Unit 3 ZERO

3A Reading
Pre-reading
1. Where do you find zero?
2. How useful is zero in our life?
3. What do you think life would be like today without zero?
Read the passage.
To write an English word, short or long, we use the 26 letters ( A to Z ) of the
English alphabet as required. To write a number, small or big, we use the Arabic
numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 as
required. The first of those is “0” (zero). The
word “zero” means “nothing”, yet it is essential
in counting and calculation. Firstly, because we
have “0”, we do not need a special numeral for
“ten”. We just write “10”. For “one hundred”, we
just add one more zero and write “100”. For “one
thousand”, we add another zero and write
“1,000”. Thus, in a sense, “0” means “10 times of a number”. After all, “10” means 1 ten
times; “20” means 2 ten times; “100”
means 10 ten times; and “1,000”
means 100 ten times, and so on.
Now, let’s try using Roman
numerals. You will soon see that the
task would no longer be as
straightforward. The Roman
numerals, as we know, are : I, V, X,
L, C, D, and M, and respectively they
stand for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and
1,000. There is no “0” at all. Thus, 10
is X; 20 is XX; 40 is XXXX or XL ( meaning 10 less than 50 ). For a simple mathematical
equation like: 100 + 27 = 127 you will have to write: C + XXVII =CXXVII. Not simple at all.
The larger the number, the greater the trouble. This illustration should be plain enough
to help you see how important zero is.

Another point to note is that in the real number

system, not an imaginary number, “0” is the only
number that is neither positive nor negative.
Therefore, “0” represents the boundary between the
negative and positive numbers. This can be seen on the coordinate axes (mathematics)
and on many scales. For example, on a thermometer to measure the temperature of the
air, any point above 0o C freezing point is positive, while any point below 0o C freezing
point is negative, and is shown with the minus sign before the number as in: - 5o C or –
20o C as the case may be.
You may already know that “0” is
also used in declaring the scores of a game.
For example, at the beginning of a game,
say badminton, the umpire calls out: zero-
zero. This means that neither of the players
has scored a point. Then, as the game
proceeds we hear the umpire calling out:
zero-1 ; 1-1 ; 3-2; or 6-8 as the case may be.
In tennis, though, we hear “love” instead of “zero”. Actually , it is not the English word
“love”. It is French for “egg”. The French use the word “egg” to mean “zero”.
 Nobody knows for certain who discovered zero. Nobody knows for certain either
when and where it was discovered. However, the general belief is that it was the Hindu
mathematicians of India who discovered zero, sometime in the sixth century or so. The
Hindu word for it was “śūnya (shoon-ya) ”, meaning “empty ”, or “void ”. It is also
believed that the Arabs borrowed it from the Hindus, and called it “sifr /ˈsɪfə(r)/”, which
became the root word for the English words “cipher /ˈsʌɪfə/” and “zero ”.

