Text, Audio, Video and other Activities
This page provides links to our collection of English-language exercises based on scientific articles, audio files, and videos. The activities fall generally into the subject areas shown on the left, and include quizzes and other exercises to test your understanding of each media item. We have also included a section on scientific writing, which contains activities and resources on scientific writing as well as on several important points of grammar.
To get the most out of the activities present on the site, make sure :- to do any activity that has more than one part in the correct order.
- to look up any word you do not understand in one of the online dictionaries (see our links page)
- to visit the general grammar sites (see our links page) to check on any tricky grammar points.
- to read the feedback comments when your answers are incorrect, they often contain very useful explanations.
Resources: (Easy - Moderate - Difficult)
Blink and you really do miss it (Parts I-II). An article about what happens in your brain every time you blink.
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920) (Parts I-II). An article about the life of the extraordinary Indian mathematician Ramanujan.
The long and short of how the world works. Which country's workers work the most? Which are the most productive? Find out here.
Word order (Slide Show & Activity). Learn how to construct sentences properly by putting each word in its correct place and then practice what you've learned.
The advantage of wearing red in sports. This article tells you why you should think carefully about what you wear the next time you compete in a sporting event.
Relative clauses (Slide Show & Activity). Mastering relative clauses is essential to being able to write clearly in English. Visit this page to learn about them and practice using them.
Linking words. Practice linking ideas together using words like "therefore," "however," "although," etc.
Are People Really Taller Than They Used to Be?. This article addresses a recent study about the relative heights of modern people and people living in the Middle Ages.
Marathon Mouse (Part A). This genetically engineered mouse can run twice as far as other mice.
Marathon Mouse (Part B) . Marathon mice keep on running.
Marathon Mouse (Part C) . Encouraging results.
Pop Music. Watch this video from the Exploratorium in San Francisco about the physics of music.
Electronic Paper. Read here about a new kind of electronic paper invented by a company in the United States.
Drilling through the ice cap. Scientists have succeeded in drilling all the way through the Greenland ice cap.
Level II (Moderate level of difficulty):
Football. Practice the use of linking words such as although, despite, and unless in this paragraph about football.
Indian stocks briefly drop on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Learn some useful financial vocabulary as you read about how the Securities and Exchange Board of India uncovered serious violations in recent stock flotations.
God's Precious Gift to Man. Read about the French Paradox and why wine is good for you.
Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize. Practice prepositions with this paragraph about a recent Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize.
May 2006 : UK fuel prices reach new record (Parts I-II). The AA trust's petrol price analyst's advice to UK drivers.
Adjective Order. This activity provides some rules and practice sentences about the best order for multiple adjectives.
Southern blot protocol. Test your knowledge of laboratory vocabulary by completing this protocol for performing a Southern blot analysis.
Fossil gives clue to big chill. In this exercise, complete a series of sentences about the geological history of the Drake Passage.
Hairy Legs Help Bugs Walk on Water. Test your vocabulary and writing skills while reading about a strange little insect.
Camera infiltrates the animal world. An article about how technology infiltrates the private lives of animals for a BBC programme.
Squirrel helps with mobile calls. How would you like to have your cell phone replaced by a squirrel?
Compound modifiers. This exercise will help you practise using multiple modifiers correctly.
How to make a bacterial camera. An audio interview with Chris Voigt, a scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, from the BBC's The Naked Scientists podcast.
GPS Guides Supply Parachutes to Iraq Combat Zone. An article about how the U.S. Marines are using GPS techology to deliver supplies to soldiers on the ground.
Robot spy can survive battlefield damage (Part I) . Fill in the gaps in a short introductory text about a self-healing military reconnaissance robot.
Robot spy can survive battlefield damage (Part II). Read more on the extraordinary robot.
Isaac Newton (Part 1) . Learn new words.
Isaac Newton (Part 2). Read about the great mathematician and physicist.
Isaac Newton (Parts 3 and 4) . And now test your vocabulary.
Chocolate - More fun, less guilt! An article about the benefits of chocolate.
Coastal carbon sinks are shrinking. This article describes the disappearance of mangrove forests, an important carbon sink present on many tropical coastlilnes.
Cancer Fighting Benefit From Nutrients In Vegetables (Parts I-III). Read about the contribution of diet and nutrition to cancer risk.
What is this thing about chocolate? A study about what happens when we eat chocolate.
Lake Nyos (Parts I-IV). Read about the tragic events that took place one night in 1986 at this volcanic lake in Cameroon.
Interview with Lonnie Thomson. A listening exercise based on an interview with geologist Lonnie Thomson.
$100 laptop (Part I-III) . Read about a new, inexpensive computer designed to change the world.
New Glasses Require Piercing Bridge of Nose. Don't like having to take off and put on your glasses? Try this alternative.
Security at Your Fingertips (Part I). Read the begining of this article about a new security system for your computer.
Security at Your Fingertips (Part II). Find the missing words and learn more about this new security system.
Security at Your Fingertips (Part III) . Correct the mistakes in the last part of this text about safer computers.
Physics vocabulary. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of physics vocabulary in English.
Retrotransposons. Read here about so-called 'junk' DNA.
Some mathematical definitions.Test your mathematical vocabulary.
Chemistry vocabulary (Parts I-II) . Test your knowledge of basic chemistry vocabulary in English (English definitions).
Genetic Testing (Part I) . Insert sentences in this text about the implications of genetic testing for insurance coverage.
Genetic Testing (Part II). Test your vocabulary and answer some questions about Genetic testing and insurance coverage.
Transient Transfecton of Polarized Epithelial Cells. Complete the vocabulary in this abstract about a new method for transfecting epithelial cells.
Quantum dot device counts single electrons. An article about a remarkable new device that can count individual electrons.
Incomplete words. This vocabulary building exercise is based on a text about the effects of climate change on animal populations.
The loss of certainty (Parts I-II). Mathematics has traditionally been viewed as a source of certainty. But a leading mathematician says this is no longer true.
Errors. In this activity, you need to find the error present in each of a series of sentences.