4.2 Reading


preparation for reading research • topic development A Discuss these questions.


1 How are computers used in manufacturing today?


2 How has their use in manufacturing changed in the last 50 years?


3 How can computers help to reduce the cost of production?


B Look at the title of the text on the opposite page. 1 What does CIM stand for?


2 What exactly does it mean? Guess!


3 Write some questions that you would like the text to answer.


C One student wrote some ideas about CIM before reading the text on the opposite page.


1 Write A (I agree), D (I disagree) or ? (I’m not sure) next to the ideas on the right.


2 Add any other ideas you have. D Work in pairs.


Student A: Study Figure 1 on the opposite page. Student B: Study Figure 2.


Cover the figures. Explain each figure to your partner.


E Read all the topic sentences in the text.


1 What is the structure of this text? Choose Structure A or B on the right.


2 What do you think each paragraph will be about?


F Read the text and check your predictions.


G Answer these questions. 1 What exactly is CIM? 2 How are CIM and CAM different?


3 Why don’t all manufacturing companies use CIM?


H Topics sometimes develop within a paragraph.


1 Does the topic develop in each paragraph in the text? If so, underline the word or words which introduce the change.


2 What is the effect of the word or words on the development of the topic?


See Skills bank. 32 Structure A Para Contents


1 A history of computers in manufacturing


2 New approaches to manufacturing


3 How CIM works 4 How CAM works 5 CIM in the future


Structure B Para Contents


1 Computers in manufacturing in the 20th century


2 Computers in manufacturing in the 21st century


3 Alternatives to CIM 4 How CIM works 5 CIM in the future


Most factories have some computerization. Sometimes whole factories are computerized. Dangerous processes are computerized. Designs are computerized. Planning is computerized. Manufacturing is computerized. Only computer engineers can operate computers. Computers communicate with each other. Computerization always needs a database. Manufacturing is run from a database. Computerized factories have no people.


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