Technical English 4 - Course Book B2-C1 Upper Intermediate Longman(1)

8/9/2019 Technical English 4 - Course Book B2-C1 Upper Intermediate Longman(1)

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2 Contents

Contents

Unit / Section Function / Skill Genre / Text type Grammar / Discourse Lexis / Technology

U n i t 1 I n n o v a t i o n s 1.1 Eureka! p.4 Questioning Talk + Q&A session Past / present perfect

continuous

Oil and gas drilling

1.2 Smart wells p.6 Clause linking Technical article Past participle; cohesion Drilling; remote control

1.3 Lasers p.8 Giving a talk Lecture; technical description Section markers in a talk Laser technology

U n i t 2 D e s i g n

2.1 Spin-offs p.10 Function of a device Product description Present / past simple passive; to

+ infin; for + -ing; which

Products from space

research

2.2 Specifications p .12 Necessity, ability,

recommendation

Design specif icat ion; meeting Modals and semi-modals Design; mechanical

2.3 Properties p.14 Describing properties Brainstorming session Phrases to encourage

participation

Construction; synthetic

textiles

Review Unit A p.16

U n i t 3 S y s t e m s

3.1 Problems p.20 Low probability; reassuring Product recall notice Present continuous passive;

phrases suggesting low risk

Automotive

3.2 Solutions p.22 Summarising; linking Product recall notice Non-defining relative clause;

present participle; although

Automotive; braking systems

3.3 Controls p.24 Contrasting; note-taking Lecture Linkers of contrast Automotive; aeronautics

U n i t 4 P r o c e d u r e s

4.1 Shutdown p.26 Past events Engineering article Two-part phrasal verbs Mechanical; electrical;

physics

4.2 Overhaul p.28 Past procedure; instructions Engineering article;

instruction manual

Nouns derived from phrasal

verbs

Mechanical; maintenance

4.3 Instructions p.30 Instructions and feedback;

simultaneous actions

Practical demonstration;

instruction manual

Oral vs written instructions;

while / as + -ing

Mechanical; electronics

Review Unit B p.32

U n i t 5 P r o c e s s e s

5.1 Causes p.36 Cause and effect Brainstorming session;

‘fishbone’ diagram

Verb / noun / prepositional

phrases of cause and effect

Metallurgy; chemistry

5.2 Steps p.38 Explaining a process Technical brochure Choosing active or passive Iron and steel making

5.3 Stages p.40 Note-taking; writing up Lecture; flow diagram Gerunds / nouns as captions;

lexical cohesion

Aluminium refining / smelting

U n i t 6 P l a n n i n g

6.1 Risk p.42 Degrees of certainty Risk assessment tool Phrases expressing degrees of

certainty

Petroleum; environment

6.2 Crisis p.44 Immediate / long-term plans Critical path analysis; crisis

meeting

Future / future perfect passive;

about to / on the point of

Petroleum; marine

6.3 Projects p.46 Participating in meetings Project proposal meeting Phrases for chairing a meeting Civil engineering

Review Unit C p.48


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3Contents

Unit / Section Function / Skill Genre / Text type Grammar / Discourse Lexis / Technology

U n i t 7 D e v e l o p m e n t s

7.1 Prototypes p.52 Describing developments

and progress

Technology review Range of forms and functions ICT; smart phones

7.2 Comparisons p.54 Comparing; contrasting Product comparison Phrases / linkers expressing

comparison and contrast

Electronics; touch screens

7.3 Products p 56 Explaining technology to

non-specialists

Product launch Phrases introducing

explanations / analogies

Electrical; materials science

U n i t 8 I n c i d e n t s

8.1 Theft p.58 Speculating about past Work memo; work discussion Present perfect passive modal Logistics; warehousing

8.2 Security p .60 Investigating; questioning Incident report; product

brochure

Indirect questions and related

noun phrases

ICT; telecoms; security

8.3 Emergency p.62 Degrees of agreement /

disagreement

Safety talk; serious incident

report

Phrases qualifying ‘yes’ or ‘no’;

up to a point / on the contrary

Health and safety; HazMat

Review Unit D p.64

U n i t 9

A g r e e m e n t s

9.1 Proposals p.68 Proposing; recommending Meeting with client Noun clause / gerund after

propose / recommend / suggest

Electronics; wireless controls

9.2 Definitions p.70 Defining a term Definition; glossary Defining relative clause; pre- /

post-modifiers in definitions

Sensor technology

9.3 Contracts p.72 Stipulating conditions Contract; pre-contract

discussion

Alternatives to if : on condition /

provided that

Work contracts

U n i t 1 0 T e s t i n g

10.1 Plans p.74 Concise technical writing Test plan Nouns / hyphenated phrases

used as pre-modifiers

Destructive testing;

earthquake proofing

10.2 Reports p.76 Report format; report-writing Test report Grammar / markers associated

with report sections

Testing buildings and

bridges

10.3 Methods p.78 Collaborative problem-

solving

Meeting; pre-meeting briefing

documents

Range of language forms Non-destructive testing

Review Unit E p.80

U n i t 1 1 A c c i d e n t s

11.1 Investigations p.84 Collaborative dataorganisation

Raw data for a report Expressions of causation,sequence and speculation.

