REAL-WORLD READING

READING: Practice

1 Read the article. Choose the correct option to complete the sentence.
Science fiction both encourages / describes and prevents scientific problems / developments.

Science Fiction and the Future

Given the human love of storytelling, the rise of modern science inevitably prompted stories involving science.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, one of the first science fiction novels, in 1818. After World War II, major writers
crafted both realistic accounts of near-future developments and visions of humanity’s distant future. In the 1970s,
the Star Trek television series and Star Wars films made science fiction much more popular.
Science fiction often has a really strong relationship with the scientific community. Scientists such as Stephen
Hawking and Carl Sagan have been inspired by science fiction. Evidence suggests the terms astronaut, genetic
engineering, and robotics originated in science fiction stories.
Science fiction not only has the ability to make accurate predictions
about future inventions; it may also encourage scientific thinking
and influence policy decisions. In the 1950s, novels and films
portrayed human space flight—within two decades, people walked
on the moon. Those events can’t be unrelated. Imagining spaceflight
helped us get ready to make it a reality.
Science fiction has also helped prevent scientific developments.
The frightening technology in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-
Four (1947) sparked efforts to prevent that future from being for
certain. And since science fiction films have given us images of
“mad scientists” whose projects lead to disasters, researchers
today must proceed carefully, anticipating public fears of new
“Frankenstein monsters.”
—Adapted from The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science by J. L. Heilbron

2 Read the article again. Complete the main ideas with words in the box.

community fiction influence

prevent relationship science

1 The rise of modern led to stories about science, or science .

2 Science fiction has a strong to the scientific .
3 Science fiction may encourage scientific thinking and policy.
4 Science fiction has also helped scientific developments.

1 Level 3 Unit 7 LOW-LEVEL READING © Oxford University Press

REAL-WORLD READING
3 Read the article again. Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.
1 Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 / after World War II.
2 The television show Star Trek and the Star Wars books / films made science fiction more
popular.
3 The writers / scientists Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan were inspired by science fiction.
4 Terms that come from science fiction include “astronaut” / “bioengineering” and “robotics”.
5 Novels and movies in the 1950s / 1970s showing human experiments / space flight may
have inspired people to walk on the moon.
6 George Orwell wrote Star Trek / 1984, a novel with technology that frightened people.
7 An image that caused researchers / writers to proceed carefully was “the mad scientist” /
“genetic engineering”.

READING SKILL: Recognizing words with more than one meaning 7.1

4 Read the sentences from the article. Write the best meanings for the underlined words.

caused descriptions encouraged

mental pictures words or phrases

1 Given the human love of storytelling, the rise of modern science inevitably prompted
stories involving science.
2 After World War II, major writers crafted both realistic accounts of near-future
developments and visions of humanity’s distant future.
3 After World War II, major writers crafted both realistic accounts of near-future
developments and visions of humanity’s distant future.
4 Evidence suggests the terms “astronaut,” “genetic engineering,” and “robotics”
originated in science fiction stories.
5 The frightening technology in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1947) sparked efforts
to prevent that future from being for certain.

5 Read the sentences. Is the meaning of the underlined word the same or different from its
meaning in Exercise 4? Check Same or Different.
Same Different
1 I’m having problems with my vision. I can’t always see clearly.
2 My vision of the future includes a lot of technology.
3 I was so nervous during my speech. The instructor had
to prompt me.
4 The deadline prompted me to start my essay.
5 Do you know what the term “bioengineering” means?
6 Our nine-month school term ends next month.
7 There are mistakes in the account. I think a lot of money is missing.
8 Do you believe Han’s account of the accident?
9 The movie Star Wars sparked my interest in science fiction.
10 The burner on the stove sparks as soon as you turn the gas on .

2 Level 3 Unit 7 LOW-LEVEL READING © Oxford University Press