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1、English reading for current science and technologyIntroductionTo the courseTo scientific English readingWhy the course?English reading for academics purposeInstead of learning the language, we are now using the language as a tool.Our goal:to acquire informationto acquaint language use in scientific
2、fieldto learn translationFeatures of scientific English nominalizationRead the following sentences and see whether there is any difference between the expressions.They rejected my complaint their rejection of my complaintWilliam conquered England Williams conquest of England; The residents protested
3、 angrily the residents angry protestsHer statement is true the truth of her statement名词化是科技英语的一大特点, 动词 通常给人以一次性的感觉, 名词给人 以事实和结果的感觉. Verb: tenseNoun:plural/single formThe same is true of using infinitive: 一次性,描述场景或动 作,gerund: 重复性,描述事实或结果More examples:The driver drove the bus too fast down the hill, s
4、o the brakes failed.The drivers overrapid downhill driving of the bus caused brake failure. process entity (存在的事实)circumstance quality (modifier)动词表示过程,动名词表示存在 的事实;对动词的修饰起描述情景的作用 ,而对动名词的修饰起对这一动 名词的形式的限定作用.这种结构既可减少句子或分句的 出现，又能包容大量的信息，能 反映科技活动的严肃性和客观性 。Another purpose 科技文章要求行文简练，结构紧凑，为 此，往往使用分词短语代替定语从
5、句或 状语从句；使用分词独立结构代替状语 从句或并列分句；使用不定式短语代替 各种从句；介词十动名词短语代替定语 从句或状语从句。这样可缩短句子，又 比较醒目。试比较下列各组句子。A direct current is a current flowing always in the same direction.直流电是一种总是沿同一方向流动 的电流。Radiating from the earth, heat causes air currents to rise.热量由地球辐射出来时，使得气流 上升。A body can more uniformly and in a straight l
6、ine,there being no cause to change that motion.的 如果没有改变物体运动的原因，那么物 体将作匀速直线运动。的 Vibrating objects produce sound waves ,each vibration producing one sound wave.的 Attention must be paid to the working temperature of the machine.vs.This steel alloy is believed to be the best available here .人们认为这 种合金钢是这
7、里能提供的最好的 合金钢。句式特点:广泛使用被动语句We must pay attention to the working temperature of the machine.People believe that this steel alloy is best available here.科技文章侧重叙事推理，强调客观准确。第一、二人称使用过多，会造成主观臆断的印象。因此尽量使用第三人称叙述，采用被动语态 . We can store electrical energy in two metal plates separated by an insulating medium. We
8、 call such a device a capacitor, or a condenser.Compare the sentencesElectrical energy can be stored in two metal plates separated by an insulating medium. Such a device is called a capacitor, or a condenser. 被动态还能使主要信息位于句首，信 息递进，避免主观倾向，给人以信 服感。避免使用同一主语,使句式富于变化，the use of comparison and contrastElec
9、tromagnetic (电磁波) waves travel at the same speed as light.In water sound travels nearly five times as fast as in air.Compared with hydrogen, oxygen is nearly 16 times as heavy. 氧与氢比较，重量大约是它的十六倍 。The resistance being very high, the current in the circuit was low. 由于电阻很大，电路中通过的电流 就小。虚拟语气：用于提出假设If we k
10、new exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of that same universe at a succeeding moment. It-that-It is evident that a well lubricated bearing turns more easily than a dry one.显然,润滑好的轴承It seems that these two branches
11、 of science are mutually dependent and interacting.Sentence structuresIt has been proved that induced voltage causes a current to flow in opposition to the force producing it.It was not until the 19th century that heat was considered as a form of energy.The conclusion:Normalization: passive voiceSub
12、junctive moodExamples and figuresComparison and contrast Unit 1 Text AWhat is chaos?Which discipline does chaos theory belong to?(Are you sure?)Whats the practical use of chaos theory?Chaos A condition or place of great disorder or confusion.无秩序：极度混乱或紊乱的状态或地方The desk was a chaos of papers and unopen
13、ed letters.桌上杂乱地堆放着一些纸张和未拆的信Chaos in this text: A phenomenon which is not totally disordered but disordered moderately and show a temporarily irregular motion. Moreover, it refers to “an irregular variation governed by a relatively simple rule”. It is one type of behavior (that is, the behavior in t
14、ime) of a nonlinear system. Founders and leaders of the field of chaos theory Henri Poincar (1854 - 1912) (the father of chaos theory?) The ideas of dynamical chaos was first glimpsed by Poincar1903 essay “Science and Method“ If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at
15、 the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of that same universe at a succeeding moment. But even if it were the case, we could only know the initial situation approximately. If that enabled us to predict the succeeding situation with the same approximation, that is all we require,
16、and we should say that the phenomenon had been predicted, that it is governed by laws.But it is not always so; it may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter. Prediction becomes impossible, and we ha
