worksheet guide 2015

Clases Prcticas - Capacitacin de idioma Ingls I

Pgina 1

GUIA

TRABAJOS

PRACTICOS

2015

Prof. Ma. Candela Prez Albiz


Pgina 2

______________ is a person who puts metal in

your mouth and takes coins out of your pocket.

TRABAJO PRACTICO N 1

A. Look at the following definition. What do you think the missing word is? B. Have a look at the title and the pictures. What do you think the text is about? C. Read the text once. Where is the definition from?

A different kind of dictionary

Ambrose Bierce was a 19th century American author and

journalist. His most popular book is probably the Devils

Dictionary, written between 1881 and 1887. Bierces

dictionary does not contain normal definitions his

definitions are funny and cynical. For example, in a normal dictionary, the

definition of dentist is a kind of doctor who looks after peoples teeth. But

in the Devils Dictionary, the definition of a dentist is a person who puts

metal in your mouth and takes coins out of your pocket.

Today on the Internet you can find many websites with more

modern versions of the Devils Dictionary.


Pgina 3

D. Read the text again and answer the following questions: Who was Ambrose Bierce?

What is the normal definition of dentist?

Where can you find modern versions of the Devils Dictionary?

E. Now match the following words/phrases to heir cynical definitions.

a boring person the brain a star a friend a secret

________ is a person who works all her life to become famous and then wears sunglasses so people dont recognize her. ________ is something which you only tell one person. ________ is somebody who talks about himself when you want to talk about yourself. ________ is somebody who dislikes the same people as you. ________ is something that starts working when you get up in the morning and stops working when you get to university or work. F. Translate the text.

(Adapted from New English File, Pre-Intermediate, Lesson 1, OUP)


Pgina 4


A. Have a look at the title and the pictures. In the last decades, we have experienced many changes in our daily lives. Make a list include both the positive and the negative ones! B. Read the article and say: does the author mention any of the ideas in your list?

Were living faster, but are we living better?

Not long ago people believed that in the future we

would work less, have more free time, and be more

relaxed. But sadly this has not happened

Today we work harder, work longer hours, and are

more stressed than ten years ago. We walk faster,

talk faster, and sleep less than previous

generations. And although we are obsessed with machines which save

us time, we have less free time than our parents and grandparents had.

But what is this doing to our health? An American journalist James

Gleick in a new book, Faster: the Acceleration of just about everything,

says that people who live in cities are suffering from hurry sickness we are always trying to do more things in less time. As a result, our

lives are more stressful. He says that if we dont slow down, we wont live as long as our parents. For most people, faster doesnt mean better.

Newspaper articles today are shorter and the headlines are bigger. Most

people dont have enough time to read the articles, they only read the headlines! On TV and the radio, newsreaders speak more quickly than

ten years ago.

In the USA there is a book called One-Minute Bedtime Stories for

children. These are shorter versions of traditional stories, specially

written for busy parents who want to save time!


Pgina 5

Some answerphones now have quick playback buttons so that we can re-play peoples messages faster we cant waste time listening to people speaking at normal speed!

Even when we relax we do everything more quickly. Ten years ago

when people went to art galleries they spent ten seconds looking at each

picture. Today they spend just three seconds!

In the USA the national sport, baseball, is not as popular

as before because it is a slow game and matches take a

long time. Nowadays many people prefer faster and

more dynamic sports like basketball.

The only thing that is slower than before is the way we drive. Our cars

are faster but the traffic is worse so we drive more slowly. We spend

more time sitting in our cars, feeling stressed because we are worried

that we wont arrive on time. Experts predict that in ten years time the average speed on the road in cities will be 17 km/h.

(Adapted from New English File, Pre-Intermediate, Unit 4, OUP)

C. Read the text again and say if the following statements are T (true) or F (false). The predictions made by people some years ago about life in the

future were incorrect.

According to the text, technology is improving our health.

