EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• billiards: a game played with a set of balls on a table
• ivory: a material made of elephant tusks
• reward: a prize that someone offers for an accomplishment
• demand: widespread interest in a certain product
• insulator: a material that does not allow electricity to move through it
• synthetic: artificial, man-made
• manufacturing: the process of making new items, especially in large amounts

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Historically, items like combs, billiard balls, and keys were made of ivory. This was expensive, and many people became concerned about the elephant population. In 1863, a billiards company in New York offered a cash reward for a material to ivory. In response, an American named John Wesley Hyatt created a plastic material by mixing and heating wood fibres. He called this material celluloid. Celluloid originally seemed like a solution to an environmental problem. When people around the world began to use , the demand for plastics grew. Electrical wires needed insulators. In 1907, a Belgian-American chemist named Leo Baekeland used man-made chemicals to create the first truly synthetic plastic. Plastic manufacturing increased during and after both world wars. Scientists discovered the environmental impact of plastics in the 1960s, when they began to notice plastic waste in the .

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The company that offered a cash reward for an ivory replacement made
   a. pianos
   b. billiard balls
   c. combs
   
2. Hyatt called his material
   a. cellulose
   b. celluloid
   c. cellular
   
3. The first truly synthetic plastic was made in
   a. 1863
   b. 1907
   c. 1960

Discussion/essay questions

1. Recycling is one way people try to reduce plastic waste. However, only a small percentage of plastics are actually recycled. What can people do to use less plastic? Do you think governments should ban certain plastics? Why or why not?

Transcript

Historically, items like combs, billiard balls, and piano keys were made of ivory. This was expensive, and many people became concerned about the elephant population. In 1863, a billiards company in New York offered a cash reward for a material to replace ivory. In response, an American inventor named John Wesley Hyatt created a plastic material by mixing and heating wood fibres. He called this material celluloid. Celluloid originally seemed like a solution to an environmental problem. When people around the world began to use electricity, the demand for plastics grew. Electrical wires needed insulators. In 1907, a Belgian-American chemist named Leo Baekeland used man-made chemicals to create the first truly synthetic plastic. Plastic manufacturing increased during and after both world wars. Scientists discovered the environmental impact of plastics in the 1960s, when they began to notice plastic waste in the ocean.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2b 3b