Solar energy and antennas

Transcription

1 Solar energy and antennas Núria Terradellas Palau, Carles Mora Queralt Anglès tècnic

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3 Anglès tècnic Solar energy and antennas Índex Introduction 5 Learning objectives 7 1 Photovoltaic installations Vocabulary Grammar: modal verbs, the future and the imperative The modal verbs The future forms Adverbials of time: future The imperative Everyday language: giving and responding to instructions Antennas Vocabulary Grammar: sentence structure The structure of English statements The structure of the English questions The imperative sentences The passive voice Everyday language: making and responding to requests Looking for a job Vocabulary Grammar: conditional and relative sentences The conditional sentences The relative clauses Everyday language: making and responding to suggestions

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5 Anglès tècnic 5 Solar energy and antennas Introduction This unit, Solar Energy and Antennas, deals with the installation and the functioning of photovoltaic panels. It also deals with the characteristics and types of antennas used for broadcasting and receiving electromagnetic waves. In the last section you will see an electrician s CV. The aim is to make you get acquainted with specific vocabulary and expressions that you already know in your native language and which are used to discuss electrical terms. The unit is composed of four different sections. structure: Each of them has a similar There is a text related to one of the above mentioned topics. technical texts, usually descriptive. They are There is a short story about two electricians, who move from one location to the other to install, revise and certify different electrical installations. This section is called Storyline, and it starts with the welcoming of Bill, an apprentice from UK. He is in Barcelona to assist Jordi in different works. This section is intended to show the everyday life of an electric technician, with emphasis on job related conversation. The idea is for you to get acquainted with the daily tasks that an electrician does in English. There is a list of specific vocabulary with terms translated into Catalan in order to help you with the most difficult words that have appeared in the texts and the conversations. There is the grammar section, with the explanation of different grammar points and a great deal of examples that should help you understand the mechanics of the language. In the section Photovoltaic Installations, you will get introduced to the different components of a photovoltaic installation, with a brief description of each of them. In the section Antennas, you will learn about antennas, see different types, and the parameters used to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. In the last section, Looking for a job you will see a CV of an electrician, which could be used as a sample to write a CV in English for those who have decided to look for a job in another country. As far as the grammar is concerned, in the first section of this unit you will learn about a category of verbs called modal verbs. These form a group of verbs that have no independent meaning, but depend on the meaning of other verbs to make sense. Modals do not express actions, but indicate things like obligation, ability or possibility. In this section you will learn which are the modal verbs and their use and meaning. The first section also introduces the different ways of expressing the future, with their corresponding adverbials of time, and a verb

6 Anglès tècnic 6 Solar energy and antennas form called imperative, which we use to give orders and instructions. The second grammar section describes some basic sentence structures, as for example, those of the statements, the questions, the imperative, and the passive. The passive voice is very important in English because it is more widely used than in Catalan or Spanish, so you will learn how to form and use the passive voice, and how to distinguish it from the active voice. The third section introduces two other types of sentences. On one hand, you will learn about the conditional sentences, which include a condition and the result if the condition is accomplished; on the other hand, we will introduce the relative clauses, which are always introduced by a relative pronoun and are mostly used to define a noun or explain some characteristic of that noun. The everyday language sections introduce more social language. In the first section, you will find different ways of giving and responding to instructions. You do this when you must indicate other people what they must do. They are very similar to orders, and in fact, both functions use the imperative form of the verb. The second section is devoted to making and responding to requests. A request is an expression in which we ask other people to do something. It is like giving orders or instructions, but using more indirect, polite means. The emphasis will be on using the appropriate expression in each context. Finally, the third section is about making and responding to suggestions. We make suggestions when we think that other people should do something. We may also be included in the suggestion, as when we plan to do something together with other people. You will see the different possibilities to make suggestions, with their corresponding sentence structure, and the ways of responding to a suggestion.

7 Anglès tècnic 7 Solar energy and antennas Learning objectives At the end of this unit, you should be able to: 1. Understand oral messages in standard language both in daily life situations and in the professional field of the electrical installations, as well as analize the general meaning of a message and relate it to the corresponding language resources. Arrange the elements that make up a message. Identify the main idea in a message. Be conscious of the importance of understanding the main ideas in a message even if you do not understand all the elements that compose the message. Get specific information in messages about usual aspects of the everyday and professional life. Identify the main ideas in a well-structured speech in standard language about well-known aspects and transmitted in the media. 2. Understand simple written texts related to the field of electrical installations and analize the contents comprehensively. Choose reference material and technical dictionaries. Read simple texts in standard language. Translate a text in standard language by using reference materials, if necessary. Interpret the general meaning of a message. Relate the text to its correponding context. Identify the terminology used in a message. Interpret technical manuals. 3. Produce clear, well-organized oral messages frequently used in companies of the field of electrical installations and take an active part in professional conversations. Express the tasks which you have to carry out in your job. Communicate by using formulas, connectors and strategies used in the interaction with other people.

