1、Unit 8,Birth of Bright Ideas,Background Information:,Richard Wagner(1813-1883): He was the greatest composer of German opera, made a major addition to the nature of opera through his writings about and the creation of music drama. His works include “The Ring of the Nibelung”, a set of four operas ba

2、sed on historical German stories,Background Information:,La Spezia It is an industrial port and Italys chief naval station in northwest Italy. Wagner visited here in 1853 when he left his exile in Switzerland to which he had escaped during World War II. Henri Poincare (1854-1912): a great French mat

3、hematics and theoretical science professor at the Sorbonne (University of Paris), had a highly original influence on the development of pure and applied mathematics. He also worked on functions that changed celestial mechanics, helped pioneer algebraic topology and co-discovered the special theory o

4、f relativity.,Background Information:,Descartes, Rene (1596-1650): a famous French philosopher, mathematician and scientist, was one of the most influential thinkers in history. He is considered the founder of both modern philosophy and analytic geometry. During his life, established ideas were bein

5、g challenged, so he tried to develop a way to reach the truth. He based his theory that the world is made up of mind and matter on a concept that came to him in a dream. Cogito ergo sum is Latin for “I think; therefore, I exist”, a key point in Descartes philosophy. He claimed that the only thing an

6、yone can be certain of is that s/he thinks and therefore, s/he exists. The “I” is the mind which can exist without being extended so that it can in principle survive the death of the body.,Text Structure Analysis: Part One (Paras.1-3): Introductionestablish an argument Creative thoughts depend on wh

7、at was unknown becoming known. This is easily seen in the famous creative people.,Part Two (Para 4-6): Examples to support the argument The author presents three different ways of forming big ideas: Wagners conscious mind knew nothing about the process of idea forming while Poincares conscious mind

8、observed the process of idea forming in the unconscious and Descartes dream enabled him to make an important discovery.,Part Three (Para 7): Conclusion: In creative thought, the unconscious is responsible for the production of new organized forms from relatively disorganized elements.,Summary of the

9、 Text,Words and Expressions,form an idea sleep on occur glow with depend on in some degree the more , the more be occupied with without; within,seek for as though take shape at work contrary to fill sb. With (a feeling) responsible for,We can also say “to form an idea, an opinion, a judgment, a plan

10、 or even a personality”. He found it hard to form an original opinion. 他覺得要有獨到的見解并非易事。 I know them both well enough to form my own judgment. 我對他們都非常了解，足以自己獨立判斷。,1. L,1. form an idea: begin to have an idea and develop it (Para.1),2. sleep on: leave sth. undecided and unattached until later time 將某事拖到

11、明天， 推遲對某事作出決定；放放再說 (Para.1),Let me sleep on your proposal and tell you the decision later. 讓我考慮考慮你的建議，再把決定告訴你們。 Just sleep on it before making any decisions. 不急于做決定，還是明天再說吧。 You should not always sleep on a problem. 你不要總把問題留到第二天解決。,3. occur: come to mind (Para. 2),The idea never occurred to me. 我從未想

12、到過這個主意。 It suddenly occurred to him that this was something he should never do. 他突然想到這種事情他根本就不應(yīng)該做。,4. They burst into the mind, glowing with the heat of creation. (Para.2),Meaning: These ideas come to the mind suddenly and show clearly they are good, creative ideas. glow with: show redness or heat w

13、ith feelings, etc. My fathers face glowed with satisfaction when he saw my school report. 父親看到我的成績單，臉上露出了滿意的神情。,5. Creative thought depends on what was unknown becoming known. (Para.2),Meaning: Creative thought comes if one can change what was unknown into something that is known. depend on: happen

14、according to; count on The success of the factory depends on the workers. 工廠的成功取決于工人的工作。 Depending on how much he sells, his earnings will increase. 他收入的增加取決他能賣出多少。,6. in some degree: to the limit of, somewhat (Para.3),Production of fruit and vegetables has also risen in varying degrees. 水果和蔬菜的產(chǎn)量也有了

