Sergei's English Class
May 30, 2020
Lesson 10/10 60min
Hello Sergei!
UK food producers find innovative ways to sell fruits, vegetables and more during the lockdown.
And the UK might have a shortage of fruit because of the lack of workers.
Early in the 20th century a similar business model existed called the Automat.
May 25, 2020
Lesson 9/10 60min
Hi Sergei,
Kai Fu Lee says AI can save humanity.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kai_fu_lee_how_ai_can_save_our_humanity?language=en
Then, we'll talk about China's social credit system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System
A Profile of Lee
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/kai-fu-lee-5840.php
1. Robots are more profitable for companies.
Car manufacturing plants and AmazonGo stores as an example.
They need very few people to operate so they have maximized their profit,but
consumers don’t even share in this savings. Cars are still the same price. How can this situation be changed?
2. Who will pay for all of the social workers that Dr. Lee envisions? Governments? They don’t have enough money for this.
3. It will be interesting to see how AI develops in the US and China which Dr. Lee calls a duopoly. Do you think it will be the same?
4. With AI do you think people will become lazy? See what happened with cars. Some people don’t like to walk anymore and are not able to walk very far…
5. Did you read any of the Comments on this tedtalk? I think it’s great that Dr. Lee has answered so many of them!
6. Have you seen Dr. Lee’s website? www.aisuperpowers.com? He said he has a follow-up video to this ted talk there in which he goes into more detail about his plan. Your comment?
7. I think it’s wonderful that Dr Lee is so optimistic but there are many reasons to be pessimistic about AI. What do you think?
8. What question would you like to ask Dr. Lee?
9. The world will be divded into have and have nots. Only big companies and rich individuals will have robots, and the poor will lose their jobs to robots. AI will increase wealth inequality. What do you think?
10. I wonder what China’s economic plan is to help people keep some kind of job and ensure a liveable income.
May 16, 2020
Lesson 8/10 60min
Hi Sergei,
Being bored can give you brilliant ideas according to a ted talk by Manoush Zomorodi.
talkhttps://www.ted.com/talks/manoush_zomorodi_how_boredom_can_lead_to_your_most_brilliant_ideas
May 13, 2020
Lesson 7/10 60min
Hi Sergei,
Our article today: One man’s role in a 6,000-mile run through North America!
BNE: Can running be bad for us?
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1404/140409-long-distance-running.html
May 7, 2020
Lesson 6/10 60min
Hi Sergei,
Have you heard about that some bankers are trying to change their image?
For more discussion, BNE has an article about banking culture.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1609/160906-job-interview.html
May 3, 2020
Lesson 5/10 60min
Hi Sergei,
Today we'll work on a Guardian lesson about an Indian skate park helping girls to go to school.
Then, we can discuss the burning of coal in India.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1911/191105-coal-addiction.html
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/chem/surface/level/overlay=cosc/orthographic=76.38,22.93,890
April 30, 2020
Lesson 4/10 60min
Hello Sergei,
Here's another ted talk by Annan Giriharadas called "A Tale of Two Americas."
https://www.ted.com/talks/anand_giridharadas_a_tale_of_two_americas_and_the_mini_mart_where_they_collided/details?language=en
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Giridharadas
1. The title of Anand Girihardas ted talk, "A Tale of Two Americas" brings to mind Charles Dickens' classic historical novel, "A Tale of Two Cities" a story set in France and England at the time of the French Revolution about the troubles the poor went through and how the rich ignored them. What do you think of this title for his talk ?
2. Anand has written a book called "The True American". What do you think this title means?
3. Anand begins with the question and dialogue which happened right before Raisuddin was shot, and we are hooked and curious to know what happens next. Comment on the effectiveness of Anand's storytelling style.
4. Two souls, Stroman and Raisuddin, met that day; one suffering and one about to suffer. Anand proceeds to deconstruct the crime which took place in that minimart so we can make sense of it. What can we take away from this story?
5. Anand asserts that poverty and lack of opportunity plague too many native-born Americans making them angry young men victims from their childhood looking to blame someone for their troubles. How can society intervene to help and rehabilitate such people?
6. Anand calls for an awakening on the part of America's elite who are, by the way, sitting in the ted audience listening to him. He calls for a moral challenge and presents Raisuddin, a Muslim immigrant, as an example to follow. Do you think it can be done?
And if we have time, we can discuss how life will be after the lockdown. Many people want to live differently in the future.
https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2004/200421-life-after-lockdown.html