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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

THE FUTURE
OF READING

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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. How do you do the following actions on a phone or tablet screen?

1. swipe a. move from right to left or left to right with your finger

2. scroll b. do the opposite action from zoom in

3. zoom in c. a movement used for zooming in or out involving putting

your thumb and forefinger together.
4. zoom out d. pinch your fingers on the screen and widen them

5. pinch e. moving an item from one place to another on the screen.

6. drag f. move a webpage up and down, usually using your finger to

roll move it down on a phone

2. What is your opinion of ebooks? Why?

3. What format did the last book you bought use? Why did you choose to buy that format?

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THE FUTURE OF READING

2 Focus on vocabulary

Match the definitions a - h to the words in bold in sentences 1 - 8.

a. look through a webpage or printed material without reading everything carefully →

b. a tall building that converts the natural power of a breeze or a gale into energy →

c. a section of film which shows a particular event →

d. quickly look at something →

e. a visual display of information or data to make it easy to understand →

f. connected to the natural heat from rock deep under the ground →

g. being more than is required in a particular situation →

h. change direction →

1. Footage recorded at the scene shows the moment police captured the gang leader who had been
on the run for over three months.
2. Regulations have been introduced aimed at curbing the excess of packaging used by many companies.
3. The mountain sits close to an area that scientists have identified as being a source of geothermal
energy leading to increased interest and investment from the energy sector.
4. The entire farm is powered by a windmill which sits on the hill and is in constant motion thanks
to strong gusts from the north.
5. I don’t have much time, but leave your report on my desk and I’ll take a peek at it after lunch.
6. We’re putting together an infographic which should make the process of production clear, although
we’ll have to simplify some parts.
7. The journey was going well until we were diverted just outside of Chester due to an accident and
that added about an extra 40 minutes to the trip.
8. I’ve been browsing his latest book and there’s a lot of really fascinating material in there.

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THE FUTURE OF READING

3 Watching for details

Watch the video (00:00 - 04:18) and answer the following questions with no more than three words.

1. Who is the author of the book being presented?

2. What was the title of the previous book?

3. How long can you watch the material in the book?

4. Where is Mike Matas’ company located in the US?

4 Understanding the video

Complete the sentences using no more than three words from the audio.

1. Our Choice is a feature-length interactive book which explores the answers to

.

2. You’re able to quickly navigate through using an easy-access panel

of the book.

3. Mike Matas believes that the infographics are amongst about the
book as they provide so much information.

4. As well as working on the iPad, the book also functions on .

5. Mike Matas’ company is creating a tool that will allow other publishers to easily
in their products in a similar way to the one demonstrated.

6. They will to companies making interactive books in order to create

profit.

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THE FUTURE OF READING

5 Focus on grammar

Part A: Match the phrasal verbs used in the video to their meaning.

1. pick up a. grab something with your hand

2. fold up b. make something which is flat smaller by turning it back on

itself, often several times
3. pop open c. stop shining

4. walk through d. make something available or visible that is shut

5. go out e. help someone learn about a new subject by explaining

element of it to them
6. open up f. unfasten something quickly

Part B: Now answer the following questions.

1. Which phrasal verb usually requires a pronoun or a proper noun between the verb and the particle
for the meaning given?

2. Which phrasal verb can also be used about being more communicative about what you think or
feel?

3. Which phrasal verb can also be used to talk about gaining information or habits by accident or
experience rather than deliberately learning it?

4. Which phrasal verb can have its particle swapped with ‘out’ to mean leaving a building for a short
amount of time?

5. Which phrasal verbs can be used as a different part of speech if they are altered slightly?

6. Which phrasal verb can be separated by ‘all’ to create an idiom meaning to make every effort to
make sure something is completed or successful?

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6 Finding vocabulary

Find vocabulary in the article on page six which has the same meaning as the following definitions.

1. (v, para. A): put something in a particular condition or state

2. (adj. para. B): being very enthusiastic about a particular activity

3. (n, para. B): a sudden increase in economic activity

4. (adj. para. C): able to be bent or changed without breaking

5. (v, para. C): force a lot of things or something large into a smaller space than
is needed
6. (adj. para. C): attractive to people in a way that makes them want to do
something
7. (v, para. C): stay in a particular place longer than is needed due to enjoying
an activity
8. (v, para. D): make something easy to understand or clearer

7 Reading for gist

Match the sentences A - E to the gaps 1 - 4 in the article. You will not need all of the sentences.

