Task 9. Act the situation below.
You are at a conference. You recognize someone you met at a conference two years ago. Introduce yourself and make small talk. Use your role card to prepare for the conversation.
Student A
· You met B two years ago at a conference in Frankfurt.
· You are an experienced professor at the University of Physics, a successful and famous physicist.
· It is your first day at the conference – you arrived late last night.
· You try to persuade B to choose physics as a future career (an interesting subject, a challenging profession, a well-paid job, good career opportunities, knowledge of foreign languages).
· You are leaving in three day’s time.
· You think the conference will be very interesting.
Student B
· You met A two years ago at a conference in Frankfurt.
· You are a second-year student of the department of physics and you hesitate about your future career.
· You have been at the conference for three days.
· You agree/disagree with some aspects (job requirements, stress in the workplace, qualifications, additional work experience, personal skills and traits).
· You are leaving tomorrow.
· The conference is boring – the speakers talk too much and go overtime.
Useful language
I can name/find the following/a lot of/ a few reasons to study physics ... .
I suppose/consider/think/suggest/imagine that … .
Physics is useful/helpful/comprehensive/productive because … .
Physics opens the door to many career options. That's why/therefore/however … .
Not taking physics closes the door to more career options because … .
This is one aspect that scares off many students.
But it is precisely one of the most/least important reasons why you should/should not study physics.
You just need to learn enough to have a basis for your future learning and professional growth.
Physics is like a whole other language.
Physics is a difficult course for me because … .
There's a whole lot of math.
It makes me think critically about things that don't make sense. For example, …. .
It crosses over into subjects such as history, astronomy, biology, chemistry, literature, English, art and geology.
As a career, physics covers many specialized fields - from acoustics, astronomy, and astrophysics to medical physics, geophysics, and vacuum sciences.
Physics offers a variety of work activities – a lab supervisor/researcher/ technician/teacher/manager… Etc.
Task 10. Enjoy the joke.
You Might Be a Physicist if …
1. the water in your kettle is boiling at 373 Kelvin.
2. you know that the speed of light is 299,792.5 km/sec.
3. you know the direction the water swirls when you flush.
4. you've already calculated how much you earn per second.
5. you are sure that differential equations are a very useful tool.
6. you are at an air show and know how fast the skydivers are falling.
7. you know the size of the electron, but don't know your own shirt size.
8. when you break a vase you blame the second law of thermodynamics.
Appendix 1. Summary.
A summary is a short, concise method of stating the main idea and significant supporting (major) details of a reading selection or textbook chapter.
Should include: the main idea of the selection; the most essential supporting details or explanations; only the information you have read; objective and factual information from the reading; ¼ the length of the original essay; your own words and the use of paraphrasing.
Should not include:your opinion; what you think the author should have said; copied material or a string of quotes from the selection.
Writing a summary:
· Read the paragraph (text) looking for all the important ideas and facts.
Annotate:
· [Place in brackets the main idea].
· Underline key words and phrases that support the main idea.
· WRITE KEY WORDS IN THE MARGIN.
· Cross out any information that is not important.
· Make a map with the information you underlined and marked.
Main idea
______________
Major detail 1
______________
Major detail 2
________________
Major detail 3
______________
· Write a summary that includes all the important information you have identified. Paraphrase – do not copy the exact words from the reading; try to put the information in your own words.