resist technology
Face to Face
Vocabulary
| ideals | type (2) | most of all |
| values | home-cooked | old-fashioned |
| resist | instead | self-evident |
| device | express (2) | face-to-face |
| genuine | interaction | all the time |
| adapt | particularly | over the years |
| realm | steadfast | disadvantage |
| evident | advantage | overwhelming |
| install | appliances | over and over |
| give in | got to him | at long last |
Old Fashioned
My grandfather is the old-fashioned type. He believes in old-fashioned ideals and values, wears old-style clothes, eats home-cooked meals, and likes oldies music.
High Tech
But most of all, he resists high-technology, preferring instead traditional tools and appliances. He especially hates high-tech telecommunications devices.
Granddad never used any high-tech devices to communicate. To him, they are not true means of expressing oneself.
Face to Face
“I only believe in face-to-face conversation…in parks…restaurants…parties….clubs….at work….school….or at home. This is the only genuine, real form of human interaction,” he would say all the time.
Over the Years
Over the years, more and more of his friends, neighbors, colleagues, and everyone around him adapted new technology — particularly in the realm of communication.
But my grandfather remained steadfast — even when the advantages were self-evident and overwhelming.
“The only way to truly interact and communicate with one another is face to face,” he would say over and over again.
Finally
Finally however, the pressure got to him.
Everyone in town…everyone he knew…everyone in the world…had gone high-tech.
And so at long last, my grandfather gave in, and in 1963 — he had a telephone installed in his home.
Questions
1. How does the writer describe his or her father in the beginning?
2. Give examples of his old-fashioned tastes and preferences.
3. How did the father describe communication?
4. What happened to all his friends and neighbors?
5. Did the father change his attitude?
6. What happened in the end?
7. What is the moral or lesson of the story? Is there an irony?
A. I communicate by internet, email, chatting, social network, smart phones. True or false?
B. Do your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents use the internet, email, smart phones, Facebook, twitter?
C. Are there some students in your school or colleagues at work who don’t use the internet?
D. Can you make friends online? Can you have “virtual” friends? Is it possible to have virtual “lovers”?
