SECTION II

Speaking

Agree with the statements of your partner.

Example:

- Freedom is the oxygen without which science cannot breathe.

- I completely agree with you. Political democracy and academic freedom are very important to the development of science.

	There are a lot of definitions of science, but to my mind science is the search for truth. Am I right?
	It is often said that science is a system of statements based on direct experience, and controlled by experimental verification. Do you think it’s true?
	It is generally agreed that most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to anyone. Do you think so too?
	Science has radically changed the condition of human life on earth. It has expanded our knowledge and our power but not our capacity to use them with wisdom. Do you agree with this?
	Most people thinkthatwe do not need science and philosophy to know what we should do to be honest and good. Do you think so too?
	Science has opened our eyes to the vastness of the universe and given us light, truth, and freedom from fear where once was darkness, ignorance, and superstition. That’s what most scientists think. Do you support their opinion?

Disagree with the statements of your partner.

Example:

-Science has "explained" nothing; the more we know the more fantastic the world becomes and the profounder the surrounding darkness.

-I’m afraid I can’t agree with you. The main purpose of science is simplicity and as we understand more things, everything is becoming simpler.

	In my opinion science is always wrong. It never solves a problem without creating ten more. Do you agree with me?
	I think that science robs men of wisdom and usually converts them into phantom beings loaded up with facts. Do you share my opinion?
	It’s common opinion that the man of science is a poor philosopher. Do you think so too?
	Science never causes social change. It can’t influence the development of modern civilization. Do you think it’s true?
	First man conquers nature, and then he learns that conquered nature has lost its purity and he's very upset by this loss. But it's not science that's to blame, it's scientists. They've misused science. Do you support this point of view?
	There are no such things as applied sciences, only applications of science. Do you agree with this statement?

Read the following quotations about science. Do you agree or disagree with anything that is said? Which quotation do you agree with more? Why? Give arguments to support your point of view.

Example:

‘A fool... is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.’ Erasmus Darwin.

- No, I don’t think so. That’s a very strong claim. I think it can’t be applied to ordinary people, only to scientists.

	‘Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.’Jules Henri Poincaré.
	‘There is no national science just as there is no national multiplication table; what is national is no longer science.’Anton Chekhov.
	‘Science is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It's just the best we have.’Carl Sagan.
	‘Science has nothing to be ashamed of, even in the ruins of Nagasaki.’Jacob Bronowski.
	‘It would be quite extraordinary if a major new development in science was not applied in warfare, and there is probably little that we can do to prevent it.’ Malcolm Dando.
	‘Honorable errors do not count as failures in science, but as seeds for progress in the quintessential activity of correction.’Stephen Jay Gould.

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<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Science and technology	\|	Make up questions to which the following phrases are the answers. The dialogue is between a newspaper correspondent and professor Grekov, an expert in physics.

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