Unit1 Science Fiction Period5 Using language Listening and Speaking 教学设计-2025-2026学年高中英语人教版选择性必修第四册

Teaching and Learning Design Book4 Unit1 Science Fiction 教学设计 Period 5 Teaching and learning contents: Using Language—Voicing your opinions on robots and AI (Listening and speaking) Comprehensive teaching and learning objectives: By the end of this period, the students will have been able to: 1) Listen to an interview between the host and a sci-fi expert about robots and put the statements in the correct order and write down the discourse markers; 2) Learn about the listening strategy—listening for discourse markers and try to find out the markers while listening; 3) Learn about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics; 4) Talk and share your opinions on robot technology and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Teaching and learning important points: 1) Listening comprehension of the interview between the host and a sci-fi expert about robots for general idea and some basic information; 2) Learning about the listening strategy—listening for discourse markers and trying to find out the markers while listening; 3) Learning about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics; 4) Talking and sharing your opinions on robot technology and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Teaching and learning difficult points: 1) Listening comprehension of the interview between the host and a sci-fi expert about robots for general idea and some basic information; 2) Learning about the listening strategy—listening for discourse markers and trying to find out the markers while listening; 3) Learning about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics; 4) Talking and sharing your opinions on robot technology and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Teaching and learning procedure: Step 1 Review and leading in Activity 1 Leading in Lead in the teaching topic—voicing your opinions on robots and AI, and then introduce the teaching and learning objectives of this period. Step 2 Listening Activity 2 Pre-listening 1. Talk about the use of robots and AI technology. 2. Look at the pictures, discuss the questions in pairs, and then share your answers. 1) What jobs are these robots doing? What are the pros and cons of robots doing these jobs? Possible answers: Picture Items Content 1 Job Two robots are serving food at a café. Pros May be cheaper and faster Cons Communication difficulties; No human touch 2 Job A robot is playing the piano. Pros The robot can play anything perfectly. Cons No creativity or emotion involved. 3 Job A robotic arm works at a factory. Pros Simple, repetitive tasks are done at higher speeds more cheaply and accurately. Cons Humans end up out of work; No added skill or creativity. 4 Job A robot band is performing. Pros More live music will be available more cheaply; Playlists will be limitless. Cons It really isn’t live music; It is more like listening to a record, without any of the excitement and emotion of watching humans perform. 5 Job Several robots are playing soccer. Pros Promotes learning and enjoyment of AI and robotics to a wider audience. Cons The robot players don’t even know they are in a contest and have no desire to win or lose, so there is no emotional content to the match; no physical skill or talent is involved either. 2) What kinds of robots or AI developments do you hope for? Suggest answer: I hope for an educating robot because I can ask any questions when I have troubles in learning. Activity 3 While-listening 1. Go through the 2 listening tasks and predict the main content of the conversation. Main content: They are having an interview to talk about the use of robots and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. 2. Listen to the interview twice for the general idea and basic information to put the following statements in the correct order. 1) General idea: What are the key aspects mentioned in the interview? The use of robots and Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Who is interviewed? A sci-fi expert. 