Self-study materials for unit II

The Present Continuous Tense

Formation
+	–	?
I	am	writing	I	am not	writing	am	I	writing?
you	are	you	are not	are	you
he she it	is	he she it	is not	is	he she it
we you they	are	we you they	are not	are	we you they

 

The Usage

1. action in progress at the moment of speaking

Where are the children? They are watching TV.

2. action in the near future

They are going on holiday in a few days.

 

Exercise 1. Add –ing to the verbs to form The Present Continuous.

1. I’m …….. a report (write).
2. They are ….. English (study).
3. She is ….. abroad (travel).
4. We are …. to the teacher now (listen).
5. Don’t make noise. Sandra …. on a new project (work).

 

Exercise 2. Complete the sentences about Russia using one of the verbs in the necessary form positive or negative.

Get become change rise increase fall pay

1. The population of Russia ………. at the moment.
2. The economic situation in the country is not really good but it …...
3. The number of people without jobs ………… now.
4. The cost of living ………. Every year things are dearer.
5. These days food ……. more and more expensive.
6. The government ……… more attention to the social programme now.
7. People ….. more and more patriotic.

Exercise 3. Translate the sentences using the Present Continuous Tense and the vocabulary of the lesson.

1. На нашей улице строиться новый торговый комплекс.
2. Наш город становиться все больше и красивее. Появляются новые улицы и проспекты, высотные дома, театры и музеи.
3. Из-за загрязнения окружающей среды климат на планете меняется. У нас, например, зимы становятся очень мягкими, а летом стоит невыносимая жара.
4. – Возьми зонт. Идет дождь.
5. Хорошо. После такой жары нам нужен свежий воздух.
6. Послушай, мы переезжаем в пригород. Там не так шумно и опасно. Воздух там чище, так как нет такого количества автотранспорта.

Exercise 4. Choose the correct sentence. Explain your choice.

1. a) My parents live in Moscow.

b) My parents are living in Moscow.

1. a) We read many books in the original. Now we are reading Tales by Oscar Wild.

b) We are reading many books in the original. Now we read Tales by Oscar Wild.

1. a) The USA consists of 50 states.

b) The USA is consisting of 50 states.

1. a) Look at him. He wears a hat and a long coat. He looks like a real gentleman.

b) Look at him. He is wearing a hat and a long coat. He is looking like a real gentleman.

1. a) Many shops in Britain as well as theatres and cinemas are closing on Sunday.

b) Many shops in Britain as well as theatres and cinemas close on Sunday.

Exercise 5. Use the verbs in brackets in the correct tense forms The Present Continuous or the Present Indefinite.

1. My elder sister (travel) around Scotland now. She always (travel) in summer.

2. Who you (wait) for? – I (wait) for Ann, she must come in ten minutes.

3. London (stand) on the river Thames.

4. Russian people (celebrate) the Victory Day on the 9^th of May. It is a popular national holiday in Russia.

5. My dad (not work) at the moment. Today is his day off.

6. Why is it so noisy out-of-doors? Our neighbours (have) a party. They always (organise) parties in spring in the open air, when the weather is warm.

7. Usually the Englishmen (live) in their own houses not flats.

8. I can’t give you the book about British customs and traditions, because my brother (use) it. He (need) it now, he (prepare) a report for the English class on Monday.

9. Silvia is in America for three months. She (learn) English.

10. Ben is in London now. He (stay) at the Hilton Hotel. He always (stay) there when he is in London.

Exercise 6. Translate from Russian into English using the necessary tense form the Present Continuous or the Present Simple.

1. Он всю неделю бегает по магазинам в поисках подарков к празднику. В канун праздников люди обычно выбирают подарки для своих родственников и друзей.

2. Чего ты ждешь? Ты можешь начинать украшать дом к празднику и без нашей помощи.

3. Британцы очень любят держать домашних животных. Они могут часами ухаживать за своими любимыми кошками, собаками, лошадями, канарейками, попугаями и так далее.

4. 1 января тысячи людей приходят на Таймс Сквер, чтобы встретить приход Нового Года.

5. Я с нетерпением жду предстоящих праздников, но не потому что я люблю получать подарки. Мне больше нравиться дарить их.

 

Unit III

SCIENTISTS

(famous people)

Lesson 1

LEAD-IN

Look at the photos and answer the questions:

Do you know the names of these well-known people? Where are they from? What fields of science did they work in?

 

 

 

Now match the names of these famous people on the left with their profession on the right:

Alexander Bell

Sofia Kovalevskaya an inventor

Thomas Edison a physicist

Albert Einstein an engineer

Marie Curie a mathematician

Pyotr Kapitsa a scientist

Rudolf Diesel

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

Give synonyms or close meanings of the following words and word combinations and try to pronounce them correctly:

Prominent, to be expelled, fortress, science, scientist, scientific, founder, nuclear, to establish, incredible, to devote to, to defend, defence, entirely, technology, common knowledge, device, valve, to transmit, to prove, to disprove, capable, to list.

Below is a text about one of the most famous Russian scientists, Pyotr Kapitsa. Before reading try to answer the questions:

What field of science did he work in?

What did he prove?

What institute in Moscow is named after him?

READING

Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa made his appearance in physics at the turn of the XX-th century.

