TEXT I
INVENTING THE FUTURE
[1] Imagine a computer that will recognize faces of people and help you 1 to remember their
names, or a smart car that will wake up the driver when he is falling asleep at the wheel.
Scientists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab believe
all this and more will soon be possible. Projects like smart cars, smart houses, wearable
[5] computers and virtual pet dogs may contain the seeds of future innovations that will make life
safer, easier, healthier or simply more fun. Scientists and engineers are literally inventing the
future.
A car that will alert drivers to potential problems or wake up the driver if he is getting
sleepy seems like a futuristic fantasy, but the scientists and engineers at the MIT Media Lab are
[10] working to make this dream a reality. A computer in the car will recognize impending signs of
trouble and help prevent accidents.
Computers in your shoes, clothing or eyeglasses may seem like science fiction, but on the
MIT campus it is already happening. In fact, MIT students wear computer all the time. One day
soon, you will put on your computer instead of working at a desk. In some visions of the future,
[15] keyboards and the passive boxes that house the microprocessor will completely disappear.
Computers in the future will also be quite different in brain power and applications from what
we use today. You will probably talk to your future computer and it may even remind you of
appointments and assignments or the names and faces of people you meet.
The MIT Media Lab is a dream factory where scientists and engineers play with
[20] technology. The lab explorers such concepts as virtual reality, artificial intelligence,
communications and other computer applications, from education to entertainment. The
activities of the MIT visionary pioneers of the digital revolution are part of an integrated
approach to technology. Some of their research projects may seem quite extraordinary, but they
basically require just the creativity of the most powerful thinking machine on Earth: the human
[25] brain.
Adapted from Science American Frontiers. www.pbs.org /safarchive/4class. Accessed August, 2009.
[1] Imagine a computer that will recognize faces of people and help you 1 to remember their
names, or a smart car that will wake up the driver when he is falling asleep at the wheel.
Scientists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab believe
all this and more will soon be possible. Projects like smart cars, smart houses, wearable
[5] computers and virtual pet dogs may contain the seeds of future innovations that will make life
safer, easier, healthier or simply more fun. Scientists and engineers are literally inventing the
future.
A car that will alert drivers to potential problems or wake up the driver if he is getting
sleepy seems like a futuristic fantasy, but the scientists and engineers at the MIT Media Lab are
[10] working to make this dream a reality. A computer in the car will recognize impending signs of
trouble and help prevent accidents.
Computers in your shoes, clothing or eyeglasses may seem like science fiction, but on the
MIT campus it is already happening. In fact, MIT students wear computer all the time. One day
soon, you will put on your computer instead of working at a desk. In some visions of the future,
[15] keyboards and the passive boxes that house the microprocessor will completely disappear.
Computers in the future will also be quite different in brain power and applications from what
we use today. You will probably talk to your future computer and it may even remind you of
appointments and assignments or the names and faces of people you meet.
The MIT Media Lab is a dream factory where scientists and engineers play with
[20] technology. The lab explorers such concepts as virtual reality, artificial intelligence,
communications and other computer applications, from education to entertainment. The
activities of the MIT visionary pioneers of the digital revolution are part of an integrated
approach to technology. Some of their research projects may seem quite extraordinary, but they
basically require just the creativity of the most powerful thinking machine on Earth: the human
[25] brain.
Adapted from Science American Frontiers. www.pbs.org /safarchive/4class. Accessed August, 2009.
In accordance to the text, judge only the TRUE propositions.
I – Scientists and engineers will soon invite a computer that recognizes faces of people.
II – Smart cars will identify signs of trouble preventing dangerous accidents.
III – Computers will talk to you in order to remind your appointments and assignments.
IV – The MIT Media Lab is a factory where students play technology classes.
