A. «I'm now a professor at University and I really enjoy the balance between research and teaching. Lecturing is particularly rewarding, especially when students I have taught to overtake my own knowledge», says David.

B. After her degree, Jess studied a PhD in solar energy. «I really care about the environment and I knew that I wanted to work in renewable energy».

C. «There's a lot of physics in sound engineering, from the acoustics to radio waves». Tony got into sound engineering whilst at university. «A few friends formed a band. The drummer was doing physics with me, the singer was doing medicine, and the keyboard player was doing law. I started mixing the sound for them».

D. Maggie leads a team of scientists and engineers that make custom-built instruments for satellites. She builds space-telescopes that improve our understanding of the universe and work on satellites that help monitor climate change.

E. Naomi became interested in engineering during her GCSEs. «I did some work experience at British Aerospace. It's very hard to understand what an engineer does without seeing it for yourself. It's very hands on; you're always producing something or making something».

F. Stuart finds his background in physics useful when making TV programmes. «I could never understand why people don't find physics interesting; physics is about how everything around you works», says Stuart, who makes TV documentaries. Stuart studied electronics at university before moving into TV production.

G. «Dark matter makes up more of the universe than normal matter (which is what we're made from) but beyond that we don't really know what it is. We do know that it's useful though, as it surrounds our galaxy and holds it together», says Catherine.

H. «It's not just that you need to understand physics to predict the weather; all the technology, from the rocket that launches a weather satellite into orbit, to the telemetry that collates millions of weather observations uses physics», says Heather.

I. «Modern games rely on a piece of software called a physics-engine, this computer code governs how objects move and interact in a computer game. The rules of physics need to be programmed into a game and our physics-based animation engine has been used in lots of different games like Star Wars», says Chris.

J. «I am helping to improve the laser optics of the km-size laser antennas that are designed to catch and measure the gravitational waves caused by colliding black holes and exploding stars. Measuring these vibrations in space-time is very difficult and we’ve not yet succeeded, so I am trying to make our detectors even more sensitive», says Andreas.

Task 7. Prepare your own presentation on the following topics:

· My plans for the future.

· My future profession.

· My dream job.

· Careers in physics.

Task 8. Portfolio: Imagine you are producing a poster to help local students choose a career in the field of physics. Write a short description of five jobs. Add pictures and titles. Present your leaflets to the group.

Task 9. Act the situation below.

You are at a conference. You recognize someone you met at a conference two years ago. Introduce yourself and make small talk. Use your role card to prepare for the conversation.

Student A

· You met B two years ago at a conference in Frankfurt.

· You are an experienced professor at the University of Physics, a successful and famous physicist.

· It is your first day at the conference – you arrived late last night.

· You try to persuade B to choose physics as a future career (an interesting subject, a challenging profession, a well-paid job, good career opportunities, knowledge of foreign languages).

· You are leaving in three day’s time.

· You think the conference will be very interesting.

Student B

· You met A two years ago at a conference in Frankfurt.

· You are a second-year student of the department of physics  and you hesitate about your future career.

· You have been at the conference for three days.

· You agree/disagree with some aspects (job requirements, stress in the workplace, qualifications, additional work experience, personal skills and traits).

· You are leaving tomorrow.

· The conference is boring – the speakers talk too much and go overtime.

Useful language

I can name/find the following/a lot of/ a few reasons to study physics ... .

I suppose/consider/think/suggest/imagine that … .

Physics is useful/helpful/comprehensive/productive because … .

Physics opens the door to many career options. That's why/therefore/however … .

Not taking physics closes the door to more career options because … .

This is one aspect that scares off many students.

But it is precisely one of the most/least important reasons why you should/should not study physics.

You just need to learn enough to have a basis for your future learning and professional growth.

Physics is like a whole other language.          

Physics is a difficult course for me because … .

There's a whole lot of math.

It makes me think critically about things that don't make sense. For example, …. .

It crosses over into subjects such as history, astronomy, biology, chemistry, literature, English, art and geology.

As a career, physics covers many specialized fields - from acoustics, astronomy, and astrophysics to medical physics, geophysics, and vacuum sciences.

Physics offers a variety of work activities – a lab supervisor/researcher/ technician/teacher/manager… Etc.

 Task 10. Enjoy the joke.

You Might Be a Physicist if …

1. the water in your kettle is boiling at 373 Kelvin.

2. you know that the speed of light is 299,792.5 km/sec.

3. you know the direction the water swirls when you flush.

4. you've already calculated how much you earn per second.

5. you are sure that differential equations are a very useful tool.

6. you are at an air show and know how fast the skydivers are falling.

7. you know the size of the electron, but don't know your own shirt size.

8. when you break a vase you blame the second law of thermodynamics.

Appendix 1. Summary.

A summary is a short, concise method of stating the main idea and significant supporting (major) details of a reading selection or textbook chapter.

Should include: the main idea of the selection; the most essential supporting details or explanations; only the information you have read; objective and factual information from the reading; ¼ the length of the original essay; your own words and the use of paraphrasing.

Should not include: your opinion; what you think the author should have said; copied material or a string of quotes from the selection.

Writing a summary:

· Read the paragraph (text) looking for all the important ideas and facts.

Annotate:

· [Place in brackets the main idea].

· Underline key words and phrases that support the main idea.

· WRITE KEY WORDS IN THE MARGIN.

· Cross out any information that is not important.

· Make a map with the information you underlined and marked.

· Write a summary that includes all the important information you have identified. Paraphrase – do not copy the exact words from the reading; try to put the information in your own words.