IBM makes 'next-generation' microchip

Watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAKQMpBXsQ4

Computers, tablets and smartphones can do more and more things these days. Fifteen years ago, they were not powerful enough to store movies or play high-definition games. Computer chip technology has advanced at a fast rate. We can now stream movies on our smartphones and store huge amounts of data. IBM has announced it has made a significant breakthrough in microchip power. It has created chips that improve performance by 45 per cent. Its new chips also use 75 per cent less energy. This is good for the environment, and means batteries will be more energy efficient. The technology could quadruple mobile phone battery life. We might only need to charge our phones every four days.

IBM has greatly improved its microchips by reducing their size. The tech giant has created a two-nanometre chip. Computer engineers use nanometres to measure the size of chips. One nanometre is just a billionth of a metre. A chip that is 2nm in size is incredibly small. IBM says its 2nm processor can store 50 billion transistors on "a chip the size of a fingernail". Computer expert Peter Rudden said: "We have seen semiconductor manufacturers moving from 14nm to 10nm to 7nm, with 7nm being a real challenge for some." He said IBM's new chip could advance artificial intelligence (AI). The chips could also let data centres store more information. Data centres use one per cent of the world's electricity.

3. TECHNOLOGY: Students A strongly believe technology makes our life better; Students B strongly believe it doesn't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. THE FUTURE: What do you think of these companies? What will they be like in the future? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	What I Think	The Future
IBM
Apple
Tesla
Huawei
Google
Microsoft

5. TABLET: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "tablet". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. DEVICES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Tablets
• Laptop computer
• Smartphone
• E-readers
• USB Flash drives
• Speakers
• Television
• Digital photo frame

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	store	a.	Extremely large; enormous.
2.	advanced	b.	Keep something somewhere for future use.
3.	huge	c.	A sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development.
4.	breakthrough	d.	Getting maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.
5.	efficient	e.	Make or cause to make progress.
6.	quadruple	f.	Fill something with electrical energy in a battery or battery-operated device.
7.	charge	g.	Increase or be increased by four times.

    Paragraph 2

8.	improved	h.	A very, very, very large company.
9.	giant	i.	A person who has a lot of knowledge skill in a particular area.
10.	measure	j.	Make or become better.
11.	incredibly	k.	Find the size, amount, or degree of something.
12.	expert	l.	A person or company that makes goods for sale.
13.	manufacturer	m.	Extremely or unusually.
14.	artificial	n.	Made by people rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. The article says computers were not so powerful 50 years ago.     T / F
2. The article says we can store huge movies on our smartphones.     T / F
3. IBM's new chip uses 75% less energy.     T / F
4. The new chip means we only need four days to charge our phones.     T / F
5. IBM has created a giant chip.     T / F
6. Computer engineers measure microchip sizes in nanometres.     T / F
7. The new chips could lead to advances in artificial intelligence.     T / F
8. Data centres use more than one percent of the world's electricity.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. these days
2. advanced
3. huge
4. created
5. improve
6. reducing
7. small
8. expert
9. manufacturers
10. store

1. tiny
2. made
3. keep
4. very large
5. specialist
6. moved forward
7. makers
8. boost
9. cutting
10. nowadays

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1. smartphones can do more and more
2. they were not powerful
3. chip technology has advanced at
4. it has made a significant
5. The technology could quadruple
6. improved its microchips by
7. engineers use nanometres to
8. on a chip the size
9. artificial
10. use one per cent of the

1. mobile phone battery life
2. a fast rate
3. intelligence
4. measure the size
5. enough
6. of a fingernail
7. things these days
8. reducing their size
9. world's electricity
10. breakthrough

