The Reading / Listening - A.I. Matchmaking - Level 0

Japan wants people to go on dates and increase the birth rate. There are fewer babies in Japan. Artificial intelligence will match couples. This will cost $19 million to start. Japan has many matchmaking services. A worker matches people. The AI project will automate this system. It will give better matches.

The government wants to increase Japan's population. Its fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world. The government wants to increase the birth rate. The population is ageing quickly because people are living longer. There are fewer younger workers to pay for the pension and welfare of retired people.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    A.I. Matchmaking - Level 1,  A.I. Matchmaking - Level 2   or  A.I. Matchmaking - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/07/national/japan-ai-funding-matchmaking/
  • https://uk.reuters.com/article/japan-matchmaking-ai/love-match-tokyo-to-help-fund-japanese-ai-cupid-upgrades-report-idUKKBN28H19G
  • https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1209370.shtml


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Japan wants people to
  2. There are fewer babies
  3. Artificial intelligence will
  4. This will cost
  5. matchmaking
  6. A worker matches
  7. The AI project will automate this
  8. It will give better
  1. people
  2. match couples
  3. system
  4. in Japan
  5. matches
  6. $19 million
  7. services
  8. go on dates

Paragraph 2

  1. increase Japan's
  2. fertility
  3. one of the lowest
  4. increase the birth
  5. The population is ageing
  6. people are living
  7. pay for the
  8. welfare of retired
  1. longer
  2. in the world
  3. quickly
  4. pension
  5. people
  6. rate
  7. population
  8. rate

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Japan wants people to (1) ___________________ and increase the birth rate. There are (2) ___________________ Japan. Artificial intelligence (3) ___________________. This will cost $19 (4) ___________________. Japan has many matchmaking services. A worker matches people. The AI project (5) ___________________ system. It (6) ___________________ matches.

The government (7) ___________________ Japan's population. Its (8) ___________________ one of the lowest in the world. The government wants to (9) ___________________ rate. The population (10) ___________________ because people are living longer. There (11) ___________________ workers to pay for the pension and welfare (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Japanwantspeopletogoondatesandincreasethebirthrate.Therearefe
werbabiesinJapan.Artificialintelligencewillmatchcouples.Thiswillcos
t$19milliontostart.Japanhasmanymatchmakingservices.Aworkerm
atchespeople.TheAIprojectwillautomatethissystem.Itwillgivebetter
matches.ThegovernmentwantstoincreaseJapan'spopulation.Itsferti
lityrateisoneofthelowestintheworld.Thegovernmentwantstoincreas
ethebirthrate.Thepopulationisageingquicklybecausepeopleareliving
longer.Therearefeweryoungerworkerstopayforthepensionandwelfa
reofretiredpeople.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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