Section III Expand Your Horizon

1. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D Technology —from the Movies to the Real World 3D(three-dimension)Movie Technology is evolving into a major form of entertainment for movie theater fans. Movie fans know that their action hero Superman does not really fly. And, in the movie Superman Returns, another visual trick is played on viewers. The man they see flying is not real. He is what is called a virtual actor. The first step in creating this digital actor is to have a real person stand in a room called a light stage. A computer then captures the outlines and shapes of his face and records how they throw off light.

2. Section III Expand Your Horizon Paul Debevec is with the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California.“We can light them with very specially computer-controlled illumination and take photos of them from seven different viewpoints with high resolution digital still cameras.” Mr. Debevec says. He is part of a team working to create computerized images of people, objects and environments that look and act real. The light stage permits actors to be turned into digital versions of themselves much like the blue creatures in the movie Avatar. The real world could soon be using a similar technology.

3. Section III Expand Your Horizon Computer experts at the Institute are developing a 3D video teleconferencing system. It would send a video image of a person into a meeting room. That image would be able to work with the people in the room, who would see it in 3D without special eyeglasses. Paul Debevec says the person who is being transmitted to a remote location can actually look around at the people in the room and everybody in that room knows who they’re looking at. And that’s such a fundamental part of human communication. He believes the business world will begin to use 3D video teleconferencing in the next five years.

4. Section III Expand Your Horizon Meanwhile the Institute is using its light stage and Interactive 3D Display Technology to record video testimonies of Holocaust survivors for the Shoah Foundation. The 3D images will be shown on special screens in classrooms or museums and will be set up to answer questions about the Holocaust from the students and visitors.

5. Section III Expand Your Horizon “It could be about faith. It could be about love. It could be about beliefs. It could be about identity.” Kim Simon, managing director of the Shoah Foundation, says, “It’s also a medium with which young people today are particularly comfortable. And, the amount of information that comes through seeing a person’s face and hearing his voice at the same time is multiplied.” A demonstration of an interaction between a Holocaust survivor and the students may be possible in a year.

6. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D effects have been around for more than 100 years and the technology has finally evolved to the point where it is practical for most movie applications—without the visual quality issues that plagued 3D movies in the past. It is now possible for 3D technology to be widely applied to the real world. In general, the analysis of any 3D objects such as automobile engines, the human body, geometric shapes, chemical compounds, structures and our solar system benefits greatly from a 3D representation to better show the spatial relationships between different parts of the object.

7. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D technology can also be used to add innovative and dynamically interesting dimensions to the teaching and learning process. The use of 3D technology in a range of subjects can be used to emphasize, highlight and trigger attentions to the key learning concepts in the classroom.

8. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D电影技术正发展成为影迷的一种主要的娱乐方式。影迷们都知道，动作片英雄“超人”并不是真的会飞，而电影《超人归来》给观众呈现了另一种视觉特效。观众看到的飞人并非真实的，而是所谓的虚拟演员。创造虚拟演员的第一步，就是让一个真人站在灯光舞台的房间里，然后用电脑捕捉人的脸部轮廓和形状，记录下在光线下的效果。

9. Section III Expand Your Horizon 保罗•德比威克就职于南加州大学的创新技术研究所。保罗•德比•威克说：“我们用专门的电脑控制照明来照射他们，然后用高分辨率的静态数字相机从不同的角度拍照。”他所在的团队负责创造人、物体和环境的电脑仿真形象。灯光舞台让演员转化为自身的数字形象，就像电影《阿凡达》里的蓝色生物。现实世界很快也会使用类似的技术。

10. Section III Expand Your Horizon 该研究所的电脑专家正在开发一种３Ｄ视频远程会议系统。该系统会把人的视频影像发到会议室，这样他就能够和大家一起工作，而且这些人无须佩戴特制眼镜就能看到他的３Ｄ影像。保罗•德比威克说：“在遥远地方的人可以通过影像传送与房间里的人近在咫尺，而且房间里的人也知道这个人是谁，这是人类沟通的基本部分。”他认为未来五年商业界将会开始使用３Ｄ视频会议系统。

11. Section III Expand Your Horizon 同时，该研究所使用灯光舞台和交互式3D演示技术，帮助浩劫基金会记录纳粹大屠杀幸存者的视频证据。这些3D图像将显示在教室或博物馆专门的屏幕上，用来回答学生和来访者对纳粹大屠杀的疑问。

12. Section III Expand Your Horizon “它可以理解为与信念有关，也可以理解为与爱情、信仰、身份有关。”金•西蒙是浩劫基金会的常务董事，他说：“这种媒介可以让现在的青年人感觉很舒服，而且通过看一个人的面部并同时听他的声音可以获取多重信息。”可能一年后将实现大屠杀幸存者和学生的交互展示。

13. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D效果已经存在百余年的时间了，这项技术最终发展到了新水平，它实际应用于大部分的电影特效，克服了过去影响3D电影的画面质量问题。现在3D技术可以广泛地运用于现实世界。总的来说，对汽车引擎、人体、几何形状、化合物、结构和太阳系等任何三维物体的分析都能在很大程度上从3D展示中获益，以更好地展示物体各个部分的空间关系。

14. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3D技术也可以为教学过程增加创新性和动态性内容。在大量学科中使用3D技术可以在课堂上强调、凸显一些重要的概念，提醒学生注意这些概念。

15. Section III Expand Your Horizon Practice What You Learnt Task 1 Comprehension Check Choose the best answer according to the text.

