Главная страница «Первого сентября»Главная страница журнала «Английский язык»Содержание №18/2005

BUSINESS ENGLISH

New Medical Products

1. Useful Vocabulary:

implant a thing put in smb’s body

annual happening every year

contribute to give (usually money or help) to support smth; to increase

device a thing made or adapted for a special purpose

to treat here: to give medical care or attention to smb

trial an act or a process of testing

to insert to put smth, usually between two things

to wire to join one thing to another

to trigger to be the cause of a reaction, to start

to counteract to act against and reduce the force or effect of smth

routine a fixed and regular way of doing smth

2. The text:

Medtronic of the US, the world’s biggest market of medical implants, also continues to develop new products. In the late 1980s, most of its annual sales came from heart pacemakers, but other new products will this year contribute to sales of more than $5 billion.

The economy specializes in implanted devices that manage rather than cure – heart disease, as well Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases.

Medtronic has developed an implantable device for treating epilepsy and could start trials in humans next year. The implant is inserted under the skin by the chest and wired up to receive signals from the brain.

Through this mechanism, the device could tune into the signals which indicate an epileptic attack is about to take place. These would trigger electric signals from the implant which would counteract the brain signals and prevent the attack. If all goes well in the clinical trials, products could be in routine use later this decade.

The Financial Times

3. Provocative thinking:

1. What is better in your view: to cure the disease or to relieve the pain/symptoms?

2. What should the medicine develop first: the methods to cure or methods to kill pain?

3. What do you think about lethal injections to save people from suffering?

4. What do you think about implants? Is it right to interfere with natural law?

5. Do you believe that cures will be found for all illnesses in the next 100 years?

4. Number the paragraph summaries in the correct order.

Two of the summaries are not used.

1. Medtronic is also working on devices that can be worn outside the body.

2. Medtronic used mostly to make pacemakers, but now other products are also important.

3. One of its products is for treating epilepsy.

4. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is now understood.

5. The company makes products that control diseases, not cure them.

6. The device works by picking up signals from the brain and then producing other signals to prevent an attack from happening.

5. Fill in the prepositions if necessary:

1. If the experiments go well ___ the clinical trials, products could be ___ routine use one day.

2. The specialists presume that the new range ___ products will contribute ___ sales.

3. The device ___ treating epilepsy can be launched ___ next autumn.

4. The talks ___ relieving pain ___ of curing disease are controversial.

5. The world’s biggest market ___ medical implants continues to be the development ___ new products.

6. Everybody hopes that one day cures ___ all illnesses would be found.

7. Most of the annual sales came ___ heart pacemakers ___ the late 1980s.

8. The device is wired ___ to receive signals directly ___ the brain.

9. This company specializes ____ implanted devices.

10. The firm is going to start trials ___ humans ___ next year.

6. Word-matching:

Match the words from the left column to those on the right and then make up five sentences of your own using these word-combinations:

1. to specialize a. the disease
2. to treat b. trials
3. to carry out c. in food industry
4. to continue d. to sales
5. range e. the factory
6. to sponsor f. a catastrophe
7. to receive g. signals
8. to start h. the development
9. to prevent i. of products
10. to contribute j. the experiments

7. Fill in articles where necessary:

1. _____ world’s biggest market of _____ medical implants continues to develop _____ new products.

2. _____ implant is inserted under _____ skin by _____ chest and wired up to receive _____ signals from _____ brain.

3. Through this mechanism, _____ device could tune into _____ signals which indicate _____ epileptic attack is about to take _____ place.

4. In _____ late 1980s, most of its _____ annual sales came from _____ heart pacemakers.

5. _____ other new products will this year contribute to _____ sales of more than $5 billion.

8. Write:

a) A letter of approval to Medtronic clinic,

b) A letter of indignation to Medtronic clinic.

9. Imagine you are a mayor of a big city.

Ten years ago the population of your city was 5 million people; today – only 3 million live in your city. People die because of health problems.

What would you do to improve health situation in your area?

VOCABULARY TO USE:

environmental problems
birth rate
ratio of births over deaths
flu
pneumonia
rheumatism
heart attack
brain damage
scales
urgent measures
treatment for the disease
listing the problems
free medicine
compulsory vaccination
medical centers
healthy products

Keys:

4.

The names of the paragraph summaries in the correct order:

1. Medtronic is also working on devices that can be worn outside the body.

3. One of its products is for treating epilepsy.

5. The company makes products that control diseases, not cure them.

6. The device works by picking up signals from the brain and then producing other signals to prevent an attack from happening.

The names of the paragraph summaries that are not used:

2. Medtronic used mostly to make pacemakers, but now other products are also important.

4. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is now understood.

5. 1. in, in; 2. of, to; 3. for, –; 4. about, instead; 5. of, of; 6. for; 7. from, in; 8. up, from; 9. in; 10. in, –

6. 1. c; 2. a; 3. j; 4. b; 5. i; 6. h; 7. g; 8. e; 9. f; 10. d

7. 1. the, –, –; 2. the, the, the, –, the; 3. the, the, an, –; 4. the, –, –; 5. –, –

Compiled by Alena Pavlova