Grind Away. English for Information Technology Engineers. Учебно-методическое пособие

Unit 3. Electricity: its History and Development

3.1. The Role of Electricity in Our Life

Text Work

1.Name all the devices that you can`t imagine living without. What would you do if there were no electricity?

2.Practice using the words and phrases: https://quizlet.com/ru/814378853/electricity-flash- cards/?i=3lks4z&x=1qqt

3.Read and translate the text.

It is impossible to imagine our civilization without electricity: economic and social progress will be turned to the past and our daily lives completely transformed.

Electrical power has become universal. Thousands of applications of electricity such as lighting, electrochemistry and electrometallurgy are longstanding and unquestionable.

With the appearance of the electrical motor, power cables replaced transmission shafts, gear wheels, belts and pulleys in the 19-th century workshops. And in the home a whole range of various time and labour saving appliances have become a part of our everyday lives.

Other devices are based on specific properties of electricity: electrostatics in the case of photocopying machine and electromagnetism in the case of radar and television. These applications have made electricity most widely used.

The first industrial application was in the silver workshops in Paris. The generator — a new compact source of electricity — was also developed there. The generator replaced the batteries and other devices that had been used before.

Electric lighting came into wide use at the end of the last century with the development of the electric lamp by Thomas Edison. Then the transformer was invented, the first electric lines and networks were set up, dynamos and induction motors were designed.

Since the beginning of the 20th century the successful development of electricity has begun throughout the industrial world. The consumption of electricity has doubled every ten years.

Today consumption of electricity per capita is an indicator of the state of development and economic health of a nation. Electricity has replaced other sources of energy as it has been realized that it offers improved service and reduced cost.

One of the greatest advantages of electricity is that it is clean, easily-regulated and generates no by-products. Applications of electricity now cover all fields of human activity from house washing machines to the latest laser devices. Electricity is the efficient source of some of the most recent technological advances such as the laser and electron beams. Truly electricity provides mankind with the energy of the future.

3.Answer the questions according to the text: a. What are the applications of electricity?

b. What was the first application of electricity? c. Who was the electric lamp invented by?

d. What role does electricity play in the development of society?

4.Read a summary of the text and fill it in with the words: no by-products, civilization, traditional, appliances applications, development, lighting, invention, consumption.

Electricity has become a universal necessity in our …, with numerous … in lighting, electrochemistry, and electrometallurgy. The … of the electrical motor in 19th-century workshops replaced … devices, and electricity has become a part of everyday life through various …. Electrostatics and electromagnetism have also made electricity widely used. The first industrial application was in the silver workshops in Paris, where a generator was developed. Electric … emerged in the late 19th century, with the … of transformers and electric lines. Since the

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early 20th century, electricity … has doubled every ten years, reflecting a nation's economic health and development. Electricity is clean, easily-regulated, and generates …, making it an efficient source of energy for the future.

5.Join the parts of the sentences according to the text above: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=p4jyvuqgk23

6.Using the summary above retell the text in 5-7 sentences.

Grammar

1.Watch the video to revise the use of Present Perfect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VClccMD-vb4 Write down the tense markers of Present Perfect.

2.Practice using Present Perfect: https://www.really-learn-english.com/present-perfect-exercises.html#01

3.Remember the differences between Present Perfect and Past Simple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I08mfgvtGhE

4.Choose Present Perfect or Past Simple:

a) My brother (enter) Moscow University long ago. b) My brother (enter) Moscow University. c) Yesterday I (visit) my friend in the countryside. d) Clare never (be) in France but she (travel) to Italy last year. e) John (close) the door, (left) the house and (head) to his car to get to work. f) (see) you Mary yet? g) Lily (read) recently those books I (give) her. h) Peter and Suzie (be) there two days ago.

5. Choose a character at https://beta.character.ai/ and practice asking Present Perfect questions, then ask these questions to your fellow student. Don not forget to ask in details adding a question in Past Simple – for example: Have you ever travelled abroad? Where did you go?

Have you ever…?

•(read) Harry Potter books?

•(meet) a famous person?

•(watch) a film more than two times?

