2023年12月25日发(作者：)
Unit 1 What’s in a Name?
TEACHER: Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Felipe, Monica, Theo, . . . and I
can’t rememberyour name.
STUDENT 1: Patricia.
TEACHER: Right, Patricia. Those are all beautiful names, and that’s our topic
today—names. Names area cultural universal. This means everyone uses names. A
person’s name can tell us a bit about a person’sfamily. Today, we’ll begin by looking at
first names and how people choose names for their children. Andthen we’ll talk about
family names, and look at the different categories of family names. Although thescope of
the lecture today is English-language names, we can use the same approach, you know,
to look atnames from any ’s take a brief look at first, or given, names. There
are several ways parents choose the first name fortheir first way is by family
history. Parents may choose a name because it is passed from generation togeneration;
for example, the firstborn son might be named after his father or grandfather. Although
familynames are also passed to daughters, it is usually as a middle name. Adding
“junior” or “the second” —forexample, William Parker the second—is only done with
boys’, not with girls’ second way parents choose a name is after a family
member or friend who has died recently, or aftersomeone they admire, like a well-known
leader or a famous musician. Although most English first namesmean something, for
example, “Richard” means powerful and “Ann” means grace, nowadays meaning is not
the main reason people select their baby’s third way is to provide a “push” for
the child. Parents want to choose a name that sounds very“successful.” A strong name
might help them in the business world, for example. Or they might choose a name that
works for either gender, like Taylor or Terry. So, given these three methods, what is the
most common way parents choose a name? Many parents choose a name simply because
they like it, or because it’s fashionable or classic. Fashions in names change just as they do
in clothes. One hundred years ago, many names came from the Bible—names such as
Daniel, and Anna, and Hannah and Matthew. Then, fifty years ago, Biblical names went
out of fashion. Nowadays, names from the Bible are becoming popular again. Similarly,
parents often choose classic names, names that were popular in 1900, 1950, and are still
popular now. Classic names for boys include Thomas, David, Robert, and Michael. And
for girls:Anna, Elizabeth, Emily, and Katherine, just to name a few. They’re classic. They
never go out of ’s look at the origin of last names, also called family names or
surnames. Researchers have studiedthousands of last names, and they’ve divided them
into four categories. The categories are: place names, patronymics, added names, and
occupational names. A recent survey showed that of the 7,000 most popular names in the
United States today, 43 percent were place names, 32 percent were patronymics,
15percent were occupational names, and 9 percent were added names.
The first category is place names. Place names usually identified where a person lived or
e named John Hill lived near a hill, for example, and the Rivers family
lived near a river. If you hear the name Emma Bridges, . . . what image do you see? Do
you see a family that lives near a bridge? If you do, you get the idea.
The second category is patronymics. That’s P-A-T-R-O-N-Y-M-I-C-S. A patronymic is the
father’s name,plus an ending like S-E-N or S-O-N. The ending means that a child, a boy,
is the son of his father. The names Robertson, Petersen, and Wilson are patronymics.
Robertson is son of Robert, Petersen is son of Peter, and so on.
The third category is added names. Linguists sometimes call this category “nicknames,”
but when most of us hear the word “nickname,” we think of a special name a friend or a
parent might use. The word“nickname” is actually an old English word that means an
additional name, an added name. So I’ll use the term “added name.” This category of last
names is fun because the names usually described a , Baldwin, and Biggs are
examples. Reed was from “red” for red hair. Baldwin was someone who was bald,
someone who had little or no hair. And Biggs?
STUDENT 2: Someone big?
TEACHER: Yeah, someone big, right. Now, if we look around the room, we could
probably come up withsome new last names, like, uh, Curly or Strong.
Now, the fourth category is occupational names. The origin of the family name was the
person’s occupation. The most common examples of occupational names still used today
are Baker (someone who bakes bread), Tailor (someone who sews clothes), Miller
(someone who makes flour for bread), and Smith. . . . Now, Smith is actually the most
common name in the western English-speaking world. The name comes from an Old
English word, smite, that’s S-M-I-T-E, which means to hit or strike. In the old days, a
smith made metal things for daily life, like tools. Every town needed smiths. What’s
interesting is that many languages have a family name that means Smith. In Arabic it’s
Haddad, H-A-D-D-A-D. In Spanish it’s Herrera, H-E-R-R-E-R-A. In Italian it’s Ferraro,
F-E-R-R-A-R-O. And in German it’s Schmidt, spelled S-C-H-M-I-D-T. All these names
mean names may tell us something about someone’s family history, you
need to keep in mind that they may not tell us much at all about the present. For example,
there’s usually not much connection between the origin of the name and the person who
has it now. Take the name Cook, for instance. A person named Cook today probably
doesn’t cook for a living. Also, many people change their names for various reasons.
Lots of people who have moved to the United States have changed their names to sound
more happens less now than in the past, but people still do it. People also
use pen names or stage names to give themselves a professional advantage. For example,
the writer Samuel Clemens used the pen name Mark Twain, and Thomas Mapother IV
uses the stage name Tom , let’s recap now. In today’s lesson, we looked at how
parents choose English first names. We also looked at some common origins of family
names. In the next class, we’ll look at how names are given in Korea and in Japan. This is
covered in the next section of the book. That’s all for today.
Unit 2 English: a global language
Today's topic is English as a global language. I know many of you who speak English as
a second language,right? How about you, H~? Is English your first language?
H:No. My first language is Japnese. English is my second language.
And how about you, P~?
P: English is my second language,too. My first language is Spanish.
See, many of you use English as a second language, even as a global language to
communicate with other people who speak English as a second language.
Today I want to give you two cantrasting points of view on whether or not English is a
global language. First is that English is obvious a glabal language, people who support
this point of view believe English is the language of people all over the world used to
communicate, and that it is gradually replacing other languages. The second point of
view is that English is not truely a global language because it is not the main language
spoken by most people word wide. Suporters of this view say that even though many
people speak some English world wide, English has not replaced other languages. They
ackonwledge that people use English every day for many reasons, but this doesn't mean
English is replacing other languages, not make English the main language spoken in the
world.
First,let's exam the first view. First of all, English is the dominated language of business,
travel and sciences. When people need a common language, they often use English.
Think about it, English is often used that touriest imformation setters, in international
hotels, at airports. If you use a taxi in Rome, and you can't speak Italian, the taxi driver is
more likely to use English than any other languages. It is used at business meetings and
international sports events. The European Union uses English along with French at its
meetings. ACN, the Asian Trade Group, uses English at its meetings. Can you think of
other situation in which English is used as a common language?
P: How about this class? All of us are listening to you in English.
Absolutely, educational settings a great example. Any others?
P:How about the chatroom on the internet? I sometimes go to chatroom, seems everyone
uses English.
Excellent example! The internet has creat a lot of international communities and people
often use English. In fact, most people who use the internet know English. This helps to
support the view English is a global language.
The second major reason that people believe English is a global language is that it is the
offical language of more than 75 countries. This means these countries use English in
schools, banks, business and govenment. Of these 75 countries, English may be the only
offical language of the country like in England, or English may be used along with other
offical languages, like in Filipine, Singapore and India. In country like in India, where so
many languages were spoken, you can see how using English as an offical language
make it easier for people to communicate.
The third reason to support the global arguement is that every year about 1 billion people
study English. Why? Why are some of the reasons? P~,how about you?
P: Well, now to study ,and some day, I want to be in the international business.
That's a solid reason,How about you? A~?
A: I'm not really sure. I just think it will help me in the future somehow.
