Unit-07-To-Err-Is-Human.ppt

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1、ProverbsTo err is human; to forgive, divine. 人难免错误，宽恕别人是神圣的。人难免错误，宽恕别人是神圣的。The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future. 过去的错误是未过去的错误是未来的智慧和成功。来的智慧和成功。He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing. 不犯错误，成不了事。不犯错误，成不了事。The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything. 不犯错误的不犯错误

2、的人往往也就是无所作为的人。人往往也就是无所作为的人。No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes. 不犯千般错误，难成伟大人物。不犯千般错误，难成伟大人物。There is none without a fault. 人孰无过。人孰无过。Every man has his faults. 人孰无过。人孰无过。He is lifeless that is faultless. 人孰无过。人孰无过。By others faults, wise men correct their own. 他山之石，

3、可以攻玉。他山之石，可以攻玉。It is the nature of every man to err, but only the fool perseveres in the error. 人人总不免要犯错误，只有蠢人才坚持不改。总不免要犯错误，只有蠢人才坚持不改。Double meaning of the titleMan is liable to errors. You can not expect to find someone who never makes any mistakes. Original meaningOnly humans, not other lower anim

4、als and machines, including computers, are fallible (and this attribute of humans sets them apart and above the others).Meaning in the textIntroduction to the AuthorLewis Thomas, U.S. physician and author, was born in Queens, N.Y, in 1913. He attended medical school at Harvard and later taught at va

5、rious universities. He was president of New Yorks Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center 1973-83. He translated his passionate interest in and wonder at the intricate mysteries of biology into lucid (明晰的明晰的) meditations and reflections on biology in award-winning essays. The best known of his widely

6、 read books is The Lives of a Cell (1974, National Book Award). He also was the author of The Youngest Science. Dr. Lewis died in 1994.Introduction to the Text Given our increasing dependence on computers, we are likely to experience the effects of increasing computer errors. How many of these error

7、s can be blamed on the computers themselves or on their users, us, is hard to say. The author of To Err Is Human ponders whether or not computers will in the future be able to learn from their own mistakes. He concludes that if computers can some day learn from their own mistakes, they will be of gr

8、eat benefit to some of our greatest challenges. However, until that time, it is we, only we, who can learn from our mistakes and in so doing overcome challenges and obstacles. It is this ability that puts us above other animals; it is this ability that makes us great. Will we be able to instill (灌输)

9、 in computers the same ability we possess? Perhaps. However, it will only be through our own trial, error, and eventual success. Everyone must have had at least one personal experience with a computer error by this time. Bank are suddenly reported to have jumped from $379 into the millions, for cont

10、ributions are mailed over and over to people with crazy-sounding names at your address, department stores send the wrong bills, write that theyre turning everything off, that sort of thing. If you manage to get in touch with someone and complain, you then get typed, guilty letters from the same comp

11、uter, saying, Our computer was in error, and an adjustment is being made in your account.Paragraph 1balance n.the money that is left in the bank account存款余额What do you think is the main argument of this article? Computers, like the human brain, are liable to make unconscious mistakes. Human beings a

12、re born to make mistakes.A.We can derive aspirations from errors committed by the computer.appeal n.1. An earnest or urgent request, entreaty, or supplication 呼吁，恳求2. The power of attracting or of arousing interest 吸引力，感染力charitable a. of, for, or concerned with charity慈善的 utility company: companies

13、 who provide a service such as gas, water or electricity provided for people to use 公用事业公司instantaneously adv.happening immediatelyThese are supposed to be the , blindest accidents. Mistakes are not believed to be part of the normal behavior of a good machine. If things go wrong, it must be a person

14、al, human error, the result of fingering, , a button getting stuck, someone hitting the wrong key. The computer, at its normal best, is .I wonder whether this can be true. After all, the whole point of computers is that they represent an extension of the human brain, vastly improved upon but human,

15、superhuman maybe. A good computer can think clearly and quickly enough to beat you at chess, and some of them have even been programmed to write . They can do anything we can do, and more besides.Paragraphs 23sheer a: Completely such, without qualifica-tion or exception 全然的：完全的、没有限制或例外的e.g. sheer st

16、upidity; sheer happiness.十足的愚蠢；真正的幸福These can be regarded as the most common and unintentional accidents.tamper v: 1. to interfere in a harmful manner 拨弄：以一种有害的方式来干预e.g. tampering with the timing mechanism of the safe 胡乱拨弄保险箱的计时装置2. To alter improperly 篡改：对作不正当的改动infallible a: incapable of erring 不可