•(travel) abroad?

•(take) up a new hobby?

•(give) a present to your friend?

•(buy) a new phone?

•(be) to the UK?

•(win) a lottery?

Listening

1.Can you name the people with whom electricity is connected with?

2.What do you know about Nicola Tesla?

3.Listen to the recoding about Tesla and do the tasks: https://www.linguahouse.com/en-GB/esl-lesson-plans/gen- eral-english/nikola-tesla/audioplayer/nikolateslabemp3

a) Mark the sentences true or false: Tesla was born in New York.

Tesla worked together with Th, Edison.

Tesla developed the electricity system called direct current.

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Direct current became the main electricity system in the USA.

The disagreement between Tesla and Edison was called “Current Wars”.

The company producing electric cars was called Tesla in 2003.

b) Write down the information connected with …

1884, Croatia, Thomas Edison, Current wars, Niagara Falls, 2-3 hours, Tesla Motors.

4.Summarize the information about Nicola Tesla and present it.

5.Read and record the information you got about Tesla using voice recorder in your phone or other services like https://vocaroo.com/

Home task. Individual work

1.Practice using the words and phrases: https://quizlet.com/ru/814378853/electricity-flash- cards/?i=3lks4z&x=1qqt

2.Do the grammar task: https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/present-perfect/

3.Read the text and do the tasks: https://forms.yandex.ru/cloud/64b2ed81693872aec8de0803/

3.2.The Short History of Electricity

Text Work

1. Read and translate the phrases:

generally speaking, phenomena, manifestation of electricity, on being rubbed, obtained the ability, attracting light objects, due to electricity, find any practical applications, cannot do without, systematic scientific research, conversation, contribution.

Early history of electricity

History shows us that at least 2,500 years ago the Greeks were already familiar with the strange force (as it seemed to them) which is known today as electricity. Generally speaking, three phenomena made up all of man's knowledge of electrical effects. The first phenomenon was the familiar lightning flash - a dangerous power which could both kill people and burn or destroy their houses. The second manifestation of electricity was more or less familiar to people: a strange yellow stone which looked like glass was sometimes found in the earth. On being rubbed, that strange yellow stone - amber - obtained the ability of attracting light objects of a small size. The third phenomenon was connected with the so-called electric fish which possessed the property of giving more or less strong electric shocks which could be obtained by a person coming into contact with it.

Nobody knew that the above phenomena were due to electricity. People could neither understand their observations nor find any practical applications for them.

As a matter of fact all of man's knowledge in the field of electricity has been obtained during the last 370 years. It took a long time before scientists learned how to make use of electricity. Most of the electrically operated devices, such as the electric lamp, the refrigerator, the tram, the lift, the radio are less than one hundred years old. In spite of their having been employed for such a short period of time, they play a most important part in man's everyday life all over the world. In fact, people cannot do without them at present.

So far, humans have not named the scientists who contributed to the scientific research on electricity as centuries passed. However, famous names are connected with its history and among them we find that of Phales, the Greek philosopher. As early as about 600 B. C. the Greek philosopher Phales discovered that when amber was rubbed, it attracted and held minute light objects. However, he could not know that amber was charged with electricity owing to the process of rubbing. Then Gilbert, the English physicist, began the first systematic scientific

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research on electrical phenomena. Rediscovered that various substances possessed the property similar to that of amber or, in other words, they generated electricity when they were rubbed. He gave the name "electricity" to the phenomenon he was studying. He got this word from the Greek "electrum" meaning «amber».

Many learned men of Europe began to use the new word «electricity» in their conversation as they were engaged in research of their own. Scientists of Russia, France and Italy made their contribution as well as the Englishmen and the Germans.

2.Answer the questions on the text following the link: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=puwb4ssgn23

3.Join the words into phrases on the basis of the text.

4. Fill in the right preposition into the gaps.

… least 2500 years ago, made … the man`s knowledge, less familiar … people, due … electricity, all … the world, cannot do …. them … present, … early as 600 B.C., charged … electricity, scientific research … electrical phenomena, property similar … that … amber, play an important part … man's everyday life.

