UNIT 8: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A. Listening
Exercise 1: Warm up - Listen and fill in the blank

The White Noise Machine

And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for. Here’s the (1)
winner of this year’s science contest: Charles Moore! Charles, tell everyone about your
invention.
M: Thank you!For the science contest this year,I’ve invented a (2) white noise machine. Let me
explain what that is. Have you ever been (3) kept awake at night because of the sound
of traffic, or people talking, or loud music? These types of noise are sometimes called (4)
dark noise . Dark noise is made up of sounds that (5) bother you so much that you can’t
(6) concentrate on what you are doing.
White noise is not exactly noise; in fact, white noise can’t be heard at all. White noise is made
up of invisible waves of sound that (7) reduce the effects of dark noise by making sounds
of the (8) opposite frequency. It's like being in the ocean and seeing a large (9) wave
coming toward you. It might knock you down. But if you could send a wave, or many
small waves, toward the big wave, it wouldn’t be as (10) powerful, because the small
waves would hit it and reduce its size.
My machine does this with sound. As a sound enters (11) the microphone, the machine
determines the sound’s frequency. Then it makes a sound in the opposite frequency that
cancels out the (12) first sound. I hope my machine will give some peace and quiet to
people living in noisy places. Thank you.
Dictation (39 words- 00:45)
White noise___________; in fact,_______________. White noise ______________that
____________by_______________________.
Exercise 2: Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word form Pronunciation Definition Sentence
Stream n /striːm/ a small
narrow river
Praise n /preɪz/ words that
show that you
approve of
and admire
sb/st
Sustainable adj /səˈsteɪnəbl/ involving the
use of
natural
products and
energy in a
way that does
not harm the
environment
Ecological adj /ˌiːkəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ connected
with the
relation of
plants and
living
creatures to
each other
and to their
environment
Residential adj /ˌrezɪˈdenʃl/ suitable for
living in;
consisting of
houses
rather than
factories or
offices
Underlay n /ˈʌndəleɪ/ layer of thick
material
placed under
a carpet to
protect it
Insulation n /ˌɪnsjuˈleɪʃn/ the act of
protecting
something
with a
material that
prevents
heat, sound,
electricity,
 etc. from
passing
through; the
materials
used for this
Drainage n /ˈdreɪnɪdʒ/ the process by
which water
or liquid
waste is
drain from an
area
Maintenance n /ˈmeɪntənəns/ the act of
keeping
something in
good
condition by
checking or
repairing it
regularly
Biodiversity n ​the existence
/ˌbaɪəʊdaɪˈvɜːs of a large
əti/ number of
different
kinds of
animals and
plants which
make a
balanced
environment
Absorb v /əbˈzɔːrb/ to take in a
liquid, gas or
other
substance
from the
surface or
space around

Listening summary:
Bài nghe giới thiệu xu thế hiện nay là sản phẩm xanh. Các nhà môi trường học đang
quan tâm đến các mái nhà làm từ cỏ. Bài nghe giải thích cấu trúc của mái cỏ này. Sau
đó, bài nghe đưa ra lợi ích của mái cỏ và so sánh với mái ngói. Bài nghe kết thúc với
những phương pháp giúp mái nhà trở nên xanh.

Exercise 3: Listen and do exercise

Dictation (38 words – 1:28):
Instead of________________to run off, and _______ _____________, the
roof________________which is_________________. This waterproof ___________
__________________ and_____________.
 B. Reading
Exercise 1: Match the words to the pictures
1. Jellies
2. Meat replacement
3. Margarine
4. Molecule
5. Flavorings
6. Vegetarian
Exercise 2: Read the following passage and answer the questions:
Exercise 4: Identify passive parts in the following sentences:
1. The icing used to decorate the cakes contains sugar, water, colouring and flavoring.
 2. Compounds - these contain two or more different elements bonded together.
3. In this unit, we will be looking at flavourings, the substances that are added to food or
drink to give it a particular taste.
4. Natural flavours are those found in nature.
5. An example of an animal source is beef flavoring, added for example to chips.

Optional: Short reading practice

The electric revolution

Your next car may be electric. We look at the technologies that will bring the revolution.
The main reasons why electric cars are not more popular at present are their price and their
relatively small range. Existing battery systems only allow electric cars to travel a distance of
between 100 and 160 km. However, this distance may not be a problem for urban drivers. A
recent Sydney study reported that 20 percent of journeys were 30 km or less, and recent data
from the US suggests that ?? percent of trips taken there are 48 km or less.
An innovative company called Better Place is aiming to make electric cars an option for all
drivers. It wants to see existing vehicles replaced by electric vehicles which, it says, offer a
number of benefits. Firstly, they can be powered by renewable energy which produces zero
emissions. What is more, electric motors are more efficient and can convert more than 90
percent of power into movement, whereas the efficiency of diesel or petrol engines is less than
20 percent. To achieve its aim, Better Place plans to use technology which is already available.
The plan is simple but revolutionary. It starts with the installation of a home charge point, and
through this, the vehicle will be plugged into the electricity grid whenever it is in the garage,
typically at night. In the morning, with a fully charged battery, the car is capable of as much as
160 km in urban motoring conditions. In addition to the home charge point, the battery can be
topped up by charge points at work and at supermarkets.
The battery is linked to a control centre by smart technology inside the vehicle. Better Place
can then ensure that the car is charged with electricity from renewable sources at the cheapest
price. For longer trips, a navigation system directs the driver to the nearest switch station,
where the depleted battery can be replaced with a charged one by a robot within a couple of
minutes.
Questions 1-6
Complete the labels on the diagram below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.