Lesson 8
Exercise 1
Decide which answer to each question best fits with the passage.
- According to the writer, how did people react when the first mobile phones were introduced in the 1980s?
- A) They were rather suspicious of them.
- B) They saw how useful they might be.
- C) They realised how popular they would be.
- D) They were generally unimpressed by them.
- Why did the writer eventually decide to buy a mobile phone?
- A) She accepted that one was needed for her work.
- B) She realised they had become widely accepted.
- C) She had seen how to use one effectively.
- D) She had got used to the idea of them.
- What immediate change did the mobile phone make to her life?
- A) It tended to make her less reliable.
- B) It caused her to do irrational things.
- C) It led her into dangerous situations.
- D) It forced her to make better use of her time.
- Why did she eventually come to resent her mobile phone?
- A) It allowed her employers to monitor her movements.
- B) It prevented her from concentrating on what she was doing.
- C) It allowed people to make unreasonable demands on her.
- D) It meant that her work was invading her free time.
- The writer tells us the anecdote about the important man to show that mobile phones:
- A) are essential in modern business.
- B) are a nuisance in social situations.
- C) may lead to less efficient management.
- D) may lead to a loss of business confidentiality.
Exercise 2
Replace the highlighted words in the text with the words below.
| Word | From the text | Translate |
|---|---|---|
| noticeably | 1:2 | 2:2 |
- noticeably — conspicuously
- hazardous — perilous
- manifestation — incarnations
- dominant — overriding
- pressing — urgent
- location — whereabouts
- pursued — persecuted
- prerogative — preserve
- threat — menace
Exercise 3
Unscramble the letters in brackets to create a word that will fill the gap in each sentence.
- Being able to pay bills over the Internet is a real conviennent.
- The potential applications seemed as boundless as the human imagination.
- Amongst them were pickpockets, alcoholics, pimps, drug peddlers and other pretty criminal.
- Don't buy a car from him, he's a real dodgy character .
- He wanted to prove something to the critics who had sneered at his paintings.
- Marriage, ideally, is a lifelong commitment.
- The murder suspect is in custody and will be charged soon.
- Do the best you can to draw up a complete and trustworthy plan.
Exercise 4
Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space.
DANGERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Much has been heard recently (0) about possible health hazards, including memory loss and brain tumours, from the use of mobile phones. With the possible half a billion mobile phones in (1) use throughout the world, in Britain (2) .................................one person in four owns one, (3) which is worrying enough, even if, so far, no concrete evidence has come to (4) light.
One study by Dr. Alan Preece and his team at Bristol University has shown, however, in a report in the International Journal of Radiation Biology, that tests on volunteers demonstrated no effect on (5) their short-term memory or attention span. Subjects (6) were exposed to microwave radiation for (7) up to thirty minutes, but the one noticeable effect was positive (8) rather than negative; the subjects reacted more rapidly in one test (9)to/with a visual choice. One explanation of (10) ................................. is that following the transmissions, a warming of the blood led to increased bloodflow.
For the experiment, places were chosen where the signal was good and the microwave dose light, and then where the signal was poor and the dose (11) ................................higher. The subjects were tested for recall and mental alertness (12).............................................exposure to microwaves characteristic of analogue phones, digital phones or no phones at all, without knowing (13).............................. they were exposed to. It is, of course, early days (14) .............................and the sample may not be large (15)......................... to generalise from. More research needs to be done.