📘 Part 3: Technology

This episode's vocabulary

Ubiquitous (adj.) - seeming to be everywhere.

Essential (adj.) - necessary or needed.

Portable (adj.) - used to describe software, a phone number, etc. that can be moved to another system without it being changed.

Justification (noun) - a good reason or explanation for something.

Consumer demand (noun) - demand for goods and services that comes from individual people rather than from companies.

Breakthrough (noun) - an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem.

Tech (adj.) - abbreviation for technical.

Innovation (noun) - a new idea or method, or the use of new ideas and methods.

Invention (noun) - something that has never been made before, or the process of creating something that has never been made before.

Crucial (adj.) - extremely important or necessary.

Indefinitely (adverb) - for a period of time with no fixed end.

To adapt (verb) - to change, or to change something, to suit different conditions or uses.

To miss out (phrasal verb) - to fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or get an advantage from something.

Profit (noun) - money that is earned in trade or business after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services.

To generate (verb) - to produce or create something such as a profits, sales, or jobs.

Portability (adj.) - the quality of being light and small enough to be easily carried or moved.

Slew (noun) - a large amount or number.

Personalisation (noun) - the act of making something suitable for the needs of a particular person.

To crack (verb) - to break something so that it does not separate, but very thin lines appear on its surface, or to become broken in this way.

Testament (noun) - proof.

Stratum (noun) - one of the parts or layers into which something is separated.

At your fingertips (idiom) - if you have information at your fingertips, you can get it and use it very easily.

Indispensable (adj.) - too important not to have; necessary.

To blunt (verb) - to make something less sharp.

To modify (verb) - to make changes to something such as a vehicle, machine, or tool, so that it can be used for a different purpose or in a different way.

E-commerce (noun) - the business of buying and selling goods and services on the internet. E-commerce is short for electronic commerce.

Practicality (noun) - quality of being suitable for a particular occasion or use.

Precedence (noun) - the fact that something is more important than other things and should be dealt with first.

Questions and Answers

M: What technology do people currently use?

R: Smartphones are rather ubiquitous and pretty essential to modern living in most developed countries now, aren't they? Most of the things we use today are quite similar, actually. Portable information creation, storage and sharing devices. The only alternatives I can think of would be white goods that make certain aspects of living easier. But they've been around for a while now.

M: Why do big companies often upgrade their products?

R: Well, there are breakthroughs and developments in tech all the time. But I imagine the justification is that companies are expanding the range of things that are possible to enjoy or to be used on their goods. And of course, the consumer demand for improvement is there. Otherwise, they wouldn't expend the capital doing it.

M: And why do big companies often introduce new products?

R: I suppose, innovation and invention are crucial parts of most industries now. There aren't many products you can just sell indefinitely without any change over time. Similarly, customer demand is constant and constantly changing. So if you don't adapt to this with something new, then you could miss out on the profits that you could generate.

M: Why are people so keen on buying smartphones even though they haven't changed much?

R: Well, the human population is increasing, so the market is always expanding in this regard. But regardless, I would argue that they have actually changed. Yes, the basics of connection to the internet and portability remained the same. But each new device brings a slew of different applications and settings and opportunities for personalisation. I think that certainly counters the demand. That and it's really easy to crack the screen if you're anything like me, so you constantly need to replace them.

M: How does technology affect our lives?

R: It's completely revolutionised how people experience the world. We eat, drink, work and play an entirely different ways to humans even 100 years ago, thanks to technology. The fact that we're able to have this conversation now with almost no effort is a testament to that.

M: And does the development of technology affect the way we study?

R: Yeah. It's never been easier to access and assess different sources of information and gain access to various methods of interaction that improve how we learn. You can find whole collections of history books from the 19th century in audiobook format for free, which opens up learning to whole strata of people who might never have had the chance to experience this. And it's all at our fingertips. That's pretty cool.

M: What are the disadvantages of overusing technology?

R: I suppose, the fact that it's almost indispensable now means that we become rather dependent on it and couldn't live any other way without great difficulty. I mean, if you use ChatGPT to write all your essays, then you could really blunt your creative ability. And then you're just a machine having a conversation with itself if your marker does exactly the same thing. And there's the social cost. If we spend all our time with tech and not enough of it with real people in the real world.

M: How can the elderly learn to use new technologies?