8 Anglès tècnic 8 Solar energy and antennas Describe and arrange a task in a sequence. 4. Write simple texts in standard language as normally used in the field of electrical installations and use the appropriate resources for each situation. Write short texts referring to everyday and/or professional aspects. Summarize texts related to your job. Organize the information in a coherent way. Apply the appropriate rules and specific vocabulary when filling in documents. 5. Show the appropriate attitude and behaviour in communicative situations as established by international conventions. Define the most distinctive aspects of the customs of English-speaking communities. Describe the social conventions of your country. Identify the values and beliefs which are characteristic of English-speaking communities. Identify the social and professional aspects of your job in all types of oral and written messages. Apply the social conventions in English-speaking communities.

9 Anglès tècnic 9 Solar energy and antennas 1. Photovoltaic installations Energy is an essential resource for the development of a society. But the increasing demand of energy is leading to the promotion of renewable energies, such as solar, wind power, or water energy. Photovoltaic installations transform the solar radiation into electricity. A photovoltaic system uses solar panels composed of a number of solar cells to supply usable electric power. Solar power There are two main types of photovoltaic installations, stand-alone and gridtied. The stand-alone installations are especially useful for rural areas. The main difference between them are their components. A stand-alone will need a controller, whereas a photovoltaic system tied to the grid needs equipment to measure the energy produced and sent back to the public grid. Solar cells are usually made of silicon, which is a semiconductive material. The cells absorb some of the photons of sunlight and the photons energy is transferred to electrons in the semiconductor material. With the energy from the photons, electrons can escape its usual position in the semiconductor atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit. The solar cells collect the rays of the sun and convert solar radiation into direct current, which is also converted into alternating current by a piece of equipment called inverter. Connected to the inverter is another device for measuring the electricity produced by the photovoltaic system. Generated electricity may then be reimbursed by the electricity supplier. To use the energy from the array, we also need other components, such as inverters, charge controllers and batteries. There are two basic categories of PV (photovoltaic) panels: crystalline silicon or thin-film. The charge controller is needed to prevent batteries from overcharging and it prolongs the battery life. The inverter converts the direct current (DC) output of the PV panels into alternating current (AC) for AC appliances, or to be fed into a commercial electrical grid. Batteries store energy for supplying electrical appliances. Storyline A client s WiFi coverage is poor. Connections are only present in the living room. Sometimes the WiFi connections drops unexpectedly for no reason. He got frustrated and contacted Bill and Jordi for a quick solution. Client: I have a problem, my WiFi connection is so poor! What could be the problem? Jordi: I guess it s caused by radio signal interference. Bill: What do you think could cause interferences? Jordi: Radio signals from electronic devices can interfere with your wi-fi wireless network signals.

10 Anglès tècnic 10 Solar energy and antennas Client: What kind of devices? I have a lot here in the house. Bill: For example, cordless phones, bluetooth devices or microwave ovens can kill your wi-fi network connection when they are switched on. Client: What s the solution? Jordi: First of all, we ll start by troubleshooting, by moving your router network equipment to another location, to see if the interference will be eliminated. 1.1 Vocabulary Resource: recurs Increasing demand: demanda creixent Renewable energies: energies renovables Wind power: energia eòlica Stand-alone: aïllat Grid-tied: connectat a la xarxa elèctrica Public grid: xarxa pública Sunlight: llum del sol Inverter: inversor Electricity supplier: subministrador d electricitat (companyia elèctrica) Array: conjunt de plaques solars Overcharging: sobrecàrrega Electric grid: xarxa elèctrica Store: emmagatzemar Appliance: aparell (electrodomèstic) Coverage: cobertura Connection drops: es perd la connexió Interference: interferència Device: dispositiu Cordless phone: telèfon inalàmbric Microwave oven forn microones Troubleshooting: solucionar problemes

11 Anglès tècnic 11 Solar energy and antennas 1.2 Grammar: modal verbs, the future and the imperative In this section we are going to study a special type of verbs called modal verbs. In fact, these verbs are auxiliary verbs (like be, have and do ) because they cannot act alone as a main verb but they need another verb to make sense. The modal verbs express things like ability, possibility or obligation, for example. On the other hand, we are also going to study the verb forms that we use to speak about the future and their corresponding adverbials of time. In English, there is no verb tense to express the future (like the present or the past), so we need to use a modal verb or an auxiliary verb to talk about the future. Finally, the imperative is a form of the verb which is used to give orders and instructions The modal verbs The modal verbs have some special characteristics. These characteristics are: They cannot be the main verb of a sentence but they depend on another verb to express their meaning. This other verb always goes in the base form (infinitive without to ). They have only one form for the present, but the modal verb can also has a past form (could). To express the modal verbs in other tenses (past, infinitive, gerund or past participle), we must use other verbs or expressions with the same meaning. From a syntactical point of view, they function as auxiliary verbs: in the negative form, they add not ; in the interrogative form, there is inversion between subject and verb. Modal verbs never use the auxiliary do, so it is wrong to say: *I don t can go or *do you can go? The modal verbs are: can, could, must, should, may, might, will and would. Can, could There is also the modal verb ought to, which has the same meaning as should, but ought to is only used in very formal situations. These are the meanings of the modal verb can: Present ability: he can cook (Cat. ell sap / pot cuinar). Certain possibility: it can rain (Cat. pot ser que plogui). Informal permission: can I go, please? (Cat. puc marxar, si us plau?). Informal request: can you open the window, please? (Cat. pots obrir la finestra, si us plau?).

