Pre-reading questions:
- How is farming done in your country?
- What is your opinion about using technology to make every day tasks easier?
Vocabulary:
- test /test/
- average /AV-rij/
- physical /FIZ-i-kuhl/
- involvement /in-VOLV-ment/
- aim /eym/
[verb] an act of doing something to find out if it is working correctly or effectively
I need to test my PowerPoint presentation to see if the animations work.
[noun] typical or usual
The quality of her works is well above average.
[adjective] connected with the body
Football is a sport that requires a lot of physical strength.
[noun] an act of taking part in something
The involvement of every employee is needed for a company to function well.
[verb] to try to do something
The company’s aim is to increase their sales by the end of this year.
Nileworks Inc., together with Ja Miyagi Tome and Trading House Sumitomo Corp., has been testing Nile-T18, a drone to make farming easier for Japanese farmers. The drone can spray pesticides and fertilizers to a rice field faster than an average farmer. Nile-T18 is also much smaller, cheaper, and easier to use than a radio-controlled mini-helicopter.
Nileworks’ goal is to lessen the physical burden of farming because most of the farmers in Tome have an average age of 67-68 years old. The developers also believe that the involvement of advanced technology would bring interest to young people to do the work. Nileworks aims to sell 100 units by May 2019 and 4,000 units in the next five years.
Nileworks’ goal is to lessen the physical burden of farming because most of the farmers in Tome have an average age of 67-68 years old. The developers also believe that the involvement of advanced technology would bring interest to young people to do the work. Nileworks aims to sell 100 units by May 2019 and 4,000 units in the next five years.
Comprehension Questions:
- What is a Nile-T18?
- What can the drone do?
- What is the difference between the Nile-T18 and the radio-controlled mini-helicopter?
- What is the average age of farmers in Tome?
- What is Nileworks’ aim?
Discussion Questions:
- What is your opinion about farming?
- Do you think the Nile-T18 will make farming in Japan easier? Why or why not?
- Do you think the drone can get the interest of young people to become farmers? Please explain your answer.
- Do you see yourself working in a rice field? Why or Why not?
- In your opinion, in what way does technology make our lives easier?