Hydro-electric power;maintenance

11.2 Reports p.86 Format of report; abstract;

writing a report

Investigative report Third conditional, present

perfect modal

Accident investigation

11.3 Communication p.88 Assertiveness; summarising;

writing an abstract

Communication guidelines Phrases to signal

communicative intent

Aviation; aeronautics

U n i t 1 2 E v a l u a t i o n

12.1 Projects p.90 Sequence of events; past

necessity

Project evaluation report Perfect participle; past tense of

modals

Agricultural engineering

12.2 Performance p.92 Past ability; self-evaluation Employee appraisal interview Three-part phrasal verbs; past

tense of modals

IT, robotics, petroleum

12.3 Innovations p.94 Debating; persuading;

teamwork

Team presentation; awards

committee

Range of language forms Nanotechnology

Review Unit F p.96

Language summary p.100

Extra material p.110

Speed search p.116

Audio script p.118


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4 1 Innovations

1 Eureka!

Start here 1 Work in pairs. Talk about accidental discoveries or inventionsin science or technology which you have heard about.

Example: 1 Alexander Fleming was growing some bacteria in his

lab when some penicillium fungus fell on the bacteria and killed

them. That is how he accidentally discovered antibiotics.

Task 2 Work in pairs. Match the notes 1–6 with the accidentaldiscoveries.

X-ray inkjet printer

vulcanised rubber co-ordinate geometry

safety glass antibiotics 1

1 Alexander Fleming – grows bacteria in lab – penicillium

fungus falls on bacteria – fungus kills them

2 Charles Goodyear – works with raw rubber powder

containing sulphur – brushes powder off hands – powder

falls onto hot stove – forms tough elastic substance

3 Rene Descartes – watches insect flying around room –

realises he can specify insect’s position in 3D space as –

distance from two walls and ceiling

4 Wilhelm Roentgen – projects light from cathode ray

generator onto wall – sees outline of bones of own hand on

wall

5 Ichiro Endo, engineer – works with a hot iron and a syringe

full of ink – touches neck of syringe with iron – forces ink

out

6 Edouard Benedictus – puts away glass flask – flask

contains liquid plastic – drops flask on floor – flask doesn’t

break – thin plastic film holds pieces together

3 Describe the accidental discoveries outlined in the notesin 2. Use the past continuous and the past simple tenses where

appropriate.

Example: 1 – see the example in 1.

Writing 4 Write about the discoveries and inventions you talked aboutin 1, using the past simple and continuous. Follow the example

in 1.

Scanning 5 Practise your speed reading. Look for the information you need on the SPEED SEARCHpages (116–117). Try to be first to complete this text.

We don’t know if Archimedes really stepped into his bath and shouted ‘Eureka!’

(‘I’ve discovered it!’) when the water level (1) . But we do know that he

discovered that a body immersed in fluid experiences a (2) force equal

to the weight of the liquid displaced. We also know that Archimedes invented the

(3) and the (4) .

1 Innovations

Language

page 101


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5Innovations 1

Listening 6 02 Listen to this talk and choose the picture thatillustrates what Jaap (Will’s colleague) was looking at when he

had his eureka moment.

7 Listen again and answer these questions.

1 What is Will’s (the speaker’s) job title at his petroleum

company in Brunei?

2 What problem has the speaker been trying to solve for the

last few years?

3 What was happening when Jaap suddenly had his eureka moment?

4 What was the name of the type of drill that Jaap and his

team invented as a result?

5 How does this new drill solve Will’s problem?

Speaking 8 In the question and answer session after his talk, Will givesthese answers. Write down the questions that were asked. Then

practise the questions and answers in pairs.

1 Well, I would say that the main reason for using snake well

technology is mainly economic. Snake wells allow us to get

more oil out of a single field.

2 Yes, it does. The technology has a very big environmental

benefit, because snake wells mean that you can build fewer

oil platforms and do less drilling.

