Emanuela Simoncini

L’argomento.
 Lives è un testo di civiltà che intende stimolare la curiosità verso culture, popolazioni, abitudini e stili diversi dalla nostra per favorire la reciproca comprensione. I brani fanno riferimento ai principali paesi parlanti la lingua inglese: Gran Bretagna, Irlanda, Stati Uniti, Australia e Sud Africa.
 
 Ciascuna Unità presenta testi originali, informativi ed accattivanti, suddivisi per argomenti:
 
 <ul><li>Cities &amp; Landmarks
</li><li>Culture, Art &amp; Literature
</li><li>Customs &amp; Traditions
</li><li>Environment &amp; Technology
</li><li>Geography
</li><li>History
</li><li>Music &amp; Sport
</li><li>Geography
</li><li>People, TV &amp; Cinema
</li></ul>Lives è suddiviso in tre sezioni corrispondenti ai livelli linguistici delle tre classi della secondaria di primo grado:
 A1, A1+, A2.
 
 Ogni Unità prevede:
 
 <ul><li>un’attività di warm-up che introduce il tema del brano
</li><li>un ampio glossario, per offrire una lettura agevole e scorrevole
</li><li>diversi esercizi di comprensione, per consolidare l’apprendimento e stimolare l’analisi
</li><li>una rubrica dedicata all’Agenda 2030 e alle Competenze del XXI secolo
</li><li>un’attività di Do-it-yourself: compiti di realtà da svolgere in coppia o in gruppo
</li></ul>Ogni sezione si conclude con delle mappe riepilogative per singolo brano, utile supporto allo studio e all’analisi.
 
 La sezione dedicata alla classe terza include altri spunti per l’Esame di Stato, suggerendo, per ciascun brano, possibili collegamenti interdisciplinari. Il testo si chiude con delle mappe geopolitiche e un piccolo gioco: “Guess the Country!”.

Index

LEVEL A1

Cities & Landmarks

Culture, Art & Literature

Customs & Traditions

Environment & Technology

Geography

History

Music & Sport

People, TV & Cinema

LEVEL A1+

LEVEL A2

EXAM

GEOPOLITICAL MAPS

GUESS THE COUNTRY!

ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY Artificial Intelligence and Humanoids WARM-UP   SPEAKING Cosa immagini se pensi all Intelligenza Artificiale? Hai mai visto film o letto libri su questo tema? Parlane con i tuoi compagni. 46 What is artificial intelligence (AI)? AI is a branch of computer science whose purpose is to replicate human intelligence in machines so that they can mimic human behaviour . AI develops computers to perform tasks that generally require human intelligence, such as learning, speech recognition, visual perception, etc., in short, it tries to make computers  smart . Types of AI Artificial Intelligence is categorised according to its ability to mimic human characteristics. There are three types of AI:   Artificial Narrow Intelligence, or ANI, has a limited range of abilities. It is designed to perform singular tasks such as face recognition or voice assistance; GLOSSARY to achieve: raggiungere to apply: applicare armour: armatura behaviour: comportamento branch: branca to gain: guadagnare to mimic: mimare narrow: stretto prosthesis: protesi so far: per il momento speech: discorso 92   Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI, is capable of learning and applying its knowledge to solve problems. It is capable of thinking, understanding, and acting in a way that is identical to humans, but it has not been completely achieved yet because researchers need to program all possible cognitive abilities into the machine; Artificial Super Intelligence or ASI, is more intelligent than humans in areas like maths, sports, science, medicine, art and emotional relationships (yes, the ability of having impulses and emotions, too), but, so far , it is only a concept. Humanoids Humanoid robots are one of the most popular forms of AI. They are structurally similar to human beings, having a head, a torso, arms and legs. One of the earliest forms of humanoids was created in 1495 by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was a suit of armour that could perform a lot of human functions like sitting, standing and walking. It was designed on the basis of the knowledge of mechanics and kinetics they had at that time. Initially, the major purpose of humanoids was for research, for example to help create better prostheses , now, however, humanoids are created for various other purposes and can be personal assistants, receptionists, front desk officers and so on. 1 VOCABULARY Traduci i termini dati. 1. Branch: ............................................................................................................................. 2. Task: .................................................................................................................................... 3. Perception: .................................................................................................................. 4. Recognition: .............................................................................................................. 5. Gesture: .......................................................................................................................... 6. Purpose: ......................................................................................................................... 

A2 RoboThespian Some humanoids are made for entertainment. RoboThespian, for example, is a robotic actor with a wide range of expressions, songs, and gestures. The term  thespian  is an old English word for  actor : RoboThespian can in fact perfectly act Shakespeare s dramas! It was invented by Engineered Arts, a British company that produces entertainment humanoids through the collaboration between artists, mechanical and computer engineers, and animators. 2 READING WRITING Correggi le frasi sbagliate e dopo averle corrette usale come spunto per scrivere un breve riassunto del testo (60-70 parole). 1. AI is a branch of chemistry whose purpose is to create human beings in the laboratory. 2. The name  Thespian  is American slang that means robot. 3. At the beginning, the main purpose of humanoids was entertainment. 4. Artificial Narrow Intelligence is a type of intelligence able to learn and solve problems. 5. Leonardo Da Vinci invented a suit of armour that could speak and act. 6. Artificial Super Intelligence is as intelligent as humans, but it cannot have human relationships. 3 WRITING Scegli l opzione corretta. Sophia Sophia is a social humanoid robot 1. developed / developing by the Hong Kong company Hanson Robotics. Sophia 2. is / was activated on February 14, 2016, and 3. made / make her first public appearance in March 2016 in Austin, Texas. Sophia, created to look like the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, American actress Audrey Hepburn, and its inventor s wife, Amanda Hanson, is famous for 4. its / his human-like appearance and behaviour. Sophia uses speech recognition technology and is designed to 5. become / became smarter over time. Hanson designed Sophia to be a good companion for the 6. olds / elderly DO-IT-YOURSELF at nursing homes, or to help people at big events or parks. 7. He said / talked that he hopes that the robot can interact with other humans sufficiently to 5 WRITING GROUP WORK get social skills, in fact, Sophia 8. was / is considered a  social robot  that can In gruppo immaginate di mimic social behavior and induce feelings of love in humans. essere una società di robotica, inventate un robot umanoide e Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_(robot) create la sua  carta d identità . Includete le seguenti CRITICAL THINKING informazioni. 4 LISTENING SPEAKING PAIR WORK Guarda il video, poi con il   The name of your company tuo compagno rispondi alle seguenti domande.   Your robot s name What is Artificial Intelligence?   BBC News posted by BBC News   Picture (image from the web 1. What is the most complex and powerful object in the universe? or drawing) 2. According to the video, what is the main goal of Artificial Intelligence?   Its capabilities 3. What are examples of narrow AI in everyday life?   Its function 4. Do you like robots? Do you think they can replace human beings in   Who can use it everything?   During what event it is 5. What jobs or tasks should robots do instead of humans? presented to the world 93 

Testo che esplora le culture dei paesi anglofoni con brani su città, arte, tradizioni, storia, ambiente e altro.

Lives - A collage of the culture of English-Speaking Countr

A COLLAGE OF THE CULTURE OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Lives

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