12 Anglès tècnic 12 Solar energy and antennas Make a suggestion: we can go and have a coffee (Cat. podem anar a fer un cafè). These are the meanings of the modal verb could: Ability in the past: he could swim (Cat. ell podia / sabia nedar). Uncertain possibility: it could rain (Cat. podria ser que plogués). Make a suggestion: you could talk to him (Cat. podries parlar amb ell). Ask for permission (formal): could I go, please? (Cat. podria marxar, si us plau?). Polite request: could you open the window, please? (Cat. podries obrir la finestra, si us plau?). The following table shows the conjugation of can. Taula Conjugation of can Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I can cannot can t can I...? you can cannot can t can you...? he, she, it can cannot can t can he / she / it...? we can cannot can t can we...? you can cannot can t can you...? they can cannot can t can they...? Notice that the long form of the negative is spelt as one word:cannot. Do not write: *can not. The table below shows the conjugation of could. Taula Conjugation of could Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I could could not couldn t could I...? you could could not couldn t could you...? he, she, it could could not couldn t could he / she / it...? we could could not couldn t could we...? you could could not couldn t could you...? they could could not couldn t could they...? The forms of the modal verbs can and could are used to speak about the present (can) or the past (could). To express other tenses, we need an alternative expression:

13 Anglès tècnic 13 Solar energy and antennas be able to (Cat. ser capaç de) is used to express ability. For example: I haven t been able to open this box (Cat. no he estat capaç d obrir aquesta capsa) or (Cat. no he pogut obrir aquesta capsa). I would like to be able to do it (Cat. m agradaria ser capaç de fer-ho) or (Cat. m agradaria poder/saber fer-ho). Must, should These are the meanings of the modal verb must: Obligation: we must eat to live (Cat. hem de menjar per viure). Prohibition (in the negative): you mustn t smoke (Cat. no has de fumar). Prediction: this must be Mary (Cat. aquesta deu ser Mary). These are the meaning of the modal verb should: To give advice: you should come (Cat. hauries de venir). Moral obligation: we should eat something (Cat. alguna cosa). hauríem de menjar An obligation is something that we must do by law or because it is strictly necessary. An obligation depends on external circumstances. On the other hand, a moral obligation is something that we think that we must do because it is necessary from our point of view. A moral obligation depends on our feelings. The following table shows the conjugation of must. Taula 1.3. The conjugation of must Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I must must not mustn t must I...? you must must not mustn t must you...? he, she, it must must not mustn t must he / she / it...? we must must not mustn t must we...? you must must not mustn t must you...? they must must not mustn t must they...? The verb must refers to the present or the future. To use this verb in other forms, we can use these alternative expressions: have to (Cat. haver de) expresses obligation. For example:

14 Anglès tècnic 14 Solar energy and antennas I had to go to the dentist yesterday (Cat. vaig haver d anar al dentista ahir). I ve had to visit George (Cat. he hagut de visitar a George). be forbidden (Cat. estar prohibit) expresses prohibition, as for example: Ten years ago, it was also forbidden to smoke at work (Cat. fa deu anys també estava prohibit fumar a la feina). He has been forbidden to access the premises for ever (Cat. li han prohibit accedir a les instal lacions per sempre). must and have to We can also use the alternative form have to instead of must with little difference in meaning. We can say: we must / have to eat to live or I must / will have to do it tomorrow. The following table shows the conjugation of should. Taula The conjugation of should Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I should should not shouldn t should I...? you should should not shouldn t should you...? he, she, it should should not shouldn t should he / she / it...? we should should not shouldn t should we...? you should should not shouldn t should you...? they should should not shouldn t should they...? There is no alternative expression for should. May, might These are the meanings of the modal verb may: Possibility: it may rain tonight (Cat. pot ser que plogui aquesta nit). Ask for permission (formal): may I take this seat, please? (Cat. puc agafar aquesta cadira, si us plau?). Give permission (formal): you may go now (Cat. ja pot marxar). These are the meanings of the modal verb might: Remote possibility: it might rain tonight, but I don t think so (Cat. podria ser que plogués aquesta nit, però no ho crec). Ask for permission (very formal): might I speak to you for a moment? (Cat. podria parlar amb vostè un moment?).

