3. Explaining a Principle: How the Cospas-Sarsas System Works

Find page 6 in your coursebook (Bonamy, D. (2011). Technical English Level 3 Coursebook. Pearson Longman) and look at the diagram in Task 1. It illustrates how a satellite communication system works. Study the diagram and complete this task, which describes how the system works. Just use the verbs listed and put them in the correct form to complete the description. Notice that the text explains the technical principle of the system, i.e. something which remains the same over a period of time. Therefore, to describe a technical principle, the Present Simple tense is used. If you feel you cannot recall this grammar point from your previous study of English, read this grammar overview before doing the task. After you complete the task, you can check your answers by listening to two people discussing the system. The recording should be on the CD that comes with your coursebook. Alternatively, you can read Transcript 4 on p. 118 of your coursebook.