Breaking News English

WARM-UPS

1. MY COMPUTER: With your partner(s), talk about how important your computer is to you.  How does it help you in your life? What other things would you like it to do? When you have finished, find a new partner and report on what you talked about.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

Researchers / software / artwork / eyes / mouth shapes / emotions / brush strokes / moods / computer graphics / doctors / everyday life / trains / offices

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

3. MOOD ART: Imagine your computer can read your feelings and paint a picture that mirrors your mood. With your partner(s), describe the kind of artwork that might be displayed on your computer in these situations. Change partner(s) and share what you talked about.

You passed all your exams You think a burglar is in your house You have a terrible headache You are head over heels in love

You can’t connect to the Internet A giant spider walks across your desk George W. Bush just quit his job Other _______________________

4. QUICK DEBATE: Students A believe computers are our friends and can help us be happy. Students B believe computers are just machines that add to our stress. Debate this with your partners. Change partners often.

5. HEADLINES: With your partner(s), talk about the following imaginary newspaper headlines. What do you think of them? Is it possible they might come true one day? Change partners and share your findings.

1. Man marries his computer
2. World’s first computer-for-brain transplant a success
3. Computer becomes president of USA
4. Computers banned by high schools
5. Humans ask computers for better working conditions
6. Europe’s computers disabled by magnet bombs
7. It’s here – World’s first one-dollar computer
8. Every person in world now online, says UN’s Computers-For-All boss

6. ART: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with art. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	A new computer program can paint moody pictures on mirrors.	T / F
b.	The program recognizes eight basic facial expressions.	T / F
c.	The program chooses the brush stroke based on the person’s mood.	T / F
d.	It takes several hours for the computer to create the artwork.	T / F
e.	The program must be adjusted for each individual viewer.	T / F
f.	The program may have uses in psychology and other fields.	T / F
g.	The program may add more color to our everyday lives.	T / F
h.	The artwork will mean there’ll be more bored-looking commuters.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	scans	head
b.	angle	heartwarming
c.	picked up	feelings
d.	lead	areas
e.	emotions	slant
f.	adjusted	continuing
g.	ongoing	detected
h.	fields	dull
i.	dreary	examines
j.	uplifting	changed

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	software that scans	in real time
b.	It analyses eight basic	guess how the viewer is feeling
c.	This information is picked	on how to lead a happier life
d.	uses data from the person’s face to	up by a web cam
e.	the technology does all of this	to our dreary everyday lives
f.	recreating personalized	on the daily train to the office
g.	It may also have uses	the feelings on peoples’ faces
h.	give a patient advice	in other fields
i.	provide a little more color	expressions
j.	No more gray faces	art based on your mood

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

New computer art mirrors viewer’s mood

Researchers in America and England have ________ software that scans the ________ on peoples’ faces and then produces a ________ of computer-generated artwork. The technology is still very new. It analyses eight basic expressions, including the ________ and shape of the mouth, the openness of the eyes and the angle of the eyes. This information is ________ up by a web cam, which uses data from the person’s face to guess how the viewer is feeling. The program automatically chooses colors and types of brush ________ each time the person’s expression changes and paints a new picture of his or her ________. Lead researcher Dr. John Collomosse said the technology "does all of this in ________ time, meaning that as the viewer's emotions change the artwork [also changes]".		position mood feelings strokes developed real piece picked
Collomosse said: “Once you have the programme and have [________] it for the individual viewer, you are ready to start recreating personalized art ________ on your mood.” The project is part of ________ research to develop different artwork tools for use in the computer graphics industry. It may also have uses in other ________. Analysts could use the software to find out more about the psychological ________ of patients. A trained doctor could look at the images and then give a patient ________ on how to lead a happier life or be more confident. The program may also provide a little more color to our ________ everyday lives - by placing uplifting artwork in front of us wherever we go. No more gray ________ on the daily train to the office.		ongoing faces based state dreary adjusted fields advice

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

New computer art mirrors viewer’s mood

Researchers in America and England have developed software ________________ feelings on peoples’ faces and then produces a piece of computer-generated artwork. The technology is still very new. ________________ expressions, including the position and shape of the mouth, the openness of the eyes and the angle of the eyes. This information is ________________ web cam, which uses data from the person’s face to guess how the viewer is feeling. The program automatically chooses colors and types of brush strokes each time the person’s expression changes and paints a new picture ________________ mood. Lead researcher Dr. John Collomosse said the technology "does ________________ time, meaning that as the viewer's emotions change the artwork [also changes]".