17、能犯错误的e.g. an infallible guide; an infallible source of informationinfallibility n.fallible a.fallibility n.nonetheless adv: Nevertheless; however.然而；不过obscure a: not clearly understood or expressed; ambiguous or vague 模糊的，难解的：没有被清晰地理解或表达地；模糊的或含糊的verse n: verse n. the art or work of a poet 诗歌艺术或诗歌作品w

18、hen performing well, as it usually doesthe nature of computers is that they extend the power of the human brain, much more powerful than human brains in some aspects, but never a human brain in the real sense. 1. If a computer makes a mistake, who is to blame: the computer or the person who uses the

19、 computer?2. On what basis does the author suggest that computers can make “human errors”?The person who uses the computer is to blame because it must be a human error and the computer is infallible.In paragraph 3, the author suggests that computers represent extensions of the human brain. Computers

20、 can do anything we can do, and even make mistakes as humans do.It is not yet known whether a computer has its own consciousness, and it would be hard to find out about this. When you walk into one of those great halls now built for the huge machines, and stand listening, it is easy to imagine that

21、the faint, distant noises are the sound of thinking, and the turning of the gives them the look of wild creatures rolling their eyes in the effort to concentrate, with information. But real thinking, and dreaming, are other matters. On the other hand, the evidence of something like an unconscious, t

22、o ours, are all around, in every . As extensions of the human brain, they have been constructed with the same property of error, spontaneous, uncontrolled, and rich in possibilities.Paragraphs 45spool n. 卷盘，卷轴But human thinking and dreaming is another picture. Reality and fantasy differ.1. Does the

23、author think that computers have consciousness or unconsciousness? How do you know?2. This essay can be divided into 3 parts. Part One consists of the first 5 paragraphs. Summarize the main idea of this part.Both, to certain different senses. On the consciousness, he says “it would be hard to find o

24、ut about this.” But he also says “it is easy to imagine” On the unconsciousness, he begins with “on the other hand” which indicates an opposite point of view. There are lots of evidences that computers make errors similar to those of human beings.choke v. if things choke a place, they fill it and pr

25、event any movement in it. 堵塞，塞满e.g. The center of the city was choked with cars.Mud choked the drainpipe.equivalent n. sth. that has the same use or function as sth. else. 同等物e.g. Not every Chinese word has an equivalent in English.A good quilt can be the equivalent of at least three blankets.mail:

26、message Contrary to conventional beliefs that machines are flawless, computers are likely to make mistakes because they are extensions of the human brain.Mistakes are at the very base of human thought, there, feeding the structure like . If we were not provided with the of being wrong, we could neve

27、r get anything useful done. We think our way along by choosing between right and wrong alternatives, and the wrong choices have to be made as frequently as the right ones. We get along in life this way. We are built to make mistakes. We learn, as we say, by . Why do we always say that? Why not trial

28、 and rightness or trial and triumph? The old phrase puts it that way because that is, in real life, the way it is done. A good laboratory, like a good bank or a corporation or government, has to run like a computer. Almost everything is done , , and all the numbers add up to the predicted sums. The

29、days go by. And then, if it is a lucky day, and a lucky laboratory, somebody makes a mistake: the wrong , something in one of the blanks, a misplaced in reading counts, the warm room off by a degree and a half, a mouse out of his box, or just a misreading of the days . Whatever, when the results com

30、e in, something is obviously , and then the action can begin. Paragraphs 68embed v. to fix firmly in a surrounding mass 使插入, 嵌入, 埋入e.g. Several thorns were embedded in his arms. This special experience has been embedded in the little girls memory.Mistakes are deeply rooted in the human mind.root nod

31、ule n.根瘤 knack n. a particularly clever or skillful way of doing sth. successfully, especially sth. that most people find difficult 诀窍, 技能(by) trial and error: by trying again and again 反复摸索，进行各种尝试e.g. He learned to cook by trial and error.Some linguists believe children learn language by trial and

32、error.flawless a. being entirely without flaw or imperfection 无瑕疵的：完全没有缺陷或不足的flaw n. A defect or shortcoming in something intangible 缺陷, 瑕疵 by the book: (doing sth.) exactly according to rules or instructions 按规则, 依照惯例, 循规蹈矩e.g. The people who usually do things by the book are less creative. Airplan

33、e pilots must always fly by the book. buffer n. a place in a computers memory for storing information temporarily 缓冲存储器 decimal n . 小数; decimal a. 十进制的e.g. the decimal system protocol n. 1. The forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state 外交礼节，礼仪2. a record of experi-ment

