1 Ten-year-old Alexandra Nechita has just touched a Picasso at the Museum of Modem Art! Thank goodness nobody has noticed the child prodigy, who’s shaking up the art world with her paintings that sell for more than $50,000.
2 An awe-struck Alexandra - “Omigosh, omigosh, look, it’s Three Musicians'” - met Picasso for the first time at the museum. Her cubist style of painting is often compared with his; some suggest she mimics him. Alexandra simply likes colors. She always has.
3 The youngster has had limited formal instruction but instead graduated naturally from crayons to oils and acrylics. Money was tight for her lab technician parents. In order to afford supplies, they created an exhibit of her works at a local library.
4 To Alexandra, it’s all so very simple. “Every child has a talent or a gift,” she says. Anyone can be a prodigy “if they wanted to. . . . They can be the biggest of whatever they want to be. It takes dedication, determination, and perseverance. That’s it.”
5 “That’s a typical response from a child prodigy,” says Ellen Winner, author of Gifted Children: Myths and Realities. “It comes so easily to them that they don’t understand why it doesn’t come easily to others.” Gifted children have what Winner calls “a rage to master.”
6 Alexandra’s mother, Viorica, is well aware of that “rage.” As a toddler, Alexandra spent every waking hour with her coloring books. Fearing their daughter would become introverted, her parents tried to redirect her by taking away the books. Alexandra
Adapted from USA Today.
drew her own shapes to color in. By the time Alexandra was seven, Niki and Viorica Nechita had given in to their child’s rage and built a studio in their home.
After school and chores, Alexandra paints three to four hours a day. On weekends, she paints all day. She “is typical of someone who has a unitary gift,” Winner says. The artist is not precocious in areas outside her artwork. “There’s no reason to think she’s scholastically gifted or musically gifted.”
Alexandra calls herself “100 percent normal.” Little has changed since the general population discovered her, she says. “There are bigger people that I’ve met. More media. More exhibits.” A book collection of her paintings, Outside the Lines, includes personal vignettes written by Alexandra. She’s been invited to the White House, and there are other gallery shows planned.
Her first painting sold for $50. Today she gets as much as $80,000. To date, Alexandra has sold more than $3 million in paintings.
10 But Winner has concerns about Alexandra’s high profile. “These children have enough trouble,” she says. There is a “fragile” connection between an early gift and adulthood, and several paths prodigies generally follow. Becoming the “next creative genius” is the most rare outcome, Winner says. Finding success in a similar field is more likely. Burnout is a real threat. But the only thing draining Alexandra right now is the attention. “Thirty interviews in one day,” she sighs. Some days she doesn’t paint at all. “I understand that I have to be away from it,” she says in suddenly grown-up tones. Fame has its price, of course. But “there’s nothing I don’t like about it.”
B|pr
Quota
rpnnrt a Qnpa
Quotation marks are used to report a speaker's exact words. They may also show that a word has a special meaning in a context that is a little different from the meaning in the dictionary. For example, a rage to master (par. 5) means "a strong need to become the best at something."
Predicting
Look at the title and the picture on the opposite page. Then check (^) the information you think you will read about in the text.
1. Her parents noticed her artistic talent when she was a toddler.
2. Her first interest in art was with coloring books.
3. She has had limited formal instruction in art.
4. She is gifted in music as well as in art.
5. Her paintings appear in exhibits.
6. A book of her paintings has been published.
Scanning
Scan the text to check your predictions. Then read the whole text.
Guessing meaning from context
Find the words in italics in the reading. Circle the meaning of each word.
1. When you are awe-struck, you feel( fascinatet| )/ bored / depressed. (par. 2)
2. If you give in to something, you fight against / continue to do / surrender to it.
(par. 6)
3. If you are precocious, you lack motivation / display early talent / fear new things, (par. 7)
4. When you have a high profile, people ignore / notice / worry about you. (par. 10)
5. If something drains you, it uses your energy / gives you energy / makes you happy, (par. 10)
Making
inferences
1. What do child prodigies have in common?
a. They make a lot of money.
b. They think it’s easy to be a prodigy.
c. They want to work at what they’re good at.
