Structures: Passive voice (questions and statements)

Target language: When was the telephone invented?

I think it was invented in 1876.

Vocabulary: salty, sweet, sour, crispy, pleasant, potato chips, slipper, leaf, fire, scoop, light bulb, telescope, microwave oven, abacus, camera, beverage, be invented by, be used for, by mistake, by accident

Learning strategies: Brainstorming, Role playing

Tense

Subject

Auxiliary

Past
Participle

Singular

Plural

Present

The car/cars

is

are

designed.

Present perfect

The car/cars

has been

have been

designed.

Past

The car/cars

was

were

designed.

Past perfect

The car/cars

had been

had been

designed.

Future

The car/cars

will be

will be

designed.

Future perfect

The car/cars

will have been

will have been

designed.

Present progressive

The car/cars

is being

are being

designed.

Past progressive

The car/cars

was being

were being

designed

Active

Professor Villa gave Jorge an A.

Passive

An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.

Passive

Jorge was given an A.

 Televisor

1925

John L. Baird

Scottish

Telephone

1876

A.G. Bell

American

Tapescript

Girl: Life must have been difficult when you were a kid.

Woman: Oh, not really. Why do you say that?

Girl: Well, you didn’t have many modern inventions. Like, you probably didn’t have a telephone, right?

Woman: Of course we did! How old do you think I am? The telephone was invented in 1876.

Girl: How about cars? I bet cars weren’t invented yet.

Woman: Sure they were. Cars were invented in 1885. My family had a car. I think you need to take a history class, Alice.

Girl: Ha, ha! Well, did you have a TV?

Woman: No, we didn’t. The TV was invented around 1927, I think. Some friends of mine had one. But in those days, TVs were really expensive, and we couldn’t afford one.

Girl: And I bet you didn’t have calculators and computers and stuff. That’s something I do know. We learned in school that hand-held calculator were invented in 1971 and personal computers were invented in 1976.

Woman: You’re right. I didn’t have those things when I was young. But I do now!

The telephone was invented in 1876.

Cars were invented in 1885.

The TV was invented around 1927.

The hand-held calculator were invented in 1971.

The personal computers were invented in 1976.

A: When was the telephone invented?

B: I think it was invented in 1876.

A: When was the car invented?

B: I think it was invented in 1885.

A: When was the TV invented?

B: I think it was invented around 1927.

A: When was the hand-held calculator invented?

B: I think it was invented in 1971.

Tapescript

Boy: What are those?

Girl: They’re battery-operated slippers.

Boy: What are they used for?

Girl: They’re used for seeing in the dark.

Boy: Oh, that’s cool! Who were they invented by?

Girl: Julie Thompson. And look at this heated ice cream scoop.

Boy: I know what it’s for! It’s used for scooping out really cold ice cream.

Girl: Right. It was invented by Chelsea Lanmon.

Boy: My favorite are those shoes with adjustable heels. You know—you can move the heels up and down. They were invented by Jayce Coziar and Jamie Ellsworth.

Girl: And what are they used for?

Boy: Well, you can change the style of your shoes. You can make the shoes go from casual to dressy.

A: Invention

B: Who was it/ were they invented by?

C: What is it/ are they used for?

Shoes with adjustable heels

Chelsea Lanmon

Scooping really cold ice cream

Battery-operated sneakers

Jayce Coziar and Jamie Ellsworth

Seeing in the dark

Heated ice cream scoop

Julie Thompson

Changing the style of the shoes

A: What are the shoes with adjustable heels used for?

B: They are used for changing the style of the shoes.

A: What are the battery-operated sneakers used for?

B: They are used for seeing in the dark.

A: What is the heated ice cream scoop used for?

B: It is used for scooping really cold ice cream.

Helpful inventions

Annoying inventions

Example: telephone

Example: alarm clock

1. plane

1. atomic bomb

2. computer

2. missile

3. bike

3. rifle

4. car

4. chemical weapon

5. train

5. alarm clock

A: What do you think is the most helpful invention?

B: I think the most helpful invention is the light bulb.

A: Why is that?

B: Well, it gives people more time to work and play every day.

A: What do you think is the most annoying invention?

B: I think the most helpful invention is the atomic bomb.

A: Why is that?

B: Well, it gives people more power to kill others.

A: What do you think is the less helpful invention?

B: I think the less helpful invention is the car.

A: Why is that?

B: Well, it makes it possible for people to move to distant places faster.

I like to take the followings with me.

knife

flashlight

handphone

telescope

gun

I was frustrated by his reply.

