LUA40 12.02.

2025
Lesson 18

REVISION

• terrible => atrocious /əˈtrəʊ.ʃəs/

• agreeable => congenial /kənˈdʒiː.ni.əl/
• greedy => mercenary /ˈmɜː.sən.ri/
• frightening => harrowing /ˈhær.əʊ.ɪŋ/
• insecure => precarious /prɪˈkeə.ri.əs/
• essential => pivotal /ˈpɪv.ə.təl/
• shrewd => astute /əˈstʃuːt/
• unfashionable => dowdy /ˈdaʊ.di/
• eager => zealous /ˈzel.əs/
• worried => apprehensive /ˌæp.rɪˈhen.sɪv/

1. Moje umiejętności kulinarne są tak okropne, że nawet mój pies udaje, że jest na
diecie. atrocious /əˈtrəʊ.ʃəs/

2. Poszedłem na randkę w ciemno z kimś tak sympatycznym, że nawet kelner dał

nam zniżkę za „dobrą atmosferę“. congenial /kənˈdʒiː.ni.əl/
3. Mój kot jest tak chciwy, że przytula się tylko wtedy, gdy jego miska jest pusta.
mercenary /ˈmɜː.sən.ri/

4. Najbardziej przerażające doświadczenie w moim życiu? Sprawdzenie stanu konta

po weekendowym wyjeździe. harrowing /ˈhær.əʊ.ɪŋ/

5. Moja umiejętność chodzenia na obcasach jest tak niepewna, że nawet GPS

przestał przeliczać moją trasę. precarious /prɪˈkeə.ri.əs/

6. Najważniejsza decyzja mojego dnia to wybór, czy napić się kawy przed drzemką,
czy po niej. pivotal /ˈpɪv.ə.təl/

7. Mój szef jest tak bystry, że potrafi wyczuć, że pracownik się obija, zanim ten sam
o tym pomyśli. astute /əˈstʃuːt/

8. Mój styl ubierania się jest tak niemodny, że nawet moje odbicie w lustrze wzdycha
z rozczarowaniem. dowdy /ˈdaʊ.di/

9. Byłem tak gorliwy w realizacji noworocznych postanowień, że wytrwałem całe trzy

dni. zealous /ˈzel.əs/

10. Byłam pełna obaw przed spotkaniem z rodzicami mojego chłopaka – zwłaszcza
gdy zaczęli ostrzyć noże przed kolacją. apprehensive /ˌæp.rɪˈhen.sɪv/

47 C. Scientists ‘voice their exasperation’ at the fact that they couldn’t find any
conclusive evidence regarding dolphin’s so-called ‘language’ despite all their
efforts.
48 B. They are compared to the ‘extra terrestrials’ – aliens from different world,
something we have no knowledge of, hence the unknown entity. Giving
paragraph D as the answer because of the ‘wolflike teeth’ is wrong, as it is a part
of some other animal to what it is compared, not the entity itself.
49 D. The last two sentences of the paragraph contain the answer – we are
measuring the wrong thing and asking the wrong question.
50 C. Dolphins use certain sound frequencies to ‘discipline their young’ – that is,
to make sure their offspring behave in the way they should.
51 D. The example of how dolphins can change from being friendly to hostile to
one another is the key to the answer.
52 C. High-frequency underwater recorders were the technological turning point,
allowing deeper insight into the ‘language’ of dolphins.
53 D. The teeth that dolphins used to have many years ago, as suggested by the
way they are described, were similar to what wolves have.
54 C. First of all, we have to understand what an analogy is. It is a comparison
made between two things for the purpose of explaining something or making it
more clear. Last sentence of paragraph C has it – more relatable, real life
analogies make the extent of the problem easier to understand for a non-
professional. The examples in the last two sentences of paragraph A do not fit
the answer.
55 A. Acts of rolling over and flapping their flippers are the communicative
actions that we are looking for.
56 B. The first two sentences show that the actions of animals are not that
difficult to understand, possibly because we can relate to that, being nothing
more than just more developed ape species.

WARM-UP

What is your favorite childhood memory, and why is it so special to you?

How do you determine what’s right and wrong in difficult situations?

What motivates you to get up every morning?

Do you believe that people can truly change? Why or why not?

What advice would you give to your younger self?

CAE Use of English Part 4 – Key Word Transformations

25 under no obligation to 26 not nearly as big as / as large as 27 will be put down to

28 not been for your help 29 can’t have seen Max 30 prevent him from interfering
CAE Use of English Part 2 – Open Cloze

9. as 10. on 11. which/that 12. each 13. in 14. have 15. when 16. been
 HOMEWORK

1. Prepare a presentation on the questions from the warm-up section.

2. Do the tasks below.

You are going to read an article about tiny rocks from outer space. For questions 31-
36 choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Space dust

A Norwegian musician who looks for micrometeorites – tiny rocks from outer space.

