UNIT 1
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
SECTION I
Language Focus
1. Read the dictionary definitions of science and technology given below.
Science 1) the study of the physical world and its manifestations, especially by using systematic observation and experiment. 2)a branch of science of a particular area of study. E.G. the life sciences
Technology 1) the study, development, and application of devices, machines, and techniques for manufacturing and productive processes. E.G. recent developments in seismographic technology 2) a method or methodology that applies technical knowledge or tools. E.G. a new technology for accelerating incubation
Now look at the following list. In your groups, decide which you would include under science and which under technology and why.
| biology | machinery | ||
| chemistry | mathematics | ||
| electronics | mechanics | ||
| geography | physics | ||
| hydraulics | sociology |
Find the word that does not belong in each horizontal group.
| a | arithmetic | algebra | genetics | geometry | trigonometry |
| b | geography | psychology | economics | sociology | anthropology |
| c | geology | meteorology | mineralogy | geophysics | statistics |
| d | mechanics | thermodynamics | astrophysics | law | cosmology |
| e | physiology | astronomy | botany | zoology | anatomy |
Match the following definitions to the groups of four words that you identified above.
| a | The mathematical sciences - investigating the relationships between things that can be measured or quantified in either a real or abstract form. |
| b | The physical sciences - investigating the nature and behavior of matter and energy on a vast range of size and scale. |
| c | The earth sciences - examining the structure and composition of our planet, and the physical processes that have helped to shape it. |
| d | The life sciences - studying of living things:a principal branch of science concerned with plants, animals, and other living organisms. |
| e | The social sciences - exploring human society past and present, and the way human beings behave. |
Make up English-Russian pairs of the words and word-combinations equivalent in meaning.
| advance | a | ||
| applied science | b | ||
| belief | c | ||
| endeavor | d | , | |
| instance | e | , | |
| systematic approach | f | , | |
| systematic study | g | , | |
| to accumulate | h | , | |
| to detect | i | , , | |
| to gain | g | ||
| to observe | k | , | |
| to test | l | , | |
| to verify | m |
Complete the collocates below by matching an adjective from A with a noun from B. Some can combine with more than one noun.
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Example: practical application, purpose, gain, use.
| A | basic | B | advances | knowledge |
| common | analysis | method | ||
| current | application | opinion | ||
| important | approach | organization | ||
| industrial | belief | part | ||
| international | breakthrough | prediction | ||
| objective | Bureau | property | ||
| personal | corporation | research | ||
| physical | Council | revolution | ||
| pure | forum | role | ||
| scientific | idea | science | ||
| systematic | instrument | society | ||
| technological | investigation | theory |
Underline the correct word A, B, C or D to fill the gaps.
Science and technology
The 1__ of the terms science and technology have changed significantly from one generation to another. More 2__ than differences, however, can be found between the terms.
Both science and technology imply a thinking 3__, both are concerned with causal relationships in the material world, and both employ an experimental methodology that results in empirical demonstrations that can be verified by 4__. Science, at least in theory, is less concerned with the practicality of its results and more concerned with the 5__ of general laws, but in practice science and technology are inextricably involved 6__ each other. The varying interplay of the two can be observed in the historical development of such practitioners as chemists, engineers, 7__, astronomers, carpenters, potters, and many other specialists. Differing educational requirements, social status, 8__, methodology, and types of rewards, as well as institutional objectives and professional goals, contribute 9__ such distinctions as can be made between the activities of scientists and technologists; but throughout history the practitioners of pure science have made many 10__ as well as theoretical contributions.
Indeed, the concept that science provides the ideas for technological innovations and that 11__ research is therefore essential for any significant advancement in industrial civilization is essentially a 12__. Most of the greatest changes in industrial civilization cannot be traced to the laboratory. Fundamental tools and processes in the fields of 13__, chemistry, astronomy, metallurgy, and hydraulics were developed before the laws governing their functions were discovered. The steam 14__, for example, was commonplace before the science of thermodynamics elucidated the physical principles underlying its operations.
In recent years a sharp value distinction has grown up between science and technology. Advances in science have frequently had their bitter opponents, but today many people have come to fear technology much more than science. For these people, science may be perceived as a 15__, objective source for understanding the eternal laws of nature, whereas the practical manifestations of technology in the modern world now seem to them to be out of control.
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| A | meanings | B | methods | C | means | D | measures | |
| A | subdivisions | B | distinctions | C | commodities | D | similarities | |
| A | processing | B | process | C | processor | D | processed | |
| A | review | B | revision | C | repetition | D | repertoire | |
| A | advantage | B | upgrade | C | work out | D | development | |
| A | on | B | with | C | of | D | without | |
| A | physicists | B | physics | C | psychology | D | psychiatry | |
| A | dictionary | B | thesaurus | C | vocabulary | D | glossary | |
| A | at | B | to | C | in | D | on | |
| A | practice | B | practicality | C | practitioner | D | practical | |
| A | clean | B | pure | C | fresh | D | clear | |
| A | myth | B | ballad | C | tale | D | legend | |
| A | mechanic | B | mechanism | C | mechanics | D | mechanical | |
| A | engineer | B | engine | C | engineering | D | engineered | |
| A | serene | B | serenade | C | sequence | D | series |
8. Give all possible derivatives of the following words:
To describe, to develop, to discover, to examine, to exist, to investigate, to know, to predict.
SECTION II
Speaking
Agree with the statements of your partner.
Example:
- Freedom is the oxygen without which science cannot breathe.
- I completely agree with you. Political democracy and academic freedom are very important to the development of science.
| There are a lot of definitions of science, but to my mind science is the search for truth. Am I right? | |
| It is often said that science is a system of statements based on direct experience, and controlled by experimental verification. Do you think its true? | |
| It is generally agreed that most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to anyone. Do you think so too? | |
| Science has radically changed the condition of human life on earth. It has expanded our knowledge and our power but not our capacity to use them with wisdom. Do you agree with this? | |
| Most people thinkthatwe do not need science and philosophy to know what we should do to be honest and good. Do you think so too? | |
| Science has opened our eyes to the vastness of the universe and given us light, truth, and freedom from fear where once was darkness, ignorance, and superstition. Thats what most scientists think. Do you support their opinion? |