5.Choose three of the phrases from the exercise above and make up sentences with them.

6.Summarize the text.

Grammar

1.Read the sentence from the text and translate it: People could neither understand their observations nor find any practical applications for them.

2.Watch the video explanation of the rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzbl8GeO1Ms

5. Read and translate the sentences.

I’m both happy and confused at the same time!

He has invited both of his friends to the party.

Either you or your colleague has to finish the report before 5 pm.

Neither of my friends came to the lesson today.

Would you like your sandwich with cheese or chicken? - Neither. I’m on a diet.

I have neither time nor money.

I don’t have either time or money.

I think I left my keys and wallet at home. I don’t want to lose either of them.

4. Fill in the gaps with either, neither, both.

a)Can … you or Peter take me to the station.

b)… of them could take me to the station, so I had to take a taxi.

c)Are you from Spain or from Italy? – … I'm from France.

d)… can win this game.

e)With a tourist visa, you can … work nor study.

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f)He showed us two apartments but we didn't like …of them.

g)John and Sara were invited.

h)The tennis game was fantastic. … players were great.

5. Practice using either, neither, both following the link: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=ph7j6h7ra23

Listening

1.Remember the names of all the researchers and inventors connected with electricity who you read about.

2.Follow the link and practice using the phrases: https://quizlet.com/ru/814431392/history-of-electricity-flash- cards/?i=3lks4z&x=1jqt

3.Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu1uPjZZrL4 and complete the table.

4. Make up a timeline connected with the history of electricity development using the information from the video. You may draw it or visualize using https://www.tiki-toki.com/ or other on-line service.

Communication

1.Choose one of the inventors who contributed to electricity development (B. Franklin, A. Volta, Th Edison, N. Tesla or others) and prepare a short message about him and his work.

2.Organize a seminar and share the information with your fellow students.

Home task. Individual work

1.Follow the link and practice using the phrases: https://quizlet.com/ru/814431392/history-of-electricity-flash- cards/?i=3lks4z&x=1jqt

2.Follow the link and do the task: https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/both-either-neither/

3.Complete the text with the gaps: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=pnnfazmmt23

4.Complete the word-building table:

develop

invent

contribute

create

fight

design

possess

obtain

manifest

5. Listen to the podcast and do the tasks following the link: https://listenaminute.com/e/electricity.html

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Unit 4. Electronics

4.1. The Appearance of Television

Text Work

1. Follow the link and make up phrases: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=poif1qg3323

2.Read and translate the text.

The Development of Television

Few inventions have had as much effect on contemporary society as television. Before 1947 the number of homes with television sets could be measured in the thousands. By the late 1990s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set, and those sets were on for an average of more than seven hours a day.

Electronic television was first successfully demonstrated in San Francisco on Sept. 7, 1927. The system was designed by Philo Taylor Farnsworth, a 21-year-old inventor who had lived in a house without electricity until he was 14. While still in high school, Farnsworth had begun to create of a system that could capture moving images in a form that could be coded onto radio waves and then transformed back into a picture on a screen. Boris Rosing in Russia had conducted some experiments in transmitting images 16 years before Farnsworth's first success. Also, a mechanical television system, which scanned images using a rotating disk with holes arranged in a spiral pattern, had been demonstrated by John Logie Baird in England and Charles Francis Jenkins in the United States earlier in the 1920s. However, Farnsworth's invention, which scanned images with a beam of electrons, is the direct ancestor of modern television.

In 1939, RCA the company that dominated the radio business in the United States televised the opening of the New York World's Fair, including a speech by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was the first president to appear on television. The company also began broadcasting regular programs.

Early television was quite primitive. World War II slowed the development of television, as companies like RCA turned their attention to military production.

Between 1953 and 1955, television programming began to take some steps away from radio formats. Television news first covered the presidential nominating and important political events.

In 1964 color broadcasting began on prime-time television.

In the 1980s, home videocassette recorders became widely available. Viewers gained the ability to record and replay programs and, more significantly, to rent and watch movies at times of their own choosing in their own homes. Video games also became popular during this decade, particularly with the young, and the television, formally just the site of passive entertainment, became an intricate, moving, computerized game board.

