EFL Tech - France a Site for Teachers of English ( as a Foreign Language) for  Engineering

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Like many of the exercises that I have uploaded here, the following ones have been designed for French (low) intermediate students and therefore insist on some points that the French may find difficult, ignore other linguistic paradigms that are no problem to them (but may prove difficult to speakers of other languages) and also rely on translation from or into French in some cases. Should you decide to use these exercises, you would undoubtedly have some re-writing to do depending on your students’ level and / or L1.
 

The following exercises are meant to develop written comprehension and more specially vocabulary acquisition. They are based on newspaper and technical magazine headlines. The full list of headlines as well as their origins are to be found in annex 1.

The exercises have been designed so as to be used individually depending on the specific needs of each class or each lesson. A teacher can choose to study some of them independently from the rest, to give some exercises to a group of students and others to another group.

The exercises are focused on the reflexes that students have to acquire – inference in particular, that have to be practised all along the year, and not only within this limited framework.
 

STUDENTS’ SHEET

A – Discriminating between verbs and nouns

Exercise 1

Say in which title(s) ‘fuel / fuels’ is a noun or a verb.

1 - New fuels power car

2 - Electricity fuels cars

3 - Bush hitches his fuel policy to hydrogen power

4- Anti-terror moves fuel rush to citizenship
 

Exercise 2

Say in which title(s) ‘power/ powers ’ is a noun or a verb.

1 - New fuels power cars

2 - Acal (is) to distribute power products

3 - Innovation powers research

4 - Diplomatic scramble to fill power vacuum
 

Exercise 3

Say in which title ‘cut / cuts’ is a noun or a verb.

1 - Staff cuts hit TI (= Texas instruments) as revenues drop 17%

2 - Integrated switchers cut component down
 

Exercise 4

In the following headlines, spot the subjects and the verbs, then place them in the table and finally write the reste of the sentences so as to obtain complete sentences.

1 - Rocket Man plans world record bid on bike

2 - Shell unveils robot petrol pump attendant

3 - Sensors silence noisy vibratory bowl feeders

4 - PEEK polymer high performance plastic replaces metal

5 - Centralized network slows auto-theft

6 - Bluetooth Solution Enables Access To Ethernet Networks
 
 

	Noun (singular)	Noun (plural)	Verb + S (singular)	Verb in the plural	Object(s)
1
2
3
4
5
6

 

Exercise 5

Pick out the headlines in which there is no conjugated verb.

1 - Biodegradable animal waste product

2 - No-contact sensor monitors torque

3 - Magnetic drive pump catalog

4 - Britain tops list for traffic jams

5 - Mobile phones in brain tumour alert

6 - Travel website crashes as fear grips public

7 - Actors strike threat

8 - Making the vehicle of the future lighter

9 - High-performance plastics from BASF

10 - Optimise magnetics using planer technology

11 - Mindspeed and Azzuri partner in Europe
 
 

B– Compound words

Exercise 1

Pick out the compound words. In each phrase, underline the most meaningful / important word.

1 - Philips Semis (is) to build chip plant in China

2 - Sensors silence noisy vibratory bowl feeders

3 - Acal (is) to distribute power products

4 - Optimise magnetics using planer technology

5 – Bush hitches his fuel policy to hydrogen power
 
 

Exercise 2

Pick out the compound words. In each phrase, underline the most meaningful / important word.

6 - Rocket Man plans world record bid on bike

7 - Shell unveils robot petrol pump attendant

8 - Online music projects face American probe

9 - High-performance plastics from BASF

10- PEEK polymer high performance plastic replaces metal
 

Exercise 3

Pick out the compound words. In each phrase, underline the most meaningful / important word.

11 - Improving sound deadening

12 - Biodegradable animal waste product

13 - Revolutionising energy storage by double-layer capacitors

14 - Bluetooth Solution Enables Access To Ethernet Networks

15 - Diplomatic scramble to fill power vacuum

16 - Magnetic drive pump catalog

17 - Mobile phones in brain tumour alert

18 - Actors strike threat

19 - Pentium Processor-Based SBC
 
 

C- -ING forms

Remember an –ING form may be one of the following :

• an adjective,
• a noun ( this noun can the subject or the object of a verb) (= a gerund)
• a verb, which itself may have various uses

1 - Knowledge (is) driving innovation

2 - Optimise magnetics using planer technology

3 - Improving sound deadening

4 - Drive-by shopping arrives

5 – Surfing sitting on a bench

6 - Disappointing results from stockmarket

7 – Tyre Pressure Monitoring

D - Various uses of ‘to’

• Philips Semis (is) to build chip plant in China (use 1)
• Diplomatic scramble to fill power vacuum (use 2)
• Bluetooth Solution Enables Access To Ethernet Networks (use 3)

[Careful, you can also find TO + ing. Example: We look forward to hearing from you.]

Find the meaning / use of ‘to’ . Write 1, 2 or 3 (corresponding to the uses defined above ) after each sentence.
 

1 - Putting technology to use

2 - Acal to distribute power products

3 - Guideline To Low Cost Wireless system

4 - EPE Graz focused to future progress

5 - Osram to acquire all Infineon shares in Osram opto semiconductors venture

6 - NeoPlanes solution to planar technology

7 - Quarter brick transformer moves up to 150 Watts (note: quarter brick size = 2.28- *1.45- * 0.5-inch) )

8 - Nickel-Cadmium batteries to serve our needs

9 - Korea to harmonize its standards

10 - A new way to design and build products

11 - Listening in to drive-by-wire

12 - Animation (is) the key to new contracts

You will have noticed the ellipsis of ‘be’ which is very common in headlines.

