Université Mostefa Benboulaid-Batna 2 Faculté de

Université Mostefa Benboulaid-Batna 2

Faculté de Technologie

Département Socle Commun en Sciences et Technologies

Matière : Anglais technique Semestre 3 Année universitaire 2018/2019

Page | 1

UET 2.1

Matière : Anglais technique

Deuxième année

Option ‘A’

Sections 1 + 2

(VHS : 22h30, Cours : 1h30)

Objectifs de l’enseignement :

Ce cours doit permettre à l'étudiant d'avoir un niveau de langue ou il pourra utiliser

un document scientifique et parler de sa spécialité et filière dans un anglais du

moins avec aisance et clarté.

Connaissances préalables recommandées : Anglais 1 et Anglais 2

Contenu de la matière :

✓ Compréhension et expression orales, acquisition de vocabulaire,

grammaire...etc.

✓ Les noms et adjectifs, les comparatifs, suivre et donner des instructions,

identifier les choses.

✓ Utilisation de nombres, symboles, équations.

✓ Mesures : Longueur, surface, volume, puissance ...etc.

✓ Décrire les expériences scientifiques.

✓ Caractéristiques des textes scientifiques.

Mode d’évaluation : Examen final : 100 %.





Page | 2

C o m p a r i s o n [1]

❖ Comparison is one of the ways that we have of relating ideas and objects to each

other. The function of COMPARISON can be one of difference or one of similarity.

❖ Comparison is used to express difference, or similarity. This can be done by means of

grammatical forms such as the comparative and superlative. However, there is also a

large store of lexical items which are used to bring into relation two or more objects.

To “accelerate” means to “go faster”.

“The two astrolabes are the same” indicates that they are being compared.

❖ Lexis: all the words and phrases of a particular language.

Synonym: vocabulary.

Comparison

1 Language 2 Word formation 3 Fixed expressions

1. Language

1.1 Irregular comparatives 1.2 Difference 1.3 Similarity





Page | 3

a. Regular comparatives

a.1 Short adjectives

Comparative Adjective

ER THAN

Superlative EST Ø

➢ Hydrogen (aluminium, calcium, carbon, chrome, ethane, ethylene, helium,

oxygen) is lighter than helium.

➢ It is the lightest gas.

a.2 long adjectives

Comparative More Adjective THAN

Superlative Most Ø

➢ Electric engines are more efficient than steam engines.

➢ Ferrari makes the most expensive cars.

1.1. Irregular comparatives

Adjective Comparative Superlative

Good Better Best

Bad Worse Worst

Little Less Least

Many More Most

Far Farther Farthest

Far Further Furthest

Note:

❖ FARTHER is used to indicate “great distance”:

“I can go no farther.”

❖ FURTHER is used to express the idea: “supplementary”, “additional”.

“Further details can be obtained at the information office.”





Page | 4

Examples [2] [3]

Good

She’s quite good at reading now.

She’s good with figures.

Are you any good at languages?

Let’s hope we have good weather tomorrow.

She’s usually quite good in the class.

The school has an extremely good reputation.

Better

She’s far better at science than her brother.

Your work is getting better and better.

I think he’s a hundred times better as a teacher than Mr white.

Best

Who in the class is best at history?

I’m not in the best position to advise you.

It’s better if you go now.

Don’t worry about the exam-just do your best.

Bad

He’s really bad at languages.

Smoking is very bad for you.

I would be a really bad teacher-I’ve no patience.

Worse

The interview was much worse than he expected.

The crisis was getting worse and worse.

Worst

I had not expected to do well in my exams, and the letter confirmed the worst.

Little

A little house

A little group of tourists

Less

Less expensive/intelligent/often.

(to a smaller degree, not so much)

Least

• He is the best teacher, even though he has the least experience.

(smallest in size, amount, degree, etc)

• It will cost at least 500 dollars.

(not less than)





Page | 5

Far:

A long distance away

• It is not far to the beach.

• The restaurant is not far from here.

• How far is it to your house from here?

• How far is Boston from New York?

Farther

• Further, but not farther can also mean ‘more’ or “addition

• Are there any further questions?

Farthest:

At the greatest distance in space, direction or time

• The farthest point of the journey.

• The part of the garden farthest from the house.

1.2. Difference:

This is often expressed lexically

❖ Instead of saying “the most important X” one can say:

the leading the chief the main the top the pick

❖ Instead of saying “to make something bigger” one can say:

to enlarge to increase to enhance to lengthen to spread to raise

Examples [2] [3]

The leading:

Most important or most successful

• She was offered the leading role in the new TV series.