3 Yes, we are. We’re using it right now, at this very moment.

We have a number of snake wells in operation off the coast

of Brunei.

4 Well, most of the oil in the Brunei field is between 2,000 and

4,000 metres below the seabed, I think.

5 We’ve been drilling snake wells off the Brunei coast since

2005.

6 Well, our company first started exploring the Brunei field a

long time ago. I believe the first survey was in the 1980s.

7 Yes, we have. In addition to the snake well, we’ve been

developing a system of sensors that transmit data from the

drill bit back to computers on the surface.

8 Well, I don’t know exactly what my next project is going

to be! Maybe I’ll drill a snake well off the coast of Nigeria.

Language Present perfect continuous

How long have youbeen using

snake wells?

Our company has them since 2005.

Speaking 9 Work in pairs. Take turns to act the roles of a reporter and an oil companyrepresentative. When you are the reporter, use the present perfect continuous in your

first question about each project, and then follow up with different types of questions.

Student A: Turn to page 115. Student B: Turn to page 113.

Language

page 102

1 Oil sands, Canada: how long? surface / underground

mining? area project covers? kind of oil extracted?

extracted oil converted into …? expected length of

project?

2 Drilling for gas, Russia: how long? based where in

Russia? onshore / offshore? gas converted into ...?

meaning of ‘LNG’? future exports to ...? expected

production (tonnes)?


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6 1 Innovations

2 Smart wells

Start here 1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions about the illustration below. Make notes.

1 What are the advantages of this method of oil extraction compared with vertical

wells?

2 How do you think computers are used in this method?

Reading 2 Read this article and check the notes you made in 1.

‘Snake’ wells connect pockets

of oil that stretch for up to

3 miles under the seabed.

Valves and seals are located

in the oil pockets so they can

be isolated if they start to pump

too much gas or water. water

oiloil

oil

gas

gas

seabed

‘Snake’ well system below seabed

If an oil company discovers a large single

reservoir of oil and gas, the solution is

simple: drill a vertical well down to the

reservoir and bring up the oil. But what

can be done when an oilfield consists

of hundreds or even thousands of small,

isolated pockets of oil? It would be too

expensive to drill hundreds of verticalwells to reach all the small pockets.

The innovative solution to this problem

is the ‘snake well’. Unlike the conventional

vertical well, this is a horizontal well that

weaves laterally back and forth across a

number of oil-containing zones. Guided by

smart technology, a single snake well can

SMARTOIL FIELDS

access multiple pockets of oil and achieve

output equivalent to several individual

wells, which has the dual advantage of

reducing cost and ensuring that no oil isoverlooked.

A snake well uses steerable drills that

can be positioned with great accuracy.

Special imaging software generates

detailed computer models of underground

geology and reservoirs. This enables drills

to hit a target far underground that is less

than two metres across.

Located 90 km off the coast of Brunei, the

Champion West oilfield is Shell’s flagship

project using Smart Fields technology. For

30 years, Champion West lay dormant, its

rich oil reserves locked 2,000 to 4,000 mbeneath the seabed in a complex web of

small reservoirs (see illustration above).

In the past, these small pockets of

oil were too expensive to develop. But

now Champion West has been changed

into one of the world’s most advanced

oil and gas fields by means of Smart

Fields technology and new drilling

techniques.

Buried deep beneath Champion West’s

seabed, sensors relay digital informationabout temperature, pressure and other

factors to control centres on land by

means of a network of fibre-optic cables.

This enables continuous monitoring

of production, and engineers can make

speedy decisions on how best to extract

the maximum amount of oil, monitor

its movement within the reservoir and

instantly notice production problems,

such as blockages.

They can take action to solve problems,

for example by the remote electronic

activation of hydraulic well valves. If gasor water threatens to break into the well,

for example, the valve for that section can

be closed down using a remote control.

Swellable seals are used to isolate the

zones from one another, and prevent fluid

from one zone from flowing into another

adjacent zone.

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60


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7Innovations 1

3 Answer these questions about the article.

1 What are the two main economic reasons for drilling a snake well?

2 How accurate is the drill of a snake well when it is guided remotely?

3 For how long was the Champion West oilfield left unused following the discovery

of oil there? Why was it left unused?

4 How is data about conditions inside the snake well transmitted to the surface?

5 How do engineers stop the oil in the well being contaminated with water or gas?

4 Match the reference words 1–6 from the article with the correct words or ideas a–j

that they refer to.1 this (line 12)

2 which (line 18)

3 that (line 21)

4 This (line 25)

5 This (line 47)

6 They (line 54)

a) increased output from many oil zones

b) conventional vertical well

c) engineers

d) snake well

e) blockages

f) transmission of data

g) computer model generation

h) underground reservoir

i) steerable drills

j) network of cables

Vocabulary 5 Match these words or phrases with their synonyms (in bold) in the article in 2.

