step by step 2000 book 1 unit-9

Unit 9 Visions of the Future

Part I Warming up

1. There'll be no more telexes, and businesses will only use fax and electronic mail.

2. Office cleaning will be done by robots. They will also replace production workers.

3. People will have to retrain for new skills every ten years.

4. Computers will replace clerical workers.

5. There will be much more unemployment.

6. People will buy their food from home.

7. There'll be less need for transport, as people will work from home.

8. Most consumer advertising will be delivered directly to the home.

9. Business travel will be replaced by live video meetings.

There won't be any need to go to see the client any more. Tapescript:

I-- Interviewer M--Man W-- Woman

I. What do you think might happen in the business world in the next 20 years or so?

W: Um... there'll be no more telexes, businesses will only use fax and electronic mail.

M: Mm ... Office cleaning will be done by robots.

W: Well, there will be much more unemployment.

M. Well, I think, people will have to retrain for new skills every ten years.

W: I think robots will replace production workers.

W: Computers will replace clerical workers.

M: People will buy their food from home.

W: There'll be less need for transport, as people will work from home. M: Most consumer advertising will be delivered directly to the home. W: Well, business travel will be replaced by live video meetings, there won't be any need to go to see the client any more.

B.

Tapescript:

-- I think I'll probably be in a spaceship on my way to the planet Mars. -- I may be in charge of a robot court, judging some robots.

-- I think the population will have gone up so much that either everyone will be living in big plastic domes in the Sahara Desert or else they'll be living under the sea.

-- Obviously nuclear war worries me, but I don't think that'll happen. Because I don't think that any human being can--is capable of actually pressing some button(s) that release all the nuclear arms.

-- Perhaps we'll be able to convert _brain waves into radio waves and then change them back to brain waves, so you could actually have a conversation with someone without talking.

-- And there'll be so many people--I think there may--unless they have another planet to go to--there'll be loads and loads of tower blocks for people to live in.

-- It'll probably be computers that are running the country by then.

Part II Working at home

A.

Advantages Rates

a. never mind the expense of getting a. lower wages

to and from the place of work b. no job security

b. no stress caused by traveling

c. poorer working conditions

c. reducing pollution caused by transporting

d. flexitime to do work

B.

1.What has made working from home possible?

enormous advances in the communications industry

2. What equipment docs a home-worker need at home?

a television, a keyboard and computer, a printer and a telephone link

3. Why does home-working suit some women particularly?

having young children / not want to travel a long way / need flexitime 4. What can be inferred about the conditions of home-workers?

not all the home-workers can enjoy the status and benefits of full-time employees.

Tapescript:

I--Interviewer D--Lynn Dermot t

I: Miss Dermott, let me ask you straight away, do you think that technology has advanced so far that soon, or within a few years, many people could work at home instead of working in offices in the center of towns?

D: Oh yes. It's happening now. You see there have been such enormous advances in the communications industry, with mini- and micro-computers, and of course, now with cable TV on its way, many people are already working from home who traditionally have had to go into an office every day.

I: Mmm.

D. You see, the communications industry has made more progress than any other industry in the last ten years.

I: And how do these people manage to work? I mean, what equipment do they have at home?

D: Well, they have a home terminal, oh that consists of a television, a keyboard and computer, a printer, and a telephone fink, to fink up to other computers.

I: Oh, I see. But surely there are many advantages in being able to work from home?

D: Oh yes. I mean, people spend a lot of their working day actually

getting to and from their place of work, never mind the expense of that, and the stress it can cause. I mean, the rush hours, as everyone knows, are the worst times of day to travel, and millions of people spend their working lives either getting up early to avoid the rush hours or ... traveling in the middle of them with all the pressures and stress that can cause. Something that's happened in Britain is that people actually want to live as far away as possible from where they work. By that I mean they don't want to live actually in the center of cities and towns. And of course the transporting of so many people causes pollution in our cities, and in general really.

I: Ar yes, I see. So what is it that you don't like about the conditions of home-workers?

D: What I'm afraid of is that the employer doesn't have to accept his responsibilities.

I: Um ... what do you mean? Surely the person is still an employee?

D: Well, yes, you may think that but let me tell you what might happen. Basically three things. One--lower wages, twit--no job security, and three poorer working conditions. In future a British firm in, for example, London, might employ clerks in Belfast, or a Paris company could have their secretaries in Spain, and then they just dial around for the cheapest labor.

