Unit 2. Technology in our lives

OBJECTIVE: to introduce and practice hi-tech vocabulary;

to practice talking about good effects of technology.

Exercise 1. Read these international words. Pay your attention to the stress.

• technology, aspect, telephone, scanner, code, product, bank, transaction, doc­ument, information, camera, number, credit, operator, contact, machine, company, register;

• modem, personal, technological, medical, computerized, automated;

• to diagnose, to deposit, to analyze, to monitor.

Exercise 2. Form the derivatives and translate them.

Основа существительного + -al = прилагательное

1. technology — technological (технологический)

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2. medicine -

3. mechanic-

4. person -

5. technics -

6. physics -

7. digit —

8. structure -

9. nature -

10. electronics -

Exercise 3. Read and translate these noun combinations.

Products packaging, credit card numbers, bank account information, bank transactions, e-mail messages, heat (air) conditioning, automated supermarket check­out lines.

Exercise 4. Read and translate the text

Technology in our lives

Technology plays a role in all aspects of our lives - the way we work, the way we live at home. The speed of technological change in the past 100 years has been incredible.

The early telephones were large, and they did not even have dials or buttons. You picked up a receiver and talked to an operator who made a call for you. Nowa­days, cellular telephones fit in our pockets, and we can use them to make phone calls from anywhere to anywhere. In grocery stores, cashiers used to punch keys on cash registers to enter the price of each item. These days, scanners read bar codes on prod­ucts packaging, and the prices are recorded by computerized cash register. In the past we made a trip to the bank to deposit or withdraw money. Now we can use ATMs (au­tomated teller machines). And many people do their bank transactions at home on line.

Modem technology has dramatically improved our lives. Personal computers enable us to create documents, store information, and analyze data — at work or at home. The Internet allows us to send and receive e-mail messages, connects us to the World Wide Web, and allows us to go shopping online from our homes. Miniature

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cameras that patients can swallow permit doctors to diagnose medical conditions without surgery. «Smart homes» operated by computers turn lights on and off as people enter or leave the rooms and enable the homeowners to «call their houses» to turn on the heat or air conditioning.

Many people feel, however, that technology has its price. With automated su­permarket checkout lines, ATMs and online banking, and Internet shopping, we can meet our daily needs without having contact with other people. Life with technology can be very lonely! Also, many people are concerned about privacy. Technology makes it possible for companies or the government to monitor our use of the Internet. Our credit card numbers, bank account information, medical information, and other personal data are all stored on computers. Protecting that information will be an im­portant issue in the years ahead. Bliss.

(From «Side by Side», by Steven J. Molinsky, Bill)

Exercise 5. Think about technological changes in our lives. Complete the following table.

Item	In the past	Nowadays
1. to make telephone calls
2. to enter the price of prod­ucts
3. to do bank transactions
4. to create documents
5. to get information
6. to diagnose medical condi­tions
7. to connect people
8. to go shopping

Exercise 6. Read and translate these sentences according to the model.

1. We used to play that game when we were young.

2. Where did people use to buy their food before the supermarket was built?

1. used to think he was unfriendly but now I realise he is a very nice person.

4. There used to be a dancehall here, but they knocked it down.

5. Did you use to live in London?

6. This building is now a furniture shop. It used to be a cinema.

7. We did not use to have computers.

Exercise 7. Complete these sentences with use(d) to + a suitable verb.

1. Dennis gave up smoking two years ago. He 40 cigarettes a day.

1. rarely eat ice cream now but I it when I was a child.

3. There a hotel opposite the station but it closed a long time ago.

4. It only takes me about 40 minutes to get to work since the new road was opened. It more than an hour.

5. When you lived in London, to the theatre very often?

6. We came to live in Manchester a few years ago. We in Nottingham.

Exercise 8. Read what J. B. Morgan, the Chief executive of IBM UK, wrote about the digital revolution. Which of these do you think he called tech­nologies and which did he call services? Write them in the appropriate column.

That we are in the midst of a new revolution must be obvious to everyone.

There is a revolution in the technologies: There is a revolution in the

services being offered: In many ways the communications revolution

has only just begun.

(J. B. Morgan the Chief executive, of IBM United Kingdom)

Technologies	Services

Exercise 9. Use these words to complete the sentences. Use each item once

only.

database	computer networks
made redundant	life expectancy
mass-produced	locate resources
monitor	under development
genetic engineering	come to terms with
repetitive tasks	labour-saving devices
safety features	major breakthrough
strict safeguards	taken for granted

1. As more and more of us are linked by , how soon will it be before the

paperless office becomes a reality.

2. This new technique is a in the treatment of cancer.

3. The dish-washer and other have helped to relieve the boredom of

domestic chores.

4. Satellite technology can help to for extraction from the earth.

5. The Model T Ford was the first car in the world.

6. It is difficult for some people to the speed of change in the modem

world.

7. The police have access to a vast which helps them in their fight

against crime.

8. We need to prevent all the information stored on computers from be­ing misused.

9. Many which people found boring and tiring can now be carried out

by machines.

10. Many employees have been as a result of the introduction of new

technology.

11. Nuclear power stations have computer-controlled systems to their

reactors and prevent accidents.

12. This car comes with such as a collapsible steering column and a

driver’s airbag.

13. A power station capable of producing electricity from waves is currently

14. With the advances in we may be able to create a race of «perfect»

human beings one day, or is that just science fiction.

15. The increase in has lead to problem such as how to pay for the

care of the elderly.

16. Many technological development which have greatly affected the way we live are nowadays by the younger generation.

Exercise 10. Give English equivalents to the Russian ones.

1. Офис, в котором отсутствует бумага;

2. стать реальностью;

3. спутниковая технология;

4. иметь доступ к обширной базе данных;

5. машина массового производства;

6. смириться с чем-либо;

7. бытовая техника;

8. скорость изменений в современном мире;

9. результат внедрения новой технологии;

10. системы компьютерного контроля;

11. отслеживать работу реакторов;

12. предотвращать аварии;

13. продолжительность жизни;

14. забота о пожилых людях;

15. считать само собой разумеющимся;

16. разработки в области технологии.

Exercise 11. Answer the questions.