SSG 18 R&W 10: Tech Tools for Positive Change

SSG 18 R&W 10: Tech Tools for Positive Change

Open Ended

Write your complete name and class:

Preactivity: Look at the graphic.

Fill in the Blank

Combine the following sentences using a purpose connector.

1. I’ll give you my email. You can send me the information. ( so that )

Fill in the Blank

Combine the following sentences using a purpose connector.

2. He attends a computer course. He wants to live abroad. ( in order to )

Fill in the Blank

Combine the following sentences using a purpose connector.

3. We gave up this chat room. We didn’t want to send personal information. (so as to)

Fill in the Blank

Combine the following sentences using a purpose connector.

4. She bought a new mobile phone. She wanted to use international roaming. (to)

Read. Will we all be switching to ebooks?

Sony certainly wants us to. This week the Japanese electronics giant announced an exclusive deal with high-street bookseller Borders to promote the new Sony Reader, its upgraded attempt to finally break open the ebook market.

The Reader, which made its full debut at the CES show in Las Vegas earlier this year, is an impressive little gadget. Around the size of a thin paperback book, it mimics the printed page using electronic ink and has a crisp display that puts no extra strain on the eyes. With the capacity to hold hundreds of titles simultaneously - as well as being able to download new titles from the Internet – it is certainly a great benefit. Some are saying it might do for publishing what the iPod has done for music.

Read Part2.

Borders will promote the Reader in 200 of its American stores, and it looks likely that its 36 British outlets could follow suit when the gadget goes on sale here later this year (with an expected price tag of around £200). It will mark the first time that an ebook reader will have the backing of such a big book retailer.

Sony is particularly keen on the deal. "This agreement with Borders affords us the opportunity to showcase the Sony Reader directly to enthusiasts," said Sony spokesman Ron Hawkins. Evangelists include Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, who believes it will help more people to read. "It is not about replacing books," he said earlier this year. "Ebooks offer features that traditional books cannot ... if I want a new book, I can download it instantly online, even if it is two in the morning."

Read. Part 3.

• They promise particular dividends in academic environments, as the ability to reduce a pile of expensive textbooks and carry one device is attractive for schools and universities. But although we shouldn't expect to see ebooks replace dead tree material, experts say that publishers have been waiting for this technology for some time and predict such a switch in readers’ market. "They see it as less of a drawback and more of an opportunity," says Philip Jones, web editor of the Bookseller. "Many publishers are already digitising their backlists - they're not technology providers or creators, so they are waiting for the iPod of the book world."

• 
  

Multiple Choice

Sony’s ebook made its first public appearance in the UK.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The Sony Reader imitates a page of a normal book.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Bookstores in Berlin will also promote this ebook.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The deal with Borders will enable Sony to present its ebook directly to the bookstores and not the public.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Ebooks have characteristics that normal books do not have.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Experts believe that books will eventually be substituted by ebooks.

• True

• False

Open Ended

A. Find what do the underlined words refer to in the text and write it down.

1) its ___________

2) it ___________

3) its ___________

4) here ___________

5) who ___________

6) they ___________

Fill in the Blank

A. Find synonyms in the text for the following words.

1. updated ( 1 paragraph ) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

2. device ( 2-3 paragraph ) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

3. advantage (2 paragraph) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

4. to present ( 4 paragraph ) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

5. pioneers of knowledge and skill ( 5 paragraph ) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

6. disadvantage (5 paragraph) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

7.scanning ( 5 paragraph ) ______________________

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Sony and Honda have (1) ______________________ humanoid robots.­

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Standing 50cm tall, they can (2) ______________________and dance – although they can’t do much more than this.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Dyson have also produced (3) ______________________ vacuum cleaners which can clean rooms,

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

using sensors to (4) ______________________.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Scientists say these are the first steps towards (5) ______________________ robots,

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

which will one day be carrying out our entire boring household (6) ______________________. But will robots ever be capable of more than this? In A.I., robots can love.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Could machines ever have (7) ______________________?

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Up-to-date technology is nowhere near achieving this, and experts agree that we are a long way from building a robot which (8) ______________________ anything like a human.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Scientists have envisaged a future where robots will (9) ______________________ mundane household tasks and act as personal assistants, enabling people to enjoy more leisure time.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the gaps in the cloze text with the words given below.

*robotic* ­ emotions* ­ developed ­ *future ­* domestic ­ *navigate *­ tasks ­* walk­ * simplify ­ *behaves­

Do you think this is possible? Well, think again, because this vision of the (10) ______________________ is becoming real. The robotics industry, once dominated by industrial and military robotics, is now starting to prepare for a future in which consumers might be interested in robots for their home.

Poll

What do you think will come first?

• Robots that can have human emotions and can love.

• Tourists buying tickets to go to the moon and other planets.

• Climate change going overboard and making the world impossible to live in for humans

Open Ended

Consolidation Task. Choose one of the topics below and write some personal ideas about it in 150-200 words.

1. Social media vs reality: Are people more aggressive in social media or is society really aggressive?

2. What’s the ultimate purpose of science / robotics? : make human life easier or find solutions for global problems.

3. Will our lifestyle and our daily tools/devices become so smart and intelligent? We might become mechanized and manipulated.