• Leading experts.

The chief

• The chief cause/ reason/ problem

• Unemployment was the chief reason of poverty.





Page | 6

The main

• The main thing is to stay calm.

• We have our main meal at lunchtime.

The top:

• He was top of his class.

• She came top in the exams.

• She’s one of the top players in the country.

The pick:

• We are reviewing the pick of this month’s new books.

To enlarge:

• Reading will enlarge your vocabulary.

To increase

• The population has increased from1.2 million to 1.8 million.

• They have increased their production by 5 percent.

To enhance

• The pictures can be enhanced using digital technology.

To lengthen

• I’ll have to lengthen this skirt.

• There is a plan to lengthen the three-year course to four years.

To raise

• The government plan to raise taxes.

• The increase in interest rates will raise the cost of living.

• You’ll have to raise your voice if you want to be heard in here.

• The inspector said that standards at the school had to be raised.

1.3. Similarity

❖ Words and expressions indicating similarity (or dissimilarity) are:

it is like/unlike similar the same

to equal to match to follow a pattern

both either/or neither/nor

Note:

❖ The same introduces a comparison of equality. Therefore, it is followed by as (not

than):

“The book is not the same as the film.”





Page | 7

Similarity [2] [3]

To follow a pattern:

Happen in the same way.

Both:

Used with plural nouns to mean the “two” or “the one as well as the other”

• Both women were French/ Both the women were French/

Both of the women were French.

• I have two sisters. Both of them live in London/ They both live in London.

either/or:

Used to show a choice of two things

• Well, I thank she’s either Czech (from the Czech Republic) or Slovak (from

Slovakia).

• I’m going to buy either a camera or a DVD player with the money.

neither/nor:

Used when you want to say that two or more things are not true

• Neither my mother nor my mother went to university.

• They speak neither French nor German, but a curious mixture of the two.

• We can neither change nor improve it.

Usage note:

This can be used with a singular or a plural verb.

• Neither Jack nor Philip like/likes football.

2. Word formation

Notice how adjectives of comparison expressing similarity are created:

NOUN + LIKE A catlike animal =” similar to a cat”

3. Fixed expressions

twice

as

much

as half many

Three times big

nearly fast

The French consume twice as much mineral water as the British.

There are three times as many computers in the University as four years ago.

Light travels a million times as fast as sound.





Page | 8

Exercise 1: Sex and Math

Statistically, boys and girls succeed in different ways at school.

✓ What are the differences?

✓ How can they be accounted for?

Complete on the dotted lines with an appropriate COMPARATIVE or SUPERLATIVE.

❖ Comparisons have been signalled « + or – »

❖ Superlatives by « ++ » and

❖ Similarity by « = »

It is generally fairly well-known that boys and girls succeed in

different things at school.

For example, on the whole, girls have (1)................. results than boys

in languages, but on another hand, they seem to do

(2).....................well in scientific subjects.

A recent large scale study of maths results has been carried out in

Australia, involving (3)...................... than 1.5 million children over

5-years span, which have provided (4)................... evidence about the

failure of girls in this subject.

No survey (5).........................this has ever been carried out before.

1

2

3

4

5

+ good

+ little

+ much

+ clear

= large

An analysis of the results shows that for (6)................... children the

results are (7)........................the same for both sexes, and it is

in the (8)........................ age groups that the girls do

(9).......................... Differences are not found in all areas of maths; for

example (10)......................... difference can be found in geometry,

whereas it is in mechanics, and (11).................... especially questions

involving rates of change, speed and distances that the differences are

(12).............................. obvious. The Researchers also made another

interesting finding.

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

+ young

+ or -

+ old

++ bad

++little

+ much

++ much





Page | 9

The study was based on multiple choice questions with alternative

answers.

When analysing the results the researchers noticed that girls attempted

(13)……………………… questions. Apparently, this is because girls

work far (14)…………………. carefully; that is to say, when they are

not sure whether an answer is right or wrong, they are not prepared to

guess.

Some people think that this might make them (15)………………

suited to certain kinds of meticulous and skilled research. Of course

(16)………………………. research is needed in this area. However,

there are two important points worth making.

There are now (17)………………… girls studying as there were 7

years ago. This shows the importance of the environment. At

(18)…………………………… some of the difference may be

accounted for by the nature of the question. Mechanics is an especially

“masculine” subject. If the questions are posed in terms which are

(19)……………………. to the girls’ centers of interest, then the

results are (20)…………………….

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

+few

+much

+well

+far

x2

++little

+close

+good





Page | 10

Exercise 2:

❖ Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences, using comparatives, superlatives or other

lexical forms.

