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Page 68 - Exercise 11

Listening - A perfect future

Part A - Listen to people discuss changes that will affect these topics of interest in the future, Right down two changes for each topic.

1 - Work

• Work? In the future? Well, I think unemployment will keep getting worse.

• I agree, as because companies get more efficient and more computerized they are finding ways of using less staff.

• So I guess people will find it hard to get a good job, unless they have excellent qualifications.

• Yeah, I think that’s probably true, but I also think that because of computers. More and more people will be telecommuting instead of going into an office.

• Wow, I’d really love that. Can you imagine spending most of your work week in the comfort of your own home?

• Personally, I would get much more done and with email, instant messaging and video conferencing, you can still keep in touch with everyone you need to.

• Well, I’d certainly enjoy it, but I don’t know if I’d get more done or not. I’m afraid I might just turn on the TV and zone out.

2 - Transportation

• As far as transportation is concerned, I think there will be huge changes in the way people use cars. They’ll probably have made laws about what kind of car you can own, and when you can use it. And I bet it will be impossible for people to use cars whenever they like, there will just be too many of them on the roads.

• Exactly. People will have to take other modes of transportation, especially trains.

• Why do you say that?

• Well, we won’t be able to use cars and airports take up too much space. With the supply of land for airports shrinking around the world. There will be fewer airports and fewer plane flights. That leaves trains.

• So do you think there will be more efficient train systems between cities?

• Sure, there may even be trains going under the oceans to connect the major continents.

• Under the oceans? Get out of here. I get nervous enough flying on a plane.

3 - Education

• How do you think education will change in the future?

• I think kids are going to have to stay in school until their older, maybe until their 20 or 21.

• Why?

• Well, one reason is that there won’t be enough jobs for everyone, so it will be necessary to keep kids in school longer.

• I think they will have found a way for us to learn without teachers, there will be computer learning programs that can teach you much more quickly than a teacher. And also make learning much more fun.

• Are you saying that our teachers weren’t any fun?

• Well, okay, maybe some of them were fun.

4 - Health

• Every day you hear about some new medical breakthrough on the news.

• Yeah, and who knows what will happen in the next 50 years?

• I think in the next 50 years there will be new drugs that will help people lose weight permanently without dieting.

• And hopefully they will have found cures for many of the diseases that are around today, so people will live longer.

• How much longer do you think?

• I bet that within the next 50 years. Most people will live to be over 100.