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Lesson 9Against all oddsIntroduction to the TextThis text is adapted from the biography of Stephen HawkingStephen Hawking:A life in Science,2nd edition,written by Michael White and John Gribbin,published in 2019.Stephen Hawking -“the scientist in the wheelchair”Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942(300 years after the death of Galileo)in Oxford,England.Professor Stephen W Hawking,Even as he sits helpless in his wheelchair,his mind seems to soar ever more brilliantly across the vastness of space and time to unlock the secrets of the universe.-Time Brilliant book!-Nick Donaldson,Bit Wrangler Extraordinaire!.At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School,and then on to University College,Oxford,his fathers old college.Stephen wanted to do Mathematics,although his father would have preferred medicine.Mathematics was not available at University College,so he did Physics instead.After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honors degree in Natural Science.HawkingStephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology,there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time.After gaining his Ph.D.he became first a Research Fellow,and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College.Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe.He showed that Einsteins General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes.These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory.One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black,but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear.Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time.This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.His main publications*A Brief History of Time*Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays The Large Scale Structure of SpacetimeGeneral Relativity:An Einstein Centenary Survey300 Years of GravityHawking Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees.He is the recipient of many awards,medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.“As I read his ideas about space,time,black holes,and the Universe in which we live,I was amazed at how easily he explained the exciting but often complicated subjects explored in the book.I loved how he brought such inspiring theories to the public with a unique wit and insight,making previously baffling concepts fun.”“He is a man so brilliantly gifted that,despite being unable to use pen and paper,he is able to solve problems by constructing the necessary diagrams and manipulating the complex equations in his head.He has proved himself to be an important force in the development of the science of Cosmology,and is believed by many to be the greatest genius alive today.”Theme of the textThe text sings highly of Hawkings invincible spirit in struggling against the fatal disease of ALS.Structure of the textPart 1(paras.1 3)about:Hawking was diagnosed with ALS.It was very hard for him to accept the fact that he was wasting away.Part 2(paras.4 10 )about:The turning point in Hawkings life,esp.with the appearance of his wife.Hawking began to make miraculous achievements with the support of his wife.Language study 1.odds:difficultieseg:China has to overcome enormous odds in order to modernize itselfWe have to fight heavy odds to realize our plan.against all(the)odds:in spite of great difficulties or problems;although it seems impossiblee.g.,this little-known man succeeded in becoming President.(very unexpectedly)Its a romantic story of love surviving.He struggled to keep his business going during the recession.Odds:the probability that something will or will not happen e.g.The odds are that my father will give his consent.2.End up:to be in the end(in the stated place,condition,etc.)To end up(as)e.g.He ended up as the CEO of the company.To end up in e.g.Wasteful people usually end up in debt.To end up doing sth.e.g.Somewhat to his surprise,his son ended up designing the whole car and putting it into production.3.to affect:to do sth.that produces an effect or change in sb.or sth.eg.This disease will not affect your brain.The war has deeply affected peoples daily life.*Compare:influence;effect4.to remain(link v.)+un(past participle of v.):E.g:The food remained untouched.The article remained unpublished.The letter remains unanswered.The door remained unlocked.5.cut VPcut off:separate by cutting;disconnect;block off or surround so that further movement out or in is impossible;stop the availability of(electricity,gas,water,or telephone communication)e.g.The poor girl had a finger by the machine.The soldiers were from the main part of the army.The country once cut itself off from the rest of the world.We were told that the electricity and water will be cut off tomorrow.The old man cut himself off from other people after his wife died.6.There is no point in doing sth.:to be no reason for doing sth.eg:Whats the point in going there?Its already midnight.6.It is/was not long before:Sooneg.It wont be long before the shortage of water will become the biggest problem.It wasnt long before everybody saw through him.7.live VPlive out:live till the end of;live in a place away from the place of worke.g.Could the old man the month?live for:give most attention to;wish for(sth.in the future)very much8.to be well off:to have more money or in a better situation than many other peopleeg.It is believed that 15%of the total population are quite well off.9.to feel like doing sth.:to want to do sth.eg Right now I just dont feel like working.I dont feel like eating yet.10.Might/may as wellThis construction can express very unemphatic advice;it may be used in an informal style to suggest that one should do sth.because there is nothing better,more interesting,more useful etc.to do;不妨there is no real difference between may and might:e.g.You ask him=It would do no harm to ask him.All the pubs are closingwe go home.Shall we go and see Fred?OK,.Might/may as well is also used to compare one unpleasant situation with another:倒不如；还是较好e.g.This holiday isnt much funwe be back home.You never listenI talk to a brick wall.Since you cant win the race,you may(just)as well quit.Since you have no better offer,you might as well take the job.11.break VPbreak out of:escape frome.g.jail;the vicious circlebreak out:begin suddenlye.g.laughingFierce fighting broke out between rival groups.break into:enter by force;interrupt,begin suddenlye.g.We had to the house as we had lost the key.The sound of the phone broke into his thoughts.When Rudolph saw the cop,he a run.breakneck speedP22512.to cover:to travel a particular distanceeg We covered 1500 miles in just one month,on foot.They inched their way toward the summit.And it took them about two hours just to cover a few feet.13.as well as:in addition to sth.elseeg He is a Spanish major.But he studies English as well as Spanish.Sometimes we have classes in the afternoons as well as in the mornings.14.sufferto suffer for a certain causeto suffer from a certain diseaseto suffer a defeat/a damage/a loss/an injury/humiliation,etc.15.Come to terms withcome to terms with sth.:start or learn to accept or deal with a difficult situatione.g.Shes never really her sons death.Its very hard coming to terms with the fact that he will never have children.16.to carry on:to continue doing sth.eg Dont let me disturb you.Carry on,please!It was late,but nobody rose to leave.We just carried in working.17.Touch and gobe:be very uncertain whether sth.will happen or not;be riskye.g.It was a very dangerous operation.It was touch-and-go several times.It was whether the work would be finished in time.18.Just around the corner:just around/round the corner:very near,soon to happene.g.We have been trying to develop the new drug for years,and now that success is,the work must not be stopped.With the end of the year,major celebrations are being planned.Final victory is just around the corner.谢谢！
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