2 Seeing things

While youwatch

UNIT

Length4:48

Language Seeing verbs, process of seeingthings Generalinformation You can watch the video on your computer or download it onto a portable device. You can choose to watch it with or without subtitles. Use the pause and cursor controls to watch parts of the video again. There are exercises on this activity sheet to complete before you watch, while you are watching and after you watch. Important: This is an authentic extract from a BBC TV programme. Dont try to understand every word you hear. Watch and listen for specific information by completing thesetasks. Programmedetails This video is from a series called Weird Science that looks at experiments designed to explain the science behind every dayphenomena. Before youwatch 1 Read the definitions and put the letters in the correct order to make verbs for different ways ofseeing.
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3 Watch the first part of the video (0:001:22) to check your answers to exercise2. 4 Tick () the things you remember seeing in thevideo. neon signs in TimesSquare a flock ofbirds flowers in awood a red letterbox a lorry with PAUL on thefront. a woman in a pinkscarf a large sale sign in a shopwindow a man in a hat crossing astreet a bus driver saying goodmorning a gorilla sitting on thebus 5 Read the first phrase and put the other phrases in the correctorder. Our eyes capture light mechanically, a until its been developed by our brain. b to produce a colourful, detailed, smooth movie of the world around us. c We cant do much with this picture d much like a camera. e and then processes and combines them f creating a crude blurry image like this. g It takes the image from each eyeball h Light enters the eyeball and hits cells on the back of the retina 6 Watch the first part of the video again (0:001:56) to check your answers to exercises 4 and5. 7 Watch the rest of the video (1:564:48) and answer thequestions.
1

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to fail to notice or understandsomething to look at something very carefully, because you hope or expect to see a particular person orthing to look at someone or something for a period oftime to concentrate on something and pay particular attention toit to become conscious of someone orsomething to notice someone orsomething

2 Complete the text using the correct form of four of the verbs from exercise1. Youre going to (1) a video about the way we see things. Our vision has evolved to see what we need to see in order to survive. The weird thing is, we dont see everything theres a lot of stuff we (2) . Heres an example. Youre trying to find an empty seat on a crowded bus. Your eyes go to work immediately, (3) the interior, focused on finding that elusive seat. Right in front of you is a friend waving madly but bizarrely you dont (4) her.

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Why does the brain tend to pay attention to one thing at atime? Who do the programme makers film practicing? What challenge are the volunteersset? How many of the volunteers saw somethingunusual? Why did the majority not see thegorilla? How do they feel when they watch the videoagain?

Global Advanced eWorkbook Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012

Video Worksheet

2 Seeing things
Glossary
bizarrely (adverb) in a strange way that is difficult toexplain

UNIT

Length4:48

After youwatch 8 Answer the questions in your ownwords.

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How good is youreyesight? Did you see the gorilla on the bus the first time you watched thevideo? Can you think of a time when you couldnt believe youreyes?

blurry (adjective) difficult to see clearly, or causing difficulty in seeing somethingclearly crude (adjective) not exact or accurate, but often good enough for a particularpurpose elusive (adjective) difficult or impossible tofind eyeball (noun) the whole round ball that forms youreye retina (noun) the part at the back of your eye that sends light signals to your brain, where they are changed intoimages stuff (noun) a variety of objects orthings weird (adjective) strange and unusual, sometimes in a way that upsetsyou

Global Advanced eWorkbook Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012

Video Worksheet