The Age of Light / The Age of Darkness

Genetic engineering will change everything forever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjPd4uNFY

1. Complete the sentences with the derived forms of the words in brackets (0:00 – 3:52):

a) Through _________ (selection) breeding, we strengthened useful traits in plants and animals.
b) Information is _________ (code) in the structure of the molecule.
c) As soon as DNA was discovered, people tried to _________ (tinkerer) with it.
d) All things we had to _________ (harvester) from the organs of animals before that.
e) A tomato given a much longer shelf life where an extra gene that _________ (suppression)
the build-up of a rotting enzyme.
f) To treat maternal _________ (fertile), babies were made that carried genetic information
from 3 humans.

2. Complete the sentences with the correct prepositions (3:52 – 5:56):

a) Phages do this by inserting their own genetic code _________ the bacteria and taking them
_________ to use them as factories.
b) The protein now scans the bacterium’s insides _________ signs of the virus invader _________
comparing every bit of DNA it finds _________ the sample from the archive.
c) When it finds a 100-percent perfect match, it’s activated and cuts _________ the virus DNA,
making it useless, protecting the bacterium _________ attack.
d) The revolution began when scientists figured _________ that the CRISPR system is
programmable.

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3. Decide whether the sentences are true or false (5:56 – 8:12):

a) In 2017, scientist carried out a project with rats that had the HIV virus in their bodies. T/F
b) CRISPR is bound to cure herpes in the future. T/F
c) According to the clip, more than 3000 genetic diseases are caused by a group of incorrect
letters in our DNA. T/F
d) CRISPR will be presumably used to ‘design’ babies. T/F

4. Guess the words according to their definitions based upon the material watched (8:12 – 12:08):

a) _ _ _ _ _ _ - the haploid set of chromosomes in a gamete or microorganism, or in each cell of

a multicellular organism.
b) _ _ _ _ _ _ - an unborn or unhatched offspring in the process of development.
c) _ _ _ _ _ - change or cause to change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively
small but significant way.
d) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - the stock of different genes in an interbreeding population.
e) _ _ _ _ _ _ - remove impurities or unwanted elements from (a substance), typically as part of
an industrial process.
f) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - not morally correct.
g) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure.
h) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - able to be prevented or avoided.
i) _ _ _ _ _ _ - excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
j) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a person's ability to see.
k) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - gather together or acquire an increasing number or quantity of.
l) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - (of a surface or object) difficult to hold firmly or stand on because it is smooth,
wet, or slimy.
m) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - the state of being subject to death.
n) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - the state or period of early childhood or babyhood.
o) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - capable of being imagined or grasped mentally.
p) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - unfriendly; antagonistic.

5. Find the synonyms of the following words based upon the material watched (12:08 - ):

a) ______________ – difficult; troublesome; distressing

b) ______________ – to refuse; deny; dismiss
c) ______________ – bare; sheer; simple
d) ______________ - flaw
e) ______________ – to eradicate
f) ______________ – to accept; to agree
g) ______________ – flawless; authoritative
h) ______________ – to bring about, to prompt
i) ______________ – certainty; efficiency; veracity
j) ______________ – lapse

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 Megan Ward: Things I've Learned From
Being Unemployed

I've been unemployed for three months. This is a huge shock to my system. I haven't been
unemployed since I was 17. I'm 22 now so this is 5 years of constantly being employed. Before I
came to Uni, I worked at McDonald's during my A-Levels. Then while I was at University I worked
at the cafe on campus during term time and came back to work in McDonald's when I was on break.
I've always had a job. (If any potential employers are reading this, check out that work ethic) Even
when I cut back on my hours to focus on my dissertation, I was still working; Uni was basically a
full time job that you paid to do. So it feels a little odd being unemployed. (And by odd, I mean it's
absolutely terrible, god I miss when my life had purpose. Please, please hire me, I'm desperate)
However, I have learnt some things in my months of being unemployed, and I wish to share them
with you all. I hope you enjoy my hard learned pearls of wisdom.

1. Time is an illusion. My mum gets home from work at roughly 4 in the afternoon. She usually
finds that I am still in my dressing gown and often haven't got out of bed. Occasionally, I am in
fact, still asleep. But now I am not catering to the time schedule set out by 'big business' and 'the
government', I do things when I feel like. There is no reason not to have spag bol at 1 in the morning.

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There is no reason not to have a cocktail at 10am. There is no reason not to stage a one-woman
performance of Hamilton at 2pm alone in my room. That last one may have been influenced by the
previous one. You have been lied to, my friends, time should not dictate your life.

