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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

MINI-BRAIN
LEARNS TO PLAY
VIDEO GAME

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1 Warm up
Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Have you ever played the video game Pong?

2. Do you enjoy playing video games in general?
3. Would you rather play a tennis video game, or a real game of tennis?
4. Do you think that video games can be good educational tools?
5. Is it possible to be completely sure that something is real?

2 Pre-listening task: vocabulary focus

Part A: Match words with the correct definitions.

1. varying (adj.) a. make a film, recording or other product available to the public

2. release (v) b. make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or

solution
3. cell (n) c. a word or phrase used to describe something

4. disorder (n) d. a condition or illness that causes problems with the way part
of the body or brain works
5. tackle (v) e. an illness or a medical problem that you have for a long time
because it is not possible to cure it
6. condition (n) f. the smallest unit of living matter that can exist on its own

7. score (v) g. describing something that changes in size, strength, number,

nature, etc.
8. label (n) h. win points, goals, etc. in a game or competition

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Part B: Complete the sentences with the missing words from Part A. You may need to change the
form of the word.

1. Many developmental first appear during childhood.

2. The government promised to the problem but failed to do so.

3. Giving health problems can sometimes make patients feel worse.

4. A car needs to be safe to use at speeds.

5. There are three main types of blood in the human body.

6. My can’t be treated, but it can be managed with the right diet.

7. In football, all you need to worry about is more goals than the other team.

8. Two films were last week, and both of them were about volcanoes.

3 Listening for specific information

Listen to the report. Match the items mentioned with the things they relate to.

1972 2013 486 5 800,000

a. When the game "Pong" was originally released.

b. The number of minutes it took the mini-brains to learn the rules of the game.

c. The number of human and mice cells which were used in the experiments.

d. The number of games of Pong that were played during the experiments.

e. When mini-brains were first developed.

Video

4 Listening for comprehension

Listen to the report again. Answer the questions true (T), false (F) or not given (NG).

1. The game Pong was chosen because it is recognisable around the world and easy to understand.

2. The study involved human and mice brains, which competed against each other in the same
experiments.

3. Kagan called the mini-brain a "thinking system".

4. The team of scientists behind the study came from a number of different countries.

5. The researchers hope that the study will aid in tackling health problems in the future.

6. The DishBrain isn’t the first mini-brain to be created.

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5 Reading: general vocabulary

Part A: Match the words in bold with the correct definitions.

1. The recent controversy has caused arguments across the country. (n)

2. Our teacher assured us that she would mark our homework in time for Thursday’s class. (v)

3. Some experts believe that if robots become self-aware, the human species will come to an end.
(adj.)

4. Scientific experiments often deal with ethical questions, especially when medicine is given to one
group of people but not to the other. (adj.)

5. I developed problems with my eyesight as a teenager, and have been wearing glasses ever since.
(v)

6. Animals may perceive reality differently from human beings. (v)

7. The school called my parents as they had some concerns about my grades, and my mother ended
up telling them about my health problems. (n)

8. Advances in technology have made it much easier to keep in touch with family members in other
countries. (n)

a. connected with beliefs and principles about what is right and wrong

b. knowledge and understanding of yourself

c. begin to have something such as a disease or a problem

d. tell somebody that something is definitely true or is definitely going to happen, especially when
they have doubts about it

e. notice something or someone by using sight, sound, touch, taste or smell

f. a feeling of worry, especially one that is shared by many people

g. public discussion and argument about something that many people strongly disagree about, think
is bad or are shocked by

h. progress or a development in a particular activity or area of understanding

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Part B: Complete the dialogue below with the words and phrases from the above exercise. You may
need to change the tense of the word or phrase. After completing the dialogue, read it out with a
partner, focusing on pronouncing the key vocabulary correctly.