1 capable of being expanded 6 having two parts2 complicated 7 trapped

3 capable of being guided 8 separated from one another

4 neighbouring 9 horizontally sideways

5 normal 10 equal in value

Language Linking (past participial phrase)

The past participle alone can sometimes replace subject + passive verb. It makes the

text more concise.

• The Champion West oilfield, located 90 km off the coast of Brunei, is Shell’s flagship

project … (= The Champion West oilfield, which is located ... )

The past participle can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence. Find these

examples in the text in 2:

• Located 90 km off the coast of Brunei , the Champion West oilfield is Shell’s flagship

project …

• Guided by smart technology , a single snake well can access pockets of oil …

• Buried deep beneath Champion West’s seabed , sensors relay digital information …

Note that the participle must have the same subject as the verb in the main clause.

6 Join the information in each note into a single sentence in a similar way. Begin eachsentence with the past participle in italics.

Example: 1 Isolated in small pockets, the oil can’t be extracted using vertical wells.

1 the oil is isolated in small pockets + it can’t be extracted using vertical wells

2 the sensors are connected by fibre-optic cable + they collect data from inside thesnake well

3 the drills are guided by remote controllers + they can hit a target only 2 m wide

4 the oil is locked 4,000 m beneath the seabed + it couldn’t be extracted for 30 years

5 the sensors are attached to the drill bit + they allow controllers to guide the drill

6 the software was developed by GeoSolutions + it generates computer models of

the geology


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8 1 Innovations

3 Lasers

Start here 1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions and make notes. Then share your ideas withthe rest of the class.

1 What does LASER stand for?

by Stimulated of

2 Study the diagrams below. What are the three main differences between ordinary

light and laser l ight? Use some of the words and phrases in the box.

laser light amplification stimulated emission of radiation organised disorganised

directional in one direction in all directions coherent concentrated photon

colours of the spectrum wavelength 03

Listening 2 04 Listen to part of a talk about lasers. Match the words in the box with thelabels 1–8 in the diagram on the next page.

ruby crystal atom light tube mirror power source photon laser beam partial mirror

An ordinary light beam

Torch

A laser beam

Laser


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9Innovations 1

3 Work in pairs or small groups. Before you listen to the next part of the talk, put thesenotes into the best order.

Note: The eight items in the notes correspond to the eight points in the diagram above.

A escaping photons form a powerful laser beam

B atom absorbs photon – gets excited – calms down – emits new photon

C tube flashes on / off rapidly – pumps energy (photons) into crystal

D partial mirror lets 1% of photons escape

E power source makes tube flash on / off 1

F new photon hits excited atom – atom emits two photons (instead of one)

G photons are reflected by mirror along inside of crystalH new photons travel inside crystal at speed of light

4 05 Listen to the next part of the talk, and check your answers to 3.

5 Listen again and tick the phrases that you hear. (Note: X is a number, and A issomeone’s name.)

1 A has been explaining

2 let’s move on to the next section of the talk

3 if you look at point X on the diagram, you will see

4 we can now turn to the next part of the talk

5 as you can see in point X on the diagram

6 I think I’ve covered the main points

7 I’ll now ask A to take over

8 now I’m going to hand over to A

6 Group the phrases from 5 under these headings.

Moving to the next topic Referring to the previous topic(s)

Handing over to the next speaker Referring to a visual

Speaking 7 Work in groups to prepare a talk on lasers. Divide into three sub-groups and prepareone section of the talk with your sub-group. Then return to the main group to finalise

the talk.

Sub-group A: Laser light – a brief explanation

Sub-group B: The basic components of a laser machine

Sub-group C: How a laser machine works

8 Give your talk to another group. Use phrases from 5 to signpost the sections of thetalk, to refer to the diagram and to hand over to the next sub-group. Invite and answer

questions from the audience.

Writing 9 Write a description of how a laser machine works, referring to the diagram above. Usepast participial phrases where possible.

Begin: Here is a brief outline of how a laser machine works. First of all, the high-voltage

power source, located below the ruby crystal, makes the tube flash on and off rapidly.

These flashes inject particles of light, known as ‘photons’, into the ruby crystal. …

1

23

4 5

6

7

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Documents

Technical English 4 - Course Book B2-C1 Upper Intermediate Longman(1)