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Robots smarter than humans by 2029 (26th February, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's leading experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-driving cars."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/23/business/computers-to-top-humans-by-2029/

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Artificial Intelligence. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

scientist / intelligence / engineering / experts / experiences / jokes / the human brain / crazy / predicting / thinking / views / consistent / voice-recognition / technology

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. ROBOTS: How will they be helping us in 100 years from now? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

Robots and …	How they'll help	How good this will be (and why?)
English
cars
health
the home
sport
movies

4. COMPUTERS: Students A strongly believe it is dangerous for computers to be more intelligent than us; Students B strongly believe it is great. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. TECHNOLOGY: Rank these with your partner. Put the things you would most like at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• learn English overnight app

• self-driving car

• time travel machine

• 24-hour health monitor

• air-con / heated clothes

• wrinkle eraser

• 200-inch 3D TV

• helicopter suit

6. INTELLIGENCE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "intelligence". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	This research is from a scientist from Google.	T / F
b.	The article says the scientist is an expert on jokes around the world.	T / F
c.	Many people thought robots would be smarter than humans in 1999.	T / F
d.	The scientist believes computers will be a billion times smarter than us.	T / F
e.	Most people now think about robots more like the scientist does.	T / F
f.	The scientist said his views about robots are more radical than ever.	T / F
g.	The scientist said our everyday things show us computer intelligence.	T / F
h.	The article says Siri is the name of Google's self-driving cars.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	more intelligent	a.	mad
2.	leading	b.	strong
3.	experiences	c.	forecast
4.	prediction	d.	pointed to
5.	powerful	e.	smarter
6.	crazy	f.	way of thinking
7.	thinking	g.	events
8.	view	h.	top
9.	highlighted	i.	people
10.	the public	j.	opinions

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	robots will be more	a.	differently now
2.	the world's leading experts	b.	recognition technology
3.	a lot sooner than	c.	brain
4.	He said that it would	d.	has stayed the same
5.	the human	e.	many people thought
6.	His thinking	f.	on artificial intelligence
7.	It's the rest of the	g.	not be long
8.	He said people think	h.	driving cars
9.	iPhone's voice-	i.	world that's changing
10.	the Google self-	j.	intelligent than humans

GAP FILL

A scientist said (1) ____________ will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as (2) ____________ of Engineering. He is one of the world's (3) ____________ experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from (4) ____________, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to (5) ____________ jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot (6) ____________ than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. (7) ____________ said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human (8) ____________.

sooner
brain
Director
tell
robots
experts
leading
experiences

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for (9) ____________ computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone (10) ____________ has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually (11) ____________ consistent. It's the (12) ____________ of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of (13) ____________ things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have (14) ____________. He said people think differently now: "Because the (15) ____________ has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google (16) ____________-driving cars."

intelligence
rest
else
self
predicting
public
stayed
high-tech

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	A scientist said robots will be more ______
	a. intelligent than humans b. intelligence than humans c. intelligentsia than humans d. intelligences than humans
2)	He works for Google as ______
	a. Director of Engineer Ring b. Director of Engine Hearing c. Director of Engineering d. Director of Engineers
3)	He is one of the world's ______
	a. loading experts b. leading experts c. lead-in experts d. lead experts
4)	Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn ______
	a. from experience b. from experiences c. from experienced d. from experiential
5)	one billion times more powerful than ______
	a. the human brain b. the human brains c. the human brainy d. the human brainwave
6)	Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he ______
	a. was a lot crazy b. was a less crazy c. was a lesser crazy d. was a little crazy
7)	His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed ______
	a. the why they think b. the way they think c. the what they think d. the wry they think
8)	It's the rest of the world that's ______
	a. changing its views b. changing its view c. changing its viewed d. changing its viewing
9)	things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-______]
	a. wreck cognition technology b. recognised technology c. recognition technology d. wreck ignition technology
10)	they've seen the Google ______
	a. safe-driving cars b. shelf-driving cars c. serve-driving cars d. self-driving cars

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He (1) ___________________ Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's (2) ___________________ artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will (3) ___________________ and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction (4) ___________________ many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would (5) ___________________ before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful (6) ___________________.

