Task 3: Now look at this essay and fill in the gaps with one of the words or expressions from

Tasks 1 and 2. In some cases, more than one answer may be possible. You may need to change some of the word forms.

Technology has come a long way in the last fifty years, and our lives have become better as a result. Or have they?

The second half of the twentieth century saw more changes than in the previous two hundred years.

Penicillin has already been … and used to treat infections; there have been many remarkable advances in medicine that have helped to increase our average … away beyond that of our ancestors. Incredible … such as television have changed the way we spend our leisure hours. Perhaps the most important …, however, has been the microchip. Nobody could have imagined, when it was first …, that within a matter of years, this tiny piece of silicon and circuitry would be found in almost every household object from the kettle to the video recorder. And nobody could have predicted the sudden proliferation of computers that would completely change our lives, allowing us to access information from the other side of the world via the … or send messages around the world by … at the touch of a button.

Meanwhile, … into other aspects of information technology is making it easier and cheaper for us to talk to friends and relations around the world. Good news for … who love modern technology, bad news for the … who would prefer to hide from these modern miracles.

But everything has a price. The development of … led to mass automation in factories, which in turn led to millions losing their jobs. The genius of Einstein led to the horrors of the atomic bomb and the dangerous uncertainties of … (we hear of accidents and mishaps at nuclear power stations around the world, where … to prevent accidents were inadequate). The relatively new science of … has been seen as a major step forward, but putting modified foods onto the market before scientists had properly … them was perhaps one of the most irresponsible decisions of the 1990s.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies continue to … on animals, a move that many consider to be cruel and unnecessary.

Of course we all rely on modern science and technology to improve our lives. However, we need to make sure that we can control it before it controls us.

 

III. Read the text.Then answer the questions.

The human brain

1. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience of the world. This jelly-like mass of tissue, weighing around 1.4 kilograms, contains a staggering one hundred billion nerve cells, or neurons. Each neuron can make contact with tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses. Our brains form a million new connections for every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike. It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activity, and losing others.

2. While people often speak of their 'grey matter', the brain also contains white matter. The grey matter is the cell bodies of the neurons, while the white matter is the branching network of thread-like tendrils – called dendrites and axons – that spread out from the cell bodies to connect to other neurons. The brain also has another, more numerous type of cell, called glial cells. These outnumber neurons ten times over. Once thought to be support cells, they are now known to amplify neural signals and to be as important as neurons in mental calculations. There are many different types of neuron, only one of which is unique to humans and the other great apes, the so-called spindle cells.

3. Brain structure is formed partially by genes, but largely by experience. Only relatively recently it was discovered that new brain cells are being born throughout our lives – a process called neurogenesis. The brain has bursts of growth and then periods of consolidation, when excess connections are pruned. The most notable bursts are in the first two or three years of life, during puberty, and also a final burst in young adulthood. How a brain ages also depends on genes and lifestyle too. Exercising the brain and giving it the right diet can be just as important as it is for the rest of the body.

4. The neurons in our brains communicate in a variety of ways. Signals pass between them by the release and capture of neurotransmitter and neuromodulator chemicals. Some neurochemicals work in the synapse, passing specific messages from release sites to collection sites, called receptors. Others also spread their influence more widely, like a radio signal, making whole brain regions more or less sensitive.

 

1 Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. Look for words that the underlined words combine with in the article.

1 The skin is the largest organ in the … body.

2 Psychologists disagree as to how exactly memories are … in the brain.

3 Humans share almost all of their genes with the other … apes such as gorillas.

4 As children become young adults they have … of growth.

5 It is important that animals in captivity are given the … diet.

6 People have approached the problem in a variety of ….

2 Find words in the text which have an opposite meaning:

1 simple (para 1) 4 are fewer than (para 2) 7 initial (para 3)

2 converge (para 2) 5 diminish (para 2) 8 general (para 4)

3 scarce (para 2) 6 wholly (para 3) 9 restrict (para 4}

4 These words from the text can be used in a number of different ways. Write sentences exemplifying three different uses for each of them.

matter pass formed cells

 

IV. Technology and Computing

1 Complete each sentence with the correct form of one of the verbs given. Use each verb once only.

cut out go through stand up to top up

filter out read off strip down wire up

1 This water pump has a special device on it to … any impurities.

2 Something was wrong with the engine so we … it … and examined each part.

3 No wonder the fridge didn't work. You hadn't … the plug correctly.

4 These machines need to be solid. They have to … a lot of rough treatment.

5 The only maintenance that is required is to … the oil if it gets a bit low.

6 Every time we start up the drilling machine we have to … a strict safety procedure to prevent any accidents.

7 The operator monitors the pressure by … the measurements on these gauges.

8 The engine kept … and then starting again a few seconds later.

2 Now do the same with these verbs. The sentences are to do with computing.

back up put down to set up take up

print out run out of sift through work out

1 Check your work on the screen. Once you're satisfied, you can … a copy.

2 If the printer … paper, a warning light indicates that you need some more.

3 First you … your database and then you type in your clients' records.

4 You give the computer a command and it will … the data for you until it finds the information you need.

5 The boss said it was nobody's fault but we … it … bad programming on the part of those 'experts' at head office.

6 The program … a lot of disk space so there wasn't much room for anything else.

7 Calculations which used to take ages can now be … in a few seconds.

8 In case anything goes wrong with the computer, you should always … any work you do and keep those disks in a safe place.

 

MINI-TEXTS FOR TRANSLATION

 

1. Nanodisk Codes

Researchers at Northeastern University have devised a way to use billionth-of-a-meter-sized disks to create codes that could be used to encrypt information, serve as biological labels, and even tag and track goods and personnel.

The nanodisks can form a physical pattern, similar in concept to a barcode, as well as a spectroscopic code, meaning it can exhibit a specific, unique response to electromagnetic radiation, or light, depending on the type of molecule (or molecules) attached to the disks—in other words, how the disks are “functionalized.”

Nanostructures can be ideal for encoding. Their small size allows them to be hidden easily in a variety of materials and objects, and scientists' ability to easily tailor their physical and chemical properties makes it possible to design nanostructures for specific coding functions.

 

2. Is the universe – correction: "our" universe – no more than a speck of cosmic dust amid an infinite number of parallel worlds?

A staple of mind-bending science fiction, the possibility of multiple universes has long intrigued hard-nosed physicists, mathematicians and cosmologists too.

We may not be able – as least not yet – to prove they exist, many serious scientists say, but there are plenty of reasons to think that parallel dimensions are more than figments of eggheaded imagination.

The specter of shadow worlds has been thrown into relief by the December release of "The Golden Compass," a Hollywood blockbuster adapted from the first volume of Philip Pullman's classic sci-fi trilogy, "His Dark Materials".