7

Storage

Briefing
This unit looks at storage what is being stored,
how and where. It also discusses petroleum
products and their properties, as well as fire safety
and incident management.

Petroleum products
This section focuses on some major petroleum
products and how they are transported and stored.
Some of these products are: asphalt (or bitumen)
used in road construction; kerosene, often used as
an aviation fuel (with a very low freezing point:
47C) and for some domestic heating and lighting;
propane and butane, both liquefied petroleum gases
(LPGs); petrochemicals (feedstock), a crude oil
product destined for further processing. Other new
vocabulary items are: catwalk, a narrow, usually
elevated walkway; bullet tanks, storage tanks
mounted horizontally, with rounded ends; gantries,
moveable cranes fixed to trolleys.

Properties
This section examines the physical and chemical
properties of four petroleum products. Some of the
verbs used to describe these properties are: rust (a
metal rusts when it is degraded by rain or moisture);
melt (plastics melt when they come in contact with
flame or great heat); stretch (synthetic fibres such as
nylon become stretched when over-extended). A
common adjective to describe the properties of a
product is heat-/water-/corrosion-resistant,
meaning it is not damaged or affected by heat, etc.
The speaking practice in this section involves
describing the physical properties of a product.

Describing storage facilities

This section describes and compares the sizes, ages
and capacities of three storage facilities, in this case,
different-sized tanks. The pressure in LPG tanks is
around 5 bar, or five times the pressure of the air we
breathe. The bar is a unit of pressure equivalent to
atmospheric pressure, the air we breathe. It was
introduced by the British meteorologist William
Napier Shaw in 1909. Leaks occur where holes in
tanks or other containers allow liquid or gases to
escape. The Language section focuses on comparing
things and the different forms of comparative and
superlative adjectives.

Health and safety: Fire safety

This section looks at how to use a fire extinguisher.
Ambrose Godfrey patented the first fire extinguisher
in England in 1723. A modern portable fire
extinguisher is tube-shaped and is used to control
small fires. Many extinguishers contain carbon
dioxide, a gas that puts out flames. Others use water
or foam. A modern fire extinguisher consists of a
pressure gauge (for measuring the pressure of the
extinguishing product), a safety pin (to prevent
accidental use) a tube and a nozzle, which allows
the flow to be adjusted. Useful verbs include: pull,
aim, squeeze and sweep.

Incident reports
In this section, students listen to four conversations
about different incidents and fill in incident report
forms. Some key words the speakers use are: faulty,
ignite (catch fire), extinguish, straightaway.
Students practise talking about incidents and
emergencies using the past simple tense, which will
be studied in depth in the next section.

Talking about past incidents

This section introduces the past simple tense. It uses
vocabulary and verbs from the previous section and
provides a verb table for students to work from.

In the storeroom
This section includes five conversations between a
storekeeper and different refinery employees, each
asking for tools. Some of the words used are: ear
plugs and ear defenders, PPE to protect your ears;
nuts, used to attach steel or metallic parts;
three-quarter inch, a measurement of the width of a
screwdriver blade; coarse thread refers to the type of
thread in a nut or a screw. Any small nut in your
watch will have a fine thread, while in a refinery
storeroom, the thread will probably be coarse.

Further reading
Use the following keywords to search the internet
for websites which give more in-depth information
about the topics covered in this unit: petroleum
products (answers.com), material properties
(engineeringtoolbox.com), fire extinguishers
(home.howstuffworks.com).

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57

Vocabulary

Teachers notes
Warm-up

With books closed, ask: Whats the date today? Elicit

the day and month, then ask about the date
tomorrow, some of the students birthdays, national
holidays, etc.
Draw students attention to the unit title (Storage)
and ask if they know what it means. Get them to
check in a dictionary if they do not. Then ask for
examples of things we store in everyday life and
where we might store them.

Petroleum products
Listening
1

53 Ask students to open their books and look

at the list of petroleum products before they
listen. Explain that they are going to hear five
descriptions of different oil depots and the
products that each depot stores.

