- •21St century lifestyle Things you can’t live without
- •1 Match the words with their definitions and associations.
- •2 Match a word or phrase from a with a phrase from b.
- •Old and New
- •The 1900 House
- •2 Which member(s) of the family:
- •Making predictions
- •1 Look at the descriptions of inventions predicted for the next few decades.
- •2 Make 3 predictions about social, economic and personal consequences of such inventions. Compare your ideas with the experts’ ones below.
- •3 Discuss these questions.
- •2 Work in pairs. Answer the following questions according to the author.
- •3 Read about the ten candidates. Decide which six candidates you want to take. Underline the reasons that make them suitable to travel and put a line through any things that make them unsuitable.
- •5 You are one of the people travelling to Hero. You have just landed on the new planet. Write a message to a friend back on Earth. Write about:
- •2 You are going to create a 'time capsule', not to be opened before the year 2250, to help future generations understand life at the beginning of the 21st century.
2 Which member(s) of the family:
a didn't wear 1900 clothes all the time?
b stayed at home all day?
с found it strange being with the family all the time?
d missed talking to his/her friends?
e sees positive things about life in the past?
Making predictions
1 Look at the descriptions of inventions predicted for the next few decades.
1 Which of these things already exist?
2 Which do you like most?
THE SMART HOUSE
All things in the house will be connected to the internet as part of a home network that runs your domestic life, interacting with barcodes on your food , and re-ordering them on-line as you use them. Virtually ,all domestic appliances will be linked by computer, so that your electric toothbrush will be able to let your toaster know that you are ready for breakfast!
GLOBAL GAMES
Children of the future will never be able to complain that there’s no one to play with. Equipped with a virtual reality headset, a kid can take part in global games. Computer will select opponents who may live on the other side of the world.
BEHIND THE WEEL
Cars of the future will have the intelligent navigation system that can choose the best route for you by monitoring an on-line traffic database for hold-ups, while the cruise control keeps a constant distance from the car in front. And if you exceed the speed-limit, the speedometer will signal. Your car will allow only bona fide drivers behind the wheel, recognizing them by the iris of the eye.
HOLOGRAPHIC CONFERENCING
It will allow people to interact with colleagues and clients via computer without needing leaving their homes. Virtual meetings will involve people from different parts of the world.
ROBOTICS
Robots will become more intelligent and capable and soon will be out of control. They will become creators themselves. It’s better to remember where the off-switch is.
2 Make 3 predictions about social, economic and personal consequences of such inventions. Compare your ideas with the experts’ ones below.
BUT WHAT WILL IT ALL MEAN?
1 Teleworking and computer conferencing will mean that a lot more people will either work freelance from home, or on flexible short-term contracts.
2 Highly-skilled professionals will be under pressure to work longer and longer hours while much of the mundane work will be done by machines, leading to high unemployment amongst unskilled workers. There will be even less rich people and even more poor ones.
3 With inventions like cell phones and palmtops it’s becoming more and more difficult to escape from work – the boundaries between work and leisure are gradually becoming blurred.
4 Labour-saving devices and sedentary lifestyle could lead to an epidemic in obesity.
5 A growth in on-line shopping and home-working may mean that city centers become deserted wastelands. Loss of social interaction may lead to family problems and mental health problems.
6 We will adapt in all sorts of ways. You should never underestimate the amazing adaptability of human beings.