Listen&Learn: Doomsday predictions

Learn about times people have predicted the end of the world

Pre-listening vocabulary

• prediction: a belief that something will happen in the future
• propose: to suggest an idea
• apocalypse: the end of the world
• millennium: a period of one thousand years
• vital: necessary, important
• conspiracy theory: a belief that a group of powerful people secretly causes and controls many important events
• phenomenon: a natural process, often one that is difficult to understand

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Throughout history, many people have predicted the end of the world. These predictions are often , using clues from Abrahamic texts. In recent years, a group of religious leaders proposed that a pattern of lunar eclipses in 2014 warned of the apocalypse. However, some doomsday beliefs come from fears about or technology instead. One of the most widespread was Y2K, a belief that the beginning of the millennium would cause vital technology to stop working. Like myths and conspiracy theories, doomsday predictions can spread easily over the . One example of this is the 2012 panic, where misinformation about an ancient Mayan made some people believe that the end of the world would take place on December 21st, 2012. Other doomsday predictions have included phenomena from outer space, such as asteroids and supernovas.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. In 2014, a group of religious leaders made a doomsday prediction about
   a. lunar eclipses
   b. meteor showers
   c. solar flares
   
2. The doomsday belief called “Y2K” predicted that
   a. the Abrahamic God would make a final judgement of humanity
   b. vital technology would start to malfunction
   c. a deadly pandemic would spread across the world
   
3. The 2012 panic was caused by misinformation about
   a. a nearby supernova
   b. an ancient Mayan calendar
   c. an alien invasion

Discussion/essay questions

1. Have you heard of any other doomsday predictions? Have you ever believed any of them? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think it is so common for humans to predict the end of the world?

Transcript

Throughout history, many people have predicted the end of the world. These predictions are often religious, using clues from Abrahamic texts. In recent years, a group of religious leaders proposed that a pattern of lunar eclipses in 2014 warned of the apocalypse. However, some doomsday beliefs come from fears about science or technology instead. One of the most widespread panics was Y2K, a belief that the beginning of the millennium would cause vital technology to stop working. Like myths and conspiracy theories, doomsday predictions can spread easily over the internet. One example of this is the 2012 panic, where misinformation about an ancient Mayan calendar made some people believe that the end of the world would take place on December 21st, 2012. Other doomsday predictions have included phenomena from outer space, such as asteroids and supernovas.

Answers to comprehension questions

1a 2b 3b