Reading passages_Regular English 12

A. READING PASSAGE:
UNIT 8: LIFE IN THE FUTURE

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

What will life be like in the future? Different people have different answers to this question; some are pessimistic while others optimistic.

Things will be much worse than they are nowadays, pessimists say. The whole world will experience a period of economic depression. Many large corporations will be wiped out and millions of jobs will be lost. The security of the earth will be threatened by terrorism as terrorist groups will become more powerful and more dangerous. On the contrary, optimists believe that life will be far better than it is today. We will be living in a much cleaner environment, breathing fresher air and eating healthier foods. We will also be better looked after by a more modern medical system. Domestic chores will no longer be a burden thanks to the inventions of labour-saving devices.

For better or worse, it is certain that in the future some things will be very different. Developments in micro technology – computers and telecommunication are bound to have a huge influence on various aspects of our lives. Take work, for instance. Robots will do most of the work in factories, so they will be cleaner places for fewer people to work in them. Offices, too, will go electronic with the result that paper will almost completely disappear. More people will work from home on computers linked to a head office. As for travel, it is likely that space-shuttle technology will be used in normal air travel achieving speeds of up to 15,000 kph. Cars will still be with us, but, instead of petrol they will run on anything from electricity to methane gas. They will also be fitted with computers to tell us how efficiently we are driving and if there is anything wrong on the road ahead.

Whatever we expect from the future, remember that progress has never moved in straight lines, and history is full of unexpected developments. However, we are confident that the future is in our hands, and it is our responsibility to contribute to bettering our own lives.

( EXERCISE 1: Fill in each of the blank space in the following table with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.
__ pessimists_
Things will be (2) ________.
+ (3) ____________________: Large companies will be wiped out and millions of people will lose their (4) ________.
+ The world’s security: The world will be threaten with (5) _____________. (6) ______________ will become more dangerous.

(1)__________
Life will be much better.
+ environment:
Cleaner, fresher air and
(7) __________ foods.
+ medical system:
(8) _____________

+ (9) ______________ devices: domestic chores will be done more easily.



( EXERCISE 2:
1/. The world “depression” in paragraph 2, line 2 means ___________.
A. a time when there is little or no economic activity
B. a time when economic activity is carried out successfully
C. a time when people are worried about terrorism
2/. The phrase “wiped out” in paragraph 2, line 3 is CLOSEST in meaning to ___________.
A. continued
B. destroyed or removed completely
C. stronger and larger
3/. What will have great influence on various aspects of life?
A. Robots
B. Terrorist groups
C. Micro-technology
4/. What does the word “they” in paragraph 3, line 5 refer to _________?
A. computers
B. factories
C. robots
5/. It is likely that __________.
A. people will use more paper in their offices
B. space travel will be very cheap
C. cars will be much more modern
6/. The word “efficiently” in paragraph 2, line 12 is CLOSEST in meaning to _________.
A. well, safely
B. slowly
C. carefully
7/. The phrase “contribute to” in paragraph 2, line 12 is CLOSEST in meaning to _________.
A. well, safely
B. be worried about
C. give a hand with
8/. It can be INFERRED from the passage that the writer is quite _______ about life in the future.
A. pessimistic B. optimistic C. neutral
B. VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES:
List the words or phrases you have learnt from this passage.






























UNIT 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Traditionally, Americans and Asians have very different ideas about love and marriage. Americans believe in “romantic”