163 Look at these six events that helped make the world a smaller place. What do you know about them? READING 6a Now work in groups of three or four and do these tasks: 1 Create a timeline with the events described above. 2 Share what you know about each of these events. Discuss how they have made our world ‘smaller’ and more connected. 3 What other events do you know of that you could add to the timeline? Form new groups and do some research on another important event or invention that has caused the world to become more connected. Present your findings in class. SPEAKING 7 8 1 The invention of the jet airplane 2 The creation of the European Union 3 The invention of the internet 4 The discoveries of Christopher Columbus 5 The spread of the Roman Empire 6 The launch of social media platforms Now read the descriptions of the events. Match the headings above to the correct texts. There is one heading that doesn’t fit any of the texts. b Shrinking the world A Since the first one in 1997, these have grown so much that billions of people all over the world use them. The virtual communities and networks have enabled people to connect and share their interests, experiences, photos and videos. They are particularly popular and widely used as they can be accessed via computers or mobile phones, from just about anywhere. B Lasting for nearly five centuries, this used to be one of the greatest civilisations in history. At its height in the third century AD, it had more than 70 million citizens. Stretching from Spain and Northern Africa, through France, into the UK, across Southern Europe and into Turkey and Arabia, it brought many technological inventions such as water heating systems. C Scientists developed this in the 1930s, and the first commercial service flew from London to Johannesburg in 1952. This invention keeps on making the world smaller. Now so-called hypersonic aircraft are being designed to fly five times the speed of sound. This technology would make it possible to fly anywhere on Earth in under three hours. D In 1492, a journey began to find a direct water route from Europe to Asia going west. When he found land, this famous explorer believed he had reached the East Indies and called the local people ‘Indians’, a name which stuck. Instead, the ‘New World’ was discovered, which began a period of exploration and helped the Spanish create a huge empire in the Americas. E This grew out of a desire to strengthen economic and political cooperation between the countries of one continent. To begin with, there were just six members, but by 2023, this number had increased to 27. It was given its current name after the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. It has its own institutions, such as a court, a bank and a parliament. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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