Skim the extracts and match the extracts with the people

READING

Read out the predictions you made in 4 to the rest of the group. Be prepared to support your views.

Complete the sentences with one word from the boxes. Then finish at least five with some predictions of your own concerning business, politics, the environment, leisure or life in general.

All the adjectives in the box can be used to talk about the future. Add them to the timeline below.

distant near foreseeable immediate not-too-distant sooner ----------------------------------------------------------later In the __________ __________ __________ __________ ______ future.

Give your own examples.

way indications era possibility possibilities future

a) I think one industry that definitely has a bright _____ is …

b) Recent developments in … open up all kinds of exciting _____

c) All the _____ are that …

d) I think we’re about to enter an _____ of …

e) As far as I can see, … is still a very long _____ off.

f) As far as … is concerned, we can’t exclude the _____ that …

future outlook brink store prospects horizon

g) I think the long-term _____ for … are limited.

h) I think the part of the world facing the bleakest _____ is …

i) I believe we may be on the _____ of…

j) The _____ for anyone involved in the … business is uncertain.

k) There seems to be political change on the _____ in …

l) It’s impossible to tell what lies in ______ for …

There are five short extracts in which people are talking about the influence of technology on their lives and their attitude towards it.

		A a writer B a teacher C an artist D a doctor E a social worker F a politician G a student H a computer programmer

1 Exciting. So exciting. I mean, I’ve spent most of my creative life working in what I guess most people see as a very traditional way. I tend to use oils, but occasionally I work with watercolours and I’ve done one or two pieces of collage and sculpture that I think are quite successful. But then along came computers and they’ve opened up completely new areas for people to explore, completely new avenues and methods of expression. It’s fantastic.

2 Quite frankly, in the fifteen years I’ve been doing this, they’ve revolutionized my working life. Time was I’d send in a rough draft, which usually had a lot of crossings out and bits added and arrows all over it. And it would come back with comments for revisions and whatnot. And in order to produce a final manuscript I’d have to start all over again from the very beginning. Whereas now, of course, I slap in a disk and I start from where I left off. Magic!

3 But, actually, I think what I appreciate most is the contact. Because, in my job, I can be sent off at a moment’s notice to a disaster zone or a famine area. It’s difficult, impossible even sometimes, to let my family know where I am, or how I am, or when I’m coming home. So yes, there’s vital information on symptoms and treatment that I can access at any time and that’s useful, but it can’t beat being able to e-mail my kids on their birthday.

4 Well, yes, I can see the benefits. But unfortunately I can see the downside too. Working with problem kids, as I do, in their homes and with their families, I would much rather that these kids spent time interacting with other people, getting some of their problems out in the open rather than shutting themselves away in front of an endless succession of screen games. Sometimes I feel like unplugging the damn machines and throwing them out the window.

5 I’m on the Internet everyday. And not just playing, shopping, entertainment, and so on. It doesn’t govern my life. It’s useful stuff I’m doing. And as long as you’re fairly selective about what you believe, it’s incredible what you can find out. The web is probably the source that I use the most these days for keeping me up-to-date on my subject. And I encourage my classes to use it as much as possible too.

2 Read the extracts for the second time and match the extracts with each speaker’s attitude towards technology, listed A – H.

A it makes my job easier B it provides me with lots of information C it helps me shop D it provides a new challenge E it gives me news and sports updates F it makes me angry G it keeps me entertained H it helps me keep in touch with people

Дата добавления: 2015-04-30