The son of a general, a prominent mili­tary engineer who had built the Kronstadt fortress – was keenly interested in physics while still at a technical high school (he had been expelled from the Kronstadt classic school for poor academic progress). But he became a student of Petersburg’s Peter the Great Polytechnical Institute – perhaps the best technical educational establishment in Russia at the time. In 1921, three of our most prominent scientists were sent abroad, to renew scientific contacts. These scientists were Ioffe, Academician Krylov and Kapitsa who was then only twenty-seven.

They worked at the world-famous Cavendish Laboratory headed by Ernest Rutherford, the founder of experimental nuclear physics. Kapitsa established an unusual, almost incredible record – he completed the laboratory course in two weeks instead of the usual two years. After that, Ernest Rutherford took personal interest in him and Kapitsa became his favourite pupil.

In 1934 Pyotr Kapitsa returned home and was appointed Director of the Institute of Physical Problems.

In the war years, Kapitsa devoted all his talent of a scientist and an engineer to the cause of the country's defence.

After the war, Kapitsa began to work in an entirely new field of science and technology - high-power electronics.

It is common knowledge nowadays that electronics means small currents. Electronic devices – radio-valves, for instance, — operate on electrons, particles having a very small mass and a very high mobility. It was believed that to transmit great amounts of power over great distances by means of electronics was impossible. This was not the only “axiomatic truth” which Kapitsa disproved. He proved the fact that the electrons are capable of transmitting millions of kilowatts over long distances.

Today Kapitsa's high-power electronics has already become firmly established.

It is not necessary to list all Pyotr Kapitsa's academic titles, because his name speaks for itself. In the history of physics there are few names that can be placed next to his.

E. Sinyavskaya, English for engineers, Moscow.

READING COMPREHENSION

1. How many professional physicists were there in Russia at the turn of the XXth century?
2. What was young Kapitsa interested in?
3. Why didn’t he enter the University?
4. How long did it take Kapitsa to complete his laboratory course at Cavendish Laboratory?
5. Who took a personal interest in the young Russian student?
6. How did the war influence Kapitsa’s work?
7. What did he prove electrons capable of doing?
8. Make a brief retelling about Pyotr Kapitsa, using active vocabulary.

 

 

The Institute of Physical Problems founded by P. Kapitsa in Moscow.

 

LISTENING

ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Listen to this excerpt of a talk given by an electrical engineer visiting a sixth form college.

Optional activity:

While you listen, decide whether the following sentences are true or false.

 

Sentence	True or false?
1. Recently great advances have been made in motor technology.
2. Engineers are constantly looking for new ways to use existing models.
3. Engineers have more freedom for experimentation than in Faraday’s times.
4. The newest motors lose more heat than the traditional motors.
5. The newest motors are more compact than they used to be.
6. A new motor developed by Omron may replace motors currently used in hydraulic systems.

 

Homework

Online activity

Work in groups

 

Divide into two groups and do the following task:

 

a) Find the information on the Internet about Sergey Petrovich Kapitsa (about his life, family, his contribution to science, his activity on TV, etc)

 

/S.P. Kapitsa, the son/

b) Find additional information from the Internet about P.L. Kapitsa (when did he win the Nobel Prize and what for?).

Recommended resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Leonidovich_Kapitsa http://www.thefutureofscience.org/veniceconference2005/speakers/kapitza_s.htm

http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/rao/catalogues/trans/trac/trac_kapi_1.html

 

Offline

Speaking practice

Work in groups

In your group make a brief report about: a) S. Kapitsa; b) P. Kapitsa and then be ready to retell it to the class.

Homework

Writing

Write a composition about yourself: What did you do yesterday or what happened yesterday?

Grammar tests for self-study.

 

Lesson 2

Introduction

We were talking about scientists at the previous lesson. Scientific discoveries and inventions make our life more comfortable and wonderful. We can’t even imagine how to live without things around us. From the very morning before leaving the house we...What do we do first? What do we always want to know...? Try to guess the meaning of the word forecast : “We always want to know what the weather will be like in the near future.”

Listening

a) Listen to the story “Weather Forecast” and be ready to answer the questions that follow:

1. Where did the men travel?
2. Whom did they meet there?
3. What was the old Indian doing when they met him?
4. What did they speak to him about?
5. How did he know everything about the weather?

6. How do you think the weather forecast is made up now?

b) Retell the story.

c) You are the Indian. Tell your friends about the incident, using active vocabulary (make up a dialogue).

LEXICAL EXERCISES

Match the words and their suitable definitions given below:

Prominent, to be expelled, fortress, science, scientist, scientific, founder, nuclear, to establish, incredible, to devote to, defence, entirely, technology, common knowledge, device, to transmit, to prove, to disprove, capable, to list.

to mention or write things one after another; something that everyone knows; well-known; to be officially forced to leave a place, organization, or school; able to do something; a strong building used for defending a place; to prove that something is not correct; the study and knowledge of the physical world and its behaviour; to provide evidence that shows that something is true; advanced scientific knowledge; someone who is trained in science; to send an electronic signal such as a radio or telephone signal; relating to science, or based on the methods of science; a person who starts an organization or institution; relating to energy that is produced by changing the structure of the central part of an atom; completely; to make something to start to exist or start to happen; protection; surprising or difficult to believe; to spend a lot of time or effort doing something.

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

New words

Try to give synonyms or close meanings to the following words: