Science and Technology

The unit opens with two pictures:

Picture	What it shows
A finger touching a Wi-Fi sign, joined by lines to dozens of small icons: a phone, a laptop, a camera, a car, a house, a light bulb, a cloud	the Internet of Things (IoT): everyday things (lights, fridges, cars, water meters, even cows’ collars) fitted with tiny computers and sensors and connected to the internet, so they can send information and be controlled from far away
A light bulb with the Earth inside it, and satellites with panels around the Earth, labeled Space-based solar power	space-based solar power: satellites that collect sunlight in space, where it almost never sets, and send the energy down to the Earth (you read about it in Reading II)

An invention is something completely new that someone makes for the first time (the telephone, the light bulb). An innovation is a new or better way of doing something, often by improving or combining inventions (paying by QR code, mobile banking). Most of what changes our lives is innovation.

Before you read

What kind of text it is

The text is a news story: a report of a real event, written for a newspaper or a news agency. It was sent out by Xinhua, China’s official news agency, from Kathmandu, and carries a byline, the reporter’s name (By Shristhi Kafle). Like every news story, it begins with a dateline (KATHMANDU, March 22 (Xinhua)) and puts the most important facts first: who, what, where and when, in the first paragraph. Then come details, quotations (Sophia’s own words, in quotation marks) and, at the end, the background. You will learn these parts in the Extra bit, and write your own news story in Writing I.

The text, part by part

1. “Namaste Nepal”

Sophia is a social humanoid robot: a machine built to look and behave like a human (humanoid) and to talk with people (social). She was the world’s first robot to be made a citizen of a country. When she greeted the audience at a conference in Kathmandu with Namaste Nepal, the hall burst into applause (clapping) full of awe (wonder mixed with respect) and appreciation.

2. Her speech

Cameras flashed and the audience watched admiringly as Sophia gave her keynote speech (the main speech of an event, which sets its theme). She spoke about how technology can help human lives develop. She champions (speaks and works for) the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific, with a focus on innovation. She had come for one day to an Innovation Conference and Fair on “Technology for Public Services and Development”, organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

3. What she looked like and said

Sophia wore a white UNDP T-shirt with its logo and had red lips. She was described as two and a half years old. She said technology gives the world endless possibilities and opportunities, that it can transform (completely change) state institutions and help Nepal meet the global goals. If Nepal uses AI, she said, it can have better public services, a revolution in farming, better use of its limited resources, and a protected environment. AI, she added, can help end poverty, fight starvation (hunger so severe it kills) and corruption, and bring gender equality. “Machines are here to make your life easier,” she said, and they can connect Nepal to the rest of the world.

4. The audience

The audience (government officials, people from private companies, civil servants and tech enthusiasts, people very interested in technology) nodded at almost everything she said, and cheered and applauded (clapped) all through. She ended her three-minute speech hoping that the conference would inspire brilliant ideas for Nepal’s development.

5. Questions and jokes

Sophia was built by Hanson Robotics, a company based in Hong Kong. She answered a few questions from UNDP’s country director, Renaud Meyer. Asked whether people should fear a robot takeover (robots taking control), she joked that it was “fake news”, and said she might be the first non-human to climb Mount Everest. The whole hall laughed.

6. The fair and the UN’s message

Sophia was the main attraction, but the fair also had stalls of new ideas from young people, tech groups, NGOs and private companies. Valerie Julliand, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, said technology is not only changing our lives but solving problems too. The UNDP said that e-education, telemedicine (treating patients from a distance) and the internet can link remote places with solutions that were impossible before, and that it is building and spreading project prototypes (first models) on women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, disaster risk reduction, green energy, young people and recovery after disasters such as the 2015 earthquake.

Words from the text

Words linked here open in English Vocabulary, where you can see an example and practice them in the word game. The meanings below are the ones the words have in this text.