15 Anglès tècnic 15 Solar energy and antennas Give permission (very formal): you might go in (Cat. pot passar). May and might May and might are used to express a possibility. The difference is that may indicates a possibility that the speaker sees as possible and might indicates a possibility which will not probably happen. On the other hand, we also use may and might to ask for and give permission in two different levels of formality. However, can and could are more common to ask for and give permission. The following table shows the conjugation of may : Taula 1.5. The conjugation of may Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I may may not - you may may not - he, she, it may may not - we may may not - you may may not - they may may not - may I...? may you...? may he / she / it...? may we...? may you...? may they...? Unlike other verbs, may has no short form in the negative. The following table shows the conjugation of might : Taula The conjugation of might Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I might might not - you might might not - he, she, it might might not - we might might not - you might might not - they might might not - might I...? might you...? might he / she / it...? might we...? might you...? might they...? The modal verb might has no short forms in the negative. There is no alternative expression for may and might, but we can also express the idea of possibility with be possible that : it may rain tonight or it is possible that it rains tonight. Will, would These are the meanings of the modal verb will: To form the future: I think I will go (Cat. crec que hi aniré). Requests: will you open the window, please? (Cat. obres la finestra, si us plau?).

16 Anglès tècnic 16 Solar energy and antennas These are the meanings of the modal verb would: To form the conditional: If I had time, I would go (Cat. si tingués temps, hi aniria). Polite requests: Would you open the window, please? (Cat. obriries la finestra, si us plau?). The following table shows the conjugation of will. Taula The conjugation of will Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I will will not won t will I...? you will will not won t will you...? he, she, it will will not won t will he / she /it...? we will will not won t will we...? you will will not won t will you...? they will will not won t will they...? The long form will not is little used. Also, notice that in the short form, there is a change in the vowel sound (i > o). The following table shows the conjugation of would. Taula The conjugation of would Affirmative Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I would would not wouldn t would I...? you would would not wouldn t would you...? he, she, it would would not wouldn t would he / she / it...? we would would not wouldn t would we...? you would would not wouldn t would you...? they would would not wouldn t would they...? There are no alternative forms for will and would. Sentence structures with modal verbs These are the different structures of the sentences with modal verbs: Affirmative statements SUBJECT + MODAL VERB + VERB (in the base form)) + COMPLE- MENTS:

17 Anglès tècnic 17 Solar energy and antennas Examples: You can do it (Cat. ho pots fer). We should call home now (Cat. hauríem de trucar a casa ara). They must go (Cat. se n han d anar). Negative statements: SUBJECT + MODAL VERB + NOT + VERB (in the base form) + COMPLEMENTS Examples: You cannot do it (Cat. tu no ho pots fer). We should not call now (Cat. ara no hauríem de trucar). They must not go (Cat. no han de marxar). Interrogative sentences: (INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN) + MODAL VERB (in the base form) + SUBJECT + COMPLEMENTS Examples: Where can I find it? (Cat. on ho puc trobar?). Should we call home now? (Cat. hauríem de trucar a casa ara?). Must you go? (Cat. te n has d anar?) The future forms In English, there is not a specific verb tense to express the future, but we can use different verbs, verb tenses and expressions to speak about the future. The forms of the future simple are: will be going to The present continuous tense The present simple tense

18 Anglès tècnic 18 Solar energy and antennas All these forms express different aspects of the future. Apart from these, there are also the future continuous and the future perfect, but we are not going to study them in the present course because they are not very much used. will The form with will is the most common way of expressing the future. Will is a modal verb, so the structure is the same as all the modal verbs: WILL + VERB (in the base form) We use the future with will : 1) to give or ask for information about the future: They will go on strike tomorrow (Cat. demà faran vaga). Will you come to work next Monday? (Cat. vindràs a treballar el dilluns que ve?). I will retire next year (Cat. em jubilaré l any vinent). I will be 38 next week (Cat. la setmana que ve compliré 38 anys). 2) to make predictions and talk about what we think or guess that will happen: It will rain all the week (Cat. plourà tota la setmana). I think that I will stay at home tonight (Cat. crec que em quedaré a casa aquesta nit). I m sure that you will all pass the exams (Cat. estic segur que tots aprovareu els exàmens). I guess that he will come (Cat. suposo que vindrà). When we express the idea of what we think that will happen in the future, we often include an expression in the sentence to say so. Some of the expressions commonly used are: I m sure that... (Cat. estic segur que...) I m not sure that... (Cat. no estic segur que...) I think that... (Cat. crec que..., opino que...) I believe that... (Cat. crec que...) I m convinced that... (Cat. estic convençut que...) When we use any of these expressions, we must use will to express the future.

19 Anglès tècnic 19 Solar energy and antennas 3) in the main clause of conditional sentences: If I pass the exams, I will be very happy (Cat. si aprovo els exàmens, estaré molt content). What will you do if you are fired? (Cat. què faràs si et despatxen de la feina?). 4) in a series of interpersonal meanings to express requests, offers, promises, etc. Will you come here, please? (a request) (Cat. pots venir, si us plau?). Don t worry, I ll help you with your English (an offer or a promise) (Cat. no t amoïnis, jo t ajudaré amb l anglès). The following table shows the conjugation of the verb work in the future with will : Taula 1.9. The conjugation of the future with will Affirmative Long form Short form Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I will work ll work will not work won t work Will I work? You will work ll work will not work won t work Will you work? He/She/It will work ll work will not work won t work Will he/she/it work? We will work ll work will not work won t work Will we work? You will work ll work will not work won t work Will you work? They will work ll work will not work won t work Will they work? be going to The structure of this other form of expressing the future is: AM/IS/ARE + GOING TO + VERB (in the base form) We must use this form in the following cases: 1) to express a future event which is already planned or decided: We are going to buy a new car next year (Cat. l any que ve comprarem un cotxe nou)(= tenim la intenció de comprar un cotxe). Are you going to study for the exam tonight? (Cat. estudiaràs per a l examen aquesta nit?)(= tens la intenció d estudiar...?). I m going (to go) to France next summer (Cat. França)(= tinc pensat anar...). el proper estiu aniré a 2) to predict the future based on present evidence and say that an action is starting or happening very soon in the future.