Every day, millions of tiny rocks from space, no bigger than specks of dust, reach our planet.
Known as micrometeorites, they are billions of years old, and were once part of the oldest
rocks in our solar system. According to experts, about 12 micrometeorites now land on every
square metre of our planet every year. This might not sound much, but in total it comes to 100
tonnes a day. 12 tonnes of that mass consists of water molecules. Furthermore, the
micrometeorites also contain complex organic molecules of the sort required, for instance, for
DNA. So this abundant rain of particles contains, as well as water, the stuff of life itself.

However, every day, other tiny particles also land, but they’re not from outer space: things
like dust from construction, exhaust fumes and sand. These terrestrial particles outnumber the
micrometeorites by a billion to one. So when Jon Larsen, a Norwegian jazz musician, became
fascinated by micrometeorites and began looking for them, he thought he would probably be
unsuccessful. The experts he contacted were certain he would be. Until then, the only
micrometeorites ever identified had been found in the Antarctic. Since falling to Earth billions
of years ago, these had mostly been locked into rock and ice. Scientists knew how important it
is to study micrometeorites, and were tantalised by the prospect that they might contain hints
as to how life started on Earth. Yet no one had ever found recently arrived examples. In fact,
so extremely unlikely was it, that they hadn’t even tried.

What intrigued Larsen was that, if micrometeorites were regularly falling to Earth in such
numbers, where were they? ‘It was a very obvious contradiction,’ he says. ‘Most scientists
agreed that they might be everywhere, but it simply wasn’t possible to find them. I had to try.’
He turned to Matthew Genge, a senior lecturer at Imperial College London. ‘For years we’d
seen amateurs posting online about collecting micrometeorites,’ says Genge. ‘When they
contact us we tell them it’s not possible.’ That’s what he told Larsen. ‘But he was persistent
and kept emailing me photos of possible particles.’ Larsen, to be fair, was far from starry-
eyed. He had a humble, but also in some ways grand, vision for his project. His idea was to
make a start, and perhaps devise a system that would eventually be perfected.
His technique was actually to look not for micrometeorites, but for the things that weren’t,
and like a detective, eliminate them from his enquiries. Finally, after six years, he found
something he couldn’t classify: it was smooth, dark, shiny, egg-shaped, and almost
translucent. Larsen showed it to Genge. He looked at it and said, ‘Yes, that’s it.’

Genge’s is a rarefied discipline. ‘With micrometeorites you can start making predictions about
the universe,’ says Genge. ‘They’re not unique to our solar system and if they fall elsewhere,
then they’ll also be carrying water and complex organic molecules there. And if that’s the
case, the implications are very exciting. You can say that planets that have these
bombardments are more likely to have life.’ Scientists couldn’t investigate this, however, until
they had Larsen’s examples to study.

Finally, Larsen showed me a micrometeorite. There under the microscope, it looked so

unexpected, so odd – surely something like that would quickly catch the searcher’s eye. But
when I moved away from the lens, I got a sense of why it had taken so long for Larsen to get
that far. Without the magic of magnification it was a boring grey speck again.

31 What point is highlighted in the first paragraph about micrometeorites on Earth?

A how much we depend on them for our existence
B how significant the quantities of them are
C how uneven the distribution of them is
D how limited our awareness of them is

32 In the second paragraph, the writer says the experts

A thought micrometeorites were too complex for a non-scientist to understand.
B were embarrassed at their lack of progress in the search for micrometeorites.
C felt the difficulties involved in hunting for micrometeorites were overwhelming.
D doubted the value of analysing micrometeorites found in a particular location.

33 What is stated about Larsen in the third paragraph?

A He was confused by conflicting opinions.
B He felt motivated by the efforts of others.
C He misunderstood what scientists required.
D He had a realistic attitude towards his search.
34 The writer compares Larsen to a detective because
A he used a systematic method.
B his intuition helped him in his work.
C his approach was slow to yield results.
D he was unsure precisely what to look for.

35 What point is made in the fifth paragraph?

A Speculation about micrometeorites only began recently.
B A great deal of potential information is contained in micrometeorites.
C Despite the need for more research, few people want to study micrometeorites.
D Before Larsen found micrometeorites, scientists were unsure of their significance.

