Discuss

• Which technology you have read about sounds most interesting? Why?

• What technologies available nowadays are likely to become much more sophisticated in the nearest future?

• What other innovations do you expect to see in your daily life in the future?

Focus on the language

1. Check if you know the meaning of the phrases below. Give their equivalents in your native language.

Example: shape-shifting devices – devices that are able to change their shape

трансформирующиеся устройства

liquid metal shape memory alloys	genetic testing patrolling robots
robot hardware	hand-eye coordination
self-reconfigurable robotics	a replacement team
autonomous control	technologically enhanced senses

2. The sentences below are all about the future. With a partner decide which

rule goes with which sentence.

• I definitely don’t believe people will ever live in giant space stations in order to solve the problem of overpopulation.

• People will be living in giant space stations in order to solve the problem of overpopulation.

• By the year 2050 people will have built several giant space stations in order to solve the problem of overpopulation.

• We are about to start building a giant space station in order to solve the problem of overpopulation.

• In 2020 we are going to start building a giant space station in order to solve the problem of overpopulation.

Future Tenses We use the Present Progressive to speak about future personal arrangements and fixed plans or firm intentions; we usually give the time, date and place We use the Future Progressive to say that something will be going on at a certain time in the future. We use the Future Simple to make predictions when you don’t have ‘present evidence’, to describe a decision made at the moment of speaking or to talk about hopes, beliefs, promises, guesses, etc. We use the Future Perfect to say that something will have been completed by a certain time in the future. We use the Present Simple to talk about the future but mostly when we talk about timetables, routines and schedules.

3. Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete the sentences.

1. Peter (will/is going to be) at a conference in Geneva next Friday.

2. Oh no! I've broken the container with poisonous substance. What (am I going to say / will I say) to the lab instructor?

3. Jack (is having / will have) a dinner party next Saturday.

4. Ann (will be helping / will help) us to label the containers in the lab tomorrow afternoon.

5. By the time you arrive, I'll (have checked / be checking) the equipment for the experiment.

6. (I'll be studying / I'll have studied) at 9 tomorrow evening.

7. Look at the level of pressure on the monitor! It (is going to be / will be) well above the normal.

8. Save the data! It looks like the computer (is going to shut down/ will shut down).

9. I (will be using / will have been used) the microscope at the same time tomorrow.

10. By the time I’m 50 I (will have patented / will patent) a number of remarkable inventions!

Listening

1. Read and answer the questions in the chart below. Discuss your ideas as a class.

	You	Speaker 1	Speaker 2	Speaker 3
What will computers be like?		Computers will ____________; They will have _____________ fuzzy query input systems; ______________ ______________	They will become ____________, as piece of furniture, or ____________ ___________; ___________ ____________	___________ ___________ ___________
How will we communicate with computers?		_____________ _____________ bigger role of VR	____________ ____________ ____________ ____________	___________ ___________ Common interface will support for all languages
Are we going to spend our whole time in Cyberspace?		_____________; _____________ ______________ ______________, and make it operate there	People will use the net more; will watch TV less	___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
Will computers be intelligent?		They won’t resemble human intelligence	____________ ____________ ____________ ____________	Computers will become Thinkers by ___________ ___________ ____________

2. Check if you know the meaning of some terms commonly used in IT. Give their equivalents in your native language. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Example: voice recognition system - system that can respond to the words spoken by a human being - cистема распознавания голоса

tactile response systems	fuzzy query input systems
tactile gloves	neural-stimulus
consciousness	cyberspace navigation
neural network	eye-tracking movement headgear

3. Listen to some students’ opinions about the role of computers and related technologies in the future. Fill in the chart above. //below

Discuss

• Which of the opinions do you most agree/disagree with? Why?

• How could the humans benefit from merging with computers?

• What challenges do you think innovations in science and technology will bring about?

• Do benefits always outweigh the damage that technology causes? Why?/Why not?

Writing

Write a questionnaire to find out what your fellow students think about the life style, education, transport, travel or scientific achievements in the nearest or distant future. Be sure to use the various forms for expressing future.

Speaking

1. Interview three of your fellow students. Ask for their predictions and comment on them like this:

2. Sum up their opinions. Are your fellow students optimistic or pessimistic about the future?

Get real

Search the Internet or popular science magazines to find information on the future developments in your field of science. Choose to speak about three most probable innovations and present your findings to whole class.

	Reading

Study help A plot synopsis is a brief description of the contents of a book or film.

