LFSC001 Name: ______________________

English & Communication Skills (Part 1)

Revision Student ID: __________________

Total Mark: _____/ 70 = _____%

Reading I (34 marks)

The Internet: A Driving Force for Change?

by Carolyn Herd
The Boston Herald, 23 September 2006

1 Computers may never offer a perfect system for work and

communications. Yet, in spite of the bugs that need to be worked out, there is
no question that computers now shape the pattern of our activities. Almost
everyone has felt the tremors of change as the Internet has revolutionized
the way we do things: from the way we run our daily errands to the way we
relate to other human beings.

2 With the Internet, we can now get to information, products, and friends
more quickly. With a few clicks of the mouse, we can do research on specific
subjects that might have taken hours or days in a library. With online
shopping, we can purchase what we need more quickly and efficiently; we
can now deal with retailers over the Internet instead of waiting in lines at
shopping malls. With e-mail, we can maintain friendships as well as create
new ones, without ever sitting down to write or post a letter. The Internet now
binds more people around the world together through their common interests.
For example, many people participate in Internet “chats.” These are informal
discussions in which people type their questions and answers to each other
on the computer. There is very little delay in the “conversation.” And unlike
spoken conversations, “chats” can involve hundreds of people – all of whom
are interested in the topic being discussed. Some Internet discussions lead to
more than typing. According to a Rutgers University study, more than 1 million
people have had online correspondences that have led to face-to-face
relationships. The Internet has literally created a new kind of social life.

3 But not everyone feels the Internet is improving our lives. The Web is
messy in that it cannot always provide clear directions on how to get where
we want to go. The hyperlinks that exist among different Web sites often
send people on a trip to nowhere or somewhere totally unexpected. The Web
is not an organized database; rather it is a brier patch, where people can get
stuck or lost.
4 Online shopping is an example of this mess. Although shopping from
home is appealing, e-commerce is not always as convenient as one might
think. Sometimes it takes a long time to order on the Internet. People can
waste time or get confused filling out information on all the different screens to
place an order. In fact, anywhere from 33 to 75 per cent (depending on whose
statistics you use) of people who shop online drop out before even placing

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 their order.

5 Most importantly, many people are concerned about privacy issues.

They are reluctant to put their personal information on the Web. Filling in
information such as one’s name, address, phone number, and credit card
information can shake the confidence of an online shopper. Some even fear
that there is a conspiracy among businesses to use consumer information
for their own benefit.

6 Perhaps even more troubling is the belief that as people spend more
time surfing the Web, they are becoming socially isolated. A recent survey
indicated that 16 per cent of Internet users spend less time with family and
friends. The amount of time a husband or wife spends on the Web is
frequently cited as cause for a divorce. Many young people say that their
closest friends are those they have corresponded with on the Internet, that is,
their closest friends are people they have never met.

7 Whether the Internet will continue to be a driving force for change is

still unknown; and whether the effects of the Internet on our lives will be more
positive or negative is still debatable.

Question 2 Vocabulary (10 marks)

Using the context they appear in, match the boldfaced words and phrases
in the background reading with their definitions below. Write the word or
phrase next to its definition.

1. _____________________ an agreement to perform an illegal or wrongful

act together

2. _____________________ shaking or trembling

3. _____________________ defects or difficulties in a system

4. _____________________ give form to

5. _____________________ without exaggeration

6. _____________________ In a state of disorder

7. _____________________ joins; ties

8. _____________________ make (someone feel insecure)

9. _____________________ thorny, prickly mass of woody plants

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10. _____________________ direct connections to Internet locations or
documents

Question 3 Identifying the Main Idea (8 marks)

1. What is the topic of Reading I?

______________________________________________________________

2. What is the main idea of Reading I?

______________________________________________________________

3. There are two sides (arguments) to the topic; the positive and the negative
effects of the Internet.
a. List three positive effects of the Internet:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

b. List three negative effects of the Internet:

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Question 4 True and False (10 marks)

Read the following statements and decide whether they are True or False.
In the space provided, write T if you think the statement is true, and F if you
think it is false.