Nowadays, parents write stories for their children.

Peoples tastes as regards sports have changed in the USA.

D. Translate the text.


Pgina 6


THE CHANGING FACE OF READING At the beginning of April 2010, the computer giant Apple put their iPad on the market

in the US. One of the features available on this new gadget is iBooks, an electronic

book reader which allows customers to read books, and also to browse and buy

through the iBookstore. Ebooks are not a new thing Sony entered the market as long

ago as 2004 and Amazons Kindle has been available since 2007 but it is predicted

that the number of ereaders will now continue to grow at an even faster rate. Ereading

is just the latest stage in the development of reading.

Reading and writing materials have already changed dramatically over history.

Thousands of years ago, writing was not on paper but on tablets made of clay. Writing

was carved into the clay before it was baked to become hard. Different civilisations

also used other materials such as bone, tortoise shells or papyrus.

Papyrus was a plant which grew on the banks of the Nile, in Egypt. It was used by the

ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for writing and also to make boats, mats,

baskets and ropes even in the third millennium BC. Our word paper comes from the

ancient Greek name for the plant, papyros. Later, animal skins became more popular.

A type of paper, as we know it, was introduced in the 2nd century AD by the Chinese

and arrived in Europe in the 11th century AD via the Arabs.

The use of paper and, very importantly, the invention of the printing press, gave birth

to books as we know them today. The earliest evidence of printing comes from China,

and dates back to the 9th century*, when wooden blocks were used. However, the first

mechanical printing press was invented in Germany by Gutenburg in 1440. News of

this invention spread very quickly and by 1500 about 2,500 European cities had

them, printing books in huge quantities at more affordable prices.

The printing press changed the way people communicated. By spreading knowledge

and ideas, it also radically changed the power and shape of society. Reading was no

longer in the hands of a few (the literary and religious, the rich and powerful); as the

number of printed materials grew, education also developed. Over the centuries, the


Pgina 7

process of reading changed too, from being a mainly public, oral activity to a silent,

private one. Even so, today literacy rates vary considerably: in some countries such as

the UK and Japan it is 99%, yet in other countries it is still below 30%.

It remains to be seen what the impact of ereaders will be and whether they will

replace printed books, or serve a different function. Paper books have, after all, been

with us for almost a thousand years. Whatever happens, it looks as if ereaders are

here to stay!

* The Diamond Sutra text is a Chinese Buddhist document, written in 868 AD. This is the earliest dated printed book in the world (currently in the British Library).

A. Before looking at the text, put these events in order:

a Literacy rates grew and grew

b Printing was done by hand using woodblocks

c Thousands of books were produced

d Animal skins were used for writing

e The ebook was invented

f The machine called the printing press was invented

g People wrote on material called papyrus

h People used clay tablets to write on

i Paper was invented

B. Now check if you were right by reading the text.


Pgina 8

C. Look at the following statements about ereading. Which comments are for and which are against?

a Reading from a screen will give you a headache, especially if you already spend

lots of time in front of one.

b You can order and then start reading a new book in just a few seconds.

c Its private. You can sit on a train and no one else knows what you are reading.

d Think of the dangers credit card fraud, viruses, piracy.

e Its much greener: its kinder on our trees. Think about costs of production and

disposal.

f It might encourage the younger generation to read more, and maybe read more

widely.

g Being able to read and buy books, as well as have all the other normal things like

emailing, sounds great. Its so convenient!

h Im tired of all these gadgets to get information. I want to hold something real.

i I think it might help people who have poor eyesight, as you can change the size of

the writing and also the lighting.

j You can carry hundreds of books around with you, and you can take them

anywhere.

k If you drop it in the bath or knock it against a wall, youve lost your whole library.

l In the end, prices of these books will fall and theyll be much cheaper as there are

no printing or shipping costs.

m It requires power of some sort, unlike a paper book.

n Its great for studying as you can make notes, highlight, and so on.

