南昌航空大學(xué)英語高級(jí)第1冊(cè)第五單元課件

1、1Unit 5 Why Nothing WorksMarvin Harris南昌航空大學(xué)大學(xué)英語2useful expressions壞掉了go wrongfall apartbreak downstop runninggo out of orderdo not work fail to workstop / quit working3Pre-reading question (group discussion)Have you got anything (electrical appliances, electronic gadgets) which goes out of order or

2、 fails to work? Do you ever ask why it doesnt work?What are the possible reasons? mishandling overuse faulty parts faulty workmanship fake product inferior quality4exposition (explain what something is)cause and effecteffect (the shoddy goods problem)cause What made the artifacts of primitive cultur

3、es so reliable in quality? What is lack in the goods of the industrial era?Nothing worksHuman, not technology5exposition (explain what something is)writing devicesexamplesprocesscontrast 6expositionprocessthe formation of social relationship between the producer and the consumer (P3)7Exposition (p58

4、)Para.What is illustrated or exemplifiedexamples1Quality-control gadgets and sampling are subject to Murphys Law.3Pomo Indian basket and Eskimo skin boat3Producers and consumers were either one and the same individual or close kin that guaranteed the highest degree of reliability and durability.3Pot

5、tery-making, basket-weaving, canoe-building5Various stages involved in production and distribution in a modern society8expositiontimerelationship btw producer and consumer contrast9StructureI. (P1) Introduction: the shoddy good problem and its causeII. (P2-5）source of quality a contrast (P2-4) good

6、quality in the prehistoric and preindustrial societies (P5) bad quality in the modern era10P1Thesis statement?No matter how advanced the technology, quality demands intelligent, motivated human thought and action. What decides the quality of a product?11Murphys Law 墨菲定律 Finagles Law 菲納格定律 Sods Law 索

7、德定律Murphys law is a popular adage in Western culture, which roughly states:Things will go wrong in a technical system. It is often roughly stated as “if anything can go wrong, it will”, though this is in fact Finagles law. 12The original Murphys lawEdward A. Murphy, Jr. was one of the engineers on t

8、he rocket-sled experiments that were done by the U.S. Air Force in 1949 to test human acceleration（加速度） tolerances (USAF project MX981). One experiment involved a set of 16 accelerometers（加速度表） mounted to different parts of the subjects body. There were two ways each sensor could be glued to its mou

9、nt, and somebody methodically installed all 16 the wrong way around. Murphy then made the original form of his pronouncement, which the test subject (Major John Paul Stapp) quoted at a news conference a few days later. 13Murphys Law 墨菲定律“If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of thos

10、e ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.”14The original Murphys lawWithin months Murphys law had spread to various technical cultures connected to aerospace engineering.Before too many years had gone by, variants had passed into the popular imagination, changing as they went. Mos

11、t of these are variants on If anything can go wrong, it will; this is sometimes referred to as Finagles law or Sods law. 15The original Murphys lawAnother well known application is to household probability: The chance of a dropped slice of bread landing buttered-side down on a new carpet is proporti

12、onal to the price of the carpet. 16Questions:What is “Murphys Law”?Why does the writer mention “Murphys Law” in the first paragraph? Does it cause all the quality problems of products?17P1savant: (fml) a person of great learning or natural ability 專家，學(xué)者an idiot savant: one who is less intelligent th

13、an normal people but is unusually good at doing one particular thing18P1 corollary: (fml) direct result 必然結(jié)果The number of prisoners increased as a corollary of the governments determination to combat violent crime. Unfortunately, violence is the inevitable corollary of such a revolutionary change in

14、 society.19P1 clue: reasonshoddy: of poor quality, badly made20 P1Corollaries to Murphys Law suggest themselves as clues to the shoddy goods problem. From Murphys Law we may find answers to the problem of badly made goods.21P1 decent: proper; socially acceptable e.g. decent behavior, decent clothing

15、 a decent interval: the amount of time should be long enough for people to accept as proper.elapse: pass e.g. Three weeks/four months/two years have elapsed.until a decent interval has elapsed: until a sufficiently long period of time has passed.22P1Much of human existence consists of efforts aimed

16、at making sure that things dont go wrong, fall apart, break down, or stop running until a decent interval has elapsed after their manufacture.People spend much of their lifetime trying hard to keep things working for a reasonably long period after they leave the factory. 23P1 forestall: prevent or d