20 Anglès tècnic 20 Solar energy and antennas She is going to have a baby in May (Cat. tindrà un bebè al maig). Look at those clouds! It s going to rain (Cat. mira aquells núvols! Està a punt de ploure). The table below shows the conjugation of the verb work with be going to : Taula The conjugation of the future with be going to Affirmative Long form Short form Negative Long form Short form Interrogative I am going to work m going to work am not going to work m not going to work Am I going to work? You are going to work re going to work are not going to work aren t going to work Are you going to work? He/She/It is going to work s going to work is not going to work isn t going to work Is he/she/it going to work? We are going to work re going to work are not going to work aren t going to work Are we going to work? You are going to work re going to work are not going to work aren t going to work Are you going to work? They are going to work re going to work are not going to work aren t going to work Are they going to work? When we conjugate the verb go in the future with be going to, we can omit the verb. We can say: I m going out tonight instead of I m going to go out tonight. We do so to avoid the repetition of the verb in the same context. The present continuous We can also use the present continuous tense to speak about the future. To distinguish it from its present use, we must include an adverbial of time with a future reference. The reference can be explicit or implicit. We use the present continuous: 1) to express future arrangements and fixed plans, that is, when the time and date have already been decided. For example: What are you doing this evening? (Cat. què fas aquesta nit?). I m staying at home tonight (Cat. aquesta nit em quedo a casa). He s retiring next year (Cat. es jubila l any que ve). We can often use the present continuous form in the same way as be going to. For example, we can say I m staying at home tonight and I m going to stay at home tonight without any change in meaning. However, when we speak about decisions and intentions, we normally use the be going to form and when we speak about fixed arrangements, we prefer the present continuous form.

21 Anglès tècnic 21 Solar energy and antennas Compare: I m going to cook today (Cat. avui cuinaré jo) (The emphasis is on the speaker s intention: it s my intention to cook, but we ll see). I m cooking today (Cat. avui cuino jo) (The emphasis is on the arrangement: it s already decided that I m cooking today). The present continuous with a future meaning is only used to speak about personal arrangements, so it is not possible to use it for events that escape people s control. For example: It s going to rain tomorrow (correct) *It s raining tomorrow (incorrect) Present simple We can also use the present simple tense to speak about the future, but only when we speak about future events which are part of a timetable, a regular schedule or something similar. For example: The sun sets at 7:34 pm tomorrow (Cat. demà el sol es pon a les 19:34). The classes start at 8 on Mondays (Cat. els dilluns les classes comencen a les 8). What time does the train leave tomorrow? (Cat. a quina hora surt el tren demà?). Do you work next weekend? (Cat. treballes el proper cap de setmana?). Notice that in Catalan and Spanish, we also use the present to speak about the future Adverbials of time: future To refer to the future, we can use a number of adverbials of time. When we express the future with the present continuous or the present simple, these adverbials are necessary to distinguish the sentence from the present. Some of the most important adverbials of time to speak about the future are: Tonight (Cat. aquesta nit) Tomorrow (Cat. demà) Next week, next year, etc. (Cat. la propera setmana, l any vinent, etc.)

22 Anglès tècnic 22 Solar energy and antennas In 2020, etc. (Cat. l any 2020, etc.) In fifty years time, etc. (Cat. d aquí cinquanta anys, etc.) One day (Cat. un dia) In the future (Cat. en el futur) As most adverbials, we must place them at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Here are some examples: I m going out with a friend tonight (Cat. aquesta nit sortiré amb un amic). I think it will rain tomorrow (Cat. demà crec que plourà). Next week, I m starting in my new post (Cat. la setmana que ve començo en el meu nou càrrec). I don t know where I ll be in 2025 (Cat. no sé on estaré el 2025). In twenty years time, many people will work from home (Cat. d aquí a vint anys, molta gent treballarà des de casa). You will learn English one day, you ll see (Cat. un dia aprendràs l anglès, ja ho veuràs). In the future, there won t be any trees (Cat. en el futur no hi haurà arbres) The imperative We use the imperative form to give orders and instructions. The characteristics of the imperative are: It is the base form of the verb (work!) The sentences with an imperative verb do not have a subject (the implicit subject is you, but we never express it). It can be addressed to a second person in singular and in plural, both in the informal use (tu, vosaltres) and in the formal use (vostè, vostès). The negative is with do not (don t) in front of the verb. In writing, we normally write an exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence. Here are some examples: Go! (Cat. vés-te n! / aneu-vos-en / vagi-se n! / vagin-se n!).