D. Discuss the following in groups of three.

What for you are the main arguments for and against ereading? Which points do you agree with and why? Are you/will you become an ereader? Why/why not? Do you think ereaders will replace books? Why/why not?

E. Contextual reference: What do the highlighted words in the text refer to? F. Translate the text. (This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanglobal.com Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010. 1 )


Pgina 9


A. Before reading the text, think about why we sleep and dream. Now read the text. How many of your ideas are talked about in the text?

Sleep matters The science of sleep is more than 50 years old, but much remains a mystery. We still don't

really know exactly what sleep is for or why we dream, but there are some interesting theories.

Most scientists agree that we have periods of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Although previously scientists

believed that all dreaming happened during REM sleep, recent research shows that we have different kinds of dreams, with non-REM dreams being short and dull and REM dreams being long and

vivid. Some scientists believe that one function of dreaming is probably to process information and find meaning. There is some experimental evidence that REM sleep promotes creative thinking.

The idea that sleep plays an important role in learning and memory isnt new. But there is now considerable evidence that REM sleep is strongly connected with learning how to do something, for example how to play an instrument. This contrasts with non-REM sleep, which seems to be connected with spatial memories, for instance

learning to find your way around a new city.

How you feel when you wake up depends on what stage of sleep youre in. If you wake up feeling wide awake and refreshed, you probably woke up during a phase of light sleep. On the other hand, if you wake up feeling groggy, this is probably because youve woken up during a deeper phase of sleep, so youre still half asleep. Fortunately, research shows a short nap of 1015 minutes could help you catch up, but avoid a longer siesta as it could leave you

feeling groggy. Some sleep researchers believe that a 10-minute snooze can improve your overall performance and could prevent

accidents for overtired drivers and nurses.

Researchers agree we need between about 6 and 8 hours sleep a night for good mental and physical health, but studies show about 1

in 10 people have problems sleeping. To avoid insomnia and get a good nights sleep, its important to go to bed at about the same time


Pgina 10

every night. Avoid watching TV, using a computer or doing exercise shortly before going to bed and make sure youre neither too hot nor too cold. If youre worrying about something when you go to bed, theres no point in telling yourself not to think about it. Instead, think about a pleasant, relaxing scene, which should soon help you

to fall asleep.

B. Which paragraph in the text (25) talks about the following?

1 tips for improving your sleep paragraph _____

2 how dreams differ paragraph _____

3 waking up and short sleeps paragraph _____

4 sleep and different kinds of memory paragraph _____

C. Read the article and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F), according to the text. Circle the correct statements and correct those that are false. 1 All dreaming happens during REM sleep. T/F

2 REM sleep might help you think creatively. T/F

3 REM sleep would probably help you to learn to ski. T/F

4 A short nap will leave you feeling groggy. T/F

5 A short sleep could help avoid accidents caused by tiredness. T/F

6 Watching television should help you get to sleep. T/F

D. Translate the article. (Adapted from Global Website, Lesson Plan 81 by Clare Booth, 24th October 2011, Macmillan)


Pgina 11


A. Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible. 1. What will the worlds population be in 2050? 2. How many of the worlds 25 oldest countries are in Europe? 3. By 2040 how many Europeans will be at least 65?

4. Which country has the highest life expectancy in the world?

5. Which country has the lowest life expectancy?

6. How much longer (on average) do women live than men?

Population of older people to surpass number of children

Ed Pilkington,

20 July, 2009

The worlds population will soon experience a moment of huge social and

economic importance. For the first time the number of people aged 65 or more

will be greater than the number of children under five years old. A new report by

the US census bureau shows the worlds population is ageing rapidly, with

enormous consequences for both rich and poor nations. This situation will bring

challenges for both families and politicians, including how to care for older

people living alone to how to pay for enormous numbers of pensioners more

than one billion of them by 2040.

