LanGYM — Unit 4: New ideas

1 — Reading: The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy

The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy

The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy is a charity that rewards and promotes excellent sustainable energy solutions in the UK and the developing world.

Each year, the Ashden Awards holds a competition to find and reward organizations which have carried out practical and innovative programmes that demonstrate sustainable energy in action at a local level.

The charity raises international awareness of the potential benefit of local sustainable energy projects to deal with climate change and to improve the quality of people’s lives. It also aims to encourage more people and communities across the world to take up the challenge of making major breakthroughs in meeting energy needs.

The charity helps the development of sustainable energy projects in several ways. It gives cash prizes, to enable winners to take their work forward. It also publicizes the winners and their work through a worldwide media campaign, which aims to inspire others to follow their example.

Exercise 2 — Gist questions

1. What are the aims of the Ashden Awards?

2. How does the charity achieve its aims?

2 — Listening 4.1

🔊 Listening 4.1: Two projects that have won an Ashden Award

📁 br2_004_a4_1.mp3

📝 Open questions — share in class

1. What is the main purpose of each project and how is it sustainable?

2. How have the projects changed people’s lives?

3 — Match adjectives to nouns

Click an adjective (left column) then click the noun it collocates with (right column). More than one combination may be possible — focus on the ones from the text.

4 — Match phrasal verbs to definitions

Match each phrasal verb (1–9) to its definition. Click a number, then click the matching definition.

5 — Gap-fill with phrasal verbs

Complete each gap with the correct form of a phrasal verb from Exercise 6.

1 — Context

PharmaLab is a medical research company seeking to increase security in its research centre. Securikey develop and supply hi-tech security systems. Shireen Casey from Securikey has been invited to present her company’s solution to PharmaLab’s management team.

2 — Listening 4.2

🔊 Listening 4.2: Shireen’s presentation (Part 1)

📁 br2_004_a4_2.mp3

📝 Open questions — share in class

1. What is the overall structure of Shireen’s presentation? (slides 1–3 + Questions)

2. What is DiScan2? (complete: A ___ system, based on ___)

3. How does DiScan2 work? (Employees ___, The system ___ and ___)

3 — Complete presentation phrases (4.2)

Listen to 4.2 again and complete each phrase.

4 — Listening 4.3

🔊 Listening 4.3: Shireen’s presentation (Part 2)

📁 br2_004_a4_3.mp3

📝 Open questions — share in class

1. What are the main advantages of DiScan2?

2. What words and phrases does Shireen use to: a) explain the benefits, b) compare the current system with the new one, c) move on to the next point?

5 — Key Expressions: Presenting a Product or Service

“What I’d like to do in this presentation is …”
“First, I’ll give you a brief overview of …”
“Then I’ll talk about …”

Introduce talk

Introduce idea

“We call this new system (DiScan2).”
“Basically, (DiScan2) is …”
“Well, it’s a pretty simple concept.”

“There are two main benefits of using (DiScan2).”
“The biggest potential benefit is …”
“This means that …”

Explain benefits

Compare systems

“… in comparison to your current system where …”
“However, with … it will/won’t be able to …”
“Whereas you can/can’t …”

“Does that sound OK?”
“OK, let’s look at what (DiScan2) has to offer.”
“Now I’d like to move on to …”

Check & move on

1 — Listening 4.4

🔊 Listening 4.4: Two questions from the audience after Shireen’s presentation

📁 br2_004_a4_4.mp3

📝 Open questions — share in class

1. Which types of evidence does Shireen refer to in her answers? (academic studies / market research / interviews / examples of existing users / medical evidence / personal experience)

2. Listen again. What verbs does Shireen use to refer to evidence? Complete: (1) Academic studies ___ that we feel more comfortable with iris scans. (2) All the medical evidence ___ that it’s safe. (3) Iris recognition is already being used in government security, which ___ how effective it is.

1 — Grammar Hint

Ability: can / could / be able to

Present: Use can or is/are able to for general ability.
Future: Use be able to after will, might, may and verbs like want to, would like to.
Past (general): Use could (+ perception verbs: hear, see, feel, tell).
Past (specific – tried and succeeded): Use was/were able to (positive) or couldn’t / wasn’t able to (negative).
Past with present connection: Use has/have been able to.

2 — Match extract to ability type

Read each extract and classify it as present ability (PA), past ability (PA-past), or future ability (FA).

3 — Complete the language point

Complete each gap with the correct modal or phrase from the box. Box: has/have been able to can couldn’t was/were able to be able to could is/are able to wasn’t/weren’t able to

📖 Working with Words

1 — Complete with vocabulary from the box

Complete the bold phrases in the text with a word from the box. Word bank: benefits concept innovative practical proposition technology

2 — Replace verbs with phrasal verbs

Replace the italicised verb in each sentence with the correct phrasal verb from the box. Change the tense if necessary. Box: get round bring about come up with take forward pay off carry out bring down take up set up

💬 Business Communication

3 — Number the presentation extracts (1–10)

These extracts are from a presentation about Minute Monitor (a scheduling tool). Drag them into the correct order.

4 — Complete the presentation

Complete the presentation with phrases from the box.

⚙️ Language at Work

5 — Complete with can or be able to

Complete 1–10 with the correct form of can or be able to. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

6 — Choose the correct form

Click the correct option in each dialogue exchange.