In 1998 it was already possible to view video on the World Wide Web and to see and search television broadcasts on a computer. As computers become more powerful, they should be able to handle video as easily as they now handle text. The television schedule may eventually be replaced by a system in which viewers are able to watch digitally stored and distributed programs or segments of programs whenever they want. Such technological changes, including the spread of new cable networks, have been arriving slower in most other countries than in the United States. Indeed, according to one survey, it was only in the 1990s that the spread of television transmitters, television sets, and electricity made it possible for half of the individuals in the world to watch television. However, television's attraction globally is strong. Those human beings who have a television set watch it, by one estimate, for an average of two-and-a-half hours a day.

3.Practise reading the words from the text: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=pvw769fij23

4. Fill in the gaps with the right preposition.

Designed … Philo Taylor Farnsworth, take some steps … from radio formats, popular … this decade, had as much effect … contemporary society, turned their attention … military production, view video … the World Wide Web, handle video … easily … they now handle text.

5.Find the words from the text with the similar meanings:

•modern

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•carry out (an experiment)

•presented

•pastime

•watch

•significant

•send

•possibility

6.Complete the timeline with the necessary description: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=p51ay0e6323

7.Make up any three questions according to the text. Then ask them to the other students.

8.Summarize the text.

9.Make up any three sentences using the vocabulary presented in word cloud.

Grammar

1.Watch the video and revise the rules of the use of Passive Voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1_IRU6zx9g

2.Read and translate the sentences in Passive Voice.

a)Electronic television was first successfully demonstrated in San Francisco on Sept. 7, 1927.

b)The system was designed by Philo Taylor Farnsworth.

c)The third phenomenon was connected with the so-called electric fish which possessed the property of giving more or less strong electric shocks.

d)Other devices are based on specific properties of electricity: electrostatics in the case of photocopying machine and electromagnetism in the case of radar and television.

e)Then the transformer was invented, the first electric lines and networks were set up, dynamos and induction motors were designed.

f)A lot of plastics that is used by the company Coca Cola is not recyclable.

3.Make up sentence using the words: https://forms.yandex.ru/cloud/64b5937350569015ebed0bf6/

4.Correct the mistakes in the sentences.

a) Football plays in many countries.

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b)Why did the letter send to the wrong address?

c)A film studio is a place where films made. d)Where are you born?

e)How many languages are speaking in Switzerland?

f)Somebody broke into our house but nothing stolen.

g)When was invented the bicycle?

4. Fill in the gaps with the words in the form of Passive Voice:

clean damage find give make make show steal take

a)The room …every day.

b)I saw an accident yesterday. A man … to the hospital.

c)Glass … of sand.

d)There was a fire last week at the hotel. Two rooms … .

e)Where did you get that beautiful flower? It … to me by a friend of mine.

f)Many programs … at this time of the day.

g)Did Pete and Sue go to the party? – No, they … but they didn`t come.

h)How old is this film? – It … in 1996.

i)My car … last week but yesterday it … by the police.

Listening

1.What do you know about the tradition of drinking tea in the UK?

2.Read the text and fill in the gaps with the right prepositions: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2304/230427- breakfast-tea-prepositions.html

3.Listen to the podcast https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2304/230427-breakfast-tea-1l.html and answer the questions:

What kinds of tea are popular in the UK?

What is the change connected with traditional British tea?

What is the reason for drinking tea for the British?

How many do people drink up to 10 cups a day?

Who much sugar do the people usually put in the tea?

4. Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words

'English' and 'tea'.

•Share your findings with your partners.

•Make questions using the words you found.

•Ask your partner / group your questions.

5. Tell a few words about the traditions of tea drinking in Russia.

Communication

Divide into two groups and take part in the quiz on the basis of the material of the unit.

Follow the link. Fill in the gaps in the questions with the right form of the Passive Voice, then ask them to the other group.

Be ready to answer the question you will be asked. Take turns and count the points.

Scan the QR code for your group.

