Describing Technology with the Passive Voice

Describing technology with passive voice game

Choose one of the technologies below but don’t tell your partner which one. Read out the hints there one by one until your partner guesses what you are talking about, starting with the most difficult hints to guess from. Your partner can only guess once per hint, so give another hint if their guess is wrong. If you finish all the hints below before your partner guesses correctly, make up more hints (with passive voice if possible). If they know what you are talking about but can’t think of the name in English, they can just point at that thing in the classroom, ask the teacher for the word, use a dictionary, draw the object, etc. When they guess correctly, change roles and do the same thing. Take turns doing the same until your teacher stops you.

Useful language for playing the game “I’m not sure/ I have no idea. Can you give me another hint?” “That could also be right, but it isn’t written here. I’ll give you another hint. The next hint is…” “That’s right. Now it’s your turn.”

Ask about anything below you don’t understand.

 

Passive voice grammar presentation

Put one word into each gap below, without looking at the previous worksheets. 

Humidifier

Your skin ___________________________________________ kept healthy by this.

Many ___________________________________________________ sold in Japan. 

 

Lift/ Elevator

It _____________________________________________ invented a long time ago.

Some are made _______________________________________________ Toshiba.

 

Clamshell mobile phone/ Clamshell cellphone

It can _______________ used by old people and children (because it is so simple).

In most countries it _______________________ been replaced by smartphones.

 

Check your answers below.

 

Put the verbs below into the correct forms

Light bulb

It ___________________________________________________ (make) of glass.

It ________________________________________________ (power) by electricity.

It ____________________________________________________ (use) at night.

It _________________________________________ (replace) when it isn’t working.

It ____________________________________________ (invent) by Thomas Edison.

The traditional one ________________________________ (replace) by LED ones.

Check your answers with the other worksheets.

Descriptions of technology with passive voice

Humidifier

Your skin is kept healthy by this.

Steam is released by this.

It isn’t sold in the UK.

Many are sold in Japan. 

It is most often used when the weather is cold and dry.

 

Lift/ Elevator

People are carried in it.

It was invented a long time ago.

It is powered by electricity.

Some are made by Toshiba.

It is controlled by buttons on the wall.

Things are transported up and down in it.

 

HDTV

Blu-ray videos are best watched on this.

It is made from very many LEDs.

It is sold in electronics shops.

It was launched quite a long time ago but it hasn’t become so popular yet.

A lot of space is needed to have it in your house.

 

Light bulb

It is made of glass.

It is powered by electricity.

It is replaced when it breaks.

It is sold in supermarkets.

It is mostly used at night.

It was invented by Thomas Edison.

The traditional one has been replaced by LED ones.

 

Vending machine

Money is put into it.

It is sometimes robbed or stolen.

It is placed outside shops, outside homes, in offices, in hospitals, etc.

It is brought and taken away by a truck.

The products inside are cooled or heated.

It is refilled at least once a week.

Contactless payment cards are sometimes accepted by these.

Strange products like canned bread, plastic models and pants are sometimes sold from these.

 

Air conditioner

It is put on the wall.

It is powered by electricity.

It is used a lot in the summer.

It is used to make the room hotter or colder.

The outside is made of plastic.

It is cleaned three or four times a year.

It is connected to outside the house.

It is bought in an electrical shop.

It is fixed by a technician.

It is replaced once every ten or twenty years.

 

(Travel) alarm clock

It can be usually be folded.

It can be carried in your suitcase.

It is powered by a battery.

People are woken up by it.

It is used to tell the time.

It is made from glass, plastic and metal.

 

Video game/ Computer game

Lots of time is wasted using this.

It is sold for more than a DVD or CD.

More money is made from these than from movies.

It is mainly played by teenage boys.

It is criticised by teachers and parents.

It was made popular by Sega.

Movies are sometimes based on these.

 

Clamshell mobile phone/ Clamshell cellphone

In most countries it has been replaced by smartphones.

It is opened and closed each time that you use it.

It can be used for a few days without charging it.

It can be used by old people and children (because it is so simple).

 

Fax (machine)

Paper is put into it.

Documents were often sent this way at the end of the 20^th century.

It has mostly been replaced by email.
Its documents are sent through telephone lines.

 

Ask about anything above which you couldn’t understand, then do the grammar presentation on the first page.

Play the same game with your own ideas, for example the kinds of technology on the next page.

