Practice

1. Change the sentences using an appropriate conjunction, preposition or adverb. Translate the sentences into your native language.

1. Big cities suffer from air pollution. They also suffer from the shortage of fresh drinking water.

2. Nowadays biochemistry doesn’t provide an answer to the fundamental question of the generation of life on earth. Modern biology doesn’t answer this question either.

3. The research project will be funded from one of the sources: local or national.

4. The research project took a lot of time and much money.

5. The cost and size of computing power has been reduced. The design and implementation of the Internet allows access to information from all over the globe at an unprecedented level and speed.

6. Discovery and study of quasars, black holes and pulsars were made possible by new observation instruments.

7. The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) is increasing because the vast amount of fossil fuels is burnt every day.

Writing

Summarize into a paragraph the information that you have learnt about the greatest scientific advances in the 20^th century. Follow the guidelines.

• Identify the key points of the report and the supporting details the authors use to illustrate them.

• Summarize the key points and the supporting details in your own words.

• Arrange your information in a logical order. Make use of the appropriate linking words you have learnt in the unit.

• Make sure you stated the authors’ names, the title of the report and the source it comes from in your first sentences.

• Express your opinion on the information presented in the report.

Tool box
The text	was written by …
The report	was presented at …
The article	was published in …
	comes from …
	reports on …
The text	discusses …
The report	describes …
The article	informs on/about …
The author	deals with …
	considers the problem of …
The information presented in the …	is very interesting because …
The report	is widely-discussed in the press because …
The problem	is the most up-to-date/urgent as it …
	great
	particular	interest
I find the information of	general	value	because …
	little	significance
	no

Listening

Recording 6.1

1. Make a list of fast-developing areas in science and technology.

2. Read the terms below. Which areas of science and technology are they used in?

solid	structure	plastic	substance	memory
retina	climate conditions	universe	microbe	gene
molecule	light	high-speed communication	vaccine	semiconductor
electricity	pneumonia	lightwave	atom	laser

3. Listen to the introductory part of the radio programme to answer the questions below: recording 6.1

1. When and where did the ceremony awarding the national medals of Science and Technology take place?

2. What organization administers the science awards?

3. What are the requirements to the nominees?

4. What period of time were the National Medals awarded for?

5. What does the process of selection include?

4. Listen to part 2 of the programme and take notes on the fields of science and technology the medals were awarded in.

Get real

Search the Internet sites and popular science magazines to find information on the latest advances made in your field of science in the first decade of the 21^st century and their impacts on our lives. Report your findings to the class.

Reading

1. Look at the pictures. What kind of invention do they describe?

2. Match the words in A with the definitions in B and then with the pictures. Translate the words into your native language.

A	B
parchment	a special kind of paper that is made of conductive plastic containing tiny balls that respond to an electric charge
paper	ancient writing material made of stems of aquatic plant used in ancient Egypt for writing and drawing on
e-paper	material made from the skin of a sheep or goat, used in the past for writing manuscripts on
papyrus	a small plate for writing on it made of clay
clay tablet	material that you write and draw on and that is also used for wrapping and packing things

3. Study the timeline describing the evolution of paper and papermaking. Use time and sequence expressions in the Tool box to tell the history of papermaking.