You are going to listen to a radio program about the potential of using drones for commercial purposes. What was once a dream for science fiction fans is now inching closer to reality. Powerful companies are spending money on what they hope will be the birth of a new delivery market. Google, Amazon, and some others have started a project that can change the world and whole our lives.
a) Answer the questions:
Do you know what “drone” means?
Have you ever heard about using drones?
b) Match the names of companies to their activities:
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Amazon |
a) American multinational public corporation which invests in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. It maintains and develops a number of Internet-based services and products and gets a major profit from advertisements, published by the means of its program AdWords. |
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b) American company that provides services in the areas of online auctions (main field of activity), e-commerce, and instant payments. |
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e-Bay |
c) American company, the largest in the world in terms of selling goods and services through the Internet and one of the first Internet-oriented services for selling consumer goods. |
c) Study new vocabulary (e-flashcards can be found on: http://quizlet.com/53901780/flashcards):
drone – a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft;
to inch closer – to move by small steps or increments towards a goal or position;
messenger pigeon (also carrier or homing pigeon) – a type of pigeon that is trained to carry messages;
scroll – a traditional roll of paper used for writing a document;
to pour money on something – to give a lot of financial or monetary support to a project or idea;
to be loaded – to be extremely rich or wealthy;
to unveil – to reveal, show, or disclose for the first time;
tech train – an extremely important technology company or developer (for example Apple, Samsung, Google);
to have skin in the game – to have a personal investment (usually financial) in an organization or activity, and therefore an interest in its success;
UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) – commonly known as a drone, an aircraft without a human pilot aboard;
clout – having influence or power, especially in politics or business;
handful – a quantity that fills the hands, a small number or amount;
to embark on – to start or begin, usually a journey or adventure;
to be poised – prepared, ready, or in the right position;
to take off – to be important, popular or successful;
far-reaching – having important and significant effects or implications;
to come a long way from – to make a lot of progress or improvement;
growing number of – increasing amount;
to pop up – to suddenly appear or become important;
citrus – a category of fruit including oranges, grapefruit and lemons/limes;
to monitor – to observe or keep track of something;
conservationist – a person who promotes preservation and careful management of natural resources and of the environment;
to keep tabs on – to observe carefully;
endangered species – a plant or animal species present in such small numbers that it is at risk of becoming extinct;
poacher – a person who hunts or catches game or fish illegally;
hostage – a person who is taken or held as security until a demand (usually financial) is met;
guarantee – a formal assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled, especially that a product will be repaired or replaced if not of a specified quality;
radius – a straight line from the centre to the outside edge of a circle or sphere;
distributioncentre – a centrally located warehouse that organizes and monitors the delivery of goods or products;
reserved – without the tendency to take big risks, slow to show emotion or opinion;
to come out of one’s shell – to become more friendly or sociable;
mindshare – consumer awareness of a product or brand;
to be alongside – close to the side of, next to;
to go to great lengths – to make a great or considerable effort to reach a goal or objective;
to shine a light on – to make something clearer or easier to understand by giving more details or a simpler explanation;
moonshot project – a difficult or ambitious project;
shortage – a lack or insufficient amount of something;
hurdle to overcome – an obstacle or difficulty that must be surpassed;
to tap into – to establish a connection with or have access to;
fiscal boost – monetary gain or increase derived from increased economic activity;
warmly welcome – to happily receive people or information/news;
fact sheet – a presentation of data in a format which emphasizes key points concisely;
to point out – to indicate or specify;
autonomous machine – a tool or piece of equipment that is not controlled by others or by outside forces;
boost – increase or rise in the value or level of something;
(to be) another thing entirely – something else completely;
legal and regulatory obstacle – laws or regulations that block one’s way or makes an activity more difficult;
to legislate – to make or enact laws;
to get ahead of something – to act early or before something occurs;
legitimate (concerns) – genuine, valid, or reasonable;
AI (artificial intelligence) – computer systems able to perform tasks such as visual perception, speech recognition, and decision-making;
natural disaster – a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life.
vaccine – medicine to prevent or cure someone against a disease or illness;
urban planning – the branch of architecture dealing with the design and organization of urban space and activities;
catastrophe – a sudden and widespread disaster;
adjuster – someone who investigates insurance claims and recommends an effective settlement;
evaluate – to judge the value or condition of someone or something in a careful and thoughtful way;
flash forward – to transition to a later event or time;
insured – someone who has, or is covered by, a type of insurance;
to handle – to manage or control a situation or problem;
claim – an official request for something, such as money, that is owed to you;
breakneck speed – to do something extremely or dangerously fast;
volume – amount or total;
to have (all) the makings of – to have the clear ability for becoming something;
consumerism – the actions of people who spend a lot of money on goods and services;
junk pile – an accumulation of old and discarded products;
template – something that serves as a model for others to copy;
backscratcher – an tool/implement with a long handle, used for scratching one's back;
armada – a large group of moving things.
d) Remember new vocabulary: http://quizlet.com/53901780/learn
e) Write a dictation: http://quizlet.com/53901780/speller
f) Have some fun: scatter-game: http://quizlet.com/53901780/scatter,
race-game: https://quizlet.com/53901780/spacerace
g) Take a test: http://quizlet.com/53901780/test
2 While-listening activities
Listening for general information
a) Listen to the program and answer the questions:
What companies have embarked on a project of using drones for commercial purposes?
What is the name of a new Google project?
What films have drones helped shoot?
b) Listen again and complete the exercise (e-test can be found on: http://www.quia.com/quiz/4981821.html):
Choose the best option from listed bellow. Sometimes more than one option is correct.
