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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.
- Word Pretest
For each italicized word, choose the best meaning below.
1. There is a digital clock on the wall. You can read the numbers directly.
A. displaying information as pictures.
B. displaying information as numbers.
C. displaying information as letters.
D. displaying information as colors.
2. All the students have access to the books in the library.
A. accent B. copy C. acceptance D. way of getting
3. Alcohol is somewhat addictive, so be careful when you take it. Don’t take too much.
A. poisonous B. habit-forming C. tasty D. healthful
4. The new video has just been released.
A. set free B. made C. recorded D. sold publicly
5. I usually browse through the newspapers when I have my breakfast.
A. read quickly B. read seriously C. read carefully D. read closely
6. There was a large number of people from whom she could select friends.
A. elect B. name C. make D. choose
7. This tape-recorder has a tape-slide facility.
A. tool B. faculty
C. building D. sign
8. Anyone learning Arabic must learn Arabic script.
A. system of speaking B. system of writing
C. system of saying D. system of pronouncing
Key
Text
Cultural Background:
"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.
The computer started out as an abacus around 2000 years ago.The first digital computer was invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal. It consisted of numbers entered in dials, but it could only add. First electronic computer (1943) : the building of Colossus. Colossus was a sophisticated programmable electronic computer developed by the Top Secret Code Breaking MK ULTRA at Bletchley Park (England's Secret Military Intelligence Decoding Unit). Colossus was built for the purposes of breaking NAZI radio transmission which had been encoded using the NAZI Lorenz cipher system.
Multimedia Language-Learning CD ROMs
1. Imagine a world were your TV, telephone and computer are all one system. You have a central control box connected to the telephone line and several screens in different rooms around your home or office. You can speak to these screens and call up whatever services you like — services such as movies, videophone, home shopping, telebanking, interactive video games and English lessons.
2. This is the world of multimedia — the future that big business is creating out of modern technology. A world where books, text, pictures and video can move around the world as easily as telephone conversations.
3. This is all possible because of two big change — digital and fiber optic technologies. You already know about music CDs, where the sound is so clear because it is recorded, stored and played back digitally, Pictures and video can also be represented digitally. This means that telephones and television can use digital information in the same way as computers.
4. Fiber optic technology allows us to send and receive this digital information down the telephone line. When everyone is connected to everyone else, we will have a telephone network that can transport voices, pictures and text.
5. Although this multimedia world has already started no one is quite sure what it will be like or how it will change our lives. For now, we can get some idea of the future from multimedia language-learning CD ROMs.
6. CD ROM means Compact Disc Read Only Memory. This is a five-inch CD that looks the same as a music CD and can be used on an ordinary modern computer in the CD drive. Because they have sound, pictures and video that you can easily control, they are already changing the way we learn languages — make it more fun and more effective. More and more schools and colleges are putting computers that play CDs in their self-access centers. This allows them to combine classroom work with self-study.
7. If you want to have a better idea of what interactive CD ROMs for language learning are, look at two of the most popular packages available. Both are addictive — you just can’t stop browsing through the dictionaries and you want to keep studying the courses even after you have learned everything.
Basic Skills
8. Vektor company have just released the first in a series of five language-learning CDs called Expressions. The series ranges from complete beginner to intermediate and is designed for students, travelers and tourists.
9. Basic Skills, one CD in the series, teaches British and American English on the same disc. The skills in this disc are in nine language areas: the alphabet, numbers, currency, time, calendar, telephoning, questions and answers, weather and basic phrases. Under BASIC PHRASES, for example, you select from a range of easily identifiable buttons such as two hands shaking to see and hear greetings. You can instantly change between language and subtitles, and record and playback your voice.
BBC English Dictionary
10. The BBC English Dictionary has been specially developed for people around the world who want to understand and use modern English. It uses recently broadcast material to provide an emphasis on today’s spoken English and is now available on CD ROM. It has all the information and features of the paper version, is very fast, easy to use and has extra features to help you with pronunciation.
11. To make things easy there are just two main screens. On the first you type in or select the word you’re interested in. From the second, you choose whatever information you want about the word. As well as HELP and BROWSE ( a quick way to the meaning you’re looking for), the first screen also has a User button that takes you to the advanced features. These are a personal dictionary where you can put words you’ve looked up and want to keep for revision and a function for adding more words to the dictionary.