23 Anglès tècnic 23 Solar energy and antennas Sit down, please! (Cat. seu, si us plau! / seieu, si us plau! / segui, si us plau! / seguin, si us plau!). Don t smoke! (Cat. no fumis! / no fumeu! / no fumi! / no fumin!). Please, don t say anything! (Cat. si us plau, no diguis res! / si us plau, no digueu res! / si us plau, no digui res! / si us plau, no diguin res!). 1.3 Everyday language: giving and responding to instructions Giving instructions means to tell other people what they must do. This is a very common situation both in our daily life and in our working life. Typical situations in which we must give instructions occur, for example, when we give directions, when we tell another person a cooking recipe or when we explain how to do something. Giving instructions: To give instructions, we normally use the imperative form of the verb. Here is a text in which we give the basic instructions to write and send an . Notice the verb forms in bold type. Giving instructions (verbs) First of all, locate your program (Outlook, G-Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) in your computer. Click on the icon to run the program and a text editor will appear. Type the receiver s address in the word field called To... and next type the subject of your message in the corresponding field. After this, write the text of your message in the text editor. When you finish, review the spelling and check any mistakes. Finally, click on the button Send and the message will reach its destination in a few seconds. Apart from the verbs, you should also consider the use of the appropriate connectors, especially when you are giving oral instructions. Notice the use of connectors in the text: Giving instructions (connectors) First of all, locate your program (Outlook, G-Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) in your computer. Click on the icon to run the program and a text editor will appear. Type the receiver s address in the word field called To... and next type the subject of your message in the corresponding field. After this, write the text of your message in the text editor. When you finish, review the spelling and check any mistakes. Finally, click on the button Send and the message will reach its destination in a few seconds. In writing, we can avoid the use of connectors by writing the sentences in a list, as in the following example. To write and send an 1. Locate your program (Outlook, G-Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) in your computer.

24 Anglès tècnic 24 Solar energy and antennas 2. Click on the icon to run the program and a text editor will appear. 3. Type the receiver s address in the word field called To Type the subject of your message in the corresponding field. 5. Write the text of your message in the text editor. 6. Review the spelling and check any mistakes. 7. Click on the button Send. In some cases, the use of the imperative may seem too direct and this may lead to misunderstandings and conflict. If you want to soften the tone of your message, you can use the modal verbs should or can, especially in oral speech. Here is the text of our example, but using modal verbs instead of the imperative form. Notice that we have introduced some changes in the use of connectors to improve the style (see words in italics). Giving instructions (with modal verbs) First of all, you should locate your program (Outlook, G-Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) in your computer. Then you should click on the icon to run the program and a text editor will appear. Now you should type the receiver s address in the word field called To... and next (...) the subject of your message in the corresponding field. After this, you can write the text of your message in the text editor. When you finish, you should review the spelling and check any mistakes. Finally, you should click on the button Send and the message will reach its destination in a few seconds. Giving directions A very common situation in our daily life occurs when we give someone directions, that is, when we tell another person how to go to certain places. When we explain the way to go somewhere, it is necessary to be short and clear so the other person can follow the instructions easily. The normal pattern is first to explain the way and then to say the location of the place by using the appropriate prepositions. The following expressions are widely used to give directions: Go straight ahead (Cat. vés recte, en línia recta). Go straight on (Cat. segueix recte). Turn left/right (into Via Laietana) (Cat. gira a l esquerra/dreta [per Via Laietana]). Turn first/second left/right (Cat. gira [pel primer/segon carrer] a l esquerra/dreta). Go along (Balmes street) (Cat. vés pel [carrer Balmes]). Cross (Casanova street) (Cat. travessa [el carrer Casanova]). Take (Diagonal Avenue) (Cat. agafa [l avinguda Diagonal]).

25 Anglès tècnic 25 Solar energy and antennas Take the first/second street on the left/right (Cat. agafa el primer/segon carrer a l esquerra/dreta). The expressions go straight ahead and go along are similar in meaning, but they are used in different contexts. Do not to confuse them: go straight ahead is an adverbial which indicates a movement forward. For example: take Paral lel Avenue and then go straight ahead (Cat. agafa l avinguda Paral lel i segueix recte). On the other hand, go along is a preposional phrase. After this expression, we must say the name of the street. For example: go along Paral lel Avenue (Cat. vés per l avinguda Paral lel). To indicate the location of the place, the following prepositions are useful: In (Catalunya Square/Muntaner Street/the Rambles) (Cat. a la plaça Catalunya / al carrer Muntaner /a les Rambles]). On the corner of (Urgell Street) (Cat. a la cantonada/al xamfrà del [carrer Urgell]). On the corner of (Urgell Street) and (Aribau street) (Cat. a la cantonada/ al xamfrà d [Urgell] amb [Aribau]). Next to (a hotel) (Cat. al costat d [un hotel]) Opposite (a car park) a (Cat. davant d [un pàrking]) Near (a computer shop) (Cat. a prop d [una botiga d informàtica]) Between (a school) and (a bank) (Cat. entre [una escola] i [un banc]) Just around the corner (Cat. a la cantonada) Notice the names of streets in English and their abbreviations: Street (St.) Road (Rd.) Square (Sq.) Avenue (Ave.) Boulevard (Blvd.) The abbreviations are always placed after the name (Green St.). Responding to instructions To respond to instructions, we can choose from different expressions. For example: Ok, thank you, I ll do that (Cat. d acord. gràcies, així ho faré). Yes, great, thanks for telling me (Cat. excel lent, gràcies per explicar-m ho).

