The Reading / Listening - Big Brother - Level 0

San Francisco has banned facial recognition. The city uses cameras for car number plates and at airports. Officials say facial recognition will increase security. Police can quickly and cheaply find criminals and missing people. An expert said: "A ban on facial recognition will make [San Francisco] frozen in time with [old] technology."

An official said facial recognition was like "Big Brother" from the book "1984". Big Brother is when governments try to control and spy on everyone. The official said: "We can have security without being a security state [and] good policing without being a police state." He said community information was best to build trust.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Big Brother - Level 1 Big Brother - Level 2   or  Big Brother - Level 3

Sources
  • https://news.sky.com/story/san-francisco-becomes-first-us-city-to-ban-police-from-using-facial-recognition-technology-11720324
  • https://www.foxnews.com/tech/san-francisco-1st-us-city-outlaw-police-facial-recognition-technology
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48276660


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. The city uses
  2. car number
  3. increase
  4. quickly
  5. find criminals and
  6. A ban
  7. frozen in
  8. old
  1. on facial recognition
  2. and cheaply
  3. plates
  4. time
  5. security
  6. technology
  7. cameras
  8. missing people

Paragraph 2

  1. facial recognition was
  2. from the book "
  3. control and spy
  4. We can
  5. without being a
  6. good
  7. without being a police
  8. build
  1. 1984"
  2. state
  3. security state
  4. trust
  5. have security
  6. like "Big Brother"
  7. on everyone
  8. policing

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

San Francisco (1) ___________________ recognition. The city uses (2) ___________________ number plates and at airports. Officials say facial recognition (3) ___________________. Police can quickly and (4) ___________________ and missing people. An expert said: "A (5) ___________________ recognition will make [San Francisco] frozen in time (6) ___________________."

(7) ___________________ facial recognition was like "Big Brother" from (8) ___________________. Big Brother is when governments try to control (9) ___________________ everyone. The official said: "We can have security (10) ___________________ security state [and] (11) ___________________ being a police state." He said community information was best (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

SanFranciscohasbannedfacialrecognition.Thecityusescamerasforca
rnumberplatesandatairports.Officialssayfacialrecognitionwillincrea
sesecurity.Policecanquicklyandcheaplyfindcriminalsandmissingpeo
ple.Anexpertsaid:"Abanonfacialrecognitionwillmake[SanFrancisco]
frozenintimewith[old]technology."Anofficialsaidfacialrecognitionwa
slike"BigBrother"fromthebook"1984".BigBrotheriswhengovernmen
tstrytocontrolandspyoneveryone.Theofficialsaid:"Wecanhavesecuri
tywithoutbeingasecuritystate[and]goodpolicingwithoutbeingapolic
estate."Hesaidcommunityinformationwasbesttobuildtrust.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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