Step by Step2000 Unit 8 Creative Minds（在线收听）

Part I

A.

key words:invent

vocabulary:fax/ calendar/ puppet Mercedes-Benz

1.People in England made the first computer. It was built in 1943. It was made to help England understand secret messages during World War two.

2.Someone in Australia invented the fax machine.After the fax machine was invented,it first became popular in East Asia.

3. Folding fans came from Japan.They were invented in Japan almost 800 years ago.

4.The first car came from Germany. It was invented by Karl Benz in 1885. Benz is still famous. His name is on the Mercedes-benz car.

5.A man in Canada invented the chocolate bar.He lived in Nova Scotia-in the easter part of Canada. He invented the chocalate bar in the 1800s.

6.The first really accurate calender was invented in Mexico. This calender was made about 1,500 years ago. That's when people learned that the year was 365 days long.

7.The first machanical clock was invented in China.It was invented in the year 725-over 1,250 years ago.

8. People think Africans created the first puppets.Actually,no one is true is sure,but puppets were probably created to help tell stories.

B.key words:design patent introduce develop appear born invent creat

Vocabulary:

paper clip/ patent /adhesive/ primer/ cellular phone/ commission /authorize/ subscribe/ credit /wringer /ad/ disposable /diaper/ zipper/ immigrant /galosh /accident prone/ strip /merit /contact lens

Norwegian Pennsylvania Band-Aid Czech

1.The design of paper clips is perfect. There's been little improvement since Norwegian Johan Vaaler got his American patent in 1901.Only about 20% are actually used to clip papers.

2.Post-it is one of the top five best-selling office supplipers.To make Post-its,introduced in 1980,3M had to develope the adhesive,primer,back-side coating and new manufacturing equipment.

3.The first cellar phone was developed in 1937 by Martin Cooper at Motorola, and a test of 1,000 such phones followed in Chicago. The Federal Communications Commission authorized cellular service in 1982, and we haven't shut up since. More than a third of all households in the U.S subscribe.

4.Among those credited with making electric washing machines was Alva J.Fisher. The machines used wringers to remove water from clothes.Truly automatic machines appeard in the 1930s. An early ad for a GE washer read,"If every father did the family washing next Monday,there would be an electric washing maching in every home by Saturday night."

5.Oh,baby, what a convenience!Procter & Gamble's Pampers,born in 1961, were first used only for special occasions. Now the 95% of American parents who buy disposable diapers will spend up to $2100 a child to avoid washing diapers.

6. Zippers were invented in 1913 by Swedish immigrant Gideon Sundrich at Universal Fastener Co. in Pennsylvania. B.F.goodrich first used the word to a fastener on a pair of its galoshes;it was not used in clothes untill the 1930s .By 1341 zippers beat the pants off buttons in the Battle of the Fly.

7.Johnson & Johnson sold $3000 worth of handmade Band Aids in 1921, the year it introduced them. A company cotton buyer, Earle Dickson,had created them at home for his accident prone wife.He then convinced his boss that the strips had merit.

8.Otto Wichterle, a Czech scientist, created the first soft contact lens in 1961. Bausch & Lomb bought the rights to his process for a reported $3 million in 1966.

Unit 8 Creative Minds

Part II Scientists of the millennium I

Today we tell about the discoveries of ten important scientists of the past 1,000 years.

The earliest of these important scientists was Johannes Gutenberg. He lived in Germany from about 1395 until about 1468. Johannes Gutenberg invented the type mould and the first successful system of movable type used in Europe. This made printing books faster and easier. Johannes Gutenberg and others used his invention to produce books in the City of Mainz during the 1400s. The system he invented remained unchanged for 350 years.

Nicolaus Copernicus was another important scientist. He is considered the founder of the modern science of astronomy, the study of the planets and stars in the universe. Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473. At that time, most scientists accepted the idea that the earth was at the center of the universe and did not move. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy had developed this idea more than 1,000 years earlier. Ptolemy also said that all the other objects in space moved around the earth. Copernicus believed that every planet, including earth, moved around the sun. He also believed the earth moved around its center once every day. He described these theories in 1543. These theories were not accepted in his lifetime. But by the early 1600s, other scientists began to develop the method that would prove Copernicus correct.

