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Date: Jun 13, 2007
THE ARTICLEScientists test WiTricity Wireless ElectricityA team of US researchers has come up with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough in what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic fields. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They have dubbed their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the transmission of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical appliances have been powered wirelessly. This new development means that our houses may be free from tangled wires. Gone will be the days of having to unplug the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having countless plugs hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by poor wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla struck upon the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to fruition, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ensure the power source causes us no harm. WARM-UPS1. ELECTRICITY: Walk around the class and talk to other students about electricity do you have any “electricity stories”?. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently. 3. WI-TRICITY: With your partner(s), decide which of these things you would like to have no power cords. How would ‘wirelessness’ make using these things better? Change partners and share your findings.
4. FUTURE HEADLINES: Talk about these future headlines with your partner(s). Talk about the stories behind the headlines. Discuss when these headlines might come true:
5. ELECTRICITY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with electricity. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A strongly believe WiTricity will be dangerous too much electricity in the air; Students B think WiTricity will revolutionize our lives. Change partners often. When you have finished, share your findings. BEFORE READING / LISTENING1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
WHILE READING / LISTENINGGAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text. Scientists test WiTricity wireless electricity
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A team of US researchers has ____________ up with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a ____________ in what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic ____________. In the test, the power ____________ was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer ____________ through the air. They have ____________ their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the ____________ of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical ____________ have been powered wirelessly. |
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appliances |
This new development means that our houses may be free from ____________ wires. Gone will be the days of having to ____________ the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having countless ____________ hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by ____________ wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla ____________ upon the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly ____________ power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to ____________, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ____________ the power source causes us no harm. |
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beam |
Listen and fill in the spaces.
A team of US researchers __________________ electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough in __________________ a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb __________________. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They __________________ invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the ______________________, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical __________________ powered wirelessly.
This new development means that our houses may be __________________ wires. Gone will be the days of having to __________________ to go from room to room, and of having __________________ behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused __________________ overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla __________________ of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never __________________ today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ensure the power source __________________.
1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘electricity’ and ‘system’.
electricity |
system
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2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:
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Write five GOOD questions about WI-TRICITY in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.
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STUDENT 1 _____________ |
STUDENT 2 _____________ |
STUDENT 3 _____________ |
Q.1. |
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Q.2. |
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Q.3. |
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Q.4. |
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Q.5. |
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STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.
ROLE PLAY:
Your government wants to give $100,000,000 to a company to research WiTricity. Should the company get the money?
Team up with classmates who have the same role as you. Develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies”.
Role A WI-TRICITY INVENTOR You think your invention is one of the greatest ever. It will revolutionize the way we live. There will be huge energy savings. Fewer people will die in house fires. Old and disabled people will be able to move around more. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GET THE CASH |
Role B OLD PERSON You can’t wait for WiTricity. You have great trouble bending down to put plugs in sockets. You have tripped over wires many times and broken bones. There was nearly an electrical fire in your house last year. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY WI-TRICITY WILL HELP YOU |
Role C SAFETY EXPERT You are 100% convinced that WiTricity is a huge danger. The amount of electricity in the air will cause many health problems. It will also cause more fires as the WiTricity builds up in heat patches. The idea should be abandoned. THINK OF MORE REASONS WHY WI-TRICITY IS BAD |
Role D ENVIRONMENTALIST You think the government should not waste money on making the lives of rich people more comfortable. This will only encourage laziness and poor health. This grant should go to aid poor people in developing countries. THINK OF REASONS WHY THE INVENTORS SHOULD NOT GET THE CASH |
Change roles and repeat the role play. Comment in groups about the differences between the two role plays.
In pairs / groups, discuss whether you really believe in what you said while you were in your roles.
CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from ad below in the article.
A team of US researchers has come (1) ____ with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough (2) ____ what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (3) ____ a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic fields. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They have (4) ____ their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for (5) ____ years now, it has been limited to the transmission of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical appliances have been powered (6) ____.
This new development means that our houses may be free from tangled wires. (7) ____ will be the days of having to unplug the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having (8) ____ plugs hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by (9) ____ wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla struck (10) ____ the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to (11) ____, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to (12) ____ the power source causes us no harm.
1. |
(a) |
down |
(b) |
up |
(c) |
over |
(d) |
under |
2. |
(a) |
in |
(b) |
on |
(c) |
out |
(d) |
by |
3. |
(a) |
match |
(b) |
lamp |
(c) |
lit |
(d) |
light |
4. |
(a) |
duped |
(b) |
dabbled |
(c) |
daubed |
(d) |
dubbed |
5. |
(a) |
few |
(b) |
sometime |
(c) |
some |
(d) |
any |
6. |
(a) |
wired |
(b) |
wirelessly |
(c) |
wireless |
(d) |
wires |
7. |
(a) |
Been |
(b) |
Gone |
(c) |
Went |
(d) |
Going |
8. |
(a) |
countless |
(b) |
counting |
(c) |
countable |
(d) |
counted |
9. |
(a) |
destitute |
(b) |
broke |
(c) |
meager |
(d) |
poor |
10. |
(a) |
upon |
(b) |
gold |
(c) |
in |
(d) |
up |
11. |
(a) |
fruitiness |
(b) |
fruitful |
(c) |
fruition |
(d) |
fruity |
12. |
(a) |
pleasure |
(b) |
censure |
(c) |
reassure |
(d) |
ensure |
Write about wireless electricity for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.
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1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about wireless electricity. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. MODERN TECHNOLOGY POSTER: Make a poster about the different kinds of modern technology you think will be with us soon. Show your poster to your class in the next lesson. Vote on the best one(s).
4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about wireless electricity. Discuss the merits of having wireless homes and offices.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?
5. LETTER: Write a letter to the MIT researchers. Ask them three questions about WiTricity. Give them three suggestions about what other things they could invent to make our lives better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.
TRUE / FALSE:
a. F |
b. F |
c. T |
d. F |
e. F |
f. T |
g. T |
h. F |
SYNONYM MATCH:
a. |
come up with |
invented |
b. |
breakthrough |
revolution |
c. |
dubbed |
called |
d. |
transmission |
spread |
e. |
appliances |
gadgets |
f. |
tangled |
jumbled |
g. |
poor |
faulty |
h. |
struck upon |
thought of |
i. |
beam |
send out |
j. |
fruition |
completion |
PHRASE MATCH:
a. |
A team of US researchers has come |
up with an electricity system |
b. |
a breakthrough in what |
will hopefully be a wireless future |
c. |
lit a |
60-watt light bulb |
d. |
They have dubbed |
their new invention “WiTricity” |
e. |
the first time electrical |
appliances have been powered |
f. |
our houses may be free |
from tangled wires |
g. |
having countless |
plugs hidden behind the TV |
h. |
fires caused by poor |
wiring and overloaded sockets |
i. |
inventor Nikola Tesla struck |
upon the idea |
j. |
his idea never came to |
fruition, until today |
GAP FILL:
A team of US researchers has come up with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough in what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic fields. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They have dubbed their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the transmission of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical appliances have been powered wirelessly.
This new development means that our houses may be free from tangled wires. Gone will be the days of having to unplug the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having countless plugs hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by poor wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla struck upon the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to fruition, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ensure the power source causes us no harm.
LANGUAGE WORK
1 - b |
2 - a |
3 - c |
4 -d |
5 - c |
6 -b |
7 - b |
8 -a |
9 -d |
10 -a |
11 -c |
12 - d |
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