Let’s innovate

1. Take a quiz:
Can you guess which of these inventions were created by women
and which by men? Can you guess when they were invented?

windshield wipers / dishwasher / computer algorithm / diapers / ballpoint pen / circular saw/
microwave oven / self cleaning glass

2. Read the paragraph below, paying special attention to the relative clauses.

Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and engineer who is called the ‘’father of the
computer’’. In 1822, he created the first mechanical computer, which was first called the
‘’Difference Engine’’. In 1880, Herman Hollerith, whose company later became IBM, designed a
punch card system which calculated the population of the country. In 1936, Alan Turing
presented a ‘’universal machine’’ that was able to compute anything. The concepts of the
modern computer are based on Turing’s ideas.

3. Let’s grammarize!

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4. Defining Relative Clauses

5. Non-defining Relative Clauses

6. Match the phrases on the left with those on the right:

Mark is the man
Ms. Gonzales is the professor
Here is the sofa
This is the new house
Christy is the dancer
This is the computer
That is the book
that I’m reading. It’s called ‘Wuthering Heights.’
that I use every day for work.
who is the company manager. He works with the big boss.
who teaches Spanish. She has many students.
that I bought for our living room.
where we will move into next month.
who performed at the Swan Lake recital.

7. Insert the appropriate phrase in the gaps below:

that I collected in the forest, / which was two hundred years old, / that I spent months writing,
/ whose house was robbed, / who is my piano teacher,

1. The old castle, ____________________________ , was demolished yesterday by the

construction workers.
2. My neighbor, _____________________ , spoke to the police about the burglary.

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 3. The blackberries, _______________________ , were delicious in the dessert you made.
4. Christina, ____________________ , is a music professor at the conservatory.
5. My new book, _______________________ , was a best-seller in the bookstore.

8. Read the lecture about scientific developments:

Part I

Hello class and welcome to this discussion about scientific developments. You will contribute by
writing an essay about this lecture which you’ll turn in on Friday. According to most critics, the
internet seems to have been the most significant development of the past half-century.
Nowadays, we use the web for everything, from work to communication and retrieving
information.
However, let’s not forget that none of that would have been possible without electricity, right?
Without using energy, we can’t operate any technological device. Of course, electricity has
always existed, but our dependence on it now is huge.

Part II

So, moving on. Are there other remarkable scientific inventions in transport? What about the
airplane? Aircraft allow people the opportunity to see countries on the other side of the world!
However, the air industry has received a lot of criticism recently for its carbon emissions. Don’t
ask me what the most outstanding invention was of all time because it’s impossible to say. I
just know that any innovation that will accelerate green energy development will be a winner,
and remember that we must keep exploring and building on the great work already achieved
by the brightest minds, including Edison, Einstein, and Bill Gates!

9. Answer the questions based on the passage you have just read:

1. We learn from the passage that ___________ was the most important innovation of the
past fifty years.
2. According to the lecture, __________ was not an invention but a discovery.
3. ___________ has lost some approval because of environmental damage.
4. The lecturer believes an important invention would be ____________________________
________________ .

10. Match the words with their synonyms:

critic speed up
significant most intelligent
retrieving collecting
remarkable outstanding
accelerate important
brightest reviewer

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11. Read the description of inventions.
Then, answer the comprehension questions that follow.

The telephone

In 1876, the telephone was created by Alexander Graham Bell. Since that initial invention, the
telephone evolved into the landline, the cordless phone, the mobile phone, and most recently,
the smartphone. The telephone is considered to be one of the greatest innovations in the
telecommunications industry.

The internet

The World Wide Web was first developed in the 1960s by the American military. Its rollout
among greater society began in the 1980s due to an increase in funding from the National
Science Foundation. By the early 1990s, the internet was accessible by businesses, schools, and
homes. Today, the world wide web is available globally despite governmental restrictions in
certain countries.

The airplane

In 1903, the first airplane was invented by two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. In the late
1930s, a new type of aircraft was created which could move faster than a propeller airplane –
it was called a jet. An even greater leap was taken with the development of the Concorde
airplane, which was first used in 1969. Faster than any commercial jet, it only took 3.5 hours to
fly from Paris to New York. However, a major accident occurred in 2000 in which 109 people
died. After this incident, the demand for this aircraft dropped massively, and maintenance
costs skyrocketed. The manufacturing of Concorde aircraft ceased.

1. What is the latest type of phone? _______________

2. What type of aircraft was invented at the end of the 1930s? _______________
3. What are the two reasons the Concorde is no longer manufactured?
____________________________________________________
4. In which decade was the internet available to be used by the public? _______________
5. According to the passage, how many countries have no access to the internet in the world
today? _______________

12. Match the words with their synonyms:

initial jump
innovation increase dramatically
leap deployment
massively first
skyrocket creation
rollout limitation
restriction hugely

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13. Select the correct word to fill the gaps:

remarkable / massive / reservations / innovation / accelerate / innovation

1. The creation of hydrogen cars is a key ____________ in the transport industry.

2. The price of this cryptocurrency I just bought may ____________ from $1 to $100 if I am
lucky.
3. You can ____________ the vehicle by 20 kilometers per hour by pushing on the speed
button.
4. If you want to ____________ lost data, search the memory of your computer.
5. A ____________ and destructive tsunami occurred in 2004.
6. Professor Williams is a ____________ expert with a Nobel Prize in nuclear physics.
7. I had initial ____________ about my new job, but I love it now.

14. Match the invention to the category:

4D movies / solar-powered aircraft / surgery / pesticides / Microsoft Teams Meetings /

Artificial Intelligence / carbon-free packaging

Transport ________________________
Communications ________________________
Medicine ________________________
Agriculture ________________________
Information Technology ________________________
Entertainment ________________________
Manufacturing ________________________

15. Watch the video about the top 10 inventions of all time.
Top 10 Inventions of All Time

Answer the questions about the video:

1. When was paper first invented? __________________

2. How did the compass impact the world? ____________________________
3. Which invention impacted the way we manage food? _____________
4. Which invention improved communication? ________________
5. Plumbing improved living ___________ around the world.
6. Vaccination has improved our ________ .
7. The transport industry was impacted by _________ .
8. The _________ was the starting point of the transport industry.
9. The telephone, radio, film, and computers have all improved _____________ .
10. Thomas Edison and Tesla are credited with which invention? __________

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16. Now, discuss these questions based on the video.

1. In your opinion, which invention is the most important? Explain, and give reasons for your
point of view.
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Which area (transport/communications/medicine) should we focus on developing further?
Why?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

17. 21st-century innovation. Match the innovations with the industries:

hydropower / antibiotics / social media / genetic modification / automation / text messaging /

hydrogen cars / wind power / robotics / driverless vehicles

18. Word families

Complete the Word Family Table with the missing words:

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