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Focus: Vocabulary Study: gadgets and machines; the history of 2 inventions
Focus: Great Inventor: Thomas Alva Edison
Grammar focus: Infinitive/Gerund
Skills focus: Reading for specific information; describing personality; making a project.
I. What on Earth is this?
1. Complete the information below. Then compare it with your partners.
The three most useful machines in my home:
The three most useful gadgets I own:
The most useless gadget I ever got:
The three most important inventions in the last 50 years:
2. Here are some very useful machines that can help us with jobs around the house. Find the words that go with the picture: vacuum cleaner, freezer, lawn mower, washing machine, fridge, food mixer, washing-up machine, sewing machine
TEXT C
to suck the dust – всасывать пыль
to make a fortune – заработать/получить состояние
wheel – колесо
3. Read the stories about the invention of two of these useful things and complete the blanks.
The man who invented this useful machine was called Hubert Cecil Booth. But the idea wasn’t completely original. In 1901, Mr. Booth saw a show at the theatre in which the ‘real’ inventor showed how to clean a room with a magic machine. The only problem was that it blew the dirt! It didn’t suck it up. It just moved it around. Everyone in the front seats started sneezing! Booth spoke to the inventor, ‘Your machine is wonderful, but it should suck not blow.’ ‘That’s not possible!’ said the angry inventor. ‘Yes, it is,’ replied Booth and he went away and made a simple change to the design. He made a machine which sucked the dust into a bag, and he made his fortune. The most famous name connected with this machine is not Booth, however. In Britain, it is Hoover, the name of one of the first companies to manufacture these machines, and we even use the name as a verb. We often say ‘I’m just going to hoover the floor,’ when we go the cupboard to get out the __________.
The most famous name connected with this useful machine is Singer. Isaac Singer did not invent the first machine of this type but he thought of an improvement to the origin design. In 1851, the first Singer _________ machines were sold. They weren’t electric, of course. You made the needle go up and down by moving a pedal with your foot. The pedal moved wheels which were connected with the needle. The Singer factory in Coventry also made bicycles and then cars because the mechanism of the wheels was very similar in all these machines.
4. Discuss in pairs the answer to the following questions:
1. Which machines are being described?
Use your general knowledge and the description to find out.
2. Do most people know the names of the people who first invented them?
3. Whose names are most connected with these machines?
Vocabulary Study: machines, gadgets, devices, appliances
5. You all know what a machine is. Look at the machines in exercise 2.
Which definition do you think is the best? Add ideas of your own.
1. A machine is something which is made by people. You don’t find it in the natural world.
2. A machine is something made by people, which has moving parts and which helps us to do useful things.
3. A machine has moving parts like wheels.
4. A machine can be operated by people, with their hands and feet, but it can also use electricity or wind or water to make its parts move.
6. Look up these words in the dictionary and explain the difference in their meanings.
Make the list of gadgets, appliances and devices known to you
equipment
facilities
gadget (key finder, ……)
appliance (an electric kettle, …..)
device (a computer, ……)
Grammar Focus: Infinitives and Gerunds after prepositions
| Infinitives | Gerunds |
| An iron is used to press clothes. You can use it to press clothes. | A remote control is used for switching to another channel. You can use it for controlling from a distance. |
7. Write four questions about gadgets in your home. Then take turns asking your questions.
e. g. What is your computer used for?
II. Great Inventors
TEXT B
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