A. With more interactive ebooks entering the market, we can really see how reading can be taken
to a new level.

B. The loading times were slow creating a considerable backlash in the early days.

C. Books, though, have been slower to move on.

D. An overloaded bookcase or, if you’re wealthy enough, a library still holds status in society as a
demonstration of the wide-ranging education of the owner.

E. Yet where digital versions of music and games effectively wiped out older formats, the same
was not true of books.

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A real page-turner
The future of books?

A. For years, buying computer games, music, computer software and books meant going to a shop and buying a
physical product until the internet came along in the 1990s and disrupted all that. Nowadays, the speed of
downloading information has virtually rendered browsing albums, the latest games and the newest operating
system in a shop to history. Sure, there’s still a strong market for vinyl enthusiasts, and a few shops deal in games
for the systems of yesteryear, but the majority of people go no further than their phone or laptop to shop for
1
these products.

B. While Amazon now sells almost anything you can think of, the tech giant started out as a bookseller. For the avid
reader, it offered titles from a pool that spanned the globe and to this day, Amazon still dominates with over 50%
of book sales in the US coming from their site. Having made their mark in this market, they went on to practically
invent self-publishing in ebooks. For authors, self-publishing has always been an option, but at great expense and
great risk. Amazon lowered both of these factors, leading to a boom in available titles, though some would argue,
2
they are of varying quality.

C. There was a difference in the product. The attraction of the paper book for many is still the escape, both from
life as well as screens. Curling up in bed or a favourite armchair is not the same with a tablet or smartphone with
their notifications and their hard edges as it is with a pliable book. Having been around for so much longer, books
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still hold prestige. You only need to watch interviews with academics, their bookshelves crammed with
volumes behind them, to know that this is true. The popular background for an online video call being a library
is further proof of this point. While bookshops have undoubtedly been affected in recent years, they have also
evolved to bring coffee service and cakes in-house, creating a seductive environment for those who want to linger
over a book in peace. Many of the most popular chains are able to fill several floors in a city centre with books
covering every potential interest of their clientele.

D. That’s not to say that traditional publishers haven’t faced a steep learning curve in recent years to keep up with
the times. Marrying tech with editorial concerns while necessary, hasn’t been easy. Although ebooks have been
slower to catch on, the rise in their popularity has long been an important factor. Audiobooks have offered some
help in the digital market, as they can be downloaded easily and don’t require the technical considerations of
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their ebook counterparts. Using video, animation and links to further sources of information, they can
illuminate minds in a way that their paper ancestors would struggle with, particularly with digital natives who don’t
hold the same attachment to paper books as the generations who came before them. Still, it’s difficult to picture
the paper book dying out entirely. Where paper books can offer delights by a simple turn of the page, interactive
ebooks can seem just too much like hard work.

source: ed.ted.com, thepassivevoice.com

8 Reading comprehension
Read the information and decide in which paragraphs A - D it can be found.

1. A generation that is more likely to embrace ebooks. →

1
2. The market share of a major online bookseller. →

3. A modern-day sign that an old attitude still holds power. →

4. A reason why business in brick-and-mortar shops selling certain products has sunk. →

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THE FUTURE OF READING

9 Talking point

In pairs, use one of the three cue cards of your choice to talk for a minute about the given topic. Try
to talk for between one and two minutes about the subject. When you have finished, your partner
should ask you one or two further questions about what you have said.

Topic A

Talk about your favourite book.

Make sure to include the following points:

• What is the book generally about?

• Where were you when you first read it?
• Why did you read it in the first place?
• You should also say why you recommend that others read it.

Topic B

Talk about traditional books and ebooks.

Make sure you say:

• What your experience of each has been.

• What you think the advantages of each are.
• What you think the disadvantages of each are.
• You should also say which you prefer giving your own experience.

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Topic C

Talk about the recent advances in ebooks.

Make sure you say:

• How they are currently being used.

• What potential they hold for the future.
• What your experience has been.
• You should also say why you think the interest in ebooks was slow to take hold.

10 Optional extension / homework

Read the question.

As the generations age, the need to print books on paper will be reduced to almost nothing.
Traditional paper book publishing is a dinosaur stuck in the past and will go the way of the
dinosaurs in time.

To what extent do you agree with the above statement?

You should:

• write at least 250 words.

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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