His death was caused by his hard work.

Was the problem solved?

His last hope was given up.

His English pronunciation is influenced by his Chinese.

His attention was concentrated on his disease.

When was your radio set lost?

Was her order obeyed?

Was she terrified by her face?

When was his house burned?

Do you like sweet drinks?

The crackers aren’t crisp. They must have got wet.

This soup is very salty.

I like to drink sour milk.

These oranges are as sour as lemons.

Tapescript

Boy1: Hey, did you know that potato chips were invented by mistake?

Boy2: Really? What do you mean?

Boy1: Well, here on the bag it says that they were invented by a chef called George Crum.

Boy2: When was that?

Boy1: Oh, it was back in 1853.

Boy2: So, why was it an accident?

Boy1: Well, one day a customer in the restaurant where George worked sent back his plate of fried potatoes because he said they were cut too thick.

Boy2: So what happened?

Boy1: Well, George was in a bad mood, so he cut the potatoes really, really thin, and he
cooked them for a long time until they were crispy. And he sprinkled lots of salt on them so they were really salty. He thought the customer would hate them.

Boy2: And?

Boy1: And the customer loved them and asked for more. He told the other customers about them, and soon everyone was ordering thinly-sliced, crispy, salty potato chips.

Boy2: And we’re still eating them today. What a cool story!

Boy1: Yeah.

be invented by mistake, on the bag, back in 1853, one day, in the restaurant, send… back,  a plate of fried potatoes, be cut too thick, in a bad mood, cut…really, really thin, cook…a long time, sprinkle… on…, hate…, asked for…, tell… about…, thinly-sliced, crispy, salty potato chips, a cool story

The history of chips

Do you know that potato chips were invented by mistake? Chips were invented by a chef called George Crum. They were invented in 1853. George Crum cooked them for a long time until they were crispy. And he sprinkled lots of salt on them so they were really salty.

The invention of the potato chip

A: Do you know that potato chips were invented by mistake?

B: I don’t know.

A: They were invented by a chef called George Crum.

B: When was that?

A: It was invented back in 1853.

B: Was it an accident?

A: A customer sent back his plate of fried potatoes because they were cut too thick. George cut the potatoes really, really thin. And he cooked them for a long time until they were crispy. He sprinkled lots of salt on them so they were really salty.

B: Did the customer loved them?

A: Yes, they asked for more. Everyone was ordering thinly-sliced, crispy, salty potato chips.

B: We like them, too.

A: So do I.

Who invented tea?

Do you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world（after water）, was invented by accident? Although tea wasn’t brought to the Western world until 1610, this beverage was discovered over three thousand years before that. According to an ancient Chinese legend, the emperor Shen Nong discovered tea when he was boiling drinking water over an open fire. Some leaves from a nearby bush fell into the water and remained there for some time. The emperor noticed that the leaves in the water produced a pleasant smell. Later he decided to taste the hot mixture. It was quite delicious. And in this way, one of the world’s favorite drinks was invented.

1. What is the article about?

It is about the invention of tea.

2.When was it invented?

It was invented over three thousand years before 1610.

3.Who was it invented by?

It was invented by Shen Nong.

4. How was it invented?

The emperor Shen Nong noticed that the leaves from a nearby bush in the water produced a pleasant smell. He tasted the hot mixture. It was quite delicious.

From pie plate to flying disk

A baker named William Russel Frisbie, of Warren, Connecticut, and later of
Bridgeport, came up with a clever marketing idea back in the 1870s.  He put the family name in relief on the bottom of the light tin pans in which his company’s homemade pies were sold.  The pans were reusable, but every time a housewife started to bake a pie in one, she would see the name Frisbie and, it was hoped, think, "How much easier to buy one".  Eventually Mr. Frisbie’s pies were sold throughout much of Connecticut, including New Haven.  

There, sometime in the 1940s, Yale students began sailing the pie tins through the air and catching them.  A decade later, out in California, a flying-saucer enthusiast named Walter Frederick Morrison designed a saucer-like disk for playing catch.  It was produced by a company named Wham-O.  On a promotional tour of college campuses, the president of Wham-O encountered the pie-plate-tossing craze at Yale.  And so the flying saucer from California was renamed after the pie plate from Connecticut. Of course the name was changed from Frisbie to Frisbee to avoid any legal problems.

Problem

Learning English

New invention

A machine that translates English into Chinese

Use

The machine “sees” the written English, and shows the translation.

The machine “hears” the spoken English, and repeats it in Chinese.