2) The correct order of the statements: ( 1 ) The host introduces the guest, a sci-fi expert. ( 9 ) The expert has robots in his home. ( 4 ) As robots become more intelligent, they may also become more dangerous. ( 5 ) The host mentions Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. ( 2 ) The expert says robots will have occupations such as teaching and nursing. ( 7 ) The line between humans and robots will be more blurred in the future. ( 3 ) The host asks about benefits and problems. ( 8 ) The host asks if there are robots in the expert’s home. ( 6 ) In sci-fi stories, robots often become superior and take over. 3. Learn about the listening strategy. Listening for discourse markers: Discourse markers are used to organise a text by marking sequence, contrast, opinion, purpose, and so on. Listening for discourse markers can help you understand a text more easily. For example, first, however, above all, in order to, etc. Some common discourse markers and their functions. Function Discourse marker to start or end conversations now, so, right, in general, to sum up, for a start, … to change topics what’s more, well, but, however, anyway, … to order or sequence first (of all), above all, next, … to show interest/surprise/ sympathy sure, good, quite, wonderful, exactly, absolutely, certainly, definitely, I see, (all) right, That’s great/interesting/ amazing/awful … to rephrase or change what we say well, in other words, the thing is, I mean, you know what I mean, what I mean is … to mark the old, shared, or expected knowledge and new knowledge just now, you know, see, you see, the thing is … to mark attitude or point of view in speaking or writing honestly, basically, predictably, no doubt, to tell you the truth, I think, I’m afraid, of course I must admit, if you ask me, I must say … not to sound too direct or forceful like, just, maybe, apparently, sort of, kind of, perhaps, roughly, arguably, presumably … 4. Listen to the interview again and write down the discourse markers that you hear. Make a note of how each discourse marker is used in the interview. Then compare your answers with a partner. Answers: just now; so; well; but; however; above all. 5. Learn about a few new language items in this part. 1) pros and cons 事物的利与弊；支持与反对 2) blurred adj.模糊不清的；难以区分的 3) superior adj.更好的；占优势的；(在级别或重要性上)更高的 n.上司 be superior to sb./sth.　 比……更好/更胜一筹 be inferior to sb./sth. 比……差/级别低 be junior to sb. 比某人年龄小/职位低 be senior to sb. 比某人年长/职位高 be senior/junior to sb. by...year(s) 比某人年长/年少多少岁 prior to… 在……前面 e.g. Some people hold the opinion that reading paper books is superior to reading e-books in many ways. 一些人认为阅读纸质书在很多方面优于阅读电子书。 Recycled bags are superior to plastic bags in environmental protection. 回收袋在环保方面优于塑料袋。 　In my company, my wife is junior to me, but back home, she is my boss. My brother is senior to me by two years. 4) take over占上风；取而代之；接管；接手 e.g. Try not to let negative thoughts take over. She decided that I was the ideal person to take over the job. 她认定我是接管这项工作的最佳人选。 Though technology is used to help us, we should not allow it to take over our lives. Take-phrases: take up　占用；占据；拿起；开始从事 take off 成功；起飞；脱下；休假 take in 吸收；利用；理解；欺骗 take on 承担；雇用；呈现新面貌 take apart 拆开 e.g. It was declared that he had taken over the company. He dismissed some unqualified workers and took on many capable ones. Furthermore, being a modest person, he took in others’ constructive suggestions. Managing the company took up all his time, but he took on the burden with great confidence. With joint efforts, it turned out that the company had taken off and a satisfied smile emerged on his face. 据宣布，他已接管这家公司。他解雇了一些不称职的工人,雇用了许多有能力的工人。另外，作为一个谦逊的人，他吸收其他人的建设性建议。管理这家公司占据了他所有的时间，但是他满怀信心地勇挑重担。在所有人的共同努力下，这家公司结果大获成功，他的脸上露出了满意的笑容。 5) inaction n. 不活动；不活跃；迟钝；懒散 e.g. He is bitter about the inaction of the other political parties. 对其他政党的无作为他多有挖苦。 6) conflict with与……冲突或抵触 conflict n.矛盾；冲突 vi.冲突；抵触 in conflict with　与……有冲突 come into conflict with 与……产生冲突 e.g. On seeing David, I sensed that what David appeared conflicted with what he wanted to do. 一见到大卫，我就感觉到大卫所表现的与他想要做的相冲突。 The changes are sure to conflict with the old traditions, so we must give them a second thought. 变化一定与旧的传统相冲突，所以我们一定要三思。 Someone who takes this path spends their life in conflict with themselves. Even though Mary and I are good friends, my interests sometimes come into conflict with hers. 7) labour n.（体力）劳动；任务，（一段时间）工作；（统称）劳工，工人，劳动力；分娩 v. 努力做；劳动；艰苦地做；吃力前行 e.g. The company wants to keep down labour costs. 公司想保持低劳动成本。 He was so exhausted from the day's labours that he went straight to bed. 他工作了一天疲惫不堪，便直接上床休息了。 Employers are using immigrants as cheap labour. 雇主正在把移民当作廉价劳动力使用。 Jane was in labour for ten hours. 简分娩花了十个小时。 We laboured all day in the fields. 我们在田地里辛勤劳动了一整天。 They laboured for years to clear their son’s name. 他们为洗刷儿子的罪名奋力斗争了许多年。 6. Listen to the conversation once more to understand it better and reconstruct the listening text. Activity 4 Post-listening In groups, discuss what the expert thinks of the questions and exchange your own views. You may use the following expressions to help you. 1. Go through the useful expressions for changing the topic. Oh, by the way, ... Oh, I remember, … What I meant to tell/ask you is … That reminds me of … I think we ought to move on to ... Oh, there was something I meant to tell you. I nearly forgot! … …, but (perhaps) that’s beside the point. The next item on the agenda is … On the one hand … On the other hand … Could I change the subject? 