现代大学英语精读第一册课件 lesson5教学讲义.pptVIP

Lesson 5 Angels on a Pin Why is the article entitled “Angels on a Pin”? The title of the text “Angles on a Pin” comes from the much-talked about question: “How many angles 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. Medieval scholastics were fond of debating such meaningless questions as “How many angels can dance on the point of a pin?” “Did Adam have a navel?” and “Do angels defecate?” The emerging sciences replaced such “scholarly” debates with experimentation and appeals to observable fact. Discussion How adults “kill” creativity? Introduction to the Text 1.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 by the Russians. 2.Many Americans believed that there must be something seriously wrong with their educational system.. 3.The nation’s problem in education was the traditional teaching and testing methods, which emphasized book knowledge rather than student’s originality and creativity. Theme of the Story Part of the nation’s problem in education is the traditional teaching and teaching methods, which emphasize book knowledge rather than students’ originality and creativity. Part 1 (para. 1) about: Part 2 (paras. ) about: Part 3 (paras. ) about: Text Analysis Structure of the Text 2—5 6—10 The author was asked to be a referee on the grading of an exam question. The student’s way of solving a problem of physics. The student’s flexible way of working things out arouses our awareness of the drawbacks of the present-day education. The end of Structure. Alexander Calandra is now Professor of Emeritus of Physical Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The present text is adapted from “Angels on the Head of a Pin: A Modern Parable” which