1. Computers now shape the pattern of our activities. ___

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2. With the Internet, we can now get to information, products, and friends
more quickly. ___

3. The Internet brings together more people around the world despite
different interests. ___

4. More than 2 million people have had online correspondences that

have led to face-to-face relationships. ___

5. The Internet has been unable to create new kinds of social life. ___

6. Everyone feels the Internet is improving their lives. ___

7. E-commerce is not always as convenient as one might think. ___

8. Sometimes it takes a long time to buy things on the Internet. ___

9. As people spend more time surfing the Web, they are becoming
socially isolated. ___

10. The amount of time a husband or wife spends on the Web is

frequently cited as cause for a divorce. ___

Question 5 Evaluating Your Own Opinion (2 marks)

4. Which has the strongest influence on your life, the positive or the negative
effects of the Internet? Give an example to support your choice.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Question 6 Referencing (6 marks)

1. Write a bibliographical reference for the article above. (2 marks)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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2. Write an in-text reference for a quote on the same article. The quote is on
page 13. (1 mark)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. Write a bibliographical reference for a book. The information is provided

below. (2 marks)

Title: Viewpoints: Readings Worth Thinking and Writing

About.
Author: W. Royce Adams
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Place of Publication: Boston
Year of Publication: 2007

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

4. Write an in-text reference for a quote in the same book. The quote is on page
43. (1 mark)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Reading II (36 marks)

The Internet is Here to Stay and Yet it’s already Passé

By Dale Dauten
The New Hampshire Business Review, 14 January 2000

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1. “The telegraph is a kind of very long cat. You pull his tail in new York and his
head is mewing in Los Angeles. Radio operates in exactly the same way, but
there is no cat.” – Albert Einstein

2. While the 1990s will be remembered for the Internet, this decade will
not. It’s time to start thinking about what’s next. This is not to argue that the
Internet is passé – just the opposite: It’s inevitable. And with triumph comes
acceptance, and with acceptance comes tedium. The internet is now just one
more technology, like the telephones and television. Sure TV has new
stations and new programmes and even better resolution, but, sigh, it’s still
JUST TELEVISION. And a new Website is still just that – the marginal
excitement has become marginal.

3. I don’t know about you but take away the e-mail snowball, and I find
that I’m spending less time on the Internet now than I was a year ago. It’s
more useful now than ever, just less fascinating. Just before writing this, I
sent an e-mail to an English professor friend asking if she knew where I could
find a poem that I recalled only in fragments and though was by Auden. She
sent me, electronically, to the University of Gent English Department. And
there it was. I had my answer in a Silicon Valley minute (about a quarter of an
hour). And if I’d thought about it, I would have missed the tingle that used to
come from such triumphs.

4. To put this in perspective, let’s consider what would have happened,

pre-Internet. I would have telephoned my friend. We’d have chatted and
laughed, and I would have learned something from her. And then I would
have stopped by the bookstore and picked up a volume of Auden. And I
would have read some of the other poems, maybe found a new favourite. But
thanks to the geek gods – people who spend all their time working on
computers - I was spared those awful moments of companionship and
learning. Sure, I could have used the old methods. And I could have ridden a
horse to the library.
5.
No, I didn’t come to bury the Internet, but to praise it. I read recently
that there are now more than 20 million Websites… it’s a “Free – Take One”
rack with 20 million slots. And therein lies the problem. While it’s sort of free,
it’s no free ride. Read this from “Retail Watch,” a publication from
McMillan/Doolittle in Chicago: “While pure e-commerce retailers were once
seen to have a significant cost advantage over their brick and mortar
brethren, that edge is being quickly eroded by skyrocketing customer
acquisition costs. Ironically, traditional media such as TV, radio and print are
all having banner years due to the dramatic shift of e-commerce advertising
budgets from on-line to off-line. Customer acquisition costs for traditional
retailers are generally under $20 per customer, while established e-tailers are
paying $40-$50 and many virtual startups shell out $100 per customer and
escalate rapidly from there.”
6.
In other words, a virtual store is an invisible store, and you have to
build awareness instead of a building. The early e-commerce sites got
customers almost by magic … the search engines and giddy press simply
sent people their way. But now with all the clutter, retailing has come full
circle, back to the location, location – on-line and off. In fact, it looks like
retailing is to be “clicks and mortar,” where retailers will have stores and
Websites,
LFSC001 Englishjust like many have
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7. But it’s not just retailing where the easy thrill is gone. Whereas e-mail
was once a direct line to anyone, at least anyone technical, now many
Question 1 Identifying the Main Idea (4 marks)