Ask students to look at the five photographs and

tell you what they can see in each one. Get them
to complete the exercise individually. Check
answers with the class.
2C

3D

4A

5B

Go over the instructions in the book, then divide

the class into two teams (or in small groups if
that is easier). Each team or group appoints one
person to write. When you say go, the members
of each team suggest as many petroleum
products as possible. Set a time limit of one
minute. Then ask the team member who has
recorded the different products to tell their
words the rest of the class. List and go through
all the words on the board, checking that they
are understood. The winning team is the one
with the most correct words.

Play the recording and ask students to listen out

for the petroleum products. If necessary,
especially with less confident classes, you could
pause the recording after each description. Ask
students to compare answers in pairs, then
check with the whole class.
The following items should be ticked:
2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12
Play the recording again and ask questions like:
Description 1: Why are the tanks heated?
Description 2: What do they use the gantries for?
Description 3: How many types of petrochemical are
in the Chinese storage facility? What are they used
for? Description 4: Who does the tank farm supply?
What does sixty represent? Description 5: Where do
they have additional capacity?

Extra activity
With in-work classes, ask students to work in
pairs and look at the list of petroleum products
in Exercise 1. Then ask them to group together
the products used for similar things (for
example, heating in the home, in different
types of engine, road-making, etc.) and note
down examples of these uses.

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58

Properties
2 Jet fuel 3 petrol, gasoline
5 thermoplastics

Reading
1

Before students open their books, explain that

they are going to read a text and complete it
with four headings. Read out the headings from
the box and ask students what they think the
text will be about. Then ask them to open their
books, read the text and add the headings in
pairs. During feedback, ask students to correct
or change their original suggestions, then go
over the whole text, checking vocabulary.
1 Petrol
rubber

2 Jet fuel

3 Plastics

3a

4d

5b

Speaking
5

With books closed, write properties on the

board. Then ask students to write the four
headings Plastics, Jet fuel, Synthetic rubber and
Petrol in their notebooks. Ask them to work in
pairs for two minutes and note down the
properties of each. Do an example with the
class (Petrol: ignites easily; stays liquid at normal
temperatures). Write whatever is suggested
under each heading on the board.

Ask students to work individually to match the

products to the descriptions without looking
back at the text. Check answers and anything
they are not clear about with the whole class (for
example, nouns like thermoplastics and thermosets
or key verbs like rust and stretch).
2c

4 Synthetic

Extra activity

4 Nylon

Before students do the activity, review the

language of properties (see above and Briefing)
and make a more complete list on the board of
other petroleum products and their uses,
appearance, etc. Go through the language
students will need for this activity (This product
is /These products are , Is it ?/Are they ?).
Put students in pairs and explain that they
should describe a petroleum product without
naming it. Go round the class helping students
as necessary.

As a review of Exercise 1, ask students to look at

the five pictures before they read the sentences.
Ask: What are they? What are they used for? Elicit
or teach elastic band, screwdriver, melting ice, a man
in water-proof clothing, a safety notice. Then ask
students to work in pairs to do the exercise (see
Briefing or use a dictionary if any students have
problems with the vocabulary).
If you brought in any of the items suggested in
Preparing for the next unit at the end of Unit 6,
this would be a good time to show and discuss
them with the students.
2A

3E

4D

5C

Before students read the sentences, review the

products from the text in Exercise 1 by
asking/saying:
What are fire hoses made from?
What fuel is used for aircraft?
Give two other names for car fuel.
Give an example of a synthetic fibre.
What are water bottles made of?
Ask students to complete the sentences, then
check answers with the class.

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59

Describing storage facilities

2 the oldest
5 the largest

3 the furthest 4 closer

6 the greatest

Reading
1

First get students to skim-read the text, then ask

comprehension questions: What is the text about?
What are the tanks for? What is stored in them?
Read the first part of the text to the students (up
to Here it is on the right.). Present this as if you
were showing a visitor around the facility,
stressing the emboldened comparative and
superlative adjectives and this, these, here, etc.
Then ask two or three confident students to read
the rest of the text in the same way.
Check for any vocabulary queries, then ask
students to decide which sentences are
true/false before comparing answers with a
partner.
2T

3 F (higher)

4 F (35)

Language
Go over the Language box with the whole class.
Explain that we use comparative adjectives to
compare two things and superlative adjectives
to compare three or more things.
Draw students attention to the differences
between the forms of short and long adjectives.
Explain that short adjectives take the -er/-est
endings, while longer adjectives take more/the
most. Point out the adjectives ending in -y and
the irregular forms.