2. How do Alexandra’s parents feel about her artistic gift?
a. They understand she has a gift.
b. They have stopped worrying she is spending too much time on artwork.
c. They want her to stop painting.
3. What could Alexandra do in the future that would surprise Ellen Winner?
a. stop painting completely
b. open an art gallery
c. become as famous as Picasso
Relating reading to personal experience
1. If you could have one special talent, what would it be? Why?
2. Do you think that child prodigies have happy lives?
3. What do you think prodigies are like as adults?
READING 3
1 Dame Julie Andrews is the first to admit the past two years have been tough. While the stage version of The Sound of Music, the movie that made her a household name, takes Melbourne by storm, Andrews’ singing career is on hold - perhaps permanently.
2 As she returns to the public eye to promote her first film in eight years, Andrews still sees herself as a singer first, an actor second. This makes the past couple of years even more traumatic. After she had throat surgery to remove non-cancerous polyps from her vocal cords, the world learned that Andrews may never be able to sing again.
3 Last year, Andrews and her lawyers battled several publications over false gossip when she disappeared from public view. The truth is she had undergone grief therapy to try to cope with her lost voice.
4 And now Andrews’ lawyers are busy again, this time with a massive suit against New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its doctors. The lawsuit alleges she was not warned of the possibility of harm to her voice. She is seeking “substantial damages to compensate for loss of past and future earnings.”
5 Although there are certain things that Andrews is unable to talk about, pending the lawsuit, she wants to explain what happened. “Somehow the operation went wrong,” she says. “It shouldn’t have. It was a matter of time, I was told. So I waited patiently. And waited. It’s affected the middle register singing voice. My speaking voice has come back, but I still can’t yet sing a song.”
6 In January she was made a Dame in recognition of her career, as well as her generous charity work. But the question on everyone’s lips is: Will the woman who is synonymous with The Sound of Music ever sing again? “The stock answer, when anyone asks that question, is absolutely genuine,” Andrews says. “I’m still very optimistic. I have to be. I can’t think of the alternative. But it’s very definitely a major setback. I am either supremely optimistic or in denial.”
7 “1 think to some degree, I’m in a form of denial about it because to not sing with an orchestra, to not be able to communicate through my voice, which I’ve done all my life, and not to be able to phrase lyrics and give people that kind of joy, I think I would be totally devastated.”
8 The public learned of the outcome of the operation when her husband told a magazine: “If you heard (her voice), you’d weep ... I don’t think she’ll sing again. It’s an absolute tragedy.” “That just about sums it up,” Andrews says. “Yes, it is a tragedy. Thankfully, I wasn’t younger. But I mean, at least I’ve had a wonderful career .. . I’m still hoping that it will reverse itself. But it’s been a long time now. My doctors don’t hold out much hope, but say that I should continue practicing. ”
9 “I don’t feel ready to retire ... I seem to be as busy as ever, though maybe one isn’t doing as much as one used to. Still, it doesn’t stop the joy of doing it when you do it.”
Adapted from Herald Sun.
Predicting
Read the first paragraph on the opposite page. Then answer the following question.
Why do you think Andrews’ singing career was on hold at the time this article was written?
Scanning
Scan the text to check your prediction. Then read the whole text.
Guessing meaning from context
Understanding main ideas
Find the words in italics in the
c 1. traumatic (par. 2)
2. undergone (par. 3)
3. suit (par. 4)
4. alleges (par. 4)
5. damages (par. 4)
6. compensate (par. 4)
7. denial (par. 7)
8. devastated (par. 7)
a. suffering emotional distress or pain
b. money paid for causing injury or loss
c. shocking and upsetting
d. experienced
e. pay money for something lost or damaged
f. a legal problem taken to court
g. states that something is a fact
h. refusal to believe something
B
The writer asked Julie Andrews these questions. Write the number of the paragraph or paragraphs next to the question it answers. Write X if the question is not answered in the text.
X a. When did you first start singing?
b. Why did you have surgery?
c. What kind of help has your husband given you?
d. Will you ever sing again?
e. Are you looking forward to your retirement?
f. Do you think you’re in denial about the future?
g. Why are you in a legal fight with doctors?
