VB036 11
Adapted from: Malcolm Mann and Steven Taylore-Knowles. Destination B2: Grammar & Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
“Stephen Hawking: ‘Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence – but are we taking AI seriously enough?’” The
Independent. Independent Print Ltd. 1 May 2014. Web.
1) Use forms of the words below with the suffix -tion to complete the sentences below.
false, demonstrate, destruct, obligate, hesitate, found, compete, redeem, recognize, exhaust, protect,
extinct, starve, communicate,
1. Pollution could lead to climate change and _______________.
2. ______________ against oil rigs in Arctic are not at their peak yet.
3. He suffered from _____________ after the long run.
4. Wars in Africa do not help with _____________.
5. _____________ is a healthy basis of every social interaction.
6. There was a slight ______________ in his voice.
7. Prosopagnosia is disorder where facial ______________ ability is damaged.
8. Anger and fighting breed only _______________.
9. Have you read ______________ from Isaac Asimov?
10. There probably exists a piece of art which is a _____________ and we don’t even know it.
11. Humans as a kind should feel moral _____________ to learn first aid.
12. Every radical political movement had a way for world’s ________________ if they just killed
everyone who stands in the way.
13. There is a cheese chasing ______________ in England, where cheese is rolling down the hill.
14. Law ________________ was sworn by the police.
2) Complete the text by changing the form of the word in capitals
Politics on TV
I love watching (1) ______________ (DISCUSS) programs, and I love politics, so you’d think I’d enjoy
watching (2) ______________ (POLITICS) being interviewed on TV. But I don’t. All too often, (3)
______________ (JOURNAL) ask them the most (4) ______________ (RIDICULE) questions, and,
when they do get an interesting question, I sit there watching in (5) ______________ (BELIEVE) as
some of the most (6) ______________ (POWER) people in the country give totally (7)
______________ (CONVINCE) responses. It’s as if they don’t care whether their reply is (8)
______________ (BELIEVE) or not. Often, they’re very poor (9) ______________ (COMMUNICATE),
and they’re frequently even more (10) ______________ (INFORM) about key issues than I am. I don’t
expect them to be particularly (11) ______________ (HUMOR) – they are serious people, after all –
but at least they could say something interesting (12) ______________ (OCCASION). It makes me
want to stand for election myself!
3) Rewrite as reported questions, beginning with the words given.
1) “Have you had your ear pierced?”
My mum asked me if __________________________________________
2) “Can I meet you there at six o’clock tonight, Doug?”
Julian wanted to know whether __________________________________________
3) “Are you still moving to Blackpool next week?”
Fiona asked Rod and Jenny whether __________________________________________
VB036 11
Adapted from: Malcolm Mann and Steven Taylore-Knowles. Destination B2: Grammar & Vocabulary. Oxford: Macmillan, 2008.
“Stephen Hawking: ‘Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence – but are we taking AI seriously enough?’” The
Independent. Independent Print Ltd. 1 May 2014. Web.
4) “Does Graham have to wear a suit to work?”
I asked Ms. Daley if Graham __________________________________________
5) “Do you want someone to feed your cat while you’re away?”
Jan asked me if __________________________________________
6) “Can you guess what I’ve given Lindsay for her birthday?”
Daisy asked Wendy if __________________________________________
7) “Do you love me or not, Gloria?”
Fred asked Gloria whether __________________________________________
8) “Will Simon be coming to the party tomorrow night?”
Adrian wondered whether __________________________________________
9) “Tell me if you were anywhere near 34 Aylesford Street last night!”
The police officer demanded to know whether Sykes ________________________________
_______
4) Look at the following thoughts of Stephen Hawking on the future of AI and complete the text
using forms of the words given.
Looking further ahead, there are no fundamental limits to what can be (ACHIEVEMENT) __________ :
there is no physical law precluding particles from being (ORGANIZATION) __________ in ways that
perform even more advanced (COMPUTE) __________ than the arrangements of particles in human
brains. An explosive (TRANSIT) __________ is possible, although it might play out differently from the
sci-fi movie Transcendence starring Johnny Depp: as Irving Good realized in 1965, machines with
superhuman intelligence could (REPETITION) __________ improve their design even further,
triggering what Vernor Vinge called a “singularity” and Johnny Depp’s movie character calls
“transcendence”.
One can imagine such technology outsmarting (FINANCE) __________ markets, out-inventing human
researchers, out-manipulating human leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand.
Whereas the short-term impact of AI (DEPENDENCE) __________ on who controls it, the long-term
impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all.
So, facing possible futures of incalculable benefits and risks, the experts are surely doing everything
possible to ensure the best outcome, right? Wrong. If a superior alien (CIVILIZE) __________ sent us
a message saying, “We’ll arrive in a few decades,” would we just reply, “OK, call us when you get
here – we’ll leave the lights on”? Probably not – but this is more or less what is happening with AI.
Although we are facing potentially the best or worst thing to happen to humanity in history, little
serious research is (DEVOTION) __________ to these issues outside non-profit (INSTITUTIONALIZE)
__________ such as the Cambridge Centre for the Study of (EXISTENCE) __________ Risk, the Future
of Humanity Institute, the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and the Future of Life Institute. All
of us should ask ourselves what we can do now to improve the chances of reaping the benefits and
(AVOIDANCE) __________ the risks.
5) Look at the text one more time. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss in groups.