Prof: Luisa Armas

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 TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE
Unit 1 FUTUREFUTURE
CONTENTS.
WILL for predictions. / decisions. Future plans with BE GOINGTO

LONG SHOT! Speaking.

Scientists discover more about DNA every day, but will this genome research means that we will
live for 150 years? Will we exchange worn out body parts for new parts produced in a laboratory? What will
happen in medicine over the next 25 years?
Write your opinions or discuss the opinions of other people.

Prediction
We’ll be immortal. Nobody will die
Mary
We will use stem cells from the
umbilical cord to ¨grow new organs and
we will change parts of our bodies that
we don’t like.
Pam
An electronic scanner will diagnose all
Diseases and prescribe the best treatment
Jen
Doctors will use genetic engineering to
Discover and prevent diseases before
they happen.
Discussion
Hogwash there won’t be enough food or water for
everyone.
John
Will we be able to change our sex, too?
Mick
Maybe. The rich and famous will transplant Parts
and even change their sex. I hope that the rest of us
will use this technology to react disease.
Liz
No way! You watch too much Star Trek!
Dick
That’s true. Next we will have robot doctors.

Maggie
Cloning will allow us to change our bodies
For new ones when they get old.
Stacy
We will clone many things in humans.
Charlie
You are right. They will diagnose the possibility of a
disease developing and make changes to our genes
so don’t get sick.
Tom
Sorry, but you’re dreaming. Cloning in humans will
never be reality because of Ethical problems
Yes, but people will try. They will clone the baby, but
they will never clone the soul.

Dan
They will always produce a different person.
 EXERCISES A-
Discuss these questions in small groups.
1. What are some areas in medicine that are different from when you were a child?
2. Are advances in medicine always a good thing?
3. Can technology bring negative consequences?

B- Work in pairs. Choose one of the topics below and discuss your predictions for the year
2030.Take notes on your ideas.

The environment _ money _ population _ famine _ fresh water _ health _ war _ world powers.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

To agree To disagree To show you are not convinced

You’re right. You’re wrong. Maybe.

That’s true. No way. Yes, but

Do you agree with the predictions in the text? Write about them. Use the expressions given.
 GRAMMAR

FUTURE WITH BE GOING TO

I He / she / it You / we / they

Affirmative I am going to change jobs. She’s going to sell the car. They are going to see the new
film.

Negative I am not going to ask him. He is not going to be there. We are not going to have a
vacation.

w-h question When am I going to see you? How much is it going to spend? What are you going to wear?

Yes,No Am I going to see him? Is she going to invite him to swim? Are you going to drive?
question

Affirmative A: Come on. Let’s go to the movies. B: Sure I’ll get my coat.

Negative A: We don’t have much money B: Ok we won’t go on vacation this year.

Question forms A: When will you be ready to go? B: Will you answer the phone please?

A- Look at these examples. Then answer the questions.

I’m going to take a French course in Canada this summer.

I’m going to travel around South America for a year.

1. When do you think we use going to?

a) for definite plans for the future

b) for activities happening now
c) for decisions made now
2. Is there an equivalent to this in your language?
_______________________________________________________________________________________

B. Study the table. Then complete the sentences with forms of “be going to.”_

Subject Verb to be going to Main verb

I am going to look for a job next week
Sarah isn`t going to sell her car

Question word Verb to be Subject going to Main verb

What are you going to do Anna?
Where is Marco going to travel to next summer?

1 I _______________________ to work in a summer camp in August.

2 What _______________you ___________ do on vacation?
3 Peter( not) ______________ play tennis this afternoon because he’s sick.
4. When_________________ Tina and Mike get married
 Conversation 1

Josh: Hi, Sheila. Is everything all right?

Sheila: No, I`m really furious.
Josh: Why? What happened?
Sheila: I was at a store a couple of hours ago. You know, it’s my husband’s birthday today so I was
shopping for a gift for him.
Josh: I thought you liked shopping.
Sheila: I love shopping. Anyway, I was looking around for some time when I saw this beautiful tie. It
was just perfect. But then, when I was going to the cash register, I dropped my credit card.
Josh: That’s no big deal.
Sheila: No big deal? As I was picking up the card, a woman stepped on it and broke it.
Josh: Oh no! Did you have any other cards?
Sheila: Sure, I then decided to use my debit card. When I was taking it out of the wallet, I noticed a
sign that said “Cash and Credit Cards Only “
Josh: Oh no! So your credit card was broken and you couldn’t use your debit card, either.
What did you do then?
Sheila: I didn’t have any cash. All I had was my international phone card. That one was working, but I
couldn’t use that to buy a tie, obviously.
John: I guess not.
Sheila: So I drove back home to get another credit card and went back to the mall. When I was going
into the store to get the tie, I saw a woman buying it. It was an exclusive model, so I had to buy
another one I didn’t like as much.
Josh: Well, today certainly wasn’t your day.
Sheila: You can say that again!

