A film on glass in world history: part 3                                                                  

Watch the third part of the TV series called 'The Day the World Took Off', also dealing with glass, and originally shown on British Channel 4 television  in 2000 A.D. The films are made by Professor Alan Macfarlane. Part 3 describes why glass was not common in Asia.

Task: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Put your answer texts into the Glass Classroom.

1) What is more expensive - glass or pottery? Explain.
2) What is a very rare resource (or raw material) in Asia, esp. in Japan?
3) Why was there no need for drinking glasses in Asia?
4) How were windows produced in Asia until glass was imported?
5) Which reason does Professor Macfarlane suggest for the lack of  a
    scientific revolution in Asia?
6) Why is Japan so productive in microtechnology and miniature art?

vocabulary:
to fade out	gradually disappear
sophisticated	highly developed and complex
fuel	material such as coal, gas, or oil that is burned to produce heat or power
scarce	rare, seldom
commodity	something useful or valuable
competitor	something or someone which/who takes part in a contest
niche	here: specialized but profitable corner of the market
earthquake	a sudden violent shaking of the ground as a result of movements within the earth’s crust
eyesight	the capacity of the eyes to see
ophthalmologist	a special doctor who treats diseases of the eye
minute	here: extremely small and precise
absence	the state of being away from a place or person
rapid	very quick

Worksheets for listening comprehension:

           worksheet 1: tick off-list

           worksheet 2: cloze

           worksheet 3: transcript

source: http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/glass/av2.html