Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. demonstrate
    • ex. The sales team demonstrated the features of the new smartphone to the customers.
  2. mobility
    • ex. The old man uses a walking stick to improve his mobility.
  3. specifically
    • ex. The training is specifically for the managers of the company.
  4. on-the-job
    • ex. Everyone should follow the factory rules to prevent on-the-job accidents.
  5. agile
    • ex. The cat is agile. It can jump from the roof to the ground without difficulty.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Texas-based company Shift Robotics demonstrated smart shoes at the CES tech show. These smart shoes are mobility devices. They allow users to walk up to three times faster. Shift Robotics’ smart shoes are called Moonwalkers X smart shoes. They are designed specifically for factory workers. The smart shoes reduce factory workers’ risk of on-the-job injuries.

How do these smart shoes work? Shift Robotics CEO Xunjie Zhang says the shoes use an AI program. The AI program collects information about the user’s movements. It studies the length and speed of the user’s steps. So, it can quickly predict the user’s next step.

These new Moonwalkers X smart shoes are specifically designed for business use. These shoes can work well for employees who walk a lot at work. These are the people who walk as many as 30,000 steps per day. According to Zhang, the shoes are great for indoor use. The shoes are also lighter. Because of this, it can help the user become more agile and walk faster.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Shoes

  • What is your favorite pair of shoes that you have ever owned? Why? Discuss.
  • Would you want to have a pair of Moonwalkers X smart shoes? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine you are designing smart shoes. What features would you include? Discuss.

Smart Technology

  • Do you like products that use smart technology like Moonwalkers X smart shoes? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Moonwalkers X smart shoes help improve mobility and speed. Do you think there are potential safety concerns with using smart shoes? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think technologies like smart shoes might replace some specific jobs or improve them? Discuss.