Read the text

INNOVATIONS IN TRANSPORT

U N I T 3

Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.

Read the following vision of the future. Then summarise and present the themes in your text to a partner.

Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.

a) Which predictions do you think will come true?

b) Which ones are you skeptical about?

c) Which ones would be beneficial/harmful to your business/industry?

d) How is your business preparing to respond to the conditions described in the predictions?

e) What other trends do you predict for the world of business in the future?

Student B

MOBILE FUTURE

Mobility is the key to the future. Mobile in terms of where people and companies are based, and flexible about the way work is done at every level. People will no longer have to go to work to work. The technological revolution that has enabled this to occur is already here. People can work online from home, only having to go into the office for occasional team meetings. This will increasingly reduce the need for office space and help to make individuals more efficient; they will no longer have to waste huge amounts of time commuting to and from work. Traditional company hierarchies are likely to disappear. In this environment, only results matter, not the number of hours you put in at the office. Employees will no longer stay with one company for their whole career or think in terms of a “job for life.” Think in terms of co-operative networks of highly-skilled individuals forming strategic alliances and working on short- or medium-term projects. The knowledge-based industries will take over, particularly in the developed world. Manufacturing jobs will be mobile in a different way too. High tech, specialist manufacturing will be done in developed countries, with lower-level manufacturing done in developing countries where labour and manufacturing costs will be cheaper.

a) Which predictions do you think will come true?

b) Which ones are you skeptical about?

c) Which ones would be beneficial/harmful to your business/industry?

d) How is your business preparing to respond to the conditions described in the predictions?

e) What other trends do you predict for the world of business in the future?

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are. Clive James (Australian critic)

THE SPEED OF TRAVEL

WARM UP

All sectors of the transport system – from high-speed motorways and railways to local and international airports – are witnessing radical changes. The transport is addressing clients’ needs and departing from post-war priorities which were aimed at establishing a transport infrastructure to assist industry and export. Key feature are travelers’ comfort, a responsible attitude to environmental pollution and the guarantee of safety even in the event of natural disasters.

Means of travelling on foot horseback stage coach train plain jet plain supersonic transport orbital space station manned rocket to Mars

Distance travelled in 12 hours – 20 miles – 40 miles – 75 miles – 550 miles – 1,250 miles – 5,500 miles – 10,000 miles – 240,000 miles – 600,000 miles

Дата добавления: 2015-04-30