Relating reading to personal experience
1. Do you think Julie Andrews should receive money for her loss? If so, how much should she get?
2. Is it worse to lack talent or to have talent and then to lose it completely? Why?
3. How much do you know about your favorite singers’ careers? When did they start singing? What difficulties did they face?
23
WRAP-UP
Find the phrasal verbs below in this unit's readings. Then write the letter of the correct definition next to each phrasal verb. (Be careful! There are two extra definitions.)
d 1. give up on (reading 1, par. 9)
2. give up hope (reading 1, par. 9)
3. shaking up (reading 2, par. 1)
4. taking away (reading 2, par. 6)
5. given in to (reading 2, par. 6)
6. has come back (reading 3, par. 5)
7. sums . . . up (reading 3, par. 8)
8. hold out.. . hope (reading 3, par. 8)
a. removing
b. continue to move or travel
c. continue to expect something good
d. stop waiting for someone to do something
e. has returned
f. briefly says the most important facts
g. has left
h. stop wishing for something
i. making big changes in something
j. agreed to after much debate
B
1. If your friends always wanted to stay home and watch TV, would you give up on them or try to convince them to go out?
2. Would it be easy for you to give up chocolate? What about coffee? Ice cream? Soda?
3. Did your parents ever give in to something you wanted? If so, what was it?
4. How would you sum up your reading skills?
5. Have you ever lost the ability to do something? Did it ever come back to you?
6. Who is shaking up the music world these days?
7. Have you ever wanted a special talent? Do you hold out hope that you will achieve it?
Work in small groups. Imagine that your class is going to have a talent show. Discuss what talents you have and what you can contribute to the talent show. (Be imaginative: Some people can play a musical instrument, but others may be able to cook well or tell funny stories.) Then share your ideas with your classmates.
24
Unit 3 • Talent
PREVIEW
Do you want to know the secret to success? Discover how cosmetic surgery is helping people get ahead in the workplace.
1. Do you know anyone who has had cosmetic surgery? Why did they undergo the surgery?
2. How important is appearance for success in business?
3. Is appearance equally important for male and female executives?
What features make a man handsome? Read this newspaper article to learn the surprising results of a recent study.
1. What do you think makes someone beautiful?
2. Do you think different cultures have the same ideas about beauty?
3. How important is beauty in choosing a mate?
This magazine article takes a look at one country where winning beauty pageants is serious business.
1. Do you like to watch beauty pageants? Why or why not?
2. Are televised beauty pageants popular shows in your country?
3. Why do you think some women compete in beauty pageants?
Table captionFind out the meanings of the words in italics. Then check (»/) the answers you think are true.
1. Who must have more appeal to succeed in business? | Men | Women |
2. Who must be more attractive to appear on TV? | ||
3. Who pays more attenti on to the world of glamor ? | ||
4. Who is more interested in marrying a knockout ? | ||
5. Who pays attention to their looks ? | ||
6. Who is more vain ? |
Unit 4 • Beauty
READING 1
1 A growing number of executives are investing in plastic surgery to get ahead in the workplace, a new study has revealed.
2 Spending on cosmetic surgery in the UK has risen by more than a third - driven by the rising number of businessmen and women who are going under the knife to help them climb the career ladder.
3 The trend reflects frustration among a growing number of female executives who feel that a better physical appearance may finally help them break through the glass ceiling in male-dominated companies.
4 Other business people of both sexes fear that they may be replaced by younger, betterlooking colleagues, or be passed over for promotion because their employers think they look tired or old.
5 A report by Mintel, a market analysis firm, says: “A work culture which often equates youth with energy and ambition, and maturity with irrelevance and lack of innovation, has encouraged the use of cosmetic surgery by men and women to reduce signs of aging and so improve their job prospects.”
6 The report also points out that while plastic surgery is traditionally considered the preserve of women, male executives are starting to catch on to its perceived advantages.
7 Mintel says people in the UK will spend an estimated 150 million pounds on plastic surgery this year - representing about 72,000 operations. Overall, the market has grown by 31 percent in recent years.
Adapted from The Scotsman.
Executive A
8 Nearly half of working women questioned said they would consider having cosmetic surgery and nearly a fifth of female managers said they believed it would improve their self-esteem.
9 A recent study showed that among working women, plastic surgery is the third most common reason for asking for a bank loan - behind buying a car or paying for a vacation.
