Technical English Level 3

Progress Test 2 (Units 3­-4)

Answer all the questions.

Section 1: Vocabulary

1 Choose the correct option.

1 The two planes nearly collided/detached in mid-air this afternoon

2 The length of the crew capacity/capsule is 13.36m.

3 When a fault is detected/deployed, an alarm sounds.

4 When the ejection system is triggered, the seat is disabled/propelled away from the plane.

5 The seat and the parachute ascend/descend to Earth.

6 We need to modify/reduce the equipment in order to make it work more efficiently.

7 The optimum/approximate angle of the holes is 30º. This definitely gives the best results.

8 The recoil/pulse from the gun reduced its accuracy because it made it impossible to keep the gun steady.

9 The gene guns extract/insert genetic information into a cell.

2 Complete the sentence with a word formed from the word in capitals at the end.

10 He finally made a __________ last month when he discovered a solution to the problem. BREAK

11 He has excellent __________ for the job. QUALIFY

12 The leg __________ holds the crew members in the seat. RESTRAIN.

13 There are several __________ between the two guns. DIFFER

14 GD Electronics is a good __________ to work for. EMPLOY

15 He did an __________ at the company for 3 years. APPRENTICE

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Section 2: Language

3 Put the verbs in brackets into the most appropriate form.

I (16) __________ (work) in this company for the last two years. Recently we (17) __________ (have) a lot of problems with the production line. We (18) __________ (buy) new equipment six months ago and since then the machines (19) __________ (break) down three times. The service engineers (20) __________ (come) to repair them two weeks ago, but they (21) __________ (stop) working again. At the moment, all the workers (22) __________ (stand) around waiting for the engineers to come again. I (23) __________ (call) them half an hour ago but no one is available for the next four hours. Every year we (24) __________ (pay) a lot of money for the service contract and we expect better service than this. Unfortunately, we (25) __________ (not have) the expert knowledge to repair them ourselves. If we had that knowledge there (26) __________ (not be) a problem.

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4 Choose the correct option (a-d).

27 The standard gene gun is __________ accurate as the new one.

a) much b) more c) as d) not as

28 The standard gun has a __________ barrel than the new one.

a) wide b) wider c) more wide d) less wide

29 __________ there were problems with the old system, there are none with the new one.

a) But b) As soon as c) Whereas d) Once

30 The new equipment cost much more __________ it works much better.

a) whereas b) but c) than d) when

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Section 3: Reading

5 Read the text and decide if these statements are true (T), false (F) or not given (NG)?

31Model rockets are well-made. ________

32 It's possible to have a camera on some models. ________

33 Placing fins in the wrong position can affect stability. ________

34 The bigger the engine, the higher the rocket will go. ________

35 Liquid rocket fuel is always used in model rockets. ________

36 Some model rocket engine mounts use centering rings. ________

37 Launch lugs ensure the rocket goes in the right direction. ________

38 The nose cone is usually glued to the rocket body. ________

39 The recovery system does not function if the nose ________

cone fails to eject.

40 An electrical circuit is completed when the igniter is secured. ________

BUILD YOUR OWN ROCKET

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make a model rocket, as thousands of aspiring scientists have found out. A well-constructed rocket has several parts: a launch lug, which is a guide shaped like a thin straw that helps the rocket fly straight up; three or four securely fixed fins that are spaced evenly around the body and which stabilize the rocket in flight; a shock cord which attaches it to the body and a parachute to aid in the recovery of the rocket. Designing a rocket requires some considerable knowledge so most people tend to start with model kits, which have already designed and tested the rocket for stability and safety.

Some model rockets are 17 centimetres, and some can be as tall as 2 or 3 metres. These rockets can also perform a variety of functions. For example, there is one that can take a picture at the apex of its flight and there are several that allow you to place a small item in a payload bay. Most rockets, however, just go through four phases, launch, flight, ejection, and landing.

Before assembling the rocket you need to make sure that the fins and launch lug are accurately placed. The fins are the hardest and most important steps of the rocket building process because without them your rocket will be unstable when flying. The stability depends on how all the forces act on a model rocket. There are several categories of stability, which have to be taken into account: stable; neutrally stable; unstable and dynamic instability.

Next you need to make sure you have the right engine for your rocket size. Model rockets obviously come with this, but if you are building your own from scratch it is essential that your engine is not too powerful for the size of your rocket, otherwise you will lose or damage it. Rocket engines are filled with solid rocket fuel which is ignited by an electrical impulse from a detonator. After burning all of the rocket fuel, the engine fires a charge into the rocket body that blows the nose cone off and enables the recovery system.

The engine block is housed in the engine mount in the tube. A typical engine mount kit consists of three pieces: the engine tube which houses the model rocket engine; the centering rings which keep the engine tube centred in the body tube and the engine hook to keep the engine in place. A basic model rocket engine mount will only have an engine hook as it uses the body tube of the rocket as the engine tube for the model rocket engine.

The launch lugs, small cylindrical tubes attached to the body tube of a model rocket, allow the rocket to be guided along the launch rod during the rocket launch. Finally the nose cone has to be attached to the model rocket body tube by an elastic shock cord. This is so that when the model rocket engine ejects the nose cone from the rocket, the cone is not lost. Attached to the nose cone is a parachute or streamer which, when the nose cone is ejected, deploys the recovery system. The nose cone therefore has to fit quite loosely into body tube because if it becomes stuck the recovery system will not work.

After having built your rocket, you are now ready to launch using the launch pad and a detonator. It's a good idea to insert several sheets of recovery wadding into the body tube to protect the recovery device from the ejection charge. When you have packed the recovery device and replaced the nose cone on the rocket, the launch lug is slipped over the launch pad's metal guide rod. The igniter is then secured so that it touches the propellant inside of the rocket engine. Finally, the detonator lead clips are attached to the igniter to form a complete circuit. For safety reasons, you need to be a safe distance away from the pad. So make sure that the detonator has a long lead.

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Section 4: Writing

6 Use the notes to write a short article for your company (ABJ Seatworks) magazine about the new Technical Director. There are two marks per item.

42/43 Jack Philips / Date of birth: 16/05/82 / Place of birth: Australia

Work experience

44/45 January 2008 - Present/ Technical Manager/ ABJ Seatworks/ responsibilities: design and build ejection systems for aircraft

46/47- 2004-2007 / Technical Supervisor/KLG Holdings/responsibilities: organise work schedule for team of 6 design technicians, supervise design work

Education

48/49- 1998-2001 / apprentice with Kork Design - Brisbane

50/51- 2001-2004 University of Queensland, degree course: technical design

41/42_________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

43/44 __________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

45/46_________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

47/48_________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

49/50_________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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Section 5: Listening

Track 2

7 Listen to the recording twice and write and complete the notes with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

NEWS REPORT

51 Rocket crashed into __________

52 Resignation of space program __________ announced.

53 __________ astronauts could have died.

54 Rocket launch took place at __________ a.m.

55 When launched, the rocket went up then flew __________ before falling back.

56 Technology correspondent is at the __________

57 Abort engine and __________ supply are based in LAS nose.

58 Abort engine thrust is __________ Kg.

59 Capsule moved at __________ kph in under 3 seconds.

60 Then three __________ of parachutes opened.

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PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT

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Name Class

PHOTOCOPIABLE © 2011 Pearson Longman ELT

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