Students engaged in assembling a robotics project in an educational lab setting.
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University students competing in a NASA robotics competition

Level
a2
Topic
science

Read this at a different level:b2

My friend Callum studies engineering at Queen's University in Belfast. Last month, he called me with exciting news. He and his team are going to Florida, USA. There is a big NASA robotics competition there, and they will compete in it.

Callum told me more about the event. There are teams from Australia, India, and the United States in the competition too. He said the other teams are very strong. His team worked very hard for many months. They built a small robot together. Callum was nervous but also very excited.

I asked him about Florida. He said it was his first time in the USA. He wants to visit the beach after the competition. I am going to watch updates on my phone. I think Callum and his team are going to do really well. I am very proud of him.

Highlighted sentences show the grammar focus structure.

Key Vocabulary

  • competition

    /ˌkɑːmpəˈtɪʃən/

    An event where people or teams try to win by doing something better than others.

    My sister won first place in a swimming competition last weekend.

  • nervous

    /ˈnɜːrvəs/

    Feeling worried or a little scared about something that is going to happen.

    I always feel nervous before I speak in front of the class.

  • robot

    /ˈroʊbɒt/

    A machine that can move and do tasks, often built by people using computers.

    The factory uses a robot to put boxes onto the shelves.

  • proud

    /praʊd/

    Feeling very happy because someone you care about did something good.

    Her parents were very proud when she passed all her exams.

  • exciting

    /ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ/

    Making you feel very happy and full of energy because something interesting is happening.

    We watched an exciting football match at the stadium last night.

Grammar Spotlight

There is/are and There was/were

There is/are (now) · There was/were (past)

When do we use it?

  • Use 'there is/are' to say that something exists or is present right now.
  • Use 'there was/were' to say that something existed or was present in the past.
  • Use singular (is/was) for one thing, and plural (are/were) for more than one thing.

How is it formed?

There + is/was (singular)+There + are/were (plural)

Choose is/are for now; was/were for the past

★Match the verb to the noun that follows!

See it in action

  1. There is a big NASA robotics competition in Florida.

  2. There are teams from many countries at the event.

  3. Last year, there was only one team from their university.

  4. In the past, there were no robotics competitions for students.

Remember this

✗There is many teams at the competition.
✓There are many teams at the competition.

Use 'are' when the noun after the verb is plural.

✗There were a big event last month.
✓There was a big event last month.

Use 'was' for a single noun in the past, not 'were'.

✗There is a competition yesterday.
✓There was a competition yesterday.

Use 'was/were' for the past. 'Yesterday' tells you it is not now.

Discussion Questions

  1. 1.

    Did you ever take part in a competition at school or in your community? What was it?

  2. 2.

    Do people in your country enjoy science or technology events? What kinds of events are popular?

  3. 3.

    Who is someone in your life that you feel proud of? What did they do?

Comprehension Questions

  1. 1.

    Where is the NASA robotics competition?

  2. 2.

    Why was Callum nervous?

  3. 3.

    How many months did the team work hard?

  4. 4.

    What does the writer want to do after the competition?

View answers for the comprehension questions
  1. 1.The competition is in Florida, USA.
  2. 2.He was nervous because the other teams in the competition were very strong.
  3. 3.The team worked hard for many months.
  4. 4.The writer is going to watch updates on their phone. They think Callum and his team will do really well.

Test your knowledge

Question 1Fill-in-the-blank

The factory built a small ____ to do dangerous work for the workers.

Question 2Fill-in-the-blank

She felt ____ before speaking in front of the whole class.

Question 3Fill-in-the-blank

The children had an ____ day at the park with lots of games.

Question 4Fill-in-the-blank

The coach felt very ____ when her student won the race.

View answers for test your knowledge
  1. 1.robot
  2. 2.nervous
  3. 3.exciting
  4. 4.proud

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