Worksheet Human Possibilities

1. Watch the extract from the film and identify: [pic 1]

         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3rCVO6MxaI

  → The characters: Antonio, Marie, Vincent(the child)

         and a geneticis        

  → The situation: Marie and Antonio want a brother for Vincent.

       2. What are the characteristics chosen by:

  → Antonio and Maria: They just want a brother for their child

  Their reasons: They don’t want a child with diseases

  → The geneticist: He want to make the perfect baby

His reasons: The child characteristics would just be the best part of their parents.

2.  An extract from the novel: “Human Possibilities”  

1. Read the passage and list the characters present; how are they related to each other?

There is the same characters: Maria, Antonio, The Geneticist and Vincent

2. Where does the scene take place and what are the people doing there?

The scene take place in a laboratory and they are here to choose the sex of their future child

3. Pick out elements corresponding to the description of the future child and comment.

“Without diseases”, “would get married” and “have children”

4. Analyze the parents’ reactions throughout the scene.

There are nervous at the beginning after the geneticist explain they are hesitant and at the end they are convinced

5. Do you think that the author approves or disapproves of the type of society he is describing? Justify.

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6. How can such a story be related to the topic “Scientific innovations and responsibility”?  

This story is related to this theme because it is the scientists who create the perfect babies so we can call an innovation and moreover it is their responsibility not to make bad babies

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