The modern world - Module 5A

B2 First · Multiple Matching · First Expert Coursebook, Pearson Education

You are going to read four reviews of classic science books. For questions 1–10, choose from the reviews (A-D). The reviews may be chosen more than once.

A In the Blood: God, Genes and Destiny, by Steve Jones

This is the book for anyone who wants to understand the thinking behind theories of DNA. Did you know, for example, that whoever our parents may be, we are all united by 'the basic stuff of life', which contains our genes? And did you know that most of the population of the world may have descended from fewer than 100 people? Other discoveries like these are still being made almost every week, which is why genetics is at the forefront of 21st-century science. Before they'd heard of genes, people believed that family traits were carried in the blood. Today we know that they were wrong. Issues like these are among those discussed in this thrilling book by Professor Jones. As with his earlier books on other subjects, you will find it hard to put down.

B The Human Face, by Brian Bates with John Cleese

This fascinating book collects together the findings of various scientific studies concerning the human face. One of these has shown that 30 minutes after birth, when our eyes can hardly focus, we gaze at faces rather than anything else. And it seems that we continue to be fascinated with them all through life. There have been a number of psychological tests designed to investigate beauty but their conclusions only prove what the Ancient Greeks always knew: a beautiful face is one with regular features. So maybe this is not the book to buy if you want new facts but it does provide some fascinating insights into how faces have developed over the years and whether one can judge a person by their appearance alone. Although rather serious in places, the book is packed with eye-catching photos, making it an ideal birthday present even for the most reluctant student of science.

C Brain Story, by Susan Greenfield

When she was Director of the Royal Institution of Science, Susan Greenfield's main objective was to encourage the greater public understanding of scientific ideas. In this book, she introduces us to the inside of our heads and shows the kind of enthusiasm about the brain that other writers reserve for fine art or football. The idea of 'intelligence' worries her, however, because this suggests that a person's 'brain power' is pre-determined. She agrees with those who insist that the brain, which is capable of amazing things, is constantly developing, and gets better and better with age, providing you look after it. Although this book develops the ideas introduced in her previous one, The Private Life of the Brain, it clearly had television audiences in mind (there was a tie-in series on BBC 1) and as a consequence, it is rather shorter on detail, focusing instead on one or two interesting examples.

D The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker

Where does our feeling for language come from? How do we learn to speak it so effortlessly? Why is it so hard for adults to learn a foreign language? Cleverly structured, with many amusing anecdotes, linguist Steven Pinker's book examines why we use language and where this ability comes from. His personal belief is that language is as instinctive to us as flying is to geese and that we use it to great effect in order to communicate. He illustrates his theory with examples of language taken from various sources, including children's conversations, pop culture and politicians' speeches. Pinker has packed his book full of original ideas; it does not make for light reading, but it will nonetheless appeal both to specialists and anyone who finds language and human beings fascinating in the widest sense.

Four classic science books

Oliver Mansell reviews four books, all of which are must-reads for people who want to learn more about themselves.

includes a number of funny stories?

is interesting even for non-scientists to read?

would be a good gift choice for someone?

mentions a theory that has been disproved?

puts forward the author's own ideas about the subject?

discusses research carried out on newborns?

reflects the writer's wider educational aims?

explains the principles on which important ideas are based?

was intended to accompany a filmed documentary?

contains very interesting pictures?

Which review states that the book

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