OK. There is more general reason. The point is people want and need to learn English
because it offers them opportunities. To sum up, English is used everyday by many
people. People all over the world coming contact with each other for many reasons.
The need a common language, a languge to facilitate communication. Being proficient in
English give someone an advantage in these situations.
OK, I have given you many examples of how English is used in a variety of situations.
Nevertheless, does this mean that English is a global language? lets look at why some
people don't believe English has replaced other languages.
First, there are about 3 times as many people who speak Chinese as their first language as
those who speak English as their first language. As in many coutries, where some people
use English for work each day, they don't use Enlish anywhere else. Even in an English
speaking country, there are millions of people who perfer to speak a language other than
english at home with friends or at work.
Second, I mentioned before,that 75 countries had English as their offcial language. This
doesn't mean all or even most of the people in these countries can speak English. e.g, In
India, most (s ) agree that only about 5% of the population speak English. That's a
small persentage.
Third, how much English does a person need to know to be called an English speaker?
People may learn some English for specific situation, such as the taxi driverd I mentioned
ealier. However, I think you would all agree with me that a taxi driver who knows a few
phrases like "where are you going" or "what is the name of your hotel" isn't really a
proficient English speaker. Another example is, Airspeak, the English that is used by
aircraft controll in pilots, a pilot from their lines or aircraft control need to know
airspeak ,but they may only learn the words they need for these jobs ,and therefore they
cannot be considered as English speakers. The point here is that people all over the world
may use English for work or other situations, nevertheless, this doesn't mean they are
fluent in English. They still use their first language for daily communication, English is
not their main language. So, what does this all mean? I think it's safe to say that English
will continue to be the main language used in many international settings because as I
said earlier, people all over the world need a common language. And for now, English is
that language. But English would replace other languages for most daily communication,
and this to me is what a global language really is. One that replaces others for most
everyday communication. Some people are afraid of this. They worry that as people use
English more and more, their ability in their fist language will decline, I think people will
use English along with other languages. We are moving into a global culture, and as this
continues, I think people from non-English speaking countries will want to maintain their
culture including their first language, they may still want to learn English, but I don't see
them to give up their own language for English. What do you think? I'm gonna stop there.
I know that's a lot of imformation to digest. we'll continue talking about some of the
diffrences in English words used in vary countries in Austrilia,Singapore and Filipine.
Unit 3 High Anxiety: Phobias
good afternoon! Today we are going to turn to a new topic in psychology and start
looking at some specific psychological problems. There are a variety of mentle problems
that can affect us in our daily lifes. some are serious, like a fear of cats, or of insects,
others are more serious. Now, as a psychologist, we try to study this different problems
and find ways to help people.
I want to start the discussion by talking about faily very common psychological problem,
a phobia. that's P-H-O-B-I-A. First, I'll explain what phobia is and then I'll talk about
some theories on why people have phobias. As you probobly know, a phobia is a fear. So
do any of you have phobias? Oh,come on, you can tell me, I'm a psychologist. Yes,
Monica.
(M) I have a fear of swimming. I don't like to go near the ocean.
Ok. That's not an usual phobia. Any one else?Ali?
(A) I hate dogs. I mean I just unlike them. When I see a big dog, actually any dog, I just
get nervous, so I avoid them.
OK. that's another common phobia. Thanks for sharing those examples of phobias. A
phobia is not a normal fear, it is an extreme fear, a very strong fear. e.g, my brother, who
is a sucessful artist, had computer phobia. he didn't simply dislike using computers, he
used to have very strong fear of using them. Psychologist just come up with 3
characteristics of a phobia. People display these 3 characterisitics, if they have a phobia,
not just a normal fear.
Now, first, a phobia is not a rational response. It's a very strong reaction, too strong for
the situation. for my brother, this meant he has very strong physical reaction if someone
ask him to use a computer. he started shaking violated, had trouble breathing, once he
even started choking. Physical recations like this are common.
Second, a phobia often last for a long time, for months or even years. In my brother's case,
it lasts several years.
Third, the reaction is too strong for a person to control. e.g, even my brother told himself
to not to be afraid of computer, it didn't help. He still felt very afraid. Usually, people
avoid whatever it is they are afraid of. so, in my brother's case, he avioded using a
computer. OK, so those are the 3 characteristics of phobias. It's an extreme unrational
response, it's long-lasting,and it's uncontrollable.
(M) so 'uncontrollable' means even you try to control it, you can't?
yes, it means you can't control it by try to deny you fear of phobia. There are ways to
treat phobias, and we will talk about it in a minute.
Yes!
(A) what happened to your brother, did he get over of it?
Yes, he did. The main thing was that he decided that he wanted to get over he was
treated by a psychologist. now, he uses computers all the time.
's spend a minute going over some classifications of phobias. Phobias are classified
by the thing or situation that the person fears. Greek or Latin are usually used to describe
the fears. here are examples: Hypno, H-Y-P-N-O means sleep, so, fear of sleep is
hypnophobia. cyno, C-Y-N-O means dog, so a fear of dog is cynophobia, right? Here is
another example, aerophobia, listen to the first part, aero, what's the fear? aero, as in
airplane, aerophobia is fear flying. Let turn out to the causes of phobias.
One theory is that phobia is learned. This means something happens that causes someone
or in a sence, teach someone to fear afraid. e.g, Ali ,could have learn to be afraid of dogs,
if he was attacked or injured by a dog when he was a child. poeple can also learn phobias
by watching how other people react. In fact, I just find that phobias tend to run in
families. e.g, let's image that Ali's mother has always been afraid of dogs, whenever Ali
and his mother were together and so a dog, his mother got very scared, very nervous,
when Ali saw how his mother reacted, he would then gradually became very scared, too.
He would then, have developed cynophobia from watching his mother. So you can see
that there are two ways learning can be involved in phobias. So the 1st theory is that
phobia is learned either by directed experiences or by watching the reactions of others.
The 2nd theory says that a phobia is only a sign of a deeper problem. This means that the
phobia isn't the whole problem. Let's take another example, I once treated a teenage who
was very afraid of dark, he couldn't be in a dark room by himself, he was terrified to go
outside at night, and so on. According to this theory, when he acted afraid of the dark, he
was really showing his fear of sth else. In theopy he reviewed ,he was afraid of his father.
His father was very strict was he was young, and once his father made him sit in a dark
room when he did sth bad. According to this theory, his fear of dark was a sign of this
deeper, real fear of his father. Yes, question.
(A)so what did you do? did you talk to his father?
Well, no, we couldn't do that. But recongnizing that he was really afraid of his father, and
not the dark, was the key-step of the treatment. Now he is cured, no more fear of the dark.
Ok,let's think about these 2 theories, and about the main difference between them.
The 1st theory says that the phobia is the problem itself, right? And the 2nd theory says
the phobia is a sign of deeper problem a person has. Why is the difference important?
The most improtant in deciding how to treat the person.
According to the 1st theory, if a phobia is learned, perhaps, it can be unlearned. A
psychologist who follow this theory would try to teach someone to react differently to
behave differently when he or she feels afraid. Changing the person's behavior is the goal.
On the other hand, the psychologist who believes the 2nd theory may start by try to teach
the person to react differently, but the doctor was interersted in more than that. The
doctor's objective or goal is to help the patient reveal the deeper psychological problem
because it will be easier to treat the phobia if the deeper problem is identified and work
down as well. I want you to think for a minute, about the significance of having these 2
theories or any competiing thoeries. What is it mean? I t tells us that phychologist like
any scitist have to continue to do research to learn and to test treatments we believe to
affect based on research. Treatments improve the more we learn.
