Listening Comprehension of Instructions and Process Descriptions
Listening Comprehension of Instructions and Process Descriptions
Listening Comprehension of Instructions and Process Descriptions
Unit 4
www.cepade.es Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal, 11. 28039 Madrid Phone.: (91) 456.27.95. Fax: (91) 553.55.63
All rights reserved. The content of this documentation is protected by law which provides penalties of imprisonment and/or fines, in addition to the compensation for damages from those who reproduced, plagiarized, or distributed publicly, in whole or in part, a literary, artistic or scientific piece of work, in any kind or through any means without the necessary authorisation.
CEPADE Avda. Doctor Federico Rubio y Gal n 11 28039 Madrid Phone Number: 07-34-91.456.27.95
Unit 4 Pag.: 1 de 21
LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCESS DESCRIPTIONS 1. LEARNING GOALS FOR UNIT 4
At the conclusion of this unit you should be able to: Identify how instructions and descriptions sequence the actions involved in processes; Understand different grammatical structures as ways of imparting orders; Review some concepts seen in previous units and applied to new situations; Differentiate between a set of instructions and a description.
2.
STUDY GUIDE
The tasks for section 3 will imply that you understand the implications that using different structures for imparting instructions have. You will identify the language used for sequencing the different actions. You will apply this knowledge and that obtained in previous units to analyse several types of instructions. The tasks for section 4 will make you compare the differences between instructions and descriptions. You will see how classification is important for developing a description of a process. You will also see how metaphors are used in descriptions. You will achieve these by watching two videos describing a process and answering to the questions on these two videos.
3.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 2 de 21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi2pBZGJqj8 is a poem titled Instructions written by science fiction author Neil Gaiman. Although it is a piece of literature, it presents the grammatical features typical of the language of instructions. Task 1: Structures introducing Instructions Listen to the above poem (Instructions) and identify the five grammatical structures that he uses to give instructions. Remember: two of the structures offer you options, one structure tells you what to do, one structure tells you what not to do and one structure indicates what happens when you fulfil a certain condition. Structure 1: ______________________________________ Structure 2: ______________________________________ Structure 3: ______________________________________ Structure 4: ______________________________________ Structure 5: ______________________________________
Now let's see how the communication model presented in unit 1 adapts to the instructions context: EMMITERS expect the RECEIVERS to want to know how to perform an errorfree sequence. CLARITY is more important than SOCIAL DISTANCE in instructions. Spoken instructions are usually through PRESENTATIONS or TELEPHONE conversations. EMMITERS will use specific structures for giving DIRECTIVES. The message has to get through rapidly. RECEIVERS accept that the EMMITERS want to explain how to carry out an error-free sequence of events. RECEIVERS must understand the first time and may pose occasional QUESTIONS. Oral instructions focus on making sure that the receivers of the message can carry out a procedure safely and successfully. To achieve this communicative purpose the instructions message first, limits the contents; second, adapts to the least knowledgeable audiences; then, separates instructions from other pieces of information; and finally uses a restricted set of grammatical structures.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 3 de 21
The message is restricted to how a procedure or sequence is carried out. Information such as why, when , and who perform the task is usually irrelevant for the communicative purpose of the instructions. The most important issue when giving instructions is finding the shortest and safest sequence of actions to carry out successfully the procedure; thus, establishing the correct order of the sequence is crucial. The clarity of the message prevails over the shortness. The vocabulary and the concepts ( knowledge of the world ) used must be manageable by the intended audience. Some steps in the procedure may be obvious for some of the audience, but this is preferred to the opposite. If there is some warning to take into consideration (for reasons of safety) it must be mentioned at the beginning, before the actual instructions sequence is initiated. Any materials necessary to carry out the process correctly must be clearly indicated before the instructions are spelled out. The grammatical structures needed for instructions are the following: Adverbs of time and time expressions to establish the correct sequence order;
First, ... Second, ... Third, ... Then, ... Let's begin by .... Now, ... Straightaway, ... Once ..., then ... Once the ... Let's continue with ... Next, ... Afterwards, ... Later, ... Subsequently, ... Let's conclude ... Finally, ... To conclude, ... Right away .... Immediately, ... While .... Meanwhile When ... Last ... Concluding by ...
