Studioclassroom_20090312

20090312空英講解課程

Alia Sabur

Why teach?

In May of last year, Alia left for Seoul, Korea and Konkuk University - a move that she was looking forward to. Before she departed, Alia expressed her hope that while she's in Seoul, she can encourage universities to work together internationally. In addition to Alia's teaching responsibilities, she will also assist in nanotechnology research - important research that could provide cures for diseases.

Alia is often asked if teaching students her own age or older makes her uncomfortable. "Usually, once people realize that I really do know what I'm doing, there is not a problem," she says matter-of-factly. With youngful enthusiasm, Alia presents math and physics in ways that make them easier for her students to understand.

The young professor also desires to be a good role model, especially for girls in the fields of math and science. She wants to prove that girls can be successful at math and science without being nerdy. When asked why, from a world of opportunities, she chose teaching, Alia says, "I want to make a difference." There's no doubt she will.



depart v. -> to leave/to go away 出發/離開
de-分離/除去
eg: Before we departed from Guilin, I took one more picture of the
beautiful scenery.
eg: The flight departs at 10:45 a.m.
eg: We departed from London last Sunday and arrived in Paris on Monday.

research n. 研究
eg: Don's research includes the study of how young children learn best.
eg: The team is carrying out important research on the cure for lung cancer.
eg: The reporters are researching the background of the candicates.

enthusiasm n. 熱情
enthusiasim for
eg: Karen's enthusiasm for the project makde all of us more interested
in doing a good job.
eg: Children's enthusiasm for learning makes teaching a lot of fun.
eg: Somehow(不知道為什麼) he lost his enthusiasm for writing.

physics n. 物理
eg: After getting his degree in physics, Jim began teaching in the
university's science department.

nonotechnology n. 奈米科技

nerdy adj. 像書呆子的/像怪胎的

同義字
nerd
geek
dork

bridge the gap
computer nerd 電腦痴迷者

//=== Chat room ===//
matter-of-factly adv. 就事論事地
matter-of-fact adj. 就事論事的 (plan and go without emotions)
as a matter of fact = actually = in fact 事實上(帶有轉折語氣)

eg:
A: Does it rain?
B: As a matter of fact, it's sunny out?


in a matter-of-fact manner

//=== Grammer on the go ===//

文章句子
When asked why, from a world of opportunities, she chose teaching,
Alia say, "I want to make a difference."

文章句子尚未修飾前
When asked why, she chose teaching from a world of opportunities,
Alia say, "I want to make a difference."


mention the big selecion first before mention the subject and the choice
把眾多選擇放在主詞前面，用來強調之用。

eg: Out of all the toys in the entire store, the boy chose a small
little wooden horse.
eg: From that huge buffet table, you just got a slice of fruit.


//=== Did you know ===//
Alia enjoys chatting online with friends, shopping, goint to the
movies and reading celebrity websites.
Alia's other passion is music and through the years has won sereval
awards for playing the clarinet(單簧管).


//=== Another reading ===//

Article from:
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-06/2008-06-16-voa30.cfm?CFID=138012698&CFTOKEN=46228938&jsessionid=de302c1ce2171ad24c572c44382793214784



18-Year-Old is World's Youngest College Professor

Alia Sabur has always been a newsmaker. She was the youngest student to attend college, when she was 10, and four years later, the youngest woman to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from Stony Brook University. By 18, she had her doctorate degree in Materials Science and Engineering. And now, the young New Yorker has made headlines again.
Alia Sabur has set a new Guinness World Record as the youngest college professor in history. She broke the nearly 300-year old record set in 1717 by Colin Maclaurin, a Scottish mathematician and student of Isaac Newton, who became a professor at 19.

"Getting the Guinness World Record was really a great honor to be in such a distinguish company as the former record holder who was Newton's prodigy and a very, very successful mathematician in every calculus book there is," she says. "So I'm hoping to continue the tradition and do the best I can."
Sabur was 18 when she was hired by Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea in the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion. She says teaching students who are older than she is will not be an issue for her.

"My classmates have always been older than me," she says. "My colleagues have always been older than me. I'm kind of used to it by now. Usually, once people realize that I really do know what I'm doing, there is not usually a problem."

Last semester, Sabur taught four courses in math and physics at Southern University in New Orleans.
"I really enjoy teaching," she says. "It's fulfilling. I learned a lot in my experience at Southern University in New Orleans, which is historically a black college, and the only university in New Orleans that's still operating out of trailers. I wanted to help their recovery effort."

In her new position on the Konkuk campus, Sabur will also be a research liaison with her alma mater – Stony Brook University in New York.

"The research that I'm working on is in nano technology," she says. "It involves developing nanotube based cellular probes for medical research and studying cures and effective treatments for all kinds of diseases."

Through her work – whether it's researching, teaching or public speaking – Sabur hopes to dispel the myth that girls are not as good as boys are at math and science.

"I'm hoping to be a role model for other girls," she says, "and inspire them to go into those subjects so that they can prove the same thing, that girls are good at math and science and that you don't have to be really nerdy or weird to be successful in them."
Alia Sabur credits her family for her success.

"We tried to encourage her as much as possible to do whatever it was that she was interested in," Sabur's mother, Julie, says. "We let her explore her interests not ours."

Julie Sabur and her husband, Mark, were able to recognize their only child's uniqueness when she was just a baby. Alia started to talk and read at 8 months, she says, adding that her daughter has always had an unusual ability for comprehension and processing information. She went from elementary school to college at age 10, skipping 8 years of basic education.

And her talent is not limited to academics. The same year she entered college, she began studying the clarinet at the Juilliard School of Music, and made her solo debut with an orchestra when she was 11.

"She has been very respectful toward her elders," she says. "She's always appreciated great master musicians who she has been fortunate enough to study under. I think maybe she was a little intimidated by the fact they were so accomplished, but usually the music and the science go beyond the age."

Alia Sabur says she is excited about living in South Korea, a country she has never been to before. She hopes she will inspire more girls there to study science, and also encourage more international collaboration among universities and their students.



intimidated adj. 害怕的/受到恐嚇的
eg: The intimidated bird flew away.

prodigy n. 奇才/天才
eg: a child prodigy 神童