10 Peter Coles, a director of a medical group which runs ten cosmetic surgery clinics, estimated that about 30 percent of working women are having cosmetic surgery for reasons related to their jobs. “There has been an increase in businessmen and businesswomen coming forward for surgery,” he said.
11 “These are people that are perhaps a little older than their competitors in the workplace and want to have as young-looking and attractive a face as possible. This is probably of greater concern to men than women.”
Executive B
12 Coles said that women hoping to use cosmetic surgery to get ahead in business tend to have facelifts, face peeling, laser skin resurfacing, and collagen replacement therapy. Men tend to be more worried about the bags under their eyes.
13 According to the Mintel study, the biggest growth in spending has been on sub-surgical procedures, most commonly used to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles.
14 Despite the rise in work-related cosmetic surgery, Lesley Kidd, a recruitment consultant, said: “Without doubt, looking attractive is helpful in the workplace, but I do believe that someone with better skills and ability will beat someone who only has good looks in an interview nine times out of ten. Your looks might help you feel more confident, but they won’t necessarily help you in your job.”
You don't need to know every word in a text to understand the main idea. For example, you don't need to know the exact meaning of facelifts, face peeling, laser skin resurfacing, and collagen replacement therapy (par. 12). It is enough to know that they are treatments performed using cosmetic surgery.
Relating to the topic
Look at the pictures on the opposite page. Then complete the sentences with Executive A, Executive B, or Neither executive.
1---looks more energetic.
2. ---looks less ambitious.
3. —__has lower self-esteem.
4. __is more likely to get a promotion at work.
Scanning
Scan the text to find out how executives in the United Kingdom would complete these questions. Then read the whole text.
Guessing meaning from context
Find the words and phrases in the reading that match these definitions. Write one word on each line.
1. having an operation goin g under the knife (par. 2)
2. be successful at work ........_ _ (par. 2)
3. a point beyond which some people _ (par. 3)
usually aren’t promoted
4. not chosen (par. 4)
5. opportunities _(par. 5)
6. something only one group does (par. 6)
7. loose skin under eyes (par. 12)
Understanding
details
B
1. More men and women are undergoing cosmetic surgery than in the past.
2. think looking tired or old will cause them to lose their jobs.
3. Almost 50 percent of working .....might have cosmetic surgery.
4. Almost 20 percent of in management positions said cosmetic
surgery would help them feel good about themselves.
5. _are especially worried about younger-looking employees who
have the same positions as they do.
6. The biggest worry for
is bags under the eyes.
Relating reading to personal experience
1. Would you consider having cosmetic surgery to help your career?
2. For which types of work is appearance most important?
3. How would you feel if a younger or better-looking colleague got a promotion you deserved?
27
Unit 4 Beauty
READING 2
1 You know it instinctively when you see it walking toward you, or on a giant movie screen. A beautiful woman. A handsome man. Throughout the ages, a woman with delicate features, high cheekbones, full lips, and large, wide eyes has been considered a great beauty. For a man, the assumption has been that the more rugged, the thicker the eyebrows, thinner the lips and deep-set the eyes, the more attractive. Right?
2 According to new and controversial research, not exactly. In a study published in the journal Nature, Scottish researchers report that both the men and women they studied found a slightly feminized male face more attractive. Consider the mysterious appeal of actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
3 The scientists found the preference appeared to hold true across three cultures surveyed: 92 men and women in Japan, South Africa, and Scotland picked more feminine male faces as the most handsome. “The finding came as a real surprise to us,” said David Perrett, a psychologist and one of the study’s authors. “Individuals may differ in their preferences, but if you look at what the majority like, they chose the slightly feminized male face.” The more masculine the face, the more the people studied associated it with coldness, dishonesty, and dominance. The feminized male face was seen as emotionally warm, someone who would be a faithful husband and a cooperative, loving father.
4 Not everyone in the growing field of “beauty research” agrees with the findings, although they agree the perception of beauty is a powerful influence on behavior. According to Perrett
Adapted from The Gazette.
Leonardo DiCaprio
and his colleagues, it has everything to do with how people choose their mates.