1. You are going to read a plot synopsis of the sci-fi episode entitled “The New Breed”.

• What does the word ‘breed’ mean?

• What scientific advances and their consequences do you think this episode might be about? Discuss as a class.

2. Read and check your predictions.

“The New Breed” Plot synopsis 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. 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 despair 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 …

(Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Breed_%28episode%29)

___________________________________

*Bunsen burner – горелка Бунзена

*gills – жабры

Discuss

• Would you like to read the original story? Why?/Why not?

• Could such a situation happen in real life?

• What future do you think nanobots will have in medicine?

Writing

In groups write a paragraph to continue the story. Be sure to use the various forms for expressing future. Compare as a class.

Get real

Search the Internet or popular science magazines to find and read a short sci-fi story. Write a reading report.

Make use of the Reading Report Form below.

In the Realm of Science

1. Here are some idiomatic phrases frequently used in science. Give their equivalents in your native language.

trial and error	a process of attaining a goal by trying different methods until a successful one is found
the rule of thumb	a practical and approximate way of doing or measuring something
to blind someone with science	to confuse people by using technical language that they are not likely to understand
it's not rocket science	it is easy to understand, obvious
to recharge your batteries	to rest or relax in order to get back your energy
(at) the cutting edge	(at) the forefront of progress in a particular area
don’t push my buttons!	is said to someone who is starting to annoy you
to hit the airways	to go on radio and TV to promote something or to tell their side of a story
light years ahead	you are a long way in front of others in terms of development, success, etc
on the same wavelength	to have the same ideas and opinions about something
sputnik moment	it is a point where people realise that they are threatened of challenged and have to redouble their efforts to catch up
it's not an exact science	sth involves a lot of guessing and there is not just one right way to do it
to get one’s wires crossed	to misunderstand each other, especially when making arrangements

(Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 1998)

2. Complete the sentences below with these words.

atom

mercurial

guinea pig

planet

nucleus

formula

Unit 2. Progress Monitoring In this unit you have worked on the vocabulary related to the topic “Latest Achievements and Future Developments in Science and Technology”. to stop aging to cure terminal diseases self-reconfigurable robotics to have autonomous control robot hardware to enhance senses/sharpen minds to develop the skills of telepathy shape-shifting devices to contact with living beings beyond the solar system to grow more powerful and intelligent neural network to colonize other planets an army/swarm of tiny robots cyberspace navigation artificial intelligence to cultivate/repair human organs to merge with computers Tick (V) the points you are confident about and cross (X) the ones you need to revise.

Unit 3 Review

1. Think about the year 2030. What do you think you

• will be able to do?

• will be doing?

• will have done by that time?

Write several sentences. Be sure to use the various ways of expressing future. Read out your predictions. Discuss them as a class.

2. Fill in the gaps with another, other, others. Put the where necessary.

1. I forgot my pencil. Do you have any ________ pencils?

2. I have four dictionaries. Two of them are electronic, but _________ are books.

3. We had to drive _________ ten miles to get to the seashore.

4. __________ day we went to the exhibition of gemstones and samples of meteorites at the university museum.

5. Kate has three rulers. One of them is white ________ are black.

6. Don’t worry, I’ll finfish writing the essay and submit it before the deadline one way or _________.

7. Where are __________ samples of minerals? Has anybody seen them?

8. I’m still hungry, can I have __________ hamburger?

3. Spot the odd word out.

advances	developments	progress	benefit
foundations	origins	evolution	basis
gizmos	tools	devices	instruments
consequences	impacts	results	effect

4. Explain the similarity and difference between these words

mechanism - device

innovation - development

benefits - consequences

robot - nanobot

5. Complete the sentences with the appropriate idiom from page 200.

1. We developed the new software through ____________.

2. I think he decided ______ because he didn't want us to ask any questions.

3. We're talking basic common sense here - ______________. I would like to do a postgraduate course and get involved in a __________ research.

4. I’m really glad Professor Jenkins is my scientific adviser. We’re on ______________

5. Work in teams. Hold a competition. Brainstorm as many changes that will have occurred in our life by 2050 as possible.

5. Read these sayings. Choose one or two that you agree or disagree with and discuss them with a partner.

• Recall Murphy's Law - if anything can happen, it eventually will.

• “The future is always beginning now”. Mark Strand

• “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” John M. Richardson

• “The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers”. Sydney J. Harris

Each one teach one

In pairs make up 5 gapped sentences and test your fellow students on the usage of another and other.

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

Aristotle