 |
Questions. 7. Read the following essay and fill in the gaps with one of the words or phrases from the list. Express your own opinion on the essay whether you agree or disagree with the author.
|
|
|
|
Questions
1. What technology are scientists in Australia experimenting with to improve mining?
2. How could fully autonomous drones help improve mining? Give at least two details from the text to support your answer.
3. What is the main idea of this text?
4. Why is it risky to try and use drones underground? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
5. Is it worth the risk and cost of developing new drone technology to use underground for mining? Support your argument with evidence from the text.
7. Read the following essay and fill in the gaps with one of the words or phrases from the list. Express your own opinion on the essay whether you agree or disagree with the author.
invented, research, innovations, Internet, email, life expectancy, breakthrough, technophobes, cybernetics, analyzed, safeguards, nuclear engineering, invented, genetic engineering, technophiles, experiment
Technology has come a long way in the last 50 years, and our lives have become better as a result. Or have they? The last 50 years have seen more changes than in the previous 200.
There have been many remarkable advances in medicine and medical technology that have helped to increase our average (1) ________ way beyond that of our ancestors. Incredible (2) ________ such as satellite television have changed the way we spend our leisure hours. Perhaps the most important (3) ________, however, has been the microchip. Nobody could have imagined, when it was first (4) ________, that within a matter of years, this tiny piece of silicon and circuitry would be found in almost every household object from the kettle to the video recorder. And nobody could have predicted the sudden proliferation of computers that would completely change our lives, allowing us to access information from the other side of the world via the (5) ________ or send messages around the world by (6) ________ at the touch of a button.
Meanwhile, (7) ________ into other aspects of information technology is making it easier and cheaper for us to talk to friends and relations around the world. Good news for (8) ________ who love modern technology, bad news for the (9) ________ who would prefer to hide from these modern miracles. But everything has a price. The development of (10) ________. led to mass automation in factories, which in turn led to millions losing their jobs. The genius of Einstein led indirectly to the threat of nuclear war and the dangerous uncertainties of (11) ________ (we hear of accidents and mishaps at nuclear power stations around the world, where (12) ________ to prevent accidents were inadequate).
The relatively new science of (13) ________ has been seen as a major step forward, but putting modified foods on to the market before scientists had properly (14) ________ them was perhaps one of the most irresponsible decisions of the 1990s. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies continue to (15) ________ on animals, a move that many consider to be cruel and unnecessary. Of course, we all rely on modern science and technology to improve our lives. However, we need to make sure that we can control it before it controls us.
|
|
|
8. Group discussion on the topic “Science and its Development”. Discuss the following statements in the group. Express and prove your opinions; support them with the examples from your experience.
1. It is now recognized that scientific knowledge is more essential for wealth creation of nations today than either capital or land.
2. Energy storage is a huge challenge for modern technology (think about how often a smartphone needs charging), but particularly for renewable energy.
3. Forbes’ suggestion that the Powerwall will kill nuclear power is probably overblown, but that this represents a radical development for the energy industry as a whole is beyond question.
4. If that sounds too prosaic, consider that 3D printing is a proposed solution for the challenges of building a colony on Mars. It might allow us to build using the materials already there, rather than transporting them 228 million kilometers at enormous expense. The stuff of science fiction? Yes, but 20 years ago, so was the idea of printing a house.
5. The possible consequences of using gene drives to combat malaria are frightening – the possibility of the target gene escaping into a different population, for instance, as well as unknown ramifications for the ecosystem as a whole.
6. Forbes’ suggestion that the Powerwall will kill nuclear power is probably overblown, but that this represents a radical development for the energy industry as a whole is beyond question.
7. Cryonics (often incorrectly called cryogenics, which annoys physicists) is for most people the stuff of science fiction. Only a few hundred people have so far been cryonically preserved. We take the cryopreservation of human embryos for granted; we’ve been preserving human embryos cryonically for decades now.
8. Rather than combating climate change by reducing global demand for energy – a task that seems impossibly challenging – the development of effective nuclear fusion would solve the world’s energy demands while averting climate catastrophe.
|
|
|
