Unit 3c Book

1. Introduction

Unit 3c deals with comparing and contrasting things or phenomena. Comparing and contrasting is a very important skill, as to a certain extent, our life is based on choice. Very often, we need to weigh alternatives, evaluate them and choose or recommend the most appropriate one for a particular purpose. We usually do this by measuring the alternatives or items against some criteria such as quantity, efficiency, fit for purpose and cost. And this is where comparison and contrast phrases are used. In this unit, you will first revise some basic ways used to compare and contrast. Then, more complex phrases for comparison and contrast will be introduced and used in technical contexts; namely in comparing and contrasting manual and computerized control. It goes without saying that most current systems are computer-controlled because this type of control is less costly and more precise. Unit 3c discusses how this type of control is used in transportation, particularly in cars and planes.

Contents:

• Grammar: Expressing comparison and contrast

The two cars are similar in many ways. However, they differ in colour.

While my car is white, yours is blue.

• Comparison = talking about similarities:

similar to, the same as, similarity in, both... and..., similarly, ... in a similar way, too, as well, also, (like*)

• Contrast = talking about differences:

difference between, slightly different, differ in, but, however, nevertheless, although, even though, though, whereas, while, (unlike, as opposed to, in contrast*)

* The asterisked expressions in brackets are extra. The coursebook does not list them in Unit 3c, but still they are going to be included in some of the online exercises.

2. Forum: Travelling and Transportation

Travelling is an integral part of a daily routine for most students and adults of working age. Most of us simply have to travel to school or work every working day. It is therefore not surprising that this forum is going to be about travelling and means of transport. Looking forward to your answers to these travel-related questions. :)

Unit 1c Forum: Travelling and Transportation

Answer at least two of the following questions and respond to at least one contribution of a fellow student.

1)    Do you like travelling? Why or why not?

2)    Do you normally need to commute to school every day? What type of transport do you use? Are you satisfied with it or would you change anything?

3)    Compare and contrast biking, driving and flying. To do that, you need to first come up with a list of criteria you will use to judge these types of transport. For example, you might address this issue from the point of view of safety, speed, convenience, etc. You can also take the environmental, technical and social perspectives into consideration.

4)    What will travelling/transportation be like in, let´s say, 50 years? Can you make some predictions? For example, what will probably be the fastest way to get around? What will be the most ecological way?

3. Listening: Ask the Captain

When excluding space ships, travelling by plane is currently the fastest way to get somewhere. Do you like flying? Definitely, there are people who just love it: pilots. Listen to this radio show, in which a retired pilot is asked a lot of interesting questions. You can see them below.

1)      What project is John currently involved in? What is the aim of the project?

2)      What is the proper technical term for an autopilot?

3)      How much of a 3,000-mile flight is controlled by the autopilot?

4)      Do pilots use the autopilot for takeoffs and landings?

5)      When is the autopilot engaged after takeoff?

6)      When making a descent, do pilots lower the nose of a plane and let the plane dive or does the autopilot lower the plane when it is in a straight position and just descend like going down stairs?

While listening, make notes, so that you can answer the questions in your own words. After you finish, check your answers by comparing them with the key.

4. Technical Reading: Computerized Control Systems

The autopilot, which was discussed in the radio show in the previous task, is technically called an automatic flight control system, which is a special type of computerized flight system. The principle of this system is explained in the text on p. 24 in your coursebook. It not only talks about computerized systems in aircraft, but it also compares them with similar systems in cars. Read the text and complete this reading comprehension task and matching task. While reading, you can look at the two diagrams above the text because they will help you understand the technical principles described in the article.

5. Comparing and Contrasting Systems

Listen to or read the transcript in Unit 3c (Transcript 9 on pp. 119 and 120 in your coursebook). The lecture provides a comparison and contrast of computerized control systems in cars and planes. In everyday speech, people use the word “compare” to include both similarities and differences. Nevertheless, in this lecture, this is different. When the lecturer compares the systems, she mainly talks about their similarities. Contrasting, however, means listing features in which the systems differ. The whole lecture is divided into three parts:

Section 1: fly-by-wire (in aircraft) vs. drive-by-wire (in cars)

Section 2: fly-by-wire vs. automatic pilot

Section 3: automatic pilot (in aircraft) vs. cruise control (in cars)

Imagine you are actually sitting at this lecture. Listen and take notes, so that you can later fill in the gaps in the overview in this task. IMPORTANT: After you complete the task successfully, take a screenshot of the finished overview. You will need it later in this unit.

