past present si future

8/18/2019 Past Present si Future

1/6

Past, Present and Future Inventions Vocabulary and SpeakingWarmer

Speak and ask each other questions to find which of you is more interested in andknowledgeable about technology.

Use the list below to continue your discussion.

Inventions used now3D movies Air conditioning Answering machine

Anti-virus software Automatic pencil(= Mechanical pencil)

Ball bearing

Ballpoint (pen) (= A biro) Bar code Blutack

Breathal ser Bulletproof vest !hain saw

!locking in machine !loud seeding !orrecting fluid (="ippe#)

Date stamp Dishwasher D$D

%lectric drill %lectric kettle %lectric pencil sharpener

%levator %mail %rasable pen

%raser %scalator &ree'er

&ridge (= efrigerator) lue stick (= *ritt +tick) M food

*+ ,ard hat ,eart transplant

,ighlighter pen ,ole punch ,oover (= $acuum cleaner)

, brid car ndustrial robot nfrared night vision

nstant messaging nternet .et foil

.et ski /e hole surger 0aptop (computer)

0aser e e surger 0ow energ light bulbs Machine gun

Massage chair Microscope Microwave (oven)

Mouse M*3 pla er M scan

1uclear power station 1ut and bolt *acemaker

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2013


2/6

*adlock *aperclip *hotocopier

*ill batter *neumatic t re *ocket calculator

*ost ts echargeable batter einforced concrete

ubber band ubber gloves +atellite

+canner +ellotape (= +cotch tape =+tick tape)

+ewing machine

+hotgun +hredder +moke detector2 +mokealarm

+olar panel +oldering iron +tapler

+uperglue "ank "aser (= +tun gun)

"humbtack (= Drawing pin) "umble drier "$ remote control

"wee'ers +B flash drive (= +B =+B stick)

$ light

$ending machine $ideo conferencing $ideo game console

4elding torch 5 ra



3/6

Roleplays on the topic of inventionsDo a selection of the roleplays below, each time pretending that you are at a time when

the thing that you are talking about has recently been invented or could soon be.6ou think that ou can invent one of the things on the list but the head of the fundingcommittee ( our partner) thinks it isn7t likel that our research will be successful8 "r to

persuade them to give ou as much mone as ou can get8

6ou are both futurologists8 9ne of ou thinks that one of the things on the list will beinvented (fairl ) soon and the other thinks it will be invented far into the future if ever8Discuss until one of our run out of arguments or ou reach a compromise position8

magine ou have invented one of the things in the list but our boss won7t accept that thatis a good idea8 olepla tr ing to persuade him or her that it will be popular and profitable:

and tr to get as man people as ou can on our team to develop it8

6ou are the government committee which must decide on the restrictions of use on one of the inventions8 Decide what the restrictions should be: one of ou arguing that there

should be tighter restrictions and the other that there should be fewer or no restrictions86ou are the committee to award the 1obel *ri'e for %ngineering and three of the things in

the list are on the shortlist8 Decide together which invention should be given the pri'e8

*retend one of ou is an inventor who has ;ust retired and the other is an interviewer froma newspaper or engineering maga'ine8 olepla an interview about the histor of our

invention8

olepla tr ing to sell one of the things on the list to someone who has never heard of it(because it is a new invention at the time ou are speaking)8 "r to persuade them that it is

worth tr ing8

olepla a phone conversation from someone who bought one of the products for the firsttime at our suggestion but isn7t happ with their purchase8 "r to persuade them to keep

using it8

6ou both claim to have invented one of the things in the list8 Argue about how ou

developed what ou did before our partner and so ou should be credited with theinvention8

t is twent ears after the invention of one of the things on the list8 Argue about whether itwas overall a good thing that it was invented or not: using our imagination about what the

conse


4/6

Past inventions(4ooden) barrel Abacus Airship

Barrel organ2 *la er piano Battering ram Bellows

Bone tools Bow and arrow Bron'e weapons

!andle !annon !ar phone

!arbon paper !arpet sweeper !lockwork to s

,orse-drawn carriage !himne Magnetic compass

!rossbow Dot matri# printer Dumb waiter

&a# &ilofa# &lint tools

&lopp disk &ountain pen as lamp

unpowder ,arpsichord ,orse-drawn omnibus

,overcraft ron weapons 0aser disk

0ava lamp Mercur thermometer Minidisc

Monocle Moveable t pe Movie film

Musket 9verhead pro;ector (= 9,*) *ap rus

*archment scroll *endulum clock *ocket watch

*DA *ersonal stereo(= 4alkman)

*ager (= Beeper)

uill and ink adio cassette pla er ecord pla er

eel to reel tape recorder olode# +lide rule

+pace shuttle +pear +team engine

+team ship2 *addle steamer +undial "he telegraph

"win tub washing machine $ideo cassette recorder 4indmill

4oodblock printing (&ilm) camera (+olid) wooden wheel



5/6

Possible future technologies

A medical cure for criminalit Androids2 obots which areindistinguishable frompeople

Bionic limbs

Breeding of e#tinct animalssuch as dinosaurs

!hips in our brains 4arp speed (= &aster thanlight travel)

!r onic suspension Driverless ta#is ravitational shielding (= Anti-gravit )

&l ing cars ,uman cloning rowing of human organs

,uman teleportation A beam which can

immobilise ob;ects andpeople

!hoosing our dreams froma menu

9rdinar clothes which arebullet proof

+atellite hotels nvisibilit 2 *ersonal cloakingdevices

0ightsabers0imitless cheap electricalenerg : e8g8 from fusion

reactors0aser guns with the

possibilit of stun settings

Medicines which improveour intelligence

*ersonal force field shields "ime machines2 "ime travel

eading people7s minds $irtual realit that isindistinguishable from reallife

eplicators (= Machines thatcan scan and cop an thing)

eprogramming people7sminds

obotic e#oskeletons (=%#ternal artificial skeletonsthat makes ou stronger)

obots with feelings

+electing characteristics of our future child from a

menu+elf-replicating machines

ploading our minds(personalities: memories:etc) into supercomputers



6/6

Inventions pelmanismry to find any similarities between the words above, using a different sentence each time.

!ross off any you can make a sentence about and score two points. "ou can#t use any part of the name of either object when you are saying your sentence, i.e. you can#t say >Anelectric pencil sharpener and? are both electric@8

seful languagebackbe used to?beautifulbottombreakbulkcause

compactcomponentdangerousdifficult to?e#pensivefrontfunctionhard-wearingheavheightinclude2 contain?invented?lengthliftlightmade from2 with?main featuremoveobsoleteoperatepocket-si'edpopular powered b ?produced2 manufactured?rotateroundshapesides

past present si future

Documents