Virtual Reality (Card №11) - for the 8th formers

Virtual Reality (Card № 11) for the 8th Formers  - 

The Sample Talk (Образец высказывания): 

 Card 11 

You are to give a talk on virtual reality.  You should speak for not less than 1,5-2 minutes. You are to say 12-15 sentences.

Remember to say:

- what the phrase “virtual reality” means;

-  what opportunities virtual reality gives to people of different occupations;

-  why virtual reality technologies can be dangerous for people.

I’d like to give a talk on virtual reality. To begin with, virtual reality is the latest computer-based technology that creates the effect of a world which seems almost completely real to the people in it. This technology allows users to interact with computer-simulated images. With the help of VR people can do a lot of things and practise various skills. Doctors have the opportunity to practise operations on different parts of human body, students learn some geography and history by “walking” into the places they are interested in, tourists take far-away trips to other countries. Pilots and drivers can practise their skills on a plane or a car model. I am sure there are a lot of advantages of virtual reality. It helps both study and practise skills and entertains users. However, there are possible side effects on individuals, groups of people and society itself. Firstly, VR can become an instrument of speading violence, as computer users often practise killing skills in different games. Secondly, psychologists warn that for the young and mentally ill virtual trips could be very dangerous because after such trips they mix up the real world with the virtual one. Besides, in science this can lead to wrong conclusions. In training it could result in unpreparedness for risky situations. A pilot would be ready for a virtual flight, but not a real one.

Moreover, in VR there is no chance of hurting another person and that’s why there is a danger that traditional morality will break down in virtual worlds. You see that this technology can be both a curse and a blessing.

In the end virtual reality will be what we make it. I have finished. Thank you for listening.