36 How did the writer feel after looking at the micrometeorite through a microscope?
A privileged to be able to see something so unusual
B amazed that anyone would bother to look for it
C puzzled that it had been so difficult to find
D surprised at how large it seemed to be

________________________________________________________________
You are going to read an article about the science of flavour. For questions 47-56, choose
from the sections (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once. When more than
one answer is required, these may be given in any order.

In which section does the writer

47 mention that people are tempted to purchase certain foods without realising why? ABCD
48 give an instance of flavour being suppressed? ABCD
49 define what a term means in a specific context? ABCD
50 say some effects cannot yet be fully explained? ABCD
51 give a physical explanation for a close connection? ABCD
52 emphasise how long a prejudice has existed? ABCD
53 assert that there are multiple benefits to recent findings about taste? ABCD
54 claim people make an effort to acquire a liking for something? ABCD
55 explain that having a phobia is not as inexplicable as we tend to think? ABCD
56 say few people used to be interested in examining the senses associated with taste? ABCD
 The science of flavour

A
Oxford psychologist Charles Spence has spent many years discovering that little of how we
experience flavour is to do with the taste buds in our mouths. In fact smell, vision, touch and
even sound dictate how we perceive flavours. When Spence started studying the sensory
science behind flavour perception, it was a deeply unfashionable subject. He says that from
ancient times, there was a notion that the senses involved in eating and drinking were less
sophisticated than those of hearing and vision. Now, no one questions the validity of the
research field he calls ‘gastrophysics’. Spence heads the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at
the University of Oxford. ‘Crossmodal’, here, is the investigation of how all the senses
interact. Although we rarely realise it, when it comes to flavour perception, we all have
synaesthesia. That is, our senses intermingle so that our brains combine shapes, textures,
colours and even sounds with corresponding tastes.

B
Take a perfectly ripe strawberry: scarlet, heart-shaped and neatly dimpled with seeds. Red and
roundness are psychological cues for sweetness. The smell conjures memories we associate
with the fruit – summer picnics, say, and the positive feelings that go with them. Freshness is
felt in the first bite: the subtle crunch confirms it, even before we taste the juice. But if you’ve
ever experienced the blandness of eating a strawberry while holding your nose, you’ll believe
the oft-quoted statistic that flavour is 80% down to smell. In reality, it’s impossible to quantify
precisely just how much flavour is delivered through the nose, but it is certainly more
influential than the limited number of tastes our tongues pick up: sweet, sour, savoury (
otherwise known by the Japanese term, umami), salt and bitter. There’s a growing acceptance
that we can also detect less obvious tastes such as metallic, fat, carbonation, water and
calcium, among others.

C
Furthermore, aroma is bound up with memory and emotion. ‘The nerves relating to smell go
directly to the amygdalae,’ says Avery Gilbert, a world authority on smell. ‘These are areas of
the brain involved in emotional response – fight or flight, positive and negative emotion.’ This
is why food and nostalgia are so entwined: the brain has paired the aroma with the experience.
Flavour preferences are learned by positive associations (a great holiday), or negative ones
(feeling unwell). On the flipside, while salt and sugar appreciation is hard-wired, we learn to
love the bitterness of coffee through sheer force of will (wanting to be grown up). Research
findings about the effects of colour, shape, touch sensations and sound on flavour have
triggered a trend for sensory seasoning. Want to intensify sweetness? Use a red light bulb,
make the food round rather than angular, or play high-pitched music – all of the above have
increased the perception of sweetness in studies. The sounds of crinkly packaging, and
crunchy food, increase perception of freshness. Want more savoury? Put some low-pitched
music on.

D
When it comes to dinnerware, the heavier it is, the more viscous, creamy and expensive the
food served is perceived to be. And if you hold the bowl while eating, you’ll feel fuller,
sooner. There’s little evidence as to why this is the case, but ingrained associations are often
suggested. Young people associate blue with raspberry-flavoured drinks. Red often signifies
ripeness in nature. It feels intuitively right that jagged shapes and sounds would go with
bitterness, whereas sweet is comfortably round. Big food brands use these associations to
surreptitiously increase appeal. Meanwhile, chefs love them because they heighten the senses.
‘Cooking is probably the most multisensual art. I try to stimulate all the senses,’ renowned
Spanish chef Ferran Adria has said. However, it isn’t only big chefs and the food industry who
can put the science to use. It can demystify appetite and flavour for everyone, inform and
inspire us to eat well, while offering a window into the bigger picture of how our senses and
minds work.

Activity: Milena 5 / Piotr 5 / Agnieszka 5 / Monika 5

Presentation: Milena 5 / Piotr 5 / Monika 5- / Agnieszka 4+

Vocabulary: Milena 5 / Agnieszka 4 / Monika 4+

Conversation: Monika 5 / Milena 5