Let's start (by) + - As soon as ... ing As ... then ... At the same time ...
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 4 de 21
conversational
fillers
(to
provide
Simplified grammar ;
(1) (2) (3) You + must / should / could + verb + (4) nominal group Imperative + nominal prepositional group group + (5) Can + you + nom. Group + prep. group? Can / could + you + verb + nominal group? You can + (Infinitive) + by + -ing gerunds
When you receive spoken instructions, you usually are in one of two situations: a telephone conversation (customer support services call centres) or a specific teaching session. In the first case, the social distance is somewhat more important as the interaction is person to person. The most usual way of keeping a negative politeness 1 is by using the structures (3) and (4) in the table above. With these structures the indirectness is enough to keep a polite distance, but they are sufficiently clear and simple to provide easy to follow instructions. Task 2: Instructions in a computing context http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GzaKfCtzb0 This a basic tutorial on how to connect you PC laptop or Mac laptop to a HD TV screen. (1) BEFORE YOU LISTEN a) Does the reason for listening affect the way you will listen? How? b) Consider, at least, 3 reasons to connect a laptop to a large TV screen. c) What 4 questions do you think that this tutorial should answer? d) Consider the vocabulary that you know about audio, video, and data connecting systems. How many words do you remember about it right now?
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 5 de 21
e) Find in the acronymfinder.com the following: VGA, DVI, HDMI, RCA f) Match each word on the left with its corresponding definition on the right.
a) setup b) to squint c) jack d) display e) pin hole f) male cable 1) partly close one's eyes, as when hit by direct blinding light. 2) an electronic device that represents information in visual form. 3) line to be connected to a socket. 4) socket for the connection of male cables. 5) an electrical device consisting of a connector socket designed for the insertion of a plug. 6) to put in readiness or adjustment for an operation.
(2) LISTENING COMPREHENSION Now listen to the video and answer the following questions a) What information do they provide before starting with the instructions? b) How do they indicate the different steps? c) What is the last instruction? d) How many methods of video connection do they provide? e) What are these connection methods? f) What will be the average size of the European TV screens by 2015?
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 6 de 21
Task 3: Differences between instructions and other materials The following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdbuZ5s1viE&feature=PlayList&p=711889FE 73B02C1F&index=19 is presented as Pablos Holman - On Hacking, and
4.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 7 de 21
The scientific vocabulary, independently from the field of specialisation is characterised by the following: It is frequently derived from Latin or classic Greek roots. When this is not the case the English term is the standard of use;
Computing Bluetooth On-line Medicine / Biology Stents By-pass Engineering Airbag ABS
It is essential; if you do not understand the specific vocabulary, you do not understand the discipline and;
It has only one meaning within one area of specialisation. Unlike general language where one word can have several meanings, it is essential for technical language to avoid this ambiguity. It is extremely important not to assume that the same word means the same in different subdisciplines.
As in any other area of knowledge nouns which represent a class are basic for classification (building, disease, hardware). Within classes you need to establish categories and therefore there are many nouns with this function (see table below). Within these categories there must be some way to determine relations of superiority, inferiority and similarity. The fact that you are describing processes requires very specific verbs and derived abstract nouns to specify the type of interaction among the categories.
Some examples of categories and nouns defining a category Material Steel Carbon fibre Nutrients Vitamins Proteins DVD Burners Blu-ray burner Double Layer burner
An excellent strategy to create abstract nouns for processes is nominalisation which transforms a verb (process) into a noun (state) and a concrete activity becomes an abstract concept.
Process To transform To integrate To differentiate State A transformation An integration A differentiation
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 8 de 21
In unit 33 we saw that politicians made frequent use of metaphors to express their concepts. Scientific language is equally fond of metaphors to produce new specialised vocabulary. They are important for delivering scientific knowledge because: They can serve as models of processes or objects that scientists cannot see; They can become theories to explain and predict how processes and objects behave and; They can help scientists explain and communicate complex ideas to people who need to learn them.
The following two tables illustrate with examples how metaphors are used in the field of mechanical engineering. These are only a few of the subjects used by engineers to create metaphors.