26 Anglès tècnic 26 Solar energy and antennas Thanks a lot (Cat. moltes gràcies). I m sorry, but I m afraid I can t do that (Cat. ho sento però això no ho puc fer).

27 Anglès tècnic 27 Solar energy and antennas 2. Antennas An antenna has been defined as a mean for radiating or receiving radio waves. In addition to receiving or transmitting energy, the antenna is used to optimize the energy radiation in some directions while suppressing it in others. An antenna may be a piece of conducting wire, an aperture, an assembly of elements (array), a reflector, a lens, etc. There are different types of antennas: Wire antennas: They are very common. We can see them on automobiles, buildings, ships, etc... They come in different shapes used for different purposes: Monopole: it is a metal pole and it works well to receive signals in a relatively narrow range. They are used in cell phones or AM/FM radios. A wire antenna kit. Font: Wikipedia Simple dipole: they point in two different directions. They are more effective than a simple monopole. Loop antenna: it is a big dipole. It is good for wide range of frequencies, but it is not very effective for specific frequencies. Bowtie: it is a special type of dipole antenna, very good for frequencies in the UHF band. Yagi: it is the most common antenna in TV signal receiving. Internally, it is composed by a group of dipole antennas which behave like a single device (that is why we call it Yagi antenna instead of Yagi group or Yagi antennas, in plural), aligned one next to each other along the antenna axis (one receiver plus one reflector at the back and several directors at the front). Each dipole has a different size, being tuned to get a specific frequency. They are designed in such a way that one dipole does not interfere another one, but the full set behaves as a wide band receiving antenna. Yagi antenna. Font: Wikipedia Aperture antennas: They can have different configurations: pyramidal horn, conical horn or rectangular waveguide. They are very useful for aircraft or spacecraft applications. Array antennas: Sometimes the radiation of a single element might not be enough. In this case an aggregate of radiating elements in an electrical and geometrical arrangement (an array) will result in the appropriate radiation characteristics. Reflector antennas: They are used to communicate over great distances. They transmit and receive signals that travel millions of miles. The parabolic reflector for satellite TV signal is the most common. Parabolic antenna. Font: Wikipedia

28 Anglès tècnic 28 Solar energy and antennas Lens antennas: They can be used in most of the same applications as the reflector. If we want to measure the parameters of an antenna we use: The frequency range, which means the kind of signals it will pick up: television, phone signals, WiFi, etc. They all use different frequencies. Antennas transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. These waves, which take a particular shape, propagate through the air at the speed of light, and they repeat periodically. The faster the waves oscillate, the shorter the wavelenght. The frequency measures how fast the waves oscillate. Antennas have different shapes and sizes, as different frequencies are better captured by different sized antennas. The measure units used are the kilohertz (khz), only used for radio, megahertz (mhz), which is used in cell phones, FM, television and WiFi; and gigahertz (Ghz), which is used for satellite signals. The Gain, which is closely related to directivity. It is a measure which takes into account the efficiency of the antenna and its directional capabilities. Gain means how good is the signal reception when the antenna is well directed to the emitter. It is measured in decibels (db). Gain and frequency range work together. An antenna will usually do a certain amount of gain at some frequencies, and a higher or lower gain at some other frequencies. Distance is as well an important factor. The amount of power goes down at a bigger distance. There is a limit to the distance, at some point it will be impossible to get any signal. Typical parameters of antennas are gain, radiation pattern, beamwidth, polarization, and impedance. Storyline Jordi and Bill are at a client s house trying to solve his WiFi coverage problems. Jordi is in the kitchen. Bill:There is no WiFi connection in the kitchen. Jordi: I suspect the microwave is interfering. Unplug the microwave oven from the socket. Client: The WiFi is working now. But I need the microwave anyway in the kitchen. Jordi: The truth is that the microwave is sabotaging the WiFi network. Most problems with microwaves involve products that use the 2.4 GHz band, which can interfere with g or single-band n routers. Client: Then, what do I do? Jordi: The solution is to buy a dual-band router that operates simultaneously at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Bill: I d also advice you to take proper security measures to ensure your internet connections are protected from unauthorized access by using a secured password. Client: Thank you. I appreciate your advice.

