Thomas Edison, known as the inventor of the electric light, changed the world with his inventions. He invented the phonograph, motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. Edison was born in Ohio in 1847 and lived there until age 7, when his family moved to Michigan. He had little formal schooling but was mostly self-educated through his curiosity and experiments. Some of his most important inventions were the electric light and the phonograph.

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Thomas Edison, the inventor
Thomas Edison changed the world. The most useful of his inventions
was the electric light.
Without him, we could probably still be using candles. He also
invented the phonograpf the motion picture camara and over 1,200
other things. He created something new about every two weeks.
He was bom in Ohio, USA, in 1847 and lived there until he was 7 years old. Then his
famly moved to Michigan. One interesting aspect of his life is that he didn't get a formal
education. He attended school for only two months. His mother, a former teacher, taught
him reading, writing and arithmetic. Thomas was mostly self-educated. His natural curiosity
made him start experimenting at a young age with electrical and mechanical things at
home.
At the age of 12, he got his first job as a newsboy on a train, but he was fired because
he accidentally caused a fire doing experiments inside a baggage car.
Later he worked as a telegraph operator, but most of the time he continued with his
experiments. He got his first patent in 1868 for an electric machine to count votes.
However it was not a success.
Edison was totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other, but he considered his
deafness as a blessing. He kept conversation short, so he had more time to work. he
worked so hard, that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
He died at the age of 84 leaving lots of inventions that improved our quality of life.
Saving Energyy
You Can Make a Difference!
Use only what you need!
- Don't leave lights on when no one is in the room.
- Replace regular light bolbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Use one large bulb insteed of several small ones in areas where bright light is needed.
- Make maximum use of all available natural sunlight.
- Turn off the TV set, the computer and the radio when no one is using
them.
- Keep the refrigerador door closed and its rubber seals clean and tight.
- Don't let frost build up in the freezer compartment. Defrost it at least
every 6 months.
Reduce your electricity bill and pay less.
2. The main purpose of the text is to...
a. encourage people to increase their electricity consumption.
b. persuade people to buy only energy saving products.
c. promote low-energy-consumption electrical devices.
d. give people some ideas to save money and energy.
3. The text is addressed to...
a. electricity distribution companies.
b. electricity customers and consumers.
c. clients of General Electric company.
d. electricity savers and energy savers.
4. Referring to bulbs, the text suggests to...
a. turn them off when you are in o room.
b. use several bulbs where bright light is needed.
c. keep on using traditional light bulbs.
d. prefer compacty fluorescent lights.
5. According to the text you should...
a. keep the rubber seals around the refrigerator doors clean and tight.
b. maintain freezer compartments completely frozen.
c. clean refrigerators exterior surfaces at least every 6 months.
d. turn refrigerators off when no one is using them.
Relacione los siguientes consejos con un aparato o artefacto del banco de
palabras. Escriba la letra en el espacio correspondiente.
A. washer - B. iron - C. light bulbs - D. microwave
E. television - F. refrigerator - G. shower
6. To know whether it is hot enough, flick some water on its metal surface. If it sizzles,
it's ready. ______________
7. Don't keep its door open any lopger than you need to _____________________.
8. Make sure it is off when nobody is watching it ____________________.
9. Use it with cold water, with a full load, and preferable after 8 pm _______________
10. Use the lowest wattage possible ____________________.
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Inglés
Desarrollando Calidad Humana
Prueba
2º Ciclo Educación Media
•... Reclama para tí, el trato que tú das..."
¡ R E C U E R D A !
... Continua...
Responda en Inglés de acuerdo al texto.
11. When was Edison born?
12. How long did Edison live in Ohio?
13. How many things did Edison invent approximately?
14. Which was Edison's first job?
15. Mention 2 inventions by Edison.
Responda en Castellano de acuerdo al texto.
16. ¿Qué pasó con el primer empleo de Edison?
17. ¿Cuál fue el primer invento patentado de Edison?
18. ¿Por qué Edison consideraba su sordera como una bendición?
19. ¿Por qué se considera que Thomas Edison fue un autodidacta?
20. ¿A qué se refiere el texto cuando señala que Thomas Edison cambió el mundo?
21. Copie una oración del texto (en inglés) que refleje lo trabajador que era Edison.
22. Explique con sus palabras los dos sentidos que tiene la palabra "fire" en el texto.
Redacte en Inglés
23. Escriba al menos tres oraciones describiendo lo que usted hace para ahorrar energía
eléctrica. Use el modelo como inspiración.
- I keep my TV set unplugged
while. I'm not watching it.
- I set the refrigerator at the
minimum power.
- I tell my children to turn the
lighs off when they go out.
Pertinencia: Escribe acerca de lo que se pide, y con la extensión que se pide.
Corrección ortográfica y morfosintáctica: Se aceptan hasta tres errores. Un error
repetido se considera como uno solo.
Desarrollo complementario: Escribe información diferente al modelo presentado.
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