It’s not rocket science

1.

IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

2.

Female Scientists Changing The World
In any web search for the world’s famous scientists, Marie Curie always _________ a mention.
RECEIVE
Curie, a Polish and naturalised French physicist and chemist, discovered radiation, helped apply it in the field of Xrays and coined the term radioactivity. She _________a huge contribution to science,
MAKE
but was one of the very few ____________ who gained the recognition they deserved.
WOMAN
Science was a man’s world in the nineteenth century. And yet, Mary Anning became an expert in fossils and
geology. Coming from a poor family, she collected fossils on the beach and sold _______
THEY
to make a little money. She found fossils of complete marine reptiles that became extinct over 100 million years
ago. She gained the respect of scientists, but living in an era when women ___________ to vote
ALLOW
or attend university, she was not allowed to join the Geological Society of London.
A hundred years later, conditions were still difficult for female scientists. Rosalind Franklin, a chemist born in
1920, was part of a team who discovered the molecular structure of DNA. Tragically, she died aged thirty-seven,
four years before her fellow scientists, all men, were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. They made no reference to
Franklin in their acceptance speech. A similar injustice happened when British astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell
discovered radio pulsars, __________ as the greatest astronomical discovery of the twentieth century. DESCRIBE
Her supervisor and his male colleague were awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics for the _______, DISCOVER
and she was completely left out. Many astronomers criticised the decision, but Bell Burnell finally gained
recognition in 2007 when she was made Woman of the Year for her remarkable contributions to science.
In cases where women’s achievements were recognised, we still find evidence of discrimination in the way these
were reported in the press. When the brilliant chemist Dorothy Hodgkin was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 for
discovering the molecular structure of penicillin and vitamin B12, the paper headline was Oxford Housewife Wins
Nobel. In fact, this housewife ________ also a professor at Oxford University.
BE
Today the gender gap in the world of science is slowly closing and there are many female scientists inspiring new
generations of girls to study scientific subjects. But there is still some way to go for women to be equally
represented in science.

3.

1.
2.
Watch the video and answer the question: What scientists are
mentioned and what are their fields of study?
Choose the correct answer:
Who was the first and only person in history to win two separate Noble
prizes in two separate sciences?
a) Caroline Herschel
b) Rosalind Franklin
c) Marie Curie
Caroline Herschel was a …………..astronomer.
a) German
b) British
c) Austrian
Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered…….
a) nuclear fission
b) the first radio pulsars
c) the structure of DNA

4.

1. Match these phrasal verbs with their definitions:
bring in
come out
figure sth out
talk sb into sth
throw sth in
go in for
wind sb up
1 _____________= introduce sth
2 ______________= enjoy, choose or do sth
3 ______________= understand sth
4 ______________= annoy or irritate sb
5 ______________= include sth extra for free
6 ______________= be released or be published
7 ______________= persuade sb to do sth
2.Complete the sentences to make them true
for you.
1 I usually listen to the same kind of music.
I don’t really go in for …
2 When I buy my next phone, I’d like the shop to
throw in …
3 I always find it difficult to figure out …
4 I can’t talk my parents into buying me …
5 The person who winds me up most is …
6 The government should bring in new laws
to …
7 The next new book/film/album/game I want to
buy is coming out …

5.

1_____________________
Originally the system was built by the US Navy to locate submarines, and consisted of six satellites
which eventually grew to ten. This model preceded the Global Positioning
System or GPS as we know it today. At first, GPS was reserved for military use, but in 1983 US
President Reagan made a historic decision to let all civilian commercial aircraft
use it.
2____________________
GPS is just one of several space-based radio navigation systems. Currently, there are four global
navigation systems: GPS (US), GLONASS (RUSSIA), Galileo (EU) and BeiDou (China). These navigation
systems are essential for military operations, so some countries prefer not to be dependent on
another country in case problems arise.
3_______________________
Twenty-four satellites ensure that at least four satellites are in sight of any location on Earth at all
times. Four satellites are needed to provide data to calculate an exact position. The GPS receiver
measures the distance to three satellites by the amount of time it takes to receive a transmitted
signal. A fourth satellite is used to account for Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, that time
moves faster for those satellites that are further from sources of gravity. Without correction, this
would affect the exact location by about six miles. That, in a nutshell, is the principle on which the GPS
is based.
4________________________
Most people associate GPS with giving directions when driving. But there are other important uses for
this powerful tool. GPS helps farmers by gathering data about soil, weather patterns and expected
rainfall. It is also used to find evidence of the speed at which the ice caps are melting, or the deserts
are advancing, and this information contributes to environmental advice and warnings. GPS can even
predict whether a natural disaster is likely and help to manage the
consequences.
Read the text. Match headings a–d with
paragraphs 1–4.
a GPS takes Einstein’s theory into account
b GPS is owned and operated by the US
government
c GPS isn’t just for determining location
d GPS isn’t the only navigation system

6.

