Can you think about some developments or inventions that you would like to see in the next ten years in these fields:
Learning English
Medicine
My career
Travel and Transport
Free time
Food and Cooking
Ex 2A
KEY
1 e), h)
2 c)
3 a), f)
gather something to increase in speed, force, etc. E.g. The truck gathered speed. During the 1980s the green movement gathered momentum. Thousands of these machines are gathering dust (= not being used) in stockrooms.
momentum: /məˈmentəm/ the ability to keep increasing or developing. Sp. impulso, ímpetu. E.g. The fight for his release gathers momentum each day. They began to lose momentum in the second half of the game.
pace: the speed at which somebody/something walks, runs or moves. E.g. to set off at a steady/ gentle/ leisurely pace. Congestion frequently reduces traffic to walking pace. The ball gathered pace as it rolled down the hill. The runners have noticeably quickened their pace.
explosion: /ɪkˈspləʊʒn/ a large, sudden or rapid increase in the amount or number of something. E.g. a population explosion. An explosion of interest in learning Japanese. An explosion in oil prices.
synthetic: artificial; made by combining chemical substances rather than being produced naturally by plants or animals. E.g. synthetic drugs/fabrics. Shoes with synthetic soles. Synthetic dyes.
non-synthetic - involving or derived from living organisms; free from chemical treatments or additives. E.g. organic gardening is more natural because it uses non-synthetic fertilizers.
4 d), g), i)
can/could/may/might well probably. E.g. You may well be right. It may well be that the train is delayed.
bound to do/be something certain or likely to happen, or to do or be something. E.g. There are bound to be changes when the new system is introduced. It's bound to be sunny again tomorrow. You've done so much work—you're bound to pass the exam. It was bound to happen sooner or later (= we should have expected it). You're bound to be nervous the first time (= it's easy to understand).
fade: to disappear gradually. E.g. Her smile faded.
5 b), j)
outsource (something) (business) /ˈaʊtsɔːs/ to arrange for somebody outside a company to do work or provide goods for that company. Sp. subcontratar. E.g. We outsource all our computing work.
Ex 3A
futurologist: /ˌfjuːtʃəˈrɒlədʒɪst/
come up with something to find or produce an answer, a sum of money, etc. E.g. She came up with a new idea for increasing sales. How soon can you come up with the money?
Ex 3B
Who was Nostradamus /ˌnɒstrəˈdɑːməs/? What was he famous for?
(Nostradamus was a 16th Century French pharmacist who claimed to be able to predict the future. Some people believe a lot of his predictions have since come true, though most academic sources maintain that these realisations have largely been the result of misinterpretation or mistranslation)
KEY
1 Futurologists work for big companies.
2 They do research, study trends in research and development, go to conferences, read technical magazines, and use common sense.
3 Futurologists have to have revolutionary ideas on a big scale, but big, radical ideas rarely become reality.
Culture notes
On New Year's Eve in 1961 , The Beatles were driven to London for an audition with Decca records. The driver got lost and they eventually arrived very late. On 1st January 1962, they auditioned, playing 15 songs in just under one hour. A few weeks after the audition, Decca records rejected The Beatles, saying, 'guitar groups are on the way out' and 'The Beatles have no future in show business'. However, it has been suggested that since they were so tired on the day of the audition, they didn't play so well and t his may have just been a polite way of rejecting them.
mogul /ˈməʊɡl/ a very rich, important and powerful person. Magnate /ˈmæɡneɪt/. E.g. a movie mogul. A business mogul.
forecaster: /ˈfɔːkɑːstə(r)/ a person who says what is expected to happen, especially somebody whose job is to forecast the weather. E.g. a weather forecaster. An economic forecaster.
packed: containing a lot of a particular thing. E.g. packed with something The book is packed with information.
Nostradamuses /ˌnɒstrəˈdɑːməsɪz/ Nostradamus was a 16th Century French pharmacist who claimed to be able to predict the future.
turn out: to be discovered to be; to prove to be. E.g. turn out that… It turned out that she was a friend of my sister. turn out to be/have something The job turned out to be harder than we thought. The house they had offered us turned out to be a tiny apartment.
mystical: /ˈmɪstɪkl/ having spiritual powers or qualities that are difficult to understand or to explain. E.g. mystical forces/ powers. Watching the sun rise over the mountain was an almost mystical experience.
commonsensical: /ˌkɒmənˈsensɪkəl/ thinking about things in a practical way and making sensible decisions. With common sense. E.g. and we all ought to go about our business in a commonsensical, calm way, and not in any way be distracted by scare stories or horror stories or headlines.
judgement: /ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/ the ability to make sensible decisions after carefully considering the best thing to do. E.g. good/ poor/ sound judgement. She showed a lack of judgement when she gave Mark the job. The accident was caused by an error of judgement on the part of the pilot.
By and large used when you are saying something that is generally, but not completely, true. E.g. By and large, I enjoyed my time at school.
pattern: /ˈpætn/ the regular way in which something happens or is done. E.g. changing patterns of behaviour. An irregular sleeping pattern. The murders all seem to follow a (similar) pattern(= happen in the same way).
root something/somebody out to find the person or thing that is causing a problem and remove or get rid of them. E.g. We need to root out corruption at all levels. The principal promised to root out the troublemakers.
Water-propelled jet pack
minuscule: /ˈmɪnəskjuːl/ extremely small. E.g. minuscule handwriting.
graveyard: /ˈɡreɪvjɑːd/ a place where things or people that are not wanted are sent or left. E.g. a graveyard for cars. The club has become a graveyard for mediocre provincial bands.
enhance something to increase or further improve the good quality, value or status of somebody/ something. E.g. This is an opportunity to enhance the reputation of the company. The skilled use of make-up to enhance your best features.
glow: a feeling of warmth in the face or body. E.g. he could feel the brandy filling him with a warm glow. The fresh air had brought a healthy glow to her cheeks.
give somebody a buzz (informal) to telephone somebody. E.g. I'll give you a buzz on Monday, OK?
buzz: a strong feeling of pleasure, excitement or achievement. E.g. a buzz of excitement/ expectation. She gets a buzz out of her work. Flying gives me a real buzz. You can sense the creative buzz in the city.
Ex 4A
KEY
2 What (qualities) do you need to be a futurologist?
3 Where do futurologists go to get ideas?
4 What predictions have not come true? /What are some examples of ideas which have not taken off?
5 What do the next big things/ new innovations have to do?
Ex 4B
KEY
1 Rooting out ideas means to remove bad ideas. A root is the part of a tree or plant under the ground. If you want to remove a tree or plant permanently, you also need to remove the roots.
2 Things that fly, e.g. aeroplanes 'take off'. But 'take off' also has another meaning: to become
extremely fashionable very quickly.
3 A graveyard is a place where dead people are buried. He uses the metaphor to say that some gadgets never become popular and are, therefore, 'dead'.
4 Buzz literally means a vibrating sound, but metaphorically means a 'thrill'. Give someone a buzz means to phone someone in colloquial language. In paragraph 5, it has both a literal and metaphorical meaning.
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