Examples of Metaphors with Animals Bull dozer Horsepower Spider cage of the differential Crab steering Manual dog clutch Spring-loaded dog Injector hold-down crab Press-filled dovetail Worm reduction gearbox
Examples of Metaphors with Parts of the Head Cheek plates Piston head Eyebolt Enlarged head portion Rear face of a cylinder Nose box of the trailer Shearable drive head Mouth of a housing Lip type opening
Metaphors in medicine and biology are essential to explain to untrained people complex ideas; they serve as models of abstract ideas and; they help in the prediction of behaviour (if the metaphor is well selected).
Examples of Metaphors in Medicine and Biology Lock and key receptor binding Biologically-based devices the mechanism of evolution ... the blood circulates
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 9 de 21
By their nature, computer interfaces are abstractions of the computer's electronic processes. There are thousands of metaphors in computing language, not only linguistic ones but also graphic ones. There are many reasons for that, but the main one is related to novelty. Approximately 60 years ago, not more than a tiny group of people knew anything about a computer. To facilitate the acquisition of the operating knowledge of computers to the vast amount of users worldwide the solution has been the use of metaphors and icons that they can relate to something they already know.
Examples of Metaphors in Computing navigate the web Network server save the file in the folder ... send the file to the trashcan
Task 4: Process Description (Building of a nuclear power plant) Where to (Atomic find the films: http://www.archive.org/details/AtomicPo1958 Power at Shippingport Part I) and
http://www.archive.org/details/AtomicPo1958_2 (Atomic Power at Shippingport Part II). The same details about downloading and streaming video for section 2 apply to these two videos. Duration of the first video: 14 minutes and 45 seconds . Duration of the second video: 14 minutes and 14 seconds. a) BEFORE YOU LISTEN 1. 2. Mention 4 facts that you know about atomic power plants. Write down 4 questions on nuclear power that you would like answered. 3. Mention 9 nouns that you expect to hear while watching this video 4. Mention at least 8 adjectives that you expect to hear while watching this video (classify them according to the appeal categories displayed in Unit 3).
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 10 de 21
b) LISTENING COMPREHENSION (First Video) 1. After the presidential introduction, what verb is used in a metaphorical sense in the first comment? __________________ 2. (To answer this question first watch all the video) Why is it important to have such a power plant in Pittsburgh?__________ What were the two main goals in establishing this power plant? (a) _________________________________________________ (b) _________________________________________________ 4. What groups participated in the design and development of this nuclear power plant? (a) _________________________________________________ (b) _________________________________________________ (c) _________________________________________________
3.
(d) _________________________________________________ 5. How long after the reactor went critical was the plant
synchronised with the utility grid?_________________________ 6. 7. What was the reactor's power rating? _____________________ Complete the gaps in the following texts with the appropriate prepositions, adverbs or conjunctions: (a) ...water is pumped ________________ the reactor ... (b) ... the water serves ____________ a neutron
moderator ___________ ___________ ____________ a heat transfer medium. (c) ... heated __________ the fuel the water is pumped _________________ a heat exchanger and is recirculated __________ the pump repeating the cycle. (d) ... saturated steam is generated _________ the heat exchanger...
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 11 de 21
(e) ... flows ______________ a steam drum containing steam separators and ______________ a turbine which drives the generator. Then goes __________ a condenser and _________ water is pumped ____________ to repeat and complete the cycle. (f) ... the use _________ separate systems prevents the possibility _________ transferring radioactivity ____________ the primary system ___________ the turbine and condenser. 8. What was an overriding feature in the design of the plant? ___ ____________________________________________________ What synonym of the word installation is mentioned on the video? _______________________________________________ 10. What are the two reasons mentioned for shutting any reactor loop? (a) _________________________________________________ (b) _________________________________________________ 11. Is here the use of loop metaphorical? If yes, in what sense? _ ____________________________________________________ 12. ... behind the successful completion was the blazing of trails into new territory What is the meaning of this metaphor here? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
9.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 12 de 21
13. There were four problematic areas in relation with this power plant. The first one was related with the reactor design and its technology. What were the aspects to be solved with this first area? (a) _________________________________________________ (b) _________________________________________________ (c) _________________________________________________ (d) _________________________________________________ (e) _________________________________________________ 14. What was the second problematic area? ___________________ 15. What was the third problematic area? _____________________ 16. What was the fourth problematic area? ____________________ 17. How much steam can the fourth loops produce? _____________ 18. How was it called the enriched material? ___________________ 19. What was surrounding the seed ?________________________ 20. What criteria had to meet the blanket ? (a) _________________________________________________ (b) _________________________________________________ (c) _________________________________________________ (d) _________________________________________________ 21. Did a material that met those requirements exist? ___________ ____________________________________________________ 22. Why was metallic uranium inappropriate as a blanket material?_ ____________________________________________________
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 13 de 21
23. How many alternative materials were researched at Bettis as alternatives? __________________________________________ 24. What was ignored about uranium dioxide? __________________ ____________________________________________________ 25. Which two values about uranium dioxide had to be determined? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ c) LISTENING COMPREHENSION (Second Video) 1. What does this second video essentially describe? (between 60 and 80 words) 2. Identify the names of people or places mentioned on this second video. Identify the names of materials or products mentioned on this video. Identify any numbers or amounts mentioned on the video and the information connected with them. 5. 6. Name 10 processes mentioned on the video. Name 10 purposes mentioned on the video.
