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I. Explain the meaning of the words and word combinations below.

Reproduce the situations in which they were used.

To scatter, a robotics, LEGO set, a filing cabinet, futurologist, retail markets, to stifle imagination, to endow sb. with sth., laser signals, to get into a relationship, to flip one’s ears, to talk back, to give sb. a hug, fairy princess, sedentary, joystick, to rehabilitate cerebral-palsy victims.

II. Say what you know about:

a) LEGO, SONY AIBO, BTExact.

b) The movie “Toy Story”, chatterbot Web sites, Manchester Untied, Christina Aguilera.

c) Barbie, “wraparound” 3-D games, robotic toys.

    1. State the idea behind the lines below:

1. Evidence of Ian Pearson’s childlike curiosity is scattered about his office.

2. Pearson’s job is to peer into the future of technology for BTExact, an arm of British Telecom.

3. But Pearson’s passions also run in a more infantile direction.

4. Imagine a 3-year-old girl watching four of her favorite Barbies having a tea party, saying please pass the biscuits, and gossiping about the neighbor’s G.I. Joe action figures.

5. Sony’s AIBO asks to be petted and flips its ears to feign understanding.

6. They (the toys) begin to have real life consciousness and awareness.

7. “Instead of using a joystick, you are using your whole body.”

8. This technology (wraparound 3-D games) could ultimately be “a fantastic tool for a child’s imagination.”

    1. Points for discussion.

1. Is it interesting to be a futurologist? Would you like to be one?

2. Could you predict the changes in social trends, politics and information technology for the near future?

3. What do you think of high-tech toys? Can you name any? Are they better than ordinary toys?

4. What were your favourite toys? What toys would you like your child to play with?

5. Should one worry that high-tech toys will stifle children’s imagination?

6. What do you think of future toys which would be able to socialize with the help of laser signals?

7. Is it good that future toys will cease to be toys and children will be able to talk with them?

8. Would you like to work as a toy-maker? What kind of toys would you design?

Part II. Problem Parents

Should you smack children?

My husband and I disagree about smacking. He is against it; he’s not at home with the children all day.”

If you find you are in danger of losing control with your child, you should leave the room. A smack should be given in anger – but not in fury – that’s the distinction.”

I don’t mind a quick slap with the hand but when dad uses his belt it’s no joke!”

I will use the cane on the slipper on girls if they fail to do their homework.”

The hard facts about smacking

The Child Development Research Unit at Nottingham University interviewed 700 British mothers when their children were 1, 4, 7, and 11 years old. The results show that smacking is common in families from all social classes, decreasing as the child gets older.

How old?

  • 62 per cent of mothers smack their baby before he is 1 year old.

  • 68 per cent of mothers smack their 4-year-old child up to 6 times a week.

  • 33 per cent of mothers smack their 7-year-old at least once a week.

  • 15 per cent of mothers smack their 11-year-old child at least once a week.

Why?

67 per cent of 4-year-olds are smacked because they disobey rules, 38 per cent because they tell lies and 58 per cent because they hit their mothers.

Where?

Smacking is common among parents in other countries too. A survey of over 3,000 sets of parents in America revealed that 90 per cent of 3-year-olds and 34 per cent of 15 to 17-year-olds are smacked on a regular basis. Research in Australia found that 81 per cent of boys and 74 per cent of girls at primary school are smacked by their parents. The same pattern is found in many other countries, including New Zealand.

But the fact that smacking is wide-spread doesn’t make it right. That is why some countries now have laws forbidding parents from smacking their children; Finland, Denmark and Norway have all followed Sweden whose Parliament approved a bill in 1979 saying:

Children are to be treated with respect for their person and individuality and may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other humiliating treatment.”

John Slaiks

/ from the Daily Telegraph/