1、Unit 1 Research and Development,Lessons,Team Project,Review,Additional Resources,EXIT,Unit 1 Research and Development,Lesson 1. Congress and the National Science Foundation,Lesson 2. Measuring and comparing R&D activity,Lesson 3. Coordinating the members of the team,Lesson 4. Working out a logical s
2、equence,Lesson 5. Gradually increasing expenditure,Lesson 6. Developing a new product,EXIT,Unit 1 Research and Development,Additional Activities,Reading Resources,Writing Resources,Unit Test,Grammar Resources,Additional Resources,EXIT,In pairs or small groups, discuss the questions.,Lesson 1 Congres
3、s and the National Science Foundation,a,1. In your country, which government department has responsibility for scientific research? 2. Which universities in your country have a strong reputation for scientific research?,universities governments industries foundations,Read and complete the text using
4、 the words below.,b,Key,cientific research requires substantial funding, especially when it involves the use of expensive equipment. This funding often comes directly from (1) _. In the U.S. for example, it is the federal government that sponsors most national defense and space exploration projects.
5、 Funding for science can also come from science (2) _. In 1950, the U.S. Congress passed an act that established the National Science Foundation. This independent federal agency develops a national science policy and supports scientific research and education. Two other well-known foundations that a
6、re involved in disease research are the,S,Funding for Scientific Research,governments,foundations,American Cancer Society and the National Heart Association. Research is also conducted and supported by private-sector (3) _ that employ scientistsespecially from the applied scienceswho work in the dev
7、elopment of industrial or commercial processes and products. Scientific research is also supported by (4) _ through professorships. Most professors do not just give classes but also conduct scientific research. Indeed, what many professors are looking for is the opportunity to work at a university w
8、here they can continue their own research. These are the professors whose students have the chance to observe real research at first hand. Most universities specialize in certain fields and they are frequently judged on the achievements of their research professors. Scientists whose research finding
9、s are published and talked about in scientific circles bring prestige to the institution where they work.,Key,universities governments industries foundations,industries,universities,Read the text again and find the words that mean the same as the following phrases.,c,1. very large (paragraph 1) _ 2.
10、 a law passed by a parliament, congress, etc. (paragraph 2)_ 3. use the services of someone or something (paragraph 3)_ 4. respect and admiration for someone or something of high quality(paragraph 4) _,substantial,an act,employ,prestige,Key,In pairs, discuss and write definitions for the following t
11、erms from the text. Use a dictionary to help you.,d,1. the federal government 3. the private sector 5. the applied sciences,2. at first hand 4. research findings 6. in scientific circles,Read the last two paragraphs of the text again and complete these sentences.,e,1. In paragraph 3, line 2, the pro
12、noun that refers to_ 2. In paragraph 3, line 4, the pronoun who refers to_ 3. In paragraph 4, line 4, the pronoun what refers to_ 4. In paragraph 4, line 6, the pronoun where refers to_ 5. In paragraph 4, line 8, the pronoun whose refers to_,industries,scientists,a university,the opportunity,the pro
13、fessors,Key,Read and complete the sentences with appropriate relative pronouns. The first one has been done for you.,f,1. It is the Ministry of Science and Education _ decides where to allocate funds. 2. This is Prof. Wilkinson _ book was published last month. 3. The American Cancer Society, _ is in
14、volved in disease research, is a well-known foundation. 4. You need to talk to Prof. Dawes _ handles the admissions. 5. The difficult thing is _ the department has no more money forresearch. 6. The application procedure _ we have to follow is very complex.,that,whose,which,who,Key,that,which,Complet
15、e these sentences with information that reflects your personal views.,g,1. In this country it is _ that provides most of the money for scientific research. 2. In my opinion, what science students are looking for is _. 3. In my opinion, _ is the scientist whose work has had the greatest impact. 4. Th
16、e institutions where many scientists want to work are _.,In small groups, compare and discuss your answers to Exercise g.,h,Lesson 2 Measuring and comparing R&D activity,Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.,a,1. How can the level of R&D activity of a company be measured? 2. Whic
