2.2 Reading


using research questions A What are the greatest engineering achievements of all time?


B Study the text on the right of this page. 1 Define each achievement. 2 How did it change human life? 3 Which is the greatest achievement?


C You are going to read a text. What should you do before you read a text in detail?


See Skills bank.


D This text is about a great achievement of the 20th century: refrigeration and air conditioning.


1 Think of some research questions before you read.


2 Compare your questions with those in the Hadford University assignment on this page.


E Study these topic sentences from the text and answer the questions below.


Before engineers learnt how to cool air, life was very different. The inventor of refrigeration was Jacob Perkins.


In 1834, Perkins obtained a patent for a vapour compression system of cooling.


Perkins often does not get the credit for his important invention, because he did not develop it.


The work of Perkins and Harrison did not directly lead to the cooling of rooms.


After cooling machines, Carrier moved on to rooms. In 1922, Carrier built his first true air-conditioning machine.


Mechanisms for cooling air have had a profound effect on human life all over the world.


1 Which achievement is the text about?


2 Where do you expect to find the answer to each question in the Hadford University assignment? Write 1, 2 or 3 next to the topic sentence.


3 What do you expect to find in the other paragraphs?


F Read the text on the opposite page and check your ideas. See Skills bank.


16


The Greatest Achievements of Mechanical Engineering in the 20th Century


1 The automobile 2 The Apollo missions to the Moon 3 Power generation 4 Agricultural mechanization 5 The aeroplane


6 The mass production of integrated circuits


7 Refrigeration and air conditioning


8 CAD and CAM 9 Bioengineering


10 Codes and standards


As chosen by the readers of Mechanical Engineering magazine


Faculty: Engineering Assignment


Do some research into engineering achievements of the 20th century. Make notes to answer these questions:


1 What problem did people face in this area?


2 What was the turning point in solving the problem?


3 How did the solution change human life?


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