√ Campus Life.
√ History.
√ Paleontology.
√ Physics.
01 Campus Life
M: I’d like to audition for the jazz band.
W: What is your name and instrument?
M: I’m Roger Watkins, and I play the trumpet.
W: OK, that’s Roger Watkins on trumpet.
M: Do you have any pointers for how to prepare for the audition?
W: Well, you will be tested on style, tempo, dynamics, scales, tone, range, and sight-reading.
M: That’s a lot of stuff. What is the most important?
W: You’d better have your scales memorized and be ready for sight-reading.
M: I know my scales. I’ve played the trumpet since middle school.
So, I’ll focus on my sight-reading.
W: On the day of the audition, be sure to arrive early and give yourself
plenty of time to warm up. That’s very important.
02 History
W: Alexander that Great began his quest to conquer the world at
the age of twenty, when he became the king of Macedonia.
That’s probably the same age as many of you here. He and his
army defeated the then-powerful Persian Empire and continued
to acquire vast amounts of territory. At the time of his death,
he ruled the largest Western Empire of ancient times. Some
remember him as a charismatic leader whose purpose was to
foster East-West relations. Others say he was a brutal killer who
was only interested in personal glory. Most historians, though,
do agree on one point: he was a brilliant military strategist and
leader.
03 Paleontology
M: Fossils tell us about organisms that lived in the past. Actually,
most people don’t realize it, but fossil preservation is quite rare.
So, we know very little about most of the organisms that came
before us. The reason that fossil preservation is rare is that, in
order to be fossilized, an organism must meet three specific
requirements. First, it must be made of a substance that is
preservable. Hard substances like bones or shells are highly
preservable. Second, it must be buried in sediment, which
protects it from decay. Third, the organism must have lived in a
suitable environment, such as a shoreline. That’s where dead
animals would most likely be covered by sediment before they decay.
04 Campus Life
W: Sorry guys, this court is reserved from 3:00 to 4:00.
M: Reserved? For what?
W: Some other students registered to reserve this court over a week ago.
M: How do you do that?
W: You go to the gym office during office hours, tell them when you want to reserve the court, and then present your student ID card. Then, they’ll authorize the reservation.
M : That’s not very fair. We were here first, and someone can just reserve the court for whenever they want?
W: No, you can only reserve one hour per week and only one week beforehand. Otherwise, the court is on a first come first served basis.
M: Well, I appreciate the info. Let’s go, guys.
05 Physics
W: We are all here to learn physics, but why?
M: Because it’s a required course?
W: (chuckles) That’s probably true for most of you. In truth, you can come here and just memorize the formulae and get a decentgrade, but I want you to learn physics as an activity, like you would learn to ride a bike. If you have to jump a ravine, I want
you to be able to calculate the required momentum to get across.
If there is a fire in your house, I want you to know the best
course of action based on principles of smoke and heat diffusion.
Physics is actually quite useful.
06 Art
M: Masks have a long history in Western civilization, going as far
back as the Greeks. They were first used in religious rituals to
impersonate the god Dionysus. Obviously, rituals were not
meant for entertainment, but these impersonations lead to full
theatrical productions. Greek masks were made from painted
leather or canvas. And like other masks you may be familiar
with, these Greek masks exaggerated facial features. They also
helped amplify the actor’s voice, and allowed one actor to play
multiple roles. Later, masks were important in medieval morality
plays. Medieval masks were made from paper mache and
represented demons, devils, and the seven deadly sins.
07 Campus Life
M: Why do we have to do a pre-lab report?
W: Well the reason we do pre-lab reports is to ensure we understand
what we are studying and what we are about to do.
M: What does it involve?
W: Exactly that: we state the purpose and outline the procedure.
M: OK, so I start with the purpose.
W: That’s right. Your purpose states what you are going to do and
what you expect to find.
M: Should I talk about my --- what was it called --- my hypothesis?
W: Absolutely. Then outline the procedure in a flow chart.
M: So, I should write it in this order: purpose, hypothesis, and
procedure.
W: Yes, and please do it all in your own words. Plagiarism will be
punished harshly.
08 Drama
W: So, theater is a kind of art, but what kind is it?
M: Didn’t you say it was a performing art?
W: That’s right. Remember, we have three kinds of art: literary,
visual, and performing. A performing art has two necessary and
sufficient conditions. First, it requires a creator, interpreter, and
an audience. And second, the audience and interpreter must
be in the same place. Some examples of performing arts are
dance, music, and opera. Film, as we discussed last time,
contains facets of both visual and performing arts. So, in order
to make a film, performing artists and visual artists work in
collaboration.