17、h measure do you consider to be the best indicator of R&D activity?,Listen and complete the notes. Check and compare your answers.,b,Indicators of R&D activity 1. _ 2. _ 3. _ 4. _,budgets,number of new patents filed,number and frequency of publications,percentage of revenue spent on R&D,Key,Script,R
18、ead the sentences and circle True or False.,c,Key,Look at the chart and estimate what percentage of their revenue companies spend on R&D.,d,7,14,15,25,43,Key,(Source: UK R&D Scoreboard, 2004),Listen and check your answers.,e,Interviewer: So how much do companies spend on R&D? That is, what sort of R
19、&D intensity rates do we see, for example, in a typical U.S. manufacturing company? Expert: Typical R&D expenditure might be around 3.5% of revenuemore or less. Interviewer: As little as that? Expert: Yes. High-tech companies, like computer manufacturers, for example, tend to spend more on R&D. Mayb
20、e around 7% of their revenue. Interviewer: In which sectors do we find the bigger R&D spenders? Expert: Well, these tend to be either high-tech companies or, especially, pharmaceutical companies. To give you an example, the Americanpharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. spends about 14% of revenue on R&D
21、while the Swiss firm Novartis invests about 15% each year. Sometelecommunications companies spend heavily on R&D. For example, the Swedish company Ericsson spends 25% of revenue on R&D. Interviewer: And who is top of the list? Expert: The biggest spender is the American pharmaceutical company Allerg
22、an. They spend an enormous amount on R&D43% of revenue.,The big (1) _ in R&D tend to produce certain types of productthings like (2) _ scientific instruments, medicines, high-tech weapons systems, navigation and safety devices for aircraft, etc. Whereas, typically, a manufacturing company might make
23、 a profit of 40% on its sales, the profits of these (3) _ companies can range from 60% to as high as 90%. In other words, manufacturing (4) _ represent only 10%,Read and complete the text with the words from the box. The first one has been done for you.,f,Key,costs customer failure invest precision
24、profit profitable R&D-intensive spenders unprofitable,R&D-intensive,customer,failure,spenders,of the price that the (5) _ pays for the productthe remaining 90% being (6) _. One might ask how these companies can justify figures like these. The explanation lies in the fact that, for them, R&D carries
25、a high risk of (7) _. A large part of the time and money that they (8) _ in R&D does not create any (9) _ products at all. So the high profits of a handful of successful products serve to offset the cost of numerous (10) _ projects.,Key,costs customer failure invest precision profit profitable R&D-i
26、ntensive spenders unprofitable,profitable,precision,costs,profit,invest,unprofitable,Read the completed text and answer the questions.,g,1. For a typical manufacturing company, what percentage of sales represents profit? _ 2. In what manufacturing fields do R&D-intensive companies tend to operate?_
27、3. What percentage of sales is profit for an R&D-intensive company? _ 4. Why is R&D a high-risk activity for some companies?_,40%.,Precision scientific instruments, medicines, high-tech weapons systems, navigation and safety devices for aircraft.,From 60% to 90%.,A large part of R&D investment does
28、not create any profitable products.,Key,In pairs, role-play a conversation in which a scientist from an R&D-intensive company explains the economics of R&D investment to a layperson.,h,In pairs or small groups, look for information on one or more of the topics in the box below and prepare an oral re
29、port.,i,1. Spending on R&D as a percentage of revenue in the place where you work 2. Spending on R&D as a percentage of revenue in a well-known company in your country 3. Reviews, journals, periodicals, etc., where scientists can get their research work published 4. The largest recipients of funding
30、 for research in your country 5. The process by which inventions and innovations are patented in your country,Interviewer: How is R&D activity measured and compared? Expert: Well, there are various measures. Some analysts compare the budgetsboth from government and from the private sector that are a
31、vailable to R&D establishments. Interviewer: So, the larger the budget, the higher the level of R&D activity. Expert: Right. Others take into account the number of new patents that are filed and obtained by a company over a given time period. A third indicator that is sometimes used is the number an
32、d the frequency of publicationsespecially peer-reviewed publicationsthat are produced by a research organization. Interviewer: What, in your opinion, is the best measure of R&D activity? Expert: Well, to my mind, perhaps the best indicator is the percentage of revenues that a company spends on R&D e
