Universidad del valle (Sede yumbo)

Lectura de textos académicos II

Lic. Marco Antonio Aristizabal (opcional # 1)

Student name:

On the nature of stuff

Early in our education we are introduced to the history of man in terms of stone, bronze, and iron
ages—terms first introduced by the Danish archaeologist Christian Thomsen in 1836. However, the
association of these terms with the development of chemistry is hardly ever made explicit. At first
sight, the term ‘stone age’ does not seem to imply anything chemical; but deeper reflection shows
that it implies not merely the altering of stones to fashion tools and buildings some two million years
ago, but recognition of different kinds of stuff (minerals) and their differing properties. Chemistry
helped to define culture. The Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) paintings of Lascaux and elsewhere
show that stone-age peoples were able to prepare pigments to colour their representations of
animals (12,000–8,000 BCE); and it would have been only a small step from this to the use of
minerals and plants to extract natural dyestuffs with which to colour cloth and clothing once society
had reached an agrarian stage of development. By the time the bronze or copper age was reached,
the working of minerals to produce copper and zinc had been developed. The archaeological
evidence for mining and cupellation (the removal of lead in an ore by oxidation) is extensive, while
the analysis of food remnants at metallurgical sites implies that the early metallurgists enjoyed a
rich diet of meat and fish—suggesting that they were admired and respected for their ability to
transform useless hunks of rock into valuable metal. These metallurgical practices continued with
the discovery of iron ore, which gave iron-age man the ability to produce weapons that made animal
hunting and butchering easier. Archaeological chemistry combines analytical chemistry with the
techniques of industrial archaeology to investigate sites of metallurgical activity. Chemists in the
18th century pioneered the investigation of ancient glassware and other objects, but since large
samples were required for analysis, archaeologists were wary of deploying analysis on a large scale
for fear of destroying evidence. This reluctance to compromise specimens was dramatically altered
from the 1960s onwards, when new analytical instrumental techniques permitted the use of
exceedingly small samples of a material object.

Artisanal science

Excavations in Egypt and the former lands of Persia and Mesopotamia have revealed the chemicals
identified and exploited by these advanced civilizations from the fifth millennium onwards. For
example, natron, an impure form of common salt extracted from dry lakes or from the evaporation of
Nile water, was used in embalming and food preservation. Perfume recipes have scarcely changed
for thousands of years. A basic ingredient has always been glycerol, a viscous sugar alcohol. We
know from Pliny’s Natural History (1st century CE) that there was an extensive Roman technology
that involved the exploitation of the algae (Dunaliella salina) that is able to grow in the hostile
environment of salt evaporation pans. Pliny and others referred to it as flos salis or ‘flower of salt’.
The cells of this brick-red halophile contain glycerol and beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin A).
Both these valuable commodities are still extracted from the algae today as the basis of coloured
perfumes just as they were in Roman times. We cannot be certain when mankind first tamed fire
from lightning strikes and learned to kindle wood to make its reproduction readily available for the
purposes of cooking and heating materials; but this was certainly a precondition for the production
of pottery and glass (used in jewellery), and the extraction of metals. Trees and bushes burn to
leave a charred mass (charcoal) which was found to release molten metals from rocks, stones, and
minerals when they were burned together. Archaeologists have found hearths in sites dated at
230,000 years old. The findings imply that various hominid species had learned how to create,
control, and propagate fire. Its control provided humans with warmth, expanded their daylight hours,
made migration and a peripatetic lifestyle possible, and improved mankind’s diet, health, and
longevity through the processing of meat and vegetables. There is abundant archaeological
evidence that by 8,000 BCE mankind was using biochemical processes (fermentation) to exploit
grains of various kinds to bake bread and to create beer and wine. The ability to control fire and
temperature led to the first chemical technologies —the production of pottery from fired clays and
tempers (such as sand and limestone), metals, glass, and bitumen products. The existence of
exposed bitumen in Mesopotamia led to the creation of crude asphalt obtained by mixing the
naturally found tar with chalk, sand, and gravels. Asphalt proved an efficient sealant and mortar for
housing and boat building. Another early chemical technology was the production of plaster from
gypsum or limestone that was then used to make large blocks for building purposes

