The Jones family have nine TV, six computers, three cars, and every domestic appliance. What would their life be like without them? Melanie Adams reports

This is the family who have chosen to fill their home with every conceivable gadget. They have nine TV, including one in each bedroom and in the kitchen. All the children have their own personal computers and CD players. Of course, there are all the usual appliances we all take for granted, such as the washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher, deep freeze, microwave oven, and video recorder, but they also have an electric trouser press, two power showers, and Olympic-sized spa bath and Jacuzzi, three cars, and the music system which plays throughout the whole house.

The experiment.What happens if all the props of modern living are removed? To help us find out, we asked the Jones to turn back the clock fifty years and to switch off all their labor-saving gadgets and push-button entertainment for three days. We also wanted them to stop using their cars. They were banned from opening the freezer to get out fish fingers and oven chips, to use electronic razor and mobile phone.

The much-dreamed three days got under way! Old-fashioned meals, games, and entertainment were planned for the evenings. After eating together at the kitchen table, they sat playing cards, putting off doing the washing-up because they all hated doing that.

Carol was surprised at how long everything took. ‘By the time I had washed up the breakfast things and got back from walking the children to school, it was nearly lunchtime. Getting to the shops, which normally takes five minutes in the car, took at least an hour, so it was impossible just to pop out for a loaf of bread. It was strange having to wait until the washing dried in the garden before getting the ironing done, instead of simply using the drier.’

Although Carol found it difficult to get to the length of time it took to do things, she enjoyed having a slower, more relaxed pace of life. Also, the lack of electronic entertainment, particularly the TV, had a dramatic effect on the children. They got on much better together and seemed to enjoy each other’s company more, although they clearly believed that they were suffering.

What Malcolm liked the most was the peace. All of this just goes to show that, fascinating as the experiment was, you cannot turn the clock back. This is doubtless a big relief to the Jones family!

Exercise 5 Translate the text without dictionary.

Exercise 6 Prepare a good reading of the poem “The Legend of Alexander Graham Bell, what he invented and what he could have invented” Bogenseeberg

Your last name is important It shows you what to do This is a story of Mr Bell I'm going to tell you. His name was Mr Bell, Who invented the phone, He used to play with bells, When he was alone So, he used two small bells

In a new and strange thing That's why we always say "Phone rings", "give me a ring" If he was Mr String, he'd put a string into it And a tune of one note would be played with each beat If he added more strings, he'd create a guitar, And the music could play when the player was far. So, what would it be? It would be a ringtone Invented a century before the cell phone

Bogenseeberg

Exercise 7 Check your understanding. Do this exercise before you listen. Write the inventions in the correct group. If you don’t know, have a guess! [5, Part III,p.158-159].

by Bogenseeberg

time travel machine Indoor cloud-maker machine Sign language translation gloves Wing-suits (that enable you to fly) Air-maker (for use on other planets) Bio-fabric clothes (that change colour according to the wearer’s mood) Solar water distiller Digital running shoes (that give you performance statistics)
	Real inventions	Fictional inventions

Exercise 8 Answer the questions according to the listened text.

1. What do wing-suits allow people to do?

2. How Gabriele Diamanti's water distiller is powered?

3. How do "enable talk gloves" help to people?

4. Who invented a new underwater camera?

5. How does a new underwater camera work?

Exercise 9 Retell the text.

GRAMMAR COMMENT

Revision of Passives [1.p 136]

Passive - Use We only use the passive when we are interested in the object or when we do not know who caused the action. Example: Appointments are required in such cases. We can only form a passive sentence from an active sentence when there is an object in the active sentence. Which sentence is in the passive? a) An oil spill has polluted the river. b) The river has been polluted by an oil spill. How is a passive sentence formed? to be + past participle How to form a passive sentence when an active sentence is given: - object of the "active" sentence becomes subject in the "passive" sentence - subject of the "active" sentence becomes "object" in the "passive" sentence" (or is left out) What is the passive form of these modals? a) We can release her. b) Someone might attack him.

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