Read the text below and discuss with your class mates how much privacy we have these days.

There is a scene in the film “Minority Report” which tells us about the future of advertising. Detective John Anderton (played by Tom Cruise) is walking through a shopping mall when the advertisements on the walls start talking to him. They greet him by his name and tell him about the latest products he should buy. How do they know who he is? And how do they know his shopping habits?

The answer is RFID - radio frequency identification. FRID is in many ways a great idea. How does it work? Tiny computer chips (or ‘tags’) are attached to objects, clothes or packaging. These chips can be read by a central computer network. If you want to find your lost dog or to research the movements of a herd of elephants, FRID is very helpful. Just put the tag on the animal and watch from a safe distance. FRID has commercial uses too. Delta Airlines uses it to track luggage and the US Department of Defense uses it to control its weapons and vehicles.

The problem is that great technology is often used for less great purposes. FRID may be used to track people instead of products. The boss may decide to track his workers. The government may decide it wants to see which books you are reading or which political gatherings you attend. The cost of FRID may be your privacy. [89]

Listening : International Court of Justice

Listen to the definition and mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F):

1 ___ The ICJ only hears cases involving developing countries.

2 ___ There are fifteen elected judges on the ICJ.

3 ___ Cases are always heard by the full bench of judges.

Read the sentences and choose the correct word:

1. The judge (convene / nominate) in their chamber to discuss cases.

2. The ICJ wants a higher level of (recourse / perspective) to the international courts.

3. The diplomat was called to be a(n) (contentious / ad hoc) judge for the ICJ.

4. The votes were even until Mary cast the (decisive / elected) vote.

5. Look at the issue from someone else’s (perspective / chamber).

Fill in the blanks with the correct word/phrase from the word bank:

Submit developing countries elected contentious nominated chambers votes

1. The judge spoke to the attorney in her ______.

2. This is a very ______ issue; everyone has different opinions.

3. Jackson Haeley won the city council election by 374 _____.

4. Richard _____ his colleague to be department manager.

5. Ms. Lowry needs to _____ the forms by Friday at the latest.

6. _____ have a poorer standard of living than industrialized countries.

7. Grace Diamant was _____ mayor last November.

Listen to a government employees talking to a judge. Choose the correct answer:

1. Why does the government worker approach the judge?

A to ask him to run for election for the ICJ

B to ask him to judge a national case

C to ask him to sit on the ICJ on an ad hoc basis

D to ask him to judge a case in her favor

2. What is NOT true about the case?

A the judge’s decision will be decisive

B it concerns the pollution of rivers

C the judge will be able to vote

D the court will convene in several months

Listen to the talk again and complete the conversation:

Employee: I’m assuming you know that our government has 1 _______ a case to the International Court of Justice. It regards the pollution of our lives by the countries upstream.

Judge: Yes, I was aware of that.

Employee: We wondered if you would sit on the 2 _____ during the proceedings.

Judge: Me? I thought judges had to be 3 _____ .

Employee: The system allows us to nominate our own judge, on an ________ ______ basis.

Judge: Really? Is that always that case?

Employee: It is in 5 ______ cases such as ours. It allows us to present our own perspective to the court.

Judge: And will I also have the chance to 6 _____ ? [90]