Comprehension
A . Complete each sentence below with a word or phrase from the reading passage.
1. The word ‘those’ in line 3 refers to ______ .
2. One word in line 10 which means the same as plain, or simple , is ______.
3. The two kinds of numerals are _______.
4. The word ‘This” in line 18 refers to ______.
5. The word ‘it’ in line 27 refers to ______.
6. It was the Hindu mathematicians who ______.
7. The Arabic word for zero is ______.
B. Give a short answer to each question below.
1. What is the passage about?
2. What is the main difference between the two kinds of numerals?
3. Which of the two kinds of numerals is easy to use? Why?
4. What does the Hindu word for zero mean?
5. What does ‘0’ represent on scales and coordinate axes?
6. When did the Hindu mathematicians discover zero?
7. What is the other English word for zero?
8. How do we use ‘0’ today?
A.
1. the Arabic numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
2. straightforward
3. the Arabic numerals and Roman numerals
4. “0”representing the boundary between the negative and positive numbers
5. Love
6. discovered zero
7. “sifr”
B.
1. The passage is about zero and how to use it.
2. The main difference between the two kinds of numerals is that there is no “0” in
Roman numerals.
3. The Hindu word for zero means “empty” , or “void”.
4. ‘0’represents the boundary between the negative and positive numbers on scales
and coordinate axes.
5. The Hindu mathematicians discovered zero sometime in the sixth century.
6. The other English word for zero is ‘cipher’.
7. We use ‘0’ in counting and calculation today.
3B
A.
1. zero hour
2. ground zero
3. zero in on
4. absolute zero
B.
1. representative 8. importance
2. imaginative 9. mathematics
3. discovery 10. numerals
4. calculations
5. illustrated
6. measurable
7. equate
as required/rɪˈkwaɪə(r)/ =
count ( v ) =
calculate/ˈkælkjuleɪt/ ( v ) =
Roman Numerals/ˈnjuːmərəl/ =
no longer ( idm ) = used to say that something that was possible or true before, is not
now …..( ) .
straightforward/ˌstreɪtˈfɔːwəd/ (adj) =
respectively/rɪˈspektɪvli/ ( adv ) =
stand for = to be an abbreviation or symbol of something
to support or represent something
mathematical/ˌmæθəˈmætɪkl/ ( adj ) =
simple/ˈsɪmpl/ ( adj ) = easy
trouble/ˈtrʌbl/ ( n ) = a problem, worry, difficulty, etc. or a situation causing this
illustration/ˌɪləˈstreɪʃn/ ( n )= an example that clearly shows the truth about something
plain /pleɪn/ (adj) = easy to see or understand
boundary/ˈbaʊndri/ ( n ) =
coordinate axes/kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪt ˈæksiːz/=
scales/skeɪl/ ( n ) = a range of levels or numbers used for measuring something (
)
freezing point/ˈfriːzɪŋ pɔɪnt/ ( n ) =°0 Celsius, the temperature at which water freezes
as the case may be =
declare/dɪˈkleə(r)/ ( v ) = to say something officially or publicly
score/skɔː(r)/ (n / v ) =
umpire/ˈʌmpaɪə(r)/ ( n ) = a person whose job is to watch a game and make sure that
rules are not broken
call ~ out (v) =
proceed/prəˈsiːd/ ( v ) = to continue doing something that has already been started; to
continue being done
mathematicians/ˌmæθəməˈtɪʃn/ (n) =
for certain ( idm ) =
3B Vocabulary
Each expression below contains the word “zero”. Study them well.

Expression Meaning
a. absolute zero  lowest temperature possible, which is :
-273.15o C
b. ground zero  the exact place where a nuclear bomb
explodes
c. zero hour  the time at which something, especially
some type of military activity , is planned to
begin.
d. zero in on somebody /  direct all your attention towards a particular
something ( phrasal verb ) person or thing

A. Complete each sentence below with a suitable expression from the table.
1. They decided to set 12 midnight as the ______ to attack the enemy.
2. Hiroshima was the first ______ during World War II.
3. First, decide on a plan, then just _______ it.
4. Technically speaking, no temperature can be lower than ______.

B. Study the words given in the following table and complete each sentence, using the
correct form of the word given in brackets at the beginning.

Noun verb Adjective

1. calculation calculate -
2. discovery discover -
discoverer
3. equation equate -
4. illustration illustrate -
5. imagination imagine imaginative
6. importance - important
7. mathematics - mathematical
 mathematician
8. measurement measure measurable
9. number number -
numeral
10. representation represent -
representative

1. ( represent) The tiger is a common _______ of the cat family.

2. ( imagine ) She is hardworking but not very ________.
3. ( discover ) Penicillin was an extremely significant medical ________.
4. ( calculate ) We used different methods of _______ , but we both got the same
result.
5. ( illustrate ) In yesterday’s lecture, the professor _______ the difficult concept
of relativity, using a diagram.
6. ( measure ) The lecturer advised the students to set realistic, _______ targets.
7. ( equate ) You can’t _______ passing an examination with being intelligent.
8. ( important ) He emphasized the _______ of environmental conservation.
9. ( mathematics ) Physics, Chemistry and _______ are science subjects.
10. ( number ) There are two kinds of _______ : Roman and Arabic.
3C Grammar
Subject and Predicate

Study the five sample sentences below. Note that the Subject and Predicate in each are
separated with a forward slash ( / ). Note also that the verb in the Predicate is
underlined.
1. All the teachers in our school / are highly qualified.