2. Degrees are worth diddly squat. I have a first class honours degree in Political Science from
the University of Birmingham. It's a damn good degree. Can I get a job? No, dear friends, I cannot.
It's not like I lazed about at Uni either. I did work experience; I did extra-curricular things. You
know when you were in 6th Form and they told you to go to university because it would set you
up for life? Turns out, that wasn't true. On a related note, my head of 6th once said we had to go to
Uni or else we'd all end up pregnant. I mean, I'm definitely not saying I'd rather have a baby than
a degree, but one of those two gives you purpose, and it ain't looking like it's the degree at the
moment.

3. The system favours the rich. Now, I knew this before obviously. This is painstakingly clear to
anyone with a brain. But I didn't realise until now how much I would be expected to work for free.
Every job wants you to have had months and months of work experience, which is unpaid labour.
I'm not in a position where I can do that. I'm 22, I need a paying job, because I'm a young adult.
Work experience was fine when I was at school, but now? It's unrealistic. Next, consider that I
want to go in to journalism. If the next generation of journalists need to be able to do months of
unpaid labour to get into the field, they're going to have to have a rich supportive family. I'm not
poor, and I can't do it, so the people that can must be loaded. How on earth are we ever going to
have fair and unbiased press when the people who make up the press come from that kind of
money? It leaves the majority of people without a voice, without representation, without a chance.

4. Being unemployed means you get far too emotionally involved in video games. Now, when
I was employed, I stopped having time to play my favourite video game, The Sims. I didn't play
any video game for years, and god how that time was wasted. In the 3 months I've been unemployed
I've raised my sims families through nearly 4 generations. I nearly shed a tear when I finally got
two of my sims married, after basically putting them through the longest slow burn romance ever.
Oh who am I kidding? Nearly? Ha, I wept actual buckets.

5. When you're unemployed you really have to celebrate the little joys. I discovered a new way
to organise my clothes and it was so life changing I told everyone I know. I can't tell you what a
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fall in personality this is. I used to be the girl with crazy stories, and now colour-co-ordinating my
wardrobe and stacking my clothes upright is as wild as it gets folks. This can't continue. I
discovered I liked green tea and that was the only new thing that happened to me for two weeks.
I'm scared guys. What if I never have a fun story again?

6. I am extremely happy when anyone at all texts me. I am inside all day. When anyone texts
me, I reply in 0.08 of a second because I'm so overjoyed to have someone to communicate with.
When you're unemployed, it gets pretty lonely. My one friend who lives locally has a job and so
does my boyfriend, so there's no-one to hang out with me. A text makes my day. At university I
was surrounded by friends. I lived with two of my best friends; I only had to go to the kitchen for
a laugh. Now I'm dependent on WhatsApp for giggles. And myself, but I make terrible jokes, so
let's hope I'm not stuck with just me.

7. It's a total myth that we have to shower every day. I think I went 5 days without showering
once during these three months. Honestly, when you're unemployed it's like, what's the point, you
know? Anyone who showers every day despite being unemployed deserves a medal in my book.

8. No matter how much free time there is in my day, I still will manage to have no time for
that morning yoga I always promise to do 'if I have the time'. I'm the goddamn worst.

In conclusion, I've learnt nothing of relevance from my time in unemployment and I need a job
ASAP. If you're still at Uni reading this, please enjoy your last few happy months. It's hell out here
in the real world, trust me.

6. Answer the following questions:

a) What do the following abbreviations and expressions stand for?

- spag bol –
- ASAP –
b) Explain each of the following terms shortly in reference to the text:
- A-Levels -

- a dissertation -

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 - to cater to sth –

- Hamilton -

- to be diddly squat –

- a first class honours degree –

- Sixth form -

- to be loaded –

- a slow burn romance -

- to weep buckets –

- a fall in personality –

- WhatsApp -

- to learn nothing of relevance –

7. Based upon the text, what are the correct prepositions in the following phrases? Find their Polish
equivalents in accordance with the context in the post.
a) to be _____ break –
b) to cut back _____ sth –
c) _____ odd –
d) pearls _____ wisdom –
e) to set _____ a schedule –
f) to laze _____ at university –
g) to set sb _____ for life –
h) _____ a related note –

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 i) to end _____ pregnant –
j) to go _____ to journalism –
k) to hang _____ with sb –
l) to be dependent _____ sth –

