Idioms & Expressions:
get from point A to point B (verb phrase that refers to traveling from one place to another)
My car isn’t very nice, but it gets me from point A to point A.
hustle and bustle (noun; describes the energy and movement in a city)
I’m glad I moved to the countryside – I don’t really miss the hustle and bustle of the city.
automation (noun; this is the process by which tasks are taken by computer or robots so that a human is no longer needed to complete them)
Automation will likely take tens of millions of human jobs within the next decade.
obsolete (an adjective used to describe something old or out of date)
cutting edge (an adjective that describes technology that is the newest or the latest)
The iPhone 7 is obsolete now that the cutting-edge iPhone X is out.
state-of-the-art / second-to-none (other adjectives that mean something is very advanced and modern)
The hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.
right around the corner / in our lifetime (prepositional phrases that mean something is going to happen very soon or in the near future)
Human colonization of Mars is right around the corner.
In our lifetime, we are going to see incredible advances in robotics technology.
play God (verb; an expression that means to experiment with powerful new technology)
Scientists have been playing God by cloning animals.
Part I: Group Discussion
- How do you usually travel to work or college?
I ride a motorcycle and take that to work. I never travel any other way, even if it’s raining severely. I just like to have the bike nearby at all times so I can go where I want, when I want.
- Have you always commuted in this way?
No. In America I would get a ride to work from my family. In college, I lived on campus, so I just had to walk to class.
- How would you prefer to commute? Would you change anything about the way you commute?
I miss public transportation. I used to live in South Korea and there was a very good subway system that was easy to take around the city. It was pretty cheap too.
Part II: Individual Presentations
Describe a piece of electronic equipment you find useful. You should say:
what it is
how you learned to use it
how long have you had it
and why it is so useful
I’m pretty “old-school” in that I don’t use newer technology to listen to music. Most people stream music onto their smartphones by using an app, but I still use an old MP3 player. I do this because I don’t want to carry my phone with me when I’m running and risk dropping it. I broke my iPod shuffle a few months ago, so I bought a little Sony Walkman MP3 player. I use that to listen to all my workout music when I’m exercising. I just put it in my pocket so I can always listen to music when I’m running.
It’s useful because I like to have music to motivate me when I’m working out. If I don’t have music, then I won’t exercise!
Part III: Pair Interviews
- Technology is advancing very quickly. Are you excited for the future or are you apprehensive about the changes technology will bring?
- What job do you have now / what job do you want to do in the future? Do you think that a robot will take your job via automation?