5 Under this theory, humans seek to preserve the species by producing the next generation. To ensure success, men tend to choose young women with delicate facial features who appear more likely to bear healthy children.
6 Women’s choices are a bit more complicated. Previous studies show that some clearly have preferred big, muscular men. As cavemen hunters, they could provide the best food. Their physical strength meant their immune systems were robust and their genes good for producing healthy children. These men usually had protruding foreheads, heavy eyebrows, thin lips, small, deep-set eyes, and large noses and jaws. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger.
7 However, Perrett and his colleagues refer to other studies showing this type of man was more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior. Thus, Perrett argues, women might be choosing those whose faces give the appearance they’ll be more likely to help raise the children.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
8 Perrett’s conclusions are already provoking debate. “If women find slightly less testosterone effects more attractive, why just apply it to the face?” said one anthropologist who reviewed the paper. “Ask women what they’re looking for in a mate: Have they ever said shortness rather than tallness? Do they want shoulders a little narrower than average? I don’t think so.”
9 “From everything we know from science, from everyday experience, and from other animal species about what makes a man attractive, I would not rush to conclude that women really like slightly feminine, nurturing daddies for mates.”
Thinking about
personal
experience
What features do you think women find attractive in men? Check the items.
- 1. high cheekbones 6. deep-set eyes
2. rugged looks _ 7. wide eyes
- 3. heavy eyebrows _ 8. a large jaw
4. full lips __ 9. a protruding forehead
5. delicate features _ 10. a slightly feminized face
Scanning
Scan the text to see how women answered this question in studies. Then read the whole text.
Understanding
reference
words
What do these words refer to?
1. it (par. 1, line 1) ..... beauty
2. it (par. 3, line 16)
3. it (par. 4, line 7)
4. those (par. 7, line 6)
5. they (par. 7, line 8)
6. they (par. 8, line 7)
Understanding
text
organization
B
a. 2, 3 conclusions from Perrett’s study
b. reasons attractive men and women succeed
c. _ arguments against Perrett’s study
d. common assumptions about beauty
e. studies that agree with Perrett’s study
f. how perception of beauty affects human behavior
Understanding
details
Scotland
Researchers in Japan" interviewed men and women in two countries. They found that men prefer feminine male faces, but women prefer masculine male faces. Psychologist David Perrett is not surprised about the findings. He says people associate masculine faces with emotional warmth, faithfulness, and cooperation; however, they associate feminine faces with coldness, dishonesty, and dominance. According to Perrett, years ago men chose women who seemed likely to provide good food, while women chose men for less complicated reasons. The study was published in a textbook called Nature.
Relating reading to personal experience
1. Do you agree with Perrett’s findings? What examples can you give?
2. What actors do you think are good-looking? Can you describe their facial features?
3. Think of men you know who have masculine faces. What are their characters like?
1 In much of Latin America, soccer is the popular passion, but here it is beauty pageants. Everyone, it seems, knows the Miss Venezuela anthem, and the final in September is the top-rated TV show. Though a nation of just 24 million, Venezuela is a beauty- pageant superpower.
2 In the past 25 years, it has won the crown eight times in the top two contests, Miss Universe and Miss World, which is more than any other country. Locals credit their melting pot of backgrounds - European, African, and Indian - with producing one knockout after another. But the real reason has more to do with applying industrial-type efficiency to turning out beauty queens.
3 The undisputed captain of that
industry is Osmel Sousa, for 25 years head of the Miss Venezuela Organization. He and his scouts comb malls, universities, and beaches for the “rough diamonds” who will be cut and polished to near perfection - by his definition, anyway. Sousa has help from 25 specialists: plastic surgeons,
dentists, dermatologists, dietitians, hair and makeup experts, personal trainers, and psychologists. He looks at women the way a sculptor views a piece of clay: “I mold the person,” he says proudly. “I derive my enjoyment by changing the women for the better. Otherwise, it would be a bore.”
4 Skin too light or too dark? Creams can handle that. Gummy smile or biggish nose? Surgery can remake it. Appraisals can be harsh. “Oh my God, she has too much chin and her lips are too big!” gasps dermatologist Sonia Roffe, as one contestant struts by. “We’d have to fix that.”