‘Acal to distribute power products’ is in fact ‘Acal is to distribute power products’ (Acal envisage de distribuer...)

Here are more headlines. Suppress the ellipsis and translate into L1:

France to debut plasma propulsion

• Diesel makers to do away with camshaft

• ‘Hydristor’ to solve vane (= ailettes ) pump problems

• Converter sales to rise says Micro-Tech

1 – Use of context

a – In many cases a headline - or a sentence- may have several meanings according to the context or the grammar.

Read the headlines below and answer the questions.

1 - Fresh ideas for bearing technology

You can read in a dictionary: to bear( verb) = to support, carry, endure - bearing ( noun) = part of a machine that supports another part which rotates and which is designed to reduce friction.

• Give two translations / explanations of the headline depending on whether ‘bearing’ is a noun or a verb.
• Which of these translations / explanations seems the more sensible when you know that the headline comes from a Mechanical Engineering magazine?

• You certainly know this irregular verb, ‘to hold’. What can ‘held’ be?
• Suggest two translations depending on the two uses of ‘held’.
• Which of the two seems the more likely in a technical magazine?
• What spelling change could be done for the headline to mean only ‘portable’?

• Here are two other formulations . Are they both possible? If you don’t think so, say which one is possible.
a - Tool for the development of integrated systems.
b- Integrated tool for the development of systems.
• What is the meaning when the headline is written as follows " Integrated-System Development Tool"?

Example:

Headline: Mindspeed and Azzuri partner in Europe

Article : Mindspeed Technologies and Azzuri Technology have announced a marketing and distribution relationship.... Under the terms of the agreement, Azzuri becomes Mindspeed distributor in Europe...

Here are a few headlines followed by the first lines ( or the summaries) of the articles.

Pick up the words in the article which explain / develop / echo the headline, then translate it.

Semicom adds Max Echo to fast growing portfolio
Semicom has signed an exclusive franchise agreement with Taiwan-based manufacturer Max Echo. It will add an extensive range of electronics components to Semicom’s rapidly growing portfolio...
Translation:

In-Car Media Processor For DVD Players
The MAFI 300 enables DVD playback in the car and is fully compatible with automotive multimedia buses like the IEEE1394b and MOST bus. The processor is capable of handling DVD video, CD or DVD audio playback and DVD ROM.
Translation:

Pocket PC Ref from Sequoia Publishing
A concise 544 page Pc reference book that fits in your pocket. Topics include: ASCII codes, PC error codes, etc...
Translation:

Knowledge driving innovation
All companies have a storehouse (= a mass) of knowledge, which is often under-used. The idea is to make this information more accessible to engineers. Thus, this knowledge can help, drive and encourage tomorrow’s innovations and creations.
Translation:
 

2 – General-English vocabulary common in technical documents

Fill in the table with the English equivalents to be found in the headlines below.
 

1 - Staff cuts hit TI (= Texas instruments) as revenues drop 17%

2 - Philips Semis to build chip plant in China

3 - New fuels power car

4 - Electricity fuels cars

5 - Shell unveils robot petrol pump attendant

6 - Sensors silence noisy vibratory bowl feeders

7 - Korea to harmonize its standards

8 - No-contact sensor monitors torque

9 - Putting technology to use

10 - Measuring small currents cost-effectively

11 - EPE Graz focused to future progress

12 - Integrated switchers cut component down

13 - 100% sunlight suitable 10.4 ‘’ TFT

14 - Revolutionising energy storage by double-layer capacitors

15 - Battery management chipset for T.I. (= Texas Instruments)

16 - Centralized network slows auto-theft

17 – Hand Held Instrument Case

18 - Magnetic drive pump catalog

19 - Bluetooth Solution Enables Access To Ethernet Networks

20 - Diplomatic scramble to fill power vacuum

21 - Online targets prove too ambitious

22- Making the vehicle of the future lighter

F – Headline writing

Read the extracts from articles ( or the summaries ) and then give a title to the articles.

(‘Help’ gives you one or two headlines which you can imitate in order to write yours.)

1 - The article describes a control panel using modular mounting so that it can be fitted quickly. The panel uses " Quick-Fit " technology.

Help: Biodegradable animal waste product

2 – The article reports that a Japanese firm will soon be marketing a new anti-theft system for automobiles: it features a centralised system offering both passive and active functions.

Help: Acal to distribute power products
Philips Semis to build chip plant in China

3 – The article explains how coatings of NEDOX surface enhancement can protect metal equipment against corrosion, abrasion and wear.

Help: New fuels power car
Rocket Man plans world record bid on bike

4 – Thermatron Engineering offers a full 8-page brochure describing the new 900 series Compact Cooling Systems.

Help: Pocket PC Ref from Sequoia Publishing

5- The main problem with automobile noise is that it is polyphonic – the noises come from a multitude of sources. Manufacturers are working on two solutions to quieten cars: eliminate decibels and vibrations at source or limit their radiation.

Help: Revolutionising energy storage

6 – The 22^nd BIMU show was held between 3 – 8 October in Milan ( Italy). With 2,750 exhibitors, the show reflects Italy’s domestic machine tool market which is characterized by.....

Help: Magnetic drive pump catalog

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