The report, An Ageing World: 2008, shows that within ten years older people will

outnumber children for the first time. It forecasts that over the next 30 years the

number of over-65s will double, from 506 million in 2008 to 1.3 billion an

increase from 7% of the worlds population to 14%. Already, the number of

people in the world 65 and over is increasing at an average of 870,000 each

month.

The number of people over 65 will increase rapidly in the next couple of years.

The change is the result of a combination of the high birth rates after the Second

World War and recent improvements in health that are bringing down death rates


Pgina 12

at older ages. United Nations forecasts predict that the global population will be

more than nine billion by 2050.

The US census bureau was the first to draw attention to these changes. This is its

ninth report using data from around the world since it first reported in 1987. Its

latest forecasts warn governments and international bodies that this change in

population structure will bring significant problems at every level of human

organization, starting with the structure of the family, which will be transformed

as people live longer. This will also bring new problems for careers and social

services providers, while changes in work and retirement will have an impact on

health services and pensions systems.

People are living longer and, in some parts of the world, healthier lives, the

authors say. This represents one of the greatest achievements of the last

century but also a significant challenge as numbers of older people increase in

most countries. Europe is the oldest continent, with 23 of the worlds 25 oldest

countries. By 2040, more than one in four Europeans are expected to be at least

65, and one in seven at least 75.

The UK is number 19 in the list of the worlds oldest countries. Number one is

Japan, which recently replaced Italy as the worlds oldest major country. Its life

expectancy at birth is 82 years. In western Europe, France, Sweden and Italy all

have life expectancies of more than 80 years. In the UK it is 78.8.

The difference in life expectancy between rich and poor nations is huge. The

report shows that a person born in a developed country can expect to live 14

years longer than someone in a developing country. Zimbabwe has the lowest life

expectancy. It is just 40 years the result of a combination of Aids, famine and

dictatorship.

But an important finding of the report is that poorer countries are also

experiencing the phenomenon of an ageing population. More than 80% of the

increase in older people in the year up to July 2008 was seen in developing

countries. By 2040, the poor world is expected to be home to more than 1 billion

people aged 65 and over as much as 76% of the world total.

Many countries with large numbers of old people are already having problems


Pgina 13

paying for a longer retirement for their older population. Life expectancy after

retirement has already reached 21 years for French men and 26 years for French

women. Retirement ages have begun to rise in developed countries, as

governments encourage people to continue working, but public pensions funds

may be unable to provide enough money to pay for old age pensions.

Socially, too, there are pressures for both individuals and families. Women live

on average seven years longer than men, so more and more older women are

living alone. Around half of all women 65 and over in Germany, Denmark and

Slovakia are on their own and loneliness is a major problem.

Guardian News & Media 2009 First published in The Guardian, 20/07/09

B. Read the text again and match the beginnings and endings to make sentences about the text. 1. People over 65 will soon 2. The number of people in the world over 65 years old . 3. This change in population structure 4. People born in developed countries 5. By 2040, 76% of people aged 65 and over ...

6. Large numbers of older women live alone because

a) will live in poor, developing countries. b) will bring significant problems to families and social service providers. c) women live on average seven years longer than men. d) is increasing at an average of 870,000 each month. e) outnumber children under five years old for the first time. f) live on average 14 years longer than those born in developing countries. C. Contextual reference: What do the highlighted words in the text refer to? D. Translate the text.


Pgina 14


A. Read the text and answer these questions in Spanish:

1. Does this text make sense to you? Why? 2. Why do young people require older adults help? 3. Which abilities decrease after the 20s? 4. Explain the meaning of the sentence This dichotomytoo

coarse. 5. What do you think about German scientists argument?

OLDER REALLY CAN MEAN WISER

By BENEDICT CAREY.