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

amounts
things
efficient
breakthrough
fast
charge
definition
energy

Computers, tablets and smartphones can do more and more (1) _____________________ these days. Fifteen years ago, they were not powerful enough to store movies or play high- (2) _____________________ games. Computer chip technology has advanced at a (3) _____________________ rate. We can now stream movies on our smartphones and store huge (4) _____________________ of data. IBM has announced it has made a significant (5) _____________________ in microchip power. It has created chips that improve performance by 45 per cent. Its new chips also use 75 per cent less (6) _____________________. This is good for the environment, and means batteries will be more energy (7) _____________________. The technology could quadruple mobile phone battery life. We might only need to (8) _____________________ our phones every four days.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

incredibly
store
greatly
billionth
advance
measure
challenge
fingernail

IBM has (9) _____________________ improved its microchips by reducing their size. The tech giant has created a two-nanometre chip. Computer engineers use nanometres to (10) _____________________ the size of chips. One nanometre is just a (11) _____________________ of a metre. A chip that is 2nm in size is (12) _____________________ small. IBM says its 2nm processor can store 50 billion transistors on "a chip the size of a (13) _____________________ ". Computer expert Peter Rudden said: "We have seen semiconductor manufacturers moving from 14nm to 10nm to 7nm, with 7nm being a real (14) _____________________ for some." He said IBM's new chip could (15) _____________________ artificial intelligence (AI). The chips could also let data centres (16) _____________________ more information. Data centres use one per cent of the world's electricity.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Computers, tablets and smartphones can do more and more ______
     a.  things this days
     b.  things freeze days
     c.  things thesis days
     d.  things these days
2)  not powerful enough to store movies or play high-______
     a.  define mission games
     b.  definite issue games
     c.  definition games
     d.  definitions games
3)  We can now stream movies on our smartphones and ______
     a.  store huge amount
     b.  store huge amounts
     c.  store huge a mount
     d.  store huge all mounts
4)  This is good for the environment, and means batteries will be ______
     a.  more energy efficient
     b.  more energetic efficient
     c.  more energies efficient
     d.  more energise efficient
5)  The technology could quadruple mobile ______
     a.  phone bat a teal life
     b.  phonics battle airy life
     c.  phonic buttery life
     d.  phone battery life

6)  IBM has greatly improved its microchips by ______
     a.  reduce in their size
     b.  reducing their size
     c.  reducing they're size
     d.  reducing dare size
7)  measure the size of chips. One nanometre is just a ______ metre
     a.  billions of a
     b.  billionth of a
     c.  billion of a
     d.  billionaire of a
8)  store 50 billion transistors on "a chip the size ______
     a.  of a fingernail
     b.  off a fingernail
     c.  oft a fingernail
     d.  offer fingernail
9)  moving from 14nm to 10nm to 7nm, with 7nm being a real ______
     a.  challenges for some
     b.  challenged for some
     c.  challenger for some
     d.  challenge for some
10)  The chips could also let data centres ______
     a.  stare more information
     b.  stair more information
     c.  sty more information
     d.  store more information

Comprehension questions

1. What does the article say tablets and smartphones can do these days?
2. How much data does the article say we can store on our smartphones?
3. How much less energy do the new chips use?
4. What could the new chips do to mobile phone battery life?
5. How often might we be charging our mobile phones?
6. What is the size of IBM's new chip?
7. How many transistors could IBM put on a fingernail-sized chip?
8. Who is Peter Rudden?
9. What could the new chips allow data centres to store?
10. How much of the world's energy do data centres use?
    
    

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say tablets and smartphones can do these days?
a) predict the future
b) more and more things
c) choose our partner
d) reduce our size
2) How much data does the article say we can store on our smartphones?
a) all the world's data
b) about 63GB
c) quite a lot
d) huge amounts
3) How much less energy do the new chips use?
a) 75% less
b) 85% less
c) 70% less
d) 70.5% less
4) What could the new chips do to mobile phone battery life?
a) double it
b) increase it five-fold
c) quadruple it
d) triple it
5) How often might we be charging our mobile phones?
a) every three days
b) every four days
c) every day
d) every four hours

6) What is the size of IBM's new chip?
a) 12 nanometres
b) 20 nanometres
c) two nanometres
d) 200 nanometres
7) How many transistors could IBM put on a fingernail-sized chip?
a) 15 billion
b) 50 million
c) 15 million
d) 50 billion
8) Who is Peter Rudden?
a) a computer expert
b) a chip designer
c) a data centre owner
d) a semiconductor
9) What could the new chips allow data centres to store?
a) more information
b) more transistors
c) more processors
d) better security
10) How much of the world's energy do data centres use?
a) 2%
b) 1%
c) 0.5%
d) 5%

Role play

Role  A – Smartphones You think smartphones are the best digital devices. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their devices. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): televisions, laptop computers or USB Flash drives.

