Dialogue about Technology in English with Quiz

Intermediate Listening Series 2 Lesson 20- Dialogue about Technology in English

In this lesson, you listen to an English conversation between two people talking about technology.

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English Listening Lesson Audio with Script

Lesson Audio

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Lesson Script

Two people discuss tech in people’s lives.

John: Technology. Patricia, is it changing people for the better or for the worse?

Patricia: I think it’s doing both. It depends on the person. I think technology is an amazing tool and resource, but I also think that people can become easily addicted to things.

John: I agree.

Patricia: Yeah, like their phones or social media. So, I mean, it’s like anything in life, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

John: What do you think is one of the biggest advantages it has for us right now?

Patricia: I think information. You know, we can access information so easily now. We can look up, you know, anything we can dream of doing; we can Google it and find either a tutorial or a book. There’s just endless information about every topic. And then, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can write about what you’re looking for yourself online and help other people. So, you know, that is huge right now.

John: Okay. What about a negative for technology? Something you think it’s doing to, you know, impact us negatively?

Patricia: I mean, it definitely impacts our relationships, especially if they are more inclined to be introverted; they’re not forced to go outside their comfort zone so much. They can stay home and send messages or just stay home and play video games and not really…

John: Engage?

Patricia: … engage in socializing with an actual human being. And I think while it is nice to be able to exchange messages easily, I also think that that is not, that doesn’t take the place of actually talking to a human face to face. I think our society still needs that in-person connection. And I think, you know, some people aren’t getting that anymore because they’re so involved with their online presence or, yeah.

John: Okay. Now, I think a big part of that is the technological advances surrounding, things like social media. How do you feel about children being exposed to social media or things like that?

Patricia: I definitely think it should be limited for them. Parents really need to be a role model for their children and put boundaries in place for themselves as well. I think that’s the best way to be a good role model for children, by limiting their own screen time and what they’re doing on social media so that children can learn what is healthy. I think it’s all about balance. There needs to be a healthy balance. And if, you know, parents find that their children are spending too much time in front of a screen or on social media, or, you know, they’re being bullied, I think they need to be involved and they need to set boundaries for their kids where those things are concerned.

John: Okay. Last question for you. What do you think is the most important and beneficial technological advance, sorry, beneficial technological advancement that we’ve seen? Doesn’t have to be today, you can go all the way back to whenever.

Patricia: Probably, I mean, technological advancement in medicine is probably the thing that has seriously affected our society and our world the most, you know, being able to mass produce vaccines comes to mind or, you know, robots who can perform surgery. Things like that I think have actually really made a big difference in people’s everyday lives around the globe.

John: Nice. All right. Well, that’s all the questions I have for you. Thanks again for coming.

English Listening Lesson Quizzes

Answer these questions about the conversation.

1) She says information is ______.

1. a) endless
2. b) misleading
3. c) hard to trust

2) She says technology can impact ______ .

1. a) history
2. b) relationships
3. c) the environment

3) She says it is _____ to exchange messages.

1. a) nice
2. b) unsocial
3. c) way too easy

4) What does she think parents need to do?

1. a) Be role models
2. b) Remove boundaries
3. c) Be on social media

5) She thinks robots doing surgery is _____.

1. a) bad
2. b) beneficial
3. c) a serious issue

Answers

• 1=a
• 2=b
• 3=a
• 4=a
• 5=b

English Grammar Tips

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English Listening Lesson Phrases

endless

There’s just endless information about every topic.

Here, ‘endless’ can mean unlimitted or uncountable, or it can mean a very high quantiy of something. Notice the following:

1. I spend an endelss amount of time watching Youtube videos.
2. Countries with a lot of rain have an endless supply of water.

huge right now

So, you know, that is huge right now.

When something is ‘huge right now’ that means it is very popular or prominent in the news. Notice the following:

1. Tic Tok iis huge right now.
2. Quiting a job to work from home is huge right now.

outside their comfort zone

They’re not forced to go outside their comfort zone so much.

When something is ourside a person’s comfort zone, it makes them feel uneasy or anxious. Notice the following:

1. When I went Salsa dancing, I was outside my comfort zone.
2. For shy people, giving a speech is outside their comfort zone.

role model

Parents really need to be a role model for their children

A role model is a person who is a sets an example of how to live, act or behave. Notice the following:

1. My big sister was my role model when I was growing up.
2. Some famous people are negative role models.

put boundaries in place

They need to put boundaries in place for children.

Here, ‘to put boundaries in place’ means to set rules of lmits to what people can do. Notice the following:

1. A good boss is nice, but needs to put boundaries in place.
2. My mother always put boundaries in place regarding what I could and could not do.

around the globe

It made a big difference in people’s everyday lives around the globe.

Here, ‘around the globe’ means around the world. Notice the following:

1. They sell the beverage all around the globe.
2. Airline pilots fly all around the globe.

Quizzes for Lesson Phrases

• endless
• huge
• comfort zone
• role model
• boundaries
• around the globe

1. I joined a study group to get outside of my……….  .
2. Parents are often the best………..  a child can have.
3. We need to put some……….  in place.
4. We have offices all………..  .
5. There is a seemingly……….  supply of data on Wikipedia.
6. Becoming an influencer is…………  right now.

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