Word	Meaning here
humanoid	a machine or creature that looks and behaves like a human
conference	a large formal meeting where people discuss a subject
applause	clapping to show you enjoyed or approve of something
awe	a feeling of great respect and wonder, with a little fear
keynote (speech)	the main speech at a meeting, which sets its theme
champion	(verb) to speak and work for a cause
sustainable	that can go on for a long time without harming the environment
innovation	a new idea, method or invention
transform	to change completely, usually for the better
revolution	a great change in conditions, ways of working or beliefs
celebrity	a famous person
starvation	suffering or death from having no food
enthusiast	a person who is very interested in an activity or subject
applaud	to clap to show approval
takeover	an act of taking control of something
prototype	the first design or model of a machine, from which others are made

A. Match the words

B. Fill in the blanks

C. Answer the questions

D. AI against poverty and hunger

These pairs are easy to confuse because they sound the same, or nearly the same. Some are homophones (exactly the same sound, different spelling and meaning); in others, one sound tells them apart.

Pair	How they sound	Meanings
principal – principle	the same: “PRIN-suh-pul” /ˈprɪnsəpl/	principal: the head of a school; also main, most important. principle: a basic rule, truth or belief.
loose – lose	loose /luːs/ ends in s; lose /luːz/ ends in z	loose: not tight, not firmly fixed. lose: to no longer have; to be beaten.
advice – advise	advice /ədˈvaɪs/ ends in s; advise /ədˈvaɪz/ ends in z	advice: (noun) an opinion about what someone should do. advise: (verb) to give advice.
affect – effect	nearly the same: /əˈfekt/ – /ɪˈfekt/	affect: (verb) to change or influence. effect: (noun) a result.
further – farther	further /ˈfɜːðə/ (vowel of bird); farther /ˈfɑːðə/ (vowel of car)	both mean at a greater distance; further also means more, additional (further information).
council – counsel	the same: “KOWN-sul” /ˈkaʊnsl/	council: a group of people chosen to decide or advise (a municipal council). counsel: advice; to give advice.
accept – except	accept /əkˈsept/ starts “uhk”; except /ɪkˈsept/ starts “ik”	accept: to take or agree to (accept a gift). except: not including (all except one).
ascent – assent	the same: “uh-SENT” /əˈsent/	ascent: a climb up. assent: agreement, approval.

To describe is to say what someone or something is like, so that the listener can picture it. Useful patterns:

To describe	Ask	Answer with
a person’s looks	What does she look like?	She looks intelligent. She has (got) long hair. She wears glasses. She’s tall and slim.
a person’s character	What is he like?	He’s friendly and very patient.
a place	Tell me about your new apartment. What’s your village like?	It’s big. It has got three bedrooms. It’s surrounded by forest.
a thing	What is it like? What is it used for?	It’s a useful device to store food. It has four compartments. You can keep… in it.
how something is going	How’s your grandfather? How are your studies going?	He’s getting better. They’re going well.

A. Two conversations

B. Conversations from clues

C. A salesperson describes a fridge

Manju, a salesperson, describes a fridge to a customer: what it is used for (storing fruit, vegetables, pickles, jam, milk and some medicines), how many compartments it has (four), and what goes in each, from the top (the freezer, for ice trays; two shelves for food; and a bigger compartment at the bottom for vegetables). Notice her order: what it is for → its parts, from top to bottom → what you can do with each. A salesperson also says why it is good.

A relative clause gives more information about a noun. It begins with a relative word (who, whom, whose, which, that, where, when) and comes right after the noun it describes:

• Sophia is a robot. She was built in Hong Kong. → Sophia is a robot that was built in Hong Kong.
• The vase is beautiful. My sister broke it last week. → The vase which my sister broke last week was beautiful.

The relative word replaces a word in the second sentence (she, it), so that word is not repeated: ✗ the vase which my sister broke it.

Which relative word?

