Questions 1-7
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Questions 8 and 9
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Life in 2045
The film, Back to the Future II, released in 1989, made a series of outlandish predictions about 2015, the year its key characters travel to from 1985. Although several of the film's predictions, like video calls and wearable technology, came true. Back to the Future II shaved the pit falls of making long-term forecasts. The world of 2015 was one of hover boards, flying cars and power clothing, and instead we got Snapchat and selfies. Several experts have made their predictions about what the world of 2045 will look like. Alex Ayad, head of Imperial College London's Tech Foresight practice forecasts that people will be able to purchase high-quality emotions online. Emotion-sharing experiences are the latest fad in 2045. Imagine your friend at a music festive I can post a photo on Instagram and with it comes bundled a faint twinkling of what she was feeling right there in that moment, so you too can share emotionally in her social experience. Recently, techniques for direct brain stimulation, like optogenetics, have made it possible to not only read but also write information into single neurons. At the moment data transfer rates are still very slow, the best we can do is a few bits per second, but this could well increase to kilobits maybe reach broadband speeds by 2045.This means the range of human perception could expand beyond its current design limitations.
Our cities will be made from living, dynamic materials that respond to the environment. In 30 years. Tall buildings made of glass and twisted steel will be seen as relics from a bygone era. in the same wey we think now of 1970s concrete tower blocks: ugly, out-dated and unfit for contemporary purpose. The urban environment of 2045 blends architecture with living materials that are mould able, adaptable, responsive and disposable.
Entirely new synthetic life forms, or biological machines, made of engineered living cells from bacteria, fungi and algae will grow and evolve with the changing needs of a building's inhabitants. They breathe in pollutants, dean wastewater, and use sunlight to make useful chemicals, energy, heat and vibrant vertical gardens. We will start to see a convergence between biology and technology, to the point where there is no longer a perceptible difference between the two.
Invisibility cloaks, according to Alex Ayad, will be used to 'disappear' ugly objects. Invisibility has forever been a tantalising prospect. The key to cloaking lies in the way the electromagnetic spectrum (including visible light) interacts with objects. The human eye picks up electromagnetic radiation that falls and scatters from objects and we perceive this as light. In recent decades, scientists figured out using mathematics that it might just be possible to imagine a new class of artificial materials made of intricate tiny features with light-(and sound-) bending properties. They named them metamaterials.
And Tamar Kasriel, founder and MD of Futureal, a future-focused strategy consultancy, has forecast that we won't be able to tell the difference between VR hover boards and real hover boards. By 2045 quite a few of us might have a hover board, but it will be struggling to compete with the thrill of the virtual reality version. What we are likely to see is the breakdown of much of the current distinction between the real and the digital, and the artificial and the human. Driver less cars will just be ... cars. And for many driving will have become only a leisure pursuit, a kind of sport, and buildings will power themselves. Being optimistic, Marty and Doc won't find themselves in a smoggy apocalypse in 2045. Rather, a powerful mix of sense and/or fear will have continued the momentum behind increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of alternative power sources Solar panels will be built into lots of different building materials, so whole neighbourhoods can quietly and cleanly power themselves.
Richard Watson, futurist, writer and founder of online magazine 'Atar’s Next predicts phones, cars or homes will be able to read people's feelings and adapt accordingly. Machines will be able to sense and then adapt themselves to the emotional state of an individual user. At the moment machines can work out where someone is, who someone is and perhaps what they are doing or 'like' but that's about it. The next stage will be for machines to intuit human feelings. This can be done by 'harvesting' facial expressions, body language, heart rate, voice and so on. If you are typing text into a computer the computer might consider the speed you are typing, decide you are stressed and conclude that this isn't the best time to allow you to read negative emails.
If you are driving a car, the car might consider how you are driving and infer certain conclusions. If the car decides you are angry and in danger of driving unsafely, it might adapt itself to make things safer. On the other hand a shop might use this technology to work out when customers are more likely to buy things, including things they probably don't really want.
May be the predictions above will be realised fully in the year 2045 or maybe life will turn out to be even more fantastical than we can now imagine.
Alex Ayad predicts that by 2045 will be available for sale online. He also thinks that construction materials in cities will be 'alive' and react to their surroundings and that invisibility cloaks will be employed to hide . Tamar Kasriel forecasts that by 2045 it is probable people will not easily make a between the real, human world and what is or artificial. He also thinks there will be driverless cars and buildings that . Among Richard Watson's forecasts are that peoples belongings
will have the ability to read their and then adapt to an individuals .
What will have become less expensive by 2045?
What might computers ot the future prevent people from seeing?
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Synonym match - summary says 'available for sale online' and passage says 'purchase ... online'
Correct Answer: High-quality emotions
Why this is correct: The summary says something will be available for sale online. The passage clearly states that people will be able to purchase high-quality emotions online, which matches exactly.
Passage Reference: Alex Ayad, head of Imperial College London's Tech Foresight practice forecasts that people will be able to purchase high-quality emotions online.
