Unit6 When was it invented?2d Role-play the conversation.Paul: Hey Roy, the subject for my school project is “Small inventions that changedthe world. ”Can you help me think of an invention?Roy: My pleasure! Let me think . hmm . I know!The zipper!Paul: The zipper? Is it really such a great invention?Roy: Think about how often it s used in our daily lives. You can see zippers ondresses, trousers, shoes, bags . almost everywhere!Paul: Well, you do seem to have a point .Roy: Of course! I thought about it because I saw a website last week. The pioneersof different inventions were listed there. For example, it mentioned that the zipperwas invented by Whitcomb Judson in 1893. But at that time, it wasn t used widely.Paul: Really? So when did it become popular?Roy: Around 1917.3a Read the passage quickly and match each paragraph with its main idea.Paragraph 1 Lu Yu and his book Cha JingParagraph 2 How tea spread to other countriesParagraph 3 How tea was invented by accidentAn Accidental InventionDid you know that tea, the most popular drink in the world (after water), wasinvented by accident? Many people believe that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000 yearsago. It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong first discovered tea as a drink.One day Shen Nong was boiling drinking water over an open fire. Some leaves froma tea plant fell into the water and remained there for some time. It produced a nicesmell so he tasted the brown water anyway. It was quite delicious. In this way, oneof the world s favorite drinks was invented.More than 4,000 years later, Lu Yu, “the saint of tea ”, mentioned Shen Nongin his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to maketea. It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds ofwater were used.It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7thcenturies. In England, tea didn t appear until around 1660, but less than 100 yearslater, it had become the national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countriestook place in the 19th century. This helped to spread the popularity of tea and thetea plant to more places around the world. Eventhough many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without doubt theones who best understand the nature of tea.2b Skim the passage. Which paragraphs are about the popularity ofbasketball?Do You Know When Basketball Was Invented?Basketball is a much-loved and active sport more than 100 million people in over200 countries. In China, you can sometimes see people playing basketball in parks,schools and even in factories. Basketball was invented by a Canadian doctor namedJames Naismith, who was born in 1861. Whenhe was at college, his teacher asked theclass to think of a game that can be played in the winter. Dr. Naismith created agame to be played inside on a hard floor. Dr. Naismith divided the men in his classinto two teams and taught them to play his new game. The purpose of the game is forplayers to get a ball into the “basket ”. Players on the sameteam must work togetherto help each other get the ball in the other team s basket. At the same time, theyneed to stop the competing team from getting the ball into their own basket.It is believed that on December 21, 1891, the first basketball game in historywas played. Then in 1936 in Berlin, it became an event at the Olympics. Today, thepopularity of basketball has risen around the world, with many young people dreaming2of becoming famous players. Basketball has not only become a popular sport to play,it has also become a more popular sport to watch. Although America s NBAgames arethe most famous,the CBA games are becoming popular in China. The number of foreignplayers, including Chinese players, in the NBA has increased. And there are alsomore and more foreign players in the CBA. Many young people look up to thesebasketball heroes and want to become like them. These stars encourage young peopleto work hard to achieve their dreams.3