Unit 6. Breakthroughs in science and technology.
Part 1. Warming up.
A. Keywords.

bulletproof vest, predicting weather, chess, Internet, DNA, robot.
Vocabulary.

shooting range, yarn, pawn, rival, mutation, trait, cutting edge.
A1. You're going to hear 5 short news items, work out the summaries.
1. Thai silk is known for its beauty and elegance, but a search team has found a new use for it.
A bulletproof vest made of silk was put to the test at a shooting range in Thailand.
After several rounds of gunfire, the vest was examined. The bullets were stuck in the first layer of 15 pieces of silk.
A member of the research team says while silk threads maybe soft, they can be used to reduce a stronger yarn than copper threads, the material used in the regular bulletproof vest.
2. American and Japanese researchers say they are a step closer to predicting severe weather in and around the Indian ocean.
Researchers have analyzed weather data from the region over the past 40 years, and they've discovered a strong connection between extreme weather and conditions in the ocean.
A BBC science correspondent says the findings could make it easier to predict droughts, or indeed, periods of heavy rainfall.
3. The world chess champion Garry Kasparov began a match against the rest of the world on the Internet.
Kasparov made his first move with a meter-high pawn before an audience of chess fans at a park in NewYork.
The move was immediately posted on a special website set up by the Microsoft Cooperation.
Visitors to the site have 24 hours to vote on their counter move helped by a team of young chess experts who will suggest strategies.
4. Few scientific advances of this or any millenium can rival in the significance the discovery of structure of DNA, the basic molecule of life.
Knowledge of the structure of DNA helps explain many things, including genetic mutation and through it, evolution.
Understanding its code has helped to unlock the mechanics of inherited disease, as well as beneficial biological traits such as intelligence and body strength.
The discovery of the DNA molecule also paved the way for many of today's cutting edge sciences, including genetic engineering, a controversial branch of knowledge that raises new ethical and moral questions that are certain to be with us far into the next millennium.
5. Some say it's hard to find good help these days. But a Japanese electronics firm thinks it has found the answer.
It is a robot that talks and understands orders.
The robot from NEC can record and send a video mail through the Internet and switch TVs and VCRs.
And if it's becoming a bit warm for you, one simple command and the robot will switch on the air conditioner.