Unit 4:TV-What we watch?
Good morning. Who watched TV last night? Ha, most of you. OK, today we're going to
talk about an important part of the media-TV. Specifically, TV viewing and TV dramas.
Now, first, I'll give you some background, then we'll discuss what make this type of
programming -dramas so popular worldwide? OK, let's get started. Most of you would
agree that watching TV is part of most people's lifes. Now, statistic varies on how much
people watch TV, but research shows that quiet a few Americans on average exceed 6
hours of TV per day. An English professor name Ceceila Tichi has studied TV for many
years. In her book "Electronic Hearth" creating an American television culture, she
discusses how the TV has become the centre of activity at home. We walk to a room, turn
on the TV, and suddenly, the outside world becomes less important. People use TV to
tune out or forget about the outside world. We are safe to relax and join the world of the
TV shows. Do you ever feel this way about TV? Yes, many of you are nodding. She also
seem out culture has also defined by TV. Now, by this, she means that TV has a huge
influence on our attitudes on what we like to eat, on what we like to wear or what we like
to talk about. E.g., popular TV shows are discussed at work, at school, and coffee shops.
We even children 4 or 5 years old do this with their favorite shows. This shows that we
lived in a TV culture. Improved technology has contributed it further to our TV culture.
Satellites services in particular have expanded the TV program in many parts of the
world. There are now hundreds of TV channels people can watch, and the options
continue to expand. Game shows, sports, news, talk shows, comedies, TV dramas,
movies, man with cable and satellite, there are a lot of choices. Nielsen Media Research
studied people's TV viewer habits in the US. They monitor which shows are popular and
with whom. e.g., popular shows have included the game show “Who want to be a
Millionaire", and the reality TV show "Survivor", They were very very popular and
watched by millions of people of all age groups. Now, all of this is really background.
What I want to focus on today is one form of a popular TV show that is popular with
many people of many age groups. This is TV dramas, specifically, TV dramas known as
soap operas or in Spanish telenovelas. Some of you might be familiar with telenovelas.
Telenovelas and soap opera in the US are similar, but have one big difference: the
number of episodes they have. Telenovelas and TV series end after about 200 episodes,
the story eventually ends. Soap operas in the U.S., however, continue day after day for
many years and may never end. For example, the Guiding light has been on for more
than 12,000 episodes and on it goes. Can you believe that more than 12,000 episodes?
Soap operas started in the United States in 1959 with the show "the Guiding light". This
TV shows were called soap operas because the main advertisers were companies that
made soap. This type of programming is popular all over the world. Dozens of countries
make their own soap opera shows. Mexican soap opera has been devoted the most
popular TV show the year in countries such as Korea and Russia. Japanese soap operas
are sent to Belgium. US soap operas are watched worldwide. The Lattern American soap
opera "Betty low-fair" or "Betty the Ugly" was the huge success in the US. Brazilian
telenovelas are the most widely distributed television shows in the world, and have been
seen in more than 100 countries. And there are many other examples. What is it about
this shows that make them popular everywhere? And why do people from very different
cultures all enjoyed watching the same soap opera? Well, there are a couple of reasons.
One reason suggested by Robert C. Allen who has done extensive research on television
veiwing is that many soap opera deal with universal things that people all over the world
understand. Themes are topics, e.g., family, love, personal struggle, money problems,
marriage problems, health problems, job problems. Viewers did not need to know the
culture in order to understand the family problems in the show. Now, according to
, one of the creators of the "Guiding Light", another reason is that people identify
with the characters. They feel the characters are just like them. To quote her from an
interview, they, the soap operas, deal with life as we know it. Now by this, she means the
family in soap operas deal with problems of everyday life. And so, as people watch
everyday, day after day, a special bond or feeling develops between them and the TV
family. The get to know the characters and their problems. The TV family's welfare
becomes important. There is a sense of community of sharing a family. All of these things
contribute to character loyalty. If any of you have watched the show regularly, you know
what I mean. You watch it because you identify with the characters. Now, writers of TV
shows understand that TV views want to have a group of characters to know and care
about. As W.R, former exclusive producer of Generally Hospital, quoted it, the audiences
want personal human connection, and when they get it ,they are devoted. This means
they become very loyal to the TV characters they watch everyday. To give an interesting
example from "as the World turns", some years back, the writers wanted to have to main
character Bob Hughes get shot on a Friday, well, that Friday turned out to be Christmas
Eve, the producer of the TV shows told the writers, " No,No,No, he can't be shot on this
Friday's show. Do you know why?
"Because it was too violent?"
Well, no, not because it was too violent, but they didn't want him shot on the Friday
before Christmas.
"Why? I mean, Why not?"
Because the audience would worry all weekend about them, they want to know if he was
alive or dead, and they would not enjoy Christmas. So, the writers had to change the
story and have him shot after Christmas. I mean, the viewers really identified with these
characters as if they were real people. Writers for evening TV also try to create character
loyalty but not with continuing story. Instead, each week, the story begins and ends.
However, each week, the same characters appear, and viewers watch because they know
the characters and they care about them, like friends. A great example with this was the
show “Sign field" there were four main characters, Jerry, Jodge, Crema and Len. They
each had their own problems, their own personalities. Viewers got to know them and
want to see what would happen to them. When you think about it, don't good writers
usually do this? They develop our interesting in the characters, so they want us to keep
reading, or keep watching TV. The next time you watch a soap opera, think about the
things that make these shows so popular worldwide, think about as people want
everyday, the get to know the characters and become a part of that TV community. OK,
that's all for today, it's time for you to go home and watch some TV.
Unit 5 : Learning differently
Hello, everyone! I think we can get started now. As we has studied in this class, there are
many different ways of learning, and there are many different learning problems. Some
people have problems with reading or math, or with expressing their ideas in words.
Some people have memory problems, for example, they have difficulty remembering
what they hear, or read. Other people have problems holding a pencil or pens till they
can write. As educators, these are challenges that we need to understand, because
everyone deserves education. And it's our job to promote learning. Today, I would like to
talk about one common cause of learning problems-dyslexia. The term dyslexia that's
D-Y-S-L-E-X-I-A, is from Greek. It means difficulty with words and language. In the first
part of my talk, I briefly explain what dyslexia is and give you some general background
about it. Then in the second part, I'll present one doctor's explanation of why people with
dyslexia have learning difficulties. OK, what is dyslexia? Dyslexia means a difficult with
reading or writing. Before about 1970, researchers thought dyslexia with a visual problem
- a problem seeing letters and words correctly. But this theory was never confirmed to be
true. Researchers have now concluded that the main problem may be the dyslexic having
trouble matching sounds with letters in words because their brains work differently from
other people's. That explains it. Every word is made up of sounds, right? And the sound
units are called phoneme. Let's take the word 'cat', now some one has not dyslexia, will
read the word cat, and be able to break it into the sounds, the phonemes,[k],[ai],[t],
however, some one who has dyslexia, has trouble breaking down the word into sounds
and that's the result- has trouble reading the word. There are other problems people with
dyslexia may have. And not everyone with dyslexia has the same problem, that's why
there is no definition of dyslexia that is accepted by everyone. We do know, however,
that the dyslexic person's brain works differently from other people's. Here is a few
examples of students with dyslexia and their learning problems. Anna knows the answer
to a question, but says the wrong words. Toms, studies hard for spelling test, he can say
how each word to spell, but he cannot write the words correctly on the test. Kert, tries to
pay attention in class, but he has trouble sitting still and listening. He can't concentrate,
and his teacher thinks he doesn't care about school. CEG has the trouble with the order
things, such as the steps in the math problem, history lessons or even his own daily
schedule. Susan has trouble following directions, she may confuse left and right. Yes, do
you have a question?