Suggested technology to describe with passive voice

• Air conditioning
• (Travel) alarm clock
• Answerphone/ Answer machine/ Voice mail
• (Smartphone) app(lication)
• AR/ Augmented reality
• Autonomous vehicles/ Self-driving cars
• Biometric identification (voice recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint sensor, etc)
• Block-chain technologies (Bitcoin, etc)
• (Pocket/ Solar-powered) calculator
• (Digital) camera
• Carbon capture/ Carbon sequestering
• (Clamshell/ 4G) cellphone/ mobile phone
• Cloud computing/ The cloud
• Combined toilet and bidet
• Computer translation/ Machine translation
• Contactless payment card (e.g. Oyster Card)
• (Extension) cable/ cord
• DAB/ digital radio
• Debit card
• Desktop computer/ PC
• Dictaphone/ (Digital) voice recorder
• Drinks machine
• Electric vehicle
• Erasable pen
• (Electric) fan
• Fire extinguisher
• Flashlight/ Torch
• Fluorescent light/ Fluorescent strip
• Fridge freezer
• GM/ GMO/ genetically modified…
• Hair clippers
• Hair dryer
• Hands-free phone/ Conference call function
• (Inner-ear/ Noise cancellation) headphones
• Headset
• Humidifier
• Instant messaging
• Intercom
• (Steam) iron
• IoT/ The internet of things
• IWB/ Interactive whiteboard
• (Electric) kettle
• (Desk) lamp
• Laptop (computer)
• (LED) light bulb
• Maglev (bullet) train
• Microphone
• Microwave (oven)
• Nanotechnology
• Nuclear power station
• Online chat
• Pager/ Beeper
• Photocopier/ Copy machine
• (Two-pin/ Three-pin) plug
• Projector
• Radio cassette player
• Remote control
• (Nano/ Micro) satellite
• Sewing machine
• (Paper) shredder
• SIM card
• Smoke detector
• SMS/ text
• Social media
• Socket/ Electrical outlet
• (Anti-virus/ Photo-editing) software
• Spam filter
• (Deep sea) submarine
• Tablet (computer)
• Teleconferencing
• (Cable/ HD/ Satellite/ Wide-screen/ 3D) television/ TV
• USB (stick)/ (USB) thumb drive
• (Robot) vacuum cleaner/ Hoover
• Vending machine
• Video conferencing
• Video game (console)
• VoIP (e.g. Skype)
• VR/ Virtual reality
• Water cooler/ Water dispenser
• Wearable technology (smartwatches, etc)
• Wi-fi
• Word processor

Ask about anything you don’t understand above, working together to make suitable descriptions each time.

Science and technology collocations

Connect words from the left and right of each section below to make STEM collocations.

1. Air                                   app(lication)
2. Alarm                               clock
3. Answer                             calculator
4. Voice                               chain technologies (Bitcoin, etc)
5. (Smartphone)                    conditioning
6. Augmented                       identification
7. Autonomous                     mail     
8. Biometric                         phone/ machine
9. Voice/ Facial                      reality
10. Block-                               recognition
11. (Pocket/ Solar-powered)     vehicles

 

12. (Digital)                             bidet 
13. Carbon                               camera
14. (Clamshell/ 4G)                   cell/ mobile capture/ sequestering
15. Cloud                                  card
16. Combined toilet and             computing
17. Computer/ Machine               cable/ cord
18. Contactless payment            card (e.g. Oyster Card)
19. (Extension)                         phone
20. Digital                                 radio
21. Debit                                  translation

 

22. Desktop/ Personal                computer
23. (Digital) voice                       extinguisher
24. Drinks                                  fan       
25. Electric                                freezer
26. Erasable                              light/ Torch
27. (Electric)                             light/ strip
28. Fire                                    machine
29. Flash                                  modified…
30. Fluorescent                          pen
31. Fridge                                 recorder
32. Genetically                          vehicle

 

33. Hair                                    bulb
34. Hands-                                clippers/ dryer  
35. Head                                   com
36. Inter-                                  free phone
37. (Steam)                              iron
38. The internet of                     kettle
39. (Electric)                              lamp
40. (Desk)                                 set
41. Lap                                      things
42. (LED) light                            top (computer)

 

43. Maglev (bullet)                      chat                    
44. Micro                                    control
45. Micro                                    copier                
46. Nano                                    machine            
47. Nuclear power                       phone
48. Online                                   player
49. (Two-pin/ Three-pin)              plug
50. Photo                                    satellite
51. Copy                                     station               
52. Radio cassette                        technology
53. Remote                                  train
54. (Nano/ Micro)                         wave (oven)

 

55. Sewing                                   card     
56. (Paper)                                   (computer)
57. SIM                                       detector                           
58. Smoke                                   filter                                                              
59. Social                                     machine                          
60. (Electrical)                              marine
61. Anti                                        media                
62. Spam                                     outlet
63. (Deep sea) sub-                      shredder
64. Tablet                                    -virus software