R: I think there are videos showing how to modify and use various devices online that are pretty easily accessible. And many older people learn how to use them through their grandchildren if they have the interest.

M: And what's more important for learning about technology? Theoretical classes or practical applications?

R: Depends on the field. If people are involved with a creation of different programs and applications, then the underlying theory will be very important. So you know how to apply different concepts. However, if you just want to use a specific e-commerce platform, for example, then practicality should probably take precedence.

Discussion

M: Hey, Rory, thank you for your answers! Technology. Yeah. First of all, we say technology, yeah? Tech, tech, tech. Is it tech or tech?

R: Tech. The hard "ch". Like character or chemistry.

M: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Technology. And people now use smartphones pretty much. Smartphones are rather ubiquitous.

R: Ubiquitous.

M: Ubiquitous.

R: It just means it's found everywhere.

M: So laptops are ubiquitous, smartphones are ubiquitous. They're everywhere. And they're essential to our life, to modern living.

R: Well, essential to just means important for.

M: And you told us that we... The things we use today, so technology we use today is about portable information creation. So portable information creation, like a smartphone creates information in a portable way?

R: Well, you create information on the smartphone in a portable... Like on a portable smartphone. Because the smartphone doesn't do anything of its own accord. You do it yourself.

M: So it's about like portable information creation, storage, how we store the information and how we share the information, yeah? So storage and sharing devices.

R: Am I wrong? I think I've just summarised all human technological development for the last thirty years.

M: Yeah, yeah. You can also mention smartphones, laptops, headphones. That's it. I don't know... Artificial intelligence? Companies upgrade their products, right? So we talk about technology. So they improve their products, they upgrade their products. And Rory talked about breakthroughs and developments in technology or in tech. Another synonym is just like... Or a shorter version of technology is tech. Tech devices, technological devices. So breakthroughs in science, right?

R: Well, can you have a breakthrough in anything? Well, breakthroughs in science are a little bit different to breakthroughs in technology. Science is more about the understanding and then technology is about the application, I would say.

M: So, for example, when a portable smartphone was created, this was a breakthrough. Wow. So breakthroughs and developments in tech. And companies upgrade their products to expand the range of things they sell. So when they expand, expand, they make it wider, the range of things. Well, different kinds of things. So a wider range, we say. So to have a wider range of products, to have more choices, more options and it's great to use a passive voice structure here "be used on their goods."

R: They upgrade their products to be used by people for more things or by more people for more things, hopefully.

M: And companies are expanding the range of things which are possible to be used on our devices. There you go. We talk about the consumer demand for something. So the clients' demand for improvements, for new things, for new products. So companies meet the consumer demand for improvement. And also companies introduce new products, new goods. And Rory talked about innovation and invention. Innovation like breakthroughs, like development, like advances, you can say technological advances. Also innovations and inventions. So people invent new products and the invention of new products.

R: Well, you're on the right track. Innovation is to do with... Well, let's do it in reverse. An invention would be something like a mobile phone. That's something that you can carry around. An innovation would be a smartphone where you connect the idea of a mobile phone to live internet coverage or live... A live internet connection all the time. That's combining two inventions together to make something new.

M: Yeah. And you said that there aren't many products you can just sell indefinitely without any change over time. So products do require change and companies change their products. They introduce new products, They remove the old ones. Because one product cannot just sell indefinitely, indefinitely, forever, without any change. And also you can say that customer demand is constantly changing, right? So the people's demand for different goods is changing. And if companies don't adapt to these changes, then they can miss out.

R: Yes.

M: If companies miss out, what happens?

R: Well, they just don't make as much money as they could have. Or perhaps they get kicked out of the market altogether because they haven't kept everything up to date. I mean, for example, I don't really see many Nokia phones these days, but you do see a lot of Samsung and Apple phones.

M: The next question is a bit strange because smartphones have changed. They've changed a lot, right? And people are keen on buying smartphones, so they are fond of buying smartphones. They enjoy buying smartphones, even though they haven't changed that much. But I think smartphones have changed.

R: I think they have to. I don't... When you asked that question, I was like, really? Because I'm thinking like smartphones before compared to now are like massively more well-equipped, more resilient. They use slightly different materials. They have greater accessibility and more accessories you can use with them. And I just realised that I'm giving another part three answer to this question.

