Communication. Science. Учебно-методическое пособие

UNIT 4: WORK

3. Read the abstract from the article “Your next nurse could be a robot”. (reference: Frontiers. “Your next nurse could be a robot: Robots can successfully imitate human motions in the operating room.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 October 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2016/10/161005115053.htm>). If necessary, leave notes on the margins next to the passages. Include unfamiliar words and expressions into Unit vocabulary list.

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PART 3

1.Match the words to their short definitions. You can check your answers in the Answer key section.

2.Unscramble the following words using the prompts in brackets, check your answers in the Answer key section.

TCUCNOD (process of managing and doing) ___________________

CICRUAL (important) ______________________________________

LIPPATICAON (usage) ______________________________________

TAINILILY(at first) _________________________________________

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3.Quiz: choose the correct definition for each word of phrase. You can check your answers in the Answer key section.

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PART 4

1. Discuss the following abstracts from the article “Robotics can – and will – change our lives in the near future” theguardian.com/zurichfuturology/story/0,,1920335,00.htm).

1)“Imagine sitting at your computer and controlling a video game character through a mall or market, except it’s not a game, it’s a robot shopping for you in Tokyo while you sit comfortably in London. With a live video and audio feed so you could haggle, you drive a legged humanoid robot about your size so you get a good sense of what would fit, and afterwards you go for a walk to see what the countryside has to offer”

2)“In a future where the cost and inconvenience of travel will likely

rise, why not rent-a-rob for an hour just to make sure that resort is up to standard?”

2.Think about other examples of robots being human companions. Write your ideas in the space below. Discuss them in small groups.

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3.Complete the words. You can check your answers in the Answer key section.

Dr. De Momi, of the Politecnico di Milano (Italy), led an international team that trained a robot to im__________ natural human actions. De Momi’s work in_______ that humans and robots can effectively coordinate their actions during high-stakes events such as surgeries. Over time this should lead to improvements in safety during surgeries because unlike their human counterparts robots do not tire and can ______lete an endless series of p________se movements. The goal is not to remove human expertise from the operating room, but to c____________ment it with a robot’s par-

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ticular skills and benefits. “As a roboticist, I am convinced that robotic (co) workers and collaborators will definitely change the work market, but they won’t steal job opp___________. They will just allow us to de________se workload and achieve better performances in several tasks, from medicine to industrial applications,” De Momi explains. To c_______t their experiment De Momi’s team photographed a human being conducting numerous reaching motions, in a way __________ to handing instruments to a surgeon. These camera captures were input into the neural network of the robotic arm, which is crucial to controlling movements. Next a human operator g_________ the robotic arm in imitating the reaching motions that the human subject had i__________ly performed. A________ there was not a perfect overlap between the robotic and human actions, they were broadly similar. These results are promising, although further r________ch is necessary to v_________te or refine De Momi’s conclusions. If robotic arms can indeed imitate human behavior, it would be necessary to build conditions in which humans and robots can c_____________te effectively in high stress environments like operating rooms.

This future may not be as far away as we think. De Momi’s work is part of the growing field of h_____care robotics, which has the potential to change the way we receive health care sooner rather than later.

PART 5

Project work. Look through the titles of the articles and choose any you want to discuss with the group (or find one in the similar subject area). Render the article and include new vocabulary into Unit vocabulary list. Prepare a presentation.

1)”Japan’s Next Generation of Farmers Could Be Robots” URL: http:// www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-23/robots-replacing- japan-s-farmers-seen-preserving-food-security

2)“Will robots make our lives better or worse?” URL: https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/j-bradford-delong-robots-workers- productivity/

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3)“Robot Revolution: How to Stay Calm and Make Money” URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100541729

4)“Humanoid robot starts work at Japanese department store” URL: http://www.reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan- robot-store-idUSKBN0NB1OZ20150420)

5)“Robot in everyday life” URL: http://www.paristechreview. com/2014/09/05/robots-everyday-life/

6)“The bride wore white and the groom wore out his batteries: First robot wedding in Japan takes place and even ends with a kiss” URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3142129/First-robot- wedding-Japan-takes-place.html#ixzz4Mm4phbx4

7)“Better Than Human: Why Robots Will – And Must – Take Our Jobs”.URL: https://www.wired.com/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take- our-jobs/

8)“Regarding Robot Cultures” URL: http://www.japansociety.org/ page/multimedia/articles/robot_cultures

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UNIT VOCABULARY LIST 4

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REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATION: UNIT 3–4

1.Grammar. Rewrite the sentences from the articles using reported verbs (repeat grammar in Grammar focus Unit 4).

1)“As a roboticist, I am convinced that robotic (co)workers and collaborators will definitely change the work market, but they won’t steal job opportunities”, De Momi explains.

2)The author says: “I admit, this post may not exactly have the intended effect – worrying about the danger of stress is definitely stressful”.

3)“We were surprised that different parts of the brain developed to different degrees depending on how well the students performed and how much effort they had had to put in to keep up with the course,” says Johan Mårtensson.

4)Melinda says: “Go ahead and throw away that cod liver oil”.

5)“Even if we cannot compare three months of intensive language study with a lifetime of being bilingual, there is a lot to suggest that learning languages is a good way to keep the brain in shape,” says Johan Mårtensson.

6)The authors say: “Interactive tutoring systems already help students learn languages, math and other skills”.

2. Read and discuss the appeal of the following sayings and quotes.

* Check the meaning of underlined words and include them into Unit vocabulary list.

1)The best way to predict the future is to invent it. (Alan Kay)

2)The function of science fiction is not always to predict the future but sometimes to prevent it. (Frank Herbert)

3)Study the past if you would define the future. (Confucius)

4)If you make good use of the present time, you need not be apprehensive* about the future.

5)The first step is always the hardest.

6)You reap* what you sow*.

7)Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

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