One of these scientists was Galileo Galilei. He was born in Italy in 1564. Galileo was the first to use the telescope to discover new information about the planets and stars. He decided that the theory that all planets circled the sun was correct. The Roman Catholic Church condemned Galileo for saying Copernicus was right. For centuries, the Church had taught that the sun, the planets and the stars moved around the earth. Three hundred and fifty years passed before the Roman Catholic Church admitted officially that it was wrong and withdrew its condemnation of Galileo.

Our fourth scientist of the millennium is William Harvey. He was born in England in 1578. He discovered how blood moves in animals and people. Dr Harvey described this in 1628 in the book An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals. This work was the start of all modern research on the heart and blood vessels. Dr Harvey based his discoveries on observations and by cutting open dead animals and humans. Dr Harvey’s experiments showed that the heart forces blood through the arteries to the body. He showed that the blood returns to the heart through the veins. His idea conflicted with the widely accepted ideas of the time. It has been called one of the most important medical discoveries of the millennium.

Isaac Newton was another influential scientist of the past 1,000 years. Many experts say he was the most important scientist of them all. He was born in England in 1642. Isaac Newton invented a new kind of mathematics called calculus. He discovered the secrets of light and color and his theory of gravitation showed how the universe is held together. Isaac Newton published his discoveries on the laws of motion and theory of gravitation in 1678 in his book The Mathematical principles of Natural Philosophy. It was the first book to describe a unified system of scientific rules explaining what happens on earth and in the universe. It is considered one of the greatest works in the history of science.

Charles Darwin was another important scientist of the past 1,000 years. He was born in England in 1809. In 1859, he published a book called On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. He explained his ideas that all living things developed from simple organisms. He said these organisms changed during millions of years to produce different kinds of plants and animals, including humans. This is known as the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin’s studies showed that some animals and plants have natural abilities that help them survive. They pass these abilities to their young when they reproduce. Other plants and animals that are less able to survive and reproduce may disappear. Charles Darwin’s theories provided new ideas about the developments of living things. However, they shocked many religious people. Many people today still strongly oppose the theory of evolution because it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

Our next important scientist of the past 1,000 years is Louis Pasteur. His discoveries saved many lives. Louis Pasteur was born in 1822 in France. He became a professor of chemistry. He discovered that heat could kill harmful microorganisms. Soon this Pasteurization method was used to keep many foods and drinks safe. He also helped us establish the germ theory when he recognized that most diseases are spread by tiny organisms that reproduce in the body. Louis Pasteur also proved that an animal can develop a resistance to a harmful organism if the organism is weakened in a laboratory and injected into the animal’s body. He called this method of preventing disease vaccination. He developed vaccines to prevent deadly diseases in animals and people.

The inventor Thomas Edison was another influential scientist. He was born in the United States in 1847. His work made possible the progress of technology in the 20th century. Almost everyone has been affected by the inventions of Thomas Edison. These include the motion picture, sound recording, and electric light. They are only three of the many devices Thomas Edison invented or helped to improve. He also invented devices to improve the telephone. He improved machines that produced electricity. And he worked on many electric motors, including those for trains. Thomas Edison once said the electric light was the most difficult to develop. He also called it his most important invention.

Our next scientist of the millennium is the Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud. He changed scientific ideas about the mind. Dr Freud was born in 1856 in Moravia. He established the ideas that dreams help us understand our unconscious self. He said this is the part of the mind containing wishes, desires, or bad experiences too frightening to recognize. Sigmund Freud’s work on the causes and treatment of mental sicknesses helped to form the ideas of modern psychiatry. His idea about sexual development led to the discussion and treatment of sexual problems. Many of Sigmund Freud’s ideas are no longer used today, but no one disputes his great influence on the science of mental health.

Our final scientist of the past 1,000 years is Albert Einstein. He changed the way we understand the universe. The great scientist was born in Germany in 1879. In 1905, Albert Einstein published one of the most important scientific documents in history. It explained his special theory of relativity. This theory is about the ideas we use to describe natural events. It is about time, space, mass, movement and gravity. Albert Einstein is perhaps best known for his mathematical statement E=mc²or energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. This statement explained that a great amount of energy could come from a small piece of matter. It explained how the sun could give off heat and light for millions of years. It also led to the discovery of atomic energy. Albert Einstein’s theories, like those of the other great scientists of the millennium, changed our world.