21St century lifestyle Things you can’t live without

1 Match the words with their definitions and associations.

the internet

laptop

palmtop

e-mail

texting

digital technology

an anti-virus

cyberspace

a techie

a technophobe

e-commerce

education online

robot

fuzzy logic

artificial intelligence

GM foods

ergonomic

gadget

device

nanotechnology

computer nerd

cloning

space exploration

a computer system for exchanging information

a person who doesn’t like machines

a piece of software for protection of your computer

an imaginary place where electronic info exist

smb. who is crazy about technological advances

smb. who is crazy about computers

better quality TV and photos

training for a diploma from home

smth. really complicated, technologically advanced

shopping or business online

correspondence via the Internet

correspondence using your mobile

a small computer to fit on your lap

a small computer to fit on your palm

machine which can imitate human intelligence

genetically modified products

animal produced from the cells of another animal

a small mechanical device

a tool used for a specific task

convenient, easy to use

a machine that uses info to follow instructions

interplanetary travel

molecular manufacturing

2 Match a word or phrase from a with a phrase from b.

A B

1 switch on/off

2 plug in

3 press

1 restart

2 turn up/down

3 replay

1 shut down

2 hold down

3 pause

1 my computer

2 my mobile

3 the batteries

the button

the mobile

the vacuum cleaner

the volume

you voice massages

your computer

the tape

the computer

the button

needs recharging

has crashed

need replacing

Old and New

1 The Bowler family took part in a reality TV show where they lived the life of people 100 years ago. Read the text below. What differences do you think they found? Make a list. Example: No computers.

The 1900 House

The Bowler family was one of more than 400 families who applied to 1900 House, a reality TV show which took a typical family back a hundred years to see how people lived in the days before the Internet, computer games and even electricity.

The Bowler family spent three months in a London home without a telephone, fridge, computers, radio, TV, fast food or central heating. TV cameras recorded their day. The Bowlers wore clothes from 1900, ate only food which was available in England at that time, and cooked their meals on a single stove which also gave them their hot water.

Paul Bowler still went to work every day (dressed in a nineteenth-century uniform), and the children went to school as normal. They changed their clothes on the way to and from school and their classmates didn't know-about their unusual home life, Joyce stayed at home, cooking and cleaning like a typical housewife of the time. I'm jealous, because if it's ‘1900 or 2005 my husband gets the better deal' she said. 'Everything takes three times as long, like the cooking and everything.' The stove took twenty-eight minutes to boil water, and cleaning the house and clothes without a vacuum cleaner or washing machine was a nightmare. So does Joyce think that people's lives were better in the old days? 'I think they had just as many troubles and worries, and 1 don't think their life was better or worse. There were lots of things back then that I'm happy 1 don't have to deal with nowadays, but on the other hand life was simpler.'

Eleven-year-old Hilary said, 'We had a lot more time with our family, and it was hard being nice to each other all the time. Having contact with your family all the time is really, really weird.' What did the Bowler family miss most about modern life while living in the 1900 house? Paul, 39: 'a hot shower', Joyce, 44: 'a quick cup of tea from a kettle you could just turn on', Kathryn, 17: 'telephone, shampoo and hot water', Hilary, 11: 'computer games, music and normal sounds like the washing machine', Joseph, 9: 'pizza and the computer'