❖ The first letter of the word is printed.

Example

1. F...........................research is necessary before building the prototype.

F: + far

2. The chemical composition of benzene is m………………complex than that of

methane.

m: + much

3. It is acknowledged that the Greenhouse effect could make the climate

h……………............

h : + hot

4. Satellite laboratories have helped industry produce b………….....electronic chips.

b : + good

5. Today, twice as m…………………………..children are born in the third world as in

1972.

M : many

6. U……………………….Italian women who place a great importance on the family,

American women tend to put their carriers first.

U: unlike

7. Urban planning has developed in the s……………………way in the two countries.

s : same

8. Apart from a few details, I more or l………………agree with what you say.

l : + little

9. The w…………damage can come from the fire that follows a nuclear blast.

w : ++ bad

10. B………………......human beings and animals are vulnerable to meningitis.

b : both

11. The University is f…………….away from the town centre than the station.

f : + far





Page | 11

Exercise 3: Supply the missing words.

1. As a result of the dust cloud raised by the impact of a large asteroid

.................heat......light would penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere.

Not one, not the other.

2. ...........................viruses are becoming immune to modern drugs.

An ever-increasing number.

3. At.................................70% of the research budget is spent on arms.

A minimum.

4. Steel is.......................than iron. + Hard.

5. The..........................fish lived in the lower Devonian period.

++ Early.

6. For a human being, a 12% drop in level of the body liquid is fatal. One of

the..........................outstanding things about a chameleon is that it can survive with a drop

of 46%.

Supreme.

7. Asteroids with a diameter of 50 km....................................those that caused the lunar

impacts, would destroy life on Earth entirely.

Similar to.

8. The reason why NASA is interested in nuclear propulsion is that the journey would

be.......................as fast.

x2.

9. Temperatures...................low.................a few millionths of a degree above absolute

zero have already been achieved.

Equally.

10. Plant growth depends on.............................the rate of photosynthesis and the nitrogen

supply.

The two things.





Page | 12

Exercise 4: WORLD POPULATION

800

324284 284

122 108 10481

1310

316360

241

123

274242

138

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

India EEC USSR USA Japan Nigeria Pakistan Mexico

Population in millions

Country

World population

Estimation 1987 Forecast 2020





Page | 13

World population

1. Similarity

True False

The population of Japan in 2020 will be about the same as it was in 1987.

The population of Japan will have more than doubled by 2020.

The population of Japan will rise from 104 million to 242 million.

True False

The population of Nigeria will be similar to that of Pakistan in 2020.

The population of Nigeria was similar to that of Pakistan in 1987.

122

123

121,4

121,6

121,8

122

122,2

122,4

122,6

122,8

123

123,2

Japan


108 104

274

242

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Nigeria Pakistan






Page | 14

True False

Both Nigeria and India will have more than doubled their population by 2020

Neither Nigeria nor India will have more than doubled their population by 2020

True False

Neither Pakistan nor India has managed to limit their population growth.

Both Pakistan and India has managed to limit their population growth.

800

108

1310

274

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

India Nigeria


800

104

1310

242

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

India Pakistan






Page | 15

True False

Nigeria will more than double its population by the year 2020, in the same way

the population of Pakistan will rise from 104 million to 242 million.

Nigeria will more than half its population by the year 2020, similarly the

population of Pakistan will rise from 104 million to 242 million.

108 104

274

242

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Nigeria Pakistan






Page | 16

World population

2. Difference

True False

The population of the USSR is larger than that of the USA.

The population of the USA is larger than that of the USSR.

True False

The forecast increase for Pakistan is bigger than that for the USA.

The forecast increase for USA is bigger than that for the Pakistan.

284 284

360

241

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

USSR USA


284

104

241 242

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

USA Pakistan






Page | 17

True False

The population of the USSR is rising more rapidly than that of the USA.

The population of the USA is rising more rapidly than that of the USSR.

True False

Population growth in Mexico is less than that of other developed countries.

Population growth in other developed countries is less than that of Mexico.

284 284

360

241

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

USSR USA


800

324 284 284

122 108 104 81

1310

316 360241

123

274 242138

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400







Page | 18

True False

Japan has the lowest population growth rate.

India has the lowest population growth rate.

Nigeria has the lowest population growth rate.

Pakistan has the lowest population growth rate.

Bibliography

[1] Minimum Competence In Scientific English.

[2] Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Third Edition.

[3] Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

800

324284 284

122 108 104 81

1310

316360

241

123

274 242

138

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400



Documents

Université Mostefa Benboulaid-Batna 2 Faculté de