1. Read and discuss the text Lucky Generation. Learn the new

Vocabulary. Computer terms are highlighted.

It’s March, 2050. Frank and Mary Smith wake up in their comfortable house overlooking the sea and switch on the bedroom computer to give them a news update. They used to take the Times, but changed to electronic newspapers many years ago.

There is the usual stuff about space: another mission has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet. No big deal. There was great excitement back in 2027, when signals were received from Titan which indicated that there might be life on a remote moon, but efforts to make contact came to nothing. The Catholic Church is going to elect a black Pope. Interesting, but religion does not play a Interesting, but religion does not play a significant role in their lives. Financial news: the Euro has risen sharply in Shanghai, one of the world’s leading business centres. Mary tells the computer to buy 5, 000 Euros, and there is instant confirmation that the transaction has been done.

As they watch the screen, Frank and Mary take their usual weight control pills, and order one of the household robots to make coffee. Frank disappears into the study to join a live videoconference with his colleagues around the world. He is a computer programmer, working for several companies on a contract basis. This is his third career.

Mary has a quick look at the shopping channel before picking up the video phone to talk to a colleague. She also has a job, which she shares with several others. Both she and Frank used to have an office desk in London, but in 2014 they decided to move to the seaside and work from home.

Frank and Mary have one child, Louise, who also has her own workstation in the family home. She goes to school only one day a week, mainly to play with other children. Classrooms vanished in 2030 because there was no longer any need for them: interactive communications systems have made it much easier to learn at home. Louise is currently studying Chinese, which has become as important as English as a world language. With her friends she communicates by computer.

According to the medical experts, Louise will live to at least 130. She intends to work for a few decades and then devote her time to music and painting. Louise has given little thought to marriage, which she regards old-fashioned, and she is not sure whether she will ever want to have a child. She likes the idea of a serious relationship, and thinks there will probably be several during her lifetime, she is not going to tie herself down to one person.

Would you like the idea of such a future for yourself? Why? Why not?

2. Make up a dialogue with a classmate and persuade him/her of the importance of having a mobile phone. Use the following words and phrases.

• establish effective communication;

• save time;

• become accessible anywhere;

• an opportunity to use and process information from the Internet;

• provide wireless access to the Internet;

• access information on the Internet easily;

• save money and trouble;

• receive a wide range of information for business and private use.