(Student:) I don't understand about the boy who can't stand still.
The boy who can't concentrate in class?
(Student:) Yes, I mean, how is that to dyslexia?
Well, typicaly, the trial has trouble following spoken directions or understanding the step
in a lesson. And so he becomes very nervous or upset, and can't concentrate. OK?
(Student:)Oh. Okay, so the dyslexia prevencing(?) from concentrating?
Right, these are some of the challenges for people with dyslexia. And as I said earlier, no
two people have identical problems. Of course there are other reasons why a student may
not pay attention in class, or have trouble reading, however, these are problems someone
with dyslexia may have, because the dyslexic person's brain works differently from other
people's. Another question, yes?
(Student:) How common is dyslexia?
It's estimated 10 percent of all school children are dyslexic.
(Student) Waa, that's a lot. I heard that only a fact of boys, that's not true, isn't it?
No, researchers have confirmed both genders can have dyslexia. Ok, so that gives you an
idea of that problem. But what causes dyslexia? Researchers think there may be a genetic
basis for dyslexia. There problem may inherited from their mother or their father. This is
based on the fact about 85 percent of children with dyslexia have either mother or father
who is dyslexic. What's interesting is well as challenge for us educator is that these kids
generally score high on intelligence tests. But they usually can't read, write, or spell as the
same level of their classmates. This can be a problem because other people, even their
teachers often do believe that the kids are very intelligent. In addition, dyslexics often feel
there are something wrong with them, because they cannot learn the same way others
kids at school can. They often feel stressed and blame their selves especially when other
people say they are lazy, and not trying. Many of them try very hard to learn, but still
have trouble. In this part of the lecture, I present the work that Dr. Harry Levinson, a
psychologist who was studding dyslexia for over 25 years. To help to understand
dyslexia, he tells us to think about our brain as TV sets, and to think our part of brain to
receive information as computer chips. Everyday, these chips, the parts of new brain,
receive information, right? Now, this information enters into the brain, as signals as what
we see or hear or touch and so on. Now, the job of these brain parts is to tune the signals
to different channels in our brain. Your brain receives the signals just as your TV set at
home does. Like you say, channel 5, or channel 6. Now, with these computer chips, our
brain working, right? They can't receive signals correctly, nor can they tune in the correct
channels. So the signals drift around and become unclear. And that's the signals drift, this
causes problems. For example, the child's brain cannot receive the signals on the page as
she reads, she has difficulty reading. If a child cannot tune in the signals he hears in class,
he has difficulty understanding what the teacher tells him. If the signal drifts, this can
also control energy levels- our ability to concentrate, our ability to distinguish what is
important and unimportant. This is why some children have difficulty sitting still in class.
the good news is, that after many years of research, Dr. Levinson and others have
concluded that the brain can learn to fix the drifting. Children who received help often
learn to deal with individual problems and do better in school. Naturally, it's best the
school intervene and give help when the children are very young. It's also important the
teachers, and you, future teachers be flexible about how you teach, and consider the
different learning needs of students with dyslexia. In some special schools for dyslexic
learners, the teachers read to the students. They don't require the students to read or
write to learn. Teachers present lessons in a variety of ways, students can take tests orally
rather than in writing and reading and writing are taught a separate skills. This
approaches recognize that the students are very capable of learning but to be taught in a
different way because the learn differently. This is a very positive step. So today I gave
you some general ideas about what dyslexia is and what educators are doing to help
these students learn. OK, well that's enough for today, we will talk more about this in the
next class.
unit 6 immigration
All right, lets get started. US immigration is our topic today. I know many of you are
immigrants, so you know something about this topic. As you may know by my last name,
I have a German background. My parents immigrated to the US from Germany about 50
years ago. Yes, question?
Does that mean you're immigrant?
Well, no. My parents are immigrants. Then came to the states from Germany, I'm the 1st
generation German-American because I was born here. First, we'll talk briefly about
immigration, the history of immigration to the US, and the story of diversity in the US. To
immigrate means to move from one country to another, it's a permanent move. By
contrast, if you go to live and work in France for 2 years, you don't immigrate there, you
move there temporarily, because you plan to return to your country. So to immigrate
means to move to another country to live there indefinitely. Immigration happens all
over the word, most people do it to improve their economic or social situation. While I do
now is give a brief knowledge about US immigration. Let's start with the colonial period,
the 1st wave immigration in the 17th century. Most immigrant were from western Europe,
although the spani arrived in 1513. The 1st permanent settlement in North America was
when the British started in 1607 in J. T. J. People were not prohibited from immigration
by the British, anyone could come. Life was difficult, and some people did not survive,
but people felt it was worth to risk to have a better life in the colonial. The French,
Spanish and Dutch also came, but in smaller numbers. I should also point out that about
20% of the population of this time was African-American. However, most were
immigrants. They were brought from Africa as slaves. Today, we ? our discussion to
voluntary immigration, to people who choose to come to the US. Now, by 1775, the US
population had grown to about. 2.5 million, the country was growing fast, some thought
too fast. So in the 1790s, laws were passed to control immigration for the first time. The
Naturalization Act of 1798, required immigrants to live in the US for a certain number of
years before they became citizens. The 2nd big wave of immigration happened between
1840 and 1920. During this wave, about 37 million people came to the US. The industry of
revolution has begun in Europe causing a big shift from farming to factory jobs. Many
left for the US, hoping to continue doing the farming job they knew . About 80% of these
2nd wave immigrants were from all over Europe. During this 2nd wave, Chinese workers
also came to the US, mostly as contract workers. They were ranged or contracted to work
for American company before they left home. Most of them worked in the gold mines of
California and later builded rail roads, then laws were past in the 1880s to keep most
contract workers out. Ellis, where are we? Ah, yes, 1891. In 1891, US congress created the
INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to control immigration. Any of you
who want to immigrate to the US have heard the INS. Upon to 1891, each state had its
own law and could decide which immigrants could enter. So no one really control the
total number of people allowed in each year, after 1891, the Federal Government made
the laws instead. A year later, in 1892, the INS opened Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
Ships would go passed the statue of liberty, the symbol of a new life for many people and
stopped at Ellis Island. Have any of you seen Ellis Island, or the statue of liberty? You
have, EF?
Yes, I have. The statue of liberty and Ellis Island.
What did you think?
Very impressive, interesting, too.
Yes, it is interesting. Now the Ellis Island had been made into a museum. It's an
important part of American history. Between 1892 and 1954, when Ellis Island was closed,
about 12 million immigrants entered through there, most from Europe. I encourage you
all go for a visit. Let's go back for a minute. About 9 million people entered the US
between 1900 and 1910; as a result, the US government decided that it need to limit the
number of immigrants. This led to a serious of new laws. First the Immigration Act of
1917 was passed to restrict to enter. then in 1921, the US congress passed the quota
system. This means they decided that a certain number of people from each country
could enter the US each year. For example, 2 million from Germany could enter. Once
that number had immigrated, no more were allowed until the next year. That's how the
quota system work. During this period, say upto till 1960s, the US was called a "melting
pot". The attitude was the immigrant had to give up their traditions and cultures in order
to create uniform society. People were expected to forget about being Italian or Chinese.