3.
4.
5.
6.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 14 de 21
Task 2: (1) KEY TO THE VOCABULARY: Questions a), b), c) and d) are selfresponded. You may have different possible answers to them. Question e) -> check with your tutor if you cannot find the meanings; Question f)-> a- 6; b- 1; c- 5; d- 2; e- 4; f- 3 (2) KEY TO THE LISTENING COMPREHENSION a) they tell you what elements do you need before starting b) both by showing on the display the number and by saying it c) how to set the display source on the TV d) 4 e) S-Video cable, connection f) 60 inches VGA cable, DVI connection, and wireless
Task 3: (a) He is not telling how (instructions), but what can be done or what is done. That is the main difference between instructions and descriptions. If you want to see the whole video go to: http://fora.tv/2007/09/27/Implementing_Science_Fiction (b) Yes he uses profanities (a pain in the ass) and this is an example of relatively unplanned public speech (he knows what he is talking about, but there is a degree of improvisation). Task 4: It is an example of a future situation. Probably the presentation is too informal and full of irrelevant anecdotes for most non-USA listeners.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 15 de 21
Task 5: a) LISTENING COMPREHENSION (first video) 1. After the presidential introduction, what verb is used in a metaphorical sense in the first comment? Feeding (verb To Feed): in the sense that electricity is provided to the industries, so they can manufacture or produce materials. 2. (To answer this question first watch all the video) Why is it important to have such a power plant in Pittsburgh? Because Pittsburgh has a very important steel industry, and that is why is called the steel city of the USA. 3. What were the two main goals in establishing this power plant? a) To gain information and to advance reactor technology. b) To obtain a nuclear power plant that will be operable in a conventional electric network, with high availability at all times. 4. What groups participated in the design and development of this nuclear power plant? a) Westinghouse electric corporation. b) United States Atomic Energy Commission. c) Duquesne light company.
d) Hundred of others large and small companies 5. How long after the reactor went critical was the plant synchronised with the utility grid? 16 days 6. What was the reactor's power rating? 60.000 kw
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 16 de 21
7. Complete the gaps in the following texts with the appropriate prepositions, adverbs or conjunctions: (a) ... water is pumped __ through__ the reactor ... (b) ... the water serves __ as __ a neutron moderator __ as well as __ a heat transfer medium. (c) ... heated __ by _ the fuel the water is pumped _ through__ a heat exchanger and is re-circulated _ by _ the pump repeating the cycle. (d) ... saturated steam is generated ___in___ the heat
exchanger... (e) ... flows __ through _ a steam drum containing steam separators and _ through__ a turbine which drives the generator. Then goes _through__ a condenser and _as _ water is pumped _back__ to repeat and complete the cycle. (f) ... the use __of__ separate systems prevent the possibility __of __ transferring radioactivity __from__ the primary system __to__ the turbine and condenser. 8. What was an overriding feature in the design of the plant? Safety stipulations within the plant and its surroundings. 9. What synonym of the word installation is mentioned on the video? Plant 10. What are the two reasons mentioned for shutting any reactor loop? 1) Maintenance 2) Instrumentation to permit studies and experiments while operating at full capacity.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 17 de 21
11. Is here the use of loop metaphorical? If yes, in what sense? Yes, it means hat the system works as a closed circuit (as if it were a circle). 12. ... behind the successful completion was the blazing of trails into new territory What is the meaning of this metaphor here? Working out solutions for new issues or problems that will be coming up. 13. There were four problematic areas in relation with this power plant. The first one was related with the reactor design and its technology. What were the aspects to be solved with this first area? Reactor area: Determine the most suitable materials. Design sizes and configuration of fuel elements. Processing of fuel materials and manufacturing elements. Detection and location of any failed fuel elements. Complex instrumentation needed to gather useful information on core and plant operation. Design of the reactor vessel.