Common Mistake: Students may write emotions only, but this loses the important detail high-quality. This is a partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'purchase high-quality emotions online' = Summary: 'will be available for sale online'
Tips: Do not shorten noun phrases if the passage gives a specific description.
Key Vocabulary:
- purchase = buy
- high-quality = very good
Question Focus: Exact phrase match
Correct Answer: ugly objects
Passage Reference: Invisibility cloaks, according to Alex Ayad, will be used to 'disappear' ugly objects.
Why this is correct: The passage directly says invisibility cloaks will be used to 'disappear' ugly objects. The summary paraphrases 'disappear' as 'hide'.
Common Mistake: Students may write objects only, but the passage clearly specifies ugly objects. This is a partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'disappear ugly objects' = Summary: 'hide ___'
Tips: Adjectives matter in IELTS FIB. Copy the full phrase if it is given.
Key Vocabulary:
- disappear = hide
- ugly = unattractive
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'difference' paraphrased as 'distinction'
Correct Answer: distinction
Passage Reference: What we are likely to see is the breakdown of much of the current distinction between the real and the digital, and the artificial and the human.
Why this is correct: The summary talks about not easily making a difference. The passage uses the word distinction, which directly matches this idea.
Common Mistake: Students may write difference, but you must copy the exact word from the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'current distinction' = Summary: 'make a ___'
Tips: Never replace a passage word with your own synonym in FIB questions.
Key Vocabulary:
- distinction = difference
Question Focus: Exact word match
Correct Answer: digital
Passage Reference: What we are likely to see is the breakdown of much of the current distinction between the real and the digital, and the artificial and the human.
Why this is correct: The summary says 'what is ___ or artificial'. The passage contrasts the real and the digital, so digital fits perfectly.
Common Mistake: Students may write virtual, but that word is not used here. This is a paraphrase trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'the real and the digital' = Summary: 'the real, human world and what is ___'
Tips: Check the exact word used in contrasts like 'X and Y'.
Key Vocabulary:
- digital = computer-based
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'buildings will power themselves'
Correct Answer: power themselves
Passage Reference: Driver less cars will just be ... cars. And for many driving will have become only a leisure pursuit, a kind of sport, and buildings will power themselves.
Why this is correct: The passage explicitly says buildings will power themselves, which is copied directly into the summary.
Common Mistake: Students may write self-powered, but this wording does not appear in the passage. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'buildings will power themselves' = Summary: 'buildings that ___'
Tips: Verb phrases are often copied exactly in summaries.
Key Vocabulary:
- power = supply energy
Question Focus: Exact word match
Correct Answer: feelings
Passage Reference: Richard Watson, futurist, writer and founder of online magazine 'Atar's Next predicts phones, cars or homes will be able to read people's feelings and adapt accordingly.
Why this is correct: The summary says belongings will read something. The passage clearly states they will read people's feelings.
Common Mistake: Students may write emotions, but that word is not used here. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'read people's feelings' = Summary: 'read their ___'
Tips: Do not mix similar words from different parts of the passage.
Key Vocabulary:
- feelings = emotions
Question Focus: Exact phrase match
Correct Answer: emotional state
Passage Reference: Machines will be able to sense and then adapt themselves to the emotional state of an individual user.
Why this is correct: The passage says machines will adapt to the emotional state of a user. The summary uses the same idea.
Common Mistake: Students may write mood, but that word does not appear. This is a synonym trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'emotional state of an individual' = Summary: 'an individuals ___'
Tips: When a phrase is repeated, copy it exactly.
Key Vocabulary:
- emotional state = how someone feels
Question Focus: Cause and effect understanding
Correct Answer: alternative power sources
Passage Reference: Rather, a powerful mix of sense and/or fear will have continued the momentum behind increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of alternative power sources
Why this is correct: The passage says there will be momentum behind reducing the cost of alternative power sources, meaning they will become less expensive.
Common Mistake: Students may write solar panels, but the question asks what becomes cheaper, not what is built. This is a context shift trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'reducing the cost of alternative power sources' = Question: 'become less expensive'
Tips: For WH-questions, match the idea, not just a nearby noun.
Key Vocabulary:
- alternative = different
- reduce = make less
Question Focus: Example detail
Correct Answer: negative emails
Passage Reference: If you are typing text into a computer the computer might consider the speed you are typing, decide you are stressed and conclude that this isn't the best time to allow you to read negative emails.
Why this is correct: The passage gives an example where a computer may decide it is not the best time to allow you to read negative emails.
Common Mistake: Students may write emails only, but the important qualifier negative is missing. This is a partial truth trap.
Paraphrasing: Passage: 'allow you to read negative emails' = Question: 'prevent people from seeing'
Tips: Examples in the passage are often tested directly.
Key Vocabulary:
- negative = unpleasant
General Tips:
- FIB summaries follow passage order. Once you find one answer, keep reading forward.
- Always copy the exact word or phrase from the passage. Synonyms are not accepted.
- Check grammar clues like articles and prepositions before the gap.
- Watch adjectives like 'high-quality' or 'negative'. Leaving them out can make the answer wrong.
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