Behind all those canned compliments for older adults there is an

appreciation for something that scientists have had a hard time

characterizing: mental faculties that improve with age. Knowledge is a

large part of the equation, of course. People who are middle-aged and

older tend to know more than young adults, by virtue of having been

around longer, and score higher on vocabulary tests, crossword puzzles

and other measures of so-called crystallized intelligence. Still, young adults

who consult their elders (mostly when desperate) dont do so just to

gather facts, solve crosswords or borrow a credit card. Nor, generally, are

they looking for help with short-term memory or puzzle solving. Those

abilities, called fluid intelligence, peak in the 20s. No, the older brain offers

something more, according to a new paper in the journal Psychological

Science. Elements of social judgment and short-term memory, important

pieces of the cognitive puzzle, may peak later in life than previously

thought. Some postdoctoral fellows analyzed many scores on cognitive


Pgina 15

tests taken by people of all ages. The researchers found that the broad

split in age-related cognition fluid in the young, crystallized in the old

masked several important nuances. This dichotomy between early peaks

and later peaks is way too coarse, Dr. Hartshorne said. There are a lot

more patterns going on, and we need to take those into account to fully

understand the effects of age on cognition. The new paper is hardly the

first challenge to the scientific literature on age-related decline, and it

wont be the last. A year ago, German scientists argued that cognitive

deficits in aging were caused largely by the accumulation of knowledge

that is, the brain slows down because it has to search a larger mental

library of facts. That idea has stirred some debate among scientists.

Experts said the new analysis will raise different questions to answer in the

future.

2015 The New York Times

B. Identify the nouns-noun phrases that match the contextual

references highlighted in the text.

C. Translate the text.


Pgina 16


A. Read the text and answer these questions in Spanish:

1. What do you think about this experience? 2. How does the brain reveal the connection? 3. Explain the research. 4. What is the aim of this experience? 5. Do you feel that there is a link between love, reward and motivation?

Justify your answer.

SCIENCE A STEP CLOSER TO TEST THAT CAN PROVE YOU ARE IN LOVE

By Camilla Turner.

It is one of lifes most enduring mysteries. A question that music, poetry,

myth and legend has, for thousands of years, tried but failed to answer.

However, we may now be a step closer to discovering what love is, thanks

to a scientific study that has obtained the first empirical evidence of love-

related alterations in the brain. A team of researchers from universities in

China and New York used MRI scans to track the physical effects of love on

the brain and has pieced together a love map of the human mind. The

study found that several areas of the brain showed increased activity in

those who were in love, including in the parts of the brain linked to reward

and motivation. The researchers said their results shed light on the

underlying mechanisms of romantic love and would pave the way for a

brain scan that could act as a love test. Scientists recruited 100 students

from Southwest University in Chongqing, China, who were divided into

three groups according to their relationship status: an in-love group,

comprised of those who were in love at the time; an ended-love group,


Pgina 17

who had recently ended loving relationships; and a single group, who

had never been in love. Participants were told not to think of anything

while their brains were scanned, so that researchers could monitor the

differences between the brains of students in all three groups.

Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015





Pgina 18


A. After reading the text answer these questions in Spanish:

1. Do you think this really is a problem? 2. Who are more concerned about this topic? 3. Why is Facebook connected to fat talk? 4. Explain the sentence Fat talk is not a harmless social-bonding ritual. 5. What is the negative side of fat talk?

THE PROBLEM WITH FAT TALK

By Renee Engeln.

