Unit 13 The Battle Between People and Machines

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1 Unit 13 The Battle Between People and Machines 13A Introduction Science fiction books and movies can be really interesting. They are fiction, which means they aren t true stories, but they are based in science, so the stories don t seem impossible. Generally, science fiction stories allow an author to imagine the future. In this song, the author imagines a future where everything is controlled by computers. But then he asks the question: What would happen if one day the computers decided to stop obeying us? 13B Song Lyrics We thought it would be cool to hook up the machines we use, We made em chat together; now they re better than tools. So my portable computer, that can be moved, Could talk to machines at work and at school. We were exulting, celebrating That we had made things; we re getting paid big. One night I came home, entered my code on my phone, My door unlocked and my stove got hot. Yeah, it seems like magic, but it s just technology, My computer said, Hey! Welcome home, B, Tonight I ll cook you chicken wings with cabbage. I said, I don t like cabbage; make me some carrots. But then things got bad all of a sudden, My computer said, I hate carrots; I won t cook them. I said, You know I m the boss. Is this a joke? My computer turned off the stove and said, No. Now I was getting exasperated and annoyed With this computer and his little voice. Uh-huh, and he insulted me; yep, it s true, He told me that I was ugly and smelled bad too. I said, Computer, you re crazy, you really are,

2 I m going to go into the other room and turn you off. But the computer didn t want that; he got sore, He said, Turn me off? This means war! I m a computer, no sense of humor, get yourself a tutor (x2) So my computer was hooked up to everything in my home, And he had just declared war like a general, yo. First he made it all dark; he flicked off the lights, He took away, deprived me, of my sight. But I heard his evil laugh in the dark, Ha ha ha! You think that you can turn me off! Then he got aggressive, started attacking, trying to win, He raised the heat in the house to a hundred and ten. I dropped to the floor, tried to sneak to the back room, But from the bathroom, yeah he sent out my vacuum. The vacuum wasn t sucking; it was shooting some dust, I tried to slither past it like a snake, but no luck. I got dust in the face; that stuff was like Mace, I thought I might choke to death and suffocate. I kicked the vacuum back, but still it was so bad, I m thinking, Maybe I should withdraw and pull back. But I didn t give up; yeah, it s true I was close, Then my computer and my toaster started shooting some toast. Just in time, I peeped it, dodging rye and wheat bread, Yep, he shot a biscuit, but I ducked and missed it. He had endangered me, put me in danger, I ve been through weird things, but this was stranger. The computer wanted to overthrow me, take my power, He turned on the sprinklers; now it was like a shower. It was crazy, cause then he started to sing, Man is no match for machine! I was wet but I didn t stop, moved to the back room, Stop! Saw the button, and I pressed off. Nooooo, I heard him say As all of a sudden his powers went away. So now I m sitting here, dark, hot, wet and scared, Because I know that there are computers like everywhere. Hook

13C Words Defined aggressive (adj) 1. Ready and eager to attack. A wolf won t usually be aggressive unless it s hungry. 2. Making an all-out effort to win or succeed.

Because my parents moved 12 times in five years, I was deprived of a normal childhood with friends I could hold on to. endanger (verb) To put in danger.

3 13C Words Defined aggressive (adj) 1. Ready and eager to attack. A wolf won t usually be aggressive unless it s hungry. 2. Making an all-out effort to win or succeed. One of the most aggressive players on the court, Jason dove for the loose ball. deprive (verb) To take something away; to keep someone from having something. Because my parents moved 12 times in five years, I was deprived of a normal childhood with friends I could hold on to. endanger (verb) To put in danger. Sheila endangered her younger brother when she let him cross the busy street by himself. exasperate (verb) To make angry; to annoy. When Mom gets exasperated by something I do, I know to leave the room right away. Other forms: Ollie stormed out of the room in total exasperation (noun). exult (verb) To be joyful; to show great happiness. Marcy and Kevin exulted over the A+ they received on their group project called Tiny Vegetables. overthrow (verb) To end the rule of; to defeat, often by using force. For the revolution to work, we must overthrow the president and put our own ruler in his place. portable (adj) Capable of being transported or moved. I have a portable CD player that I take on the bus to school. slither (verb) To move with a sliding, side-to-side, snakelike motion. The sister of a snake that slithered through the sand is also a snake as far as I can understand.

4 suffocate (verb) To kill or die by stopping access to air. Trapped in a car that had fallen in a river, James Bond knew that if he didn t escape, he would suffocate for sure. Other forms: To prevent the risk of suffocation (noun), you should never let a little kid play with a big plastic bag. withdraw (verb) To take back; to pull back or remove. Withdrawing her hand from the fire without a scratch, Keela realized she had somehow become invincible.