14. What was the second problematic area? Problems involving the water (temperature, pressure control, minimize corrosion, how to measure water purity, etc.). 15. What was the third problematic area? Assuring complete safety for persons in the plant and the surrounding areas and taking measures such as shielding, measures for containment efficient products, 3 barriers to contain and surround the entire plant, etc.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 18 de 21
16. What was the fourth problematic area? Special equipment (zero leakage pumps, large hermetically sealed valves, operational radiation monitoring equipment, instruments, etc.). 17. How much steam can the fourth loops produce? Over 1 million pounds of steam per hour 18. How was it called the enriched material? Seed (uranium) 19. What was surrounding the seed? A blanket. 20. What criteria had to meet the blanket? The material must be resistant to corrosion produced by high temperature water. Radiation stability. Uranium must not must progress to other elements. Maximum uranium loading or content.
21. Did a material that met those requirements exist? No, new technologies had to be developed: because at the time there wasn't a single material with the required properties, the idea was to make one with uranium alloys. 22. Why was metallic uranium inappropriate as a blanket material? Poor corrosion resistance. 23. How many alternative materials were researched at Bettis as alternatives? Three: Molybdenum, Niobium and Silicon. 24. What was ignored about uranium dioxide? Due to its physical properties it was corrosion resistant and had good irradiation stability.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 19 de 21
25. Which two values about uranium dioxide had to be determined? Melting points. Thermal conductivity.
b) LISTENING COMPREHENSION (Second Video) 1. What does this second video essentially describe? (Between 60 and 80 words) This video describes the design of the reactor: the materials used as seed and blanket, and the tests that were made to choose the proper elements. After choosing such elements and materials, a model of the reactor was constructed to analyse their behaviour and avoid future problems. Some of the measures that were taken into account to avoid any safety issues were the temperature of the water and the steam and power generation of the plant. The video explains that the completion of the project took four and a half years, what was needed for this project including the design period- and explains that the construction of this plant was very relevant not just for the USA but for the rest of the world as well. 2. Identify the names of people or places mentioned on this second video. People: No names are mentioned. Places: Shippingport Plant, Bettis Center.
3. Identify the names of materials or products mentioned on this video. Argon, Hydrogen, Zirconium, Uranium, UO2, Hafnium, Metal, Water, Fuel, Oxide.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 20 de 21
4. Identify any dates, numbers or amounts mentioned on the video and the information connected with them. Temperature of the inlet / outlet water: 508-538 F (average 523F); 500-546F (average 523F). Production: One hundred thousand Kw. Design, development and engineering needed two years. Construction took three years. Construction began in March 1956. On October 10, 1957 the fuel core was placed in the reactor. Plant was finished and was on full operation three years after the construction began. Four and half years including since the design was awarded until the construction was finalized. December 2nd, 1957: reactor went critical for the first time and on December 18th it went to full power with Duquesne Light Company. 6% for fuel depletion, 4% for efficient product poisons, 3% for temperature changes, 5% for side margin, a total of 18% for excess reactivity (considered to be the optimum). Hundreds of contractors were hired to work at the plant. 150 Tons pressure vessel. 18.000 rpm was the shaft speed of the unit that can produce up to 100.000 kilowatts in case of core development. 5. Name 10 processes mentioned on the video. Agglomerating, compacting, cladding, reaction, irradiation, testing,
assembling,
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.
Unit 4 Pag.: 21 de 21
6. Name 10 purposes mentioned on the video. Increase density and strength; measure reaction with zirconium alloy to cladding; rise power level; reading temperature and pressure; detect and locate failing elements; have the control and operation of the plant and its 3 main parts (reactor, steam generation and power generation); avoid operational problems; take measures to extend the life of the core.
www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.