Unit 3

Your This girl is wearing a high-tech

armband that can find her friends
nearby, send text messages and even
act as a video-game controller.

Virtual
Self

‘Really good technology helps us all be TO START

more human and connect with each 1. Look at the photo. Have you ever used anything similar to this type
other as we never could before.’ of technology? Explain.
Amber Case 2. What technology do you use in your daily life? Think about your home,
your schoolwork and your free-time activities.

3. Imagine you don’t have a mobile phone. How would you contact your
friends? Explain.
42 43
 1 Look at the photo. What information can you see? Do you A virtual view of Washington, D.C., USA

think it’s helpful? Discuss. Then listen and read.  028

Anthropologists traditionally study human computers are like extra body parts that we modern technology, we can communicate know who’s online and ready to interact with
behaviour and culture. They look at the way carry around with us. ‘Our mobile phones faster and find any information we want in us. ‘We aren’t taking time to slow down and
humans live and work together. Amber Case is have become like children,’ explains Amber. an instant. Social media allows us to connect figure out who we really are,’ says Amber.
an anthropologist, but she studies a different ‘If they cry, we pick them up. We plug them with people around the world. So friendships Despite these concerns, Amber doesn’t
type of anthropology. Amber is a cyborg into the wall and feed them. When they’re lost, can form based on our shared interests, not think that machines are taking over. ‘We’re
anthropologist. Do you know what a cyborg we panic.’ just our location. sharing with each other – human to human –
is? Part human, part machine, a cyborg is In the past, we humans developed tools Although there are a lot of positive things in a very real way.’
usually associated with science fiction films that extended our physical abilities. We used about technology, Amber thinks there is also
or comic books. them to improve the environment, farm the a negative side to our new cyborg selves. She
Amber believes that in today’s digital land, move around faster or protect ourselves. worries that our constant access to other
world, we’re all cyborgs. We rely on technology In the 21st century, our smart tools – our people interferes with our ability to just be
2 LEARN NEW WORDS Listen and
all the time. Our mobile phones and tablet gadgets – extend our mental abilities. With alone. Wherever we are, there’s someone we repeat.  029
3 Work in pairs. Do you agree that
you’re a cyborg? Why or why not?
44  VOCABULARY VOCABULARY  45
 4 Read and write the words from the list.
SPE AKING S TR ATEGY  032
access communicate constant digital Checking for understanding Responding
information location social media technology
Do you mean that cars will drive themselves in That’s right. There are already self-driving cars
the future? on the road!
According to Amber Case, in today’s world of ,
So, you’re saying that mobile phones will Not quite, but we’ll be able to do even more on
people have two selves. There’s the real self, and then there is a second self – the replace computers? our phones.
self. This is the person that you become when you go Do you actually believe that we won’t need to That’s exactly what I mean. No one will need
online. There are some risks to having a virtual identity. Through your virtual self, you write by hand? pencil and paper in the future.
create huge amounts of about yourself that anyone can
. Another problem is that you’re never really alone. People 1 Listen. How do the speakers check that they understand each other? Write
still with your virtual self when you’re not there. Even the phrases you hear.  033
when you’re sleeping, your friends are using their smartphones to connect with you on
. This online interaction means 2
7 Read and complete the dialogue.
it’s very difficult to disconnect!
Carla: Twenty years from now, I doubt that anyone will have a mobile phone.
Santana: Seriously? Do that we won’t talk on the
5 LEARN NEW WORDS Listen to these words and match them to phone in the future?
the definitions. Then listen and repeat.  030  031
Carla: No, . I just think that we’ll have
extend   interfere   rely on   take over technology in our brains. So then we won’t need to carry anything with us.
Santana:  that we’ll all have tiny machines in our
 1._ take control of heads?

 2._ make something larger Carla: 

 3._ feel that you can’t be without Santana: No way! I don’t agree. I think we’ll have more wearable technology.

