TASK 5 Read the article and choose from the sentences A-G to complete it. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

How robots are transforming everyday shopping experiences

Like most ideas that seem revolutionary at first, the concept behind the robot shop actually very simple. In fact, it has already been around for many years in the form o vending machines selling bars of chocolate or drinks. The idea has been further develope to create the first robot shop, which may eventually change the future of shopping.

35 The prototype robot shop in a suburb of London looks like a giant vending machin The display on the right is refrigerated and holds items such as milk, yoghurt an cheese, while the display on the left has an impressive selection of biscuits, coffee, cak and crisps. It does not have the variety of conventional shops, but it can cope with a la night request for bread and painkillers.

A central console is what allows you to actually do your shopping. You key in code numbers of the goods you want, which are displayed just underneath each item in window, and a huge robot arm reaches out and picks up each item, bringing it over to console inside the shop.

An electronic display shows you the total you have to pay. 36 Unl supermarkets, in robot shops you can only collect the goods after you have paid. When robot arm finds the things you want, it drops them into a hatch and you reach inside to t them out. If this happened before you paid, you could easily walk off with the go without having paid for them.

The systems could not yet be described as entirely efficient. There is a lot of room improvement. The robot arm represents one of the biggest problems. 37 The has to be very accurate in order to pick up the item it has reached for, carry it to the l and safely drop it into it.

The difficulty of judging customer attitudes is another reason why the robot shop to be tested. Customers are still cautious about doing most of their shopping in a robot but this is only to be expected; every innovation has been regarded with some suspici first. 38

The manufacturers of robot shops suggest that the small shopkeeper in inne areas represents their biggest potential client. 39 People in the area valu convenience of being able to pop out virtually all hours of the day and night for som they have forgotten or suddenly feel like buying. Small shopkeepers are likely to in robot shops equipment, rather than employ part-time staff to work twenty-four hours:

The question is whether the customers will prefer the impersonal service of shop to the conventional type of shopping where there is human contact. 40Machines do not take lunch breaks, they hardly ever make mistakes and they are never rude to customers, isn't this the sort of efficiency people want from a shop these days?

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A Not least of which are concerns about mechanical failure, especially when they occur in the middle of the night.

B The challenge is to create a piece of machinery which will be delicate enough to pick up eggs but at the same time strong enough to pick up bottles of mineral water and baked-bean cans.

C The first thing you notice are the two large display windows which are absolutely packed with goods.

D The real question is whether, over the three-month testing period, enough people will overcome their doubts and start shopping here in significant numbers.

E For security reasons, you have to do this before the robot arm starts gathering your goods.

F Many shops like these only survive because they stay open late, or even around the clock in some cases.

G Experience with similar mechanised service equipment, such as cash dispensers, suggests that there are considerable advantages for both customers and shop owners.