Unit 7a Book

1. Introduction

What is important in technical fields is definitely safety, precision and accuracy. Work safety is a big issue, and companies prefer investing in safety equipment and preventative measures to paying compensations to those being injured at work.  At the same time, the products companies manufacture need to be accurate, i.e. fault-free, following the design drawings exactly, in order to prevent customer´s complaints. Therefore, product dimensions cannot have any clearances; they need to be precise. Unit 7a is going to demonstrate that there are also some other domains where people and machines need to be precise and accurate, for example, in aviation and during security checks. In order to maintain safety and security of flights, all instruments and devices on planes need to be accurate and also pilots need to maintain the course with a great amount of accuracy. Similarly, security staff at airports ensures that no security incidents happen on plane. However, as Unit 7a illustrates, sometimes a human error can cause a security incident. One such incident was investigated after a passenger managed to pass through the check with a knife in his trousers leg. The airport staff that was in charge of security check points was interviewed and asked to recall with great precision the words the passenger said when he was talking to the security officer at the checkpoint. Linguistically, the conversation can be reported in two ways: either by quoting the exact words, or by reporting them. Unit 7a is going to cover both these options.

Contents:

• Sequence of tenses:

The policeman informed the guard that the burglar wasn´t carrying any metal.

• Reported instructions:

He instructed him to open his bag.

He told him not to carry liquids on board.

• Reporting verbs:

tell, inform, report, instruct, assure, confirm, explain promise, order

2. Warm-up: Vocabulary and Forum

In order to go through this unit successfully, you are advised to first make sure that you know some specific vocabulary. Match the words to their explanations in this task. Equipped with these words, you can then proceed to taking part in the forum. Its topic is going to be flying. This is because a typical scenario which is associated with a security check is flying. Do you like flighting? How many times have you flown? Have you experienced any problems with security checks? Why do walk-through airport detectors sometimes beep although you do not expect that? How do these detectors work? Answer these questions in this forum.

3. Reading: Incident at the Airport

As far as airport security is concerned, sometimes walk-through metal detectors are not enough. What must also be taken into account is a human error, as you can see in the newspaper article on p. 52 in your coursebook (Bonamy, D. (2011). Technical English Level 3 Coursebook. Pearson Longman). Read the text and answer the questions in this task. Then imagine that a witness is describing what he SAW during the incident. You can see the descriptions in this task. Rewrite the sentences so that they represent what the witness heard during the incident. As you complete the task, pay special attention to how quotation marks are used to indicate what part of the text is the direct speech.

4. Listening: Investigation

The incident described in the previous section was of course investigated. The security official was interviewed. Surprisingly, the facts that the security official provided during the interview differ from the information in the newspaper article. Listen to Recording 21 that comes with your coursebook (alternatively, you can read the transcript on p. 122 in your coursebook). As you listen, put the differences listed in this task in the same order as you hear them.

5. Grammar: Sequence of Tenses

This follow-up task gives the information about the airport incident in two different ways: the direct and indirect speech. This time, the direct speech is completed, but the indirect speech is gapped. Listen to Recording 21 again (alternatively, you can read the transcript on p. 122 in your coursebook). As you listen, complete all the gaps.

When doing the previous exercise, you may have noticed that there is a shift in verb tenses used in the sentences. Unlike the direct-speech sentences, the verb tenses in the indirect-speech sentences are shifted one time level back. This is called the sequence of tenses. However, this change in the object subordinate clause will only happen if the verb in the main clause is in the Past Tense or the Past Perfect Tense. Look at this overview:

Besides full sentences, instructions can also be reported. Then, they have a form of a purpose clause:

If you want to learn more about reported speech and the sequence of tenses, read this grammar overview. Now it is time to practise this grammar point. Practise it first in a general context here and here. Then complete sentences in a technical context here.

6. Writing: What the Teacher Said

Now, you will have a chance to use the sequence of tenses in your free writing. Choose one of the courses you are taking this semester. Imagine that last week you were absent from one of the classes and you plan to ask one of your classmates about the content of the previous class. What did the teacher say during the previous lecture or seminar? What do you think your classmate will tell you? Write at least eight sentences using the sequence of tenses. Start your sentences like this:

The lecturer/teacher explained that…

The lecturer/teacher said that…

The lecturer/teacher warned us that…

The lecturer/teacher informed us that…

The lecturer/teacher instructed us to…

The lecturer/teacher instructed us not to…

The lecturer/teacher promised that he…

The lecturer/teacher confirmed that…

The lecturer/teacher told us that…

Just think about how the sentences will probably continue. Submit the finished task as a Word document via this portlet in Moodle.

7. Specialist Reading: How the Airport Walk-Through Metal Detector Works

As you should know, this Unit was about one security devices used at airports: a walk-through metal detector. It is a device which detects metal objects. It is based on electromagnetism and is full of coils. As future professional electrical engineers, we can assume that you already know something about the technical principle of this security device. Still, read about it in this task. As you read, complete all the gaps in the task.

8. Word list

The key terms related to the topic of Unit 7a can be found:

• in the Excel format here.
• in the interactive flash card format here. This format is particularly good for drilling the new vocabulary.
• in a zip file here. This file is downloadable, so that after unpacking it, you can drill the new vocabulary on your desktop, laptop or any other portable device where you have a browser installed. The recommended one is Mozilla Firefox. Important: after unzipping the zip file, make sure to keep all the related files in the same directory at all times. Do not change any file names and do not transfer or delete anything.

Recommendation: Remember that the best way to learn new vocabulary is to see each new word in a context; that is, seeing it in the contexts provided in the tasks you complete in the unit.

9. A printer-friendly version of Unit 7a

A printer-friendly version of Unit 7a exercises and the keys to these exercises can be found here.