 4._ get in the way of something Carla: Wearable technology? mean things like
special glasses or watches?
Amber Case
6 YOU DECIDE  Choose an activity. Santana: Yes. That’s . These gadgets are already out
there. But in the future, they’ll be much cheaper so that anybody can buy them.
1. Work independently. Do you think modern technology
has made us better at communicating? Write a Carla: Maybe you’re right. And I like that better than the idea of a machine in my head!
paragraph to explain your opinion.

2. Work in pairs. Discuss a piece of technology that People won’t drive

3 Work in pairs. Spin the wheel in the future. Do you mean that cars
has really changed your life. How has it made your to make a prediction about the won’t need drivers?
life easier?
topic you land on. Your partner
3. Work in groups. Discuss. How often did you will check for understanding. That’s right.
communicate with friends and family online in the
last week? Imagine you don’t have a mobile phone or
a computer. How would you communicate with your 4 Discuss in groups. Why is it important to check that
friends and family? you understand something? What might happen if you Go to page 157.
get the wrong idea about what someone is saying?
46  VOCABULARY SPEAKING  47
 4 LEARN NEW WORDS Listen to learn about online safety. Then listen
GR AMMAR  034 and repeat.  035  036
Modals: Expressing obligation, advice and permission
You should be careful about your safety online. You shouldn’t give away personal information.
Students don’t have to ask to use the computer, but they must ask if they can go online. Your personal Identity theft happens
when someone hacks
You have to protect yourself with a strong username and password.
Can anyone use the computer at the library? You can/may only use the Internet if you have
information into your account
and uses your
a library card. Children under 14 can’t/may not use the Internet at all.
should always personal information.

1 Read. Circle the correct answer.

be private.
The Internet is great, and it gives you the ability to do a lot of things. Don’t share
You can / should learn about some really interesting topics and find
people who have the same interests as you. But at the same time, you must / shouldn’t always
it with A good username and
think about what you say and do online. You don’t have to / should remember strangers! password can protect
your information and
that real people with real feelings are reading your words. You should / can’t behave
provide security.
the same way online as you behave in real life. Everyone says mean things sometimes,
You must choose
but when you write something online, it will always be there for everyone to see. You your username
may / have to say things you don’t believe, but you can / can’t ignore other people’s feelings. and your password
When you talk to people in real life, they can see your face and your body language. Online, carefully.

they just read your words, so you can’t / have to be very careful about the words you choose.

2 Work in pairs. Write advice using can, may, should, must and have to. 5 Work in pairs. Imagine that you want to start a new social media website. How can
you make sure that it’s safe? Make a list of five guidelines for users to follow. Use the
1. Someone is mean to you online.
words in the box, as well as can, may, should, must and have to.

2. A stranger sends you a message on social media. hack     information     password     private     theft     username

1.
3. You want to start your own blog.
2.

3.
4. Someone uses a photo of you without asking you first.
4.