1.What is the name of Google’s drone Project?
UAV game
Tech Titan
Project Wing
Loaded
2.In what areas are people use drones?
architecture
marketing
movies
security
farming
3.What does Amazon hope to use drones for?
home delivery
recreational uses
distribution centres
tracking packages
4.Why do governments favour drones developed by private business?
US airspace will be realigned.
It will increase jobs.
It will help security.
It is good for autonomous machines.
It will grow economy.
5.What does it mean, “we need to get ahead of it now”?
We need to plan for this future.
Companies need to coordinate.
We need to develop technology faster.
Companies need to better inform the public.
6.When may drones be helping insurance companies evaluate claims?
in fifteen years
in tree years
in thirteen years
in five years
7.According to the program, drones could have a big impact on what aspect of society?
technology
bureaucracy
traffic
consumerism
8.What points are included into conclusion?
Drone delivery is still years away from reality.
Future passenger aircraft will be affected.
Amazon has developed the template for drone delivery.
Backscratchers will never be delivered by drones.
Drones will look very different than expected.
9.According to the article, Amazon hopes to deliver packages to customers:
in half an hour or less.
within 10 miles of their headquarters.
alongside Google.
sometime this year.
10.Which of the following effect is NOT likely to occur with the development of drones?
significant job creation
boost to the economy
new era in consumerism
decrease in the quality of life
11.Rearrange these words (of its is out shell coming) to reveal the expression used that means “trying something new”:
Amazon ________________________, and entering the risky business of drones.
12.Rearrange these letters (lsoebtcas) to reveal a word similar to “problems”:
Use of drones in society must overcome many legal and regulatory ____________.
Listening for detail
c) Listen again and complete the text (e-test can be found on: http://www.quia.com/quiz/5138536.html):
The commercial drone industry has a new best 1 _______, and that friend is 2 _______ and 3 _______. It’s Google, which recently 4 _______ its secret drone delivery program, Project Wing, meaning another 5 _______ _______ now has skin in the commercial UAV game. One that just might have enough clout to make 6 _______ drones happen.
Drone technology was developed for military use, but a growing number of 7 _______ have popped up in the last decade. Citrus farmers now use drones to monitor crops. Conservationists keep tabs on endangered species, as well as any poachers. Police 8 _______ are thinking of using them in 9 _______ and hostage situations. Drones have even helped shoot some major feature films, 10 _______ Man of Steel and Skyfall.
Using drones for the 11 _______ is one thing, but delivering packages with them is another thing entirely. Given the legal and regulatory 12 _______, it may prove harder to set up a 13 _______ _______ _______ with drones than it is to use them for battle. Slate Magazine had this to say:
“This 14 _______ is going to develop fast, almost certainly faster than we can 15 _______ it. That’s why we need to get ahead of it now. There are legitimate concerns about how AI and 16 _______ _______ will impact the work force and our quality of life.”
With Project Wing, 17 _______ has taken an aircraft design from history’s junk pile and turned it into a18 _______ for the future of drone delivery. We're still years away from getting backscratchers flown right to our front doors, but the 19 _______ of flying robots transporting them may end up looking more 20 _______ than we ever thought.
3 After-listening activities
a) Match words from each column to make collocations found in the program (e-test can be found on: http://www.quia.com/quiz/4982225.html):
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1. Inch |
a. Center |
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2. Urban |
b. Number |
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3. Endangered |
c. Project |
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4. Flash |
d. Planning |
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5. Distribution |
e. Speed |
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6. Moonshot |
f. Species |
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7. Breakneck |
g. Forward |
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8. Growing |
h. Closer |
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b) Choose the best option to complete the sentences (e-test can be found on: http://www.quia.com/quiz/4982198.html):
1.“A _______ of clients have complained about technical problems _______ since they upgraded their operating system.”
claim / embarked on
handful / popping up
clout / taken off
shortage / tapping into
2.“There were hard times and good ones, but we _______ since Mr. Slim left Armada Inc. to became our CEO.”
came a long way
has come a long way
have come a long way
come a long way from
3.“Before we _______ ourselves, I think we need to understand what kind of impact selling the company will have on our staff.”
kept tabs on
shone a light on
warmly welcome
get ahead of
4.“Greg claims to have ordered 100 units of the new machinery, but we’re out of stock. This is a(n) _______ problem!”
reserved
catastrophic
autonomous
insured
5.“I _______ the situation with the unions as best I can. They are making a number of _______ requests.”
handled / legit
handles / legitimize
am handling / legitimate
have handles / legislate
6.Offices around the country are emphasizing the need to _______ office supplies like paper and printer ink.
conserve
consume
poach
adjust
7.“This monitor is a piece of junk! I(‘ve) _______ to Sara, but she told me we can’t afford a new one.”
point it out
point out it
pointed out it
pointed it out
8.Despite continuous innovation, _______ have yet to become a part of daily life.
pigeons
robots
armadas
titans
c) Fill in the gaps with these words (evaluated, tap into, boost, tabs on, inches, loaded, embark, take off, breakneck, titans) to complete the sentences (e-test can be found on: http://www.quia.com/quiz/4982685.html):
d) Answer the questions:
Before drone delivery becomes mainstream, what factors need to be resolved or considered?
What are the advantages and limitations of using drones for everyday purposes? Explain.
How would you protect against violation of privacy from drones?
4 Production
Make a Glogster “A Piece of Technology Innovations News” (http://edu.glogster.com/), some examples can be found here:http://edu.glogster.com/glogpediaand present it before the class (about 15 sentences).