Price

100 yuan each

A: This special pen was invented by Zheng Jie. It has three colors and it is used for learning English.

B: How is it special?

A: When the red color is turned on, the pen reads out English as it is moved along the line.

B: When about the black color?

A: When the black color is turned on, the pen finds out the structure of the sentences as it is moved along the line.

B: When about the yellow color?

A: When the yellow color is turned on, the pen shows the formation and meaning of the word as it is moved along the line.

B: Wonderful! Where can I get one?

A: I am the shop owner selling this kind of pen.

…

crispy sweet salty sour

1. I don’t like eating chocolate. The taste is too sweet.

2. Mom added salt but it still wasn’t salty enough.

3. I prefer lemons to oranges. I like the sour taste.

4. She likes crispy cookies. They are hard, dry and easily broken.

1. The snow is crispy. The crackers aren’t crispy. They must have got wet.

2. My coffee is too sweet—I put two spoonfuls of sugar in it. Do you like sweet drinks?

3. Sea water is very salty. This soup is very salty. I think you have put too much salt in it.

4. These oranges are as sour as lemons.

3000 BC - The abacus, built out of wood and beads, used the concepts of one set of objects standing in for objects in another set, but also the concept of a single object standing for a collection of objects—positional notation.

- Early tables, named abaci, formalized counting and introduced the concept of positional notation.

- Early man counted by means of matching one set of objects with another set (stones and sheep).

invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.

 The basic umbrella was invented over four thousand years ago. We have seen evidence of umbrellas in the ancient art and artifacts of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China.

These ancient umbrellas or parasols, were first designed to provide shade from the sun. The Chinese were the first to waterproof their umbrellas for use as rain protection.

Soon after telescopes were invented, people started to fasten two of the long
tubes together to make binoculars (from the Latin "two eyes").

Around 1900, a German physicist named Ernst Abbe made a pair of binoculars using prisms. The triangular prisms each reflected the incoming light twice. This meant it was possible to make a shorter instrument. The two prisms also flipped the image upright.

Camera

The history of the camera - Camera Obscura, photography, the significant processes of photography, and who invented the polaroid and photographic film. 

In 1818, Baron von Drais introduced a machine to the public in Paris. It had two
in-line wheels connected by a wooden frame. The rider sat astride and pushed it along with his feet, while steering the front wheel.

Do you know when basketball was invented?

If you travel around China/ you will notice a very popular activity /everywhere you go— basketball.  This much-loved and active sport is enjoyed/ by all, for fun and exercise.

The sport of basketball is a little more than a hundred years old. It is played/ by more than 100 million people/ in over 200 countries /including China, where basketball has been played/ in parks, schools, and even in factories.

Basketball was invented/ by a Canadian doctor/ named James Naismith, who was born/ in 1861. When he was at college, his class was once asked/ to invent a new game/ that could be played/ indoors/ during the long winters. Dr Naismith created a game/ to be played/ on a hard wooden floor, so/ the safety of the players/ was important. Knocking into players/ and falling down would be dangerous.

Dr Naismith divided the men/ in his class/ into two teams, and taught them/ how to play his new game. The aim of basketball is for players/ to try to get a ball/ into the “basket”: a net/ hanging from a metal hoop. Players shoot/ from below the basket, and sometimes/ the “backboard” is used/ for guiding the ball/ into the basket. Players move/ towards one end of the court/ while throwing the ball/ to each other.

It is believed that/ on December 21^st, 1891, the first basketball game/ in history/ was played. Then/ in 1936/ in Berlin, it became an Olympic event. A team/ from China/ took part, and although they didn’t win/ they used the experience/ to help develop the game/ at home. Since then, the popularity of basketball has risen/ worldwide, and the number of foreign players/ in America’s NBA （National Basketball Association）has increased. Basketball has also become a more popular sport/ for people/ to watch, and many young people/ dream of becoming famous basketball players.

travel around…, notice a very popular activity, a much-loved and active sport, be enjoyed by…, for fun and exercise,  a little more than…, be  played by…,  in over 200 countries, be played in…, be invented by…, be born in…, at college, invent a new game, be played indoors, during the long winters, create a game, be played on a hard wooden floor, the safety of …, knock into…, fall down, divide… into…, teach… how to play…, get a ball into…, a net hanging from…, shoot from below…, be used for …, guide…into…, move towards…, throw…to…, on December 21st, 1891, in history, in 1936, in Berlin, an Olympic event,  a team from China, take part, used… to help develop the game, at home, since then, rise worldwide, become a more popular sport, dream of becoming famous basketball players.