They were expected to learn English and to adjust to American ways of doing things.
Now, let's look at the 3rd wave, the period from 1965 to the present time. In 1965, the
quota system was abolished. Instead, a limited of 290,000 were set on the total number of
people who could enter each year. During the 1970s and 1980s, about 80% of the
immigrants were from Latin-America and Asia, and only 20% were from Europe and
elsewhere. So if you compare the 2nd and 3rd waves, you see in the 2nd wave,it was
mostly Europeans and in the 3rd wave, it was mostly Latin-Americans and Asians. Again,
economic opportunity was the main reason people immigrated. Each year after 1965,
many people want to immigrate to the US, many more than the 290,000 limit. This led to
the immigration Act of 1990. The Immigration Act of 1990 raise the yearly limit from
290,000 to 700,000. However, form 1990 to the present, the actual number has been closer
to 1 million. One reason for this been that US needs workers for many of its service jobs
such as in restaurants or hotels or in farming. In recent years, many people in the US have
come to realize that the country is great straight(?), diversity with people. So we old
melting pot idea has been replace with the idea with culture diversity with recognizing
the importance of American's many different culture backgrounds. You can see this
today in the strong community that are Korean-American, Japanese-American,
Italian-American, Mexican-American, and so on. Any questions about this? Susan?
I'm confused. I thought the melting pot was a good thing, that people should makes
together, and form a strong society.
Yes, I think you're right. We do mix together and form a strong society, but now the
matter for is that we want to have a mix-salad. Well, each immigrant keeps its original
flavor, too. Does this sound like a good thing?
Yes, it makes sense.
Well, let's sum up. There were several waves of immigration into the US, the earlier
waves were mostly Europeans, While the later waves had most people from
Latin-America and Asia. The main reason has always been economic, they are looking for
better jobs and better life than the had in their home country. In the next class, I'm goanna
talk about current immigration laws. We'll start there next time. That's all for today.
Unit 7 Who’s Calling the Shots
Good morning, hoping you had a good weekend; today we are goanna start talk about
styles of business management. Styles of management vary from country to country,
company to company, and from person to person. One approach to good management,
now considered important worldwide is team building. Team building is only part what
makes someone a good manager, but it underlies many good management practices.
When team building, the manager does things to help employees work together
effectively as a group, as a team. This is based on the idea that the manager's job isn't
simply to tell people what to do, but to help solve problems and help people
communicate, so they work well together. This approach emphasizes employees'
relations and it benefits the company. It has known in business way, not so many years
ago, there was an attitude in American companies of what the manager says, goes.
Employees were expected to do what they were told, but we'll see a new paradigm,
because companies realize that employees don't do their best work when they are treated
like this. This was a big change in American management style, perhaps influences by the
Japanese model. First, in order to build a team, a good business manager knows that
different people are good at different things, and values the special skills that each
employee brings to the company. A good manager needs to find a way to let the
employees know that very particular skills are important to the company. The employees
are then more likely to do their best when they feel valued, and value each other. The
strong manager knows how to build a team of employees who help each other do their
best work. So what can a manager do to help employees feel they are valued like part of
the team? Let's consider a situation that a company called the ABC Company. Let's say
there is a new manager in the office, Mrs. G, and she has made some changes. One day,
an employee, Mrs. P, decides to approach Mrs. G about some problems she is having at
work. Mrs. P has worked in the company for more than 10 years, then the changes make
it a difficulty for her to do the job well, she is stressed, and this is affecting her job
performances. So Mrs. G and Mrs. P talk, Mrs. G listens, she knows she has made some
changes and the office isn't been like what was before, but she tells Mrs. P to try her best
and gives her more time. Oh, I see a question, Anna?
I'm not clear what kind of changes are you talking about?
Oh, let's see one change is that before you give a rough draft as your report to the
secretary and she added it and sent it out, now the secretary doesn't do it for you, you
have to do yourself. She changed the way that the office was organized.
Oh, OK.
Later that night, Mrs. G thinks about what Mrs. P said, she thinks it's possible other
people in the office may have problems, too. Mrs. G knows that she needs a strong team
to be a successful manager, she also needs a stable group of employees, she doesn't want
people to leave, and she decides she needs to get an accurate idea of the employees'
perspectives. She decides to give the employees an opportunity to share their ideas; she
wants to show them she values their work and their experiences of the company. So Mrs.
G makes a team building plan, she begins by scheduling a meeting for the next day to
talk about the changes she has made. To give the employees an opportunity to say what
problems they're having and ask questions. At the end of the meeting, she gives the
employees some questions to answer in writing to make it easy for them to share their
ideas. She tells them she will use the answers they write and the ideas from the meeting
to decide on the next step in the office. Let's consider the kind of questions she gives them,
she wants questions that focusing on the work itself, questions would be easy for the
employees to answer honestly. Questions are like "A: Is it clear to you what your
responsibilities are?","B: Do you know who to talk to if a task is unclear?","C: Do your
team member support you, if not, what's the specific things could they do to help you do
a better job?","D: What was done in the past that you think would better?" These
questions were about the work, about how the office is organizes and about working
together, they don't focus on the employees' feelings about the manager. Mrs. G reads
their answers to the questions, she also checks her notes from the meeting, she decides to
modify the way she has reorganized the office. Not big changes, just a few small ones.
She realizes that some of the old way will better. So she makes a few changes back to how
the office was organized before. She also comes up with the 6 months plan for
improvement and tells the employees they will all review the plan together in 6 months.
What message is she communicating to the employees by these actions? Well, first, she is
telling them she considers their idea important, she values their opinions. Second, she is
telling them she is in charge but she values what they say. Third, she is telling them that
change is not necessarily good if there is no good reason for it. In other word, she didn't
need to make so many big changes when she started this manager. And finally she is
telling them that she is human, that she can admit any mistakes and that she is willing to
do what benefits the group. These put her on the role beginning their support and to
been a successful manager. Now on the third part of plan, Mrs.G plans a picnic at the
park near their office, they have lunch, play games and talk, they laugh and joke and
relax. By the end of the day, they know each other better. Hopefully, this will help them
to get work better as well. Let's review the three parts of Mrs. G 's team building plan.
She had a meeting, she gave employees questions about the office organization and she
planed a fun activity to help them get to know each other. We can see that her plan is
based on the importance of solving problems, and on the believe that communication is
vital in order to succeed a team. This is the key point, whole plan is based on the idea
solving problems and employees sharing ideas. Any questions, B?
Well, I've studied some business management courses, and I understand that it's
important to develop communication and build up team players, but isn't it just a waste
of time to have these fun activities?
Well, a lot of managers do think it's a waste of time, especially in the short term, but in
the long run it's definitely not a waste of time. In fact, it's often a great way to save time in
team building. Let's stop here. Today we discussed team building and why it has become
important. In the next class, I want to talk about other group activities managers can use
to build a team, we will start there next time, that's all for today.
Unit 8 Right and Wrong on the Net
Introduction
TEACHER: Good morning. Did anyone hear the news about the teenager in New York who hacked
into a bank’s database and stole about 30,000 credit card numbers over the weekend? Hacking is
related to computer ethics－that’s our topic today. Computer ethics deals with the proper use of
information technology, such as computers and the Internet. By proper use, I mean socially
responsible use. We’ll first talk about what ethical behavior is and how this applies to computer
use.
Body: Part 1
First, I want to make sure we all know what ethics is. Anyone? Yes, John.
STUDENT l: It’s about right and wrong.
