Cambridge English Empower C1 READING PLUS
Unit 7 Connections
1 SPEAKING b Read the text again. Say what the figures refer to.
1 1 4 10,000 7 100 trillion
a Work in groups. Decide which of the following 2 100 5 1 billion 8 2016
'facts' are true and which are false. Give reasons for 3 500 6 85 billion 9 2017
your choices.
a You are born with all the brain cells you’ll ever have.
b If children learn two languages before the age of five their BETTER READING: ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
brain structure alters to contain much denser grey matter. Adverbial clauses give extra details about how, what, where
c Neural studies show that brain waves are more active while and when something happens. Understanding the purpose
dreaming than when you are awake. of adverbial clauses helps readers to understand the
background detail in a text.
2 VOCABULARY For example, in After working for several months,
researchers devised a prototype, the adverbial shows what
a Match the words in bold to the definitions a–f. happened before to make something else (the information
1 There is quite a large cognitive demand required to read in the main clause) happen. Adverbials like this also give
in another language. us information about time, reason, or results.
2 He damaged part of his cortex in the accident, which 1 Read the examples of adverbial clauses below.
affected his memory. Underline the correct function.
3 As people get older, they are more likely to develop a Opening the first files, researchers were amazed by
neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s. the amount of data. (time/reason/result)
4 As technology becomes more advanced artificial b Faced with such a huge challenge, the team asked
intelligence will play an important role in our jobs. for an extension (time/reason/result)
5 Doctors decided to scan the patient to ensure that they c Having worked for months on the project, they were
hadn’t missed anything important. told it was to be revised. (time/reason/result)
6 It’s important that researchers explore the connectivity
2 Rewrite the sentences from 1 with the words given.
between different parts of the brain.
a When b Because c After
a to take an image of the brain or other organ
b relating to the function of the nerves
c computer systems which perform usual human tasks
d connected with thinking or conscious mental processes c Match clauses (1–5) from the article to an idea.
e the ability to be linked to something else
f the outer layer of the brain after at the same time so that/with the result that
because if
b Think of three other words you know connected to
the brain or thought. Test your partner. 1 Describing the Human Brain Project in an article for the
Scientific American, neurologist Henry Markram said,
‘Nothing quite like it exists yet, but we have begun building it.’
3 READING 2 Developed like other shared scientific resources, the model
should be accessible to teams from around the world as they
a Read the text on page 2. Complete the summary with a conduct their experiments in reserved time-slots.
word or phrase from the text. 3 Having cost more than 1 billion euro, the project has had
The Human Brain Project plans to create a simulation of the some critics.
brain using a 1 of devices. A significant outcome of 4 Drawing attention to the complexity of the human brain, they
the project is that it will provide detailed data to the 2 suggest that simultaneously simulating it at every level - from
worldwide. The model created by the HBP should give scientists molecule to the cortex - would be a near impossible task.
insights into a number of 3 which affect the brain. 5 Having mirrored the stages of neural development, this
As an extension of the study, some people feel we will be able mapping will provide a wealth of useful research data.
to create 4 which can learn to ‘think.’ A number of
people are doubtful that the project will meet its 5 . 4 SPEAKING
Although it aims to create a simulation of the brain, the project
won’t result in understanding each 6 on a molecular a Work in pairs. Discuss these questions with your
level. As the system behind the virtual brain runs, each partner.
interaction will build a 7 of brain activity. During the
1 Do you think it’s important to spend large amounts on
initial stages of the project going live, researchers were given 8
scientific projects? Why / Why not?
to simulations and libraries of research data.
2 How could a project like this benefit you?
Cambridge English Empower C1 © Cambridge University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE 1
Unit 7
Mind Matters
Describing the Human Brain Project (HBP) in an complex map. Having mirrored the stages of neural
article for the Scientific American, neurologist Henry development, this mapping will provide a wealth of
Markram said, ‘Nothing quite like it exists yet, but useful research data.
we have begun building it.’ What he was referring
This independent building of neural connections
to was a biologically realistic and detailed model
within the computer model is of interest to those
of a working human brain, hosted on a network of
in the field of artificial intelligence. As most of the
supercomputers. The aim of the project was to create
networks which are generated by the software are
a digital brain which would exist as a resource for the
connected to categorisation and labelling of data,
entire global scientific community. The ‘brain’ would
there is hope that systems using the same processes
be used to test theories of how the human works in
could be used in AI applications to improve how we
healthy and diseased states, and allow researchers
gather information. For example, a similar network
to develop and test-run diagnostic tests for a broad
could be used to quickly analyse medical scans, and
range of neurological and developmental disorders.
match them to existing images. This would speed
Developed like other shared scientific resources,
up diagnoses, and give surgeons a bank of visual
the model was proposed to be accessible
resources to inform ongoing treatment.
to teams from around the world as
Similarly, the technology could
they conducted their experiments
be used to give devices like
in reserved time-slots. One
smartphones some cognitive
proposed outcome of the
abilities, such as using
project was that that
intelligent observation
identifying the wiring plan
and decision-making
of neural circuits would
to overcome issues
inspire the design of more
surrounding accessing
intelligent robots and
networks, or ensuring that
computers with greater
data use is minimized.
cognitive capacity. The
potential applications for In early 2016 the project
neuroscience, information publicly released its first
technology and medicine platforms, granting access
could be vast. to models which not only
outlined aspects of neural
Having cost more than €1 billion,
activity, but also those which
the Human Brain Project has had
collated and stored data from ongoing
some critics. There are those who feel
research in laboratories based around the
that this amount of money could be better spent if
world. This ensured that the project could provide a
distributed among smaller more focussed projects.
bank of resources and results for future experiments,
And some even question the possibility of the
while also creating a collaborative, community-based
project achieving its stated aims. Drawing attention
understanding of how we think. Currently, the project
to the complexity of the human brain, critics have
employs in the region of 500 scientists at more than
suggested that simultaneously simulating it at every
100 universities, teaching hospitals, and research
level - from molecule to the cortex - would be a near
centres across Europe, and this sense of scientific
impossible task. The human brain has as many as
connectivity is almost as important as the proposed
85 billion neurons, with each neuron having around
outcomes themselves.
10,000 connections to similar cells. This means that
there are roughly 100 trillion connections in the brain. In December 2017 a further breakthrough occurred
when representatives from the world’s major brain
To address these criticisms, the HBP team have
research projects formally declared that they would
countered that one can build a realistic virtual brain
work together to speed up the process of decoding
without needing to understand the function of every
the brain. One outcome of this agreement was the
last molecule, or pinpointing every single connection.
decision to make all their research to date freely
In fact, the software within the supercomputers,
available among the general scientific community.
much like the human brain itself, starts making
Scientists hope that as a result, our working
the connections themselves. As programs model
knowledge of the brain’s complex connections
processes of thought, and information exchange, the
becomes much clearer.
virtual cells are linked to one another to create a more
Cambridge English Empower C1 © Cambridge University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE 2