2. Discuss the questions and share answers. 1) What do you know about robot technology? What can robots do? Robot technology has its cons and pros. It can bring great convenience to human beings together with some scientific or moral problems. A robot is a machine that can do a task according to computer programmes or through the use of some kind of controls. 2) What benefits do you think robots or AI will bring? Do you think they will cause problems as well? The main benefits are that they can do some kinds of work more quickly, better, and cheaper than humans, and that they can take the place of humans when no humans are available or when humans cannot do the work. They can cause problems, however. First, what happens if they no longer serve people or stop following orders? Second, there is the possibility that at some point we will have difficulty determining what constitutes a living being and what constitutes a machine. Step 3 Speaking up Activity 5 Speaking up Learn and talk about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics 1. Learn about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Law 1: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 机器人不得伤害人类，也不得因不作为而让人类受到伤害。 Law 2: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law. 机器人必须服从人类下达的命令，除非这些命令与第一定律相冲突。 Law 3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law. 机器人必须保护自己的存在，只要这种保护不与第一或第二法则相冲突。 2. Talk about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics in pairs and answer the question. 1) Talk about Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics in pairs or groups. Sample dialogue: A: Oh, by the way, I saw a programme about robot doctors last night. It was very interesting. Do you think robots will do more of these important jobs in the future? B: Certainly. They will probably do most of our labour for us. C: Maybe, but that’s beside the point. In my opinion, robots are dangerous! They are much stronger than we are and may be superior to us in the future. A: I think we ought to move on to the topic of robot technology. I know the idea of it has been around forever. The ancient Greeks and Chinese both made clever devices that weren’t much different than some of the robots we have today. B: Yes, but the modern idea of intelligent robots that look like humans is only about 100 years old. C: I think we had better move onto what robots can do. Let’s see … there are simple repetitive tasks like factory work and housework. A: Yes, and I think there will be more complex jobs in the future like in healthcare, education, or entertainment. C: Oh, there is something else I meant to ask you — does anyone know who even came up with the word “robot”? B: Wasn’t it Isaac Asimov? He was that scientist who wrote a lot of science fiction stories. A: No … the word robot was coined much earlier, I think. C: But that’s beside the point. I think we ought to move onto the benefits and dangers of AI to humans and our society … A: Oh, I nearly forgot why Asimov’s writing was so important — he created the Three Laws of Robotics. Law 1, robots can’t injure humans or allow them to come to harm; Law 2, a robot must obey any order a human gives it as long as it doesn’t conflict with the first law; and Law 3, a robot must protect itself as long as the act of doing so doesn’t break the first or second laws! B: But this is where the real danger lies. Those laws are not real laws — they are guidelines that hopefully humans remember when they programme the robots. How can we trust our safety if the robots are programmed by people who don’t keep those rules? C: … 2) Answer the question: What do you think of these laws? Suggested answer: Isaac Asimov introduced them into most of his science fiction writings to show that robots could be prevented from harming us or our world. They are not actual scientific laws, but rather guidelines for their human programmers to follow to keep our world safe. At first glance, the rules seem logical and reasonable, but they also seem outdated. Step 4 Evaluation and summary Activity 6 Self-evaluation Guide the students to reflect on their learning of this period by considering the following aspects. 1. How is your listening comprehension? (Good/Fairly good/Moderate/Just so so/Poor) 2. How is your performance of the discussion and conversation? (Good/Fairly good/Moderate/Just so so/Poor) Activity7 Summary Summarize the main contents of this period briefly. Homework: 1. Write a short passage to state your opinion on robots and AI. 2. Preview the reading passage on P8-9 in the textbook. 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $