IELTS Reading

MUSEUMS in the FUTURE

This article will give you some ideas for talking or writing about how museums could be improved or how you think museums will change in the future.

You will also be able to practice:

• READING - T, F, NG
• VOCABULARY - reviewing adjectives
• SPEAKING - Discussion questions
• WRITING

Don't worry if you don't understand everything in the article. Just try to get a general idea. You can also watch the video to help you understand.

Read the article HERE.

  Then continue reading for the exercises..

READING PRACTICE - T, F, NG

For practice, here are some TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN questions for you to try. 

Remember the answer is :

• TRUE if you can find the SAME INFORMATION in the article
• FALSE if you can find the OPPOSITE INFORMATION in the article
• NOT GIVEN if some or all of the INFORMATION is MISSING from the article 

1. The robots move around the museum in the middle of the day.
2. The robots can go up and down stairs.
3. During testing, the robots almost knocked over one of the statues. 
4. Chris Hadfield has been to space.
5. Chris Hadfield has one of the robots in his office.

VOCABULARY

Find the adjectives in the article:

• eerie
• digital
• impractical
• sophisticated
• priceless
• clumsy
• (pretty) amazing
• circular

Complete the following sentences using the adjectives above. You can use a dictionary to check the meaning if you wish.

1. The Queen wears jewellery which is _________ .
2. The park looked really ________ last night because of the fog.
3. I have an old fashioned camera but I want to get a _________ one.
4. Most clocks are _________ but the one in my house is square.
5. Ancient people used surprisingly _____________ technology such as water pumps and construction equipment.
6. My friend is always breaking things. He is really ________ .
7. You should have seen the fireworks last night. They were ___________ .
8. Living in Tokyo and studying in London at the same time would be ______________ .

 (SCROLL DOWN for the ANSWERS)

DISCUSSION

Now discuss the questions with a study partner (or think about how you would answer).

• Would you like to work in a museum? Why? / Why not?
• Would you like to work in a museum AT NIGHT? Why? Why not?
• Do you think this idea will encourage more people to visit the museum?
• What is the difference between visiting a museum in person and visiting online (via a computer)?
• What other ways can technology be used to improve museums or encourage more people to visit museums?

 

WRITING

For writing practice, write a short COMMENT on the article.
You can mention:

• The advantages of the robots.
• The disadvantages of the robots.
• Whether you would like to see this in museums in your country or not and why.

You can comment on this page or sign up and comment on the Guardian newspaper itself.

 ANSWERS

 T, F, NG ANSWERS

1. The robots move around the museum in the middle of the day. (F - they move around at night when the museum is empty)
2. The robots can go up and down stairs. (F- they don't do stairs)
3. During testing, the robots almost knocked over one of the statues. (T - On a trial run in the clumsy hands of this operator, a robot came heart-stoppingly close to a Henry Moore marble reclining figure, but then it backed off...)
4. Chris Hadfield has been to space. (T -  Chris Hadfield, former International Space Station commander,...)
5. Chris Hadfield has one of the robots in his office. (NG - he logged on from his office but we don't know if he has a robot there or not.)

VOCABULARY ANSWERS

1. The Queen wears jewellery which is PRICELESS . (So expensive that it cannot be bought so it doesn't have a price.)
2. The park looked really EERIE last night because of the fog. (Strange and creepy)
3. I have an old fashioned camera but I want to get a DIGITAL one. (One that uses a computer and memory card instead of film.)
4. Most clocks are CIRCULAR but the one in my house is square. (Round like a circle)
5. Ancient people used surprisingly SOPHISTICATED technology such as water pumps and construction equipment. (The opposite of simple, complicated, requires knowledge)
6. My friend is always breaking things. He is really CLUMSY .
7. You should have seen the fireworks last night. They were AMAZING .
8. Living in Tokyo and studying in London at the same time would be IMPRACTICAL . (not realistic, not practical.)

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/12/robot-art-tour-tate-britain-at-night