Before Reading

Ⅰ. Poem

 (Direction) Listen to the poem “Surfing the Internet” and answer the following questions.  

Surfing the Internet

Stepping into the lab,

I found no one is inside.

So I think I’m in the clear

Because the boss is nowhere in sight.

I log onto the web and start to surf

And then my hair stands up with fright.

The footsteps coming down the hall

Are quickening in pace.

There is no time to exit,

No way to save my face.

So I press the power button

And relax just a bit.

There is no way he can tell

Exactly what I hit.

I act all surprised,

Don’t know why my machine died.

“Simply unpredictable these

Computers are!” I cried.

“So we’ll get you a new one,

A computer that won’t crash” he exclaims.

Do you think he’ll wonder

When the new one acts the same?

1. What was the hero doing when his boss came in?

(= Surfing the Internet.)

2. How did he act in front of his boss?

(= He pretended to be surprised at the computer which had crashed “unexpectedly”.)

3. What would you do if you were in such a situation?

(= Open ended.)

Ⅱ. Computer-related vocabulary

The most dynamic combining forms/prefixes for new computer-and –Internet-related vocabulary in English are cyber-, virtual, Net- (net), Web- (web-), and E- (e-).

1. combining forms/prefixes noun

(=virtual life (虚拟世界),virtual office(虚拟办公室), cyber-interaction(网络互动), cyber nut(网虫), cyber pet(电子宠物),Web page(网页), website(网站), e-card(电子贺卡),e-business(电子商务))

2. combining forms/prefixes verb

(=cyber surf(网上冲浪), netsurf(网上冲浪), email(发送电子邮件))

3. words like cyber, net, etc. suffix

(=cyberian(网络用户), netter(网民), cyberize(使联网))

4. clipped words

(=cyberdoc(网络医生), Netcast(网络播放), Netizen(网民), e-zine(电子杂志))

Ⅲ. Introduction of the virtual world

1. Some famous websites

www.sohu.com  

www.sina.com.cn   

www.elong.com    

2. SOHO -- Small-Office/Home-Office

1). What do you guess is the meaning of SOHO in information technology?

(=In information technology, SOHO is a term for the small office or home office environment and business culture. A number of organizations, businesses, and publications now exist to support people who work or have businesses in this environment. These people needn’t go to the office everyday. They work at home without worrying about their dress and the strict rules of the company. The term "virtual office" is sometimes used as a synonym.) 

2). What kind of people do you think belong to the group of SOHO?

(=Writers, program designers, ad-agent, etc., all belong to the group of  SOHO. Obviously, the author of Text A is a member of them.)  

3. Virtual College

Virtual College affords individuals the opportunity to advance in their chosen careers through on-line education. People can complete their education without leaving their home or office. However, they will have the college campus experience through a virtual classroom environment. The virtual classroom will allow them to interact with their instructors and other students in the class. Through the virtual classroom students will share information with their “classmates” from all over the world. The virtual classroom is available 24 hours a day, allowing people to complete the courses at their convenience regardless of their work schedule.

Some virtual colleges are: APCO Virtual College, Virtual College of Elizabeth City State University.

Questions and Answers to Virtual College:

1. Do you think virtual college will be popular in the future, why or why not?

(=Open-ended.)

2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual college?

(=Open-ended.)

Ⅳ. News Report

(Direction:) Listen to the following news and answer the questions.  

1. Why were e-communications booming when the deadly SARS virus was plaguing?

(=Because people want to reduce their face-to-face contacts with others, or hide at home.)

2. What did people surf the Net for during the period of SARS plaguing?

(=They surf the Net for information about SARS and use e-mail to keep in touch with friends and family; share the information and downloading medical advice.)

3. What did you do when SARS was plaguing?

(=Open-ended.)

Ⅴ. Warm-up Questions

1. What are the  antonyms of “virtual world” and “virtual life”?

(= real world; real life)

2. What are the synonyms for “virtual would”?

(= cyberspace; cyberia; etherworld; virtual reality; Internet world; net world; etc.)

3. What can people do on the Internet?

(= communicating with people; shopping; reading; learning; working; publishing; listening to the music; watching films; playing games; hacking; etc.)

4. What do you usually do on the Internet, and what websites do you usually log on?

(= Open-ended.)

Global Reading

Ⅰ. Part Division  

Ⅱ. Questions about the Text  

1. What is the main idea of Text A?

(=Despite the many negative effects of virtual life, the author prefers it to real life.)

2. What are the roles of the first paragraph and the last?

(=The first paragraph tells about the consequences of living a virtual life and the last tells about the author’s return to it. Together, they show us the dilemma people are in at present : Because of modern technology, we have a choice between a virtual life and real life, but we find both unsatisfactory. The author, however, finally has to choose the latter despite its negative effects.)

3. Word Scanning  

 (Direction:) Scan Text A to find out vocabulary items related to computer and the Internet.

Ⅲ. Further Understanding   

For Part I Questions and Answers

1. What did the author do three years ago and what is she doing now?

(=She had worked as a television producer, and now she submit articles and edit them via email and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists.)

2. How does the author manage her daily life?

(=She can order food, manage her money, love and work on net.)

For Part II Multiple Choice

(Direction) Read Part 2 carefully and choose ONE best answer to complete the sentence.

1. How does the author feel when she is suddenly confronted with people in the real world?

A) She feels shy.

B) She feels angry.

C) She feels cautious.

D) She feels overexcited

2. How does the author behave on line?

A) She is friendly.

B) She is humorous.

C) She is bad-tempered.

D) She is talkative.

3. Why does the author fight her boyfriend on net sometimes?

A) Because they haven’t seen each other for a long time.

B) Because their typed dialogue lack emotional cues and she misinterprets it.

C) Because he doesn’t love her any longer.

D) Because he doesn’t send e-mails to her frequently.

4. What does the author think the daily routine is?

A) Dressing for work.

B) Work with colleagues at the office.

C) Sleeping normal hours.

D) All the above.

For Part III

True or False

1. The author tries to at least get to the gym in order to keep fit.  (F)

(=The author tries to at least get to the gym, so that she may set apart the weekend from the rest of her week.)

2. The author can get used to the real world very well. (F)

(=She finds that sometimes being face to face is too much.)

3. The author can’t bear her friend’s laughter and the noise in the restaurant. (T)

4. The author can’t make a choice between the real world and the virtual one. (F)

(=She finally chooses the virtual world.)