Материалы для организации самостоятельной работы студентов
Device for waking persons from sleep
Patent no 256265
Sometimes, an alarm clock just isn’t quite enough for rousing heavy sleepers to face the day. So why not hang an array of weights on a frame above the snoozer’s head and, with the help of clockwork machinery, drop them upon their head until they wake? “When they fall it will strike a light blow, sufficient to awaken the sleeper, but not heavy enough to cause pain,” assures the inventor. Surely it’s just bound to cause stubborn sleepers simply to pull the duvet over their heads.
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UK Patent Application No. GB2339950. A car registration plate which indicates the sex of the driver. It has different background colours on either side, one colour for men and one for women. Quick-release clips make it easily reversible.
The inventor says that since the plate makes the driver's sex immediately apparent, other road users will change the way they behave. They will become more polite, and predict better the behaviour of other drivers. The frequency and severity of traffic accidents will be reduced
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Life Expectancy Watch
US Patent Issued In 2002
And now, something special for all of you clock watchers out there… The Life Expectancy Watch actually counts backwards, keeping you apprised of your forthcoming expiration date! You initially program the watch by answering a series of questions about your lifestyle such as exercise, disposition, food consumption and alcohol and tobacco use (big negatives, kids!). Living a healthy lifestyle? This watch has an on/off button so you can stop it temporarily while you engage in a healthy activity (e.g. taking a walk, cleaning the closet, etc.)
But wait, there's more! Your remaining time is conveniently displayed in years, months, days and hours and an audible alarm can be set to remind you of your impending doom. Bottom line… if your therapy bills just aren't high enough, you need to buy this watch. Better hurry, time is running out!
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US Patent No. US6325727. An underwater golf swing training device. It has a hydrodynamically adjustable paddle 13 that can be altered manually. This provides a variable resistance to the user as he swings the device through the water
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International Patent Application No. WO9701384. A leash for walking an imaginary pet. It has a preformed shape and supports a simulated pet harness 42 and collar 54. A micro loudspeaker in the collar is connected to an integrated circuit in the handle, to produce a variety of barks, growls etc.
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US Patent No. US4429685. A method of growing unicorns. It is claimed to produce a unicorn of higher intelligence and physical attributes, useful as a guard animal. (You might not want to know, but the method involves surgical alteration of a one-week old goat, so that its two horn buds will grow together.)
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UK Patent Application No. GB2221607. A glove for courting couples who wish to maintain palm-to-palm contact while holding hands. It has a common palm section, but two separate sets of fingers.
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 UK Patent Application No. GB2272154. A ladder to enable spiders to climb out of a bath. It comprises a thin flexible latex rubber strip which follows the inner contours of the bath. A suction pad 5 is attached to the top edge of the bath.
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UK Patent Application No. GB2267208. A portable seat which you wear on a waist-belt. The seat cushion 18 is pivotable between a stowed position (left drawing) and a seating position in which it hangs down so that you can sit on it (right drawing).
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UK Patent Application No. GB2251542. An ashtray which warns you to quit smoking. When you pick up the box of matches 5 from the holder 2, light passes through a hole 14 to a photocell. This activates an audible warning device
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- GRAFFITI
The word graffiti is an Italian borrowing. It is the plural of graffito, which means scribbling or scratching.
Graffito was adopted by archaeologists as a general term for the casual writings, rude drawings and markings found on ancient buildings and monuments. It contrasted with the term Inscription, which was reserved, for more conventional writings or drawings.
This custom of writing on the walls seems to be very old, since examples of graffiti have been found in great abundance on monuments of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome; especially well known are the ones from Pompeii.
Join the army,
travel the world,
meet interesting people -
and kill them!
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Men have only two faults:
everything they say, and
everything they do.
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Money doesn’t bring happiness……but it makes unhappiness easier to put up with.
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Money isn’t everything…..but it’s not a bad start.
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It at first you don’t succeed – cheat!
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The road to success is usually under construction.
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People who work aretwo lazy to think.
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What we call workthe Mexicans call siesta.
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The only problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you’ve finished.
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We are ready for anything,but good for nothing.
