Unit 10- Do we need technology to communicate long distance?

Nowadays, we live in a technological era in which communicating through it has an important relevance
between human beings. Letters and some other ways of communication are now left in the past. Today
people prefer emails, phone calls and texting because of the facility and the instant responses. In the
present, we think we have everything we need regarding technology, but have you ever wondered what
scientific or technological gadgets will we have in the future? How are we going to communicate with
others in the year 2050?

• Take a look at this video about the "Top 5 future technology inventions |2019-2050|" which
explains five creations that are expected to be available between 2019 and 2050.

Top 5 future technology inventions

• Take a look at this other piece of information in which a guy explains why are communication
systems so weird.

How we want to talk to one another?

Discussion Questions: After watching and analyzing both of the videos, answer the following questions.

1) Which one of the future inventions did you like the most? Why?

2) Do you think these gadgets will make our life easier? Why or why not?

3) What do you think about the "How we want to talk to one another" example about Star Trek? Would
you feel comfortable communicating that way?

4) What do you think is the difference between being extroverted or just talkative while you
communicate virtually?

Describe an important invention that you think has positively

influenced the human race.
You should say:
 what the invention is
 who invented it
 what changes it has brought

Model Answer 1:
Over the last couple of centuries, our world has been lucky enough to see many
important innovations, which have brought many positive changes to the life of its
inhabitants. However, I would like to talk about one of those innovations here
today which probably has done more to influence the entire human race than
anything else in the world.

The name of this particular innovation is “Telephone”. In plain English, it is a

device that converts sound and electrical waves into audible relays and is used
for communication by using a microphone and speaker.

Many people had tried to play with the idea of coming up with such innovation, but it was Mr Alexander
Graham Bell, who finally succeeded in doing it in 1876.  Of course, as with every other thing, when the
telephone was first introduced, only the rich people could afford it as the materials, needed to use or
connect the device, were quite expensive. But, as people slowly started to understand its full potentials,
the telephone became an every household item, as it allowed them to communicate with each other
seamlessly, no matter where they lived, whether they were maintaining a long-distance relationship or
doing a multi-million dollar business in another country.  In fact, communication would never be the
same after the introduction of the telephone.

Anyway, the positive influence of telephone can be seen in the ease of communication and carrying on
with our daily activities 24 hours a day and 365 days a year without any interruption. It also led to the
development of city centres, office buildings and the concept of an urban worker society. Besides, it has
also lead to the creation of many jobs by changing the pace of business. The telephone has also
provided security and helped in emergencies.  However, probably the most positive influence has come
in the form of a whole host of new inventions, like the smartphone and the internet, with which, we can
now not only talk but also see each other live on video at the same time.

Sample Answer 2:
It is really tough to pick one particular scientific invention that had positively
influenced the human race as there are possibly hundreds and thousands of
such inventions. I would like to pick the 'Light Bulb' as one such invention that
has very positively influenced the human race.

This single invention of science has uplifted the human race towards prosperity
and the modern world. Think about the world without any lights in the dark and
we would have been no different than living in a cave. The great scientist
"Thomas Edison" is credited to invent the light bulb and till then many
improvements have been done to it.

The bulb is the main source of illumination and light at night time when the Sun is hiding at the opposite
side of the world. We are so habituated with the electricity and light bulbs that we might wonder if it is a
life-changing invention or not.

But think about living your life for a few days without the bulbs and then you would realise the true
importance of this single invention. Some may argue that the fuel-powered lighting system could have
been alternative to it, but the reality is that that would have been too expensive and could not have
been an easy source for lighting the houses,
Think about the other living beings other than human; they mostly get back to their living place in the
evening and except some nocturnal animals and birds, most of them stay at their living place till the
morning.

They rarely do anything at night and that's because they are afraid of the dark and have no vision to see
at night. As the human, we could have some lighting system if we did not know how to illuminate the
light bulb but that would not have been so widespread without the invention of the light bulb. Scientific
inventions are interrelated and one invention or theory inspired and accelerates the invention of other
important inventions.

The Light bulb is one such invention that has inspired the invention and research of other inventions.
This is the single invention that has made us free from being active only at day time when the sun is
there.

Tips for answering this Cue Card Topic:

This cue card should be an easy one if you can talk about any important
invention, a bit about the inventor and how this invention has affected our lives.
Note that invention and discovery are different.

Discovery is exploring and finding out something that preexisted and nothing
new to the world. Only people did not know until the discovery if it existed or not.
Meanings of discovery are: to make known; reveal; disclose and from these
meaning, we can find that discovering means to reveal something of finding
something that already existed but we did not know where. For instance,
discovering America.
On the other hand, Invention is creating/ giving an idea or making something
entirely new either using objects that preexist to create something entirely new or
to create something that is first of its kind. Meanings of the word invention are- to
come upon, to create. From the meaning, we can say that invention is creating
something entirely new of its kind. To invent this new thing the inventor may use
preexisting materials but the final outcome has to be completely new. For
instance, we say 'invention of the telephone'.
You would need to talk about a famous invention as the cue card asks you to talk
about that has positively affected the entire human race. Very insignificant
inventions may have affected some people of a certain geographic location but
there are many inventions like telephones, computers and televisions have
greatly affected the whole human race. So to perfectly talk about such an
invention you should talk about such an invention that has affected the lifestyle of
the people of the world and are widely used in the world.