On Tuesday, in the wake of an online petition signed by thousands of

people, Facebook announced that it was removing feeling fat from its

list of status update emoticons. The petition argued that the offending

emoticon, with its chubby cheeks and double chin, reinforced negative

body images, and Facebook seemed to agree. Is it really such a big deal if

you tell everyone how fat you feel? After all, a simple Im so fat! can

result in a chorus of empathetic voices, saying, Me, too! or Youre

beautiful just the way you are! And that will help you feel better, and help

others feel better, too right? Wrong. As someone who studies this type

of public body self-disparagement, known as fat talk, I can say that it

probably will make you feel worse. And it may drag down other people

with you. Conversational shaming of the body has become practically a

ritual of womanhood (though men also engage in it). In a survey that a

colleague and I reported in 2011 in the Psychology of Women Quarterly, we

found that more than 90 percent of college women reported engaging in


Pgina 19

fat talk despite the fact that only 9 percent were actually overweight. In

another survey, which we published in December in the Journal of Health

Psychology, we canvassed thousands of women ranging in age from 16 to

70. Contrary to the stereotype of fat talk as a young womans practice, we

found that fat talk was common across all ages and all body sizes. Most

important, fat talk is not a harmless social-bonding ritual. According to an

analysis of several studies that my colleagues and I published in 2012 in the

Psychology of Women Quarterly, fat talk was linked with body shame,

body dissatisfaction and eating-disordered behavior. Fat talk does not

motivate women to make healthier choices or take care of their bodies; in

fact, the feelings of shame it brings about tend to encourage the opposite.

2015 The New York Times Company





Pgina 20


Colleges Reinvent Classes to Keep More Students in Science By RICHARD PREZ-PEADEC. 26, 2014

Catherine Uvarov, a chemistry instructor at the University of California, Davis, has adopted an

experimental approach to teaching an introductory course. CreditMax Whittaker for The New York

Times

DAVIS, Calif. Hundreds of students fill the seats, but the lecture hall stays quiet enough for everyone to hear each cough and crumpling piece of paper. The instructor speaks from a podium for nearly the entire 80 minutes. Most students take notes. Some scan the Internet. A few doze.

In a nearby hall, an instructor, Catherine Uvarov, peppers students with questions and presses them to explain and expand on their answers. Every few minutes, she has them solve problems in small groups. Running up and down the aisles, she sticks a microphone in front of a startled face, looking for an answer. Students dare not nod off or show up without doing the reading.

Both are introductory chemistry classes at the University of California campus here in Davis, but they present a sharp contrast the traditional and orderly but dull versus the experimental and engaging but noisy. Breaking from practices that many educators say have proved ineffectual, Dr. Uvarovs class is part of an effort at a small but growing number of colleges to transform the way science is taught.


Pgina 21

To engage students, Dr. Uvarov will tell

them to work in small groups to solve a

problem.CreditMax Whittaker for The New York Times

We have not done a good job of teaching the intro courses or gateway courses in science and math, said Hunter R. Rawlings III, president of the Association of American Universities and a former president of Cornell University and the University of Iowa. Teaching freshman- and sophomore-level classes has not had a high enough priority, and that has to change.

Multiple studies have shown that students fare better with a more active approach to learning, using some of the tools being adopted here at Davis, while in traditional classes, students often learn less than their teachers think.

The University of Colorado, a national leader in the overhaul of teaching science, tested thousands of students over several years, before and after they each took an introductory physics class, and reported in 2008 that students in transformed classes had improved their scores by about 50 percent more than those in traditional classes.

Given the strength of the research findings, it seems that universities would be desperately trying to get into the act. They are not. The norm in college classes especially big introductory science and math classes, which have high failure rates remains a lecture by a faculty member, often duplicating what is in the assigned reading.

There are many explanations, educators say, including the low value placed on teaching, tradition, pride and the belief that science should be the province of a select few.

What drives advancement at universities is publishing research and winning grants, said Marc T. Facciotti, an associate professor who will teach a revamped biology course here in the winter quarter. Teaching isnt a very high priority.

Noah Finkelstein, a physics professor and the director of Colorados overhaul efforts, added: Faculty dont like being told what to do, and there are people who push back and say they can figure it out on their own and they know what works for them. Theres plenty of data that says theyre mistaken.

In fact, there is no shortage of interested students, but failure rates in the beginning classes are high. At four-year colleges, 28 percent of students set out as math,


Pgina 22

engineering and science majors, but only 16 percent of bachelors degrees are awarded in those fields. The attrition rate is highest among women and blacks.

