Man Machines

WHILE READING ACTIVITIES

PRE-READING IDEAS

1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the word ‘brain’.

2. TRUE / FALSE: Students predict whether they believe the following statements are true or false:
(a) Scientists have just invented a cap that can think. T / F
(b) Scientists have invented a device that can allow human thoughts to control a computer’s actions. T / F
(c) Four laboratory monkeys tested the new device. T / F
(d) This technology can provide communication and control to people who are totally paralyzed. T / F
(e) This technology needs painful surgery. T / F
(f) Brain power may soon be able to control motorized wheelchairs. T / F
(g) This is a major breakthrough in neuroscience. T / F
(h) The researchers who discovered this won the Nobel Prize for medicine. T / F

3. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a)	thinking	thoughts
(b)	literal	there
(c)	human	possibilities
(d)	brain	cap
(e)	two	meaning
(f)	getting	dimensions
(g)	totally	way
(h)	opens up a whole world of	paralyzed
(i)	spinal	signals
(j)	major	cord
(k)	pave the	breakthrough

4. PRE-ARTICLE OPINIONS: Students ask each other about their opinions on the following statements from the article:
(a) A device can allow human thoughts to control a computer’s actions.
(b) The machine translated the volunteers’ thoughts.
(c) Life is moving into Hollywood-style science fiction.
(d) This new technology will be able to provide communication and control to people who are totally paralyzed.
(e) It needs no surgery.
(f) The researchers should receive a Nobel prize.

1. GAP-FILL: Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps.

The __________ to ‘get one’s thinking cap on’ has just taken on a new and quite literal meaning. Scientists have invented a __________ that can allow human thoughts to control a computer’s actions. Four volunteers wore a special cap, containing 64 electrodes that were ultra-sensitive to brainwave activity and __________ signals. The machine translated the volunteers’ thoughts “to control rapid and accurate movement of a [computer] cursor in two __________”, according to researchers Jonathan Wolpaw and Dennis McFarland of the New York State Department of Health and State University. Not quite Hollywood-style robotics... yet, but __________ there.		dimensions expression getting device brain
The __________ say Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) “can provide communication and control to people who are totally __________.” The whole procedure is completely non-invasive, needing no __________. It opens up a whole world of possibilities and hope in its application, especially for people disabled with spinal cord injuries and severe motor __________. Brain power may soon be able to control motorized wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. The age of the Bionic Man and cyborgs may come sooner than we __________. This is truly a major breakthrough in neuroscience, and may even pave the way for a Nobel Prize for the researchers.		paralyzed disabilities researchers think surgery

2. TRUE/FALSE: Students check their answers to the T/F exercise.

3. PHRASE MATCH: Students check their answers to the word match exercise.

4. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article.

5. VOCABULARY: Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings.

6. WOW: Students underline anything that made them think “wow”.

Дата добавления: 2015-01-03