Following are some of the most influential inventions that you can talk about. Pick
an invention and get some idea of this invention and practice talking about it.

1. Telephone
2. Computer
3. Television
4. Automobile
5. Camera
6. Sewing Machine
7. Steam Engine
8. Light bulb
9. Paper

There are several other important inventions in history that have changed the
world. But in the above list, you would notice that only the very common
inventions that we know from our daily use have been added so that you can talk
about these known inventions. Pick an invention and do some Googling. You
would get details information about the invention and you should take some
notes from those details to prepare for this cue card topic.
If you can answer this cue card, you should also be able to answer the
following topics:

1. Describe something that has changed the world.

2. Describe a tool or device you know about or use daily.
3. Talk about an important invention of history.
4. Describe an electronic device that you use.
5. Talk about an invention that has made our life easier.
6. Describe an inventor who has a great contribution to the world.
7. Talk about an electronic device that you use at your home.
8. Describe an important modern invention.

 computer age: the period in modern history characterized by rapid

technology development and widespread computer use.

Living in a computer age has many benefits.

 computer buff: a user who is good at working with a computer.

Mike is a computer buff. He got an A+ on his programming exam.

 computer fatigue: a syndrome of tiredness resulting from long

computer usage.

About 60% of IT specialists are affected by computer fatigue.

 cutting-edge: something innovational and leading.

Cutting-edge technology./ Advanced Technology/ The advance of

technology..

desktop PC: a personal computer that remains on a desk.

I have an old desktop PC that I use for surfing the net when I’m home.

 digital editing: a process of changing digital materials like audio or

video files.

Being good at digital editing is essential in our time.

 download (podcasts): to save a copy of a file from the internet to your
own device.

Yesterday I downloaded a few films that I plan to watch during the

weekends.

 essential: something you can’t imagine your life without.

Internet is an essential piece of technology for many people.

 gadget: an advanced piece of technology, like smartphone.

Nowadays almost everybody owns a gadget.

 geek: someone who is obsessed with technology, especially computers.

My friend is a real geek. He owns a bunch of computers and other

gadgets.

 hold the line: wait a minute.

She told me to hold the line, because she had to open the door.

 large screen: a big-sized monitor.

A few days ago I decided to renew my computer, so I bought a large

screen for it.

 light years ahead: very far away from (time).

Modern computers are light years ahead of those which people used in
90s.

 on the cutting edge: at the forefront of progress.

Paul's new laptop is on the cutting edge of technology.

 operating system: the most important program that runs the

computer.I chose to buy a laptop which is based on the Windows
operating system.
 out of steam: tired, exhausted.Due to today's intense workday I am out
of steam, so I won’t be able to work tomorrow.
 rocket science: a very complicated subject for someone.Biology is a
rocket science for me. I don’t understand anything in it.
 send an attachment: send an email with an added file.My brother sent
an attachment with his homework to the professor.
 silver surfer: an old person, who uses the Internet.Uncle Bob is a silver
surfer. He uses the Internet every day, although he’s almost 70.
 social media: media used to interact with other people.Facebook is the
biggest social media in the world.
 time-consuming and inefficient: something that takes too much of
your time and isn’t rational to do.I find watching football time-consuming
and inefficient.
 to access websites/email: to visit websites/email.John accessed his
email today to see if he had received any letters.
 to back up files: to make a copy of files in case of a computer problem.I
had to back up files on my computer, because I was going to reinstall my
operating system.
 to be stuck behind a computer: to use computer for a long period of
time.A lot of teenagers are stuck behind their computers all day.
 to boot up: to start a computer.I booted up my computer as soon as I
got home.
 to browse websites: to search for websites.I spent a few hours
browsing the websites today, until I found was I was looking for.
 to crash: to suddenly stop working.My computer crashed when I was
writing my essay.
 to go online: to use the Internet.Millions of people go online every day.
 to navigate a website: to find what you need on the website.Navigating
a website is not very easy, especially if the website is poorly designed.
 to pull the plug: to end an activity.After being stuck behind a computer
all day, I decided to pull the plug.
 to push someone's buttons: to do specific thing to irritate somebody
(usually intentionally).I became so angry because he pushed my buttons
by adding pepper to my ice cream!
 to surf the web: to look through websites, searching for something you
need, or simply for entertainment.I was surfing the web yesterday for
three hours, because I had nothing else to do.
 to upgrade: to renew a software or a piece hardware.Thanks to the new
program for students, I updated my computer for free.
 well-oiled machine: something that works perfectly well.My computer,
despite being 7 years old, is still a well-oiled machine.
 widespread computer use: that is to say people use computers very
often.
 Wi-Fi hotspots: a public place where you can access the Internet.Our
university has a Wi-Fi hotspot. It is very convenient.
 wireless network: a network where users can access the Internet
without using any cables.We have installed a wireless network at home.
 word processing: writing, editing and producing words on a computer,
using special programs.There are tons of word processing programs.