5. What is the topic of Reading II?

______________________________________________________________

6. What is the main idea of Reading II?

Question 2 Vocabulary (13 marks)

Using the context they appear in, write the boldfaced words and phrases in
the editorial next to the following words and phrases that have a similar
meaning.

1. boredom: _____________________________________________________

2. brothers (religious usage): ________________________________________

3. something that increases quickly in size as it moves forward: ____________

_____________________________________________________________

4. excited feeling: _________________________________________________

5. disorder; confusion: _____________________________________________

6. impossible to avoid or prevent: _____________________________________

7. soaring; sharply rising: ___________________________________________

8. hardly even noticed; not important: _________________________________

9. prominent; excellent: ____________________________________________

10. frivolous and lighthearted: ________________________________________

11. separating out that which is not wanted: _____________________________

12. pay; hand over: ________________________________________________

13. out of date: ___________________________________________________

Question 3 Reading for Details (9 marks)

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Read the following questions and circle the answer you think is best. Read
the article again if necessary.

1. According to the author, which best describes the Internet?

a. It’s the thing of the decade.
b. It’s passé.
c. It’s inevitable.

2. Which point is not made about the Internet?

a. It’s tedious.
b. It has better resolution.
c. It has become marginal.

3. Which statement describes the author’s relationship to e-mail?

a. He spends more time on e-mail than he did a year ago.
b. He thinks it’s fascinating.
c. He takes it for granted.

4. What did he miss by getting the Auden poem by mail?

a. Chatting with his friend.
b. A book by Geek gods.
c. Riding a horse to the library.

5. What is happening to Internet retailers?

a. They are experiencing a significant cost advantage over store retailers.
b. They are paying more money to get customers.
c. They are having a banner year.

6. How much do store retailers pay to acquire a new customer?

a. Less than $20.
b. Between $40 and %50.
c. About $100.

7. What advantage did early virtual stores have over today’s virtual stores?
a. Invisibility.
b. Their own search engine.
c. Search engines and the press, which provided them with customers.

8. What can the Internet no longer do?

a. Screen you.
b. Give you instant job success.
c. Help you fill out a job application.

9. At which point would the author place the Internet today in terms of its
technological stages?
a. It’s useful and exciting.

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 b. It’s accepted.
c. It’s forgotten.

Question 4 True and False (10 marks)

Read the following statements and decide whether they are True or False.
In the space provided, write T if you think the statement is true, and F if you
think it is false.

1. In the author’s opinion, the Internet is now just one more technology,
like the telephones and television. ___

2. The author is spending more time on the Internet now than he was a
year ago because of its many new uses. ___

3. There are now more than 20 million Websites. ___

4. Customer acquisition costs for traditional retailers are generally under

$20 per customer. ___

5. In e-business, companies have to build awareness instead of a

building. ___

6. One search-firm site attracted a quarter of a million applicants. ___

7. Retailing has come full circle, back to the location. ___

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8. Because of the large number of e-mails received, many executives
check their e-mails before opening them. ___

9. The author believes that the Internet is like indoor plumbing – we need
it, but eventually we only think about it when something goes wrong. ___

10. The author believes that people are no longer excited by the novelty
of the Internet. ___

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