33、ach year. This is sometimes referred to as R&D intensity.,Interviewer: Why is this a good indicator of R&D activity? Expert: Well, there are three reasons. Firstly this ratiothe percentage of revenue that is spent on R&Dis information that is regularly updated, secondly, this information is availabl
34、e to the public, and thirdly it reflects business risk. Interviewer: Risk? Expert: Yes. The extent to which a company is prepared to “gamble” on the future success of the products it is developing.,Lesson 3 Coordinating the members of the team,Look at the cartoon and, in pairs, discuss what you thin
35、k it is about.,a,Laypeople often think of R&D scientists as solitary figures working in a laboratory on some abstract problem. (1) _ this may be true for a handful of scientists working on basic research, the vast majority work on R&D projects in teams. These project teams include (2) _ scientists f
36、rom various disciplines _ representatives from diverse functional groups within a company, for example, marketing, manufacturing, and human resources.Formerly, R&D projects were passed from one group of specialists to another in serial fashion. The term “throwing it over the wall” was often used to
37、describe this way of working, in which each stage of the process was isolated from the others. Research evidence showed that this method,Read and complete the text with the connecting phrases from the box. Two of the expressions are in two parts. The first one has been done for you.,b,Though,not onl
38、y,but also,Key,as a result because in order to neither / nor not only / but also though,was (3) _ efficient _cost-effective (4) _ it was very time-consuming.Companies now bring together representatives from each stage of the process and, in this way, they try to achieve more cross-functional communi
39、cation and participation. The goal is to coordinate processes better and to identify and avoid problems that otherwise might only be discovered later. (5) _ work effectively in cross-functional project teams, scientists must have both up-to-date knowledge of their technical fields and also skill in
40、communication, problem-solving, and group decision-makingall necessary for successful teamwork. (6) _, universities are now giving more importance to the development of these skills, and companies are looking for ways to foster these attributes in training programs for their employees.,In order to,A
41、s a result,neither,nor,because,Key,as a result because in order to neither / nor not only / but also though,1. cost-effective _ 2. cross-functional _ 3. time-consuming _ 4. up-to-date _,In pairs, find synonyms for the following hyphenated phrases from the text.,c,Key,economically worthwhile, financi
42、ally viable,multidisciplinary, interdependent,slow, lengthy, protracted,modern, the latest, new, current, state-of-the-art,Read through the completed text and answer the questions.,d,1. According to the text, what is a common misconception about R&D scientists?2. What sort of people make up an R&D p
43、roject team nowadays?3. Why is the term “throwing it over the wall” an appropriate one?4. What is required of scientists who are working in cross-functional project teams?,That R&D scientists are solitary figures working in a laboratory on some abstract problem.,Scientists from various disciplines a
44、nd representatives from diverse functional groups within a company.,The process is serial in nature and each stage of the process is isolated from the others.,Up-to-date knowledge of their technical fields and skill in communication, problem-solving, and group decision-making.,Key,You have been assi
45、gned the task of choosing a project leader for an R&D project. Make notes of the qualities and skills that you think a good project leader should have.,e,Compare and discuss your answers in pairs.,f,Listen to the discussion on choosing a project leader and compare your ideas with those that you hear
46、.,g,Manager: So, we need to choose someone to head up this new R&D project. Its a very important project and I want to make sure we choose the right person. Any ideas? Assistant 1: Basically, we need someone who can coordinate the members of the team. Assistant 2: Yes, but this person should also be
47、 someone who can motivate and lead people.,Manager: I agree. Thats very important. Assistant 1: Also, a good project leader must represent the groups interests in the larger organization. They should be a sort of champion for the project. Assistant 2: Yes. Because its the project leader who has to n
48、egotiate with management to obtain the resources that he or she needs to get the job done. Assistant 1: We need a very responsible person because, in the end, its the project leader who has to keep the project on schedule and within the budget. Manager: Youre right. That is also very important. So, who do you suggest? Assistant 1: Well, I was thinking of . . . (fade),