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https://disk.yandex.ru/d/GpPsZ-5bLzQPpg https://disk.yandex.ru/i/_Kdd3pGc1xsR8A

Home task. Individual work.

1.Follow the link and make up phrases: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=poif1qg3323

2.Practice using sentences in Passive and Active Voice https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/active-pas- sive-voice/

3.Listen to the podcast: https://www.linguahouse.com/en-GB/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/nicolaus-coperni- cus/audioplayer/copernicusmp3

Tell the facts about N. Copernicus using 5- sentences in Passive Voice.

4.Choose any tasks connected with the audio text “Tea in the UK” and do them: https://breakingnewseng- lish.com/2304/230427-breakfast-tea.pdf

4.2. The Development of Electronic Devices

Text Work

1.Put the electronic devices in the chronological order of their appearance: television, radio, radar, silicon chip, computer, transistor.

2.Follow the link and practice using the words and phrases: https://quizlet.com/ru/814895494/the-development- of-electronic-devices-flash-cards/?i=3lks4z&x=1jqt

3.Read and translate the text.

Electronics is the branch of science which controls electricity in order to convey a signal using semiconductor materials. These signals represent numbers, letters, sounds, pictures, computer instructions or other information. Radio systems were developed to read and understand these signals and in 1920 radio broadcasting started, making it possible for electromagnetic waves to travel long distances.

More sophisticated devices were needed during the Second World War and the invention of radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) represented a further step in electronics, making it possible to determine the altitude, direction and speed of moving and fixed objects.

The invention of television in the 1920s was one of the most revolutionary and popular inventions in history and it showed the importance of electronics in certain branches of industry. For the first time in history it became possible to transmit images and sound over wire circuits.

The first computer appeared in 1946. This machine, which could solve a wide range of computing problems, was built over a period of three years by a team of American scientists working at the University of Pennsylvania. It was a huge machine weighing almost 50 tons.

The first transistor was assembled in 1957 by a team of scientists working at the Bell Laboratories in the U.S.A, and it was a real coming of age in the science of electronics because it replaced the use of valves. Transistors are very small, easy to handle, they use little power.

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The silicon chip - which followed the transistor in the 1960s – can contain up to several thousand transistors packed and interconnected in layers beneath the surface. It is really tiny (usually less than one centimeter square and about half a millimeter thick) and it has paved the way to microelectronics.

Electronics has influenced and improved the way information is stored, processed and distributed. Social and personal life has been deeply affected by these inventions and many financial, business, medical, education and political routines have been speeded up.

4. Complete the table:

5.Complete the text with the gaps: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=pb4as1u7523

6.Do the crossword puzzle according to the text: https://learningapps.org/watch?v=pwddtrztc23

7.From the text find the words with similar meanings:

images, data, interlinked, significance, creation, viable, manage.

8. Summarize and retell the text.

Grammar Revision

1. Define the tenses of the forms in bold from the text. 2. Make up questions to the words in bold:

a) The invention of television in the 1920s was one of the most revolutionary and popular inventions in history and it showed the importance of electronics in certain branches of industry.

b) The first computer was built over a period of three years by a team of American scientists working at the

University of Pennsylvania.

3. Follow the link and do the test: https://forms.yandex.ru/cloud/64bccf5c84227c4c2fcbeecb/

Listening task

1.Name the most serious environmental problems. What are the ways to solve them?

2.Read and translate the phrases. Guess what problem is being discussed:

•heatwaves

•escape the heat

•stay in the shade

•affect health and water supply

•cut greenhouse gas emissions

•experience record heat

3.Listen to the podcast https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2307/230720-heatwaves-a.html and decide if the sentences are true or false:

1.The UN said extreme temperatures are causes by climate change. T / F

2.Temperatures in parts of the USA and China were above 52ºC. T / F

3.The UN said the heatwave in Europe could last for another week. T / F

4.The UN said people should stop growing vegetables in greenhouses. T / F

5.The UN said climate change is having a minor impact on health. T / F

6.Fewer tourists are going to Spain because of the heatwaves. T / F

7.A woman in Rome said the city was hotter than her hometown in Texas. T / F

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