Do you know when these achievements of modern technology appeared? Match the date with the invention.

1) iPod touch                                                   1983

2) DVD                                                             1999

3) Digital camera                                               2007

4) Mobile phone                                          2010

5) iPad                                                         1983

6) Digital TV                                               1986

7) Karaoke machine                                              1995

A. Mark each of the inventions 0 to 5 depending on how important or interesting they are for you in your life.

B. Work in pairs and share your opinion with each other. Find the differences and common things between you and be ready to report them back to the group.

Read about the UK’s most exciting scientific advances and say what they are and what fields of science they are connected with.

A. Researchers and engineers from three UK institutions are developing the world’s largest ground-based telescope to dramatically improve our view of the Universe. For 400 years scientists have built ever-bigger telescopes to study space. The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) will be a ground-based optical/infra-red telescope with a 42m diameter mirror larger than all the current ground-based telescopes combined. This huge mirror will be built from 984 hexagonal segments. It will use Adaptive Optics to compensate for blurring of images caused by the Earth’s atmosphere, capturing images up to 10 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. The giant telescope will allow us to study Earth-like planets orbiting stars outside our solar system.

B. Researchers from central London are working on using nanotechnology to make advances in healthcare. Nanotechnology is the science of the very small – working on a scale one-billionth of a meter. It has been used by scientists in many disciplines to create new materials and devices by controlling matter on the atomic and molecular level. Davy Faraday researchers are exploring how nanoparticles can be used in healthcare, from disease diagnosis to cancer treatment. The research team is focusing on two specific particles – gold nanoparticles and magnetic colloids. Gold nanoparticles can be used in blood sugar monitoring and anti-cancer therapy. Magnetic colloids are used as MRI contrast agents and have great potential for anti-cancer therapy and drug delivery.

C. Researchers from London South Bank University are collaborating with other institutions to create inspection robots able to climb walls and swim. Mobile robots can have many uses, from security to domestic applications. Researchers are developing mobile robots able to climb walls and swim to perform non-destructive testing of critical infrastructure using imaging techniques.

Match the sentences 1), 2), 3) with the advances A, B, C in 3.

1) “They are able to perform non-destructive inspection techniques for a wide range of applications from industrial inspection, surveillance, and security.”

(Dr Tariq Sattar, Department of Electrical, Computer & Communications Engineering, London South Bank University)

2) “It offers scientists novel applications in the field of biomedical sciences, and we are focusing on harnessing this potential to advance healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, including localized therapy for cancer treatment”. 

(Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain)

3) “It will revolutionize astronomy, allowing us to study the Universe in great detail, from planetary systems around nearby stars, to the most distant galaxies formed when the Universe was only a tenth of its current age.”

(Professor Colin Cunningham, the UK Astronomy Technology Centre of the Science and Technology Facilities Council)

 

5. Role play. Imagine that you are at the Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition.

Group 1: You play the expert scientists of the UK. Study the information from 3 again and be ready to answer the journalists’ questions about the UK’s most exciting scientific innovations.

Group 2: You play the journalists who ask the expert scientists questions about the UK’s most exciting scientific innovations.

Write down questions you would like to ask about these innovations.

Section II Grammar in Practice

REVIEW

1. Complete the text with the Passive form of the verbs in brackets. Add by where necessary.

Today, 17 December 1903 ______ (to remember) as the day when the first powered flight ______ (to make) two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. The plane ______ (to make) of wood and ______ (to power) a small petrol engine. It ______ (to control) the pilot who pulled strings that changed the angle of the wings. By the time the aircraft took to the air, the engine and propeller ______ (to test) thoroughly in their workshop. The flights ______ (to witness) five people and a photograph _______ (to take) of the flight. The events ______ (to report) on the press on the next day and the brothers became celebrities overnight. Since that day, flying ______ (to become) an everyday form of transport, but it all began with the ingenuity of the Wright brothers.

 

2. Complete these sentences with either said or told.

1) He _____ that the grass needed cutting.

2) We’ve finally _____ Don’s parents that we’ve getting married.

3) My brother _____ to me that she thought I was looking unwell.

4) Ann _____ me you’re moving to Canada.

5) When David came back, he _____ us all about his holiday.

6) On the news, they _____ that there had been a big earthquake in Indonesia.

7) They _____ to us that they were going to be a little late.