Learning English -- Lesson Sixteen (Technology)

Hi everybody! This is Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you ok? ... I hope so! Are you happy? ... I hope so! In this lesson we're going to talk about the complicated and some would say forever changing world... of modern technology.
A long time ago in galaxy, far far away... Well... actually it was not all that long ago... In fact it was not all that far away either... In the beginning there was darkness. Computers, DVD players and i-pods did not exist. There were no cellular phones, no jet aeroplanes, no microwave ovens and no internet. Yes before technology came along, the world was quite a dull place to be... Or so we are told!
"Greetings Earth People". The word technology generally relates to any complicated tool that has been created to carry out a task of some sort. This task can be a simple one... such as... adding up numbers. Right up to the really complex ones... such as steering a jumbo jet or sending a rocket into space. There are some other words that relate to technology. Such as... "Electronics", "Hi-Tech", "Micro-Tech" and... "Info-Tech". These days virtually all modern technology is powered by electricity... For example... "Televisions", "Radios", "MP-3 Players", Cellular Phones", "Washing Machines", "Notebook Computers". Even the good old... "Buzzzzzz" "Toothbrush". The list is endless!
Do you mind if I take your photograph? Is it ok? Ok... Give me a lovely smile... go on! Say Cheese... "Cheese!!!" . That's great. It would be fair to say that virtually of the great technological leaps forward have occurred during the past fifty years. Since the discovery of Electricity... our world has been magically transformed into an amazing wonderland... where our thirst for information can be quenched and imagination is allowed to run free. However... all is not perfect.
There are some people who are sceptical of our ultra-modern way of living and say that modern inventions such as the Computer and Television have made us lazy and less in touch with the real world. Other examples being... the cellular telephone and the internet, which critics say, have helped to make the world smaller... while at the same time making us less likely to speak face to face. Also we mustn't forget the environmental impact that these energy guzzling devices are making.
Of course it is true that technology has been created for bad purposes... as well as good. Nuclear power has enabled us the generate energy, but it has also been used to create weapons. So I imagine, perhaps in the future... we could be using Lazer guns... just like in the science-fiction movies. Sorry! Oh dear!
It is amazing to think of how much the world has changed, because of all the new technology around us. Many of the devices we use today would have been more fantasy and science-fiction fifty years ago. It proves one very important rule. If can be imagined... it can be created. I wonder what our world will be like in another fifty years. Can you imagine what it will be like living then? Flying cars! Fusion power! Maybe even a "Time-Machine" will be invented by then. I could travel back to the past... and visit myself as a child. Then again... maybe not.
How many pieces of technology do you own? What are your favorite electronic devices? Do you think you could live without them? It is amazing to think that without all these incredible inventions I would not be able to stand here today and talk to you. Many of the things we can do today have been made possible thanks to our own creativeness and ingenuity.