Instituto de Lenguas Fray Bernardo de Lugo O.P.

Cultural Activity
Reading and Comprehension
English 5

Student´s name: Kevin Espinosa Cuestas Score: ______/

11 inventions you probably didn't know came from Latin America

Explore the latest strategic trends, research and analysis

Latin America has produced some of the most ingenious inventions of our lifetime.
And yet, according to a 2013 report by the OECD, the future of innovation in the Latin
America region is in danger due to low levels of investment and research.
Research and development in Latin America is sluggish. Contrary to other regions, such as
the United States, where knowledge-intensive sectors represent 60% of manufacturing
value and experience rapid growth, in Latin America natural resource and labour-intensive
sectors account for the majority of manufacturing value.
Today, however, things are starting to look up: innovative start-ups are gaining momentum,
initiatives are addressing the innovation gap (such as the World Economic
Forum's Competitiveness Lab) and creative entrepreneurs are leading the way on
technologies that have a social impact.
With the promise of a bright future for innovation in Latin America, let's take a look at
some of the region's greatest past inventions:
1. The colour TV. Born in Guadalajara Mexico, Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena was an
electrical engineer credited with the invention of a colour-wheel type of television. His was
the first colour TV patented in the US and Mexico, and is still used by NASA today.
2. Neonatal artificial bubble. Born in Perú, Claudio Castillón Lévano invented the "neonatal
artificial bubble", designed to improve the intensive medical care of high-risk newborns.
3. The contraceptive pill. Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes co-invented the first oral
contraceptive pill in 1956.

4. The electric brake. Victor Ochoa was a Mexican inventor and revolutionary who

patented the electric brake in 1907. It uses magnetic attraction to make it easier for trains to
slow down. Ochoa is also known for inventing the ochoaplane, an adjustable wrench, and
a pen and pencil clip, among other inventions.
5. Photography. Hércules Florence, a French-Brazilian inventor, is considered one of the
pioneers of photography, developing a photograph some three years before Louis Daguerre.
6. The Mondragón rifle. Manuel Mondragón was an officer in the Mexican Army who
designed a gun capable of reloading a new bullet without the shooter having to manually
eject the spent cartridge. It was used during World War I and the in the Mexican
Revolution.
7. The ballpoint pen. László József Biró, Argentinian by naturalization and Hungarian by
birth, was a journalist and inventor. He designed a pen with oil-based ink and a tungsten
ball that allowed the ink to roll smoothly on to paper.
8. The artificial heart. Dr Domingo Liotta was born in Argentina, the son of Italian
immigrants. In 1969, he created the first artificial heart to be successfully transplanted into
a human being. His creation is on display at the Smithsonian Museum.

9. Captcha codes. The annoying online access code format used to prevent spam was
invented by Guatemala-born doctor Luis Von Ahn.

Image: Creative Commons/CAPTCHA Insanity

10. The stent. Argentine vascular radiologist Julio C. Palmaz invented the balloon
expandable stent used to treat cardiovascular disease. In 2006 he was immortalized in
the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
11. Bandage for administering drugs. Uruguayan Alejandro Zaffaroni has been granted
more than 45 patents to date, including a bandage for administering drugs through the skin.

Taken from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/11%20surprising%20inventions

%20from%20latin%20america/ and adapted for academic purposes
 1. Match the words with its meaning
Sluggish a. Captcha Information technology term that stands for
Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell
Computers and Humans Apart 
Wrench b. Cartridge a small container or tube filled with material to
be inserted into a mechanism
Cartridge c. granted as a privilege or right, a sum of money, or a tract
of land
Captcha d. Sluggish not energetic, slow moving
tungsten e. Wrench tool
granted f. tungsten a rare, metallic element having a bright-gray
color, a metallic luster, and a high melting point.

2. Complete the following chart with the information given previously

in the article.
country Invention
1. Mexico Color TV
2. Perú Neonatal artifial bubble
3. Mexico Anticoseptive pill
4. Mexico Electric brake
5. Brazil Photography
6. Mexico Rifle
7. Argentina Pen
8. Argentina Artificial heart
9. Guatemala Captcha codes
10. Argentina The stent
11. Uruguay Bandage

3. RESEARCH TIME

1. What is the greatest invention for you?

The Car
Explain briefly the following items:
-Advantages and disadvantages
Cars since its invention gave a great contribution to humanity as technological
advances such as serving for mass transportation of people allowed to get from one
place to another in a short period of time, it helps transporting heavy objects. Have
disadvantages in that cars pollute the environment, damage the ozone layer
increases and ultimately death of people from traffic accidents.
- Components

In the components of a car you can find several components but summarize the
basic components from which others are derived which are:
 Motor
 Transmission system
 Braking system
 Electric system
 Direction system
 Suspension system

- Materials
The main materials used in the manufacture of each of the parts that make up an automobile are:

 Steel
 Plastics
 Aluminum
 Rubber

- Physical appearance

In physical appearance the car is characterized by a metal body which is composed of doors,
windows, trunk, tires, wheels, lights and other lights up this accessory automotive mechanical
device.

- Brief history (50 words) of its invention

The history of the car involves a series of events, innovations and knowledge
science and technology that gave birth to the automóvil.Es commonly accepted that
the first cars with gasoline were almost simultaneously developed by German
engineers working independently: Karl Benz built his first model the Benz Patent
-Motorwagenen 1885 in Mannheim, Benz patented the January 29, 1886 and began
producing in 1888 from then starting the world production of this invention.
Where was invented?

 July 3 of that year when he made his first public appearance in the city of
Ringstrasse in the German town of Mannheim.
Who invented?
 El francés Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot

2. What is the world’s most dangerous invention? Support your ideas in no more than
50 words

Dynamite created by nobel afred in 1866 in my opinion is one of the perores inventions
made by man since this began the creation of high-impact explosive devices, which are
used in wars or armed conflicts. These bringing too many deaths to be used when these
artifacts that affect a great way to the environment and the people who will be involved in
the midst of the conflict.

3. Have you ever thought about inventing anything? Explain what is it and possible
predictions about your invention.

If from a young age I have been interested in cars and I've always had the dream to
collaborate or implement the flying cars. Dream that many people would like and see that
this invention implausible but you can get to make because as we look at the world every
progresses more and more on technology, and today we are already prototypes which are
statistically achievable performing in the not too distant future. If I could get to implement
this invention the problem of traffic would be reduced equally be achieved lessen pollution
as this official appliance with friendly fuel with the environment and ultimately give greater
comfort and a pleasant experience for people who use it .