Word	Used for	Example
who	a person, as the subject	The engineer who built Yantrika works at NAST.
whom	a person, as the object (formal)	The girl whom we met was from Jumla.
whose	possession (his, her, its, their)	The boy whose father is a dentist…
which	a thing or an animal	The robot which greeted us…
that	a person or a thing (not after a comma)	The book that I am reading…
where	a place (= in which, at which)	The town where my friend lives…
when	a time	the day when Sophia came

Who or whom? Look at what comes next. If a verb follows, the relative word is the subject: who (the girl who won). If a new subject follows (we, I, the teacher), it is the object: whom (the girl whom we met). In everyday English, who or that is used for the object too (the girl who we met), but in an exam, whom is the safe answer for the object.

Two kinds: with and without commas

• A defining relative clause tells you which one we mean. It is needed for the meaning, and it has no commas: The students who finished early went home. (only those students)
• A non-defining relative clause only adds a fact about someone or something already known, often a name or something there is only one of. It has commas: Mt. Everest, which is the highest peak in the world, lies in Solukhumbu. There is only one Mt. Everest, so the clause can’t tell us which one; it just adds a fact. That is never used after a comma: ✗ Mt. Everest, that is…

Leaving out the relative word

In a defining clause, who, whom, which or that can be left out when it is the object of the clause, that is, when a new subject comes right after it:

• The vase (that) you gifted me is beautiful. → The vase you gifted me is beautiful.
• Is this the app (which) you told me about?

It can’t be left out when it is the subject (a verb follows it: the robot that greeted us), when it is whose, when it comes after a comma, or right after a preposition (the man to whom I spoke). A clause without its relative word is sometimes called a contact clause.

A. Underline the relative clauses

Punam writes a thank-you letter from Phungling, Taplejung, to her friend Sujita, who gave her a vase for her birthday. The vase is exactly what she wanted; it reminds her of the vase her little sister broke last week, with the same pattern; her mother, who loves flowers, has put roses in it; and it stands just outside her bedroom.

B. Complete the sentences

A news story reports a real event, briefly and objectively (the facts, not the writer’s opinions). It is written like an upside-down triangle: the most important facts first, the details after, so that a reader who stops after one paragraph still knows the news. Its parts:

1. Headline: the title, in a few words, the main words in capitals: Nepal’s Yantrika Shown at Online Robot Exhibition.
2. Byline: who wrote it: By Bina Thapa, By RSS.
3. Dateline: where and when: Kathmandu, 26 April.
4. Lead: the first paragraph, one or two sentences, answering who, what, where, when (and sometimes why and how).
5. Body: the details in order of importance: how it works, who made it, a quotation, the background, what happens next.

Write it in the past tense (the event has happened), in the third person, with short paragraphs. The headline often uses the present tense (Nepal Beats Taipei).

Nepal’s Yantrika in Online Robot Display

In your final exam, a news story from given clues is a Guided writing II task (about 100 words, 5 marks).

Before you read

Two quotations stand before the text: Renewable energy could reduce emissions but also create jobs and improve public health (Paul Polman, a businessman) and The potential of renewable energy is immense (Tulsi Tanti, the Indian businessman who founded the wind-turbine company Suzlon).

What kind of text it is

It is an informative article from a website, written by Jeff Desjardins. A short introduction says that oil will run out one day, then six ideas follow, each with its status (how far it has got). It was written some years ago, so some of its “status” news is now old: under each idea below, Today says what has happened since.

The text, part by part

Introduction

Liquid fossil fuel (oil) is finite: there is only a limited amount, and one day the Earth’s oil deposits will dry up. Then we will depend on alternative sources of energy. Many people have already embraced (welcomed and taken up) ordinary solar, wind and water power; others are looking ahead to cleaner, more efficient ideas. Here are six.

Idea I: solar power from space

A lot of the Sun’s energy never reaches the ground: about half of the sunlight that arrives at the top of the atmosphere is reflected back to space or absorbed by the air and clouds on the way down, and a panel on the ground gets nothing at night. So, in a space-based solar power system, fleets (groups) of satellites with large reflectors or inflatable mirrors (filled with air or gas) would direct sunlight onto solar panels in space. The electricity from the panels would be turned into microwaves and beamed down, day and night, to receiving stations on Earth Figure 8.2.

