HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
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1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.
1. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about the future?
2. Do you know what you are going to do next week/ next month/ next year?
3. In which jobs do you need to predict the future?
4. What are the dangers of trying to predict the future?
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
2 Focus on keywords
You are going to hear the podcast about predictions of the future that were correct. Before listening
match the underlined words to the definitions below.
1. I’ve read quite a few dystopian novels and they make me worry about the future.
2. The new movie was only streaming on one service, and I did not have a subscription with that
provider.
3. They displayed the new TV in the front window of the shop so the customers could see it easily.
4. The dawning of a new era in technology will arrive in the next 20 years.
5. The financial expert forecasted that the economy would be in trouble next year.
6. The movie was made by an acclaimed Oscar-winning filmmaker.
7. The TV channel transmitted the game all over the country.
8. His new car was tailored to his height and his body shape.
a. (adj.) admired by the public
b. (n) beginning or start of something
c. (v) put something where people can see it easily
d. (v) said what you think will happen in the future
e. (v) method of receiving data, usually video or audio over a computer network
f. (v) sent an electrical signal, radio, or television broadcast
g. (adj.) featuring an imaginary place where everything is mostly awful
h. (v) made or adapted something for a particular person
3 Prediction and listening comprehension
Part A: Look at the names of the four people below, tell your partner what you know about them,
then listen to the podcast and match the predictions to the correct person.
1. Nikola Tesla a. Wireless communication would exist
2. Ray Bradbury b. Services like Netflix would be available
3. Roger Ebert c. People would all be wearing earbuds
4. Bill Gates d. Personalised advertisements would be possible
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
Part B: Listen to the podcast one more time and try to answer the following questions.
1. Where did Tesla say that we would be able to transmit wireless messages?
2. What is the name of Bradbury’s classic novel?
3. What was Roger Ebert’s job?
4. What did Bill Gates manage to point out in 1999?
4 Focus on vocabulary
Part A: Let’s look at some vocabulary that will help your understanding of the article. Match the
following words to the definitions.
1. foolish (adj.) a. quality of being new and different
2. novelty (n) b. the board made by sticking thin layers of wood together
3. fad (n) c. an event where something is made available to the public
4. investment (n) d. not likely to change
5. voyage (n) e. something people are interested in for a very short time
6. firm (adj.) f. not showing a good sense of judgement
7. launch (n) g. a long journey, usually in space or at sea
8. proclaimed (v) h. the act of investing money in something
9. plywood (n) i. publicly tell people about something important
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
Part B: Put the vocabulary from Part A into the correct gaps in the following sentences. You may need
to change the form of the word.
1. There was a Japanese toy called a Tamagotchi that was popular for a short time, but it was a bit
of a , to be honest.
2. I lost quite a bit of money when I in some stocks and shares last
year.
3. Sarah built her own dining room table out of .
4. He felt a bit when he couldn’t remember his own password.
5. Her team had a spot at the top of the league, and she was sure
they would be champions.
6. The story in the book was based on a to Mars.
7. I don’t get many chances to be alone but the of being by myself
does not last long.
8. The President that interest rates would fall by the end of the year.
9. Microsoft was due to its new product this month, but it has been
delayed for several reasons.
Part C: Now with your partner, discuss the following questions.
1. Can you remember any fads from your childhood?
2. When did you last feel foolish? Why did you feel that way?
3. Have you ever been excited about the launch of a new product?
4. What is the best way to invest your money these days?
5 Skimming for general understanding
You are going to read a text about the predictions that were incorrect. (page five). Match the following
subtitles to the correct paragraph. Two are not needed.
• It’s hard to know what is coming
• The computer and the console
• Will you fly me to the moon?
• Rural horses
• Driving the future
• A rival for Hollywood
• The technological trendsetter
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
The future is not what it seems
Predictions gone wrong
1. his historic voyage. It was clear that the writers at
the New York Times quickly felt more than a little
In a competitive world trying to get out in front is
embarrassed, but it wasn’t until 17th July 1969 that
a difficult thing to do. One way to succeed is to
the paper issued a correction. This particular date
guess which way the market is going and predict
happened to fall three days before man set foot on
upcoming trends. Unfortunately, this can often be
the moon.
a tricky task and one which can leave you looking a
little foolish. Throughout the years many people have 4.
found themselves in such a situation and unluckily
From as early as the 1910s, the movie industry had a
for them the history books are not so quick to forget
firm place in American culture and in 1927 with the
when things like this happen.
launch of the talking film it secured its position as one
2. the primary sources of entertainment in the country.
Its dominance remained unchallenged until in the
It is hard to believe but at the start of the twentieth
post-war years television started to become more
century, cars weren’t such a big deal and for many
popular. The threat of the TV did not seem to worry
people they were just another luxury they couldn’t
Hollywood Producer Darryl Zanuck however, as he
afford. In the United States in 1900 there was
confidently but wrongly proclaimed that "Television
around 1 car for every 10,000 people and many
won’t last because people will soon get tired of
couldn’t see the automobile becoming a common
staring at a plywood box every night". These days TVs
purchase. Therefore, when Henry Ford’s lawyer was
are present in 99% of homes in America with 66% of
thinking about investing $5000 in his client’s new
houses having three.
company, the president of the Michigan Savings Bank
expressed this famous quote, "The horse is here to 5.
stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad."
As the year 2000 approached, society’s attraction
The lawyer ignored the advice and stood back and
to technology and gadgets seemed to grow at an
watched as his investment quickly turned into $12.5
increased pace. However, one company looked to
million.
be falling behind the rest; it was doing so badly
3. that Wired Magazine seen seemed happy to offer
them this friendly advice, "Admit it, you’re out of
In the 1930s, talk of realistic space travel was a rare
the hardware game". It may surprise you to know
thing and it remained an area for sci-fi comics or
that they were talking about techno-giant, Apple a
fantasy movies. In 1936, the New York Times wanted
company that is now so big that it has more money
to strengthen this argument and they went as far as
than the entire US government.
to say "A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s
atmosphere" a statement that by 1961 looked a little Sources: energy.gov, Television History, MUO,
silly when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin went on weforum.org
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
PREDICTIONS
6 Reading comprehension
Read the following statements and decide if they are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).
1. Guessing which way the market is going is the only way to succeed.
2. At the start of the century, cars were too expensive for a lot of people.
3. Henry Ford’s lawyer did not take the suggestion he was given.
4. In the thirties, the thought of sending a human into space was an actual possibility.
5. Yuri Gagarin was thrilled to talk about his voyage into space.
6. The writers at the New York Times offered a correction as soon as Gagarin returned to Earth.
7. The movie industry led the way in entertainment in America until after the war.
8. At the start of the millennium, Apple was ahead of its rivals.
7 Talking point
In pairs discuss the following questions.
1. What do you think is the most surprising prediction in the article?
2. Can you imagine a world where horses were more common than cars?
3. Why do you think it took so long for the New York Times to make the correction in relation to
space travel?
4. How do you think people feel when they make predictions that turn out to be wrong?
5. Can you make any predictions about how technology might change in the next 50 years?
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