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Technology that lets us communicate telepathically
Nowadays, advances in digital technology are so rapid that inventions which don’t seem to have been around for very long can become out-of-date almost overnight. Within our parents’ lifetimes the only way people could listen to their favourite music or catch up with the latest films was to buy audio and video cassettes and records. Of course, these have been replaced by CDs and DVDs, inventions which seemed so new and innovative not so long ago, but which may not have much of a future. Many experts believe they won’t be around for much longer now that we can easily access music, books and films on the internet. But what will come next? Well, some scientists, whose job it is to predict the future, have argued that once we have perfected ‘telepathic’ technology, even laptops, iPads and smart phones will become museum curiosities.

Telepathic technology is probably something you haven’t heard of before, but scientists are genuinely exploring its possibilities. The idea is to use our brains as we currently use our laptops. If we find out how to download pure data directly into our brains, we’ll be able to watch a film or read a book without having to use an electronic device. And we’re not all that far away from being able to do this. For example, an engineer has already invented glasses which allow the wearer to see instant language translations right in front of their eyes. Imagine a time when we can access this type of data without the glasses.

One current idea, which numerous scientists have been trying to develop, is to try to use thoughts to send messages to computers. It could be the first step towards using technology in order to communicate telepathically with each other. There have already been some significant experimental breakthroughs in this fascinating area. For example, one researcher used his brain to make characters move in a computer game, and another researcher was able to command a computer to send a tweet by using his brain as an input device. In other words, he managed to send a brainwave to the computer which the computer was able to understand. It will take years to develop and perfect this kind of technology, but it seems only a matter of time before we will be ‘thinking’ our texts, tweets and emails. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll be able to sit and ‘think’ our homework and watch it magically appear on a screen.

Read the text and choose the correct answer (a–d) to complete the sentences.
1 Since our parents were born, technological advances have
a caught up with popular demand.
b taken place at a faster and faster rate.
c become less innovative.
d failed to improve on records and cassettes.

2 According to some scientists, current technologies such as laptops and iPads
a will be popular for a long time.
b could soon only be found in museums.
c are already outdated.
d can never be replaced.

3 If it were possible, telepathic technology would depend on
a connecting our brains to laptops and smartphones.
b translating the messages of our brains.
c getting our brains working quicker.
d changing the data we send to our brains.

4 As a result of telepathic technology, we may, one day,
a without access to our brainwaves.
b while using a simple electronic device in our brains.
c by picking up data sent straight from our brains.
d with greater clarity than on laptops or smartphones.

5 So far, scientists haven’t been able to
a send a tweet from a human brain to a computer.
b send a brainwave that a computer can understand.
c control the movement of characters in a computer game.
d pass messages telepathically from person to person.