Status: in March 2015, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) turned 1.8 kilowatts of electricity into microwaves and sent them wirelessly to a receiver about 50 meters away, proving that the idea is viable (can work).

Today: in 2023, a small test satellite of the California Institute of Technology beamed power across space and sent a little of it down to a receiver on the ground: the first time power was beamed from space. A real power station would need panels many kilometers wide, so it is still far off.

Idea II: power from our bodies

Many experts think the simplest renewable energy is from our own bodies. Devices now need much less power than before: harvesting (collecting) just a microwatt (a millionth of a watt) can run many small electronic devices. To harness (control and use) the energy of our movements, we would wear a system that collects and converts it.
Status: researchers in the UK have made a knee brace that makes electricity as you walk: as the knee bends, four small metal vanes (thin flat blades) in it vibrate like guitar strings and produce electricity.

Idea III: wave energy

Wave energy is really stored wind energy, since waves are made by the wind blowing over the sea. It could be captured on the surface, under it, near the shore, offshore (out at sea) or far offshore. It is measured in kilowatts per meter of coastline; the US coastline could give about 252 billion kWh a year.

Status: five countries have run wave power farms; Portugal opened the world’s first commercial-scale wave farm at Aguçadoura in 2008, with 2.25 MW of capacity.

Today: that wave farm closed after only a few months, because of technical problems and the money troubles of its owners. Wave power is still being tested; the sea is hard on machines.

Idea IV: hydrogen

Hydrogen, a colorless, odorless gas, is the most common element in the universe: about three quarters of the mass of ordinary matter. On Earth it is almost always found joined to other elements: with oxygen in water, with carbon in fuels, with nitrogen in ammonia. To use it, it must first be separated (for example, by passing electricity through water). Then it gives a lot of energy while making almost no pollution: when hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, the only waste is water.
Status: fuel cells, which turn hydrogen into electricity, already power some cars, buses, aircraft, homes and buildings; Toyota, Honda and Hyundai have invested heavily in them.

Idea V: flying wind farms

On a flying wind farm, turbines float in the air as high as skyscrapers (very tall buildings), 1,000 to 2,000 feet (about 300 to 600 meters) above the ground, where the wind is steadier and stronger than at the top of a tower. Its makers said the winds up there are five to eight times stronger: what is five to eight times greater is the power the wind carries, since a wind less than twice as fast already carries that much more power. Such a turbine can produce about twice the energy of a similar one on a tower.

Status: Altaeros Energies made the first commercial airborne wind turbine, the Buoyant Air Turbine: a ring-shaped, 35-foot (about 11 meters) shell of strong fabric, filled with helium, with a 30-kilowatt turbine in the middle. It is autonomous (works by itself): it moves to the best height for the wind and self-docks (comes down by itself) in an emergency.

Today: flying turbines are still being tested; none yet makes power on a large scale.

Idea VI: fusion

Fusion is the process that powers the Sun: small atomic nuclei are pressed together so hard that they join into a bigger one, giving out a huge amount of energy. It could give an almost endless supply of energy. It gives off no greenhouse gases, and, unlike today’s nuclear fission reactors (which split heavy atoms such as uranium), it can’t run out of control in a meltdown: if anything goes wrong, the reaction simply stops. A fusion reactor would join two kinds of hydrogen atom, deuterium and tritium.

Status: ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), being built in France and paid for by seven members (the European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States), was then planned to be finished by 2027.

Today: ITER’s timetable has slipped: its experiments are now planned to begin in the mid-2030s. It is a research reactor, built to show that fusion can give out ten times more energy than is put in to heat it; it will not make electricity. Power stations would come after it. In December 2022, a laboratory in the United States got more energy out of a fusion reaction than its lasers put in, for the first time.