5.
3 Work in groups. Take turns discussing I forgot my password
problems at school or online. Give advice for the school website. 6 Discuss in groups. People hack into businesses, banks, government websites and
You should send an e-mail
using can, may, should, must or have to. to the computer teacher. personal e-mail accounts. What information do they want to find? What can they do
with this information? What should you do if your own account gets hacked?
48  GRAMMAR GRAMMAR  49
 1 BEFORE YOU READ Discuss in 4 AFTER YOU READ Look at the sentences. Often it seems like technology is and quietly keeping you safe. It only reminds
pairs. Based on the title, the photo Tick T for true or F for false. everywhere. Computers and smartphones you it’s there when you’ve burnt your toast! Or
and the graphics, what do you think are at the centre of almost everything we do. there may be lights in your home or school that
1. Amber Case invented the
the reading is about? T F They’re constantly demanding our attention. are sensitive to movement. When somebody
idea of calm technology.
We text our friends during the day, sleep passes in front of their sensor, the lights turn on.
2 LEARN NEW WORDS Find these 2. Calm technology demands with our devices by our beds and check our You don’t think about this type of technology
our attention at all times. T F
words in the reading. What do you messages as soon as we wake up. until you see the light go on. Even a microwave
think they mean? Use a thesaurus to 3. A smoke alarm is an example oven is an example of calm technology. You’re
According to Amber Case, in the future,
of calm technology. T F not standing at the hob heating your food: the
find synonyms for each word. Then technology will no longer be interrupting
microwave is doing it for you. You don’t think
listen and repeat.  037 4. Cooking your food on the us all of the time. Instead, we will use calm
about its work until you hear the beeping noise
hob is an example of technology – a concept first developed by
T F signalling that your food is ready.
demand edge calm technology. scientist Mark Weiser in the 1970s. In his
focus interrupt 5. Amber believes that houses vision, calm technology works quietly but In the future, Amber imagines that our
in the future will use constantly, at the edge of our attention. We houses will use calm technology to open the
calm technology. T F know it is there, but we don’t focus on it. curtains for us in the morning, to turn down
3 WHILE YOU READ Think about According to Mark, the best technology should the heat when we leave, or even to choose the
your own home and the technology 5 Work in pairs. List three examples from your be invisible and let you live your life. best music for our mood. The minute we walk
you use there.  038 life where technology has demanded your through the door, our house will respond by
We already use many different types of calm
turning on the lights and music, setting the
attention. Then list three examples of calm technology in our everyday lives. Do you have a
radiators to a comfortable temperature and
technology in your school or home. Share your smoke alarm in your house? That smoke alarm
perhaps even starting to prepare our dinner!
responses with the class. is always there, checking the air for smoke

6 Discuss in groups.
1. Amber believes that eventually, with
calm technology, electronic devices
will do all the boring, repetitive tasks
in our lives. How will this benefit us?
What negative impact might this
have on us?

2. Calm technology will allow different

machines in our lives to share
Should we be excited about calm technology? information about us, our routines
and our personal habits. Do you
think that sharing this information is
a security risk? Why or why not?

3. Design a house that uses calm

technology. Think of all the ways it
can use calm technology to make
our lives easier without demanding
our attention.

50  READING READING  51

 VIDE
1 BEFORE YOU WATCH Discuss 2 Work in pairs. You are going to watch a video 4 AFTER YOU WATCH Read the sentences. Circle the 5 Work in pairs. What
in pairs. called The Distance Between Two Points. Before correct answer. technology might you
you watch, do the following: 1. Amber’s dad said that a straight line was / wasn’t use in each of the places
1. When you’re communicating
with your friends, does speed 1. Draw two points on A
always the shortest distance between two points. below? When might it
matter? Do you expect your a sheet of paper. Label 2. Amber thinks technology reduces / creates the distance be a problem to use
B
friends to respond instantly? them A and B. between two people. technology at each place?
Why or why not? 3. Amber studies how technology affects culture /
2. Now draw the shortest route from point A to
2. When might you want to slow point B. must be used all the time. gym home library
communication down? Why? 3. How could you make this route even shorter? 4. With calm technology / social media , others can museum school
interact with our virtual selves when we’re not there.
5. Amber created an interface that tells her phone when
3 WHILE YOU WATCH Check your responses she’s at home / her family members are online.
How does Amber say the distance between two
6. Amber believes that people sometimes need distance
points is made shorter? Does your response from from / need constant access to one another.
Activity 2 match what she says? Watch scene 3.1.