8. Complete the sentences by writing the appropriate words from the table. Adjust the form of the
provided words if needed.

dissertation, to stage, roughly, dressing gown, painstakingly, unbiased, to shed, to stack,

overjoyed, giggles, relevance, to dictate

a) Mozart's satirical opera ______________ by ENO in celebration of the 250th

anniversary of the composer's birth.
b) My parents were delighted to hear me speak, and I was ______________ to give them
such a happy surprise.
c) The first form of his written speeches was always ______________ edited and revised,
and not infrequently entirely rewritten.
d) He studied mathematics and physics in his native town, Groningen, where in 1879 he
took his doctor's degree on presenting a ______________ entitled New Proofs of the
Earth's Rotation.
e) On reaching a large oak tree that had not yet ______________ its leaves, he stopped
and beckoned mysteriously to them with his hand.
f) Clearly, then, Napoleon's desire for peace was conditional on his being allowed
______________ terms to the rulers and peoples concerned.
g) The results from this work indicated that the cognitive tests were relatively
______________ and possessed good internal consistency reliability.
h) ______________ speaking, Little Russia, otherwise called the Ukraine, may be
described as the basin of the Dnieper southward of the 51st parallel of latitude.

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 9. Complete the article with the appropriate (derived) forms of the words provided.

discovery, craving, increase, amplifier, spirit, eternity, trust, susceptible, sustain, revolution,
appoint, forget, counsellor, vice, profoundly, utterance

Is loneliness a 21st-century epidemic? Why

we’re all feeling more lonely

With digital connection ___________ replacing face-to-face human interaction,

loneliness is spreading round the world like a virus. So what can be done? Vogue
zeros in on some experts who have some tips and tricks to help us reverse the trend.

Bridget Jones famously fretted about dying alone only to be found half-eaten by an Alsatian. So
when British Prime Minister Theresa May announced the ___________ of a so-called ‘Minister of
Loneliness’ in January, it seemed Bridget’s darkest fears had become all of our reality. It used to
be the bubonic plague that knocked us off, but now it’s loneliness that has emerged as an invisible
epidemic in our sped-up world.

Described as deadlier than obesity, chronic loneliness brings with it a slew of health issues that
include high blood pressure and heart disease, heightened ___________ to illness and poor sleep.
And it’s not just confined to the shores of the UK – loneliness is a global pandemic. In the USA,
40 percent of adults reported feeling lonely, while in Japan, the term ‘kodokushi,’ or lonely death,
first entered local lexicon after an earthquake in 1995 displaced elderly Japanese from their families
and saw them begin to die alone.

Now, ‘kodokushi’ simply refers to people whose bodies lie ___________ in their apartments,
sometimes for months – a figure that some estimate is close to 30,000 per year. Youth isn’t an
insurance policy against loneliness either: a study by the UC Berkeley Social Networks Study last

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year found that young Americans reported twice as many lonely days as their middle-aged
counterparts.

In the digital age, often little time is left for meaningful, face-to-face connection with others, yet
we rely on this emotional ___________ as much as we do on food and drink. So how do we ensure
that we receive enough to keep the Alsatians at bay? The reassuring news, according to Dr
Alexandra Solomon, a Chicago-based clinical psychologist and clinical assistant professor at
Northwestern University, is that we instinctively know how to avoid aloneness; we’ve simply
become a little unmoored of late.

“The cure for loneliness is basically coming home to our default setting, our natural essence, the
way that we really are wired to be,” she says. “We don’t have to learn something new to fight
loneliness. We have to remember something ___________.”

The following steps to fighting loneliness aren’t ___________ nor are they meant to be – they’re
simple reminders to guide us back on track and improve our health and happiness along the way.

Find your tribe

Before urban migration became routine and cheap air travel transformed our lives, humans didn’t
venture much beyond where they’d been born. This in-built community was enforced by social
institutions where people gathered: the parish church, community centres, sports clubs. In today’s
cities of millions, finding one’s place can feel daunting. Harder still, the demands of urban life
often leave people depleted of the time and energy needed to engage. As Dr Genevieve Solomou,
a ___________ psychologist with a practice in central London, observes: “As a consequence,
individuals may (typically) cope by guarding their space, privacy and time. In turn their behavior
may become less sociable or friendly.”

Avoid falling into this isolating rut with commitments that force you out of your hideaway and into
a community. “One antidote to loneliness is thinking ‘I have to show up to 6pm Zumba or else the
girls will wonder where I am,’” says Dr Solomon. “We ___________ that sense of purpose and we
crave that sense of connection.

