JAG01K UNIT 1 Task 1 Scientific disciplines Discuss these questions: Which of these subjects have you studied? Which subjects are/ were you good at? Which of them do you consider relevant to your future career? What is the subject of study and a person called who specialises in the subject? Which is the stressed syllable in the word? Science Subject of study Scientist Example: genetic engineering manipulation of DNA genetic engineer mathematics history geography physics chemistry sociology philosophy languages economics statistics biology psychology Task 2 Geology Task 3 Vocabulary 1. Complete the sentences with one of these verbs in the correct form. skip attend revise resit do apply get study fail pass pay a) I hated maths at school. I didn´t do any of the homework, never …………… attention to the teacher and ……………….. classes whenever I could. Of course, the first time round I ………… my exams and had to ………… them the following year. The second time round I ……………, which I was really pleased about. It boosted my confidence a lot and I decided to …………. to one of the better universities. To my amazement, I got in and I´m there now – studying maths! b) Marc´s a very bright student. He always …………….. very well when he was at school. I´m sure he´ll ………… a good degree, even though he doesn´t …………… hard. Of course, he hardly ever ………….. lectures or ………… the things we´ve done. I sometimes resent the fact he´s so clever! What sort of student are you? What are the good and bad things about your studies? Task 3 Learning preferences (infinitive and gerund) A) Complete the sentences with your own ideas: In this course I hope… In English classes I enjoy… In English classes I can´t stand … This semester I plan ……….…. to improve my English. B) Explain the difference: We stopped to talk. / We stopped talking. Try to speak as much as possible. / Try speaking more slowly. Do you remember talking to him? / Did you remember to talk to him? C) Choose the correct answer: I really can´t afford/ stand to pay a university fee. Bill agreed/ admitted making a serious mistake. My parents decided / disliked to send me to a different school. Do you mind / want coming back in half an hour? The students refused / denied knowing about the deadline. We agreed / suggested to meet after the lesson. The Earth Task 1 Speaking: What makes the planet Earth unique? Task 2 Read the text. Can you find four pieces of false information? The Earth is the sixth largest planet in our solar system and the third planet from the Sun. The Earth is made up of three main layers. There is the crust which is the outer layer and is very thin, between 5 and 67 km thick. The crust consists of the land and sea. The land is mainly made up of two types of rock: limestone and basalt. Then there is the mantle. This is a thick layer which is about 3000 km thick that lies directly below the crust. It consists of hot dense rocks and compounds of magnesium, iron and silicon. The rocks of the mantle are much lighter than those in the crust. Lastly, there is the core. This is the centre of the Earth which consists of heavy metals. It has an inner and an outer layer. The outer core consists of molten rocks, iron and nickel, and it is about 2000 km thick. The inner core is about 1500 km thick and is a solid structure containing nickel and iron. The temperature and pressure of the inner core of the Earth is so low that the metals are squeezed together making it difficult for them to move about like a liquid, instead they are forced to vibrate in one place like a solid. (adapted from Kelly, K. Science. Macmillan Education, 2008.) Task 3 Video: The Earth´s age https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-earth-s-age-in-measurements-you-can-understand-joshua-m-sneideman Watch the video about the Earth´s age and answer the questions below. 1. What analogies can be used to represent the age of the Earth? 2. How do geologists determine the age of planets? 3. How old is the Earth? 4. Why is understanding geological time important? Explain the meaning of the expressions from the video: estimate entire single-celled a milestone to wipe sth. out to go extinct Task 4 Predictions A) Speaking: What do you think your life will be like in 10, 25, 50 years? What do you think the main events in science in 10, 25 or 50 years will be? B) Predicting probability. Complete the gaps in the table with the following expressions: possible likely improbable certain It is extremely/ fairly 1. …………….. that X will occur. 100% 2. probable 50% 3. ……………… 4. ……………… that X will occur. that X will not occur. 