Question 1.1 - Summary · Inglés PAU Galicia Ordinaria 2022

TEXT A

Willie Johnson, one of Britain’s most successful inventors, is the man who invented the Micropacer jogging shoe which records time and speed over distance, and the Gogglevox which gives personal television a big-screen effect.

Johnson has no scientific background. He relies on design companies and technical experts to translate his ideas into reality. At an international exhibition of inventions recently, Johnson won nine awards. One of his winning inventions was the Swallet, an electronic wallet which sounds an alarm if a thief cuts the cord by which it is attached to the wearer. Johnson’s own personal favourite is the Tantrum, a tiny electronic device inside a foam brick. When you throw the brick at your TV set, the device sends a signal to a gadget in the plug socket that turns the electricity off if the set was on or on if it was off.

Until the runaway success of the Micropacer in 1984, he struggled to make a living with a string of inventions, from cardboard furniture to a trailer that converted into a boat. “Sometimes I did well, but for each idea that makes you money you may lose on three or four others”. He describes inventing as a tremendous gamble. Inventors can either sell an idea outright to a manufacturer or collect a percentage of the sales in royalties. The latter is every inventor’s dream and even a simple idea can turn into a pot of gold if it is fun, becomes fashionable, and appeals to young people.

Johnson believes that his talent lies in taking technological advances and putting them to creative uses that other people have not thought of. Whatever happens, Johnson cannot stop inventing.

1.1. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points, using your own words. (approximately 50 words; 0.75 points)