DIAGNOSTIC UNIT: DISCOVERIES

1. Read the stories about discoveries and complete the gaps (1-8) with the words in the box. Which sentence
in the stories is false?
CAPSULE – DRUG – ELECTRICITY – HEADACHES – LIFE – MICROCHIP – RADAR – SPECIES

WORD FAMILIES Study the words in blue in the stories about discoveries and then complete the table below
with the base form (infinitive) and a noun for each of the verbs.

VERB (INFINITIVE) NOUN

invent invention
design design

1
 VOCABULARY: DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
2.

3. Choose the correct option.

1 Can you ___ life without computers or
phones?
a imagine b cure c experiment
2 ___ makes apples fall from trees.
a Gravity b Species c Space
3 Would you like to travel into ___?
a universe b space c meteor
4 What’s the strangest ___ you have ever seen?
a invention b radar c extinction
5 Did you find it hard to __ to the heat in Africa?
a invent b create c adapt
6 There are many planets in the ___.
a stars b meteor c universe
7 Scientists have found ___ for many diseases.
a experiments b cures c designs
8 ___ are destroying the environment.
a Humans b Astronauts c Aliens
9 My brother ___ his own house.
a explored b tested c designed
10 How long has there been life on ___ ?
a Earth b planet c sun

LISTENING: INVENTIONS

A. Listen to four people talking about inventions. Write down the inventions or discoveries they mention.

TEGAN: ____________ DANIEL: ____________ KAITLIN: ____________ THEO: ____________

B. Listen again. Which phrases do you hear? Complete the sentences and write the name of the person who
says each phrase.

2
 READING COMPREHENSION: BIOMIMICRY

If you don’t know the meaning of any words, look them up in the dictionary:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/translate/

3
4
LISTENING COMPREHENSION: A SCIENCE PODCAST

5
6
 GRAMMAR FOCUS: CONDITIONALS

LISTENING COMPREHENSION: SPACE EXPLORATION

7
REVISION EXERCISES

8
READING COMPREHENSION: A ONE-WAY TICKET TO MARS

9
Vocabulary
Discovery and invention Life and the universe

1 Find and circle eight words in the wordsnake. 3 Label the photos with the words in the box.
Complete the table with the words. alien astronaut Earth space star sun

VERBS NOUNS alien 1 _________

adapt to adaptation to
(become) extinct (1) _________
(2) _________ creation
cure cure
design design
develop (3) _________
2 _________ 3 _________
discover (4) _________
experiment experiment
explore (5) _________
(6) _________ imagination
invent (7) _________
test test
4 _________ 5 _________
2 Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?
A cure is something that makes someone who is 4 Choose the correct words.
ill better again. T Ana Hi, Joel. What did you do last night?
1 Animals like dinosaurs and dodo birds became Joel I streamed a really good film about a fight
extinct many years ago, but there are still a lot between little green aliens / threats and us,
of them on Earth. __ the (1) gravity / humans.
2 When you first move to a new place you might Ana I think I've seen that film! Did the little green
need some time to adapt to your new life. __ men come from a (2) death / planet called
3 When you find a place that people have never Darkus?
seen before, you have made a discovery. __ Joel Yes, that's right. And if you remember, in the
4 Explorers like Christopher Columbus and film, Darkus is on the very edge of our
Amerigo Vespucci did lots of tests and (3) universe / stars, but the green men from
experiments. __ Darkus travel through (4) diseases / space to
5 People who always have good ideas usually get to Earth.
haven't got very good imaginations. __ Ana Yes, I remember. In the end, didn't the green
6 Sometimes after you create something for the men make the planet really cold because they
first time, you develop it to make it better. __ wanted lots of (5) life / species of animals to
7 People like Alexander Graham Bell, the man become extinct?
who made the telephone, like to invent Joel Well, they tried to do that, but the scientists
things. __ found a way to stop them.
Ana Oh, yes! I remember now!

