Then and Now

Then and Now

​travelled by coach (карета) / car

​lived in houses/ blocks of flats (многоквартирный дом)

​rivers were clean/ dirty

​went foxhunting/jet-skiing

​women wore long dresses/ jeans

​Social occasion - Общественное мероприятие

​to mean - Означать

​for fun - Ради забавы

​to used to - имел привычк делать что-то

​childhood - детство

​tough - напряженный

​pollution - загрязнение

​after all - Как-никак, в общем и целом

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Article

The Robot That Can Make Art and Write Poetry

If you thought robots were emotionless machines, think again — because a man in England has invented a robot that can create art and write poems.

Aidan Meller created Ai-Da with the help of UK robotics company Engineered Arts and scientists from the universities of Oxford and Leeds. Ai-Da is able to look at work from human artists and learn from it to create her own work.

In an interview with CNN, Meller said that Ai-Da's poetry is "so great, if you read it you wouldn't know that it wasn't written by a human."

For example, Ai-Da wrote poems based on the work of Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Ai-Da read Dante's The Divine Comedy, an over 14,000-line poem written in the early 14th century. She then used computer learning technology to copy Alighieri's style.

In November, Ai-Da read one of her poems in Oxford, at an exhibition to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Alighieri's death. While this wasn't the first time a computer had written poetry, organizers said it was the first time a robot had both written and read its own poem, just like a human.

According to Meller, Ai-Da can write up to 20,000 words in just 10 seconds. The words she produces need only a small amount of editing, he says.

Ai-Da can also draw pictures and make other types of art using a simple robot arm.

Ai-Da is named after Ada Lovelace, a 19th century English woman who has been called the world's first computer programmer.

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In November, Ai-Da read one of her poems in Oxford, at an exhibition to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Alighieri's death. While this wasn't the first time a computer had written poetry, organizers said it was the first time a robot had both written and read its own poem, just like a human.

According to Meller, Ai-Da can write up to 20,000 words in just 10 seconds. The words she produces need only a small amount of editing, he says.

Ai-Da can also draw pictures and make other types of art using a simple robot arm.

Ai-Da is named after Ada Lovelace, a 19th century English woman who has been called the world's first computer programmer.

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Questions

Who did Aidan Meller work with to create Ai-Da?

Is Ai-Da the first computer to be able to write poetry?

Who is Ai-Da named after?

STYLE - СТИЛЬ

​EXHBITION - ВЫСТАВКА

​ANNIVERSARY - ГОДОВЩИНА

​EDIT - РЕДАКТИРОВАТЬ

​PROGRAMMER - ПРОГРАММИСТ

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the particular way in which something is done, created, or performed

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I have read a lot of books by this writer because I like his writing ___

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a person whose job involves creating computer software

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He is a very experienced ___.

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a public display of works of art or other objects

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We went to an art ___ yesterday.

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to make changes to a piece of writing, image, video, etc.

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How long will it take you to ___ this document?

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the date when an important or notable event happened

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The band celebrated its tenth ___.

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Discussion

What are your thoughts on Ai-Da?

Do you think AI will eventually be able to write as well as humans?

Do you often read poetry? If so, what kind of poetry do you like?

Have you done any creative writing? Have you written anything you're proud of?

Would you rather work as a professional artist or computer programmer?