Collomosse said: “________________ the programme and have [adjusted] it for the individual viewer, you are ready to start recreating personalized art based on your mood.” The project ________________ research to develop different artwork tools for use in the computer graphics industry. It may also ________________ fields. Analysts could use the software to find out more about the psychological state of patients. A trained doctor could look at the images and then give a patient ________________ lead a happier life or be more confident. The program may also provide a little more color to our dreary everyday lives - by placing uplifting artwork in front of us ________________. No more gray faces on the daily train to the office.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘art’ and ‘work’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “COMPUTER ART” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about computers and art, and computers and feelings.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

scans basic angle brush lead real

individual ongoing tools patient dreary gray

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. What do you think of looking at art on a computer?
3. Do you think computers can really understand our feelings?
4. How much time would you spend each day looking at art on your computer?
5. Do you think computer-generated art can make you feel better?
6. Would you like all of the computers you pass each day to show art that makes you feel better?
7. Does art in galleries change your mood?
8. What kind of art do you like?
9. What kind of art could be displayed on a computer that you don’t normally see in galleries?
10. Would you buy a software program that always displayed the exact kind of artwork you wanted to look at?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. What do you think of the idea of a computer-art doctor, whom you would visit when you feel bad?
4. Do you think artwork created by computer graphic artists is real art?
5. Would you worry about the kind of artwork a computer showed based on your mood?
6. What do you think of the idea of printing the computer art and showing it to your friends each morning?
7. Would you rather look at a piece of computer-generated artwork or a scene of beauty from nature?
8. Do you think electronic art could be used to help people change their feelings?
9. If you could look at the artwork that matches someone’s feelings, whose computer-generated images would you like to see and why?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

COMPUTER ART: With your partner(s), analyze these images that have been created by a computer. What do the images mean? What is the person’s mental  state?

	Meaning	Mental state
Person A George W. Bush sitting on a giant red banana
Person B Two cute puppy dogs trying to read an English newspaper
Person C A toilet burning on top of Mount Everest
Person D A golden beach covered with chocolate and strawberries
Other ____________ ____________ ____________

Change partners and exchange your ideas. Decide on who has the best explanations.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about the electronic artwork that reflects peoples’ moods. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. POSTER: Make a poster advertising the benefits of new electronic art software that creates images to make you feel better. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson.

4. ART DIARY: Make a diary that includes artwork that reflects your feelings for one day. Show your diary to your classmates in the next lesson. Which diary did you like best and why?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	scans	examines
b.	angle	slant
c.	picked up	detected
d.	lead	head
e.	emotions	feelings
f.	adjusted	changed
g.	ongoing	continuing
h.	fields	areas
i.	dreary	dull
j.	uplifting	heartwarming

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	software that scans	the feelings on peoples’ faces
b.	It analyses eight basic	expressions
c.	This information is picked	up by a web cam
d.	uses data from the person’s face to	guess how the viewer is feeling
e.	the technology does all of this	in real time
f.	recreating personalized	art based on your mood
g.	It may also have uses	in other fields
h.	give a patient advice	on how to lead a happier life
i.	provide a little more color	to our dreary everyday lives
j.	No more gray faces	on the daily train to the office

GAP FILL:

New computer art mirrors viewer’s mood

Researchers in America and England have developed software that scans the feelings on peoples’ faces and then produces a piece of computer-generated artwork. The technology is still very new. It analyses eight basic expressions, including the position and shape of the mouth, the openness of the eyes and the angle of the eyes. This information is picked up by a web cam, which uses data from the person’s face to guess how the viewer is feeling. The program automatically chooses colors and types of brush strokes each time the person’s expression changes and paints a new picture of his or her mood. Lead researcher Dr. John Collomosse said the technology "does all of this in real time, meaning that as the viewer's emotions change the artwork [also changes]".

Collomosse said: “Once you have the programme and have [adjusted] it for the individual viewer, you are ready to start recreating personalized art based on your mood.” The project is part of ongoing research to develop different artwork tools for use in the computer graphics industry. It may also have uses in other fields. Analysts could use the software to find out more about the psychological state of patients. A trained doctor could look at the images and then give a patient advice on how to lead a happier life or be more confident. The program may also provide a little more color to our dreary everyday lives - by placing uplifting artwork in front of us wherever we go. No more gray faces on the daily train to the office.

TOP