A: ROLE PLAY THE REST OF THE CONVERSATION. FOLLOW THE MODEL.

Sheila: Will you take my dress to the dry cleaner’s?

Josh: Sure. I’ll do that when we leave the mall.

Sheila Josh

Take my dress to the dry cleaner. Do that when we leave the mall.
Buy birthday candles. Get them at the supermarket near my house
Call my sister-in-law and invite her to come over tonight. Call her when I get home.
Choose a card for Anthony. Get it together with the candles.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
 READING
GLOBAL WARMING

For inhabitants of the Arctic, global warming is more than just a scientific debate about a distant threat. It is on
everyday really. The ice is getting thinner, and animals that form an integral part of the local diet are moving
farther north. The ground once permanently frozen is beginning to melt, causing major damage to houses and
roads.

John Chugiak, an environmental campaigner from Banks Island in the far North of Canada, wants
the world to wake up to the problem. Our traditional lifestyle has already changed due to global warming he
says, and it’s going to change a lot more. My people aren’t going to be able to hunt and fish much longer, and
our houses are going to fall down. Soon people will star leaving for the big cities, and our town may even die.
Our whole way of life might be lost

Global warming occurs when greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide,
accumulate in the atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping into space and, as a result, the planet
warms up. If levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise at the current rate, scientists predict that average global
temperatures will rise by around 3 C by the end of this century. Such temperatures will almost certainly melt polar
icecaps, and the resulting floods might affect major cities like New York and London.

I don’t know if there is still time to stop global warming, but we have to try ¨says Chugiak. It’s
everyone’s responsibility. We can’t just leave it all to the politicians. So what can we do? Start by taking the bus
or riding a bike to work. Recycle more. Write to your local politician. Every little bit helps.

Taken from : Elevator3a

What are the biggest threats to the environmental? What can we do to counteract them?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Read the article quickly and choose the best headline

a) Global warming is a reality b) Problems in the Artic c) Who is responsible for global warming?

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____
 Answer the questions.
a) What part of the world will global warning already affect?
b) What is John Chugiak’s profession?
c) What two gases does the article mention?
d) How much do scientists think the temperature will rise?
e) According to Chugiak how will people counter the threat of global warming?

*Are the problems below man-made problems, natural disasters or a combination of

both?

Land sliders global warming forest fires nuclear waste acid rain floods

Air pollution volcanic eruptions hurricanes drought ozone depletion

MAN-MADE PROBLEMS NATURAL DISASTERS BOTH

Adverbs of possibility
When we make predictions, we use adverbs like possibly, probably, almost, certainly and
definitely or show how sure we are.
People will probably start leaving for the big cities.

*Match the description with the sentences.

1. people aren’t going to be able to hunt and fish._____ a. prediction base don on strong evidence

2. the town may / might die._______ b. prediction based on personal viewpoint

3. soon people will start leaving for the big cities.______ c. prediction of possible future

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 *Write five personal predictions about the future of the planet, using will and the adverbs of
probability.

Underline the correct option.

a. My sister is pregnant. She (will / is going to) have a baby on July.
b. I don’t think the US (will / is going to) sign the Kyoto Protocol.
c. If you drink all the soda. There (isn’t going to / won’t be) left for the party.
d. Watch out! that rock (will / is going) to fail

Complete the sentences with will or won’t.

a. We ________ never discover a cure for AIDS.

b. We_________ be using fossil fuels by the end of the century. The air ___ be cleaner and we breath

more easily.

c. The Amazon forest ___________ be destroyed completely by the end of the century as a result the
planet will get hotter and hotter.

d. We ___________stop using sprays so the hole in the ozone layer will get bigger and bigger.

e. Cars won’t disappear from cities there ________________ always be pollution.

f. Future generations will be environmental aware and they ______________ recycle more and waste less

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 PLAN SPECIAL DAYS
VOCABULARY

*Go out for dinner. *Have a party. *Have a barbeque. *Go to a club. *Go to a movie.

*Have a family meal.

A-Decide the best way to celebrate

1. On Dad’s birthday, we usually_________________________________________________

2. On Mom’s and Dad’s anniversary, they usually___________________________________

3 On John’s birthday, we usually_________________________________________________

4. On Mom’s birthday, she usually________________________________________________

5. On my birthday I usually______________________________________________________

6. On Grandpa and Grandma’s anniversary, We usually_______________________________

WORD BANK: MORE PLANS

Have a picnic. Have a housewarming party.