 

65. Tele/ Video                                            cleaner/ Hoover            
66. (Cable/ HD/ Satellite/ Wide-screen)         conferencing                 
67. USB                                                       cooler/ dispenser           
68. (Robot) vacuum                                      fi
69. Vending                                                 game (console)
70. Video                                                     machine
71. Virtual                                                    processor
72. Water                                                     reality
73. Wearable                                                (stick/ thumb drive)       
74. Wi-                                                         technology (smart watches, etc)
75. Word                                                      television/ TV
76. Finger                                                     headphones
77. Instant                                                    messaging
78. (Inner ear/ Noise cancellation)                  -print sensor

Check as a class or with the worksheets above.

 

Technology synonyms

Without looking above for now, try to think of other expressions which mean the same as:

• app
• answerphone
• AR
• cellphone
• cord
• DAB
• PC
• Dictaphone
• torch
• fluorescent light
• photocopier
• SMS
• socket
• Hoover
• water dispenser

------------------------------fold, cover or cut--------------------------

Mixed answers

Use the words below to help with the task below. Some need to be combined with each other or with words from above.

• (digital)
• -lication
• augmented
• cable
• cleaner
• computer
• cooler
• copy
• desktop
• digital
• electrical
• flash-
• light
• machine
• machine
• mobile
• outlet
• radio
• reality
• recorder
• strip
• text
• vacuum
• voice

 

 

Differences between similar technology words

The things on the same line below are at least slightly different from each other. Work together to describe the differences.

 

air conditioner/ humidifier

AR/ VR

chat/ online chat

clamshell mobile phone/ smartphone

clock/ watch

credit card/ debit card

desktop computer/ laptop (computer)

drinks machine/ vending machine

electric(al)/ electronic

email/ SMS

fluorescent light/ (LED) light bulb

fridge/ freezer

game/ video game

kettle/ teapot

microwave (oven)/ oven

plug/ socket

sewing machine/ machine

smartphone/ tablet

teleconference/ video conference

Ask about any which you are not sure about.

Technology Janglish

Write British and/ or American English for each of the “Japanese English” expressions below. All need to be changed.

 

appli X

barikan X

(NHK) BS X

consent X

cool box X

cooler X

degital X

digi camera X

dryer X

eco technology X

(a pair of) headphone X

high vision X

homep X

pasokon X

note pasokon X

rajio X

remo con X

SF (movies) X

(computer) soft X

stand lamp X

televi X

TV conference X

TV game X

washlet X

word pro X

wirus X

 

Mixed answers

Use the words to correct the phrases above. Some can be used more than once or need to be combined.

 

air

and

app

application

bidet

clippers

combined

computer

conditioner

control

desk

digital

electrical

fi

fiction

fridge

green

hair

HD

lap

outlet

processor

radio

refrigerator

remote

satellite

-s

sci-

science

site

socket

telly

the box

toilet

top

TV

video

virus

-ware

web

 

 

Science and technology abbreviations

Without looking above, try to remember, work out or guess what the long form of each thing here is:

• 3D
• app
• AR
• biotech
• BSc
• DAB
• fridge
• GM
• HDTV
• IoT
• IT
• IWB
• LED
• math(s)
• mobile
• MSc
• OS
• PC
• sci-fi
• SMS
• STEM
• teleconference
• trig
• vlog
• VR
• www

Use the hints below to help, then check as a class or with the worksheets above.

Use words below to help with the task above. Some words can be used more than once.

• augmented
• audio
• bachelor of
• biological
• broadcasting
• computer
• definition
• digital
• dimensions/ dimensional
• diodes
• emitting
• engineering
• fiction
• genetically
• high
• information
• interactive
• internet
• -lication
• light
• master
• mathematics
• maths
• messaging
• modified
• of
• operating
• personal
• phone
• reality
• refrigerator
• science
• service
• short
• system
• technology
• telephone
• television
• the
• trigonometry
• video
• virtual
• web
• whiteboard
• wide
• world

Join words from the left and right of the same section below to make things that have common abbreviations, then write the abbreviation next to the completed form.

• three dimensions/ dimensional
• augmented definition television                    
• bio- emitting diode               
• bachelor of modified           
• genetically of things
• high phone
• the internet reality
• information science
• light technology
• mobile technology

• master of computer
• operating fiction system
• personal log/ blog
• science messaging
• short reality
• science science
• video system
• virtual technology engineering and maths
• world wide web

Check as a class or with the worksheets above.