1
Janet: What do you think about the around the mini-brain story?
2
Ruth: I can understand some of the , but as a scientist, I think we should focus
3
on the scientific that this sort of study could make possible, don’t you?
4
Janet: I knew you’d say that! I just find some of the questions this sort of thing
5
raises a little worrying. I mean, how do we know if these brain cells are
or not? Imagine if they were!
Ruth: I don’t think that’s possible, really. We’re talking about a tiny number of cells. I can
6 7
you they wouldn’t be able to reality, if that’s what
you’re thinking!
Janet: Can we know that for sure, though?

Ruth: I think you’re missing the point. The researchers want to prevent people from
8
disorders, and this kind of study could help us to understand these
kinds of conditions.
Janet: By teaching brain cells how to play a video game? I think there are better ways of
helping, personally!

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Part C: Discuss these questions in pairs.

1. Can you think of any other recent scientific studies which have caused controversy?
2. What kind of ethical questions does the mini-brain study raise?
3. Do you think that robots will ever become self-aware?
4. Have you developed any health problems that you didn’t have when you were a young child?
5. Do you think that advances in science may, one day, prevent humans from dying of old age?
6. Do you believe that dogs and cats perceive reality differently from human beings?
7. Which global concerns are you most worried about at the moment?

6 Pre-reading task: reading for general understanding

You are going to read a text about people’s opinions on a scientific study using brain cells. Scan the
text quickly and match the profession with the correct speaker. One profession cannot be matched
to any of the four speakers in the text and should be marked Not given.

Bradley Daisy Jay Miranda Not given

1. Medical student:

2. Game designer:

3. Psychologist:

4. Dentist:

5. Biologist:

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Brains in a dish
Four people share their thoughts on the study

A. Miranda, 37 C. Jay, 22

As a biologist, I’m optimistic. These sorts of news I lost my grandfather to a genetic condition a few
stories often attract controversy, but I believe that years ago. Since it’s passed down through genes,
there is usually an element of misunderstanding, there’s a chance I may develop it too. If we could
with the media and the public perhaps jumping to somehow prevent these conditions from existing, or
the wrong conclusions. Admittedly, it doesn’t help cure them completely, I think we should do anything
when scientists throw around words like "sentient" in our power to achieve that. Sure, the idea of a
to describe a collection of cells. In the last few days brain-in-a-dish is a little strange, but so is the idea of
I’ve read a few articles worrying about the ethical organ donation, if you think about it. Most scientific
side of things, but I can assure you that the cells advances have caused a little bit of concern in the
are not aware, and that any mini-brain created with early days, especially from people worrying about
current technology is not alive in the sense of you whether it’s right or wrong. I don’t think it’s right
or I. I’ve also come across some interesting papers to let people become ill or die if we can prevent
on the future of genetics. Some of my peers believe it. I’m studying to be a doctor at the moment,
that mini-brains could well be a cure for all kinds of although sometimes I wish I had chosen biology
conditions in the next few decades. Of course, we instead. Hopefully, one day in the near future, genetic
need more data, but this latest study is very promising conditions and diseases will belong in the history
indeed. books – thanks, in part, to the mini-brains that learnt
how to play Pong.
B. Bradley, 35
D. Daisy, 62
It’s terrifying. I’ve heard that, in philosophy, there’s
this theory called "brain in a vat", which is basically the Well, I don’t really understand how the study worked,
idea that if you were just a brain inside a glass jar in and I’ve never played this ‘Pong’ game, but I did play
a lab, you could never know if reality was real or not. tennis as a child. I was rather good! Although I went
So, you might think that you were walking but you’re into dentistry, I kept playing every now and then.
actually just a brain that is dreaming, or connected My daughter has a tennis video game, with a device
to a computer. I think that’s really horrible, the idea that you put around your eyes to make it seem as if
that the things we think are real might not be. Now, you’re really playing. I hated it! I missed the smell
scientists have developed these mini-brains that can, of the trees, the sound of birds and the squeak of
apparently, play video games. We are assured that an old trainer on the grass. It just wasn’t tennis. I
they cannot really think, that they’re not really alive, wonder how these "mini-brains" as they call them
as such, but what if they are actually self-aware? Even perceive the game they’ve been made to play. They
us psychologists don’t really understand the brain, have nothing to compare it to, I suppose! I don’t
not completely, and I think it’s dangerous and morally know enough about the subject to offer an educated
wrong to try to create lab-grown versions of this opinion, but I can’t help but feel that it is wrong to try
complex thinking machine. to create a brain – mini or otherwise – in a laboratory.