TEACHER: Yes. OK, Jennifer.
STUDENT 2: And it’s about being a good person, doing what’s right.
TEACHER: Yes, ethics includes both of these ideas. It deals with moral judgments, with what is
acceptable or unacceptable to do. Now we learn ideas about what is right and wrong from our
families, our friends, and from the culture we live in. Because of differences in our backgrounds,
we may not always agree on what is right and wrong. However, for our discussion today, I will
define for you what I mean by an ethical action. An ethical action is something someone does
that benefits someone and doesn’t hurt anyone. So, for example, if you see a man drop some
money, and you pick the money up and give it to him, this is an ethical action. On the other hand,
if you pick up the money and don’t give it back to the man, this benefits you, but hurts the man.
This is not an ethical action.
Body: Part 2
Now what about computers? What are the ethical boundaries for using computers and the
Internet? Most people agree that it is wrong to steal from a store. Would they also say it’s wrong
to copy music files from the Internet? Or, to take another example, most people agree that it is
wrong to open an envelope and read a letter to someone else. Would they also say it’s wrong to
read someone else’s e-mail? In the past decade or so, many more people have started using
computers and the Internet, so these issues have become important. In 1992, the Computer
Ethics Institute was founded in the United States. This is a research, education, and policy study
group whose goal is to increase awareness of the ethical issues that are likely to come up as
technology develops. One concept the Computer Ethics Institute has developed is the Ten
Commandments of Computer Ethics. These rules are important guidelines the Institute thinks all
computer users should follow. Now some of you may be familiar with the Ten Commandments
from the Bible, like, uh, “Thou shalt not kill” or “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.” The
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics have been written in the same style of language used in
the Ten Commandments from the Bible. For example, they use the phrase “Thou shalt not.”
“Thou shalt not” means don’t or you shouldn’t.
Body: Part 3
Let’s look at each commandment or rule. The first commandment says: Thou shalt not use a
computer to harm other people. Simple enough, right? Number Two. Thou shalt not interfere
with other people’s computer work. I interpret this to mean don’t use a computer in any way that
will affect or change the work someone else is doing. Don’t move or edit someone else’s files
without telling them. Number Three. Thou shalt not snoop in other people’s files. To snoop
means to try to find out something without another person knowing it. If you look at someone
else’s files on the computer or read their e-mail, you’re snooping. Respect other people’s privacy.
Number Four. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal. There are situations on the Internet in
which you have to decide if you are stealing or not, like downloading music files, as I mentioned
earlier. Number Five. Thou shalt not use a computer to say things that are untrue. It is up to you
to be truthful in your website, in your e-business, and in your e-mail. Number Six. Thou shalt not
use software for which you have not paid. In other words, if the software is free on the Internet,
it’s okay to download and use it. However, it is not okay to copy software from a friend, because
you didn’t pay for it. Number Seven. Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources
without telling them, or without paying them. For example, you shouldn’t use someone else’s
computer, password, or Internet connection without asking them first. Number Eight. Thou shalt
not appropriate someone else’s ideas. Appropriate is spelled A-P-P-R-O-P-R-I-A-T-E. . . . It means
to take words someone else wrote and say they’re yours. Uh, for example, you have to write a
report for school. If you copy a term paper from the Internet and hand it in, you’re breaking the
rule. Copying even a few sentences off the Internet and presenting them as your own is breaking
the rule. Number Nine. The ninth commandment says: Thou shalt think about the social
consequences of the program you are writing. Now, this applies mostly to computer programmers.
Social consequences means how the program you’re writing might affect others in society. Could
hackers possibly use your program to illegally gain access to a computer system? Skillful hackers
can hack into banks and into credit card companies; they can alter accounts and steal money.
They can also create viruses that can cause billions of dollars of damage worldwide. Number Ten.
The tenth commandment says: Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that are respectful of
others. For example, sending unfriendly e-mail to someone or about someone or creating
websites with negative messages are examples of breaking this rule.
Body: Part 4
OK, the Computer Ethics Institute has sent these guidelines to many large companies and to
schools across the United States. However, there’s no way to enforce these rules. Nevertheless,
they would like to see schools, in particular, utilize these rules to help students develop a strong
sense of computer ethics. OK, any questions or comments at this point?
STUDENT 1: How are we supposed to remember all those rules?
TEACHER: Well, there are a lot of rules, but they all boil down to a couple of principles: respect
and fairness. Respect what belongs to others and use resources fairly. Does that help?
STUDENT 1: Yeah, I guess so.
TEACHER: Good. Let’s go back to ethics. Now increasingly, schools are seeing that students need
to be taught computer ethics as part of the school curriculum. Some schools have come up with
acceptable-use policies, or rules about what is or isn’t OK for students to do regarding computer
use. This is how the Computer Ethics Institute would like to see schools utilizing the rules.
Generally, it’s considered wrong to steal someone else’s password or to read someone else’s
e-mail. It’s also considered unacceptable in college classes for a student to download a term
paper off the Internet and pretend that he or she wrote it. This is called “plagiarism,” and it’s a
good example of breaking rule number eight. Students are permitted to use the Internet for
research, but are instructed to write the information in their own words and to explain where
they got the information.
Conclusion
Now the ten rules are guidelines for us to follow. These rules help us to be aware of the ethical
uses of technology. Let’s stop here for today. Think about these rules this week and we’ll talk
about them. And read the next two chapters for next week.
Unit 9 Which Way Will It Go?
TEACHER: The topic for today’s class is land as a resource. Land, water, trees, oil . . . these are all
resources, and as future environmental scientists, you need to understand how to manage these
resources. As the world population increases, managing land resources will become a greater
priority. Land is a limited resource. Today I’m going to divide the lecture into two parts. First we’ll
look at some of the factors contributing to pressures on the land we have, and then I want to turn
to some of the ways people worldwide are trying to address land problems and meet the needs
of future generations. Think of it as first the bad news, then the good news.
Let me start by saying there is less good productive land now than there was even ten years ago.
By productive land I mean land that is fertile, that we can use to grow food and raise animals.
Each year more and more land becomes degraded. We are losing productive land. Worldwide,
new dry areas are developing and expanding. This is happening on every continent except
Antarctica. I don’t mean existing deserts like the Sahara are getting bigger. I’m talking about new
dry areas, areas where land has been declining in quality. You can see these areas in the map in
your book. Why are these areas forming and expanding? What do you think? Theresa?
STUDENT l: It’s the climate, isn’t it? The earth is getting, you know, hotter because of global
warming. So water gets evaporated and the land dries out.
TEACHER: OK. Marcel, do you agree?
STUDENT 2: Well, yeah. It has to be the weather. What else could it be?
TEACHER: Well, different reasons have been given. Some people contribute it to global warming
or to climate changes. They say nature simply produces dry regions, like the Sahara Desert, as well
as wet regions, like the Amazon Rain Forest . . . . Well, let’s think about this. Is it only the weather?
Let’s see if there are other factors contributing to this trend. Is nature, or the weather, really the
problem? According to a large group of scientists, the weather isn’t the main factor. Instead, they
say, people are the main factor. When they say people are the main problem, they mean people’s
actions－how people use and manage land. Poor land management, overpopulation, poor
farming techniques, too many animals, and so on, can all affect the land. Look at the chart in your
book. As you can see, researchers have identified several ways human activities contribute to the
problem. The first is overgrazing by farm animals. They say about 35 percent of the loss of
productive land is due to overgrazing by farm animals. The second is overcutting of trees, which
leads to about 30 percent of the loss. And lastly, 28 percent of the loss of good land is from
methods of farming. Overgrazing, overcutting, and farming methods. Let’s look at these one at a
time.