M: No, but you said that I would argue they have changed. So it's okay, dear listener, to disagree with the examiner's question. That's fine, that's speaking. It's informal. It should be natural. So if the examiner tells you like, smartphones haven't changed much, why? And you say, well, I actually disagree. I think they have changed. And Rory started off with, you know, being this educated native speaker. So human population is increasing, so the market is always expanding.

R: Well, it is. Like if you have more people to sell things to, the market has expanded. That's not a novel idea. That's just human population growth, which has been happening since at least for the last 5000 years.

M: A novel idea means a new idea, okay? Not just like a novel, you read a novel. No, novel as an adjective, a new idea. So and then like we say, they have changed, smartphones, right? So the basics of connection to the internet, yeah? This has changed.

R: No, no, the basics remain the same.

M: The basics remain the same? Okay.

R: Yeah.

M: And then portability. Portability. It's a portable device. It's easy to carry it on with you, to put it in your pocket. Although, some models are massive. And it's like a smartphone, which is bigger than my hand. It's huge.

R: Yeah, I don't understand the point of those.

M: Yeah, it's just like a laptop. And actually, I think that my smartphone is pretty big.

R: I used to think mine is pretty big too. And then I saw other people's and I was like, wow, okay, whatever.

M: But still it's portable, it's more or less easy to carry it with you.

R: Speaking of which, actually, I'm in the market for a new mobile phone, so if anyone has any suggestions about what Samsung phone to buy, then please do get in touch. I'm thinking of S22. I know S23 is like the most recent model, but it's... That's expensive and it's also huge. So, let me know what you think.

M: Educate Rory on what smartphone to buy.

R: Yes.

M: And then each new device brings... What did you say? A slew of different applications? Slew?

R: A slew. It just means a lot. It's like a load of new applications.

M: Really? A slew of different applications? A slew, Rory?

R: Yeah, a slew.

M: Like, where is it used?

R: In a slew of situations.

M: Oh, is it common, though?

R: I would say so. It's a large number of them.

M: Oh, give us another example where you can use a slew of things naturally.

R: There are a slew of mobile phone brands to choose from.

M: Oh, boy.

R: Hey, listen, do you want the band nine score to sound like an educated native speaker? You need to learn a slew of things. And slew is one of them.

M: A slew. Yeah, a lot.

R: Just don't use it in your writing.

M: So a new device brings a slew of different applications, a lot of different applications and settings. Then opportunities for personalisation. So you can make it personalised. Yeah? Your device. And it's really easy to crack the screen.

R: Yeah, I've cracked my screen twice. I would point out it's important to point out the difference between smash, break and crack. If you break something, then it's like apart. If you crack something, there's this line, but it's still together and still working. And if you smash something then it's in pieces and it doesn't work.

M: How is this idea connected to a lot of different applications, settings on your new mobile phone?

R: Well, I was just thinking like they're really easy to break, so obviously people want to buy more. I was just thinking about myself there. I was like, yeah, if you're also... If you're clumsy like I am, then you probably break your phone a lot and need to replace it. However, I've had this one for a long time. Like since 2019. It's four years old. It survived so much, including a global pandemic and life in Scotland and Russia.

M: So about how smartphones have changed, you can say that now smartphones are much easier to break down. You can crack the screen easily. So you have to replace your smartphone with a new one.

R: Well, they're much easier to break. I don't know if they're easier to break down. Because that would mean to take it apart into its different components. And I'm not sure if that's the case.

M: Oh, oh, okay. So they are much easier to break.

R: Yeah. Well, I think so. I don't know. I feel like they are or we are just really clumsy. One way or the other.

M: Technology has completely revolutionised how people experience the world. It's a revolution.

R: But that just means changed in an extremely significant way. You know, technology has completely revolutionised everything. Because we are not living in mud huts anymore and we have central heating and internet that allows us to talk to people from all over the world. So that is not the normal state of affairs, is it? That's something brand new.

M: Yep. You've just said mud huts. So mud is this dirt and huts, like a kind of a house. Like a simple house hut.

R: Well, I should say most of us are not living in mud huts. Some people still are. That's their choice, I suppose. And it works for them. But most people do not.

M: And then Rory continued. We eat, drink, work and play in entirely different ways to humans 100 years ago. So here, Rory used the word humans. Well, you can use people, but I think here it's fine to use humans.

R: Well, we are humans, allegedly.

