The Reading / Listening - Smartphone Glass - Level 2

Has your heart sunk after dropping your smartphone and worrying about the glass? The glass used to make many smartphone screens just got tougher. Corning, the company that makes the glass, has made it stronger. It is called Gorilla Glass. It has been used in smartphones for many years. Corning has improved the glass to make it more difficult to scratch, crack or smash. The new product is called Gorilla Glass Victus. It can survive drops of up to two metres without any damage. It is also two times more scratch-resistant than other glass.

A Corning spokesperson spoke about the new product. He said: "Dropped phones can result in broken phones. As we developed better glass, phones survived more drops. However, they also showed more visible scratches." He said it was important to make glass that could survive higher drops and be more difficult to scratch. He added that instead of focusing on making the glass better for either drops or scratches, it would be better to focus on improving both drops and scratches. The glass is set to debut on Samsung products "in the near future".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Smartphone Glass - Level 0 Smartphone Glass - Level 1   or  Smartphone Glass - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.pcmag.com/news/corning-launches-toughest-gorilla-glass-yet
  • https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/23/gorilla-glass-victus-can-survive-a-two-meter-drop-and-is-set-to-arrive-on-a-to-samsung-device-soon/
  • https://www.wired.com/story/gorilla-glass-victus/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. dropping your
  2. worrying
  3. glass used to make many
  4. It is called Gorilla Glass
  5. Corning has
  6. make it more difficult
  7. It can survive drops of up
  8. two times more scratch-
  1. smartphone screens
  2. to scratch
  3. resistant
  4. improved the glass
  5. smartphone
  6. to two metres
  7. about the glass
  8. Gorilla Glass

Paragraph 2

  1. Dropped phones can result
  2. they also showed more visible
  3. make glass that could survive
  4. more difficult to
  5. instead of focusing on making
  6. it would be better to focus
  7. The glass is set to debut
  8. in the near
  1. on improving
  2. scratch
  3. future
  4. scratches
  5. on Samsung products
  6. in broken phones
  7. higher drops
  8. the glass better

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Has your (1) ___________________ dropping your smartphone and worrying about the glass? The glass used to make many smartphone screens (2) ___________________. Corning, the company that makes the glass, has made it stronger. It is called Gorilla Glass. It has (3) ___________________ smartphones for many years. Corning has (4) ___________________ to make it more difficult to scratch, crack or smash. The new product is called Gorilla Glass Victus. It can (5) ___________________ up to two metres without any damage. It is also two times more scratch- (6) ___________________ glass.

A Corning spokesperson spoke about (7) ___________________. He said: "Dropped phones (8) ___________________ broken phones. As we developed better glass, phones survived more drops. However, they also showed (9) ___________________." He said it was important to make glass that could survive higher drops and be more (10) ___________________. He added that instead of focusing on making the glass better for either drops or scratches, it would be better to (11) ___________________ both drops and scratches. The glass is set to debut on Samsung products "in (12) ___________________".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Hasyourheartsunkafterdroppingyoursmartphoneandworryingabout
theglass?Theglassusedtomakemanysmartphonescreensjustgottou
gher.Corning,thecompanythatmakestheglass,hasmadeitstronger.I
tiscalledGorillaGlass.Ithasbeenusedinsmartphonesformanyyears.C
orninghasimprovedtheglasstomakeitmoredifficulttoscratch,crackor
smash.ThenewproductiscalledGorillaGlassVictus.Itcansurvivedrops
ofuptotwometreswithoutanydamage.Itisalsotwotimesmorescratch-
resistantthanotherglass.ACorningspokespersonspokeaboutthenew
product.Hesaid:"Droppedphonescanresultinbrokenphones.Aswede
velopedbetterglass,phonessurvivedmoredrops.However,theyalsos
howedmorevisiblescratches."Hesaiditwasimportanttomakeglasstha
tcouldsurvivehigherdropsandbemoredifficulttoscratch.Headdedtha
tinsteadoffocusingonmakingtheglassbetterforeitherdropsorscratch
es,itwouldbebettertofocusonimprovingbothdropsandscratches.The
glassissettodebutonSamsungproducts"inthenearfuture".

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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