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I. Before listening
1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
| a. | The retirement age may soon be extended for university majors. | T / F |
| b. | Early retirement may one day be consigned to the history books. | T / F |
| c. | We may be hanging up our boots when we are 85 instead of 65. | T / F |
| d. | Modern economies are well able to cope with ageing societies. | T / F |
| e. | Many people in the developed world could well live beyond 100. | T / F |
| f. | Geneticists will lock the key to ageing. | T / F |
| g. | Workers dream of spending their nest years with a golden egg. | T / F |
| h. | We have doubled human lifespan in the past century. | T / F |
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
| a. | consigned | 1 extended |
| b. | hanging up our boots | 2 abruptly |
| c. | rudely | 3 selecting |
| d. | numerous | 4 breakthroughs |
| e. | opting | 5 verge |
| f. | advances | 6 relegated |
| g. | seismic | 7 boundaries |
| h. | elongated | 8 enormous |
| i. | brink | 9 retiring |
| j. | parameters | 10 abundant |
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
| a. | early retirement might be consigned | 1 being able to extend human lifespan |
| b. | we may be hanging up our | 2 and realities of work |
| c. | medical advances could increase | 3 to the ageing gene |
| d. | rudely reshaping our perceptions | 4 to the history books |
| e. | greater numbers of who are opting | 5 boots at 85 instead of 65 |
| f. | become centenarians because of | 6 awakening for many workers |
| g. | unlock the key | 7 human longevity dramatically |
| h. | He predicts a rude | 8 with a nest-egg |
| i. | spending one’s golden years | 9 to leave the workforce |
| j. | we are on the brink of | 10 advances in medicine |
II. Listen and fill in the spaces
Workers may soon experience major and ___________ shifts in the lengths of their working lives, if an American sociologist is to be believed. The age at which people look forward to early retirement might be __________ to the history books. Instead, we may be hanging up our _______ at 85 instead of 65. Stanford University professor Shripad Tuljapurkar told a science __________ in the USA that medical advances could increase human longevity dramatically over the coming decades, ________ reshaping our perceptions and realities of work. Tuljapurkar predicts modern economies will not be able to support their increasingly numerous ________, greater numbers of who are ________ to leave the workforce at increasingly younger ages.
Professor Tuljapurkar ________ that most people living in today’s industrialized societies can expect to become centenarians because of advances in medicine and ________ science. He believes once geneticists unlock the key to the ageing gene, society will have to quickly ________ shifts of ________ magnitude. He predicts a rude awakening for many workers once they discover their insurance and pension companies have not ________ for elongated life spans. Dreams of spending one’s golden years with a __________ may have to be put on hold for a decade or two. “Some people believe we are on the brink of being able to extend human lifespan significantly…We have doubled human __________ in the last century”, he said. As a result, accepted societal ______________ will change considerably.
III. DISCUSSION
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
Did the headline make you want to read the article?
Do you think scientists should extend our lives?
Do you think scientists are playing the role of God in increasing our lifespans?
What would society be like if most people were over fifty?
What do you think of 85 as a retirement age?
When do you want to retire?
Would you like to live to be 150?
Would life be different if we knew we had to work until we were 85?
What new industries would there be if we retired at 85 and lived to be over 100?
Do you think scientists should unlock the key to the ageing gene?
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
Did you like reading this article?
What do you think about what you read?
Do you think increasing our lifespans will create more problems for society?
Would you be happy to fly on an airplane piloted by an 84-year-old?
If we all lived to be 120, when would middle age be?
What do you think of the idea of having great great great grandchildren?
Do you think retiring at 85 means you’ll be very when you retire?
Do you want scientists to double our lifespans again?
What will happen to dreams of retirement if the retirement age is 85?
Did you like this discussion?
Date: 2015-12-24; view: 891
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