Videophone ['vidiafaun] видеотелефон

to type up ['taip 'лр] печатать

gadget ['gaed3it] приспособление

scientist ['saiantist] ученый

solution [sa'luijn] решение

urgent ['3:d3ant] неотложный

cancer ['kaensa] рак

AIDS[eidz] спид

famine ['faemin] голод

safe [self] безопасный

atmospheric pollution [,setma'sferik pa'lujn]

атмосферное загрязнение

criminal ['kriminl] преступник

terrorist ['terarist] террорист

optimistic [ppti'mistik] оптимистический

wise [waiz] мудрый

superpower f'suipa.paua] сверхдержава

to disarm [dis'a:m] разоружаться

government ['gAvanmant] правительство

are waking up to начинают осознавать, понимать

Green issues [1Ju:z], ['isju:z] экологические проблемы

It's up to us это зависит от нас; это наше дело

Questions

1. Are you optimistic about the future?

2. Do you believe that robots will do all the dangerous and dirty work for us?

3. What will robots do for us?

4. Do you think children will go to school in the future?

5. What's the difference between a telephone and a videophone?

6. Will writing by hand become the thing of the past?

7. Why do you think people will become healthier?

8. Will our planet become cleaner or more polluted?

9. Pessimists say that one day we'll have to pay for clean air just like we do now for clean water. Do you think it's possible?

10. Will there be wars in the future?

11. Have you ever seen an electric car?

12. Do you think the world will become more democratic?

COMPUTER REVOLUTION

50 years ago people didn't even heard of computers, and today we cannot imagine life without them.

Computer technology is the fastest-growing industry in the world. The first computer was the size of a minibus and weighed a ton. Today, its job can be done by a chip the size of a pin head. And the revolution is still going on.

Very soon we'll have computers that we'll wear on our wrists or even in our glasses and earrings.

The next generation of computers will be able to talk and even think for themselves. They will contain electronic "neural networks". Of course, they'll be still a lot simpler than human brains, but it will be a great step forward. Such computers will help to diagnose illnesses, find minerals, identify criminals and control space travel.

Some people say that computers are dangerous, but I don't agree with them.

They save a lot of time. They seldom make mistakes. It's much faster and easier to surf the Internet than to go to the library.

On-line shopping makes it possible to find exactly what you want at the best price, saving both time and money.

E-mail is a great invention, too. It's faster than sending a letter and cheaper than sending a telegram.

All in all, I strongly believe that computers are a useful tool. They have changed our life for the better. So why shouldn't we make them work to our advantage?

Vocabulary

computer technology [tek'nolad3i] комгаотерные generation [,d3ena'reijn] поколение

технологии to contain [kan'tein] содержать

Industry [Indastri] отрасль промышленности, neural network [,njuaral 'netwa:k] нейронная сеть

индустрия human ['hju:man] человеческий

minibus ['minib/\s] микроавтобус brain [brein] мозг

to weigh [wei] весить step [step] шаг

ton [1лп] тонна to diagnose f'daiagnauz] ставить диагноз

chip [tjip] чип, микросхема to identify [ai'dentifai] опознавать

pin head ['pin hed] булавочная головка criminal ['kriminl] преступник

wrist [rist] запястье dangerous f'deir^aras] опасный

to save [seiv] экономить e-mail [1: meil] электронная почта

to surf [sa:f] the Internet ['intanet] искать, invention [in'venjn] изобретение

"бродить" по Интернету all in all в общем

on-line [pn'lain] shopping покупки через Интернет tool [tu:l] инструмент

(интернет- магазины) So why shouldn't we make them work to our

exactly [ig'zaektli] именно то advantage [ed'va:ntid3]? зд. Почему бы их не за-

price [prais] цена ставить работать на нас?

Questions