A lot of science faculty have seen themselves as gatekeepers, said Marco Molinaro, an assistant vice provost here at Davis and director of its effort to overhaul science courses. The university has received grants from the Association

of American Universities, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationand the Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Rather than try to help students who falter in introductory classes, he said, they have seen it as their job to weed people out and limit access to upper-level courses.

As part of the overhaul, students receive remote controls to answer questions in class.CreditMax Whittaker for The New York Times

The project here borrows elements from many sources, including more than a decade of work at the University of Colorado and other institutions; software from the Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University; Carl E. Wieman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at Stanford who founded Colorados project and a parallel effort at the University of British Columbia; Eric Mazur, a Harvard physicist and author of the book Peer Instruction; and Doug Lemov, a former teacher and author of Teach Like a Champion.

Many of the ideas like new uses of technology, requiring students to work in groups and having them do exercises in class rather than just listen to the teacher have caught on, to varying degrees, in grade schools and high schools. But higher education has been slower to change, especially in giant courses with hundreds of students.

While teachers at lower levels receive training in educational theory and teaching methods, most college instructors acquire none.

Higher education has this assumption that if you know your subject, you can teach it, and its not true, Dr. Uvarov said. I see so much that I was missing before, and that was missing in my own education.

Of course, telling experienced teachers that they need to learn how to teach does not always go over well, especially when they have tenure. So the project here began with graduate students who work as teaching assistants in biology and are required to have extensive training in teaching techniques. For an introductory science course, in addition to giant classes taught by faculty members, there are twice-weekly discussion sessions with two dozen students, led by teaching assistants.


Pgina 23

Unlike the profs, we could tell the T.A.s what to do, said Christopher Pagliarulo, an associate director of Dr. Molinaros team.

The team tested students grasp of basic concepts before and after taking introductory classes, then it showed professors that their students were gaining much less than they had thought results that convinced some professors of the need for change.

Theres some ego involved, and its hard to hear that what youve been doing doesnt necessarily work, said Mitch Singer, the first professor on the Davis campus to teach a new-style introductory biology class, which is underway this quarter after months of preparation. I think its also dawned on some professors that their T.A.s are now better teachers than they are.

Faculty members say some colleagues are reluctant to jettison established lesson plans and accept a more unpredictable, boisterous classroom that puts students at center stage and forces professors to adapt. Its more work, and youre not as in control, Dr. Singer said.

The transition here has barely started only the biology teaching assistants, plus a few faculty members in biology and chemistry, have undergone any retraining but already the differences are plain. In their classes, Dr. Singer and Dr. Uvarov walk up to students, pace the aisles, and eavesdrop on working groups. They avoid simple yes-or-no questions and every query has a follow-up, or two or three.

Before each biology discussion session, students are supposed to go online to do some reading and answer questions. The teaching assistants then know who has done the reading, who has understood it and whether the group is weak in some spots, so they can tailor lessons accordingly. Students complain about being unable to escape scrutiny, but they acknowledge that they learn more. I dont like getting called on like that, said Jasmine Do, a first-year student who was one of those singled out by Dr. Uvarov. But it makes you participate and pay attention because theres always something new going on, and it makes the time go by really fast.

Faculty members have smartphone apps that let them call on students at random, rather than just on those who volunteer. When the instructors post multiple-choice questions on big screens, students answer with remote controls, providing instant feedback on how much information is sinking in and allowing faculty members to track each students attendance and participation, even in a class of 500.

Its already like night and day, Dr. Singer said. In a few years, itll be like day in the summer and night in the winter.

A version of this article appears in print on December 27, 2014, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Colleges Reinvent Classes to Keep More Students in Science.


Pgina 24

A. Read the text and answer the following questions in Spanish:

1. Describe the contrast between both introductory chemistry classes at the University of California in Davis.

2. Are universities paying attention to these research findings? Why? Why not?

3. What is the difference between the training of teachers at lower levels and college instructors?

4. What is the attitude of experienced teachers in relation to this change?





Pgina 25


A. What things might people become addicted to? Make a list. Can you divide the list into new or modern addictions and old or traditional addictions?