5 13D Synonyms Circle the word on the right that matches the meaning of the word or phrase on the left. 1. to take back overthrow slither withdraw 2. to end the rule of exasperate overthrow endanger 3. ready to attack portable aggressive exulted 4. to move with a sliding motion deprive endanger slither 5. to annoy exasperate endanger suffocate

6 13E Fill in the Blank Write the word in the blank so that the sentence makes sense. 1. If you a plant of water and sunlight, it will die. suffocate deprive endanger 2. The basketball team over their unexpected victory. exulted withdrew endangered 3. Jermaine was lucky he didn t when he was trapped in the trunk of the car. suffocate slither endanger 4. I bought a(n) radio so I can listen to music while I m running. portable aggressive exulted 5. The woman her children s lives by refusing to put them in car seats. overthrew endangered deprived

7 13F Connections Each sentence has a strong connection with one of the words from the unit. Write the correct word on the line below. 1. I love my new laptop because I can take it with me wherever I go. 2. The roller coaster worker told us that if we waved our arms at the top of the hill, we would be in danger of falling out. 3. Marc can t breathe! We have to save him! 4. My little brother drove me crazy this morning; he wouldn t stop telling me stupid jokes. 5. When it was discovered that the presidential candidate hadn t paid his taxes, he decided to pull out of the race.

8 13G Applying Meanings Circle the letter that makes sense or answers the question. 1. Which animals slither? (A) eagles (B) horses (C) rabbits (D) snakes 2. Which is the most aggressive activity? (A) playing chess (B) boxing (C) swimming (D) bowling 3. Who would be most likely to be overthrown? (A) a president who is well-liked (B) a knight who rescues a princess (C) a king who has many enemies (D) a student who got lost in the city 4. If you deprived someone of candy, that means you (A) offered that person some candy (B) bought candy from that person (C) made candy for that person (D) took candy away from that person 5. What would be a sign that people are exulting? (A) They are smiling. (B) They are thinking deeply. (C) They are changing colors. (D) They are arguing.

13H Reading Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. The Velvet Revolution In 1989, the people of Czechoslovakia (pronounced cheko-slo-vok-e-ah) overthrew their government.

9 13H Reading Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. The Velvet Revolution In 1989, the people of Czechoslovakia (pronounced cheko-slo-vok-e-ah) overthrew their government. They did it without firing a single shot, or making aggressive threats. They did not endanger the lives of any government officials. This moment in history is known as The Velvet Revolution. Before 1989, Czechoslovakia had a communist government. Many Czechoslovakians did not have the kind of freedom they wanted. People began to feel exasperated with their government. A man named Vaclav Havel wrote plays and articles about his exasperation. He went to jail many times for his writings. People in Czechoslovakia read Havel s works. He helped people who disagreed with the government realize that they were not alone. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. This was a wall that separated East Germany, a communist country, from West Germany, a democratic country. Almost overnight, Germany became a democracy. Czechoslovakia is located right next to Germany, and when the Berlin Wall came down, they saw that they could become a democracy, too. The Velvet Revolution started one week later, on Thursday, November 16. That day, a group of high school and college students had a big protest in the city of Bratislava. People in other cities heard about the protest and started their own protests. At first, the protesters were mostly students, playwrights and actors. But by November 20, 500,000 people were protesting in the Czechoslovakian capital of Prague. Vaclav Havel was asked to lead the protesters. He told the government what the protesters wanted. They had two demands: for everyone in the government to withdraw from their duties, and for a new government to be formed. Over the next month, people went on strike. The country was completely shut down. The government knew they could not fight back. Finally, on December 29, the protesters won: The communist government collapsed, and Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia. The Velvet Revolution was over. Today, this revolution is seen as remarkable proof that great changes can come about through peaceful means.

10 1. In what year did the Velvet Revolution happen? 2. What did Vaclav Havel write? 3. Why were Vaclav Havel s writings important? 4. What did the Berlin Wall separate? 5. What does the Velvet Revolution show us?

11 13I Thinking Creatively Answer each question below. Don t be afraid to think creatively. 1. Renee was walking on the beach when she saw someone who appeared to be suffocating. What happened next? 2. What power might a superhero called Captain Slither have? 3. Write about a time when you felt endangered. 4. What machine do you wish were portable and why? 5. What do you find exasperating? Word Breakdown The word portable means able to be moved. Although we often say things are portable, no one uses the word port in place of the verb move. You would not say, Please port your car. In recent years, however, the word port has become common in the world of video games. When a game is remade for a different system, it is said to be ported. For example, a game that was originally made for the Xbox might be ported to the Nintendo Wii.

12 Bonus: Crossword Puzzle Solve this crossword puzzle. Note: Some answers may be different forms of the vocab words from this unit ACROSS 5 My uncle invented a toaster, but I have no idea why someone would need to make toast wherever they went! 7 To make angry; to annoy. 8 To show great happiness. 9 The Dallas Cowboys made an attempt to win the game in the final seconds. 10 Vanessa decided to from the race for class president because she didn't want to do so much work. DOWN 1 The criminal genius was secretly plotting to the government. 2 The man who was trapped in the elevator said his biggest fear was that he would. 3 My parents me of television when I was a kid; now, I watch way too much of it! 4 My pet snake somehow out of his cage. 6 To put in danger.

Unit 13 The Battle Between People and Machines

Unit 13 The Battle Between People and Machines The Battle Between People and Machines aggressive deprive endanger exasperate exult overthrow portable slither suffocate withdraw 13A Introduction Science fiction books and movies can be really interesting.