Unit_9 / Speaking and Writing tasks PT

Unit 1. Speaking and writing tasks. (PT)

1. Work with a partner. Which of these inventions do you think is the most important? Mark them 1-8 from the most important to the least important. Which has changed the world the most? What other machines, inventions, or discoveries would you add to the list?

• the computer

• the car

• the television

• the airplane

• nuclear weapons

• the space rocket

• the mobile phone

• the washing machine

2. Think of 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of one of the invention from the list.

3. Think about one of the “wonders of the modern world” and write a report (150-200 words), answering the following questions:

• What is the wonder?

• What’s good about it?

• Are there any problems?

Unit 9. Speaking and writing tasks (PT)

1. Put each heading into the correct column (A, B, or C), in the table below.

Uses • Properties • Material

2. Read the information in the table and find out which material (1-10) is best for:

a water pipes d a bicycle frame

b a knife for cutting a microscope lens e television casing

c connecting a socket to the electricity supply

……….	………..	…………..
1 aluminium	light, easy to shape	aircraft, window and doorframes, cooking foil
2 brass (copper and zinc)	doesn't rust in contact with air and water, strong	valves, taps
3 cement	mixed with water it dries to a hard material	pre-made building blocks, to hold bricks together
4 copper	easily made into wire, carries electricity well	electrical wire, tubing
5 diamond	hardest natural material, can cut glass and metal	industrial cutting and grinding
6 glass	clear, hard, breaks easily	windows, bottles
7 iron	hard	engineering
8 mild steel (iron + 0.15-0.3% carbon)	hard, strong, quite easy to shape	bridges, ships, cars
9 optical fibre	carries light and coded messages	lighting, cable TV, telecommunications
10 plastic	light, strong, easy to shape	hard hats, telephones, boats, computer casing

Writing

Choose a material from Exercise 2 and write a description of its properties and uses.

Speaking

Look at the list of materials in Exercises 2 again. Discuss the questions (1-3) below. Check any words you don't know in your dictionary.

1 Are any of the materials found or manufactured in your country?

2 Which materials can be recycled?

3 Does the manufacture or disposal cause environmental problems.