M: Thanks to technology, yeah? So our life is now much easier, perhaps. Or more difficult, thanks to technology. So thanks to technology, we now have the internet, we now have this and that. What is a testament?

R: Oh, God. A testament is just like a really strong statement that something is the case.

M: For example?

R: The fact I can't think of an example is a testament to my complete ignorance on this subject.

M: In terms of studies, it's never been easier to access different sources of information. So present perfect, it's never been easier to access, so to get different kinds of information and gain access to methods of interaction. So you gain access to something, gain access to various different methods of interaction that can improve how we learn. So now we have whole collections of history books in audiobook format for free. So we have electronic libraries, yeah? And this opens up learning to a whole...

R: Strata.

M: Strata is a latin word. A whole strata of people.

R: But strata is another way of saying a whole class of people. So, you know, going to university is still like a novel or a rare experience for the vast majority of people. So they'd have a limited exposure to high-level texts, but now, thanks to the internet, they... Like it's opened up everything. Opened up meaning made available. And a whole strata of people would be this group or this class of people who would never usually have the chance to have a higher education. They can do that now and they can listen to it.

M: Could you give us another example with this whole strata of people?

R: Sure. Like advancements in medicine have allowed a whole strata of people to live without the fear of dying prematurely. For example, like really really poor people used to die of all kinds of horrendous diseases and infections. We don't have it anymore because we have antibiotics.

M: So it's all at your fingertips.

R: It just means that you can access something very easily if something is at your fingertips.

M: So we can overuse technology. Overuse, use it too much and here, Rory talked about, that it's almost indispensable. Technology is almost indispensable. So we cannot change it, yeah? We cannot replace it with anything else. We have become dependent on technology. We couldn't live any other way without technology. And then an example is about this ChatGPT. If you have no idea what it means, could you please Google it right now? ChatGPT. Because everybody is talking about ChatGPT, ChatGPT. Oh, how can you use it? And this chat does this and that and all this jazz.

R: I imagine by the time this episode goes out, the AI will already have taken over the world and you won't need to worry about it. But let it happen. Let the machines do all the work.

M: I'll be back.

R: No, I don't think that when the machines rise up, they'll kill us. I think they'll just look after us in a very foreseeable manner, which I'm completely fine with. And I, for one, welcome our machine overlords.

M: What did you mean when you said you could really blunt your creative ability?

R: Well, you could just prevent it from being as sharp as it could be. You wouldn't be as creative as you were before. Because the machine is doing all the heavy lifting for you, intellectually.

M: Give us another example.

R: Okay. If you don't practice story writing, you could really blunt your creative ability because you're not using it as often as you could be.

M: A knife? A knife. Yeah? Like a fork and a knife. A knife could be sharp or it could be blunt, it's not sharp.

R: Yeah, it's not going to work as well as it could do.

M: The elderly and technology. A typical question. So the elderly, elderly people, older people and Rory talked about different videos that the elderly can watch. Videos of how to use different devices. And many older people learn how to use them through their grandchildren. So they learned how to use technologies through their grandchildren.

R: Well, that just means they have conversations with their grandchildren. And they get shown how to do things. That's all.

M: A good strategy to answer a question in speaking part three is you say it depends. It depends on... And then an if structure. So any question and then they say it depends on... If people do this, then it's this. However, if other people do this, it's this, yeah? You see? This is a nice structure of your answer. And here, Rory told us it depends on the field, specific area. And then if people are involved with the creation of different problems, if people deal with the creation, if they're involved with the creation of different programs, applications, then theory is important, yeah? However, if people want to use a specific e-commerce platform, for example, e-commerce is just like Wildberries, like eBay. In this case, people should probably take precedence you said?

R: Yes, people should be the priority.

M: You mean like practical applications? Or what like? Oh, yeah, you said like, practicality should take precedence. So practicality should be the priority?

R: Yeah, it should be the first thing people think about.

M: So theoretical classes is theory, right? And practical applications or practicality, right? Practice. So how you put it to practice. Yeah. Sweet. Thank you very much, dear listener, for being with us, for your attention! You can read the script, underline the super duper vocabulary and grammar you want to use in your answers okay? Rory? You are a super tech Rory.

R: I'm indispensable.

M: You are. Our educated native speaker.

R: Much like the technology we're all using to enjoy this. And think about that now. Bye!

M: Bye!

-

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi