Grammar exercises

Exercise 1. Translate, paying attention to the words in italics.

For hikers, tourists or just about anyone who likes to travel with a light load while taking digital photos, Sony has come up with a wearable GPS tracking device that'll help you keep track of where you've been. It is small enough and attached to your belt with a carbine. It records your time and location every 15 seconds. By synching the GPS clock with the timestamp on a digital still camera, your journey is archived, step by step.

Exercise 2. Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

MICRO ELECTRONICS POWERSPEC T470

Sometimes you’re just not (to look) for a whiz-bang desktop. If merely capable is more your speed, then take a gander at the PowerSpec T470. This Vista Premium desktop system (to have) some nice components and its performance is decent. But it (not to have) the styling or bells and whistles of similar desktops from other manufacturers. The system (to load) an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 processor, 2GB of memory, and a dual-layer DVD burner. You also (to get) a 300GB SATA hard drive that will hold a lot of photos or music files, and discrete graphics in a 256MB nVidia GeForce 7300 GT card. But one item that Micro Electronics should have sprung for is an optical mouse instead of a ball mouse. The system (to be) virtually free of preloaded “bloatware”—the ISP sign-ups and trial programs that you never use. But one software goody that we wish it did come with is an antivirus subscription longer than the free 90-day NOD32 antivirus/antispyware package. The PowerSpec T470 has some good hardware and (to provide) decent performance for a $1,000 multimedia system. Still, similar machines (to be) sturdier and less noisy.

Exercise 3. Correct the mistake. Each sentence has one grammar mistake.

There are no real comparison on performance between a laptop and a desktop computer. The laptop have a couple of fundamental problems to overcome which limit it. The first of these is size – the smaller the machine, the less room to puts components. The second is heat – the laptop is small and give less room to circulate air to cool components. Because manufacturers is constantly fighting against these problems the laptop will never truly ‘replace’ the desktop.

Speaking-discussion

Exercise 1. Look through the statements and agree/disagree with each one. Prove your opinion using the following word expressions.

I think/I do not think; I believe/I don’t believe;

I agree that/ I don’t agree that; I guess; I suppose; I consider;

From my point of view; To my mind; In my opinion; To my way of thinking.

It’s true that; If you ask me; As I see it;

1. All netbooks are designed to present information not create it.

2. Tablet PCs may be used where notebooks are impractical or do not provide the needed functionality.

3. Many ‘notebook’ computers cannot actually be used on your ‘lap’, so they cannot really be described as a ‘laptop’ – this is because the main cooling air fan inlet is on the bottom.

Exercise 2. Read and translate the text and get ready to discuss its advantages and disadvantages.

A LAPTOP FOR WORK AND PLAY $2,999 list

The Acer TravelMate 8210-6038 is both. We’re not convinced, though, that its Blu-ray drive is much of a benefit. At 7.7 pounds, this TravelMate isn’t too travel-friendly. Much of this weight resides in the matte-finished 15.4-inch wide screen, which is useful for viewing documents side by side. The 8210 comes with a drive that lets you both play and burn Blu-ray discs. The system uses CyberLink’s PowerDVD BD, a fine program for HD playback. This desktop replacement laptop ships with Windows XP Professional, so it lacks Vista’s Media Center features. It has neither a remote nor physical playback buttons, so you’re stuck with the mouse or touchpad for controlling the video. These factors, combined with the price hike to the system caused by the Blu-ray drive, make the drive’s inclusion suspect. Despite our concerns about the drive, the 8210 is a powerful notebook for business or multimedia. Thanks to a 2.16-GHz Core 2 Duo T7400 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and discrete graphics, its performance equals that of a powerful desktop. That’s fitting, because at its weight you won’t want to lug it around.

PROS: Decent battery performance. Battery life.

CONS: Blu-ray drive doesn’t belong in this configuration. Really expensive.