17、efeat (a person or his plans) by acting first 防止Large numbers of police were in the square to forestall any demonstrations. The government forestalled criticism by holding a public inquiry into the matter.24P1 forestalling Murphys Law: preventing Murphys Law from taking effect / operating25P1 commit

18、commit oneself to sth: you will definitely do it commit oneself to someone: decide that you want to have a long-term relationship with mitment: responsibilities make a commitment to do sth: promise to do sth.26P1So much the better: to say that something is even better or brings more advantages 這樣更好e

19、.g. The result is not very important to us, but if we do win, (then) so much the better. 27P1gadget: a small, useful and cleverly designed machine or tool 849565-do the trick: fulfill ones purpose or intention 奏效，達(dá)到目的This medicine should do the trick and soon cure you.I need a piece of paper, and th

20、is old envelope will do the trick. I took four sleeping pills and even that wouldnt do the trick. 28P1be subject to a rule / law: be governed by 必須遵守be subject to sth. : be affected by 受影響; depend on 取決于Every citizen is subject to the law of the country. Trains were subject to delays after the heavy

21、 snowfall.We plan to go on Wednesday, subject to your approval.29P1 maintenance: the act of keeping something in good order/condition by regularly checking it 維護(hù)，保養(yǎng)e.g. You may be able to afford a second-hand automobile, but its maintenance may cost you a lot. 30P1 gaugen. a measuring instrumentv. 1

22、. measure or calculate by using a device e.g. He gauged the wind at over thirty knots. 2. carefully consider and judge peoples actions, feelings, or intentions 判斷e.g. Plans flickered through his mind as he gauged possible enemy moves and his own responses.31P2Topic sentence:A single visit to a museu

23、m which displays artifacts used by simple preindustrial societies is sufficient to dispel the notion that quality is dependent on technology. 32P2reflection: careful thoughtartifact: an ornament, tool or other object that is made by a human being, especially one that is historically or culturally in

24、teresting 手工藝品，人工制品dispel: remove, dismiss 驅(qū)散，消除dispel a belief / idea / feeling His encouraging words dispelled all my doubts about my own inability.33P2turn outhappen with an unexpected resultturn out a lightgather together to see sth. happen Crowds of people turn out to watch the duce, ma

25、ke The factory turns out 300 products a day.force sb. to leave He turned his son out of his house. 34P2Questions:Why do we honor the label “handmade” today?Is “handmade” the source of quality?35P3Topic sentence: the reason we honor the label “handmade” is because it evokes not a technological relati

26、onship between producer and product but a social relationship between producer and consumer. 36Pomo Indian baskets37Pomo Indian baskets38Pomo Indian baskets39Eskimo skin boat40P3 fashion: v. 1. shape or make sth. using ones hands or only a few tools 制作 fashion a canoe from a tree-trunk fashion the c

27、lay into bricks2. cultivate 培養(yǎng) fashion sb. into a good sportsman 把培養(yǎng)成優(yōu)秀的運(yùn)動(dòng)員3. influence or form sbs ideas 塑造，影響 Our attitudes to politics are fashioned by the media.41P3processthe formation of social relationship between the producer and the consumer Throughout prehistoryLaterQuestion:How is the soc

28、ial relationship formed in history?42P4the state of the art: the most modern and developed level of technology 目前的工藝水平state-of-the-art adj. 最先進(jìn)的 state-of-the-art technology His new laptop is state-of-the-art.43P5Questions:Which sentence in P5 serves as the topic sentence?In our era of industrial mas

29、s production and mass marketing, quality is a constant problem because the intimate sentimental and personal bonds which once made us responsible to each other and to our products have withered away and been replaced by money relationships. 44P5wither away: become weaker and shrink, start to dieThe

30、greater the effect of Murphys law: more quickly things will break downlayer on layer: many layersalienation from: feeling not part of, separation from 疏遠(yuǎn) 45P5Discussion:In this text, the writer analyzes a problem in the second industrial revolution (mass production and mass marketing). Can you list some more problems in it?What are the problems we are facing or will face in the third and fourth industrial revolution? 46P5Writing Choose one of the problems and write a paragraph of about 150 words analyzing its c