T eaching Plan for Unit 4 Course：College EnglishSection AThe T elecommunications RevolutionI. Warm-up Activity1. Topic Discussion1) What are the advantages and disadvantages for the developing countries to invest vast sums of money in the telecommunications revolution?Many developing countries are planning to invest vast sums of money in their telecommunications networks to allow them to compete with developed countries. What’s more, by doing this, it allows the developing countries to become important parts of the information superhighway. However, some experts fear that some developing countries are trying to do too much too soon.2) W ork in pairs and find out how six countries and regions realize their telecommunications transformation, following this format:Country: RussiaSituation: rusting national phone system; strong in mathematics & science; economy in recession.Solution: installing optional fiber; strategic plan; pump $40 billion in the project Country: ChinaSituation: backwardness; new technologies becoming cheaperSolution: digital switches and high-capacity optical fiber links in capital cities; major parts of the information superhighway; turning Shanghai into a top financial center with powerful networksCountry:HungarySituation: 700,000 people are waiting for phones; problem of funds; businesses accept high-price wireless serviceSolution: sold a 30% stake to two Western companies; leased rights to build and operate advanced digital mobile systems; speed up phone system by means of wireless Country: Latin AmericaSituation: wireless demand and usage: explode reason: Latin customers talk longer on the phone; wireless market: money-making businessSolution: have operations of wireless service; Bellsouth Corporation: annual revenue per customer is about $2,000 ($850 in US)Country:ThailandSituation: people waste time in traffic jams; difficult to call or fax from the office because of long waiting list for phone lines (2 million names)Solution: turn to wireless; business people stuck in traffic jams; use mobile phone to keep contactCountry: VietnamSituation: person income is just $220Solution: make the boldest leaps; all mobile phones must be digital model; add 300,000 lines annually; use expensive optical fiber with digital switching, instead of cheaper copper wires; go for next-generation technology2. Questions on the Topic and the Passage1) According to the writer, what would happen if the transformation under discussion takes place?The living standards in the developing world will be greatly improved.2) What does the author mean by describing places as “deaf and dumb”?The author refers to those places without telecommunications facilities such as telephones, which hinders exchange of information.3) Why are advanced communications seen as a way to leap over whole stages of economic development?Because advanced communications and subsequent widespread access to information technologies enable the developing regions to shorten the process of changing from labor-intensive assembly work to industries that involve engineering, marketing and design.4) Why do some experts believe it is inappropriate for Vietnam to require that its mobile phones all be expensive digital models?Because they believe Vietnam is desperate for any phones and it lacks experience in weighing costs and choosing between technologies.5) Why can wireless phone providers make more profits in Latin America than any other places?Because Latin American customers talk two to four times as long on the phone as people in North America.II. Background informationTelecommunicationsTelecommunications, from Greek, means “communications at a distance”. Telecommunications through voice, data, and image communication is changing theworld. The Internet and the World Wide Web have already created a global system for the access of information. E-mail makes it easy to keep in contact instantly with colleagues and friends around the globe.Optical fiberOptical fiber (or “fiber optic”) often refers to the medium and the technology associated with the transmission of information as light pulses along a glass or plastic wire or fiber. Optical fiber carries much more information than conventional copper wire and is in general not subject to electromagnetic interference and the need to retransmit signals.Information AgeThe Information Age is an era of fundamental and global change in intellectual, philosophical, cultural and social terms. Today's Information Age began with the telegraph. It was the first instrument to transform information into electrical form and transmit it reliably over long distances. New techniques of encoding and distributing digital information are promoting the progress of the Information Age throughout society.Information superhighwayA name first used by former US vice-president Al Gore for the vision of a global,high-speed communications network that will carry voice, data, video, and other forms of information all over the world, and that will make it possible for people to send e-mail, get up-to-the-minute news, and access business, government and educational information. The Internet is already providing many of these features, via telephone networks, cable TV services, online service providers, and satellites. In the US, the information superhighway is also known as National Information Infrastructure. The information superhighway can be understood to be a highway which has computer technology and modern telecommunications