Make Your Way 6, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

Read the texts below and answer the questions. Many of the inventions and ideas developed in the 19th century have had a profound effect on modern life throughout the world. Think of all those hours you spent playing on a Gameboy for example. That would never have been possible without several 19th century ideas: 21 1 Why is Parkesine considered the world’s first plastic? 2 In what way did the ancient Greeks help contribute to the Gameboy? 3 What two 19th century inventions mean that you can have the power supply to play a Gameboy? 4 Which aspect of Charles Babbage’s machine was most similar to modern computers? 5 Why did free time become so popular with the Victorians? There´s no point playing your gameboy if you don´t want to win. Although the competetive spirit is as old as mankind itself, it was the ancient Greeks who first exploited it with the Olympic Games in 776 BC. The sports, which included events such as boxing, horse racing, long jump, javelin, and chariot races, helped unite many countries. The games were banned in AD 394, but in 1896 they were revived and made into the international occasi- on we see today. Of course you can play your Gameboy using mains electricity (also a 19th century invention), but how much more convenient it is when you use batteries! The battery was one of the first inventions of the 19th century. In 1800, Italian inventor Alessandro Volta created his „crown of cups“  –  a combination of zinc and silver plates dip- ped in a salt solution. It was the world´s first battery. It sounds obvious, but without free time you wouldn´t be able to play your Gameboy. It was the Victorians (well, the rich ones at least) who were the first to really appreciate their leisure time. The industrial revolution led to more free time and more things to do in it. Better transportation also meant it was easier to travel, and people started taking holidays. In 1845, Thomas Cook opened the first travel agency in the world. In many ways, plastic has helped shape the modern world. Imagine how tired your arms would get if your Gameboy was made out of metal. The first plastic was invented by English scientist Alexander Parkes. He unveiled Parkesine at the 1862 London Interna- tional Exhibition. It was an organic material that could be heated and moulded but kept its shape when cooled. Forget Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, the real father of computer programming is Charles Babbage. In 1834 he started work on his analytical engine – basically a huge adding machine which stored information on punch cards (the forerunner of hard disk memory). The engine could do addition in three seconds and multiplication and division in two to four minutes. 45 2 Extensive unit 2: Victorian times Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv