Is a Computer Future a Disaster?
Pre-reading Task
Work in groups. Discuss the following questions:
Do you think a computer future is a disaster?
What will happen if computer monsters arrive?
What could computer monsters do to our planet?
Read the following poem and do the activities below:
COMPUTER FUTURE
We are monsters of the future,
We’ll torture you on Tuesday,
Then we’ll open the fire,
It is our desire!
– Hi! My name is Freddy Gangster,
Here with me is Linda Webster.
We’ll create an awful future
On the web-site m dot future.
No rivers, no clouds,
No lakes and no doubts.
That is what we see forever
If computer future’s ever.
No smiling funny faces,
No tortoise or horse races,
No thrilling competitions,
No peaceful saving missions.
1. Answer the questions:
1. What do you think the message of this poem is?
2. What sort of a future will Freddy Gangster and Linda Webster create? What will be bad
about it?
3. Describe Freddy and Linda as you can imagine their appearance.
4. What will happen on Tuesday?
2. Translate the poem into Russian. Compare your translations in
pairs.
Focus on Grammar: Future Simple. Real Conditions for Future
1. Make a list of things people won’t do when computer future is created by Freddy
and Linda.
Example: People won’t swim in the river.
2. Ask and answer questions about a computer future. Use your own
ideas or the words of the poem.
E.g.: to see clouds. – Will people see clouds? – No, they
won’t.
Prompts: to play sport games; to travel abroad; to swim in the lakes;
to take part in the Olympics; to read books; to ride horses; to smile; to study foreign
languages.
3. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (Present Simple or
Future Simple):
1. If computers (be) everywhere, we (have) less work to do.
2. If computer monsters (arrive) in the next decade, we (suffer) from them very much.
3. My friends (play) PC games if I (invite) them to my flat.
4. I (not; to live) in our city when computer monsters (come).
5. I (graduate) school when computers (be) improved.
6. If I (speak) to Granny tomorrow, I (tell) her about my new school friends.
7. As soon as the teacher (come), we (switch on) our computers.
8. When I (go) on holiday, I (not; to play) any computer games.
9. The teacher (explain) the rules of the competition only after the bell (ring).
10. Jessica (be) afraid of this picture if I (show) it to her.
4. Read the schoolwork by a French student Jacques and correct his
grammar mistakes:
Well, I think if computer monsters will come, we will be very much
upset. We don’t have any rivers, or lakes, or clouds. When monsters arrives, it will be
really terrible. People will be afraid of them. We have no funny events in our life if we
ever meet computer monsters like Freddy Gangster or Linda Webster.
Keys:
3. 1. are, will have; 2. arrive, will suffer; 3. will play,
invite; 4. won’t live, come; 5. will graduate, are; 6. speak, will tell; 7. comes, will
switch on; 8. go, won’t play; 9. will explain, rings; 10. will be, show
4. if computer monsters come; We won’t have;
When monsters arrive; We will have.
By Alexander Derbaremdiker,
Polytechnic College No. 8, Moscow
|