Vocabulary

doodle (I. 49) - meaningless drawing

brokerage houses (I. 102) - companies that buy and sell shares for clients

carpal tunnel syndrome (I. 1 3 5) - chronic wrist-strain caused by repetitive

movement, such as typing Star Trek (1. 141) - futuristic American television series of the 1970s/1980s.

Task 3 Using the table below, make a summary of the main points of the article in If

note form.

I tem Current/potential use

_i:

ⁱ

wo ~~

_t:

_i.

_l:

_i

Task 4 Each of the following sentences from the text is followed by two paraphrases. J

Decide which paraphrase (a or b) is closer in meaning to the original comment. L# Remember to look at the comments in their original context.

QO

computing is coining inio iis own. ^iuic i8 j [

a Pen-based computing is receiving the recognition it merits. 1

b Pen-based computing is good for tasks where a conventional pen would J

normally be used, '

& I ...you can't go to an industry show these days without finding some company

promoting its 'small footprint', (line 67) \ '

a At every exhibition these days, you will find at least one company b

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. i i

Current voice-recognition systems can handle speaker-dependent continuous

speech or speaker-independent discrete speech, (line 91)

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.

Public data networks are ripe for the dialling up and signing on. (line 147)

a There are public data networks waiting to be used.

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

isk5	1	Do you think the English in the text is:
		a very formal?
		b quite formal?
		c neutral?
		d quite informal?
		e very informal?
	2	Do you think this article originally appeared in:
		a a computer magazine?
		b a general magazine for young people?
		c a general magazine for adults?
		d an online bulletin board?
		e the science page of a newspaper?
	3	Do you think this article is written by:
		a a British person
		b an Australian
		c an American
		d a non-native speaker of English
		Give reasons for your choices.
sk6		Using the line reference given, look back in the
		the words in italics.
	1	while others encase (line 7)
	2	The other half is a bit more difficult (line 23)
	3	but it can be (line 24)
	4	but it would know (line 48)
	5	in its present form (line 88)
	6	it is already a major factor (line 99)
	7	which is the cause (line 133)
	8	on its membership (line 153)

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

1. whole (lines 5-10)

2. usually (lines 30-3 5)

3. acceptable (lines 45-50)

4. seem (lines 85-90)

5. believable (lines 110-115)

6. decreasing (lines 12 5-130)

7. spreading (lines 140-145)

8. ready (lines 145-150)

Now find words or phrases that mean the opposite of:

9 danger (lines 1-5)

10. destroy (lines 5 5-60)

11. rare (lines 55-60)

12. separate (lines 75-80)

13. minor (lines 95-100)

14. less than (lines 120-12 5)

15. enjoyment (lines 130-135)

16. aggravate (lines 135-140)

T ask 8 Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. You may have to change

some words slightly.

1 consider, considered, consideration, considerable, considerably

a We'll have to using another company if they can't provide

the software we need. b The company has invested a sum of money in ergonomic

workstations.

c The CEO has submitted this proposal for your

d This computer is faster than the old one.

2 apply, applying, applicant, application, applicable

a We have interviewed five for the new position.

b The last part of the form is not to foreign students.

c My student is thinking of _ for a government grant to continue

his research. d The new book uses business to teach computer studies.

3 explain, explained, explaining, explanation, explanatory a The package includes an . booklet.

b The instructions are very clear and do not require any further

c It will only take a couple of minutes to how the program

works. d If you are new to this system, almost everything will have to be

4 depend, depending, dependent, dependence, dependable, dependably j I a The company has supplied us for over ten years.

b We have to reduce our ... on imported goods. i I

c This is very . equipment. We have never had a serious _:: \

breakdown. d Today, many companies _.__ more on FAXes than on mail. \

92 fl

_r

5 connect, connected, connecting, connector, connectivity, connection

b He only got that contract because he has

c Make sure the is not loose before you call a service

a _ is an important concept in global communications.

in the government.

technician.

Once the new telephone lines are __-efficient.

-, our system should be more

_.1

₃

_.1

7 know they said they were going to introduce new technology, but this isn't quite what I expected.'

ask 9

¹ r

¹

_i

1

2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

10 11 12

Listening

Listen to this conversation in which Charles, the Information Services Manager in an American insurance company, talks about the steps involved in making a document available to users via document image-processing. Put the steps in the right order.

LJ Index is stored.

LJ Quality of scan is checked.

Envelope is opened by a machine.

LJ Temporary key number is generated and written on the document. LJ IMS index transaction and customer name is entered into the computer. I I Mail arrives in the mailroom.

LJ Temporary document number is entered into the computer to link it with the previously-generated index.

LJ Document is scanned.

LJ Document pages are removed and arranged by a clerk.

LJ Document can be accessed by users.

LJ Computer supplies routing and indexing data.

LJ Document pages are transferred to the mail analyst.

Task 10

Now listen again and answer the following questions:

How long does it take:

a for an index to be stored and a key number issued?

b for a recent document to be retrieved?

Why does it take longer to retrieve a document processed more than a year ago?

Note down:

a the number of square feet of office space saved.

b the number of employees freed from file maintenance.

c the approximate net saving per year in pounds.

_[

2	□
3	□
4	□
5	□

a b

Task 11

T ask 12

T ask 13

T ask 14

Speaking

We have looked at some of the benefits of replacing people with computers in the office. What are the negative aspects of this policy?

Writing

Write two paragraphs, one listing the benefits, the other listing the negative aspects of replacing people with computers.