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Seek out small moments of humanity

When you get on public transport, what’s the first thing that you do? Pull out your phone? Plug
headphones in? Yet our screens are creating a barrier to connection that carries a ___________
human cost. Next time, try to engage in fleeting moments of friendly contact with those around
you. A recent piece of research found that people who started conversations on a train not only
enjoyed an improved sense of wellbeing, but those whom they talked to did too. According to Dr
Solomon, these mundane, face-to-face interactions can be hugely beneficial. “The small talk, the
one-minute conversation in line with somebody at Starbucks, the glance across the train when you
make eye contact and smile at someone – these moments of contact are micro remedies,” she says.
“It reminds us that we’re part of something bigger, we’re connected, we belong.”

Remember that comparison is the thief of joy

While comparing ourselves to others is nothing new, technology has proliferated the means through
which we can torment ourselves. Now we need only reach into our pocket for a quick reminder of
all the better-looking and more successful people that populate this planet. As feelings of
inadequacy are ___________, we often retreat inwards – and so create conditions ripe for
alienation.

“The lonely person may harbour beliefs that their life is ‘less than’ and that the lives of others are
positive, good, happy, sociable etc,” says Dr Solomou. “So often I will hear the words, ‘Everyone
else seems to be enjoying their lives… Why isn’t my life better… What is it about me?’ Those
negative self-perceptions may form a ___________ cycle of negative thought patterns which in
turn can serve to exacerbate feelings of loneliness.”

So how do we stop such downward spirals into self-doubt? Dr Solomon regularly reminds her
patients that loneliness is a condition that most humans will endure at some point in their lives –
even the really shiny ones on social media. Remembering that we’re not alone in our suffering can
help alleviate isolating feelings of inadequacy.

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Allow yourself to be vulnerable

In addition to her therapy practice, Dr Solomon teaches a popular class at Northwestern University
in which much of the conversation with her college students centres around their fears of being
vulnerable. How do they successfully navigate the line between downloading too much and
remaining stuck at surface level with someone?

“In this digital age, we’re chronically impatient,” Dr Solomon sighs. Instead of expecting
immediate intimacy from a budding relationship or potential friendship, she advises a more organic
approach. Feel out first whether this person is ___________ and sympathetic, then once that has
been established comes the work of exposing deeper parts of ourselves to them. Scary, yes, but the
alternative is “remaining totally autonomous, never relying on a relationship, never letting
somebody in”. Intimacy requires risk, but the rewards for our emotional health are huge.

Lean in to it

Even when life is rich and full, it is still peppered with moments of loneliness. As Dr Solomon
points out, we are still “our own separate locusts of consciousness” – and that existential awareness
can weigh heavy. When disquiet looms, she recommends surrendering to it as a ___________
exercise. “Rather than being afraid of that soul-level lonely, lean in and ask, ‘What do I need to
understand? What do I need from myself?’” she says.

When the going gets really tough, refer back to step four: “Our best way of being is picking up the
phone and being like ‘Holy fuck this is really hard right now.’”

10. Answer the following questions:

I: Which of the following conditions related to loneliness is not mentioned in the text?
a) insomnia b) hypertension c) immunodeficiency d) heartburn

II: Which of the following words does not go along with the term kodokushi?

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 a) decay b) isolation c) care d) oblivion

a) What is the difference between the words epidemic and pandemic?

b) What does it mean to knock sb off?
c) What does it mean to keep sth at bay?
d) Explain the following sentence in English – We’ve simply become a little unmoored of late.
e) What does it mean to loom?
f) What is the Polish equivalent of the title assistant professor?
g) What does it mean to come home to default setting?

11. Translate the words/phrases in bold from English into proper Polish. Focus on the
appropriateness of the chosen equivalents.

a) According to Dr Solomon, these mundane, face-to-face interaction can be hugely beneficial.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) Next time, try to engage in fleeting moments of friendly contact with those around you.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
c) Vogue zeros in on some experts who have some tips and tricks to help us reverse the trend.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
d) Even when life is rich and full, it is still peppered with moments of loneliness.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
e) It seemed Bridget’s darkest fears had become all of our reality.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

12. Fill in the table with the missing words which belong to the same word family as the lexical
unit provided.

Verb Noun Adjective Adverb

reversely
fretted / fretting

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 daunting
budding
disquiet
to exacerbate
to reassure

13.
A Social Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXdVPLj_pIk

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