5. ……………… 6. unlikely 0% 7. certain Textové pole: The possibility that X will happen is extremely high/strong. probability fairly low/ weak. likelihood Textové pole: There is a/an extremely strong possibility that X will happen. fairly high weak low remote no C) Using the structures for predicting probability, talk about a student of geology/ mathematics / literature / medicine / law. E.g. A student of geology might have a microscope in his/her bedroom. D) Reading – Read this passage and find predictions. The World Turns The Earth is round; the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century explorers like Columbus and Magellan proved it. But there were ancient Greeks who had known this two thousand years earlier. They saw ships descend over the horizon and observed the curved shadow of the earth on the moon during a lunar eclipse. Then, in 200 B.C., the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes noted that at noon on the first day of summer, when the sun was at its highest, its rays shone to the bottom of a vertical well in Seyne, Egypt. Yet, on the same day in Alexandria, five hundred miles to the north, it was reported that a vertical post cast a shadow. If the earth had been flat, the post could not have cast a shadow at noon. The earth spins, or rotates on its axis, once every twenty-four hours, causing us to have day and night. At any given time, the side of the earth facing the sun will have daylight, and the side turned away from the sun will have night. Although the earth is spinning at a speed of over one thousand miles an hour, we do not feel the movement or wind because everything around us, including the atmosphere, is moving at the same speed. The effect is similar to riding in an airplane. The air moves with you. If you light a match on an airplane, no wind will blow it out. The earth also revolves around the sun once every year. This yearly revolution, plus the tilting of the earth on its axis, causes the seasons. When the sun´s rays are nearly overhead (not when the earth is closest to the sun) and the days are long, great amounts of the sun´s radiation are absorbed and the weather is hot. For example, from April through September, the North Pole tilts towards the sun and the northern hemisphere experiences summer while the southern hemisphere has winter. Then the North Pole tilts away from the sun and the seasons are reversed. On March 23 and September 21, the North Pole is not leaning toward or away from the sun. If you travelled around the earth on these two dates, you would find the days and nights equal every place you went. (adapted from Bates, M.; Dudley-Evans, T. Nucleus English for Science and Technology. Longman, 1990) Which of the predictions you have found is probable, hypothetical and impossible? 1. A probable prediction: This prediction will come true if certain conditions are met. 2. A hypothetical prediction: This prediction will also come true if certain conditions are met, but it may or may not come true. 3. An impossible prediction: Here, the prediction cannot be fulfilled because the condition is impossible, i.e. it is based on a past action. Now, formulate the sentence patterns for predictions below. 1. A probable prediction: If + present tense, …… 2. A hypothetical prediction: 3. An impossible prediction: Write all three types of predictions for the following: a) active voice: study hard – pass the exam b) passive voice: eclipse hidden – photos ruined Task 5 Grammar practice A) Complete the sentences by filling in the proper form of the verb in brackets: 1. When winter comes, the bears __________ (hibernate). 2. Plants will not grow if they _________ (be) deficient in nitrogen. 3. A satellite will go into orbit when it _________ (reach) a speed of 18,000 miles per hour. 4. The calcium would melt if you _________ (heat) it to 845°C. 5. It ____________ (be surprising) if the oil prices continued to rise. 6. If the iron bar was exposed to air, it ____________(rust). 7. If the compound had been acid, it ______________(turn) the litmus paper red. 8. Many lives would have been saved if scientists ___________ (predict) the tornado. (Zimmerman, F. English for Science. Prentice Hall Regents, 1989) B) Create predictions in any logical or imaginative way: 1. After I graduate, ____________________ 2. If I didn´t use English grammar correctly, _________________________ . 3. If I could go anywhere in the world, _______________________ . 4. If I could change one thing in the world, ________________ . 5. My life would be easier if ___________________________ . 6. If I had known what my studies at university would involve, _______________ . 7. Dinosaurs wouldn´t have become extinct if ____________________________ .