Vocabulary

doodle (line 30) - meaningless drawing

brokerage houses (line 63) - companies that buy and sell shares for clients

carpal tunnel syndrome (line 83) - chronic wrist-strain caused by repetitive movement, such as typing

Star Trek (line )-futuristic American television series of the 1970s/1980s.

Task 1 Each of the following sentences from the text is followed by two paraphrases. Decide which paraphrase (a or b) is closer in meaning to the original comment. Remember to look at the comments in their original context

1. Pen-based computing is coming into its own (line 16)

a Pen-based computing is receiving the recognition it merits.

b Pen-based computing is good for tasks where a conventional pen would normally be used.

2. ...you can't go to an industry show these days without finding some company promoting its 'small footprint' (line 28)

a At every exhibition these days, you will find at least one company advertising its own miniature computer.

b It is impossible to get invited to a computer show these days unless you have a contact in a company manufacturing miniature computers.

3. Current voice-recognition systems can handle speaker-dependent continuous speech or speaker-independent discrete speech (line 38)

a Some of today's voice-recognition systems are set up to recognize continuous speech from certain people, while others can recognize specific words from anyone.

b All of today's voice-recognition systems are set up to recognize either continuous speech from certain people or specific words from anyone.

4. Public data networks are ripe for the dialling up and signing on. (line 61)

a There are public data networks waiting to be used.

b Public data networks are now sufficiently developed to be used.

Task 2 Using the table below, make a summary of the main points

of the article in note form.

Item	Current/potential use
1.	1.
2.	2.
3.	3.
4.	4.
5.	5.
6.	6.
7.	7.
8.	8.
9.	9.
10.	10.

Task 3 Using the line reference given, look back in the text and find the reference for the words in italics.

1 while others encase (line 3)

2 The other half is a bit more difficult (line 9)

3. but it can be (line 10)

4. but it would know (line 20)

5. in its present form (line 37)

6. it is already a major factor (line 41)

7. which is the cause (line 55)

8. on its membership (line 63)

Task 4 Using the line references given, look back in the text and find words with similar meaning to:

1 whole (lines 1-5)

2. usually (lines 10-15)

3. acceptable (lines 15-20)

4. seem (lines 35-40)

5. believable (lines 45-50)

6. decreasing (lines 50-55)

7. spreading (lines 60-65)

8. ready (lines 60-65)

Task 5 Now find words or phrases that mean the opposite of:

1 danger (lines 1-5)

2 destroy (lines 20-25)

3 rare (lines 20-25)

4 separate (lines 30-35)

5 minor (lines 40-45)

6 less than (lines 40-45)

7 enjoyment (lines 55-60)

8 aggravate (lines 55-60)

Task 6 Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. You may have to change some words slightly.