Mr Kurzweil (7) ___________________ ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same (8) ___________________ changed the way they think. He said: "My views are (9) ___________________. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted (10) ___________________ things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people (11) ___________________: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the (12) ___________________."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What is Ray Kurzweil's job?
2.	What is Dr Kurzweil an expert on?
3.	What will computers soon be able to tell?
4.	When did scientists think it would be hundreds of years before computers were very intelligent?
5.	How many times more powerful than the brain will computers become?
6.	Why did people think Dr Kurzweil was a little crazy?
7.	What has happened to Dr Kurzweil's thinking?
8.	What things did Kurzweil use to highlight computer intelligence?
9.	What is the name of Apple's voice-recognition technology?
10.	What kind of high-tech cars have people seen?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What is Ray Kurzweil's job?	6.	Why did people think Dr Kurzweil was a little crazy?
	a) brain surgeon b) IT consultant c) director of engineering d) search engine engineer		a) his eyes b) for predicting computer intelligence c) he put jam on his fried eggs d) he loved bananas
2.	What is Dr Kurzweil an expert on?	7.	What happened to Kurzweil's thinking?
	a) artificial intelligence b) Google c) world jokes d) TV		a) it is now very deep b) it has become impossible to understand c) it has become very different d) it has stayed the same
3.	What will computers soonbe able to tell?	8.	What things did Kurzweil use to highlight computer intelligence?
	a) humans what to do b) jokes and stories c) the difference between an ant and an elephant d) the time		a) a powerful torch b) everyday high-tech things c) Microsoft Word d) his thumb and index finger
4.	When did scientists think it would be hundreds of years before computers were very intelligent?	9.	What is the name of Apple's voice-recognition technology?
	a) 1969 b) 1971 c) 1980 d) 1999		a) Hello Hello b) Siri c) Pip d) Apple Pie
5.	How many times more powerful than the brain will computers become?	10.	What kind of high-tech cars have people seen?
	a) 7 b) 897,332.610.0002 c) one billion d) 10 trillion		a) Google's self-driving cars b) the ones in the movie Star Wars c) 999GB cars d) blue and gold ones

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Learn English overnight app

You think a learn English overnight app is the best technology. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a time travel machine, a 24-hour health monitor or a helicopter suit.

Role B – Time travel machine

You think a time travel machine is the best technology. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a learn English overnight app, a 24-hour health monitor or a helicopter suit.

Role C –24-hour health monitor

You think a 24-hour health monitor is the best technology. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a time travel machine, a learn English overnight app or a helicopter suit.

Role D – Helicopter suit

You think a helicopter suit is the best technology. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a time travel machine, a 24-hour health monitor or a learn English overnight app.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'artificial' and 'intelligence'.

artificial

intelligence

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

robots
leading
learn
1999
long
billion

ago
same
rest
believe
voice
cars

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Artificial Intelligence in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What do you imagine when you hear the word 'robot'?
c)	Do you think computers will be smarter than us?
d)	How scary is it to think that computers will be more intelligent than us?
e)	Is it possible for computers to control all humans one day?
f)	What kind of robots would you like?
g)	Are robots dangerous?
h)	What movies do you like about intelligent computers or robots?
i)	Do you think there will be cyborgs (half-human / half robot) in the future?
j)	Do you think a computer's joke would be funny?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Do we live in the future today?
c)	Are scientists' ideas crazy?
d)	How have your ideas about computers changed in the last 10 / 20 years?
e)	What high-tech things do you totally, totally need?
f)	How will computers change learning languages?
g)	Would you lug an English-learning app that plugs into the brain?
h)	Will we all sit in self-driving cars in a decade or two from now?
i)	What could a computer one billion times smarter than us do?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Dr Ray Kurzweil?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

A scientist said robots will be more (1) ____ than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's (2) ____ experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, (3) ____ like humans. He also thinks they will be able to (4) ____ jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years (5) ____ a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be (6) ____ before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a (7) ____ crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone (8) ____ has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest of the world that's changing (9) ____ view." He highlighted examples of (10) ____-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think (11) ____ now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google (12) ____-driving cars."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	intelligence	(b)	intelligent	(c)	smarter	(d)	smartness
2.	(a)	loading	(b)	leading	(c)	loader	(d)	leader
3.	(a)	real	(b)	as	(c)	same	(d)	just
4.	(a)	speak	(b)	tell	(c)	talk	(d)	say
5.	(a)	while	(b)	after	(c)	then	(d)	before
6.	(a)	lengthy	(b)	longs	(c)	long	(d)	longing
7.	(a)	little	(b)	lot	(c)	loads	(d)	less
8.	(a)	others	(b)	other	(c)	else	(d)	rest
9.	(a)	all	(b)	some	(c)	his	(d)	its
10.	(a)	high	(b)	good	(c)	smart	(d)	app
11.	(a)	differently	(b)	difference	(c)	different	(d)	differential
12.	(a)	self	(b)	shelf	(c)	surf	(d)	safe

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	A scsiettni said robots will be more intelligent
2.	Director of ignnrEenieg
3.	one of the world's leading xeertsp
4.	firicilata intelligence (A.I.)
5.	Kurzweil's 2029 tiiecdnrpo
6.	one iliobln times more powerful
Paragraph 2
7.	My seiwv are not radical any more
8.	He gihehtighld examples
9.	ihhg-cthe things
10.	people think ledintferyf now
11.	the ilupbc has seen things like Siri
12.	oevci-recognition technology

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from
( )	even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that
( )	name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's leading
( )	technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-driving cars."
( )	way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest
( )	experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and
( )	computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the
( )	than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.
( )	about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think
( 1 )	A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's
( )	differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition
( )	of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read
( )	in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent
( )	Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	be more intelligent than humans A scientist said robots will.
2.	the He world's is leading one experts of.
3.	will from be experiences able to Computers learn.
4.	than sooner lot A thought people many.
5.	billion powerful human One more the times than brain.
6.	has think changed the Everyone way else they.
7.	the rest of the world that's changing its view It's.
8.	things of high He - highlighted tech examples.
9.	us intelligence believe that Things computers make have.
10.	They've - seen driving the cars Google self.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent / intelligence than humans by 2029. The scientist's name / named is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's leader / leading experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes / beliefs computers will be able to learn for / from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to speak / tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner / early than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be / have hundreds of years before / after a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the humane / human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that / this many years ago, people thought he was a little / lot crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking / think has stayed the same but everyone other / else has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not ridicule / radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the best / rest of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted / lowlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make we / us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public / private has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-drives / self-driving cars."

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's leading experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain.

Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-driving cars."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029 the scientist's name is ray kurzweil he works for google as director of engineering he is one of the world's leading experts on artificial intelligence (ai) mr kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences just like humans he also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories and even flirt kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought the scientist said that in 1999 many ai experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human he said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain

mr kurzweil joked that many years ago people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans his thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think he said "my views are not radical any more i've actually stayed consistent it's the rest of the world that's changing its view" he highlighted examples of high-tech things we use see or read about every day these things make us believe that computers have intelligence he said people think differently now "because the public has seen things like siri [the iphone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer they've seen the google self-driving cars"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Ascientistsaidrobotswillbemoreintelligentthanhumansby2029.
Thescientist'snameisRayKurzweil.HeworksforGoogleasDirector
ofEngineering.Heisoneoftheworld'sleadingexpertsonartificialint
elligence(A.I.).MrKurzweilbelievescomputerswillbeabletolearnfr
omexperiences,justlikehumans.Healsothinkstheywillbeabletot
elljokesandstories,andevenflirt.Kurzweil's2029predictionisalot
soonerthanmanypeoplethought.Thescientistsaidthatin1999,m
anyAIexpertssaiditwouldbehundredsofyearsbeforeacomputerw
asmoreintelligentthanahuman.Hesaidthatitwouldnotbelongbef
orecomputerintelligenceisonebilliontimesmorepowerfulthanthe
humanbrain.MrKurzweiljokedthatmanyyearsago,peoplethough
thewasalittlecrazyforpredictingcomputerswouldbeasintelligent
ashumans.Histhinkinghasstayedthesamebuteveryoneelsehasc
hangedthewaytheythink.Hesaid:"Myviewsarenotradicalanymor
e.I'veactuallystayedconsistent.It'stherestoftheworldthat'schan
gingitsview."Hehighlightedexamplesofhigh-techthingsweus
e,seeorreadabouteveryday.Thesethingsmakeusbelievethatco
mputershaveintelligence.Hesaidpeoplethinkdifferentlynow:"Be
causethepublichasseenthingslikeSiri[theiPhone'svoice-recogn
itiontechnology]whereyoutalktoacomputer;they'veseentheGoo
gleself-drivingcars."

FREE WRITING

Write about robots for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Computers will become too intelligent one day. They will be a problem. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Artificial Intelligence. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Make a poster about Artificial Intelligence and robots. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. ROBOTS: Write a magazine article about robots being more intelligence that we are. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on Artificial Intelligence. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on AI. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

F

c

F

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	more intelligent	a.	smarter
2.	leading	b.	top
3.	experiences	c.	events
4.	prediction	d.	forecast
5.	powerful	e.	strong
6.	crazy	f.	mad
7.	thinking	g.	opinions
8.	view	h.	way of thinking
9.	highlighted	i.	pointed to
10.	the public	j.	people

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Director of Engineering at Google
2.	Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
3.	Jokes and stories
4.	1999
5.	One billion
6.	For predicting human intelligence
7.	It has stayed the same
8.	High-tech things
9.	Siri
10.	Google's self-driving cars

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

b

4.

d

5.

c

6.

b

7.

d

8.

b

9.

b

10.

a

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Robots smarter than humans by 2029 (26th February, 2014)

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