Writing
3

Ask students to work individually to write five

more sentences comparing the three facilities
from Exercise 3. Go round giving help where
needed.

Speaking
4

Encourage students to compare their sentences

with a partner first and self-correct. Then ask
them to mingle with other students, reading out
and comparing what they wrote. Give a time
limit of five minutes, then have a brief feedback
session.

Extra activity
With in-work classes, ask students to work in
pairs or small groups to share what they know
about two or three local/national petroleum
installations or storage facilities. They should
record relevant information and compare the
facilities (for example, their size, age, proximity
to sea, number of tanks, etc.). Students report
back to the rest of the class on the facilities.
If students require specific information and
statistics, they could check on the internet,
using the name and location of the facility in
their search engine.

Ask students to look again at the text, especially

the adjectives in bold. Ask them to identify what
is being compared in each case.

Extra activity
Get the class to make comparisons between
different things using any of the adjectives on
the page (or other adjectives that they know).
Start them off by giving them two nouns (not
necessarily related to the oil industry) to
compare (for example, Russia, Italy: Russia is
bigger than Italy.). Practise a few times, then ask
individual students to take over.
2

Ask students to read the sentences. Ask them

how they will change the adjectives. Get them to
do the exercise individually, then check answers
with the class.

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60

Speaking

Health and safety: Fire safety

5

Listening
1

54 Before students listen, remind them of the

emergency procedures in Unit 6 (page 49). Ask
them what they know about fire extinguishers
and, with an in-work class, if they know where
they are located. Then ask if anyone has ever
had to use one. With a stronger class, you could
get students to talk about the incident (but be
diplomatic here).
Ask students to open their books and study the
diagram of a fire extinguisher before they listen.
Put students in pairs and play the recording for
students to fill in the four missing labels. Check
answers with the class. Refer to Briefing above if
necessary.
1 pressure gauge
4 nozzle

2 safety pin

3 handle

This pair work activity practises giving

instructions in a clear sequence. Discuss with the
class how these oral instructions will differ from
the numbered instructions in the chart (use of
sequencing words such as first, then, after that,
finally, and complete sentences). Point out that
they will still use the verbs in the imperative
form.
Put students in pairs and tell them to take turns
giving their explanation. Go round giving help
where necessary.
Suggested answer
First hold the fire extinguisher upright and pull
the safety/ring pin. Then start back ten feet
from the fire and aim the nozzle at the base of
the fire. After that, squeeze the lever/handle
and sweep the extinguisher from side to side
across the fire.

Ask students to correct the sentences in pairs.

Review prepositions of place if necessary.
2 The safety pin is above/over the pressure
gauge.
3 The nozzle is on the left.
4 The tube is inside the container.
5 The gas canister is next to/to the right of the
tube.

With books closed, write on the board: When you

squeeze the handle, . Ask one of the students to
complete the sentence, with help from the rest of
the class.
dry chemical, carbon dioxide or water goes
up the tube and comes out of the nozzle.

Explain to the students that these are typical

instructions for using a fire extinguisher. Ask
them what they notice about the language
(imperative verbs, short sentences, no articles).
Notice also the slightly different vocabulary
used in Exercises 1 and 4 (safety pin/ring pin,
handle/lever).
ring pin: label 2 (safety pin)
lever: label 3 (handle)

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Incident reports
Incident 3
Location: (one of the) asphalt tank(s)
Description of incident: flash and smoke
Possible cause: electrical problem
Action taken: called duty electrician
Incident 4
Time: 06:00
Location: near main gate
Description of incident: broken wall
Possible cause: The tanker hit the wall,
perhaps the driver forgot to put the brakes on.
Action taken: called Maintenance

Listening
1

55 Ask students to look at the photograph.

Ask what it shows (a fire or explosion at a
refinery) and what they can see (flames, smoke,
steam, distillation columns, pipes, catwalk). Ask:
What do you do in an incident like this?
Go through the first incident report form with
the class. Draw their attention to the style of the
forms and make sure they understand the
meaning of each heading.
Play the recording for each incident separately.
Incident 1: Play the recording once and ask
students to just listen. Then play it a second
time, asking students to fill in the report form
individually and then compare their answers in
pairs. Then, either in pairs or groups of four, ask
one of the students to describe Incident 1 in
his/her own words. The other students listen
and ask for clarification if necessary.

