Contents
Unit 2 Design
Unit 1 Innovations
Unit / Section
Function / Skill
Genre / Text type
Grammar / Discourse
Lexis / Technology
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
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 specification; meeting
Modals and semi-modals
Design; mechanical
2.3 Properties p.14
Describing properties
Brainstorming session
Phrases to encourage
participation
Construction; synthetic
textiles
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
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
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
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
Unit 4 Procedures
Unit 3 Systems
Review Unit A p.16
Unit 6 Planning
Unit 5 Processes
Review Unit B p.32
Review Unit C p.48
2
Contents
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Unit 8 Incidents
Unit 7 Developments
Unit / Section
Function / Skill
Genre / Text type
Grammar / Discourse
Lexis / Technology
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
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
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
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 problemsolving
Meeting; pre-meeting briefing
documents
Range of language forms
Non-destructive testing
11.1 Investigations p.84
Collaborative data
organisation
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
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
Unit 10 Testing
Unit 9 Agreements
Review Unit D p.64
Unit 12 Evaluation
Unit 11 Accidents
Review Unit E p.80
Review Unit F p.96
Language summary p.100
Extra material p.110
Speed search p.116
Audio script p.118
Contents
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1
Innovations
1 Eureka!
Start here
1 Work in pairs. Talk about accidental discoveries or inventions
in 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 accidental
discoveries.
X-ray
vulcanised rubber
safety glass
1
2
3
4
5
6
inkjet printer
co-ordinate geometry
antibiotics 1
Alexander Fleming – grows bacteria in lab – penicillium
fungus falls on bacteria – fungus kills them
Charles Goodyear – works with raw rubber powder
containing sulphur – brushes powder off hands – powder
falls onto hot stove – forms tough elastic substance
Rene Descartes – watches insect flying around room –
realises he can specify insect’s position in 3D space as –
distance from two walls and ceiling
Wilhelm Roentgen – projects light from cathode ray
generator onto wall – sees outline of bones of own hand on
wall
Ichiro Endo, engineer – works with a hot iron and a syringe
full of ink – touches neck of syringe with iron – forces ink
out
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 notes
in 2. Use the past continuous and the past simple tenses where
appropriate.
Language
page 101
Example: 1 – see the example in 1.
Writing
4 Write about the discoveries and inventions you talked about
in 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 SEARCH
pages (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)
.
4
1
Innovations
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Listening
6
02 Listen to this talk and choose the picture that
illustrates what Jaap (Will’s colleague) was looking at when he
had his eureka moment.
7 Listen again and answer these questions.
1
2
3
4
5
Speaking
What is Will’s (the speaker’s) job title at his petroleum
company in Brunei?
What problem has the speaker been trying to solve for the
last few years?
What was happening when Jaap suddenly had his eureka
moment?
What was the name of the type of drill that Jaap and his
team invented as a result?
How does this new drill solve Will’s problem?
8 In the question and answer session after his talk, Will gives
these answers. Write down the questions that were asked. Then
practise the questions and answers in pairs.
Language
page 102
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Language
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.
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.
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.
Well, most of the oil in the Brunei field is between 2,000 and
4,000 metres below the seabed, I think.
We’ve been drilling snake wells off the Brunei coast since
2005.
Well, our company first started exploring the Brunei field a
long time ago. I believe the first survey was in the 1980s.
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.
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.
Present perfect continuous
How long
have
Our company
Speaking
you
has
been
using
snake wells?
them
since 2005.
9 Work in pairs. Take turns to act the roles of a reporter and an oil company
representative. 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.
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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2 Smart wells
Start here
1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions about the illustration below. Make notes.
1
2
What are the advantages of this method of oil extraction compared with vertical
wells?
How do you think computers are used in this method?
‘Snake’ well system below seabed
‘Snake’ wells connect pockets
of oil that stretch for up to
3 miles under the seabed.
seabed
gas
oil
Valves and seals are located
in the oil pockets so they can
be isolated if they start to pump
too much gas or water.
