality into the

14、 virtual world imagined on their computer screen. -the website allows to take a virtual tour of the plants and animal museum,14,2) being or acting as what is described, but not accepted as such in name or officially; e.g. - she is the virtual head of the company. interpret (line 2 ): 1)understand (s

15、th said, ordered, or done ); interpret sth as sth； e.g,15,they worried that the employees might interpret the new regulations as a restriction of their rights. 2)give or provide the meaning of, explain; e.g. - freud attempted to interpret the meaning of dreams. 3) translate what is said in one langu

16、age into another; e.g. - he spoke good spanish, and promised to interpret for us,16,tone (line3): 1)a particular quality or intonation of the voice; *in a tone; in sbs tone; tone of voice; e.g. - he said in a friendly tone. - there was urgency in his tone. - from the tone of her voice i could tell s

17、he was very happy,17,2)general feeling / attitude; e.g. - the tone of the report was radical. - the article was moderate in tone. *tone of; in tone 3)colour: one of the many type of a particular colour, each slightly darker, lighter, brighter etc than the next; e.g. - different tones of green - perh

18、aps a darker tone would be better,18,stretch (line5) 1) (cause to) become longer, wider, etc. without breaking; e.g. - the child stretched the rubber band to its full extent. - the banner was stretched across the street. 2)straighten your arms, legs or body to full length; e.g. - always stretch befo

19、re exercising. - he stretched himself out on the ground,19,line 6)highlight: (n.) the best or most exciting or interesting part; - we were looking forward to seeing the pyramids, which promised to be the highlight of our trip. - what are the highlights of tonights mba? v. give special attention to;

20、- your resume should highlight your skills and achievements. - the paper highlights the difficulties of the farmers,20,submit (line 8):v. give (sth) to sb. so that it may be formally considered (followed by to); e.g. - you should submit your plan to the committee. - all applications must be submitte

21、d by monday. - we submitted ourselves to their wishes. ( give over; yield,21,edit (line 9 ): v. revise or correct; e.g. - he is now editing his degree paper. - she used to edit the china daily. edition: n. -paperback edition; -first edition; -the afternoon edition of the paper editor: n. - economics

22、 editor / sports editor, etc,22,take (sth) in (line 18): 1) to understand and remember new facts and information; absorb (sth) into the body by breathing or swallowing; e.g. - his eyes quickly took in the elegance of her dress. - fish take in oxygen through their gills,23,2) collect or earn in a par

23、ticular amount of money; e.g. - the store takes in almost $3000 a day (from customers). - the company took in enough profits last year to break even (profits equal ones losses). 3) to make a piece of clothing fit you by making it narrower; e.g. - my dress is too big for me since i have lost some wei

24、ght; i need to have it taken in,24,be taken in: be deceived by sb. who lies to you - dont be taken in by products claiming to help you lose weight in a week. - he took us in with that scheme,25,spit (line 18): v. send (liquid, food, etc) out from the mouth *spit sth (out) at / on / onto sb. / sth; e

25、.g. - he spat its food out on the bed. - diana tasted the tea and quickly spat it out. - a group of fans spat on the players as they left the field,26,symptom (line 19): n. 1) sign of existence of sth bad; e.g. -the disappearance of jobs is a symptom of a deeper socio-economic change. - high interes

26、t rates are a symptom of a weak economy. 2) change in the body that indicates an illness; e.g. -common symptoms of diabetes are weight loss and fatigue. - can you say the symptoms of flu in english,27,conversely (line26): adv. in a way that is opposite to sth. - american consumers prefer white eggs,

27、 conversely, british buyers like brown eggs. - 霍华德喜欢中国餐，相反的，他的 弟弟喜欢美国餐。 converse: adj./ n. -they hold converse views on that matter. -you say hell win but i believe the converse is true,28,line 26) i find myself shyer, (line 33)i find myself sucked in by soap operas, (line 39) on line i find myself

28、attacking everyone insight. *find oneself +adj. / v-ing / v-ed / prepositional phrase more practice on p.114,29,line 27)confront: face sth and try to deal with it; - parents often feel inadequate when confronted with the eager mind of a child. - nowadays customers are confronted with a bewildering a

29、mount of choice,30,but then (line33): yet at the same time; but on the other hand; e.g. - mary performed better than the others in the final; but then, she spent much longer on it than they did. -he got turned down for a promotion, but then he never expected to get it,31,jar (line 33): have a harsh

