by Marco Tempest
a magician and performance artist from Zurich, Switzerland who combines video, computer graphics and other technology with his magic. He has a television series called “The Virtual Magician,” which has aired in some 49 markets worldwide.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

Victorian:  the period of British history from 1837 to 1901, the reign of Queen Victoria
illusionist:  a person who does what looks like magic
automaton:  robot
indistinguishable (from):  looking the same (as)
anticipate:  predict what’s going to happen
unpredictable:  surprising, unexpected
irrational:  not logical, not a result of good thinking
proximity:  nearness
abracadabra:  (a magical word)
pioneer:  one of the first people to do something
artificial intelligence:  a smart machine
code:  a set of rules that you must follow

© 2014 Ambien Malecot