现代大学英语精读2 unit8 The Men in Asbestos 教案

教 案

2012～2013 学年第1 学期

系(中 心) 外语系 教 研 室 英语专业 课 程 名 称 英语精读（三） 主 讲 教 师

吉林大学珠海学院教务处制

讲授章节 授课时数 Unit8 TEXT A THE MAN IN ASBESTOS (一) 2 periods 教学目的： Grasp the theme of the text Analysis the text (main idea, structure) Learn more about the literary genre called “literary dystopia” 教 学 内 容（讲授提纲） I.lead-in questions: What is asbestos? Asbestos is a kind of material highly resistant to watery, electrical insulation and heat insulation, fire insulation and heat preservation What does the author want to do? What for? What has happened in this world of the future? How did all these changes come about according to the man in asbestos? Discussion: 1) What kind of a future do you think is in store for us? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? 2) The author seems to think that a life without hard work, death and hunger, worries and anxieties, is not only impossible, but also undesirable. Do you agree? 3) Would you enjoy the world of future described in the text? Why/Why not? Give two or three reasons. II. About the author and the story: Author: The Man in Asbestos is an allegory of the future written by Stephen Butler Leacock (1869-1944), the Canadian author, who will long be remembered for his best-selling book Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) as well as the numerous awards and honours he received during his illustrious lifetime as author, professor, lecturer and humourist. Story: In this futurist story, there are observations of human nature which are as refreshing today as when they were written in 1911. Leacock describes a world where the inhabitants are clad in long-wearing suits of asbestos; where death has been eliminated, although a person can be broken; and where only a vestigial memory of Work remains, anything requiring effort was accomplished centuries ago - in short, a perfect world it is. The original ending of the story: with the hum of the wicked, busy old world all about me, and loud in my ears the voice of the indignant man across the corridor. \earth.\I came. Ask students to retell the story, according to the following key words: sleep, a strange man, death and food, city and nature, word and cars, communication, wake up. Ⅲ. Understanding of the text 1. The main idea and style. Such momentous (big) problems as hunger, war, disease, natural disasters and inequality are what gives life interest, fullness（richness） and purpose; in other words, these are the things that make us human. (The reasoning has been considered as a justification of the status quo and a plea for the end of human progress. On the other hand, the article perhaps does raise a thought-provoking question. Problems arise while human beings are developing thus we have to continue to work hard, to make painstaking efforts, to run risks, and to suffer. Pain, anxiety, failure and sacrifice will still be part of human experience. Indeed, a world without these is not only impossible, but also undesirable. The genre of the story is a genre common in the West during the 20th century, which could be called “literary dystopia” (the opposite of Utopia) The Man in Asbestos paints the future in darkly pessimistic colors. In the “new society” presented by Leacock, there is no hunger, war, or disease; natural disasters and gender inequality have been eliminated, but life is dull, empty and meaningless. Style: The story was originally told by the strange man and retold by Jorkens. The whole story is written in the direct speech, thus the write adopts a colloquial style. 本章节的教学重点、难点： Make sure that students understand ⑴ the theme（purpose behind the text）; ⑵ the important things that the text contains for the readers to think about; 教学方法、教学手段： Open questions and answers in class Class discussion and analysis PPT and multimedia 作业、讨论题、思考题： Read the text at least five times and underline the words and phrases you are not familiar with. The preview exercises on page 191-192. 参考资料： Contemporary College English, Yang Liming

讲授章节 授课时数 Unit8 THE MAN IN ASBESTOS （二） 2 periods 教学目的： To understand the text at lexical, sentential, and textual level To grasp the meaning and spelling of the new words and expressions To make sentences with important phrases and sentence patterns 教 学 内 容（讲授提纲） Structure of the text Text structure analysis Part I (para. 1-6) Main idea: the narrator plunged into a distant future to witness its marvels. Part II (para. 7-78) Main idea: A. he was astonished at a few of the marvels.(paras.7-28) B. He felt thrilled at the conquest of Nature.(paras.29-55) C. He began to doubt whether the conquest was a blessing. (paras.56-66) D. He finally became angry at all the marvels and rejected the world of marvels. (paras.67-78) Part III (paras.79-81) Main idea: The author woke up and returned back to the reality. Detailed study of the text: difficult words, phrases, and sentences Words study