The first is overgrazing. Good topsoil is lost or damaged because of overgrazing by farm animals.
Overgrazing means the animals eat too many of the plants. There are several bad results of
overgrazing. First, there aren’t enough plants left to hold the soil in place. Then, the topsoil is
eroded by wind and rain; they carry it away. Second, as the animals walk around, the soil is
compacted, and gets very hard. If the soil is too hard, rainwater isn’t absorbed into the soil, and
this causes the soil to stay dry and warm. As the soil gets drier, even fewer plants can grow. This,
in turn, causes the animals to walk around more and more, in order to find enough food to eat.
And, this causes the ground to get packed down even more, and get even drier, and so on. So, you
can see that overgrazing can create this cycle.
Second, overcutting of trees also contributes to the loss of good land. The main problem is too
many trees are cut and not replanted. For years we’ve heard about how this is happening on a
large scale in the Amazon Rain Forest in Brazil. Trees, like land, are a resource we depend on.
They’re vital to the whole environmental balance on earth. If trees are cut down and not
replanted, there is nothing to hold the good soil. Wind and water carry the good soil away and it
erodes quickly, leaving land that is dry and less productive. So, overcutting is another reason why
land quality is declining.
Third, farming methods are another big factor. In some places, traditional methods that have
been used for hundreds of years no longer work well. Why do they no longer work well? Partly
because the population is increasing, and farmers aren’t equipped to meet these new demands,
and partly because the soil is getting worn out. More people need to be fed from less land. As a
result, some farmers may use too much fertilizer on the limited land they have, or not let the land
rest from year to year, causing it to become less fertile. Irrigation is a huge factor many of us don’t
think about. Irrigation water often has salt in it, and when the salt builds up in the soil, the soil
can no longer be used for farming. Currently, about one third of the irrigated land in the world has
too much salt in it. Irrigation has taken a heavy toll on good land.
So, basically, how people use the land seems to be a bigger factor in the decrease of productive
land than weather. Of course, weather extremes, like no rain or too much rain, can add to the
problem. However, the weather is not the main reason for the problem. Some of the extremes in
the weather caused by global warming can make the situation worse for people who live in these
dry areas. But the weather alone is not the main issue. The decline of productive land is a
worldwide problem. Currently, about one third of the world’s land area is considered
unproductive because it is too dry and damaged.
OK, so that’s the bad news. Now let’s turn to the good news. What are countries doing to help
preserve land as a resource? As experts learn more about this worldwide problem, they have
tried to find ways to address it. Right now there are several organizations, the United Nations for
one, that are working to help people. They try to help countries or communities look at their
specific problems and figure out what possible changes they can make to protect their land. They
talk to people about their farming methods, their animals, and how they use trees and their
resources. Then they suggest changes that might alleviate some of their problems. Farmers might
try to grow genetically engineered crops that don’t hurt the soil as much, or plant new trees, or
raise fewer animals, or build new irrigation systems that leave less salt in the soil. They look for
local solutions that will work best for that country. This includes looking at what has been done
traditionally and implementing modern farming methods in ways that respect the local culture.
Conclusion
So, let’s review what we covered today. I mentioned that about one third of the available land
worldwide has become dry and less productive. The main reason for land degradation is people’s
actions, including overgrazing by animals, overcutting of trees, and farming methods. As scientists
learn more, we need to work to help countries make specific changes and for farmers to become
better equipped so that they can preserve the good land that is left.
Let me just add that if we look at the estimates of what the world population will be fifty years
from now－about 9 billion people－it helps us see that protecting the good land that’s left needs
to be a high priority.
I’ll stop there. We’ll continue with this next class. That’s all for this afternoon.
Unit 10 It's in the DNA
TEACHER: Good morning. Today we'll talk about an important topic in biology-DNA
and DNA testing. Can anybody tell us what DNA stands for?
STUDENT 1:
TEACHER: Right. It's the molecule that carries genetic information in all living cells.
Now first, we'll look at what DNA is and when it was discovered. Then, we’ll look at
DNA testing and several applications, or uses of testing. This is an exciting topic for
biologists because the more we learn about DNA, the more we see how science may
change our lives-from healthcare to our relationships. OK, what does DNA look like?
STUDENT 1: It looks like two strings, kind of wrapping around each other.
TEACHER: Yes, exactly. There's a simple drawing of one in your book. As you can see, a
molecule of DNA consists of two strands of chemical compounds arranged in a twisted
pattern. Inside the human cell are chromosomes. The DNA is organized in twenty-three
pairs of chromosomes in the ceil Genes are arranged on the chromosomes and these
carryjUnd4menutl genetic information like hair color, eye color, or characteristics that
aren't advisable, such as intelligence. and a lot more. Scientists have been studying DNA
for a long time. First, in 1860, Gregor Mendel made two important discoveries: tiny
particles he called genes, and, that genes carry information from cell 10 cell. Now this
was really the beginning. Then, in 1953, J. D. Watson and Francis Crick discovered and
described the DNA structure. Their work was so important that they received the Nobel
Prize in 1962. For the first time, scientists could understand exactly how DNA tells the
cells what 10 do. This generated more DNA research, and by the end of the twentieth
century, scientists made other important discoveries. Probably the most important work
was the Human Genome Project. The goal of the Human Genome Project was to
complete the first reading of the human genome, the complete set of human DNA. Uh,
this was a huge job, but after ten long years in June,2000, the head of the Project
announced that they had identified the complete set of human genes. Uh, this was a huge
deal. Most people saw this as the beginning of a whole new era in DNA research.
Scientists could read all of the genetic messages in the human body! This is, of course, a
very brief history of the study of DNA. All right, let's consider DNA testing. One
important use of DNA testing is testing identity, which is also called DNA t1ngerprinting.
Here's how a DNA fingerprint is done. Scientists take a small sample of someone's hair or
skin, which contain DNA. Next, they treat the sample with chemicals and make a film,
like a small photograph. On this film there is a visible pattern of black bars. This pattern
of black bars is unique for each person. So, a DNA sample from your hair identifies you,
it's, it's like your fingerprint; it identifies you and you only. I see a question. Miguel?
STUDENT 2: Does the DNA from hair or skin or blood all look the same?
TEACHER: No, not exactly. The DNA from your hair will look like hair DNA but it will
be uniquely your DNA pattern. It's sort of like all noses look like noses, right? Bur your
nose looks like your nose only. Now I want to look at two applictltjDns, or uses, of DNA
testing. First, how it can be used by doctors, and second, how it can be used by the police.
Within healthcare, one important use is to identify potential for health problems.
Researchers have found some genes linked to specific diseases. For example.
Huntington’s disease is linked to a defect in chromosome 4, and Alzheimer's diseases
linked to a defect in chromosome 19. A genetic link means that doctors know that if
someone has defects in these genes. they’re more likely to get these health problems;
their potential is increased. Notice, I didn’t say "Researchers have found that some gene
defects cause specific diseases." There is simply a link. After doctors perform DNA
testing, they can then decide the best way 10 use the information. For example, they may
give medication to a patient to prevent a disease from ever starting. Genetic testing can
also be used to decide which medicine to give someone. This is called targeted medicine.