30、or anj unpleasant effect, (jar sth. / jar on sb./sth.); e.g. - the loud bang jarred my nerves. - his enthusiasm jarred harry. - her screaming was starting to jar on my nerves,32,suck in (line 34): *(usu. passive) involve (sb.) in an activity, an argument, etc. usu. against their will, *be sucked in/

31、into sth. ; suck in; e.g. - i dont want be sucked in/into the argument about the matter. *pull sth./sb. with great power and force into or out of a particular place - a bird was sucked into one of the jets engines,33,keep up with (line34): 1) learn about or be ware of (the news, etc.) - some people

32、like to keep up with the latest fashions. - faculty members need to keep up with the latest technical developments. 2) perform as successfully as others; - john has trouble keeping up with the rest of class,34,keep up: continue doing sth; - i dont think i can keep up (with) the payment any longer,35

33、,dateline: fridays 8:00 pm (e.)(nbc) sunday 7:00 pm, 12:00 am, show background:now broadcast four times a week, dateline nbc has earned more awards in the 1996-97 season than any other network magazine.principal anchors jane pauley and stone phillips host this one-hour newsmagazine that delivers in-

34、depth coverage of news events and investigates subjects of all kinds,36,frontline, world (60mins.) thursday 9:00pm since jan. 1983. local stations have different channels watch on-line,37,cnn: cable news network, inc. subsidiary company of turner broadcasting system, inc., engaged in 24-hour live ne

35、ws broadcasts. headquarters are in atlanta, ga. cable news network was created in june 1980 by ted turner (q.v.), founder of the turner broadcasting system. he established news bureaus in major american cities and in other cities throughout the world,38,line 36) even when they are of no possible use

36、 to me. *be of (no) + n. more practice at page 114,39,work moves into the background (line37) = work becomes secondary to me. (line 39) in sight: 1) visible - the boss is nowhere in sight. - it was early in the morning and there wasnt anyone in sight on the street. - 男孩子放学一回到家就把看得着的都吃光了。 as soon as

37、the boys got home after school and ate everything in sight,40,2) likely to come soon - the end of the economic nightmare is still nowhere in sight. - 解决环境污染问题的办法似乎有眉目了。 a solution to the problem of environmental pollution now seems in sight,41,line 42) project: 1) imagine that others have (the same

38、feelings, usu. unpleasant ones) as you; e.g.: - youre projecting your insecurity onto me. (project sth on/onto sb) 2)stick out or stand out - two towers projected from the main building,42,line 46) cue: n. anything that serves as signal about what to do or say (followed by to/for); e.g. - when he st

39、arted to talk about the finances, that was our cue to get up quietly and leave. - our success was the cue for other campaigns. v. to give sb a sign that it is right moment to do sth,43,the manager will cue you when its your turn to come on. - 她眨眼暗示我悄悄离开房间。 she cued me with a wink and we slipped out

40、of the room. (line 47) i say a line, then he does, then crash! = i type a line on the screen,44,line 49) routine: a fixed and regular way of doing things; - he established a new routine after retirement. - “get used to the normal office routine in the first week.” said the manager. - the job is real

41、ly a dull series of routine tasks. will you take it,45,line 54)abuse: wrong or bad use or treatment of sth / sb. - the world heath organization (who) has published a report on drug abuse and addiction. - 他们假期要做一项关于虐待孩子的社会调查。 they will make an investigation during the vocation on child abuse,46,line

42、54) restore:bring back to a former condition (usu. restore sth, restore sb.to sth) - winning three games restored their confidence. - doing exercises every day restored him to health. - the church was carefully restored after the war. (repair,47,line 56)flee : run away (from), flee from/to/into; fle

43、e someplace; - thousands upon thousands of iraqi people fled the country since the invasion of the u.s. - many german artists fled to america at the beginning of world war ii. - some students fled from the dormitory by jumping out of windows after the fire started,48,line56) set apart: to show sb/st

44、h to be different or special; - mans ability to reason sets him apart from other animals. - her original ideas set her apart from other students. (line 64) annoying: a. making you feel slightly angry; annoy: make sb feel slightly angry, irritate; bother,49,it really annoys me when i see people dropping litter /walk