RoboCup
Reading Comprehension
Preparation:
Match the words with the definitions
Vocabulary Definitions
1.demand a. a competition involving many competitors in a single sport or game
2. opponent b. a point scored in some sports, when a player gets the ball into this area
3. earthquakes c. to ask for something forcefully
4. aim d. extremely large or great
5. enormous e. person or thing unable to move or escape from a place or situation
6. tournament f. a purpose or intention; a desired outcome
7. trapped g. a sudden violent movement of the earth's surface,
sometimes causing great damage
8. goal h. a person you are competing against, esp. in politics or sports
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
RoboCup is a football competition that has taken place every year since 1997. But the players are
not human; they are robots. The competition’s full name is ‘Robot Soccer World Cup,’ and the
aim is to create, by the middle of the 21st century, a team of robot footballers that are able to
play against and beat the winners of the real-World Cup.
In order for robots to play football, robotics companies have had to develop special technologies.
A robot can’t just run onto the field and start kicking the ball. So, each robot is fitted with a
webcam which is connected to a computer inside the robot. The robot is able to see where the
other players are, where the goal is and, most importantly, where the ball is. They are
programmed to make their own decisions and during the match the robots’ creators are not
allowed to tell them what to do. The robots are, however, able to communicate with other
members of their team, via a wireless network. They might, for example, communicate a
message like this to a team-mate: ‘I’m nearest the ball. I’m going to kick it. You go and defend
the goal.’ They know who to pass to and how best to get the ball past an opponent. Australian,
German and American teams dominate the competition, though teams from twelve countries
competed at the last tournament.
There is a long way to go before robots will be able to compete against humans. They need to
become more intelligent and become able to react more quickly and anticipate the game. But the
technologies that are being developed for scoring goals have other uses as well. It may be
possible to develop robots that can be used in search and rescue, for example, finding people
trapped in buildings after earthquakes.
They may not be as fun to watch as real footballers, but at least they don’t demand enormous
salaries!
Task 1 Are the sentences true or false?
1. The name of the handball competition is RoboCup.
2. Not each robot is fitted with a webcam.
3. The robot is able to see where the other players are, where the ball and the goal is.
4. The robots can communicate with others via a wireless network.
5. Robots are more intelligent than humans when playing football.
6. Robots ask for big salaries when playing football.
Task 2 Complete the sentences with words from the box: goals, trap,
demanded, aim, tournament, earthquake, enormous, opponent
1. They bought an ………………………. house in the suburbs.
2. She …………………. that he should return the books he had borrowed from her.
3. In 1906 an …………………………… destroyed much of San Francisco.
4. The fox got its foot caught in a …………..
5. This tennis ……………………… is open to both amateurs and professionals.
6. In the second game, her ………………………. hurt her leg and had to retire.
7. Brazil won by three …………………. to one.
8. I …………………. to be a millionaire by the time I'm 35.
Key:
Preparation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
c h g f d a e b
Task 1: 1-F, 2-F, 3-T, 4-T, 5-F, 6-F
Task 2: 1. Enormous, 2. Demanded, 3. Earthquake, 4, Trap, 5. Tournament,
6. Opponent, 7. Goals, 8. Aim