 Based on the above reading above, create 8 questions and answers.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

 SUBJECT : Present Simple, Present Continuous, Simple Past

JAMAICA is a large island in the Caribbean Sea. Nearly a million tourists visit the island every year
to relax in the sun and swim in the clear blue sea. For tourists, the island is a paradise, but for most
Jamaican people life is hard. There are very few jobs, except in the tourist industry. Jamaica is also
famous for reggae music.

A) Chilli’s friend Della was on holiday in Jamaica. Read her letter to Chilli and complete it with the
correct verbs.

* invited * stopped * talked * stayed * travelled * enjoyed * didn’t sleep * didn’t get * watched * was

* listened
Dear Chilli,

I had a fantastic holiday in Jamaica. It was hot and the sea was blue and lovely.

I 10……………… by plane from London to Kingston. I really 11……………….. the flight. It 12 ……

eight hours long but I 13 …………………..at all because I 14…………………. so excited. During the
flight I 15 ………………….. to music,16 ………………….. a film and 17………………. to the girl in
the seat next to me. I 18…………………… with my aunt and uncle in Kingston. They
19…………………. me on a trip to Montego Bay. We 20 …………………. at an Orchid Farm. It was
brilliant. On my last night there I 21…………………… to bed until there o’clock in the morning! See
you soon! Love, Della

B) Answer the questions:

22. Did she go to Jamaica?

23. How did she go to Kingston?

24. How was the weather?

25. What did she do on the plane?

26. Did she visit her grandparents?

27. Did she like the Orchid Farm?

28. When did she go to bed on her last night?

29. Where is Jamaica?

30. What do the tourists do in Jamaica?

31. How is the life for Jamaican people?

Fill in with PRESENT SIMPLE or PRESENT CONTINUOUS:

Father: Alice, what are you doing (you / do)?

Alice: I 32 ……………………… (clean) the house. I usually 33 …………………… (do) my homework
but today I 34………………………….. (not / go) to school. Father: Where’s your mum? Alice: She
35…………………… (make) a cake. She usually 36 …………………….. (go) to the market but
today my friends 37…………………………. (come).

Fill in with PRESENT SIMPLE or PRESENT CONTINUOUS:

Sarah Star is a singer. She 38………(sing) and 39……………….. (dance) on TV. She
40…………………… (drive) a red Mercedes. At the moment she 41 ……. with Nick Pear. They
42…………………….. (eat) in a restaurant. Sarah 43…………………….. (drink) a cocktail and Nick
44…………………….. (talk) to the waiter.
Ann is a doctor. She 45………………….. (work) in a hospital but today she 46……………(stay) at
home. Now she 47 ……………………….. (cook) dinner. Her friends 48 …………………..(visit) her
today. It 49…………………. (be) her birthday.

Rewrite the following sentences using either simple past and past continuous

50. How did Martin burn himself? (iron his clothes)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

51. How did Helen cut herself? (slice onions)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

52. How did Jennifer meet her husband? (fix a flat tire)
………………………………………………………………………………………………

53. How did Marvin break his arm? (skate)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

54. How did you lose your wallet? (ride my bicycle)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

55. How did Jeff meet his wife? (swim at the beach)
………………………………………………………………………………………

 use will or going to in the following sentences.

 Frase nominal: underline and identify the main noun of the following sentences

68. The elimination of poverty is a moral imperative

69. Language has a socializing function

70. A new cure for AIDS was discovered

71. The ecosystem is being gradually destroyed by the action of man

72. The smallest animals in the animal kingdom.

 Frase verbal: underline and identify the nucleus of the following sentences.

73. Human beings are complex creatures

74. We are undergoing a period of profound and rapid changes.

75. Extreme weather conditions affect agricultural production

76. Each language contains a characteristic worldview

77. Some words do not have exact equivalents in other languages