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150 Thinking about the future 12 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE EXTRAS Talk in groups. 1 Go through the inventions one by one: If these predictions came true, how would you feel about them? 2 Which do you think would have the most significant impact on the world? How? 3 Which predictions do you find the most and the least convincing? Why? SPEaKIng 5 Which group of highlighted expressions A–C expresses the most certainty? Which expresses the least certainty? A  1   In the future, we’ll see high-definition lenses with full 3D virtual reality. 2 You won’t need a keyboard or a mobile phone. 3 I predict that mobile phones will become obsolete by 2020. B  4 I’d be surprised if an active skin prototype is n’t available in about five years. 5 I can see the Sahara turn ing into a vast solar power station. 6   Further into the future, we could very well have a country-wide transport system of small electric cars. C  7 There’s also the possibility that ‘thought recognition’ could allow you to just think the number. 8 The next step could be upload ing a brain onto a computer, then programming it into an android. Look at the sentences in 6 again and find four time expressions. Write them below. 1 in 2 by 3 in 4 into 5 within a few years 6 within my lifetime 7 in the short term 8 in the long term 9 in about ten years’ time 0 by the end of the century 1 before long 2 Looking ahead, … 1 1 1 Compare ideas. Which expressions in 7a would you say are about: a the near future? b the distant future? c the future in general? Look at these pairs of sentences. Which mean the same, and which are different? 1 a   Mobile phones will become obsolete in 2020. b   Mobile phones will become obsolete by 2020. 2 a   It will become available in about five years. b   It will become available in about five years’ time. 3 a   Oil will run out in a few years. b   Oil will run out within a few years. LanguagE fOCuS 6 Predicting the future a LanguagE fOCuS 7 Future time expressions b c Predicting the future Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv