Unit ThreeWhy do we believe that the earth is round.pptVIP

Unit Three Why do we believe that the earth is round? Pre-reading Introductory remarks Warming Up exercises Teacher’s remarks While-reading Scanning Skimming Language Points Post-reading Translation Compound dictation Writing assignment Introductory Remarks In today’s world, people are faced with a lot of information every day. Therefore, it is impossible for them to test the truth of every piece of information. Many of them accept what he hears or reads as true without thinking it over. Even when asked the question: “why do we believe that the earth is round?” most of them are at a loss how to prove it because they have just swallowed the theory. As Bernard Shaw remarks that we are more gullible(轻信的) and superstitious（迷信的） today that we were in the Middle Ages.? Warming-up exercisesPlease work in pairs and try to refute the following arguments that the earth is round If you stand by the seashore on a clear day, you can see the masts （桅杆）and funnels （烟囱）on invisible ships passing along the horizon. That shows that the earth is round. Arguments Since we can see both the sun and the moon are round, we may well assume that the earth is round too. During lunar eclipses, we see the earth’s shadow is round. Arguments Astronomers tell us that the earth is round. People can sail ships round the world and reach the places they start from. Teacher’s Remarks “Why Do We Believe That The Earth Is Round” is one of a series of essays Orwell wrote for British periodicals in the 1940’s. In it he tries to refute both the Flat Earth theory and the Oval Earth theory. Then from the discussion he draws his conclusion that ours is a credulous (轻信的) age because much of our knowledge does not rest on reasoning or on experiment, but on authority. Here Orwell expresses a healthy concern for the burden the ordinary newspaper-reading citizen carries. Overloaded with information and misinformation, the average man cannot adequately process and digest what he receives.