【英语趣味课堂】电子书-E-Books

Sarah: So what do you think about switching over to electronic textbooks in the classroom?

 

Peter: That’s a really good question, it’s one I've been debating myself for quite some time. I think, I’m mostly for it because I think the textbooks tend to be quite heavy to carry around, students carry a lot, have to carry a lot of them around. And having it in a digital form is much easier for students to access, it’s very convenient. They can carry most of their textbooks in one kind of tablet or one on their phones and access it anywhere. And it's easily ... obviously easily transportable but also easily accessible wherever you are really. I think it’s also with technology improving, you can change the format¹ of the reading that you’re doing in the textbook and the font sizes change and you can highlight and change text if you need to. I’ve also started using it myself and I think it’s become much easier taking notes, I just open up a document next to it and add notes as I read. Yeah, I’m mostly for it. What about you?

 

Sarah: I see the advantages for it as well but I also see many disadvantages. First disadvantage I see is, students if it’s on an electronic device they'll be more tempted² to do other things other than what they're supposed to be doing with their textbook. As well is I see as a problem for writing in the book as far as notes. Although you can write notes in there, it’s hard to reference back to them or hard to reference back certain pages, because I myself have used electronic textbook in the past and found that for regular books as far as reading, it’s great but textbooks it’s very difficult in the class if some people have regular textbooks and some people have electronic textbooks, trying to figure out what page everyone is on because if you have different text sizes then perhaps it'll be a different page numbers and it just makes it more difficult for trying to all be on the same page.

 

Peter: Yeah, I can kind of see your point. Although, what I do like about the electronic textbook so that they’ve got a lot of interactive³ material that you can directly link to the text that you're using like any animated⁴ materials, videos, other online material that you can access immediately whereas if you have a book you don’t have that more interactive component⁵. And as a teacher I think it’s easier for me to add anything as the lesson goes on or as the course proceeds to just add more things to it, whereas with a textbook you're kind of more bound I guess, you have to stick to the text and the online experience just opens up many more possibilities, I think. And it’s all in the same medium so you know that I find really great.

 

Sarah: Yeah, I would agree with you and I think that’s the way the future is going, definitely for education is to go, they're calling it paperless, I think. I know many schools in the U. are going paperless where they're doing all electronic things in the classroom. They all have iPads so it’s very interesting.

 

Peter: Yeah, it is. The only concern that I haven’t really thought about carefully enough I guess before is that with just reading online and accessing things online, I think students they don’t write - physically⁶ write things anymore. It’s all typing and looking or engaging with things in a different way than before where people uses to take notes, actively⁷ think about things and write it down, making their own notes, which I think is a really useful skill to have. Like even if you type notes online it’s not the same as writing them out and keeping a diary as it were of your notes. What do you think about that?

 

Sarah: I would definitely agree with you, especially in language learning. It's very important to have the skill of writing and if you’re not doing that in the classroom then chances are you’re probably not doing it on your own later either.

 

Peter: Yeah. Yeah.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

debating

 

It’s one I've been debating myself for quite some time.

 

When you are debating something to yourself, you are considering whether to do something. Notice the following:

 

I'm debating whether to go back to school.

She's debating to get a new car or not.

tempted

 

They'll be more tempted to do other things.

 

When you are tempted to do something, you want to do it even though you shouldn't. Notice the following:

 

The weather is so nice. I am tempted to call in sick.

These cookies are delicious. I am tempted to have another.

be on the same page

 

It makes it difficult to all be on the same page.

 

When you are on the same page, you are all looking at the same page in a book. It also means in slang to have the same feelings about a topic or decision. Notice the following:

 

Before we continue, are we all on the same page?

I don't think we are on the same page.

interactive

 

 

They’ve got a lot of interactive material.

 

Interactive material requires action by the reader. Notice the following:

 

These days, textbooks are interactive.

You can make a website interactive by adding a comment box or discussion board.

chances are

 

If you’re not doing that in the classroom then chances are you’re probably not doing it on your own later either.

 

'Chances are' means 'most likely'.Notice the following:

 

Chances are it will rain tomorrow.

If you lose your job, chances are you will get a new one.

 

1 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

2 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

3 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

4 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

5 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。