technology serving as the base of the road and fiber-optic cables serving as the surface of the road. The "vehicles" are the multimedia machines equipped with computer, television and telephone, and high speed transmission and exchange of various multimedia information form the web covering the whole nation. If the national superhighways all over the world are linked together, the global information superhighway will be created.III. Text Structure AnalysisThe passage deals with one of the popular and current topics of today--- the telecommunications revolution. The passage explores the topic from different aspects: the advantages of telecommunications technologies, questions that should be considered when developing the new technologies in developing countries, how different countries make use of the telecommunications technologies, and lastly the conclusions. The passage can bedivided into four parts:The first part is made up of two paragraphs, Paragraphs 1 and 2. The two paragraphs focus on the advantages of telecommunications revolution, especially for developing countries: boosting living standards and promoting internal and foreign investment; helping them step directly into the Information Age and leap over whole stages of economic development; making them change from a labor-intensive model to a high-tech model to gain a huge advantage over countries stuck with old technology.The second part is Paragraph 3. The paragraph puts forward a question for consideration: how fast to develop telecommunications technologies in developing countries. Taking Vietnam as an example, the passage suggests that developing countries should weigh costs and choose between technologies. This is also a transitional paragraph leading to introductions of specific countries’ efforts to develop telecommunications technologies. The third part is the biggest part of the passage, consisting of seven paragraphs, from Paragraph 4 to Paragraph 10. This part deals with six different countries or regions, such as Russia, China, Hungary, Latin American countries, Thailand and Vietnam in the transformation of telecommunications technologies. Different countries have different backgrounds and they seek different ways out of their respective problems to achieve a transformation in telecommunications.Russia needs to invest a huge amount of money in information technology to update its outdated telephone system, but that is difficult due to its poor economy. China is investing a huge amount of money to become a major part of the information superhighway. And Shanghai plans telecommunications networks as powerful as those in Manhattan. Hungary sold a 30% stake in its national phone company and leased rights to foreign companies to overcome the problem of funding and to speed up the import of Western technology. While Hungary is trying to find money through various ways for telecommunications equipment, Latin American countries are making money out of the new technologies. People in Thailand are happy to accept the new technologies as they can make better use of the time they spend stuck in traffic jams with mobile phones. And Vietnam, despite its backwardness, is going for next-generation technology to keep pace with anyone in Asia in decades.The fourth part is Paragraph 11. It concludes with confidence that developing countries can catch up with America and Western European countries in telecommunications technologies if they persist in their efforts even though they will make mistakes in the process of transformation.IV. Structured WritingWrite a composition of comparisons of no less than 120 words on one of the following topics. One topic has been given a detailed outline that you can follow.Topic: Comparing the new welfare system with the old oneComparing points:· encouraging a gradual shift away from welfare· not so in the past· welfare clients developing their talents to make money· welfare clients often bleeding the system for a few extra dollars· caseworkers helping their clients· caseworkers acting like detectives· caseworkers searching for cheating· caseworkers feeling greatly relievedMore topics:· Telecommunications technologies have made the world different.· Travel by air vs. travel by trainY our Writing:Sample Writing:Compare the new welfare system with the old one and you would find a world of difference between the two. Under the new welfare system, the law encourages welfare clients to work on their own for a gradual shift away from welfare, and this is not the case in the past. Welfare clients now can develop their talents to make money. In the past, they often cheated to bleed the system for a few extra dollars. Now caseworkers will gladly help their clients find appropriate jobs rather than act like detectives to try to seek out any unreported properties. Today many welfare clients have made a choice to live a life of complete honesty and they tell the truth to caseworkers and declare any extra income they make. In cases like this, caseworkers will feel greatly relieved because they don't need to search for any cheating as in the past.V. Detailed Study of the TextWords& Phrases Study1.telecommunications n.[U] the sending and receiving of messages over distance,esp. by telephone, radio and television 电信a telecommunications satellite 通信卫星the telecommunications industry 电信业[构词] “tele- ”表示“远”；“远距离”telescope 望远镜；telegram电报；television 电视2.dumb a. unable to speak 哑的,不会说话的She was born deaf and dumb. 她天生聋哑。
