VI Homework. 1. Read some British and American newspapers 2. Home reading: A History of English 3.Preview Unit 2
Unit 3 Bursting the Magic Bubble
Ⅰ Objectives 1. Understanding the text 2. Mastery of some language points 3. Learning something about magic
4. Learning the scientific principles behind the magic performance Ⅱ Key points 1.Full understanding of the text 3. Explanation of some difficult words
3. Learning the scientific principles behind the magic performance Ⅲ Difficult points 1. Maybe it has never come to students’ mind that there are scientific principles behind the magic performance.
2.Some words might cause difficulty in students’ understanding of the text IV Time Arrangement ? About two periods of class will be used for the analysis and discussion of the
passage itself.
Total class hours: three periods V Teaching procedures 1. Lead-in Ask some students to perfume some simple magic tricks (they should prepare before the class) in front of the whole class. Let them guess where the tricks lie.
2. Warm-up questions
(1)Do you like watching magic performance? Why? (2)Which magician do you like bet?
(3)Which magic trick do you like to watch best?
3. Related information (1) Magic may refer to:
Magic (paranormal)anything that is not naturally explainable by any laws of nature. Magical thinking
Folk magic, traditional systems of magic
Magick, the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema
Witchcraft, the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers
Magic (illusion), the art of entertaining audiences by performing illusions and tricks Street magic, sleight of hand, etc.
(2) Magic may be in In fantasy fiction
In science and mathematics: In games
In popular culture
In computing programming: Among radio stations
(3) Famous magicians
What and who do you think of when asking about famous magicians?
For most of us, the image is of a finely dressed man in a tuxedo or suit, possibly with a top hat, a magic wand and a handkerchief - the magician's uniform of choice.
However, whilst some famous magicians do use this attire, not all magicians have conformed to this stereotype - indeed, sometimes their tricks required far less in the way of clothing, but still with their modesty intact, of course.
Over the years, there have been so many famous magicians, actually too
numerous for them all to get a mention, so we will concentrate on some of the more well known ones.
All of these famous magicians have brought their own unique style to performing magic, illusions, tricks and escapology.
Harry Houdini - probably one of the most famous magicians of them all, well known for escaping chains, ropes, handcuffs and straitjackets.
David Copperfield - renowned for his spectacular illusions, including making the Status of Liberty disappear from view.
Siegfried and Roy - famous magicians probably best known for their use of white tigers in their spectacular stage shows.
Lance Burton - a popular American magician and also the first American to win the \
Doug Henning - a famous magician born in Canada. A colourful character with his brightly coloured clothes, thick moustache and long hair.
David Blaine - initially known for his street magic, he now performs somewhat bizarre stunts such as being encased in a block of ice for over 60 days.
Penn and Teller - a double act of famous magicians who are somewhat
eccentric in their performances, enraging other magicians for publicly revealing how some tricks are done.
Derren Brown - a prominent mind control performer who leads audiences along with subtle hints and psychological techniques, often to great effect.
(4)David Copperfield
The best known and richest magician-he ranks among the wealthiest of all entertainers-David Copperfield is a household name. He is known to millions through his numerous television specials over the last couple of decades and he continues to tour, taking his show around the country.
Takes to Magic: Copperfield was born in New Jersey on September 16, 1956. He started as a ventriloquist and then quickly took to magic. Copperfield became the youngest magician admitted to the Society of American Magicians (SAM). At age 16, he taught a magic course at New York University. When he was 18, Copperfield was cast as the lead in a Chicago production called “The Magic Man.”
Network Magic Specials: His many magic specials have aired on network television over the past two decades, bringing his brand of illusion and magic to millions. Copperfield not only performs with large illusions, his shows typically feature a major magical feat.
The Magic of David Copperfield ?a great way to describe one of the most
spectacular illusionists of our time. His magic talent begin at an early age where he billed himself as 揇avino, the Boy Magician?and he was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians at age 14.
The magic of David Copperfield was so good he was also teaching the subject at New York University when just 16 years of age. Originally David Kotkin, it wasn抰 until he was 18 years old that he decided on the stage name David Copperfield.
He got his break into television just a year later, but it was a few years after that when The Magic of David Copperfield series was commissioned.
The Magic of David Copperfield 3 that saw the levitation of a Ferrari, an illusion that could have cost David his life as when only three feet in the air, the car fell.
Making The Statue of Liberty disappear was performed in The Magic of David Copperfield 5. This amazing illusion involved a live audience sitting in front of two towers, and between them, in the distance was The Statue of Liberty. A curtain was raised using the two towers and when lowered, amazingly the Statue had disappeared.
By now, The Magic of David Copperfield was getting huge audiences. Walking through The Great Wall of China was another superb illusion
performed in The Magic of David Copperfield 8. A covered frame is placed next to the wall and a light shone from behind. David enters the frame and, as a silhouette,
is seen to disappear into the wall. On the other side of the wall, a similar frame is constructed and a silhouette is seen to appear out of the wall before David removes the curtains to reveal himself.
In The Magic of David Copperfield 13, he performs Mystery On The Orient Express where a carriage of the Orient Express is covered with a huge curtain, the carriage is then levitated before the curtain is removed to reveal the carriage has disappeared.
David performed his most remarkable illusion to date in The Magic of David Copperfield 14. He mimics the take-off of a bird, and then starts to fly and swoop around the stage. Hoops are then rotated around his body to show there are no wires before he enters a glass case and levitates in the, now lidded, case.
(5)Summary of magic
The art of magic and conjuring has been prevalent for hundreds if not thousands of years, baffling and astounding audiences with tricks that convince them the impossible has been achieved. This sort of magic, commonly called street magic, is highly respected due to the closeness the illusionist must keep with his audience. Although the veil of secrecy is usually impenetrable amongst magicians, it is possible to work alongside a professional magician or illusionist and learn from his techniques. 4. Text analysis
Two psychologists’ researches and comments:
Wiseman---professor of psychology and an accomplished magician Kuhn---psychologist
Magicians’ tricks (secret action, deception) ---phenomenon----magic Audience’s reaction (brain activities) ---why? ---science
History of magic research and unsolved mystery Recent development and discovery Future goal and direction of future research
5. Key words and phrases (1) magic/magician (12) illusion (2) scramble (3) expertise (4) disruption (5renaissance) (6) assumption (7dexterity) (8)manipulate (9) sleight of hand (10) autism
(11) get to grips with
6.Questions for discussion
(1) Du you agree that the appeal of magic is universal? Why?
(2) What implications do you think the scientists’ research in magic tricks might have to our ways
of perceiving the world around us?
7.Exercises about text A
8..Fast Reading& Exercises VI Homework. 1. Home reading: What is so funny About Humor? 2.Preview Unit 4