Sources: BBC, The Guardian, YouTube, UCL

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7 Reading comprehension

Part A: Read the article again. Match statements with the correct speakers. Some statements can be
matched to more than one speaker. One of the statements cannot be matched to any of the speakers
and should be marked Not given.

1. They think that it is wrong to create a mini-brain in a laboratory.

2. They believe that the study was wrong from a religious point of view.

3. They think that mini-brains could help to cure genetic conditions.

4. They think that scientific studies are often presented badly by the media.

Part B: For each question, choose the answer you believe best suits the speaker.

1. Why does Miranda not like the word "sentient"?

a. She thinks that it could give the wrong impression to the public and the media.

b. She mentions a different term that would be more suitable for the mini-brain.

c. She doesn’t believe any life form is sentient other than a fully developed human being.

2. Why does Bradley think the "brain in the vat" idea is terrifying?

a. He doesn’t like the idea that somebody else might be controlling what he sees and thinks.

b. The idea goes against his religious views.

c. He doesn’t like the idea that things we believe to be real might not be.

3. Why might Jay think that we should ignore ethical concerns about mini-brains?

a. He believes that mini-brains are the only way to treat genetic conditions.

b. He thinks that it’s just the same as organ donation.

c. He thinks that we should do anything we can to prevent people from becoming ill or dying
from genetic conditions.

4. Why didn’t Daisy enjoy the tennis-themed video game her daughter owns?

a. The device that she used gave her a headache.

b. She missed the smells, sights and sounds of playing real tennis.

c. She thought it was too realistic.

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8 Reading: expressions and phrasal verbs

Part A: Using the text above for reference, complete the definitions of the expressions and phrasal
verbs below by filling in the gaps with the correct words from the list.

alive find quickly time

1. jump to conclusions: to make a decision about somebody/something too , before

you know or have thought about all the facts

2. every now and then: from to time; occasionally

3. to come across somebody/something: to meet or somebody/something by chance

4. to pass something down: to teach or give something to someone who will be

after you have died

Part B: Complete the sentences with one or two correct expressions or phrasal verbs from Part A.
You may need to change the form of the expression or phrasal verb.

1. Many surnames in the United Kingdom are from father to son.

2. I’m glad I didn’t – it turned out my colleague hadn’t stolen my watch after all; I’d
just lost it.

3. I like to walk home from work , although I usually take the car.

4. I this interesting book last week. I went back to the bookshop to buy it the next
day, but it was gone.

9 Talking Point

In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you think that creating mini-brains is wrong? Why/why not?

2. Do you believe Kagan’s claim that the mini-brain is sentient?
3. Are there some areas of science that could be dangerous to explore?
4. Do you think it’s okay to experiment on animals or lab-created human body parts if it helps us to
treat diseases and disorders in the future?
5. Do you think it’s possible that you are a "brain in a vat" and that what you believe to be reality
isn’t real?
6. In the 21st century do we spend too much time trying to escape from reality?
7. Will we ever be able to truly understand the human brain?

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10 Extended activity/writing homework

Write an opinion essay on the topic below. Your essay should agree with or disagree with the statement
and should be between 240 – 280 words.

The creation of mini-brains raises too many ethical questions. Scientists shouldn’t be allowed
to experiment with human brain cells.

Alternative extended activity

In two groups, debate the following statement:

"We should do whatever it takes to treat genetic disorders, so that, in the future, people no
longer get ill or die from problems that are passed down through genes."

One group should argue FOR the statement, with the other group arguing AGAINST. Before your
debate, each group should work together to make a list of ideas to support their argument.

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