Unit 2 Robots her. Then the front door bell rang. Tony freed ran to her bed. She cried all night. The next her and disappeared from sight. It was then morning a car drove up and took Tony away that Claire realized that Tony The company was very 45 had opened the curtains of the pleased with Tonys report on his front window. Her guests had three weeks with Claire. Tony seen everything had protected a human being The women were impressed from harm. He had prevented by Claire, the house and the Claire from harming herself so delicious cuisine. Just before 8)hougherowneneofeiume they left, Claire heard Gladys He had opened the curtains that whispering to another woman that she had night so that the other women would see him never seen anyone so handsome as Tony. what and Claire, knowing that there was no risk to a sweet victory to be envied by those women! Claire's marriage. But even though Tony had ss She might not be as beautiful as them, but none been so clever, he would have to be rebuilt of them had such a handsome lover you cannot have women falling in love with Then she remembered- Tony was just a machines machine. She shouted"Leave me alone and Comprehending 1 Claire's feelings toward Tony changed as the story developed. Read the story, then fill in the occasions when Claire had these feelings. Occasion Claire∴ Occasion Claire disliked him called him a dear 2 When he arrived was alarmed felt his warmth felt embarrassed felt being envied admired him cried all night 2 Read the story again and answer the following questions in groups I Why did Tony open the curtains? 2 What did Tony do to prevent Claire from being harmed? 3 Why did Tony have to be rebuilt? 4 How would you feel if you had a robot like Tony in your house? 5 Claire spent three weeks with Tony in her house. What sentences in the story show that she kept forgetting and then remembering that he was a machine? 3 In groups, list Tonys characteristics that were similar to and those that were different from those of a human being Characteristics Similar Different Physical Mental 12
Unit 2 Robots Learning about Language Discovering useful words and expressions 1 Rewrite these sentences using words or phrases of similar meaning from the text to replace the underlined parts. I Bill felt great pleasure when he tried his new fax machine and it worked 2 He felt pity for Claire because she was overweight and needed to lose about five kilos to look slim 3 Even though Jane told him many times to go away her brother still accompanied her to the doctor. 4 Her greatest wish was to look as elegant as gladys Claffern 5 Please call me before you buy a new digital camera so I can go with you 6 She looked at the computer screen carefully hoping to find some ne ils in her mailbox 7 It was ridiculous that his own mother would not talk to him about the affair 8 He felt happy when his boss stated that he could set aside some time for exercise 2 Complete the following paragraph using the words and phrase in their proper forms turn around scan awful alarm clerk cushion declare favour beddin (News, 16/04/2321) Historical research shows that in the 22nd century many people told tories about how, at one time people could buy robots as house decorators. The robots would the literature for the latest ideas in home decoration Often the robots would designs that were grander than their owners wanted. Brightly coloured d would be suggested together with brightly patterned walls and carpets. Some of the the shops thought that the designs were While some owners were firm with their robots suggestions, others would and walk out of the shop feeling embarrassed. A few other robots would even get into physical fights with their owners in public as their electrical systems sometimes would set off the shops After a while the government decided such behaviour was not appropriate and passed a law robots should not leave the house. So robots became household cleaners or industrial workers instead 3 Look at the words below. Many of them are used to describe Claire's feelings in the story. Carry out the following tasks in pairs alarmed embarrassed amazed awful amused surprised attracted disturbed envied impressed satisfied hurt frightened upset Find as many of these words in the text as possible and underline the sentences Write a short paragraph to describe Claire using some of these words e Tell a story using at least five of these words 13
Revising useful structures 1 Look at the reading passage again and underline all the verbs which use the passive voice. 2 Complete each of the following sentences using the passive infinitive of a suitable verb or phrase below accompany test out design know.as fill with er id set aside I The companys new car is going in the coming months 2 Since Claire had become attached to Tony. the robot needed 3 Tim refused by his father when he went for a haircut The desire a great writer inspires many young authors. 5 He felt it was absurd hatred for someone he had never met 6 The new product is available y Interested customers. 7 She was very beautiful but she did not like by so many people 8 Since these aprons are such poor quality, they need and taken back to the shop 3 Choose the verbs in the passive voice to complete the passage. list divide connect attach accompany organize surround On the morning of December IOth, Marion began to write her cards for Christmas. There were so many. She looked at the list of Christmas cards that she planned to send. They in the alphabetical order of the receivers' family names. There were sixty in all The cards would into six piles of ten. She planned to write a few every afternoon because from then on until Christmas her time would Into shopping, cooking as well as writing the cards. But that afternoon there would be no time for cards. She was going to learn how to display flowers beautifully. she was by her neighbour, Sally. They to a community programme. Then on Christmas Day their families would by lovely flower displays, special cuisine, excellent presents, and above all family afTection. Marion to her family and enjoyed making them happy. Thinking of that she sighed happily and began to write the first card 4 Here are three rules for polite behaviour in a Western country. Can you suggest three rules for polite behaviour in china that would be useful for foreigners? Remember to use the passive voice. RULES FOR WESTERN SOCIETY I To ask a woman's age is considered rude 2 It is impolite to make unfavourable comments on a person s appearance (for example. their haircut, makeup or the colour of their fingernails). s The amount of someones income is never discussed among friends. 14
