Дидактические материалы к занятиям 7.3.1,7.3.2, 7.3.3

Lesson 7.3.1. Information Technology

Lead-in

Ex 1. Study these predictions of developments in Information Technology from 2000. Which, if any, have come true? How likely are the others to come true? Give reasons for your decisions and compare answers with your partner.

2003 – Hydraulic chair for VR games

2006 – Fire fighting robots that can find and rescue people

2010 - Robotic devices within blood vessels

2025 – Artificial brain implants

2030 – Direct links between brain and computer

2100 – Electronic humans

Ex 2. How do you think developments in IT will affect these areas of life in the next ten years?

Commerce; work; the relationship between humans and computers

Ex 3. Compare your predictions with others in your group. Try to agree on a ranking from most likely to least likely.

Reading

Ex 4. Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What is the name of the first electronic virtual assistant?

2. What could EVAs provide?

3. What are their applications?

4. What global trends does the technology combine?

5. What can EVA be programmed with?

6. Why is it equipped with a search engine?

7. What is a Java applet?

Dawn of the Cyberbabes.

Stratumsoft are developing the first electronic virtual assistant, or EVA. If EVAs live up to the developers’ claims, they could provide the illusion of personal service without the cost. Call centres, online advertisers and Internet service providers are among the initial targets. Eighty per cent of call centre requests could, Stratumsoft argues, be dealt with by an EVA. E-commerce is another application.” The best experience you can have as a shopper is personal contact, and EVA is designed to give that”, says Stratumsoft’s director of marketing.

The technology behind EVA combines two global trends in website design. One, developed out of the computer animation and gaming industry, is the ability to give Web images the impression of three dimensions. The other is the use of dynamic database skills and artificial intelligence-style searching to retrieve information from data banks.

Each EVA can be programmed with information such as a product catalogue, answers to frequently asked questions or an online encyclopaedia. It is also equipped with a search engine to interpret customer requests made in colloquial language. Queries are typed in and answered via on-screen texts boxes.

If the EVA does not have an answer, it will interrogate the questioner, record the response, and add the answer to its database for future enquiries. EVAs are not fully animated to imitate human features but they can be programmed to gesture and imitate different moods. An EVA is run via a Java applet – a small, self-contained program coded to download on to any type of personal computer rather than being transmitted over the Internet.

Language development

Ex 5. Fill in the words from the list, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

Virtual, human, initial, global, fully, to record, artificial, colloquial, customer, website.

1……………trends 2……………design 3……………intelligence 4………….features 5…………requests 6…………………targets

7…………assistant 8…………language 9………………response

10……….animated

Ex 6. Fill in the correct preposition, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

1. personal service … the cost; 2. to be … the initial targets; 3. could be dealt ;

4. global trends … website design; 5. developed … …the computer animation; 6. information … data banks; 7. can be programmed… information; 8. answers… questions; 9. to be typed …; 10. being transmitted … the Internet

Ex 7. Word Formation. Give their derivatives used in the text.

Assist ______, develop ________, person_______, provide_______, apply ______, able _______, intelligent_______, inform ______, frequent _____, question ______, differ ______, full____, art________, animate____.

Lesson 7.3.2. Biotechnology

Speaking

Ex 1. Search for the latest developments in one area of Information Technology. Make a summary of your findings to report to the rest of the class. In addition to journals, magazines and newspapers, you can try different websites.

Reading and listening

Ex 2. Read the sentences, then listen and mark them as T (true) or F (false).

1. The simple definition of biotechnology is the use of living organisms by humans. 2. We have been cloning plants for ten years. 3. Now with the help of biotechnology we are able to develop safe crops, medical treatments and etc. 4. Traditional and modern biotechnology share different foundations. 5. Traditional biotechnology harnesses the potential of processes performed by living organisms.

Ex 3. Read the article and put the paragraphs in the correct order, then explain the words in bold.