Inventions

INVENTIONS
Write down: ten most important inventions for you:
How would the world be different without these?
• What are some positive and negative aspects of the above mentioned inventions?
• What invention would you like to invent?
• What does ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ mean? Do you agree with it?
• How was the world different before the wheel was invented?
• How do people invent things?
• Have you ever thought about inventing anything?
• What invention is needed to save the world from global warming?
• How do inventions get their names?
• What question would you like to ask an inventor?
• Do new inventions always create new problems?
• Do you think new inventions always make people rich?¨
• Are these inventions blessing or curse?
• Invention JorL Your reason(s)
a) cars
b) cellular phones
c) fast food
d) computer games
e) e-mail
f) disposable cameras
g) nuclear power
h) plastic bottles
i) air conditioning
j) sodas (fizzy drinks)
Look at these gadgets. What do you think they are for? How useful are
they?
LISTENING¨ Listen and complete these sentences.
a Paul is ______________ by gadgets.
b The main difference between Paul's generation and his fathers' generation is their attitude to _______
c Paul's father thinks gadgets are not _______
d Paul has thirty-eight _____________
e Paul's wife thinks her husband is _________________ with gadgets.
f Paul would buy anything that made his life easier or ____________________
g Paul sometimes gives up on gadgets if the instructions are ________
h When Paul's sister gets a new gadget, she gets __________________ after a few weeks. ¨
i Many people buy gadgets because ____________________________ have them.
j His current favourite gadget catches _______________ _
READING Match the headings and the correct paragraph (There is an extra heading):
A Unpopular choices
B No one likes this
C Surprisingly not so popular
D Accurate results?
E Advantages and disadvantages
F A tasty choice
G The experts’ opinion
H Large and small breakthroughs
1. Inventions have been around for as long as we have. Some have had a dramatic impact on the world we live in
and on our way of life; others have simply made life that little bit easier. Most have influenced our lives in a
positive way, but some, it has to be said, have been anything but beneficial
2. According to a recent survey carried out by a British radio station into what their listeners' ten favourite and ten
least favourite inventions were, the bicycle came top of the favourites list, though it was felt that voting had been
unfairly influenced by members of a cycling organisation. Radio, perhaps not surprisingly, came out second top of
the list of favourite inventions, followed closely by the computer.
3. Heading the list of least favourite inventions were atomic and nuclear weapons, with landmines coming in at
second place
and the humble plastic bag coming third. Other inventions which featured in this dislike list were mobile phones, car
alarms and speed cameras. The internal combustion engine entered both lists but was more disliked than liked. ¨
4. Another survey carried out by the Fuji Research Institute in Japan, in which 2,000 adults in the Tokyo region were
asked to rate the ten greatest inventions of the twentieth century, placed instant noodles, an 'invention' from 1958, at
the top of their list. Instant noodles have been commercially produced since 1971 with almost fifty billion cups now
consumed worldwide each year.
5. Nonetheless, it seems astounding that in the country which is a world leader in technology a food product should
be voted ahead of personal stereos, video games, CDs and cameras, which came third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Also
interesting is the fact that the motor car was not ranked at all, possibly because it was invented overseas. Incidentally,
karaoke was in second place.
6. The question 'What's the most important invention in the past 2,000 years?' was also presented to a
gathering of Nobel prize winners and other serious thinkers recently. Although there was some disagreement
as to what constituted an invention, there were a couple of clear winners. The printing press was chosen above
any other invention. Johannes Gutenberg's invention of movable type in the fifteenth century had a huge
impact on the spread of information, with his amazing invention allowing every family to afford books and
learn to read.
7. Disagreement over what is the most important or the best or worst invention only goes to prove that it is a
matter of personal choice and perspective. One man's meat is another man's poison. The classic example is
nuclear power. A cheap and 'clean' source of power in the conventional sense, it also has drawbacks: in the wrong
hands it could be responsible for wiping out the world as we know it. The combustion engine is the same.
Environmentalists would say that it is responsible for more deaths and pollution than any other invention in the
last 1,000 years and wish that it had never been invented. But many of us would overlook this for the simple fact
that we wouldn't want to live without our cars.
TOTALLY ABSURD INVENTIONS
How do you think they work?
Insect Balls
Anti-Eating Mouth Cage
Rabbit syringe
Beerbrella
Arm Mitten
Bubble Head