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SECTION 2
Gwen
Hi, Lily. Today I’m going to show you what
materials we use to make our clothes. As
you know, we are specialising in
sportswear
at the moment. First of all, do you know what
fabrics
we normally use in this company for
making sportswear?
Lily
Well, I think nylon and cotton… maybe.
Gwen
Yes. Cotton is a soft absorbent natural fabric,
which is ideal for sportswear. Ever heard of
Gore-Tex?
Lily
Yeah, but I don’t know much about it…
Gwen
It is a
waterproof
fabric. Its chemical
constituent is called polytetrafluoroethylene
or PTFE for short. Anyway, its name comes
from Bob Gore, Wilbert’s son. In 1969 they
discovered that at high temperatures this
fabric could be pulled without breaking to
form a porous material… that’s how it all
started! Now this is one of the most used
fabrics.
Lily
Interesting! What’s this place we are going
into now?
Gwen
It’s the production area. The first person
I want you to meet is John, the best
tailor
here! Hi, John! How are you doing today?
John
Very busy... as usual!
Gwen
John, this is Lily, the trainee from London.
John
Morning, Lily.
Lily
Good morning. What a lot of nice tracksuits
you have here!
John
Well, I work on them every day.
Lily
What material are they made of?
John
This is laundered 100% cotton. Other
materials we use for tracksuits are spandex
and nylon… .
Lily
What is spandex?
John
Spandex is the same as lycra. It’s a synthetic
fabric that is particularly suitable for
sports
apparel
.
Lily
How do you make these clothes?
John
In the past we just used our hands. The first
thing we had to do was to sketch the
piece
of clothing
. Then we made a
sample
to see
if it was adapted to the style. After that, we cut
a pattern with electric knives in different sizes.
Finally, we assembled all the pieces together
and a worker
sewed
them.
Lily
How did this process change?
John
Well, now we use CAD, that is computer-
aided design software for the whole
manufacturing process…
LISTENING AND READING
1
Listen and read.
16
sportswear / sports
apparel
(USA)
abbigliamento sportivo
waterproof
impermeabile
piece of clothing
capo
d’abbigliamento
fabric
tessuto
sample
campione
(to) sew
cucire
tailor
sarto
COMPREHENSION
2
Complete the sentences.
1
The main fabrics used in Gwen’s company are
...................................................................................................................................
2
Gore-Tex is made of
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
.
3
Wilbert and Bob Gore were the two people
...........................................................................................................................................
4
Spandex is a
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................
5
In the past clothes were handmade, but now they
.............................................................................................................................
UNIT 4 Section 2
DIALOGUE 1
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