6 YOU DECIDE  Choose an activity.

1. Work independently. Imagine you can send a letter back in time to your
great-great grandparents. Write a description of a smartphone.
2. Work in pairs. Amber’s phone has an invisible interface so that it knows
when she’s at home. How could your phone help you based on your location?
What kinds of things could it do? Give at least three ideas.
Singers joining in a virtual choir
3. Work in groups. Think about how communication has changed over
the past 100 years. Create a timeline showing at least five ways that
communication has changed. Then add two or three predictions for
how communication will change in the future.
52  VIDEO VIDEO  53
 GR AMMAR  039 WRITING
Must, might and can’t: Expressing certainty In an opinion essay, we want to tell others what we believe about a topic.
I checked these facts on three different This might be her social media page. I’m not sure. We use facts to support our argument. We must make it clear when we’re
websites, so they must be true. He can’t be the author of this article: he doesn’t
stating a fact and when we’re expressing an opinion.
This website must mention security somewhere. know anything about the topic! Facts include: Opinions include what the author:
• a date or time of an event • believes is possible
• a statistic • thinks about something
1 Read. The information below came from the Internet. Some sentences are true and • a description of an event • says is good, bad, important, etc.
some are false. Use must, might and can’t to write what you believe.
tortoises can live for one year without food or water. That must be true! My
1. Giant 1 Read the model. Work in pairs. Circle the An early personal
own pet turtle can live without food for a while. / That can’t be true! All animals sentences stating facts. Underline the sentences computer

need to eat and drink. expressing opinions.

2. There were computers during World War II.
Can we live without computers?
For most people my age, it’s hard to imagine life without
a computer. It seems like almost everybody has got one!
3. You only use ten per cent of your brain.
In fact, there are 640 million personal computers in
households around the world. Most people use them
every day for work and play. Actually, the first personal computer was invented in 1975.
4. On average, youngsters spend over 150 hours a week using
Before then, people survived without computers and the Internet, so it must be possible!
technology.
I believe that there would be some advantages to life without a computer. We
would probably do more exercise because we wouldn’t be sitting in front of our
screens all day. Maybe we would get better at remembering things because we
5. There are robots that can play football. couldn’t always check facts online. I think we would also interact more with each
other because computers wouldn’t demand so much of our attention.
However, I think that it would also be very difficult for young people today to live
without computers. We use them to communicate with our friends and family all
6. More people die every year from vending machine accidents than from around the world. We also use computers to research information about many different
shark attacks. subjects. Computer technology has helped improve our lives in many different areas.
For example, mechanics use computers to check our cars, doctors use computers to

analyse health tests, and architects use computers to design modern, safe buildings.
In conclusion, although I think that we may have had healthier lifestyles in our
2 Work in groups. Write two true sentences and one false sentence on a piece of computer-free past, I believe that, in today’s society, we can’t live without computers.
paper. Read your sentences to the group. Can they guess the false sentence?

Number 2 must be false. Your house 1. My mum knows how to fly a helicopter. 2 Work in pairs. Do you agree with the writer’s
can’t be 100 years old – it’s too modern!
2. My house is 100 years old. opinion? Think of one more argument against
3. I have 15 cousins. and one more argument in favour of life without
computers. Use facts to support your arguments.

Answers to Activity 1: 1. true; 2. true; 3. false (100%); 4. false (53 hours); 5. true; 6. true 3 Write. Write an opinion essay to answer the question:
Can we live without smartphones?
54  GRAMMAR WRITING  55
 Make an Impact
YOU DECIDE  Choose a project.

1 Plan and conduct a survey.

• Write questions to find out about your classmates’ online activity.
• Conduct the survey and summarise the results.
• Present the results and make recommendations.

2 Advertise an app or website.

• Choose an app or a website that you use regularly.
• Write a list of its best and worst features.
• Create an advert for the app or website. Present it to the class.

3 Plan and hold a technology fair.

Connect with People • In a group, bring in five or six different technological gadgets.
• Write a short description of each piece.
Display your descriptions with the gadgets.
‘Today’s technology extends our mental self.
It’s changing the way we experience the world.’ • Hold a technology fair. Discuss
Amber Case how each item is used with
National Geographic Explorer, Cyborg Anthropologist your classmates.

1. Watch scene 3.2. 3. How will technology change our

communication in the future? Will it
2. What are your favourite ways to connect help or harm communication? Explain.
with people now? Is it the same for
everybody in your life? Explain.

56  MISSION PROJECT  57