10
Language Focus
Conditionals, if and unless
Gerunds and infinitives
4 Choose the correct option to complete the
1 Rewrite the sentences using gerunds as subjects. sentences.
Use the -ing form of the underlined verbs.
If you will add / add white to red, you get pink.
It's hard to adapt to a new school.
1 Will they eat sushi if they visit / ’ll visit Japan?
Adapting to a new school is hard.
2 If he isn't / weren't a scientist, he'd probably be
1 It's fun to do experiments in science class.
a musician.
_______________________________________
3 You get / ’d get cold if you go outside in winter.
2 It isn’t easy to develop something useful.
4 If I save / ’ll save enough money, I'll buy a
_______________________________________
telescope to look at the stars.
3 It was exciting to explore the museum.
5 You wouldn't like space if you ’ll go / went there.
_______________________________________
4 It wasn't expensive to buy a guinea pig. 5 Are the underlined words in the story correct ()
_______________________________________ or incorrect ()?
5 It's interesting to create something new.
_______________________________________ I went into the garden because I heard a strange sound.
If I hadn't heard  a strange sound, I wouldn't have
2 Are the sentences correct () or incorrect ()?
gone into the garden. If I hadn't gone into the garden, I
We should study before doing a test. 
1 To cure people is important work. __ wouldn't see (1)  the alien. The alien wouldn't have
2 I went to university studying physics. __
asked (2)  me to travel to space if I hadn't seen it. If
3 I intend to discover something important. __
4 He dislikes to talk about his experiments. __ the alien didn't asked (3)  me to travel to space, I’d
5 It was wonderful to meet the famous inventor. __ never have seen so many stars and meteors. My night

