Complete the article using the following phrases

Were supposed to crash

Were to last

Were on the verge of colonizing

Would be

Were going to be carrying

Would be swallowing

Were going to be delivering.

 

 

In hindsight, it’s easy to scoff at past predictions. Not that many years ago, scientists and futurologists predicted that by the beginning of the 21^st century we (1) ------ pills for breakfast before strapping on personal jetpacks to fly to work and that we would be living in floating cities and holidaying in cities under the sea.

Even NASA, the American space agency, was laughably wide of the mark. In 1980, it said that we (2) ------ the moon and that by now more than 1000 people would be permanently living and working there.

Other forecasts, such as the idea that by the year 2000, robots (3) ------ letters to anywhere in the world within one day, seem ridiculously naïve in the age of e-mail and the Internet.

The only recurrent theme that emerges from decades of studies looking into the future is that we are much better at creating a future than predicting it.

It was said in the seventies, that by the new millennium computers (4) ------ as intelligent as the human brain and small enough to carry in your pocket, hypersonic aircraft (5) ------ us from London to Sydney in two hours and devices for controlling hurricanes would be used as weapons against enemies. Trains would be replaced by continuous high-speed horizontal escalators, adhesive tape would be strong enough for all structural household repairs and shoes, one pundit proclaimed, (6) ------ a lifetime.

And let us not forget of course that the world’s computers (7) ------- in the first few seconds of the new millennium, throwing the world into confusion and mayhem – a bit like the minds of those charged with predicting our future perhaps.

 

1. Think of five more predictions for the future of the world. Work in groups and decide which predictions are:

a) the most amusing.

b) the most probable.

 

1. How would you like to see the world change in the future? Write five sentences using the prompts:

I wish…

If only…

It’s high time…

It’s time…

I’d rather…

 

Work in small groups and share your ideas. Which are the most common, interesting or unusual ideas?

REFERENCES

 

1. Doughty C. and T. Pica. 1986. “Information gap” tasks: Do they facilitate second language acquisition? TESOL Quarterly 20, 2.

2. Littlewood, W. 1981. Communicative language teaching: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.

3. Richards, J., J. Platt, and H. Platt. 1992. Longman dictionary of applied linguistics (2^nd edition), Longman Group Ltd.

4. Talebinezahd, M. 1999. Effective Questions. English Teaching Forum, 37, 2.

5. White, R. 1982. The English teacher’s handbook. London: Harrap Ltd.

6. Harper K. Grammar One. Teacher’s Book. – Oxford University Press, 1992.

7. Molinsky S., J., Bliss B. Side by Side. English Through Guided Conversations. – Prentice Hall. Regents, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1983.

8. Webster’s New World Dictionary. Third College Edition. – USA, 1988.