Mgter.

Viviana Valenti

PRACTICE– Lessons 1-2 - INTERPRETATION

GREAT INVENTIONS
1 The idea of a flying machine that can carry a
person has captivated humanity for many
thousands of years.

Leonardo da Vinci, who was interested in the

5 principles of flight, was the first person who seriously studied aerodynamics. He
examined the way birds flew and he produced detailed drawings of their wings and
muscles in a flying position.

Leonardo designed several flying machines or ornithopters.

However, his first ideas were totally impractical. Some of
10 them had sophisticated flying control systems that consisted
of pulleys, screws and crankshafts. The problem was that the
components necessary to power and lift these complicated
machines simply did not exist in those days. Others were
unnecessarily heavy because they had strange devices such as
15 ladders that folded mechanically or oars that were moved by the occupants.
Unfortunately, Leonardo did not realize that man did not have the necessary strength to
move his machines.

One of his most fascinating machines is a glider. It is

the only design which is a true glider. It shows the
20 principles of controlled flight. In his description
Leonardo says: "this man will move on the right side if
he bends the right arm and extends the left arm; and he
will then move from right to left by changing the
position of the arms." This shows how far he had
25 progressed from impractical designs to ideas that had
the potential to take off.

Many of Leonardo´s designs weren't built until much later. Today ornithopters still
interest technicians and engineers. For example, James DeLaurier and his team at the
University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies have made a full-scale ornithopter
30 which they affectionately call the Flapper. It is equipped with a 24-horsepower engine
and a model airplane turbo booster. The Project Ornithopter vehicle can only fly for 14
seconds at an average speed of 88 km/h. .If it works, then, it will be the first ornithopter
that will take a person into the sky. “To make this machine fly was not as easy as we
had imagined. We must learn while we are working," DeLaurier declared.
Mgter. Viviana Valenti

Exercise no.1
Complete the chart with information from the text in Spanish

Type of invention
They were impractical -
because
-

-
Best invention

Why it was the best

English name of recent

flying machine
Made by - where

Characteristics

Flight capacity

Exercise no.2
Find the contextual reference in the text and copy it here.
1) who (line 4) _______________________________
2) their (line 6) _______________________________
3) his first ideas (line 9) _______________________________
4) them (line 10) _______________________________
5) his (line 17) _______________________________
6) he (line 22) _______________________________
7) this (line 24) _______________________________
8) which (line 30) _______________________________
9) it (line 32) _______________________________
10) we (line 33) _______________________________

Exercise no.3
What is the meaning of the following words as they are used in the text?

1. carry (line 1) a. arrastrar b. transportar c. agarrar

2. way (line 6) a. camino b. manera c. itinerario
3. detailed (line 6) a. detallados b. detalladas c. detalló
4. flying (line 7) a. vuelo b. volando c. volar
5. lift (line 12) a. elevador b. elevado c. elevar
6. take off (line 26) a. agarrarse b. soltarse c. despegar
7. affectionately (line 30) a. afectuoso b.afectuosamente c.efectivamente
8. fly (line 33) A.vuele b. volante c. vuelo
Mgter. Viviana Valenti

Exercise no.4
Analyse the following connectors. What relationship do they express?

1. or (line 8) a- contrast b- alternative c- hypothesis

2. However (line 9) a- addition b- result c- contrast
3. because (line 14) a. contrast b. consequence c. reason
4. such as (line 16) a- similarity b- alternative c- exemplification
5. if (line 21) a- contrast b- addition c- hypothesis
6. then (line 32) a. consequence b. addition c. reason

Exercise no.5 True (T) or False (F)?

Justify your answers by translating the corresponding COMPLETE sentence/s into Spanish

1. ____ Leonardo learned aerodynamics by studying how birds could fly

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2. ____ Man could fly Leonardo´s machines

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3. ____ The movement of the glider depends on the movement of the arms.

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4- ____ Leonardo´s later designs were better than the first ones.

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5. ____ Man can use the Flapper to fly into the sky
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6. ____ It was difficult to make the Flapper fly
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7. ____ DeLaurier and his group know how to make the flying machine

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