Speaking
2

Students can do this exercise in pairs, as

indicated, or in groups of three or four, with
each student changing some of the information
he/she has already described. Students then
move on to a new partner/group. Monitor and
give help where necessary.

Incident 1
Location: Tank number 3
Possible cause: Faulty pressure gauge
Action taken: John Smith called the fire team.
Incident 2: Warn students that they will have
less information this time and that there are two
problems but the questions are similar. Play the
recording once while students listen, then play it
a second time for them to fill in the form
individually before comparing answers in pairs.
Then, in the same pairs or groups of four as for
Incident 1, ask another of the students to recount
Incident 2. Make a distinction between the
written and spoken word (for example, spoken:
last night around three oclock; written: 3 a.m. or
03:00, following the style in the forms).
Incident 2
Time: 03:00
Location: Building 4
Description of incident: two problems fuel
ignited, wrong extinguisher
Possible cause: faulty switch
Action taken: The labourer used an
extinguisher/water on the fire.
Continue in the same way with Incidents 3 and
4, with students listening to the incidents at least
twice and completing their forms. Make sure
that each student then has the opportunity to
retell the incident at least once.
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62

Speaking

Talking about past incidents

1

Ask students to do this exercise individually.

Check answers with the whole class, drawing
students attention to the verb endings and
question forms in the past simple, which they
will learn more about in the Language box.
1 happened

2 did

3 caused

4 did

Language
Go through the Language box with the class.
Help students to understand the use of the past
simple (to talk about completed actions in the
past) by asking questions about what they did
yesterday or last weekend. Explain that the past
simple is often used with time expressions.
Now go through the verbs in the box in more
detail. Explain that regular verbs in the past take
-ed (for example, call called) or -d if the present
form ends in -e (for example, ignite ignited).
With a stronger class, you could also point out
that in British English, consonants are doubled
when the verb ends in consonant + vowel +
consonant (for example, travel travelled). Also,
for verbs ending in -y, we change the -y to i and
then add -ed (for example, study studied).
Go over the irregular verbs in the box and
explain that there is no particular rule about
what makes some verbs irregular. Students often
have to learn them from lists of irregular verbs.
Finally, note the auxiliary verb did, which is used
in all negative and most question forms in the
past simple.
2

First, briefly review the language for dates, times

and places, as presented in the incident report
forms (for example, 10th January, 15:00, near the
main gate, etc.). Give students a few minutes to
make up an incident it could be at a refinery or
storage facility and to note down the date,
time, etc. In their pairs, students then take turns
to report the incident to their partner, who
records what happened, asking for clarification,
etc. as necessary. Go round the class helping
where necessary.

Extra activity
First, review some simple wh- question words
(what, when, which, where, who, how). Then ask
students to look at the audio script for Incident
1 (track 55 on page 76) and get them to suggest
possible questions they could ask about the
incident using the past simple. For example:
What happened?
What happened to the alarm?
Which tank was it?
What did John Smith do?
What was the problem?
Who raised the alarm?
Then put students in pairs to roleplay Incident
1, with Student A asking the questions and
Student B answering. Students could then
swap roles for Incident 2. Go round the class
encouraging and correcting.

Ask students to complete the sentences

individually, then to compare answers with a
partner. Explain that the sentences are all taken
from the four incident reports they listened to in
the previous section.
1 was 2 didnt work 3 didnt go off
4 heard, had 5 ignited 6 used
7 turned on 8 called 9 forgot 10 rolled
For extra practice, you could ask students to turn
to the audio script for track 55 on page 76. Ask
them to work in pairs and underline all the past
simple verbs. Stronger classes could do this for
all four incidents. Alternatively, give different
pairs one or two incidents, as appropriate to
your students abilities. Then do a whole-class
feedback session.

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63

Speaking

In the storeroom
3

Put students in pairs to read and then act out the

conversations on pages 7677. After they have
acted out the first conversation, they move on to
a new partner to act out the second one and so
on. Go round checking that they are using
requests correctly (for example, I need a , Do
you have any ?) and formal/less formal
greetings and responses. You could ask one or
two of the more confident pairs to act out the
conversations for the rest of the class.