Now that you know what the lecture is about, focus on it in terms of linguistics. What words or phrases did the lecturer use to express similarities (i.e. comparison) and what did she use to talk about differences (i.e. to contrast things)? This exercise will give you a list of all the expressions used and your task is to decide whether they are used to talk about a similarity or a difference. To see the expressions in context, find them in Transcript 9 on pp. 119 and 120 in your coursebook.

The context is very important when learning new words, and the comparison and contrast expressions are no exception. The context shows that comparison and contrast expressions differ in their position in a sentence and in their punctuation, as you can see in this document. Surprisingly, the position of comparison/contrast expressions in a sentence is very often the same in Czech and in English. Therefore, with comparison/contrast expressions, it is worth remembering their Czech meaning precisely, as the meaning will help you to position a compare/contrast expression in an English sentence correctly. The document contains only basic comparison/contrast expressions because the more complex ones will be covered in the AEL6N course.

Now, it´s time to practise the comparison and contrast expressions from the grammar overview. In this task, you will have a chance to practise expressions used to talk about similarities, while this exercise focuses on differences. The following exercise will demonstrate that it is possible to use various comparison/contrast expressions to convey the same idea. Finally, revise the easiest way to compare and contrast phenomena: by using comparatives and superlatives of adjectives. You will need some of them in this text. It is a review of three types of boilers.

6. Your Turn to Write: Forum

Below, you can see four pairs of phenomena (A, B, C and D). Choose two of them and complete the tasks set. This means that first, you need to decide which of the two phenomena the sentences are true about and then you should write at least three sentences comparing and contrasting the phenomena. Altogether, you should write a minimum of six sentences. Post your six sentences in this forum and wait for a peer review by some of your fellow students. In the meantime, check sentences of at least two of your fellow students. In your response, you should evaluate the sentences in terms of meaning and grammatical structures used. If you find mistakes, correct them.

7. Your Turn to Write: Comparison and Contrast Essay

Now it´s time to use comparison/contrast expressions in a longer text. Your task is to compare and contrast automatic pilot (in aircraft) vs. cruise control (in cars) from the listening task in Section 5. To know exactly what to write about, look at the screenshot you took after you finished the listening task. It should provide you with the basic criteria according to which you should compare and contrast the two systems. If you think you need more criteria, feel free to add some.

Your essay should have three main parts: an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should inform the reader what the essay is going to be about and serve as an attention-getter to present your topic: you should give general introductory information followed by an explanation of why the topic is interesting or important. You should also provide a clear thesis statement, informing the reader what the essay will be about, which criteria will be used for the comparison, in which order they will be discussed (i.e. how the essay will be structured – see (1) and (2) below), and, if you want, which of the systems you think is more important or better.

The thesis statement for the point-by-point arrangement can be like this: The two systems will be compared and contrasted in terms of ______, ______ and ______. OR: The two systems will be discussed first in terms of  ______, then ______ and finally, ______.

The thesis statement for the block arrangement can be like this: First, the automatic system will be discussed in terms of ______, ______ and ______. Then the cruise control will be discussed using the same criteria.

In the body, compare and contrast the two systems in detail based on the two or three criteria you have chosen. Then write the essay body, choosing one of the following approaches:

Either:

(1) A point-by-point method, i.e. proceeding from one criterion to another, comparing and contrasting the two systems according to one criterion at a time. This means that the number of your body paragraphs will basically be the same as the number of criteria.

Or:

(2) A block method, in which you first talk about all the similarities and then about all the differences of each system. This means that the number of body paragraphs should be at least two: one for each system.

Make sure not to mix the two methods. See the table below to understand the two possible organizations of the essay fully.

In the conclusion section, you should summarize what the essay was about and, if you want, indicate which of the systems is more important/better + give reasons by referring back to the body section.

You should write 350 to 400 words. If you are unhappy about the topic, you can compare and contrast any two technical systems you may wish. For example, you can compare and contrast two types of motor, means of transport, touch screen, printer, power plant, electrical circuit or anything else. Submit your text as a Word document here.

8. Word List

The key terms related to the topic of Unit 3c 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 3c

A printer-friendly version of Unit 3c exercises and the keys to these exercises can be found here.