Unit 2 Robots Using Language listening and speaking 1 Molly and Kate are discussing the story "Satisfaction Guaranteed".Read the questions and then listen to their conversation Tick the correct boxes. Molly Kate I Who really likes the story? 2 who thinks that Claire loved Tony? 3 Who thinks that Tony loved Claire? 4 Who thinks that the purpose of Tonys actions was □口口 to make Claire feel good about herself? 5 Who thinks taking Tony away must have hurt Claire? 6 Who said that making a robot so much like a man was bound to cause trouble? 2 Read the questions and then listen again. Answer the questions What does Kate think the difference between robots and humans is? 2 How does Kate think Claire was hurting herself? 3 Why would one of the girls like a robot such as Tony living at her house? 4 What does Kate think the companys biggest mistake was? 3 Listen to the tape again and write down the expressions of supposition and belief 4 Imagine it is the future and people have household robots In groups of six carry out the tasks. Use the expressions in Exercise 3 in your discussions I Divide each group into two subgroups of three 2 Subgroup A discuss the question: What do you think the positive effects of this situation would be? Be as imaginative as you like 3 Subgroup B discuss the question: What do you think the negative effects of this situation would be? Be as imaginative as you like 4 Subgroups A and B each choose a reporter to present their ideas to the whole group 5 Choose a reporter to present their ideas to the whole class 5 Imagine you are engineers in a company that makes robots and you have been asked to design a new type of robot In groups, carry out the following tasks. I Make a list of the purpose of your robot and the abilities you want your robot to have 2 Make a list of the kinds of body part your robot would need to carry out your instructions 3 Draw your robot on a large piece of paper and name its parts and explain what each part does Stick your design on the classroom wall. Have one member of your group explain your design to the rest of the class 15
Reading, discussing and writing A BIOGRAPHY OF ISAAC ASIMOV Isaac asimov was an American scientist and writer who wrote around 480 books that included mystery stories, science and history books, and even books about the Holy Bible and Shakespeare. But he is best known for his science fiction stories. Asimov had both an extraordinary imagination that gave him the ability to explore future worlds and an amazing mind with which he searched for explanations of everything. in the present and the past Asimovs life began in Russia, where he was born on 2 January 1920. It ended in New York on 6 April, 1992, when he died as a result of an HiV infection that he had got from a blood transfusion nine years earlier. When Asimov was three, he moved with his parents and his one-year-old sister to New York City. There his parents bought a candy store which they ran for the next 40 or so years. At the age of nine, when his mother was pregnant with her third child, Asimov started working part-time in the store. He helped out through his school and university years until 1942, a year after he had gained a master's degree in chemistry. In 1942 he joined the staff of the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a junior chemist and worked there for three years. In 1948 he got his PhD in chemistry. The next year he became a biochemistry teacher at Boston University School of Medicine. In 1958 he gave up teaching to become a full-time writer. It was when asimov was eleven years old that his talent for writing became obvious. He had told a friend two chapters of a story he had written. The friend thought he was retelling a story from a book. This really surprised Asimov and from that moment, he started to take himself seriously as a writer. asimov began having stories published in science fiction magazines in 1939. In 1950 he published his first novel and in 1953 his first science book Throughout his life, Asimov received many awards, both for his science fiction books and his science books. Among his most famous works of science fiction, one for which he won an award was the Foundation trilogy (1951-1953), three novels about the death and rebirth of a great empire in a galaxy of the future. It was loosely based on the fall of the Roman Empire but was about the future. These books are famous because asimov invented a theoretical framework which was designed to show how ideas and thinking may develop in the future. He is also well known for his collection of short stories, I, Robot(1950), in which he developed a set of three ""laws"for robots. For example, the first law states that a robot must not injure human beings or allow them to be injured. Some of his ideas about robots later influenced other writers and even scientists researching into artificial intelligence. Asimov was married twice. He married his first wife in 1942 and had a son and a daughter Their marriage lasted 31 years. Soon after his divorce in 1973, Asimov married again but he had no children with his second wife 16