Complete the text with the correct form of the words in the box. There
are two extra words.
affect
like
depend
migration
economy
sense
interest
sure
Many species of bird 1 ________ twice a year often travelling long
distances, especially if their natural habitat suffers harsh winters.
Scientists are 2__________in finding out how they navigate on these
journeys. They know that birds are 3__________to light and use the sun
and stars to 4_____________that they know where north is located. Some
researchers think they may also recognise landmarks, but it’s doubtful that
they are completely 5___________ on this method, because they can still
navigate on cloudy days and fly across the oceans where there are no
landmarks. The latest thinking is that they’re 6_________ to use more than
one method, including detecting the Earth’s magnetic field.

7.

Choose the best form of the verb to complete
each gap

8.

1. Listen to six people expressing their opinion. Decide
whether each statement is T(True) or F (False).
You will hear five people on a TV programme talking
about an invention. Choose from A-H what each
speaker likes most about it. There are three extra
letters you do not need.

9.

10.

Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation
and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out
aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
It's one of the most famous discovery stories in history. In 1928, the
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming noticed a bacteria-filled Petri
dish in his laboratory with its lid accidentally ajar. The sample had
become contaminated with a mold, and everywhere the mold was,
the bacteria was dead. That antibiotic mold turned out to be the
fungus Penicillium, and over the next two decades, chemists purified
it and developed the drug penicillin, which fights a huge number of
bacterial infections in humans without harming the humans
themselves.
Penicillin was being mass-produced and advertised by 1944. This
poster attached to a curbside mailbox advised World War II
servicemen to take the drug to rid themselves of venereal disease.
About 1 in 10 people have an allergic reaction to the antibiotic,
according to a study published in 2003 in the journal Clinical Reviews
in Allergy and Immunology; even so, most of those people go on to
be able to tolerate the drug, researchers said.
Alexander Fleming pictured in his laboratory

11.

Match 1-8 with a-h to make sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The internet has transformed the way people….
The microscope altered people’s ……..
The overuse of pesticides has damaged…..
The mobile phone has had a beneficial effect on elderly people’s…….
The overuse of antibiotics has had a detrimental effect on people’s…….
Audio email has enhanced blind people’s ability to…..
High speed travel has distorted people’s……
The microwave oven revolutionized……
a) food preparation
b) understanding of the make-up of matter
c) quality of life
d) resistance to disease
e) the environment
f) sense of distance
g) access information
h) communicate via the internet

12.

Easily confused words: discovery, invention, innovation, exploration
Discovery - открытие, обнаружение (Что-то, что уже существовало ранее, но не было известно людям до
какого-то момента)
the discovery of (something) – открытие (чего-либо);
the discovery that… – открытие того, что…;
the Age of Discovery – эпоха Великих географических открытий;
a scientific discovery – научное открытие;
to make a discovery = to discover – открыть, совершить открытие.
The Nobel Prize was awarded to the scientist for his scientific discovery.
The discovery of the antibiotic was made by Alexander Fleming mostly accidentally.
Invention - изобретение, создание, выдумка (что-то совершенно новое, созданное человеком)
the invention of (something) – изобретение (чего-либо);
a revolutionary invention – революционное изобретение;
to design an invention = to come up with an invention = to invent – изобретать;
to patent an invention – запатентовать изобретение.
The airplane made by the Wright brothers was a revolutionary invention of the 20th century.

13.

Innovation - инновация, нововведение (качественное улучшение того, что было создано прежде)
the innovation in (something) – инновация в (чем-либо);
an innovation product – инновационный продукт;
the technological innovation – новая технология;
to encourage innovations – поощрять инновации.
The state should encourage innovations in industry.
Technological innovations change our life quickly.
Exploration - исследование, разведка (исследование чего-либо с целью изучения и освоения)
exploration of (something) – исследование (чего-либо);
space exploration – исследование космоса;
oil / gas / mineral exploration – разведка нефти / газа / полезных ископаемых;
to explore – исследовать.
Space exploration began in the middle of the 20th century.
The researchers are going on an expedition to explore the flora and fauna of the tropics.

14.

Choose the correct word:
1) In 2013 geologists ... a new mineral.
a) discovered
b) invented
c) explored
2) How wonderful that a printer ... What would we do without it?
a) has been innovated!
b) has been invented!
c) has been discovered!
3) Disadvantages of the spacesuit made the ... of the Moon’s surface much longer.
a) invention
b) innovation
c) exploration
4) Scientists try to ... perpetuum mobile.
a) explore
b) innovate
c) Invent

15.

5) Yesterday we occasionally ... a new way to the beach.
a) invented
b) explored
c) discovered
6) ... of the lift has simplified urban citizens’ life very much.
a) The invention
b) The discovery
c) The innovation
7) Recent ... in marketing technologies has increased our sales by 15%.
a) innovations
b) inventions
c) discoveries
8) A skeleton of an ancient man was found during the ... of this region.
a) exploration
b) invention
c) innovation
9) Last month my granny ... the Internet! Now she is surfing it for hours.
a) discovered
b) invented
c) explored
10) Not every ... was worthwhile to be used.
a) invention
b) discovery
c) exploration