16. Section III Expand Your Horizon 1. In the movie Superman Returns, that the actor is seen flying is not real because _________. • movie fans know that • he is an unreal man standing in the room • there is a visual trick played on viewers • the actor doesn’t know how to fly Answer C

17. Section II Store Your Bricks 2. What’s the function of the light stage? • It has digital still cameras with high resolution. • It provides the real world with teleconferencing system. • It lights the actor with specially computer-controlled illumination. • The light stage allows the actor to be turned into a digital version. Answer D

18. Section III Expand Your Horizon 3. What can we learn from the text? • Mr. Debevec has developed a 3D video teleconferencing system. • To create computerized images is the aim of a team that Mr. Debevec is working for. • It is impossible for 3D technology to be widely applied to the real world. • People in a meeting room should have 3D special eyeglasses to see a video image of a person. B Answer

19. Section III Expand Your Horizon 4. According to Mr. Debevec, a fundamental part of human communication is that ________. • people can see each other • people are being transmitted • people should look around the room • people are actually in a remote location Answer A

20. Section III Expand Your Horizon 5. The 3D Display Technology is used at the University of Southern California to ________. • record videos • watch videos • play 3D video games • play songs Answer A

21. Section III Expand Your Horizon Task 2 Vocabulary and Sentences (1)Replace the italicized words with the words or phrases given in the box. Change the form if necessary.

22. Section III Expand Your Horizon 1. Although these medicine work on the brain through different mechanisms, they have effects. nearly the same similar 2. I’ve never been able tochildish things entirely. get rid of throw off 3. Popular music from folk songs. evolved gradually developed 4. There is nothing more natural than a child’s in his parents. complete confidence faith

23. Section III Expand Your Horizon Section III Expand Your Horizon 5. We should direct our attention at the question. fundamental essential 6. However, you do not get the source code with this particular which differs from earlier ones. version form 7. The fog blurred theof the plane. general shape outline 8. The images were by TV crews filming outside the base. photographed captured 9. We should havewith students from other colleges. a mutual communication an interaction 10. She was by weakness, fatigue, and dizziness. plagued continually troubled

24. Section III Expand Your Horizon (2)Fill in the blanks with the words given, and change the form if necessary. • The only _________ came from a small window high in the opposite wall. (illuminate) • The thieves must have deliberately _________ the alarm and hidden inside the house. (trigger) • Time is sometimes called the fourth __________. (dimensional) • That evening, after I got through my ________ examination, I got around to do my geography homework. (geometric) illumination click triggered click dimension click geometry click

25. Section III Expand Your Horizon • A video phone can _______ and receive pictures as well as sounds. (transmission) • Never _______ anything a married man says about his wife. (belief) • How would you ___________ that the world is round? (demonstration) • Coloration provides a _______ cue for the identification, organization, and management of key process elements. (vision) click transmit click believe click demonstrate click visual

26. Section III Expand Your Horizon • Curiously, the struggle to _______ has greatly improved her health. (survivor) • Think of a number and ________it by two. (multiplication) click survive multiply click

27. Section III Expand Your Horizon Task 3 Divergent Thinking Try to make one or more sentences with the given information. And what you write should not be merely from the text. Model:The reason why the action hero Superman does not really fly（动作英雄超人并没有真正飞的原因）（visual trick, virtual） It’s a visual trick playing on viewers and the Superman is a virtual actor.

28. Section III Expand Your Horizon • What could people do in a room called a light stage? （人们在有灯光舞台的房间里可以做什么？） （digital, capture） In a room called a light stage , a digital actor is being created by capturing the outlines of a real person. Click ________________________________________________________________

29. Section III Expand Your Horizon 2. How does the 3D video teleconferencing system work? （3D 电话会议系统是如何运行的？） （transmit, remote） Click People in the meeting room could see an image of a person being transmitted from remote location and it would also be able to work with the people at the remote location. _______________________________________________________________

30. Section III Expand Your Horizon • What may be possible in a year at University of Southern California? （一年后在南加大可能会发生什么？） （demonstration, interaction） A demonstration of an interaction between a Holocaust survivor and the students may be possible in a year. Click ________________________________________________________________

31. Section III Expand Your Horizon • What are other fields to which the 3D technology can be applied? （3D 技术还可以应用在其他哪些领域？） （analysis, teaching and learning） Click The analysis of any 3D objects benefits greatly from a 3D representation and 3D technology can also be used in the teaching and learning process. ________________________________________________________________