6.5.5 The Achievements

6.5.5.1 Here is the complete list of achievements as announced today by Mr. Armstrong

1) Electrification — the vast networks of electricity that power the developed world.

2) Automobile — revolutionary manufacturing practices made the automobile the world's major mode of transportation by making cars more reliable and affordable to the masses.

3) Airplane — flying made the world accessible, spurring globalization on a grand scale.

4) Safe and Abundant Water — preventing the spread of disease, increasing life expectancy.

5) Electronics — vacuum tubes and, later, transistors that underlie nearly all modern life.

6) Radio and Television — dramatically changed the way the world received information and entertainment.

7) Agricultural Mechanization — leading to a vastly larger, safer, less costly food supply

8) Computers — the heart of the numerous operations and systems that impact our lives.

9) Telephone — changing the way the world communicates personally and in business.

10) Air Conditioning and Refrigeration — beyond convenience, it extends the shelf life of food and medicines, protects electronics and plays an important role in health care delivery.

11) Interstate Highways — 44,000 miles of U.S. highways allowing goods distribution and personal access.

12) Space Exploration — going to outer space vastly expanded humanity's horizons and introduced 60,000 new products on Earth.

13) Internet — a global communications and information system of unparalleled access.

14) Imaging Technologies — revolutionized medical diagnostics.

15) Household Appliances — eliminated strenuous, laborious tasks, especially for women.

16) Health Technologies — mass production of antibiotics and artificial implants led to vast health improvements.

17) Petroleum and Gas Technologies — the fuels that energized the 20th century.

18) Laser and Fiber Optics — applications are wide and varied, including almost simultaneous worldwide communications, non-invasive surgery, and point-of-sale scanners.

19) Nuclear Technologies — from splitting the atom, we gained a new source of electric power.

20) High-Performance Materials — higher quality, lighter, stronger, and more adaptable.

6.5.5.2 What's the Point? Demonstrate your understanding of some of the details in the reading. Based on the text you just read, give short answers to the questions that follow

1. Who is Neil Armstrong? What is his profession?

2. When is National Engineers Week held? When was it first established?

3. Why was electrification chosen as the most important achievement?

4. How many engineering achievements were originally nominated for selection?

5. How many organizations participated in the project to select the top 20 achievements?

6. What is the function of the National Academy of Engineering?

6.5.5.3 Show your understanding of the reading. Based on the text you just read, choose the best answer to complete the statements

1. Many people consider _____________to be the first American engineer.

a) George Washington

b) Neil Armstrong

c) Wm. A. Wulf

d) Thomas Edison

2. The area of engineering that received the most recognition on the

list of top achievements is_____________.

a) power production

b) transportation

c) medicine

d) agriculture

3. The most important achievement affecting public health was _________.

a) imaging technology

b) laser surgery

c) antibiotics

d) safe water supply

4. Air-conditioning and refrigeration show how something that seems

ordinary can ______________.

a) be very significant

b) be highly complex

c) be very popular

d) be taken for granted

5. The National Academy of Engineering is administered by __________.

a) the federal government

b) National Engineering Week

c) its own members

d) a major corporation

6.5.5.4 Understanding Words and Phrases. The words or phrases that fit these definitions are underlined in the text you just read. Use the context to try to figure out their meanings, and match them with the given definitions, Write the words or phrases in the spaces provided so that each letter fits in a separate space. Notice that each answer has a numbered letter. When you have written in all the answers, arrange the numbered letters in numerical order at the bottom of the page to spell a word that you know well!

Example: in large quantity, plentiful: a b u n d a n t

1) to be the basis (of something):__________________________

1

2) very large__________________________________________

2

3) a difficult battle, a big effort:___________________________

3

4) generous to guests; favorable ________________________to living:

4

5) deep, thorough, far-reaching:________________________

5

6) formal discussion and debate________________________of an issue:

6

7) greatly pleased, very glad:____________________________

7

8) a chase, a search; a work______________________________ activity:

8

9) neutral, fair, not prejudiced:___________________________

9

10) independent, self-governing:__________________________

10

11) terribly hot and humid:______________________________

11

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel designed the

Eiffel Tower for the Paris Exhibition

of 1889. This was his profession:______________________________

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