5 The wannabe Misses regard Sousa’s glamour factory as a ticket to the good life. “This organization can launch my career,” says liana Furman, 20, who has wanted to be a Miss since she was seven. “It’s the dream of all Venezuelan girls.” Still, she has some anxiety. “Osmel said I have a thick nose,” she frets. “I told the organization I don’t want them to touch my face. ... I hope they can fix it with cosmetics.”
6 Workouts. The fitness and food regimen is tough. Margie Rosales, 19, a college communications major, was a winner in the Caracas casting but admits that daily six- hour gym workouts and a menu of chicken breasts, egg whites, and seaweed can get her down. “I was depressed because the diet was really hard,” she says. “I’ve put a lot into this.”
7 Other Venezuelans put a lot into looks, too. This nation leads Latin America in per capita spending on cosmetics. A Roper Starch Worldwide poll of 30 countries last year found that Venezuelans are the vainest of them all: Sixty-five percent of women and 47 percent of men said they think about their looks “all the time.”
8 Here in Beauty Land, schools and clubs pick beauty queens from an early age. Doting fathers give their daughters a nose job for their 16th birthday. Astrid Cabral, 18, an accounting student visiting a hair salon, says she plans to have her breasts enlarged to heed her boyfriend’s call to “be like a Miss.” Says Cabral: “It’s more important to be smart, but the sad fact is that women in Venezuela are forced to concentrate on their own beauty because men demand it.”
From US News & World Report.
Predicting
Scanning
The article on the opposite page was written by a journalist in Venezuela.
Check (»/) the information you think you will read about in the text.
1. Venezuela has won more international beauty pageants than any other country.
2. It costs a lot of money to enter beauty pageants.
3. Experts change women in order to win beauty pageants.
4. Contestants get help from dermatologists, dietitians, and plastic surgeons.
5. Many Venezuelans criticize their country’s interest in beauty pageants.
6. Venezuela leads Latin America in spending on cosmetics.
Scan the text to check your predictions. Then read the whole text.
Guessing meaning from context
Recognizing
purpose
Find the words in italics in the reading. Then match each word with its meaning. (Be careful! There are two extra answers.)
(3 1. appraisals (par. 4)
2. harsh (par. 4)
3. gasps (par. 4)
4. struts (par. 4)
5. launch (par. 5)
6. doting (par. 8)
a. judgments
b. causing someone to lose
c. cruel
d. showing a lot of love
e. walks in a proud way
f. wanting to be beautiful
g. help begin
h. says while taking in a short quick breath
B
1. to inform
__ 2. to inspire
3. to entertain
Relating reading to personal experience
1. Do you think about your looks a lot, a little, or not at all?
2. Would you like to have someone like Osmel Sousa help improve your appearance Why or why not?
3. What would you advise a young girl who showed an interest in beauty pageants?
IHHMM UWM ■
WRAP-UP
Vocafouiary expansion
Write the words under the correct headings. Then add your own words to the chart.
.attractive elegant handsome rugged
beautiful good-looking lovely striking
cute gorgeous pretty stunning
Referring only to men - | Referring only Referring to to women men and women |
. attractive | |
“T | |
' | |
i |
B
1 .
2 .
3.
4.
5.
6 .
7.
8 . 9.
10 .
11 .
12 .
is attractive, is beautiful, is cute, is elegant, is good-looking, is gorgeous, is handsome, is lovely, is pretty, is rugged, is striking, is stunning.
Beauty and you
Bring in a picture of someone you consider handsome or beautiful. Tell the class why you think the person is handsome or beautiful. Find out whether others agree with you.
Unit 4 • Beauty
PREVIEW
You are going to read three texts about technology. First, answer the questions in the boxes.
READING 3
The car that thinks it's your friend
Read this newspaper article to learn about a futuristic car that might be the perfect vehicle for you.
1. Do you drive? If so, what do you like about the car you drive?
What do you dislike?
2. What is the most important thing to consider when buying a car?
3. What features do you think cars of the future will have?
This excerpt from a website looks at the latest technology to verify people’s identity.
1. How often do you use a password or PIN (personal identification number) to prove your identity?
2. What problems have you had with passwords or PINs?
3 What is the best way to verify someone's identity?
This newspaper article describes some problems that result from teenagers spending a lot of time online.