I: Yes, but surely such arrangements suit some people, particularly

women? If they have young children they don't want to travel a long way from home. And... uhm ... perhaps they want the advantages of flexitime, where they have a number of hours to do but they can choose when to do them?

D: Well, of course that's true. These types of arrangements do suit a lot of women. Now, one company has given its home workers the status and benefits of full-time employees. But you see we think this protection should go to all home-workers. Now what is clear is that the new technologies are radically changing the working lives of people. We are in favor of the benefits and freedoms that might come with this new situation but we also want to warn people now some of the risks.

I :Thank you, very much.

Part III The Times capsule

Tapescript:

Time capsules are special devices built to protect papers and other objects usually for 100 years. The purpose is to help people in the future understand what is important when the time capsule is closed.

The device is usually made of copper, aluminum or stainless steel. It should be non-rusting, leak-proof and durable.

Contents to be placed in the time capsule should be conditioned to a low humidity level. Include items that do not require any technology or equipment other than the eye and hand to use and interpret. Today's

computer discs and similar electronic media may not be playable in the future.

Finally, the capsule's location should, of course, be dry as well. B.

Name: the Times capsule

Purpose:helping people in the year 3000 understand about life in the world today

Designer: an architect from Spain

Siz e: one and one half cubic meters of space inside with 8 separate parts Appearance: a flower; a feeling of mystery

Closing time. April

Permanent home: outside the entrance of the Natural History Museum C. Tapescript:

Have you ever thought about what you would save from today to show to people in the future? Some people are thinking about it. They are involved in a project to save objects in a container that is not to be opened until New Year's Day 1000 years from now. The container is a time capsule.

The idea' for this time capsule came from the people at the New York Times newspaper. So it is called the Times capsule. The papers and objects to be put in it are to help people in the year 3000 understand about life in the world today. First, a container was needed to keep the materials

safe. SO the newspaper invited 48 architects and designers from around the world to take part in a design competition. An architect from Spain Santiago Caltravo won. His winning design is a shiny steel container. It has one and one half cubic meters of space inside. It is shaped like a flower with eight separate parts. Mr. Caltravo says he wanted the container to be beautiful yet create a feeling of mystery. Some of the things that will be placed in the Times capsule have been chosen. They are being shown along with the Tim, s capsule at the American Museum of Natural History v in New York City.

Among the objects are six magazines published by the New York Times which described the last 1000 years, a recording of the sounds of life in New York City made at 9: 09 in the morning of the 9th day of the 9th month of 1999, pictures taken of what some people in New York were doing at that same time, a small container of fresh water from a river in Brazil, and 'an American military medal, a ceremonial chair from Zimbabwe, a beanie baby doll popular with collectors, Marlboro cigarettes. Other things will be chosen to represent life at the present time. Visitors to the museum can use two computers to enter their own suggestions. The objects chosen by a special committee will be placed in the capsule before it is closed in April.

Then the large steel container will be moved to its permanent home outside the entrance of the Natural History Museum.

Although the Times capsule is not to be opened for 1000 years, it should not be forgotten. A guard will be paid to watch over it and remind people of why it is important. The creators of the project hope the guard duty will be passed on from person to person through the next ten centuries.

Part III Short talks on listening skills

Making Use of Them -- Signals and Fillers

A speaker has many ways to indicate that he or she is moving from one point to another, or giving an example, or repeating a point, or whatever. To a language learner these signals can easily be missed.

Lecturers, for example, in a formal situation generally show clearly when a new point begins. They use expressions like "Secondly ..." or "Then ... ". They may pause or make a gesture or move slightly. A change to a new point is often made by increased loudness or a change of pitch. In spontaneous conversations, a different intonation indicates a new idea or the repeating of something the listener already knows.

Students need to learn to listen to and watch the speaker for the "signals" in order to connect the various parts of a speech.

Pauses in speech give the listener time to think about what has been said and to relate it to what has gone before. Beginning students find it easier to listen to speakers who make long pauses between the "bits" of their utterances. Pause length depends on the speaker's speech habits, on

the behavior and reactions of those listening, and on the speaker's need to work out what to say next.

Long gaps in speech are often filled with sounds or expressions such as "er ...', "erm ...", "and er ...' simply to avoid long silences, which are thought to be embarrassing in English conversation. A good idea is to explain the use of these "fillers," particularly to speakers of languages where long silences are a normal conversation feature. They can then recognize them and know that fillers such as "er ... ', "erm ...', "and er ...' are not part of the essential message.