Reading
OIL FIELDS
10
15
6
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 vertical
wells 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
1
gas
oil
water
2 Read this article and check the notes you made in 1.
SMART
5
oil
20
25
30
35
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 is
overlooked.
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 m
beneath 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
40
45
50
55
60
Fields technology and new drilling
techniques.
Buried deep beneath Champion West’s
seabed, sensors relay digital information
about 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 gas
or 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.
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3 Answer these questions about the article.
1
2
3
4
5
What are the two main economic reasons for drilling a snake well?
How accurate is the drill of a snake well when it is guided remotely?
For how long was the Champion West oilfield left unused following the discovery
of oil there? Why was it left unused?
How is data about conditions inside the snake well transmitted to the surface?
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
2
3
4
5
6
Vocabulary
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
increased output from many oil zones
conventional vertical well
engineers
snake well
blockages
transmission of data
computer model generation
underground reservoir
steerable drills
network of cables
5 Match these words or phrases with their synonyms (in bold) in the article in 2.
1
2
3
4
5
Language
this (line 12)
which (line 18)
that (line 21)
This (line 25)
This (line 47)
They (line 54)
capable of being expanded
complicated
capable of being guided
neighbouring
normal
6
7
8
9
10
having two parts
trapped
separated from one another
horizontally sideways
equal in value
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 each
sentence with the past participle in italics.
Example: 1 Isolated in small pockets, the oil can’t be extracted using vertical wells.
1
2
3
4
5
6
the oil is isolated in small pockets + it can’t be extracted using vertical wells
the sensors are connected by fibre-optic cable + they collect data from inside the
snake well
the drills are guided by remote controllers + they can hit a target only 2 m wide
the oil is locked 4,000 m beneath the seabed + it couldn’t be extracted for 30 years
the sensors are attached to the drill bit + they allow controllers to guide the drill
the software was developed by GeoSolutions + it generates computer models of
the geology
Innovations
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3 Lasers
Start here
1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions and make notes. Then share your ideas with
the rest of the class.
1
What does LASER stand for?
by Stimulated
of
Study the diagrams below. What are the three main differences between ordinary
light and laser light? Use some of the words and phrases in the box.
2
An ordinary light beam
A laser beam
Laser
Torch
laser light amplification stimulated emission of radiation organised disorganised
directional in one direction in all directions coherent concentrated photon
colours of the spectrum wavelength
Listening
2
04 Listen to part of a talk about lasers. Match the words in the box with the
labels 1–8 in the diagram on the next page.
ruby crystal
8
1
03
atom
light tube
mirror
power source
photon
laser beam
partial mirror
Innovations
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2
3
4
5
8
6
7
1
3 Work in pairs or small groups. Before you listen to the next part of the talk, put these
notes into the best order.
Note: The eight items in the notes correspond to the eight points in the diagram above.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
4
escaping photons form a powerful laser beam
atom absorbs photon – gets excited – calms down – emits new photon
tube flashes on / off rapidly – pumps energy (photons) into crystal
partial mirror lets 1% of photons escape
power source makes tube flash on / off 1
new photon hits excited atom – atom emits two photons (instead of one)
photons are reflected by mirror along inside of crystal
new photons travel inside crystal at speed of light
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 is
someone’s name.)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
A has been explaining
let’s move on to the next section of the talk
if you look at point X on the diagram, you will see
we can now turn to the next part of the talk
as you can see in point X on the diagram
I think I’ve covered the main points
I’ll now ask A to take over
now I’m going to hand over to A
6 Group the phrases from 5 under these headings.
Moving to the next topic
Handing over to the next speaker
Speaking
Referring to the previous topic(s)
Referring to a visual
7 Work in groups to prepare a talk on lasers. Divide into three sub-groups and prepare
one 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 the
talk, 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. Use
past 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. …
Innovations
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