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Another survey carried out by the Fuji Research lnstitute in 20 Japan, in which 2,000 adults in the Tokyo region were asked to ratę the ten greatest inventions of the twentieth century, placed instant noodles, an ’invention‘ from 1958, at the top of their list. Instant noodies have been commercially produced sińce 1971 with almost fifty biilion cups now 2s consumed worldwide each year.

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Nonetheless, it seems astounding that in the country which is a world leader in technology a food product should be voted ahead of persona! stereos, video games, CDs and cameras, which came third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Also 30 interesting is the fact that the motor car was not ranked at all, possibly because it was invented overseas. Incidentally, karaoke was In second place.

INVENTIONS:THETOPTEM

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lnventions have been around for as long as we have. Some have had a dramatic Impact on the world we live in and on our way of life; others have simply madę life that little bit easier. Most have influenced our lives In a positive way, but 5 some, it has to be said, have been anything but beneficial.

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According to a recent survey carried out by a British radio station Into what iheir listeners’ ten favourite and ten least favourite lnventions were, the blcyde came top of the favourites list, though it was felt that voting had been io unfairly Influenced by members of a cyding organisation. Radio, perhaps not surprislngly, came out second top of the list of favourite lnventlons, followed dosely by the Computer.

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Heading the list of least favourite inventions were atomie and nudear weapons, with landmines coming In at second place is and the humble plastic bag coming third. Other inventions which featured in this dislike list were mobile phones, car alarms and speed cameras. The Intemal combustlon engine entered both lists but was morę disliked than liked.

126 UNIT 10 INN0VATI0N

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The questlon 'What's the most Important invention in the past 2,000 years?’ was also presented to a gatherlng of 35 Nobel prize winners and other serious thinkers recently. Although there was some disagreement as to what constltuted an lnvention, there were a coupie of elear winners. The prlnting press was chosen above any other invention. Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of movable type <o In the fifteenth century had a huge Impact on the spread of Information, with his amazlng lnvention ailowing every family co afford books and leam to read.

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Disagreement over what is the most important or the best or worst invention only goes to prove that it Is a matter of « personal choice and perspectlve. One man’s meat is another man's poison. The dassic example Is nudear power. A cheap and 'clean* source of power in the conventional sense, it also has drawbacks: in the wrong hands it could be responsible for wiplng out the world as we know it. The combustion so engine is the same. Environmentalists would say that it is responsible for morę deaths and pollution than any other lnventlon in the last 1,000 years and wish that it had never been lnvented. But many of us would overlook this for the simple fact that we wouldn't want to live without our cars.

The headings A-H below have been removed from the article you have just read. Read the article again morę carefully and put the headings back in the correct place. There is an example and an extra sentence.

A.    Unpopular choices

B.    No one likes this

C.    Surprisingly not so popular

D.    Accurate results?

E.    Advantages and disadvantages

F.    A tasty choice

G.    The expert's opinion

H.    Large and smali breakthroughs

The text taken from: First Certificate Masterciass, (Mord University Press