15、不同程度的增長。 He was not in the slightest degree interested. 他一點也不感興趣。,7. the more highly insightful the person, the sharper and more dramatic the signals become. (Para.3),Meaning: If the person is more insightful, then the signals become sharper and more obvious. the more , the more The sooner you start

16、, the more quickly you will finish the task. 你開始得越早，完成得就越快。 The more you know, the more modest you become. 你懂得越多，就越謙虛。,8. be occupied with : be busy with sth. (Para. 4),She was occupied with the cleaning of the big house. 她正忙于打掃那幢大房子。 If one is too occupied with courting to mind his main business, h

17、e stands little chance of success. 一個人如果忙于談情說愛而無暇顧及自己的主業(yè)，那么他將很難取得成功。,9. could not sleep for noise without and fever within (Para.4),Both “without” and “within” are used as adv., meaning “outside” and “inside” More examples: The dog remained shaking without. 狗在門外發(fā)抖。 The building for sale. Enquires wi

18、thin. 此房出售，咨詢請進！ He looked calm without, but anxious within. 他外表看起來很鎮(zhèn)靜，但內(nèi)心卻很焦急。,10. seek for : make a search for; look for (Para. 4),He has been seeking for a new place to live for several months, but he has not found anything he can afford. 他幾個月來一直在找一個新住處，但還沒有找到一處價格上他能承受得起的地方。 She had been seeking

19、for a new partner for her business for a long time before finally finding one. 長期以來她一直在尋找生意上的新伙伴，最終如愿以償。,as if: (often followed by a clause in subjunctive mood 虛擬語氣) (Para. 4),Why is she looking at me as though she knew me? I have never seen her before in my life. 為什么她老看著我，好像認(rèn)識我似的？我可從未見過她呀。 She look

20、s almost as if she were drunk. 她看上去像是喝醉了。,12. take shape: (Para.4),=develop or start to appear in such a way that it becomes fairly clear what its final form will be 成形；初具規(guī)模 The new building is beginning to take shape. 新大樓已初具規(guī)模。 After several days discussion, their project began to take shape. 經(jīng)過幾天的

21、討論，他們的項目框架開始形成了。 The plan is beginning to take shape in my mind 這個計畫在我腦子里逐漸有了眉目.,13. at work: having an effect; in operation (Para.5),The report suggested that the same direction was at work in political affairs. 報告表明在政治事務(wù)方面也存在同樣的傾向。 It is important to understand the powerful economic and social for

22、ces at work behind their actions. 重要的是要懂得在這些措施之后經(jīng)濟和政治力量所起的強大作用。,14. spend (time) doing sth.: pass the time doing sth. (para 5),He spent an hour each day exercising. 他每天花1小時運動。 Now more and more city adults spend their free time trying to improve themselves at school or college. 現(xiàn)在城市里越來越多的成年人利用業(yè)余時間到學(xué)

23、校或大學(xué)去充電。,15. contrary to: opposite to (Para.5),He passed the examination, contrary to what I expected. 他考試及格了，這出乎我的預(yù)料。 Contrary to all advice, he gave up his job and left for the south. 他不聽任何勸告，辭了工作，去了南方。,16. When morning came, he had established the existence of one class of Fuchsian functions. (Pa

24、ra.5),The word “come” is not only used to talk about a persons or an animals action but also an event or time. The time has come for us to move on. 我們該繼續(xù)前進了。 Success comes after many failures. 經(jīng)過多次失敗之后，才會獲得成功。,18. fill sb. with (a feeling): make sb. Have or experience (Para.6),I admired my father and his work filled me with curiosity. 我敬慕我的父親，我對他的工作充滿了好奇。 What netizens said filled him with anger. 網(wǎng)民的話使他十分生氣。,17. in the world of books, in the world on men. (Para.6),World: a particular area of human activity the world of money 金融界 the book world 出版界 the world of spor