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Save water, have a shower with a friend.
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All we need is love, but all we get is….. homework.
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Everybody talks about learning, but nobody does anything against it.
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Some teachers are wise and some are otherwise.
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There are no winners in school -only survivors.
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Teachers do not walk in their sleep,only when others are sleeping.
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School is the place where half the people make money,and the other half loses interest.
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If we learn by our mistakes then I’m getting a fantastic education
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Read the graffiti and try to match them with the warnings and notices on the left.
KEEP THIS BUS TIDY
BEWARE OF THE DOG
STOP AIR POLLUTION
DO NOT WRITE ON THE WALL
NO SMOKING IN BED
PASSENGERS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO CROSS THE LINES
THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TRAIN
KEEP DEATH OFF THE ROADS
HELP THE AGED WALK
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It takes an age for one to arrive.
Give them crutches
Quit breathing
Survivors will be prosecuted
Drive on the pavement
It takes hours to untangle them afterwards
And no sleeping in ashtrays
You want we should type maybe?
Throw your tickets out of the window!
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Match the two parts of the graffiti:
Today is the first day of the rest of your life....
Prevent hangovers.....
The waltz was invented by men .....
Keep Walestidy .....
Many things are preserved in alcohol
Philosophy: Unintelligible answers....
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Dignity is not one of them.
Throw your rubbish in England.
To insoluble problems
Stay drunk.
Celebrate now!
For men to lead and step on the woman at the same time.
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Brussels says food entered in contests at country shows may cause food poisoning
New EU regulations have banned the consumption of cakes and scones at country fairs’ competitions. 
The Scottish Women’s Rural Institutes (SWRI) has ordered contestants at shows to destroy all cakes immediately following competitions.
In future only bite-sized versions of traditional favourite scones and cakes will be made, to cut down on waste. The EU directive states that food produced for display purposes, containing fresh ingredients such as eggs, butter and cream, should not be eaten to avoid possible food poisoning.
Sheila Gillon, housewives convenor of the SWRI said the rules were deterring people from entering baking competitions. “They just don’t want to watch all this food being wasted,” she said. “There are hundreds of cakes at the big shows. These shows are a great tradition and an important part of what we do. It is heartbreaking when you have just won a prize and you can’t even take the cake home to show it off or share it with the others.”
Betty Gough, a member of the SWRI Fife Federation, said she was horrified by the waste: “I was making a pecan pie for the federation show and it suddenly hit me that only a mouthful of that pie would be eaten. When I walked into that hall at the show in May, it just made me so cross, knowing all this food was going to be thrown away. This made me look very carefully at the vast amount of food in the various competition categories, multiply it by the number of federations throughout the country and realise what a waste of food it is.”
The SWRI, which celebrated its 90th birthday last year, introduced home-baking competitions 80 years ago.
The events rose to prominence during the lean years of the second world war when they were used to supplement meagre food rations. Cakes and pastries were shared or taken home after competitions.
About Stereotypes
Before we get started (KWL table). Fill in the two columns on the left responding to the titles of the columns. Leave the column on the right blank. When you finish the whole module be ready to fill in the column.
K
What I Know
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W
What I Want to Know
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L
What I Learned
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PREVIEW
Think – Pair – Share. Cooperative learning. In groups of four or five agree or disagree with the statements below. Circle “yes” or “no.” Reach consensus before sharing your views with the class.
YES/NO
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Going abroad people should leave their customs behind to adapt to a new environment as soon as possible.
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YES/NO
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The foreigners are unable to understand Russian soul.
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YES/NO
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The Peoples of Central Asia are not civilized enough to form democratic states.
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YES/NO
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The Chukchi are on a lower cultural development level that is why there are so many jokes about them.
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YES/NO
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The leadership of the USSR (the Soviet Union) in space exploration certifies the superiority of Soviet science.
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YES/NO
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Minority people should adjust to the customs and traditions of the majority of population.
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YES/NO
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The Russians surpass the Americans and the British in the way of hospitality.
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YES/NO
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To understand each other better the Americans coming to Russia should learn to behave as the Russians do.
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