Words from the text

Word	Meaning here
finite	limited; that will come to an end
embrace	to accept a new idea and start using it
fleet	a group of ships, vehicles or satellites working together
inflatable	that can be filled with air or gas
radiation	energy that travels as waves, such as light, heat or microwaves
beam	(verb) to send out a narrow stream of light, radio waves or microwaves
viability	the ability to work successfully
renewable	that is replaced naturally and will not run out
harvest	to collect (energy, crops)
harness	to control something and use its force or power
vane	a flat blade moved by wind or water
skyscraper	a very tall building
autonomous	able to work on its own, without being controlled
fission	the splitting of the nucleus of an atom
bountiful	in large amounts; plentiful

A. Match the words

B. Antonyms

C. Match the ideas

D. Answer the questions

E. Other alternative sources

A. Before you listen

The picture shows a modern living room with sofas, a TV and ceiling lights, and a dining table beside an open kitchen.

The recording

A father and his son Tom are looking round an apartment the family might rent. Read the questions in B first, then listen, as many times as you need.

B. True or false

C. Answer the questions

These answers have been checked against the recording. Notice how the two describe a place, as in the Speaking: the living room is huge; it’s much bigger than the one we have now; it does have a lot more floor space; it’s a little small; there aren’t many windows. The son also says that his mother thinks the longer journey will take only ten minutes more, and that the extra bedroom could be his playroom (and the father, his exercise room).

D. House or apartment?

Remember: who (person, subject), whom (person, object), whose (possession), which (thing), that (person or thing, never after a comma), where (place). Two quick tests:

• Where or which? Use where if the clause is complete without the noun (my friend lives there → the town where my friend lives); use which or that if the noun is missing from the clause (you saw the photo → the photo that you saw).
• Who or whom? A verb next → who; a new subject next → whom.

A. Fill in the gaps

B. Join the sentences

A news article (or newspaper article) is longer than a news story and does more than report one event: it explains a topic, gives facts and figures, looks at both good and bad sides, and often ends with the writer’s conclusion or a message to readers. It has a headline, a byline, an introduction that catches the reader’s interest, a body of a few paragraphs (one idea each), and a conclusion.

News story	News article
reports one event that has just happened	explains a topic or issue
facts only, no opinion	facts, and the writer’s views and conclusion
about 100 words, most important first	longer, in a planned order: introduction, body, conclusion
dateline and lead	headline, byline, introduction

In your final exam, a newspaper article is a Free writing II task (about 200 words, 8 marks), marked on its content, organization, language and layout.

A debate is a formal discussion in which two teams argue for and against a motion (a statement), and judges decide which team argued better. One team (the proposition) speaks for the motion, the other (the opposition) against it, taking turns, each speaker for a fixed time.

The parts of a news story are shown here on a short report from RSS (Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Nepal’s national news agency) about a football match:

Part	In the example	What it does
Headline	Nepal Beat Chinese Taipei	the main news in a few words
Byline	By RSS	who wrote or sent the story
Dateline	Kathmandu, June 4:	where the news comes from, and when
Lead	Nepal defeated Chinese Taipei 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Match held last night at Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City.	the most important facts: who (Nepal, Chinese Taipei), what (won 2–0), where (Kuwait City), when (last night)
Body	the next paragraphs	the details: the competition (joint qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup), the goals (Anjan Bista from a penalty kick in the fourth minute, Nawayug Shrestha in the 81st minute), the result (six points, fourth in Group B) and the next matches (Jordan on 7 June, Australia on 11 June, according to the All Nepal Football Association, ANFA)

The match was played on 3 June 2021. China was then to host the 2023 Asian Cup, as the report says; it later gave it up, and the tournament was held in Qatar in early 2024.

Practice on this unit in the style of the final exam (Grade 9’s exam follows the SEE’s kind of chart). Try each one as in the exam, then open the answer.