Role  B – Televisions You think televisions are the best digital devices. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their devices. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): smartphones, laptop computers or USB Flash drives.

Role  C – Laptop Computers You think laptop computers are the best digital devices. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their devices. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): televisions, smartphones or USB Flash drives.

Role  D – USB Flash Drives You think USB Flash drives are the best digital devices. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their devices. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): televisions, laptop computers or smartphones.

Discussion - Microchips

1. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'micro'?
2. What do you think of computers and smartphones?
3. How important is your smartphone to you?
4. How much better is your smartphone now than 10 years ago?
5. What do you need your smartphone for?
6. What do you know about microchips?
7. What do you know about the tech giant IBM?
8. What could our phones do with lots more power?
9. How much do you like technology?

11. What do you think of when you hear the word 'chip'?
12. What do you think about what you read?
13. What do you know about microchips?
14. What does a computer engineer do all day?
15. What is the world's best technology company?
16. What new technology would you like to see?
17. What do you think of artificial intelligence?
18. Why do data centres use so much electricity?
19. What questions would you like to ask IBM's engineers?

Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

Computers, tablets and smartphones can do (1) ____ and more things these days. Fifteen years ago, they were not powerful (2) ____ to store movies or play high-definition games. Computer chip technology has advanced at a fast rate. We can now stream movies on our smartphones and store (3) ____ amounts of data. IBM has announced it has made a significant breakthrough in microchip power. It has created chips (4) ____ improve performance by 45 per cent. Its new chips also use 75 per cent less energy. This is good for the environment, and means batteries will be more (5) ____ efficient. The technology could quadruple mobile phone battery life. We might only need to (6) ____ our phones every four days.

IBM has greatly improved its microchips (7) ____ reducing their size. The tech giant has created a two-nanometre chip. Computer engineers use nanometres to measure the (8) ____ of chips. One nanometre is just a billionth of a metre. A chip that is 2nm in size is incredibly small. IBM says its 2nm processor can store 50 billion transistors on "a chip the size of a fingernail". Computer (9) ____ Peter Rudden said: "We have seen semiconductor manufacturers moving from 14nm to 10nm to 7nm, with 7nm (10) ____ a real challenge for some." He said IBM's new chip could advance (11) ____ intelligence (AI). The chips could also let data centres store more information. Data centres use one per cent of the world's (12) ____.

Which of these words go in the above text?

1. (a)     any     (b)     some     (c)     much     (d)     most    
2. (a)     plenty     (b)     suffice     (c)     satisfy     (d)     enough    
3. (a)     hug     (b)     huge     (c)     hugs     (d)     hg    
4. (a)     what     (b)     so     (c)     that     (d)     such    
5. (a)     energetic     (b)     energetically     (c)     energy     (d)     energise    
6. (a)     charge     (b)     chart     (c)     change     (d)     chant    
7. (a)     as     (b)     by     (c)     to     (d)     on    
8. (a)     size     (b)     big     (c)     enormous     (d)     minute    
9. (a)     expect     (b)     expert     (c)     exact     (d)     extent    
10. (a)     been     (b)     be     (c)     being     (d)     boing    
11. (a)     actual     (b)     actually     (c)     artificial     (d)     actuary    
12. (a)     electrical     (b)     electricians     (c)     electrics     (d)     electricity

Spelling

Paragraph 1

1. Computers, tablets and phneoasmsrt
2. fwperluo enough to store movies
3. play high-inofinidet games
4. it has made a ngiitfisnac breakthrough
5. batteries will be more energy nieefictf
6. eqldpauur mobile phone battery life

Paragraph 2

7. IBM has greatly odeimpvr its microchips
8. use nanometres to usaeemr the size of chips
9. 2nm in size is bidnceyrli small
10. its 2nm esscoorpr can store 50 billion
11. Computer eteprx
12. IBM's new chip could advance talciirafi intelligence