3 Complete the pairs of sentences with the gerund or would have been very different if I’d stayed (4)  in the
infinitive form of the verb. house when I heard the strange sound! Would you have
do
travelled to space with the alien if you were (5)  me?
a Doing tests on animals is wrong.
b The scientists don't plan to do tests on animals.
1 eat
a I always brush my teeth after ____.
b I went to the café ____ a sandwich.
2 be
a I would like ____ a teacher some day.
b My dad enjoys ____ a teacher.
3 learn
a It's brilliant ____ about other countries.
b I went to Spain after ____ about it in school.
4 watch 6 Complete the sentences with if or unless.
a I turned on my laptop ____ a science video.
Unless we help the planet now, we'll have
b I spend a lot of time ____ videos on my
serious problems.
computer.
1 ____ you leave now, you won't get to the space
5 design
museum on time.
a It's challenging, but fun, ____ computer games.
2 ____ you look up, you'll see stars.
b ____ computer games is challenging, but lots of
3 We won't stop the meteor ____ we don't try.
fun.
4 They won't see the alien film ____ their friend
takes them to the cinema.
5 ____ he doesn't eat, he'll be hungry.
11
Vocabulary
Discovery and invention
1 Complete the table with the noun forms of the
verbs in the box. You may have to change the
spelling of the word before you add the ending.
adapt extinct create develop discover explore
imagine invent
-ation -ion -ment
adaptation
2 Complete the two gaps in each speech bubble
with the verb and noun form of a word in the
box.
cure discover adapt imagine explore
Last month, I moved to a new town and I
changed schools. At first, I didn't like it, but
I'm slowly getting used to it. I know I'll adapt
to my new life. Adaptation can be hard.
Christopher Columbus was the man who
was lucky enough to (1) ____ the New
World. He was one of the first Europeans to
see it. His huge (2) ____ changed history.
I like to make new things. First, I sit down
and try to (3) ____ something interesting and
useful. Then, when I’ve decided what to
make, I use my (4) ____ to make it look
beautiful.
Yesterday, I found the location of an old
cave on a map and I wanted to (5) ____ it. I
was a bit frightened, so I asked two of my
friends to join me in my (6) ____ of the cave.
Jonas Salk wanted to (7) ____ people who
were ill with polio. When he found a (8) ____
for these people, he helped them, but he
didn't ask them for money.
Life and the universe
3 Read the clues and complete the crossword.
1
S
U
2
A N
-y
3
S
4
L
5
G
Down
1 something that provides the Earth with heat and
light
2 a person who travels into space
4 living things of a certain kind, or in a certain
place
Across
2 a creature that comes from space
3 it looks like a very small 'light' in the night sky
5 a force that causes things to fall down
4 Complete the words in the paragraph.
Are you worried about the future of Earth? Are you
afraid that a (1) m____ or something even bigger
from space might hit it? Do you think that something
like that might make the planet really cold and
cause a lot of deadly (2) d____ and human
(3) d____, or the extinction of certain animal
(4) s____? Don't be. Things have been hitting our
(5) p____ since the beginning of time. In addition,
an organization called the Spaceguard Survey is
looking after us! They study what they can see of
our (6) u____ and will warn us if (and that's a VERY
big if) something might be a (7) t____ to us.
12
Language Focus
Gerunds and infinitives
1 Order the words to make sentences. Use the
gerund or infinitive form of the bold verbs.
is / imagine / on / difficult / other planets / life
Imagining life on other planets is difficult.
1 a cure / exciting / it would be / for something /
discover
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2 a science programme / watch / Magda / her
laptop / turned on
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
3 during storms / bark / my dog / tends
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
4 finish / he / a pilot / university / became / after
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
5 new things / I / about / enjoy / in school / learn
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2 Choose the correct verbs then use them in the
gerund or infinitive form to complete the
dialogues.
go / do
A Have you decided to do something this
afternoon?
B Yes, I'd like to go to the science museum.
1 jog / practise
A ____ is good for your body.
B I know. I go to the park to ____ every day.
2 get / try
A I studied for my science test after ____ home
late last night.
B It's not good ____ to learn things when you're
feeling tired.
3 stop / think
A I avoid ____ about the future of Earth.
B I know, but we need ____ polluting it.
4 plan / learn
A I used this book ____ my experiment.
B Oh, that's a great book for ____ about how to
do tests!
5 hurt / use
A Do you think it's awful ____ guinea pigs for
science experiments?
B Oh, yes. I can't stand people ____ animals.
13
Conditionals, if and unless
3 Write sentences in the conditional form in
brackets.
you heat water / it get hot (zero)
If you heat water, it gets hot.
1 I go with her / she ask me (2nd)
_______________________________________
2 the planet die / we not protect it (1st)
_______________________________________
3 you get ice / you freeze water (zero)
_______________________________________
4 I become an astronaut / I be better at physics
(2nd)
_______________________________________
5 he not study / he not learn (1st)
_______________________________________
4 Read the text. Then complete the sentences
using the third conditional.
Neil Armstrong loved planes. He became a pilot. He
got a job as an astronaut. He went into space. He
was the first man to walk on the moon. He became
a national hero.
If Neil hadn't loved planes, he wouldn't have
become a pilot.
1 He wouldn't have got a job as an astronaut ___
______________________________________
2 If he hadn't got a job as an astronaut, ________
______________________________________
3 If he hadn't gone into space, _______________
______________________________________
5 Rewrite the sentences using the words in
brackets.
He'll meet her if he's not working. (unless)
He'll meet her unless he's working.
1 Unless we help, the animals will die. (don’t)
If _____________________________________
2 If she doesn't look, she won't see stars. (looks)
Unless ________________________________
3 Anthony will come unless he's busy. (if)
Anthony _______________________________
4 They'll fail the test if they don't study. (unless)
They __________________________________
5 Verity won't go unless you ask her. (if)
Verity _________________________________
 FINAL ACTIVITY
DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS PRESENTATION

STEP 1: Go back to the first classes of this unit and re-read the examples we have seen of inventions and the
presentation about biomimicry.

STEP 2: Do research about an invention that interests you. Answer the questions below:

✔ What’s the name of the invention?

✔ Who invented it? When was it developed?
✔ If you have chosen an example of biomimicry, what was it inspired by?
✔ What is its purpose/function? What is it used for?
✔ Does it provide a solution to a particular problem? Which one/how?
✔ What other interesting facts can you add to your presentation?

Remember that you must answer these questions using your own words.

STEP 3: With all the information you have gathered, write a script for the presentation of your
invention (around 180-200 words) and add some visuals (pictures, graphics, etc.) to illustrate it. Include
the vocabulary and structures seen in the unit (conditional sentences, gerunds and infinitives).

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

14