Ask each student to make notes of similar

conversations before they practise them. For
example:
Student A: You want a new half-inch
screwdriver/a hammer/a safety helmet/threequarter inch nuts.
Student B: You are the storekeeper. You have
quarter-inch screwdrivers/hammers/ safety
helmets/one-inch coarse thread nuts. There will be
more tools next week.
Ask students to add some extra details to these
roleplays. For example: Student A: You are in a
hurry. Student B: You are new to the job.

Listening
1

56 Before students listen, write tools on the

board, then ask what they can see in the photo at
the bottom of the page (tool box, hammer,
screwdriver, pinchers, fuses, spanner heads). If
they do not know the name of a tool or item, ask
if they can explain what it is used for or act out
how it is used.
Explain the context for the listening: five people
come into the storeroom to ask the storekeeper
for different items they need. Play the recording
and ask students to work individually or in pairs
to complete the table. Pause after each
conversation to allow students time to write in
and check their answers. Play the recording a
second time if necessary.
2
3
4
5

a/another toolbox (the correct one)

a (three-quarter inch, flat blade) screwdriver
ear defenders
(coarse thread) nuts (two different
types/sizes)

56 Before students do this exercise,

review/teach language for greetings (from
formal to informal: good afternoon, hello, hello
again, hello there, hi, hows it going?) and note it on
the board. Ask students to complete the
beginning of each conversation.
Then play each conversation in turn, with books
closed. Depending on the level of your class, ask
comprehension questions and/or do some
choral or individual repetition of greetings. For
example, for Conversation 1: When did he leave
the tool box in the storeroom? Whats his name?
What does the storeroom employee do?
Ask students to open their books and play the
five conversations straight through so they can
check their answers.
Conversation 1: here
Conversation 2: Everything, isnt
Conversation 3: need
Conversation 4: bad, any
Conversation 5: Nice, can, some
Focus also on typical responses to greetings (for
example, Hows it going? OK/Fine/Not too bad,
thanks.). Finally, go over the audio script with
the students, checking that they understand the
technical vocabulary (see Briefing).

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64

With weaker classes, you could brainstorm all

the necessary information as a class activity first.
Otherwise, get students to work in pairs.

Review
Writing
1

Ask students to complete the crossword

individually or in pairs. Explain that it revises
the first two sections of this unit. If possible, they
should complete it without referring back to the
relevant sections.
Across: 1 polymers 2 thermoset
5 tank farm 6 synthetic
Down: 1 petrol 3 road tanker

Ask students to complete the sentences

individually and check answers in pairs. If they
are not sure, suggest that they look at whether
the verb is in the singular or plural form in the
sentence and then look for it in the box. They can
refer back to the first two sections of the unit if
necessary.
2 used

4 jet fuel

3 provides

4 supply

5 re-melted

Explain that students should write the three

sentences in their own words. To help them
remember, they could exchange suggestions on
the properties of plastics with a partner before
they write.

Suggested answer
Date: 15th May
Time: 15:30
Location: outside our local refinery
Description of incident: road tanker and trailer
overturned
Possible cause: driver fatigue and extremely
bad weather conditions (ice and fog)
Action taken: tanker emptied of fuel; all road
traffic suspended; waiting for police and
medical reports on drivers health status

Preparing for the next unit

Unit 8 examines different forms of transport in the
oil industry. It also discusses off-shift activities and
hobbies. You might wish to bring in some photos or
magazine adverts of different leisure activities (for
example, sports such as football, squash, etc.; TV
listings; gym facilities) to stimulate discussion of the
students own hobbies and interests.

Suggested answers
Plastics are also called polymers.
They can be made into different shapes.
There are two types of plastics.
Thermoplastics melt and can be shaped.
You can re-heat thermoplastics.
You can recycle thermoplastics.
You cannot re-melt thermosets.
Thermosets are heat-resistant.
4

Go through the instructions and the words in the

box with the class, and together work out an
opening sentence for the description. Students
can refer back to the audio script for track 55 on
page 76 if necessary. Encourage them to keep
their descriptions short. Set a time limit for the
writing activity.

Ask students to look at the photo and suggest

what might have happened. Remind them that
this report form is the same as the one looked at
in the Incident reports section. However, this
time, they have to invent some of the
information, making use of the information in
the photo.

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65