Practice
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Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete the sentences.
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Peter (is/is going to be) at a conference in Geneva next Friday.
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Oh no! I've broken the container with poisonous substance. What (am I going to say / will I say)?
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Jack (is having / will have) a dinner party next Saturday.
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Ann (will be helping / will help) us to label the containers in the lab tomorrow afternoon.
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By the time you arrive, I (will have checked / will be checking) the equipment for the experiment.
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(I'll be studying / I'll have studied) at 9 tomorrow evening.
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Look at the level of pressure on the monitor! It (is going to be / will be) well above the normal.
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Save the data! It looks like the computer (is going to / will) shut down.
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I (will be using / will have been used) the microscope for two hours tomorrow.
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By the time I’m 50 I (will have patented / will patent) a number of remarkable inventions!
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Listening |
Recording 6.2
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Listen to Simon and Todd talking about what future will be like for their kids. Complete the chart.
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Future in 10 years’ time |
Future in 30 years’ time |
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What do you think?
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Do you agree with their opinions? Why?/Why not?
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What other technological challenges do you think the world will face in the 21st century? Which of them do you consider most promising/devastating for the humanity?
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Writing |
Write a questionnaire to find out what your fellow students think about the life style, education, transport, travel and scientific achievements in the nearest or distant future. Be sure to use various tense forms for expressing future.
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Speaking |
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Interview three of your fellow students. Ask about their predictions and comment on them like this:
Example:
A: Do you think that in the future computers will replace teachers?
B: Yes, I do.
C: So do I. / Do you? I don’t think they will.
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Sum up their opinions. Are your fellow students optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
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Get real |
Search the Internet or popular science magazines to find information on the future developments in your field of study. Choose to speak about three most probable innovations and present your findings to the whole class.
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Reading |
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Managing your learning A plot synopsis is a brief description of the contents of a book or film. |
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You are going to read a plot synopsis of the
sci-fi episode entitled “The New Breed”.
What scientific advances and their consequences do you think this episode is about? Discuss as a class.
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Read and check your predictions.
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“The New Breed” Introduction
Dr. Stephen Ledbetter makes a technological and medical breakthrough when he creates a type of tiny machines, known as nanobots, capable of curing any disease or imperfections in the human body. Plot synopsis Stephen's best friend Dr. Andy Groenig tells him that he wants to marry Stephen's sister, Judy. Overjoyed at the news, Stephen shows Andy the nanobots and explains what a remarkable breakthrough they are. Later on Andy discovers that he has an inoperable cancer, and has approximately one year to live. In desperation he sneaks into Stephen's lab and injects himself with the nanobots. They quickly eliminate his disease. Andy tells Stephen about the success of his machines. Stephen becomes concerned about the impact the nanobots may have on Andy's health — and about the possibility that he may go to prison for using an untested drug on another person. Stephen wants to deactivate the nanobots, but Andy tells him not to worry because he injected himself - so Stephen is not responsible. Andy convinces him to leave the nanobots alone. The nanobots not only cure Andy's cancer, they improve his health in other ways, including: removing a scar, improving his eyesight, and making him stronger and more energetic. In Stephen's lab, Andy puts his hand over a bunsen burner* causing a severe burn, but the nanobots repair the damaged skin in seconds. Stephen starts a series of tests to find out exactly what the nanobots are capable of. Andy is placed under water where he is unable to breathe, but the nanobots keep him alive. Things begin to go wrong when Andy wakes up the following day to find that the nanobots have responded to the tests by giving him gills*, allowing him to breathe underwater in the future. When Stephen learns this news, they both agree that the nanobots must be deactivated immediately. Stephen takes measure after measure to stop them, but he is never able to get rid of them. The nanobots continue making "improvements" to Andy, including giving him eyes in the back of his head, keen hearing and bones above his stomach. Stephen is ultimately unable to deactivate the nanobots. In dispair Andy Kills himself to keep his fiancée from seeing the monster he has become. Stephen burns his laboratory, destroying any remaining nanobots and his research. The episode ends with Andy's grieving fiancée having cut her finger on a shattered photograph of him. The wound heals immediately ….
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(Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Breed_%28episode%29
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*Bunsen burner – горелка Бунзена
*gills – жабры
What do you think?
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Would you like to read the original story? Why?/Why not?
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Could such a situation happen in real life?
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What future do you think nanobots have in medicine?
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Can you name any other controversial technological developments of the present time?
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Writing |
Work in groups. How do you think the story may continue? Write your version of the story. Be sure to use various ways of expressing future. Read out your stories and discuss as a class.
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Get real |
Search the Internet or popular science magazines to find and read a short sci-fi story. Write an abstract. Present your abstracts to the class.
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Websites to search:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_
http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm
http://www.demensionszine.com/index2.html
http://directory.google.com/
http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Literatuhttp://directory.google.com/
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In the Realm of Science |
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Complete the sentences below with these words.
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atom |
mercurial |
guinea pig |
planet |
nucleus |
formula |
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Here are some idiomatic phrases frequently used in science. Give their equivalents in your native language.
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a process of attaining a goal by trying different methods until a successful one is found |
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a practical and approximate way of doing or measuring something |
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to confuse people by using technical language that they are not likely to understand |
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it is easy to understand, obvious |
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to rest or relax in order to get back your energy |
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(at) the forefront of progress in a particular area |
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is said to someone who is starting to annoy you |
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to go on radio and TV to promote something or to tell their side of a story |
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you are a long way in front of others in terms of development, success, etc |
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to have the same ideas and opinions about something |
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it is a point where people realise that they are threatened of challenged and have to redouble their efforts to catch up |
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sth involves a lot of guessing and there is not just one right way to do it |
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to misunderstand each other, especially when making arrangements |
(Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 1998)
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Unit 2 Progress Monitoring In this unit you have worked on the vocabulary related to the topic “Latest achievements and future developments science and technology”.
Tick (V) the points you are confident about and cross (X) the ones you need to revise. |