12. When you’ve entered your word, the second screen appears. It’s a very clearly organized with the word at the top, two spaces for information in the middle and further information buttons on both sides. The definition goes in the first space and your choice of further information goes in the second. Further information includes everything you can find in the paper version of the dictionary, for example, grammar, phrases and more.
13. You also get a lot of extra help with pronunciation. You can hear the word spoken and spelled out aloud as many times as you like in a (male) British or (female) American accent.
Total words: 730
Total time: minutes seconds
The text is adapted from BBC English, July, 1995.
- Reading Skills: Distinguishing Topic from Main Idea
Read each of the selected paragraphs in Text A carefully. Write down its topic in words or phrases, and its main idea in a full sentence.
1. Paragraph 6
Topic:
Main Idea:
2. Paragraph 9
Topic:
Main Idea:
3. Paragraph 10
Topic:
Main Idea:
4. Paragraph 11
Topic:
Main Idea:
5. Paragraph 12
Topic:
Main Idea:
- Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. In future, you may have a central control box and call up services like .
A. movies B. videophone
C. home shopping D. all of the above
2. The music CDs’ sound is so clear because .
- it is recorded in an extremely quiet place
- it is stored in a special way
- it is recorded, stored and played back digitally
- the material that makes CDs is the best
3. CD ROM .
A. can be used to play music B. can add more fun to learning itself
C. only has clear and beautiful pictures D. can be only used in study
4. Expressions is .
- a series of language CD
- for beginners
- for students
- having two disks for both British and American English
5. Basic Skills .
A. includes Expressions B. is a series of language CDs
C. is a language CD D. is a language game
6. BBC English Dictionary on CD ROM .
- pays attention only to standard English
- can be used as newspaper
- is just like its paper version
- has extra features to help you with you pronunciation
7. In order to get the information about a certain word .
- you type in the word and get the information at once
- you select the word and select the information at the same time
- you use two screens to type in the word and choose the information
- you go through all the meanings of this word
8. When you’ve entered a word, .
- you can have both the definition and further information about its usage
- you can use both two spaces for further information about usage
- you can only get grammar, phrases and the like
- you will have a new idea of the word’s pronunciation
- Vocabulary Building
① Word Match
Match the words with their definitions within each group of five words.
quota make according to a customer’s special requirements
recess join together
customize hurried, excited and disordered
frantic a break
combine a number or amount that has been officially fixed as someone’s share
currency a particular way of speaking
target money that is actually in use I a country
negotiation characteristics
feature discussion in which people try to reach an agreement
accent any object aimed at
tycoon become a member
diploma a businessman with great wealth and power
enroll a slightly different form
version number of things, events which are related to each other
series a qualification awarded to students by a university or college
Complete the sentences by using the words above. Change the forms if necessary.
1. She studied for a in education
2. The college is supported by a of income from endowments and fees from students.
3. This is the shop where only foreign are allowed to use.
4. We are going to with the employers about our wage.
5. I do not think she is a native English girl because she has a strong foreign
6. This is the latest of Pride and Prejudice.
7. The biggest advantage of buying computers in that shop is that all computers there can be .
8. Because of the success in the entrance exam, she has been by the university.
② Prefix
The prefix en- (or em- before b and p) can be used before a noun or verb where it means “put in” or “put on”. Besides, the prefix en- can be used before a noun or an adjective where it means “make into” or “cause to be”. Study the examples and their meanings, and then list some more words with this prefix in the space provided. Add more if you can.
prefix example meaning
en- encase put in case or to cover completely
endanger put something or somebody in danger
enrich make…richer
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Fill in each of the blanks with a word given below.
enable enclose enrich encourage enjoy ensure entitle enlarge
1. What are you going to your new book?
2. You should her in her attempts to become a doctor.
3. Reading English novels helps your vocabulary.
4. I will do my best, but I cannot success.
5. The microscope scientists to examine very small objects.
6. I myself very much last night at the party.
7. Many foreign words and phrases the English language.
8. The garden is by a wall.
- Cloze
Fill in each of the blanks with a word given below.
improve attention treatment benefit result
required items reduce directly trouble
Students are not the only ones to from computers in education. Many teachers are finding that computers can their workload and their teaching. Computers can free teachers from certain kinds of time-consuming bookkeeping. Test can be “banked” in a computer, greatly reducing the time to produce a new test. Tests can be scored by computer, and more importantly, the computer can analyze the test , indicating to the teacher which points may need further in class. Classroom computers also make it possible for a teacher to give individual to students who are having . While the rest of a class is working on an educational program, the teacher can make the time to work with a student who is falling behind.
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