泛读教程第一册unit1

How do you define a student?/ What is a student?

What is a good student (what qualities should a good student have)?

What should a student do?

What makes a student stand out from the rest?

Goal of education:

What other qualities of a good student were suggested by the author?

What challenges is education faced with?

Are there any problems with the present education system? II. Background Information about the author: DONALD E. SIMANEK Personal data:

Born Dec. 10, 1936. Married, no children.

Education:

Ph.D. in Physics, Dec. 1983, The Pennsylvania State University. M.S. in Physics, 1962, The University of Iowa.

B.A. in Liberal Arts/Physics, 1959, The University of Iowa. High School graduation, 1955, Valedictorian.

Elementary and Secondary School: Walker Consolidated School, Walker, Iowa. Honors and Awards:

Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (Penn State Univ.) 1972. Van Allen Physics Scholarship (Univ. of Iowa) 1958-59.

Phi Eta Sigma national honorary fraternity (Univ. of Iowa), 1956-57. University of Iowa Merit Scholarship, 1955-56 and 1956-57. Employment [chronological order]:

Teaching and research assistantships in physics at Univ. of Iowa from 1956 (sophomore year) through 1961 (graduate school).

Instructor of Physics, Mankato State College, 1961-19.

Assistant Prof. of Physics, Lock Haven State College, 19-1973. Associate Prof. of Physics, Lock Haven State College, 1973-1983.

Professor of Physics, Lock Haven University, 1983-1999. (LHSC's name changed to LHU in 1983) Retired, Jan 1, 1999. Research experiences

1. 1980-82 Condensed Matter research project at the Pennsylvania State University under

Anthony Baratta.

2. 1957. Research expedition doing high altitude studies of cosmic rays using instrumented

rockoons, with James A. Van Allen, near the Arctic Circle. Publications:

1. Since 2007 I've done a regular column titled Toys, Tricks and Teasers in MAKE:

magazine, and occasional feature articles for them.

2. Book reviews in MAKE:, Skeptic and The Skeptical Inquirer

3. Editor, The Vector an informal Lock Haven University publication, 1976 to 1991.

4. Anisotropy of Conduction Electron Scattering from Vacancies in Copper. Ph.D. Thesis,

Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, Dec. 1983.

5. Simanek, D. E., Baratta, Lodder and Ehrlich. \"Conduction Electron Scattering from

Vacancies in Copper. \"Physical Review B, 36, 9082 (15 Dec 1987).

6. Baratta, A. J., Lodder and Simanek. \"Calculation of Conduction Electron Scattering Rates

from Vacancies in Copper and Gold.\" Physical Review B, 36, 9088 (15 Dec 1987). 7. Simanek, D. E. \"Constructive Fun.\" The Physics Teacher. (Feb 1994).

8. Simanek, D. E. and John C. Holden Science Askew. The institute of Physics Publishing,

2002. Since 1997 I have developed and maintained a web site devoted to physics education, science and pseudoscience, skepticism, philosophy of science and other topics. This site has received

favorable comment from Physics Today, The Physics Teacher, The New Scientist, Science, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The London Sunday Times. Areas of special interest:

• • • • • •

History and philosophy of science. The science/pseudoscience boundary. Photography (Stereo). Visual illusions.

Meccano/Erector designs for physics demos and labs. Concept development in physics.

http://www.lhup.edu/%7Edsimanek/vitadon.htm

III. Language points:

1. Academic

1). [usually before noun] relating to education, especially at college or university level He possessed no academic qualifications.

a program designed to raise academic standards

2). [usually before noun] concerned with studying from books, as opposed to practical work the study of art as an academic discipline academic year [countable]

the period of the year during which there are school or university classes

2. Accomplishment [transitive] Accomplish

to succeed in doing something, especially after trying very hard ￚsynonym achieve

We have accomplished all we set out to do.

Mission accomplished (=we have done what we intended to do).

accomplishment

1). [countable]something successful or impressive that is achieved after a lot of effort and hard work

ￚsynonym achievement

impressive/significant/great etc accomplishment Cutting the budget was an impressive accomplishment.

