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III. Decipher these abbreviations:
1. IFOs are …….
2. UFOs are ……..
IV. Discuss with your groupmates the problem of UFOs,
using the following phrases:
I think that …
I’ve never seen …
I am sure that UFOs …
People believe UFOs are …
There are places …
Nobody knows for certain…
Text 5
The Problems of Inventors
I. Read the text and do the tasks following it.
Many of the modern world's most famous discoveries and
inventions were not made by scientists, but by amateur inventors.
Often, these inventors had such unusual ideas that they were
laughed at. But people like these, working on their own, gave us
many of the things we use every day.
Clarence "Bob" Birdseye, who invented frozen foods, was
both a successful inventor and a good businessman-. But it took
him years to overcome the biggest problem of successful
inventions -convincing people to try something new and
different. Birdseye first tried to freeze fish. After years of
experimenting with the process, he started Birdseye. Seafoods,
Inc. But the company soon went bankrupt. Even though the
process worked, people didn't believe that frozen fish could
possibly be good. It took a long time, but people finally
accepted frozen food. By the end of his life, Birdseye, who
was a completely self-taught inventor, had 100 patents that he
sold for a total of 22 million dollars.
Few inventors were as successful as Birdseye. Some, like
the original owners of Coca-Cola, didn't realize the potential
of their discoveries. The son of the inventor of Coca-Cola sold
the recipe for $2,300. Today the product is worth billions of
dollars. In 1853, Karl Gerhardt invented aspirin, but he didn't
know what to do with it. Fifty years after his invention, a
German company discovered that it was a painkiller and has
since made millions selling it. Edwin Armstrong invented FM
radio, but he spent his whole life trying to protect his
invention. Competitors stole his patents, and companies
cheated him out of money. Finally, he became so frustrated
with his failures that he ended his life by jumping out of a
window.
Most great inventors, like Gerhardt and Armstrong, made
little or nothing from their inventions. The first person with a
new idea may get attention, but he also gets the problem of an
untried idea. In business, it is sometimes better to be second.
lI. Read the text again and decide if the statements are true
or false. Correct the false ones with the facts from the text.
1. Birdseye Seafoods, Inc. was a big success.
2. The inventor of Coca-Cola became rich.
3. Karl Gerhardt didn't realize the potential of aspirin.
4. Edwin Armstrong loved the competition of the business
world.
5. It takes more than just a good invention to make money.
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