To me, this is very exciting and promising. There are tiny differences in DNA from
person to person. These differences can affect which patients will be helped by a drug,
and who may be harmed by it. This is, uh, a tremendous advantage. [t saves lives and
money. NOW, let's look at how DNA testing is used by police. The police can use DNA
fingerprints to identify andfrau criminals. All they need is a small amount, or trace, of
blood or hair from the crime scene. if the DNA samples from the crime scene and the
suspect match, the results, at least in the United States, can be used as evidence in court.
So, DNA testing can be used 10 help put someone in prison. In much the same way, DNA
testing can be used 10 help innocent people in prison. People in prison can now try to use
DNA testing for crimes that happened, say, ten years ago. If their DNA fingerprint
doesn’t match the DNA fingerprint from the crime scene, this can help them get a new
trial and perhaps get them out of prison. As you can see, there are benefits to DNA
testing. However, there are also some concerns that this type of information might be
used against us in the future. Now let's consider how DNA testing could be used against
you. What if a company you wanted to work for asked you to take a DNA test? And
what if your DNA test showed that you had a gene defect linked to a certain type of
cancer? Would the company decide not to hire you? People also worry about health
insurance. They’re afraid they might not be able to get health insurance if their DNA test
shows they're at a higher risk for certain diseases. As a result, in the United States, some
laws have been passed to protect the privacy of medical records. Now DNA testing has
other possibilities that we won’t discuss today. But in any case, many people think about
the negative uses of testing-the fear that it will be used against people or to create
"perfect" babies. Others think about police being able to trace criminals and possible
advances in healthcare. But, another way 10 think about it is that it tells us more about
who we are, and that's the goal of biology-to understand nature.[ guess ['II stop there for
Toady. [n the next class, I want to talk in more depth about uses of DNA testing by
doctors. OK, we'll start there next time. That's, uh, that's all for today.
Unit 12 Prepare, Prepare
TEACHER: Good morning, everybody. Did any of you hear about the earthquake in California
yesterday? You did? Well, fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. Today, I want to talk about what
can be done in these types of situations. In the urban planning professions, we need to know the
scope of urban problems and make plans-in advance--for dealing with them. We'll start by talking
about the difference between natural hazards and natural disaster. I'm going to give you some
ideas about planning, about preparing for a natural hazard. OK, first some background. Let's look
at what I mean by natural hazards. Natural hazards are things that happen in nature that can be
dangerous or us-like earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, mudslides, volcanic
eruptions, avalanches, floods, and tornadoes, . . many natural hazards. A hazard, then, is
something that can be dangerous. Now, I want to make a distinction between a natural hazards
and a natural disaster. As I just! said, with a natural hazard there is the potential for a lot of
damage. In contrast, a natural disaster means terrible things do happen and normal life is
interrupted. People are killed; there is a lot of destruction. Disasters are what we hear about on
the news. You know as well as I do that we can't stop earthquakes or Hurricanes. So, I want to
focus on ways we can limit the Impact, how we can prepare to significantly reduce deaths, injuries,
and damage when they occur. Preparing is vital. What a country does to prepare is based on the
natural hazards that occur in that country. Now let's consider planning. It's nor easy to initiate an
emergency response plan. There are many things to consider. At a minimum, it takes scientific
information, money, and cooperation between scientists and the government of a country.
Scientists and governments need to share information. : This isn't always easy to do--for a number
of reasons. First, a country may not be able or use scientific information because it doesn't have
the money. In a perfect world, governments would have all the money that they need, but in the
real world they don't, so governments have 10 set priorities for spending. Governments,
especially in developing countries, often have to choose between taking care of problems they
have now, like needing new roads and schools, and spending money to plan for problems they
might have if a natural disaster strikes. A great example is building materials. Scientists know that
building materials are very important in minimizing the destruction caused by natural disasters.
Some governments are aware that these materials will save lives, but they do not have the money
10 use them. Second, governments have 10 decide how and when to use information from
scientists. Scientists can't say definitely, 100 percent, that a Storm will happen, or exactly when it
will happen. Their information is nor precise. So, a government has 10 decide what or do if the
scientific data tell them something is likely to happen. It can wait and do nothing, or it can tell
people to prepare. . . . Now let’s suppose the government tells people to leave their homes. So
they do, and it costs a lot of, time and money for people to leave. What happens if there is no
earthquake, or only a very small earthquake? Will people be willing to leave the next time the
government tells them to? Before I talk more about planning, I'm going to tell you about two
volcanic eruptions. Think about how planning, or lack thereof, was a factor in both. In November
1985, the volcano Nevada del Ruiz erupted in Colombia. For one year before this, the volcano had
been making noises. Scientists knew that the volcano might erupt, but they could not say when it
would happen. The volcano kept making noises, bur the people living nearby didn't leave.
Scientists had made maps of the most dangerous areas and given these maps to the government.
The government, however, wasn't able to use the information before Nevada del Ruiz erupted.
When the volcano erupted, it melted snow and ice at
the top of the volcano and suddenly a lot of water rushed down the sides of the volcano, causing
huge mudflows. This is when disaster struck: The mudflows moved quickly through several towns.
More than 25,000 people were killed in a very short time. They weren't prepared. This was a
major disaster. The second example is the volcano that erupted in the late 1990s on the island of
Montserrat in the Caribbean. It had been inactive for over a hundred years, bur in 1995 it started
making noises. Scientists watched the volcano very closely, and told the government what was
going on. The government told the people who lived nearby that they had to move. So, the
people were evacuated. From 1995 on, the volcano continued to be active. After five years,
however, only about nineteen people had been killed. A major disaster was avoided. Now let's
consider these two examples. From the information we have, we know that one country was
better prepared than the other. We don't know why. There could be many reasons. It's
complicated, and I don't want to sound too critical here) but we can see that Montserrat's plan
made a huge difference: Only nineteen people died there, while twenty-five thousand people
died in Colombia. OK. Let's turn now to initiating an emergency response plan. What basic things
do you think any country needs in a plan? What's the first thing? Yes, Allen.
STUDENT 1: Knowing what's going to happen. TEACHER: Well, yes, but, uh, as we discussed, we
can't know with 100 percent certainty what's going to happen. The first stage is really made up of
two parts: gathering information (doing research), and planning how to provide for people's basic
needs for food, water, and so on. First, 'scientists need to gather information from allover the
world about the type of hazards that occur in their country. Then they can use the information
from their research to try to predict what will happen in the future, and plan accordingly. For
example, Japan uses this type of information about earthquakes when it makes new buildings,
roads, and so on. This is difficult because the research cannot give them precise information. In
the second stage, the government must be prepared to provide for people's basic needs if there is
a natural disaster. They need to do a minimum of two things. They need to organize enough
emergency supplies, such as food, bottled water, medicine, and so on, and they need to
communicate to the people beforehand about where these supplies are located. People need to
know where to go. The second stage also covers exactly what everyone needs do immediately
after a natural disaster occurs-police, emergency rescue workers, citizens, et cetera-and where
they should go, how to get there, and so on. This enables people to help themselves. So, the
second stage involves providing information and supplies to people. The third stage of an
emergency response plan is to recover. This means planning for what to do in the days and weeks
following the disaster, and how the government will enable people to return to normal life after
the damage is done. It may take years to rebuild after, say, an earthquake. The plan should
include who, when, and how. For example, who will rebuild houses and roads, when it will be
done, and how it will be paid for. This is only a brief introduction to making a plan. We can't stop
natural disasters; they're going to happen. Bur we can limit the damage they cause. In the next
class, we're going to discuss what countries are doing to build safer buildings in earthquake areas.
We'll talk about the materials being used. If you have any questions, come see me.