Addiction to Internet is an illness New evidence shows that excessive use of the Internet causes people to suffer from isolation, tiredness and withdrawal symptoms David Smith, technology correspondent March 23, 2008

Tense? Angry? Cant get online? Internet addiction is now a serious health problem that should be officially recognized as a clinical disorder, says a leading psychiatrist.

In the respected American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr Jerald Block writes that the disorder is caused by excessive gaming, viewing online pornography, emailing and text messaging. He says that the disorder is now so common that it should be included in medical text books. According to Block, Internet addiction has four main components:

Excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time; Withdrawal symptoms, including feelings of anger, tension and/or

depression when the computer is inaccessible; The need for better computers, more software, or more hours of use; Negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor

achievement, social isolation and tiredness.

Block says that in South Korea 10 people died from blood clots because they stayed seated for long periods in Internet cafes and another was murdered because of an online game. South Korea now considers Internet addiction one of its most serious public health issues. The government estimates that around 210,000 South Korean children need treatment. 80 per cent of them might need drugs that target the brain and nearly a quarter could need to go to hospital. Since the average high school pupil there spends about 23 hours per week gaming, another 1.2 million are believed to be at risk of addiction and require basic counselling. Many people are also worried about the number of addicts who stop going to school or leave their jobs to spend more time on computers. In China it has been reported that about 10 million adolescent Internet users could be considered addicts.

Dr Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, writes that it is more difficult to estimate how bad the problem is in America because people tend to surf at home instead of in Internet cafes. But he believes


Pgina 26

there are similar cases, and says: Unfortunately it is not easy to treat Internet addiction. He told The Observer that he did not believe specific websites were responsible. The relationship is with the computer, he said. First, it becomes a significant other to them. Second, they use up emotions that they could experience in the real world on the computer, through any number of mechanisms: emailing, gaming, porn. Third, computer use takes up a huge amount of time in their life. Then if you simply try to remove the computer, they feel theyve lost their best friend. That can take the form of depression or rage.

Harry Husted, a single 51-year-old from New York, spends 16 hours a day on the Internet. He insists that he is not addicted, but admits that he used to be. I used to work with computers for eight hours, then get home and go online for another seven hours. I stayed up until two or three in the morning, or until I got so sleepy I had to go to bed. I didnt go out to get the groceries and I didnt care about friends, TV, or anything. After a while I realized what was happening and did something about it. Now if I use MySpace its only to advertise my business.

Internet addiction clinics are opening all around the world, and many people have turned, apparently without irony, to web discussion boards with names such as Internet Addicts Anonymous. The Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pennsylvania, says Internet addiction has become a growing legal issue in criminal, divorce and employment cases.

Robert Freedman, editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry, said Internet addiction can be diverse. In Korea, it seems to be mostly gaming sites. In America, it is Facebook. Additionally, its porn, its games, its gambling, its chatting with friends. All these things existed before, but now theyre a lot easier.

To beat the addiction, he advised: A self-help group might be a good place to start, but maybe a real group is better than an online one.

Guardian News & Media 2008 First published in The Observer, 23/03/08

B. According to the article, are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?

o The four basic components of Internet addiction are excessive use,

withdrawal symptoms when the computer is not accessible, the constant

need for better computers and software and negative repercussions on

the users social life.


Pgina 27

o In South Korea, the main cause of Internet addiction is spending time on

social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

o The average South Korean high school student spends 16 hours a day

playing online games.

o People have died as a consequence of their Internet addiction.

o South Koreans go online at Internet cafes more often than Americans.

o Internet addiction is easy to treat.

C. Contextual reference: What do the underlined words in the text refer to?

D. Translate the text.

worksheet guide 2015

Documents