Unit VII. Artificial Brain
Useful words and phrases
the artificial brain – искусственный интеллект
cutting-edge – передовой
annual – ежегодный
to set a challenge – бросить вызов
to succeed in – добиваться успеха, преуспевать
a mammal - млекопитающее
a rat – крыса
a treatment for – лечение
a mental disorder – психическое расстройство
Warm-up
1. Are these artificial things useful? Complete this table with your partner(s) and share your ideas
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Useful? |
Better than the real thing? |
Brain |
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Intelligence |
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Flowers |
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Leather |
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Part of body |
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Grass |
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2. Read the title of the text and try to predict which words/word combinations can be found here. After reading the text see who is the best predictor
I . Read the text
A top British professor has told a cutting-edge ideas conference he is close to building a copy of human brain. Professor Henry Markham told the annual Technology, Entertainment, Design global conference that a working synthetic brain can be built in the next decade. He told his audience: "It is not impossible to build a human brain and we can do it in 10 years." He set himself a challenge by stating that if he succeeded, he would demonstrate the results to all sceptics. He said: “I wish they believed that it’s real.”Professor Markram is director of the Blue Brain project, which aims to engineer mammals' brains from laboratory data. He has already had success with creating parts of a rat’s brain. Markham said the human brain was so complex, it was an “almost frightening organ”.
Professor
Markham hoped his research would lead to new treatments for mental
illnesses. He said: "There are two billion people on the planet
suffering from mental disorder." Markham believes synthetic
brain technology will reduce the need for experiments on animals. "We
cannot keep on doing animal experiments forever," he said. This
will please many animal rights activists, who say such research is
cruel. He hopes to create a kind of animal brain models.
II. Comprehension check
1. Answer the questions
a. Who is Henry Markham?
b. What is he working at at the moment?
c. How much time is going to spend on his project?
d. What are possible advantages of his synthetic brain technology?
e. Does Professor Markham have any positive results in his work?
2. Complete the statements using the facts from the text
a. Professor Markham is going to build a
__________________________________________________________
b. He has already succeeded in creating
__________________________________________________________
c. The problem with human brain is that it is
__________________________________________________________
d. Unfortunatelly a lot of people suffer
__________________________________________________________
e. New brain technology will
__________________________________________________________
II. Vocabulary work
1. Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text
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2. Insert an appropriate word from Ex.1
a. People ________________ from overweight can get free consultation in our medical centre.
b. The champion is ready to face a __________ from any highly trained sportsman.
c. __________ is a class of animals that drink milk from its mother’s body when it’s young.
d. He is _____________ at creating an artificial brain.
e. Some children play ___________ jokes on their mates.
f. What do you think about my _________ of arranging a classmates’ party?
g. Brain is a vital ___________ of one’s body.
3. Make up sentences and translate them
a. be Cutting-edge, will, conference, ideas, at, this, the, annual, presented, summer.
b. It, to, build, an, possible, human, is, brain, artificial.
c. with, illnesses, technology, help, people, can, mental, New.
d. It, also, experiments, number, may, of, the, on, animals, reduce.
e. are, Markham’s, skeptics, who, some, There, don’t, in, success, believe.
4. Odd word out! Pay attention to the principle of grouping. Explain your choice
a. frightening, cruel, top, suffering
b. professor, brain, organ, body
c. to build, to reduce, to succeed, synthetic
d. will, forever, was, working