34、al observations, etc.实验观察结果等screw up: to make a mess of sth., ruin, cause to fail 弄糟 ,搞砸e.g. He cant do that; that screws up all my arrangements. The car broke down, which screwed up our holiday.Mistakes are part of our human nature.The old saying expresses it in that way because in reality it prove

35、s true.a mouse out of orderthe action of exploring something new and different1. Which sentence in paragraph six explains the title “To Err is Human”?2. Why does the author say, “If it is a lucky day, and a lucky laboratory, somebody makes a mistake”?The first sentence.The author tries to explain th

36、at “trial and error” leads to discoveries and inventions.The misreading is not the important error: it opens the way. The next step is the one. If the investigator can bring himself to say, But even so, look at that! then the new finding, whatever it is, is ready for . What is needed, for progress t

37、o be made, is the move based on the error. Whenever new kinds of thinking are about to be accomplished, or new varieties of music, there has to be an argument beforehand. With two sides debating in the same mind, , there is an understanding that one is right and the other wrong. Sooner or later the

38、thing is settled, but there can be no action at all if there are not the two sides, and the argument. The hope is in the of wrongness, the tendency toward error. The capacity to leap across mountains of information to land lightly on the wrong side represents the highest of human . It may be that th

39、is is a uniquely human gift, perhaps even in our genetic instructions. Other creatures do not seem to have DNA sequences for making mistakes as a routine part of daily living, certainly not for programmed error as a guide for action. Paragraphs 911crucial a. extremely significant or important; decis

40、ive 极其重要的, 决定性的 it (the misreading) starts the process which enables someone to explore something new and different.snatch v. to grasp or seize hastily, eagerly, or suddenly 抢夺, 夺走 harangue v. a long, pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering 长篇大论的演说 amiable a. friendly and agreeab

41、le in disposition; good-natured and likable 温柔的，性情友好亲切的，脾气好的，和善的endowment n. a natural gift, ability, or quality 天资、能力或天赋 stipulate v. to lay down as a condition of an agreement; to specify or arrange in an agree-ment 规定; 约定e.g. The Constitution stipulate that women shall have equal rights with men

42、in voting and being elected.A delivery date is stipulated in the contract.Even if theres something wrong, we should investigate closely to find out whats wrong.faculty n. an inherent power or ability. 天赋：先天的智能或能力Our hope lies in our ability to make mistakes, or the inclination to make mistakes. The

43、capacity to jump over huge amounts of information (to ignore lots of information leading to right conclusions) to draw the wrong conclusion so easily shows the most powerful part of human minds. (other creatures) certainly (do) not (seem to have DNA sequences) for making conscious and regular errors

44、 which will guide their action.all but: almost, all excepte.g. The game was all but over by the time we arrived.All but three students have passed the examinationbe bound to: be sure toWe are at our human finest, dancing with our minds, when there are more choices than two. Sometimes there are ten,

45、even twenty different ways to go, one be the wrong, and the richness of selection in such situations can lift us onto totally new ground. This process is called exploration and is based on human fallibility. If we had only a single center in our brains, capable of responding only when a correct deci

46、sion was to be made, instead of the of different , easily of that provide for being into blind alleys, up trees, down dead ends, out into blue sky, along wrong turnings, around bends, we could only stay the way we are today, stuck . The lower animals do not have this splendid freedom. They are limit

47、ed most of them, to absolute infallibility. Cats, for all their good side, never make mistakes. I have never seen a , , or cat. Dogs are sometimes fallible, occasionally able to make charming minor mistakes, but they get this way by trying to their masters. Fish are flawless in everything they do. I

48、ndividual cells in a tissue are mindless machines, perfect in their performance, as absolutely as bees. Paragraphs 1213jumble n. a confused or disordered mass 混乱或杂乱的一堆e.g. a jumble of paper scraps in a drawerWe are at our best state or condition and our minds can work best credulous a. tending to be

49、lieve things that people tell you and therefore easily tricked or cheated 太容易相信的；易受骗的e.g. They are credulous people who believe every advertisement. con v. deceive 欺骗e.g. He goes around conning people out of their money.cluster n. a group of the same or similar elements gathered or occurring closely

50、 together 丛，群 neuron n. 神经元fling off: throw sb. off; cast off; remove a piece of clothing quickly丢弃；摆脱；甩开e.g. She ran into the bedroom, where she flung off her dress and took out a clean one. They flung off their pursuers. fast adv. firmly fixed or fastened 牢固的，紧紧的e.g. a fast grip 紧握maladroit a. mar