Prime Time 8. Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks, Schulbuch

8 Reading and speaking: Tracking internet users The NSA’s mass surveillance has greatly expanded in the years since 9/11. Disclosures have shown that, until recently, the government regularly tracked the calls of hundreds of millions of Americans. Today, it continues to spy on a vast but unknown number of Americans’ international calls, text messages, web-browsing activities and e-mails. The government’s surveillance programmes have infiltrated most of the communications technologies we have come to rely on. Although the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court oversees these activities, it operates in near-total secrecy through one-sided procedures that heavily favour the government. In June 2013, The Guardian published documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden confirming the massive scale of this international operation. Recent disclosures also show that an unknown number of purely domestic communications are monitored and that the rules that supposedly protect Americans’ privacy are weak and loaded with exceptions. ( ACLU American Civil Liberties Union ; adapted) Having read this text about tracking internet users and the fact file about US security agencies, you and your partner discuss the advantages and disadvantages of surveillance schemes. In your discussion, you should: • talk about the reasons why people could support/oppose such a scheme • analyse which consequences such measures have for the society you live in • discuss how such activites could affect your personal lives 1 Fact file US intelligence services • • CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) – collects information about foreign governments • • FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) – responsible for investigation and surveillance in the US • • NSA (National Security Agency) – specialises in surveillance and encryption (encoding/decoding) F 5 10 Can communicate spontaneously with good grammatical control without much sign of having to restrict what he/she wants to say, adopting a level of formality appropriate to the circumstances. (B2) Writing: GM food for the world? “What we’ve seen is that there’s a lot of hype of genetic engineering and biotech. […] We see biotech companies often claiming that they are going to introduce miracle seeds with all sorts of fabulous properties – drought-resistance, extra nutrition, salt-tolerance. What’s interesting though is that despite all of this hype, in 20 years we only have two traits that have been successfully developed.” Bill Freese (Center for Food Safety) You have found this statement in a newspaper article on GM food and biotech seeds. As you are very worried about the future development you have decided to write an email to the editor of a national newspaper. In your e-mail to the editor you should: • discuss the trends of recent years • explain the possible consequences of the current development • make suggestions to improve the situation worldwide Write around 250 words . 2 Can express news and views effectively in writing, and relate to those of others. (B2) 98 Science and technology Check-out Now you can • Describe the significance of inventions on our lives. • Talk about the use of technology for safety reasons. • Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of genetic modification. • Explain what designer food is and what it can do. • Describe and use scientific language appropriately. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigen um des Verlags öbv