29 Anglès tècnic 29 Solar energy and antennas 2.1 Vocabulary Radio wave: ona de ràdio Optimize: optimitzar Suppress: suprimir Aperture: apertura/obertura Assembly of elements: conjunt d elements Lens: lent Monopole antenna: antena monopol (un sol eix) Simple dipole antenna: antena dipol (de dos eixos) Wide range of frequencies: àmplia gamma de freqüències tuned: sintonitzat Aircraft/spacecraft application: aplicació aeronàutica/aeroespacial Frequency range: gamma de freqüències Speed of light: velocitat de la llum The faster... the shorter: com més ràpida, més curta Wavelenght: longitud d ona Different sized antennas: antenes de diferent mida Gain: guany Efficiency: eficiència, rendiment Directional capabilities: capacitats direccionals Higher or lower: més alt o més baix Radiation pattern: diagrama de radiació Polarization: polarització Impedance: impedància Coverage problems: problemes de cobertura Suspect: sospitar Microwave: microones Socket: endoll Unauthorized access: accés no autoritzat Secured password: contrassenya segura Advice: consell

30 Anglès tècnic 30 Solar energy and antennas 2.2 Grammar: sentence structure As in all the other languages, in English we cannot place the words in a sentence as we like. We must place them in accordance with certain syntactical rules that tell us the correct order of the words. If we do not follow these rules, the sentence will be syntactically wrong and it may even have no meaning. The syntactical rules also tell us the form which a word must take when we place it whithin a sentence. For example, the rules will tell us whether we must say he or him, boy or boys, live or living. We are going to learn how to write a correct English sentence by placing all the elements in the correct order. But before we can do so, it is necessary to understand the different functions of the words in a sentence. Some of the most important functions are: The subject: it indicates the person or thing that does the action of the verb or that the whole sentence refers to. In the sentence John is running home, John is the subject. The verb: it expresses the actions, the feelings or the state of the subject. In the sentence Martin speaks English, the verb is speaks. The subject complement: it describes the subject. It is used only after certain verbs, like be (Cat. ser/estar) or seem (Cat. semblar). In the sentence, John is sad, sad is the subject complement. Direct object complement: it receives the action of the verb. sentence I m reading a book, a book is the direct object. In the Indirect object complement: it refers to the person or thing to which the direct object is directed. It is the recipient (or beneficiary) of the direct object. In the sentence, I will send a present to my friend, to my friend is the indirect object (and a present is the direct object). Time adverbial phrase: it explains when the action takes place. In the sentence, I met her last year, last year is the time adverbial. Place adverbial phrase: it explains where the action takes place. In the sentence, I met her in the library, in the library is the place adverbial. Now we are ready to explain the structure of the English sentences. We are going to divide the sentences into three groups: statements, interrogative sentences (or questions), imperative sentences and passive sentences.

31 Anglès tècnic 31 Solar energy and antennas The structure of English statements A statement is a sentence that transmits some information. All the sentences in English must have an explicit subject and a verb, so they must all have at least those two elements. A statement can be positive or negative. Positive statements Some basic structures of positive statements are: a) SUBJECT + VERB Examples: He runs (Cat. [ell] corre). I am reading (Cat. estic llegint). b) SUBJECT + VERB + PREDICATE (complements and phrases) Examples: I like swimming (Cat. m agrada nedar). Mr Holmes is the new director (Cat. el Sr. Holmes és el nou director). The weather will be very nice in summer (Cat. a l estiu farà molt bon temps) I live in Barcelona (Cat. visc a Barcelona). When the sentence has a direct and an indirect object, we must place them in a certain order. This order depends on the way we express the indirect object: we can express it with a word or with the preposition to : c) SUBJECT + VERB + INDIRECT OBJECT + DIRECT OBJECT Examples: I sent Mrs Smith a good present (Cat. Vaig enviar un bon regal a la Sra. Smith). Robert gave me an English class (Cat. d anglès). Robert em va donar una classe d) SUBJECT + VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + TO + INDIRECT OBJECT Examples: I sent a good present to Mrs Smith (Cat. A la Sra. Smith li vaig enviar un bon regal).

32 Anglès tècnic 32 Solar energy and antennas Robert gave an English class to me (Cat. Robert em va donar una classe d anglès a mi). When there is a place and time adverbial phrase in the same sentence, the order is usually the following: d) SUBJECT + VERB + PLACE ADVERBIAL + TIME ADVERBIAL Examples: I met my girlfriend in Rome three years ago (Cat. fa tres anys, vaig conèixer la meva amiga a Roma). My parents came to my house last week (Cat. els meus pares van venir a casa meva la setmana passada). When there is a time or a place adverbial, we can also place it at the beginning of the sentence, but separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma: e) PLACE/TIME ADVERBIAL, + SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENTS Examples: In Canada, it is very cold in winter (Cat. l hivern). al Canadà hi fa molt fred a Yesterday, the class started at one o clock (Cat. ahir la classe va començar a la una). Negative statements When the statement is negative, we must add the adverb not. structure depends on the type of verb: The sentence f) SUBJECT + DO/DOES/DID + NOT + LEXICAL VERB (in infinitive) + COMPLEMENTS + ADVERBIALS Examples: John does not like working at night (Cat. a John no li agrada treballar de nit) We do not work on Sunday (Cat. nosaltres no treballem els diumenges). They did not repair the lights last night (Cat. [ells/elles] no van arreglar els llums ahir a la nit). g) SUBJECT + AUXILIARY/MODAL VERB + NOT + COMPLEMENTS