1. What hobbies are good for teenagers? Which could be harmful?
2. Where do teens hang out in your city or town?
3. Is spending time on the Internet good for teens? Why or why not?
Find out the meanings of the words in italics. Then answer the questions.
1. How many keystrokes can you type per minute on the computer?
2. Have you ever downloaded computer software ?
3. Have you ever scanned photos onto a computer disk?
4. How much time do you spend in cyberspace ?
5. Do you ever play computer games with & joystick}
33
Unit 5 • Technology
READING 1
1 The touchy-feely car of the future is so sensitive that it can be driven to tears.
2 Crying headlights, a grinning hood, and a wagging tail that protrudes from the trunk are among the mood-emulating features of Pod, a new concept vehicle that was unveiled by Toyota and Sony at the Tokyo motor show.
3 The car is intended as a four- wheeled friend. While the comfort offered by other cars stops at plush seats and air conditioning, Pod aims to provide affection, sympathy, and encouragement. Like a dog welcoming its master, the car sits up, wags its tail, and acknowledges its owner’s presence using hydraulics and a multicolored light-emitting diode (LED) display panel across the front.
4 While on the road, the car constantly monitors the driver’s mood with pulse and sweat sensors on the joystick. (There is no wheel.) Cameras focused on the eyes keep watch for any sign of drowsiness. If a driver appears to be losing his or her cool, Pod will display warnings, play soothing music, and blow cold air at the face. Sleepy drivers are shaken awake with loud music and a vibrating chair.
5 To improve driving skills, Pod compares acceleration, braking, and steering with the optimum performance recorded by professionals. It uses this comparison to score drivers, offer advice, and rank all Pod owners.
6 Toyota claims that the car will eventually be able to learn its owner’s likes and dislikes by monitoring passenger conversations. If the car hears a favorite song being discussed, it will download the track from the Internet and play it without being asked. It will also recommend restaurants that might suit the driver’s taste and take photographs of passengers when they sound particularly happy.
7 In keeping with the moodiness that is the car’s main selling point, Pod expresses a form of road rage. If a driver brakes or swerves suddenly, the LED panel on the hood glowers a furious red and the tail pricks up at the back.
8 Anger is one of the car’s ten “emotional states.” Another is sadness - a blue front with tearshaped lights seemingly dripping from the headlights - which appears after a flat tire or when gas is low.
9 “Most images of cars in the future are menacing, like in Blade Runner. We wanted to show that they can be cheerful and entertaining,” said Yasunori Sakamoto, part of the Toyota design team.
10 Mr. Sakamoto said Toyota has no plans to put Pod on the market. Sad, really.
Sometimes a writer expresses humor by using a pun, a word or expression that sounds like another word but has a different meaning. For example, the expression driven to tears (par.1), meaning "caused to cry," is used to describe a car, which is something you drive.
Adapted from The Guardian.
Relating to the topic
Check (*/) the features you would like your next car to have.
1. an appearance that changes according to your mood
2. a computer and movie screen for every passenger
3. an engine that doesn’t need gasoline
4. the ability to give you affection, sympathy, and encouragement
5. a computer that controls speed, steers, and checks road conditions
Scanning
Scan the text to find out which features above are in the car of the future. Then read the whole text.
Guessing meaning from context
Find the words in italics in the reading. Write the words or phrases on the line next to the correct heading.
drowsiness (par. 4) hood (par. 2) sits up (par. 2) wags its tail (par. 3)
headlights (par. 2) lose one’s cool (par. 4) trunk (par. 3)
1. parts of a car hoo d , trunk
2. a dog’s reactions
3. drivers’ reactions
Understanding
details
B
/ 1. My car doesn’t understand me.
2. My car always looks happy to see me.
3. My car can tell when I’m nervous or angry.
4. If I fall asleep, my car will automatically brake.
5. If I start to fall asleep, my seat will vibrate.
6. My car lets me know if I’m a good driver.
7. My car laughs when I tell a joke.
8. My car played some music that it knew I liked.
Relating reading to personal experience
Answer these questions.
1. Which features of Pod do you like? Which do you dislike? Why?
2. Which car would you most like to own? Why?
3. If you could design the perfect car, what features would it have?
READING 2