Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
In the 1950s, when Americans thought about the future, they believed we would have flying cars. People believed we would be living on the moon, farming on the bottom of the ocean, and turning our deserts green. We dreamed that people could call any number in the US from their home telephones. At least the last one is true today! In fact, we can call any number in the world.
More than 50 years later, we still hope for breakthroughs that will make life better in the future. Technology makes things possible today that no one would have believed in the 1950s, so it’s hard to know what life will be like in the 2050s. Will we be living on the moon? Will we finally have our flying cars? It’s definitely fun to think about.
Jeff and Rafael are discussing the future. Learn more about how they think by reading today’s English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Rafael: Dude, I’m so excited about what kind of opportunities I might have tomorrow. You know? Just thinking about what might come. Technology… advancements… scientists are making breakthroughs all the time. What do you think about that?
Jeff: I think too much about it. It just sounds like total chaos.
Rafael: What?
Jeff: Modern advancements… they sound good, but they’re kind of a bummer a lot of the time. You know?
Rafael: If you put it into perspective… all of the things that we’ve done over the eons… scientists are brilliant.
Jeff: They are.
Rafael: What’s going to come a hundred years from now? We might solve world hunger. You know what I mean?
Jeff: Sometimes it just gets to be too much. You know?
Rafael: Yeah.
Jeff: We need the big breakthrough.
Rafael: Yeah.
Jeff: I’m not crossing my fingers for it, but hey. You never know.
Rafael: You never know.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
To Rafael, the future looks good. He believes that with improvements in technology and science, he will have all kinds of opportunities to pursue. Rafael also thinks that in his future life, someone may find a way to end world hunger. He’s hopeful and positive, and he thinks that Jeff will feel the same.
But Jeff’s opinion of the future is quite different. Jeff sees chaos in his world. He’ll be happy if scientists find a way to solve problems like world hunger, but he’s not expecting it to happen. To Jeff, just because something is new and modern doesn’t mean that it’s going to be perfect. It might even be anything but perfect.
Do you think your future looks good? Why or why not?
Comments
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