Unit 5研究生英语 教学 教程 课件ppt课件.pptVIP

Unit 5 Warming-up Questions 1. How did the universe come into being? Big Bang Theory (P. 121) Black holes Singularity Black Holes A massive star starts to collapse when it exhausts its nuclear fuel and can no longer counteract the inward pull of gravity. The crushing weight of the star overlying layers implodes the core, and the star digs deeper into the fabric of space-time. Although the star remains barely visible, its light now has a difficult time climbing out of the enormous gravity of the still-collapsing core. The star passes through its event horizon and disappears from our universe, forming a singularity of infinite density. Singularity The destiny of all matter that falls into a black hole is to get crushed to a point of zero volume and infinite density. General relativity also implies that our expanding universe began from a singularity. Lead-in Questions What is your understanding of bigness and smallness? Can you cite some examples to explain the concept of macrocosm and microcosm? What do you know about the universe? What do you know about a grain of salt? Do you think there is any relation between them? Key to lead-in questions 1. Bigness and smallness are relative concepts in comparison with others. For example, the Sun is very big in comparison with its nine planets, whereas it is small when compared with some other enormous celestial bodies in the universe (e.g. the Milky Way). Atoms are very small for our naked eyes, but they are much bigger than any particles that make them up, etc. Key to lead-in questions 2. The universe means the entire celestial cosmos which is generally believed to be boundless and mysterious, therefore the word “universe” is always used to indicate the concept of bigness or something unknown. Salt is very common colorless or white solid substance with many uses ranging from daily life to chemical industry. A grain of salt is generally considered as something common and small. Key