Unit 5 Angels on a pin

Ⅰ. Questions for discussion

1. Why did Jim want to give the student a zero for that question in examination?

2. Did the student accept the score? What did he do?

3. Did the author think that the student deserved a zero? Did he think that Jim was completely wrong?

4. Should the examination be abolished?

Ⅱ. Background information

1. About the author

Alexander Calandra

He is professor Emeritus (retired professor) of Physical Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

The text is adapted from “Angels on the Head of a Pin: A Modern Parable”

2. Introduction to the text

1) About the title

It comes from the much-talked-about question:” How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” which is used to ridicule those people who asked meaningless questions about the Bible in the Middle Ages. It is also used ironically to describe the kind of questions that philosophers ponder.

2. This article was written at a time when the whole of the United States was thrown into a panic over the launching of the first satellite (Sputnik) by the Russians, because this seemed to prove that the former Soviet Union had left the US far behind in science and technology. Many Americans believed that there must be something seriously wrong with their educational system.

3) Education is also a great challenge in our country. Problems are many.

test-oriented vs. quality-oriented

III. Detailed discussion of the text

1. I received a call…who teaches physics… 1) to receive a call: other collocations related

to “call”: to make a call, to have a call, to answer a call, to give sb. a call, to get a call.

2) Physics: it is used as a singular noun in spite of the plural form. Nouns like this include economics, politics, mathematics, mechanics

2. do him a favor: be kind enough to help hime.g. Will you do me a favor and bring me a cup of cof

fee? I have a favor to ask of you.3. He told me that he was about to give a student azero for his answer to a physics question.

★ be about to: If sb. is about to do sth. or sth. is about to happen, he/she will do it or it will happen very soon.

e.g. I was just about to go to sleep when the telephone rang.

The meeting is about to begin.

4. He insisted that he deserved a perfect score if the system were not set up against students…

to insist that: to say firmly and repeatedly that something is true although other people may not agree, e.g.

I said he was probably mistaken. But he insisted that he had seen her before.

I feel all right, but the doctor insists that I’m running a fever.

★ Note: “ Insist” is also often used to mean “to demand that sth. should happen and refuse to let anyone say no.” e.g.

My mother insisted that I should do more exercise.

The US government insisted that Japan should open up its markets.

5. impartial: (opposite of partial) fair; not giving special favor or support to any side, e.g.

The law must be impartial. It should not favor any individuals.

We must give impartial treatment to all our business partners.

6. Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.

with the aid of: with the help of; using sentence pattern: how it is possible to…

This method shows how it is possible to get solar power cheaply.

How it is possible to travel to Mars.

7. …we must admit the student really had a pretty strong case for full credit…

to admit: 1) to admit sth. 2) to admit to doing sth. 3) to admit that 4) to admit sb. to some place

case: here means reason or argument credit: praise that you give to people for st

h. they have done.

8. on the other hand Compare the following two sentences: Wrong: We have worked hard. On the othe

r hand, the teacher has also given us a lot of help.

Right: On one hand, we need freedom; on the other hand, we also need discipline.

9. A high grade is supposed to prove competence in the course, …

to be supposed to do: to be intended to do, although in this case it is not so, e.g.

This medicine is supposed to be good for your heart, but to my surprise it has no effect on the heart.

Course: a series of lessons on a particular subject.

10. What would do you do if you were me? (subjunctive mood)

If I were a millionaire,______________. If I could start my life again,__________. If I had only three days to live, _________. If I were the mayor of Beijing,___________.

11. But I warned him that…

“Warn” is used in the following patterns： 1) to warn sb. about sth. e.g. I warned her about the weather. He warned us about the population proble

m.

2) to warn sb. not to do sth. e.g. She warned me not to catch cold. The doctor warned him not to smoke again.

3) to warn sb. that… I warned you that you had to hurry. We were warned that there was a storm co

ming.

4) to warn sb. of sth. or against sth. e.g. I warned her of the danger. Scientists warned the government against t

hat policy.

12. I asked him if he wished to give up… The difference between “if” and “whether”:

He didn’t know whether he should go or not. ( followed by “or”)

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. (followed by infinitive “to”)

It depends on whether we have time. (after preposition)

13. … he dashed off his answer, … →paraphrase this sentence to dash off: to leave a place very quickly As soon as the lesson ended, she dashed off.14. to recalle.g. I recall that she was wearing a blue dress th

at evening. As I recall, I paid twenty cents for that meal.

Now it will cost twenty yuan.

Compare:

remember memorize This is a day I will always remember. She is remembered as one of the best Beijin

g Opera singers. These words are useful, so you’d better me

morize them.

15. The beauty of this method is that…

→ The advantage of / the good thing about this method is that…

e.g. The beauty of this project is that it doesn’t c

ause any pollution. They say that the beauty of the market is tha

t it is self-regulating.

16. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along with the wall.

★ “As” here means “while” or “when”. e.g.

1) As I was on my way to school, I recalled that I had to grade the students’ paper before Friday.

2)She sang as she walked. 3)As I opened the door, I saw our cat playing

with my computer.

17. The only trouble with this method is that… → “The trouble” is the opposite of “the beaut

y”. It refers to the problem or disadvantage. e.g. That’s a good idea. But the trouble is that w

e do not have the money. I agree that we must make our company mo

re efficient. But the trouble is how we can lay off so many workers.

18. …if you prefer a more sophisticated method…1) prefer: like it betterPattern A: to prefer A to B, e.g. She prefers country life to city life.Pattern B: to prefer to do sth. , e.g. She prefers to wear cotton shoes.Pattern C: to prefer doing sth. , e.g. Shall we go to the Summer Palace or stay home to

morrow?2) sophisticated: more advanced and complicated,

e.g. sophisticated machines/sophisticated weapons/sophisticated equipment

19. …the height of the building can in principle be worked out. ★ in principle: generally, e.g.

In principle, every child has the right to go to school. ★ to work out: to calculate (but it has not yet been carried out), e.g.

We’ll have to work out how many people are needed.

She could work out the answer quickly on a piece of paper.

20. Finally, he concluded that…

→ paraphrase this sentence

to conclude: to come or bring to an end, e.g.

Before I conclude my speech, I’d like to quote a famous writer.

They plan to conclude the party with singing and dancing.

21. While there are many ways… probably the best…

→ “While” is used here to show that you partly agree or accept. e.g.

While China is still a developing country, she is already leading in the world in some areas.

While city life has many attractions, it also has some problems.

22. as follows

→ It is used to introduce a list of things that come next. e.g.

The reasons he gave were as follows (A, B, C and D).

Our department offers such courses as follows (A, B, C and D).

23. …which had been thrown into such a panic by the successful launching of the Russian Sputnik.

to be thrown into panic: to be affected by a sudden strong feeling of fear and nervousness.

the Russian Sputnik: the Russian satellite, the first spaceship launched (sent into space) in 1957

24. Perhaps we should ask ourselves whether we are always asking the right questions.

→ Please discuss whether these questions are right:

When can we give every Chinese a car? (Is it a good idea in the first place?)

How can we make machines work for us so that we do not have to work at all? (Do we really want this to happen?)