Have a graduation party. Have a wedding.

Get together with friends. Have a baby shower.

Go shopping. Stay home.

GRAMMAR: Be going to
English uses a variety of different structures to talk about future time. One of them is be going to which is
used to talk about plans and intentions. It is also used informally for making prediction.

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GRAMMAR BUILDER: WILL and BE GOING TO for predictions.

LANGUAGE ASSISTANT.

Instead of will / won’t for predictions, you can sometimes use be going to for immediate predictions
based on visible evidence.

Good__ the clouds are clearing. The sun is going to come out again.
You can also use might for uncertain predictions. They might ban private cars.

LANGUAGE ASSISTANT.

The future of can is will be able to, and the future of have to is will have to.

We won’t be able to use fossil fuels much longer. ( compare: At the present, most people have to use
public transportation.)

These future forms can be used for other purposes as well as predictions.

1. . Read and answer these questions.

a) Which verb form is used in the more immediate prediction, based on clear evidence?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

b) Which verb form is used in the more speculative prediction, further in the future?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Complete the conversation with the appropriate auxiliary verb phrases. Use be going
to only when necessary.

Doug: What do you think of the situation, Joy? In my opinion it _______________ get worse and worse.

Joy: What are you talking about, Doug?

Doug: Well, our dependence on non-renewable resources, pollution of the environment, over

population. Very soon we _______ (not) live this way-it will be impossible.

Joy: Don’t be silly. We _______ modify the way we live a bit, of course that’s inevitable but nothing

drastic. New technology_________ solve most problems. The future be like the present

Doug: I don’t think so, and neither do the experts. Oh look at those black clouds. It ______________ rain

really hard.

Joy: Cheer up, Doug. The rain will fill the rivers and make the grass grow!

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 Conversation 2.

Listen to the conversation

When is Susan’s birthday?
Sally: When is your birthday?
Susan: It’s on May 21

Sally: Hey, that’s next week. Are you going to have a party?
Susan: No, I’m going to go out for dinner with my parents.

A) Change the underlined words and make a new conversation.

B) Complete the sentences. Use the words in parentheses and be going to

1 A: What (you do) for your birthday? :

B:I (have) a big party.

2 A: (you have) a barbeque on the weekend?

B:No,we (go) to the movies.

3 A: Where (Brenda and Alan go) on New Year’s?

B:They (go) to Times Square.

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DAVID BLStreet magician and modern day Houdini

DAVID BLAINE

New Yorker David Blaine is famous in the States for his TV show Street Magic. His
tricks include levitation and being buried alive for a week in a glass coffin. His most
spectacular stunt has been to set a new world record by surviving for more than sixty hours,
without food, inside a box of ice.
It wasn’t easy. The cold wasn’t the only problem. Blaine suffered hunger and physical pain.
He didn`t eat for four days before going into the ice box. And he didn`t eat for the three
days he was inside the box. He couldn`t move and he stood still for the whole 61 hours.
When he came out he was suffering severe pain, especially in his feet.
And for his next trick? Blaine is currently preparing for a new record: standing on an 80 -
foot pole for two days. If anybody can do it, he can!

Taken from: Elevator 3a

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 SELECT TRUE OR FALSE.

1. David Blaine works in New York. T F

2. His record breaking stunts are easy to do. T F
3. He broke a world record with his ice box stunt. T F .
4. He doesn’t want to break any more records. T F

Read and answer these questions.

1. What magic trick and stunts does he perform?

___________________________________________________________________________________
2. What records has he broken?

3. What new record does he want to break?

___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is he famous in?
___________________________________________________________________________________

Read the text and write a short paragraph saying your opinion according to Blaine’s plans.

Do you think that he is going to finish his trick as he insists on?

Which do you think is going to be the end of this history?
______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Choose the correct verb for the following sentences. Do not use abbreviations:

1. It’s getting cold .I (take) my coat!

2. Are you going to the cinema? Wait for me. I (go) with you!

3. Jane and Tom (not / study) medicine next year. Tom (take) a gap year.

4. Mrs. Simons, those bags seem quite heavy. I help) you carry them.

5. Experts say the Earth (suffer) seriously if we continue polluting.

6. Look at those black clouds. I think it rain).

7. Bye,bye ,Joe. I (phone) you as soon as I arrive home!.

8. What _______ (do) tomorrow? I (visit) my grandparents.