It was a major accomplishment for a player who had been injured so recently. 2). [uncountable] the act of finishing or achieving something good accomplishment of

the accomplishment of policy goals

The Apollo program was not so much a scientific achievement as a technical accomplishment. 阿波罗计划与其说是一项科学成果，不如说是一项技术成就。 Developing the supersonic jet was quite an accomplishment. 开发超音速喷气机是一项了不起的成就。

3. Demonstrate

1). [transitive] to show or prove something clearly证明；演示；示范 The study demonstrates the link between poverty and malnutrition.

Experimental data are used to illustrate the application techniques as well as to demonstrate the validity of the approach.

试验数据用来说明应用技术并验证这个方程的有效性。

Hitchcock’s films demonstrate that a British filmmaker could learn from Hollywood. This section will attempt to demonstrate how the Bank of England operates. They'll be demonstrating how to handle modern, high performance cars.

2). [intransitive] to protest or support something in public with a lot of other people示威 Supporters demonstrated outside the courtroom during the trial. demonstrate against

What are they demonstrating against?

4. Dedicated

dedicate [transitive]

1).to give all your attention and effort to one particular thing dedicate yourself/your life to something

The actress now dedicates herself to children's charity work.

Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning--How to continually upgrade your talents and abilities. 活到老学到老--不断提高你的才能和本领。

2).to say at the beginning of a book or film, or before a piece of music, that it has been written, made, or performed for someone that you love or respect 提献词给 dedicate something to somebody

The book was dedicated to her husband.

Dedicated a.献身的，一心一意的，热诚的

1).someone who is dedicated works very hard at what they do because they care a lot about it a dedicated and thoughtful teacher She is a dedicated socialist.

5. Diverse a. very different from each other

subjects as diverse as pop music and archaeology ￚdiversely adverb 6. Fad [countable]

something that people like or do for a short time, or that is fashionable for a short time n.(流行一时的)狂热，时尚

Interest in organic food is not a fad, it's here to stay.

Direct investment can become a fad just like any other activity of an economic, social, or cultural character.

就象经济,社会或文化性质的任何其他活动一样,直接投资也可成为一种一朝风行的时尚。 His interest in photography is only a passing fad. 他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。

7. Validity n.合法性, 有效性, 正确性

1). a valid ticket, document, or agreement is legally or officially acceptable ￚopposite invalid a valid credit card

Your return ticket is valid for three months.

A good critical theory, nevertheless, has its own kind of validity. 不过,好的批评理论有它自己的正确性。

2). valid reason/argument/criticism etc

a reason, argument etc that is based on what is reasonable or sensible Police officers must have a valid reason for stopping motorists. ￚvalidity noun [uncountable]

I would question the validity of that statement.

8. Humility [uncountable]谦卑

the quality of not being too proud about yourself - use this to show approval ￚsynonym modesty ￚsee also humble

pride apes humility (or pride that apes humility) 大骄若谦 9. intellectual

1). relating to the ability to understand things and think intelligently 智力的；需要使用智力的 ￚsee also mental

intellectual development/ability/activity etc a job that requires considerable intellectual effort

2). an intellectual person is well-educated and interested in serious ideas and subjects such as science, literature etc 善于思维的 ￚsee also academic

Mark's very intellectual.

10. deceptionn / [uncountable and countable]

the act of deliberately making someone believe something that is not true She didn't have the courage to admit to her deception. He was convicted of obtaining money by deception. Stand out:

His height makes him stand out in the crowd. 他身材高大，因此在人群中很突出。

Her work stands out from the rest as easily the best. 她的工作成绩远比其他人都好.

Be born with something

(=have a particular disease, type of character etc since birth)

Jenny was born with a small hole in her heart.

add up to something 合计达，总括起来、意味着 to produce a particular total or result

Rising prison population and overcrowding add up to a real crisis.

the initiative (control) 主动性

if you have or take the initiative, you are in a position to control a situation and decide what to do next

Why don't you take the initiative and ask him out?

Politicians need to seize the initiative from the terrorists.

The government must not lose the initiative in the fight against terrorism. At hand formal

a) likely to happen soon

Recent economic performance suggests that a major crisis is at hand. b) close to you and available to be used Don't worry, help is at hand! c) needing to be dealt with now

Peter turned his attention to the task at hand.