Name________________________________________________________________
Date: Reading Comprehension & Writing
VENDING MACHINES-A NEW SHOPPING DEVELOPMENT
You’re walking home with a song in your head that you want on your DiscMan
and the shops are shut. No problem. You’ll probably pass a vending machine on the
way home where you can buy your CDs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
OK. At the moment it’s no that easy because vending machines in Britain
traditionally just sell cigarettes, chocolate and coffee, but a revolution is about to take
place. We only have to look at Japan to see what the future will bring. In Japan there are
already six million vending machines (one for every twenty people) and sales of 42
billion pounds.
They sell a massive range of products, from fizzy drinks and sushi to comic
books and computer games. You can have your nails painted by a machine, get them to
fix your lunch and buy drinking water for your pets. And what about Roboshops? Rows
and rows of vending machines offer everything you need, all delivered by a robotic arm.
The Super 24 Corp’s in Tokyo is such a hit that they are planning 30 more Roboshops
worldwide –including London.
One of the big problems in Britain, though, is vandalism, a problem which
simply does not exist in Japan. To deal with this problem, experts are going to try and
create super-tough1 machines for British streets, ones that are impossible for street
predators to steal from. Already though, with more than 380,000 vending machines in
British streets night clubs, cafés and cinemas, this is clearly a boom business!
A) COMPREHENSION
1.- Are the following statements true or false? Write down the evidence from the text.
a)
b)
c)
d)
You can buy CDs at vending machines in Britain now.
In Japan they do not need to protect vending machines from vandals.
The Japanese company will distribute the vending machines only in London.
You can get few products from the vending machines in Tokyo.
2.- In your own words and based on the ideas from the text, answer the following
questions.
a) What example does the text give to show (demonstrate) the convenience of
vending machines?
b) What differences exist between vending machines in Britain and Japan at the
moment?
B) PRODUCTION
Write a composition (100 Words). Choose one of the following options. Specify your
option.
a) Advantages and disadvantages of the new technologies.
b) Could you imagine the human activity replaced by robots?
1
Well-protected.