Prime Time 8. Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks, Schulbuch

Spot on language Listening: The language of science a) You are going to listen to a report about a new scientific achievement. First you will have 45 seconds to study the task below, then you will hear the recording twice. While listening, match the beginnings of the sentences (1–5) with the sentence endings (A–H). There are two sentence endings that you should not use. Write your answers in the boxes provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. 0 In Louisville doctors treat patients with cardiac stem cells that … C ✔ A he wasn’t able to access the first floor in his home. 1 The researcher responsible for the study said that … B should provide more information on the effectiveness of the therapy. 2 One patient was so sick that … C have been taken from the patients themselves. 3 After the therapy he is confident that … D more than nine per cent of the patients in the study fully recovered. 4 Dr Bolli is optimistic about his project although he admits that … E he sees a lot of potential in the new form of therapy. 5 A larger followup project is already being prepared that … F it will cost more than 20 million dollars. G not all patients responded equally well to the new therapy. H he can start going on longer walks again. b) Make a list of typical words and phrases that you would find in scientific texts. Scientific language: Analysis a) Read the following text and highlight features that you think are common in scientific texts and add them to the list from the previous task. Use two different colours for: • words and phrases • constructions b) Explain why you think these constructions are widely used in such texts. c) Find out which tenses are most frequent. Genetics A person’s appearance – height, hair colour, skin colour and eye colour – is determined by genes, the basic units of inheritance. Mental abilities and natural talents are also affected by one’s genetic set-up, as is the tendency to acquire certain diseases. The science that deals with heredity and variation in living organisms is called genetics. All genetic information is carried by a molecule called DNA. Genes are arranged linearly along large cellular structures called chromosomes. By the 1950s it was understood that the core of a chromosome was a long molecule called DNA. Its three-dimensional structure is a double-stranded helix. The DNA encapsulates the “genetic code”. A change in the DNA sequence can have dramatic consequences in the cell and on the organism as a whole. Although genetics plays a large role in determining the appearance and behaviour of organisms, it is the interaction of genetics with the environment an organism experiences that determines the ultimate outcome. For example, while genes play a role in determining a person’s height, the nutrition and health that a person experiences in childhood also have a large effect. 1 3.3 2 5 10 97 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv