Lesson 4

Reading

1. Read the comments which followed a blog called ‘A World without technology’. Which two photos relate to the comments?

1 and 2.

Vocabulary

3. Study the bold phrases in the comments and guess the meanings. Complete the sentences with the correct phrases.

1. There are some things I like about my new smartphone, and some things I don’t like.
But on balance I prefer it to my old phone.

2. My uncle, who’s 58 plays video games, but on the whole, I think most gamers are under 55.

3. We depend on the internet to do research for our homework.

4. On the one hand, calculators can solve complicated problems very quickly, but on the other hand they make us lazy and slower at working out maths problems.

5. Some technology, like dishwashers for example, can help us save time doing jobs in the house, but on a bigger scale we have innovations like electric cars, which can help us solve global problems.

4. Read the comments again and make a list of advantages and disadvantages of technology mentioned.

Advantages: can warn us about natural disasters; keep in touch with family and friends; helps saves lives in natural disasters; keeps people healthier and cures diseases.
Disadvantages: hackers can cause problems; information can be hacked or stolen; people become addicted to it; they spend less time doing simple things.