All the teachers in our school / Subject

are highly qualified. Predicate ( Verb + ----- )

2. The boy who has won the scholarship / is from my class.

3. One of my friends / drew the cover design for that book.
4. Our principal / has gone to Nay Pyi Taw to attend a meeting,
5. The books in that bookcase / belong to my father.

A. Separate the Subject and Predicate in each sentence below with a forward slash ( / ).
Also underline the verb in the Predicate.
1. Myanmar, our country, is often called the Land of Golden Pagodas.
2. The English alphabet contains twenty-six letters.
3. Most trees in our country shed their leaves in the hot season.
4. Many diseases these days are caused by different kinds of viruses.
5. All those paintings in that gallery are done by famous Myanmar artists.
6. Pollution is causing lasting damage to our environment.
7. Little drops of water and little grains of sand make a mighty ocean and a
pleasant land.
8. Almost all the plays written by Shakespeare are well known.
9. According to one English pop song, the best things in life are free.

Either … or and Neither … nor

Study the following sentences.
 You can either meet me at home or at the office.
 Either mum or dad will come to pick up this afternoon.
  The correlative conjunction, ‘either … or’ has a positive meaning and is used to
offer a choice between two things.

 Neither the blouse nor the red one is available in size 4.

 I will neither call you nor send you a message after midnight.
 The correlative conjunction, ‘neither … nor’ has a negative meaning and is used
to negate both parts of a sentence. It means not one and not the other.

B. Join the two sentences in each item, using ‘either … or’ or ‘neither … nor’.
1. The injured person could not walk. He could not move.
2. Our relatives do not know that we are buying a new house. Our friends do not
know that we are buying a new house.
3. You can ring me up. You can send me an e-mail.
4. According to the weather forecast, it may be cloudy today. It may be rainy today.
5. Love cannot be bought. Love cannot be sold.
6. The restaurant doesn’t have fish on its menu. It doesn’t have lobster on its
menu.
lobster
7. I want to talk to your parents. I want to talk to your guardian.
8. We don’t have banana juice. We don’t have apple juice.
9. I’ll have my hair cut today. I’ll have my hair cut tomorrow.
10. The boy didn’t bring any book to the class. He didn’t do his homework
3E Writing
Use the points suggested below and write a short paragraph of about ten sentences on:
Zero.
 meaning
 who discovered it
 where it was discovered
 importance
0 (zero) is a number,[1] and the numerical digit used to represent that number in
numerals. It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers,
real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder
in place value systems. Names for the number 0 in English include zero, nought (UK),
naught (US) (/nɔːt/), nil, or—in contexts where at least one adjacent digit distinguishes
it from the letter "O"—oh or o (/oʊ/). Informal or slang terms for zero include zilch and
zip.[2] Ought and aught (/ɔːt/),[3] as well as cipher,[4] have also been used
historicallyMain articles: Names for the number 0 and Names for the number 0 in
English

The word zero came into the English language via French zéro from Italian zero, Italian
contraction of Venetian zevero form of Italian zefiro via ṣafira or ṣifr.[6] In pre-Islamic
time the word ṣifr (Arabic ‫ )صفر‬had the meaning "empty".[7] Sifr evolved to mean zero
when it was used to translate śūnya (Sanskrit: शून्य) from India.[7] The first known
English use of zero was in 1598.[8]

The Italian mathematician Fibonacci (c. 1170–1250), who grew up in North Africa and is
credited with introducing the decimal system to Europe, used the term zephyrum. This
became zefiro in Italian, and was then contracted to zero in Venetian. The Italian word
zefiro was already in existence (meaning "west wind" from Latin and Greek zephyrus)
and may have influenced the spelling when transcribing Arabic ṣifr.[9]

Modern usage

There are different words used for the number or concept of zero depending on the
context. For the simple notion of lacking, the words nothing and none are often used.
Sometimes the words nought, naught and aught[10] are used. Several sports have
specific words for a score of zero, such as love in tennis and duck in cricket; nil is used
for many sports in British English. It is often called oh in the context of telephone
numbers. Slang words for zero include zip, zilch, nada, and scratch. Duck egg and goose
egg are also slang for zero.[11]

śūnya means "zero," "nothing," "empty" or "void"[6] and derives from the root śvi,
meaning "hollow"