The smell of success
Saturday, August 27, 2011, 12:51 GMT+7
PRE-READING:
Look at the title and predict the main ideas of the article. Then, write down three wh-questions about the text.
Ex: What jobs or professions require using the sense of smell?
WHILE READING:
Set a time limit to read this article. An average reader can read at the speed of 250 words per minute. Note down your reading speed regularly to check your progress.
SKIMMING:
Within the time limit, read and summarize the main ideas of the paragraphs in your own words. Do not worry about unfamiliar vocabulary.
THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
At the heart of Audi’s giant plant at Ingolstadt, you would expect to find the latest technology. Supercomputers with gigabytes of RAM, turbo-charged hard disks linked to state-of-the-art software. But alongside all this man-made, hi-tech equipment, there is an older and more basic technology. It requires no power supply, no Internet connection, and no fibre-optic links. Because today, engineers don’t rely only on machines and computers – they follow their noses.
THE HUMAN NOSE is one of the most advanced sensory devices in the world. It can identify smells far better than any machine. And that’s important when you are making cars for the public. You and I may own the same car for twenty years. If it has a smell, any sort of bad smell, then that relationship will suffer.
Today, Hermann Schmidt is responsible for choosing new materials for the interior of cars, and always considers the smell of parts. The most recent material on his desk is an old plant fibre from Bangladesh - jute.
‘It is very strong, and it is quite natural,’ he says. He picks up the sample and smells it carefully, like a connoisseur of fine cognac. ‘It has a clean smell, and there is no trace, for example, of mineral oil.’
But one smell is not enough when it is a matter of designing cars. Materials change when they are exposed to heat or light or as they grow older, and sometimes a smell cannot be detected until later. So when a new material is going to be used, it is sent to the Nose Team.
‘We are the opposite of wine-makers’, says Heiko Luessmann-Geiger, a key member of the Nose Team. ‘Our job is to create a car that has no smell at all.’ In the heart of the quality control department, there is a huge heat chamber where parts are heated quickly or slowly to very high temperatures. There are often hundreds of components, and the Nose Team tests them all. Materials can change as heat rises, and if they give off a smell a customer might not like, the project is looked at again.
But the tests are not only carried out at the factory in Ingolstadt. Even a passing Bedouin in the Sahara, riding his camel over a faraway sand dune, may come across a row of Audis parked in the hot desert sun, because the Nose Team carries out tests there too. The Sahara is one of the hottest places on earth, and the tests produce valuable data for the team’s research.
Word count: 429 words
SCANNING:
Use your notes to identify where you can find the answers to the questions you made in the pre-reading stage.
UNDERSTANDING: READING FOR DETAIL
Exercise:
Read the article and decide if the statements below are true (T) or false (F).
1 Audi only uses expensive technology to detect scents. (__ )
2 Smell can play an important part in customer satisfaction. (__ )
3 Hermann Schmidt selects materials for use in the interior of cars. (__ )
4 Hermann Schmidt dislikes the smell of jute. (__ )
5 A new material can change its smell under certain conditions. (__ )
6 The Nose Team uses a heat chamber for some of its tests. ( __)
7 Some tests are carried out away from the main plant. ( __)
8 Local Bedouins are recruited to assist with the tests in the Sahara. (__ )
POST-READING:
Glossary:
Pay attention to how the word is combined with other words in context. Do not learn the meaning of the word without sentences. Vietnamese should be the last resort after you have tried all the learning strategies.
• To expect to find = to see or discover as one had hoped or thought of: mong muốn sẽ khám phá hoặc tìm thấy
• To rely on = to depend on someone or something: nhờ vào, dựa vào
• Sensory device = a tool that can sense by seeing, hearing, etc.: thiết bị cảm ứng
• Interior of cars = parts found inside a car: nội thất xe hơi
• A connoisseur of fine cognac = an expert or professional whose job is to identify excellent types of cognac or alcoholic drinks by smelling them: người am hiểu, sành sỏi về rượu cognac ngon
• A huge heat chamber = a large device, usually a container, where objects are subject to high temperatures: phòng nhiệt độ cao
• Hundreds of components = numerous parts: hàng trăm bộ phận
• To carry out tests = to perform an examination or experiment: thực hiện thí nghiệm
Discussion: Ask and answer these questions in pairs or small groups.
1. What kind of training, do you think, did Hermann Schmidt and his Nose Team undergo?
2. How do you think they perform their tests on cars using their noses?
3. Would you take a job like Hermann Schmidt’s if your nose is also extraordinary or special? Why or why not?
4. Can you name some other jobs that require very keen senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these jobs? List all that you can think of.
ANSWERS:
1. F
2. T
3. T
4. F
5. T
6. T
7. T
8. F
Sources:
Text: Quick Work (Oxford University Press) http://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/business_esp/quick_work/?cc=global&selLanguage=en&mode=hub#
This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).
