The right stuff

1. When NASANational Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) was about to pick its first ever astronauts for ProjectMercury in 1958, it decided that the sort of men most likely tosurvive a journey into space were those involved in dangerousactivities like scuba diving, tightrope walking and mountainclimbing. But President Dwight Eisenhower disagreed and demandedthat the first astronaut should be fully-trained male pilots. Once thepilots were chosen to qualify as astronauts, they then went through anumber of gruelling physical and psychological tests.

2. Today it’s a different story. Women can be astronauts too.Trainee astronauts still have rigorous physical tests, but instead of a week of psychological tests, they have one and a half day. However, the questionnaires and interviews are much more searching. This is very important because, according to Dr Holland, a psychologist at NASA: “We know people can get depressed and anxious when theyare in space so we won’t select people – men or women – with theright personality traits to make a good astronaut. We’re not lookingfor “super” people. But they need to be emotionally stable, honest

and highly committed”. In addition to this they need to be extremelysociable. “If you meet an astronaut at a party, you will notice howgood they are at a social interaction”, says British born astronautHelen Sharman. “They get on with everyone”.

3. Are you cut out to be an astronaut? Answer Y (yes) if you agree orN (no) if you disagree with these statements

1. I find it difficult to be on time.

2. I often try new and foreign foods.

3. I often find it hard to make up my mind.

4. I don’t like to do things differently from how I normally do them.

5. I usually prefer to do things alone.

6. I enjoy sorting out problems and playing with ideas.

7. I often feel inferior to others.

8. Poetry has little or no effect on me.

9. I try to be humble.

10. Being honest is a bad way of doing business.

11. Play is more important than work.

12. I’m efficient and effective at my work.

13. I often worry that things might go wrong.

14. I like to be where the action is.

15. I’m often afraid to say what I think.

Scoring

- For questions 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 15 score one point ifyou disagree and 0 if you agree.

- For the other questions score one point if you are agree and 0 if youdisagree.

If your total points are:

0-3 Forget it. You’ll oversleep, forget to do your tasks, start arguingwith the others and put the spacecraft in danger.

4-12 Borderline. You’ve got a lot of the right qualities but are yousure you like working in a team?

13-15 Send for that application form immediately. You are a strong,reliable, pleasant and hard working team player.

UNIT IX

Where have all the engineers gone?

Before you start

1. What are the most popular subjects to study at universities andcolleges? Why?

2. If you wanted to find out about job opportunities or vacancies at alarge company or international organization, how would you do it?

Reading

3. Read the text and find out which of these statements gives the bestsummary of the text below?

a) A global company needs to recruit globally.

b) The Internet will revolutionize the way new employees arerecruited.

c) Engineering is the discipline of the future.

Where have all the engineers gone?

1. The group DaimlerChrysler was formed in 1998 through themerger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler of the US. DaimlerChrysler isone of the mainstays of the Baden-Wurttemberg economy, sustaining242,000 people in employment across Germany - the bulk of them inthe state.

2. Traditionally, Daimler-Benz always recruited engineerswithin Germany. In 1999, however, its recruitment campaign wentglobal. Using the Internet, DaimlerChrysler issued a blanketinvitation to college graduates around the world - with emphasis onmechanical engineering, process technology and aerospace

engineering - to attend an open day at eleven DaimlerChryslerlocations around the world.

3. Competition for talent from other large industrial groups isbound to increase. Rivals such as BMW, in neighboring Bavaria,have similar needs. But Mr. Binder says: 'We try to convince would-be recruits that we're the most global company and it's moreinteresting to work at DaimlerChrysler in this exciting period afterthe merger.' Recruits are also offered opportunities to work indifferent units of the group.

4. The recruitment problem has been made worse by a steadydecline in thenumber of students electing to study engineering sincethe early 1990s - when there were too many newly-qualifiedengineers entering the market. Largenumbers of students chose tostudy other subjects, leading to today's shortage.

5. DaimlerChrysler is supporting initiatives to try to ensure asteady flow of engineers and graduates from other technicaldisciplines. Over the course of the next few years, the group will besupporting the establishment of two private universities in Baden-Baden.

Speaking

4. Read the five paragraphs again and decide if the sentences (a-h)

below, are true (T), false (F) or not mentioned (N):

a) DaimlerChrysler is the largest employer in Baden-Wurttemberg.

b) Daimler Chrysler employs more people in Baden-Wurttemberg than in other parts of Germany.

c) The company plans to increase its investment in research anddevelopment.

d) Daimler Chryslers' policy is to recruit engineers in Germanywhenever possible.

e) DaimlerChrysler uses the Internet in its recruitmentcampaigns.

f) BMW is a more attractive company to work for.

g) DaimlerChrysler is planning to set up its own technicaluniversity.

5. The following phrases summarize problems of each paragraph.Match each phrase with the correct paragraph.

a) the need to recruit engineers globally to meet it's business targets

b) the lack of engineering graduates generally

c) DaimlerChrysler's position in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg

d) the need to compete with other companies to attract new recruits

e) DaimlerChrysler's business targets

f) use of the Internet for recruitment

g) DaimlerChrysler's plans to support private universities

h) another recruitment approach

UNIT X

The early days of automobiles

Before you start

1. Match the words with the opposite meaning

1. safe a) destroy

2. fast b) last

3. build c) legal

4. outlawed d) slow

5. first e) dangerous

Reading

2. Read the text and find answers to the questions below:

1. What was Newton’s great attempt?

2. What was the aim of the Red Flag Act of 1865?

3. Why did the governor arrest the editor of the localnewspaper?

4. When did multi-cylinder engines come into use?

The Early Days of Automobiles

1. One of the earliest attempts to propel a vehicle by mechanicalpower was suggested by Isaac Newton. But the first self-propelledvehicle was constructed by the French military engineer Cugnot in1763. He built a steam-driven engine which had three wheels, carriedtwo passengers and ran at maximum speed of four miles. Thecarriage was a great achievement but it was far from perfect andextremely inefficient. The supply of steam lasted only 15 minutes andthe carnage had to stop every 100 yards to make more steam.

2. In 1825 a steam engine was built in Great Britain. Thevehicle carried 18 passengers and covered 8 miles in 45 minutes.However, the progress of motor cars met with great opposition inGreat Britain. Further development of the motor car lagged becauseof the restrictions resulting from legislative acts. The most famous ofthese acts was the Red Flag Act of 1865 according to which the speedof the steam-driven vehicles was limited to 4 miles per hour and aman with a red flag had to walk in front of it.

3. In Russia there were cities where motor cars were outlawedaltogether. When the editor of the local newspaper in the city ofUralsk bought a car, the governor issued these instructions to thepolice: "When the vehicle appears in the streets, it is to be stoppedand escorted to the police station, where its driver is to be

prosecuted.”

4. From 1860 to 1900 was a period of the application ofgasoline engines tomotor cars in many countries. The first to perfectgasoline engine was N. Otto who introduced the four-stroke cycle ofoperation. By that time motor cars got a standard shape andappearance. After World War I it became possible to achieve greaterreliability of motor cars, brakes became more efficient. Constantefforts were made to standardize common components. Multi-cylinder engines came into use; most commonly used are four-cylinder engines. Like most other great human achievements, themotor car is not the product of any single inventor. Gradually thedevelopment of vehicles driven by internal combustion engine - cars,as they had come to be known, led to the abolition of earlierrestrictions. Huge capital began to flow into the automobile industry.