Science & Technology: The Internet

VOCABULARY
A. Complete the sentences using the words in the box.
Bloggers

download

Web resources

self-created content

1 Lots of people

social networking
website

access
upload

music and films from file-sharing sites, although it is illegal.

2 Im going to _______________ all my holiday photos onto my travel blog.

3 Its easy to _______________ the Internet from libraries and cyber cafes.
4 Facebook is a ________________________ site.
5 There are lots of ______________ that you can use for language learning.
6 Everything on her blog is original; its all __________________.
7 Lots of ________________ use their blogs to make social comments.
8 I found a really interesting _________________ about courses in the UK.

READING
B. Read the following text quickly and say which two social networking sites are
mentioned.

The Internet
There is no doubt that the Internet is
now an integral part of our lives. It has
become so important that many
people would be lost without it. In
2010 more than 30 million people in
the UK accessed the Internet every
day and over 70% of the population
has access to the Internet at home.
There
is,
however,
a
huge
difference between the way young
people use Internet compared to
their
parents and
grandparents.
Many adults think that their children
use the Internet in much the same
way as they do. But while the
grown-ups tend to use the web to
shop, bank or send work related emails,
young
people
are
busy
interacting
socially,
blogging,
chatting to friends and using special
forums to get help with homework.
These
days
many
children
are
introduced to computers at the age of
two or three, but it is at the ages of
seven and eight when most kids
start using Internet on a practical
level: searching for
information
online, downloading

pictures for school projects, keeping in

touch with school friends and
family. Young teenagers use more
sophisticated web resources,
accessing all kinds of websites to
research for homework, listen to
music, watch films and chat with
friends on social networking
sites like Facebook or Twitter.
Older teenagers find the Internet
useful for researching information
about further education, accessing
information about exam results and
educational grants. Lots of young
people start their own blogs,
uploading self-created content about
all kinds of topics.
Mums and
Dads, often using the Internet only for
practical concerns like work or
shopping, sometimes fail to realize just
how important the Internet is for their
children. For the new generations, the
web is not just a tool of
communication but also a
community environment, like a youth
club or a park, where they can
develop their identities, join youth
subcultures, relieve boredom or deal
with emotional matters.

C. Read the text again and circle the correct words in these sentences.
1 Most people in the UK have / havent got Internet access in their homes.
2 Lots of adults are aware / unaware of how their children use the Internet.
3 Children / Adults use the Internet to socialise.
4 Children as young as two / seven use computers.
5 Young teenagers never / often use the Internet to help with school work.
6 Lots of young people use the Internet to show their own films / writing.

7 Parents understand / dont understand the importance of the Internet for

young people.
8 The Internet helps young people to develop their emotional intelligence /

computer skills.

GRAMMAR
Past Simple / Present Perfect
D. Choose the correct tense in each sentence.
1 Have you seen / Did you see that film on TV last night?
2 I studied / have studied IT at university until 2009 and then I went to London.
3 I finished / have finished my last exam last week.
4 Have you read / Did you read any good books recently?
5 She called / has called me on my mobile at 7.30 this morning!
6 How often have you accessed / did you access the Internet this year?
7 What did you do / have you done yesterday?
8 I didnt finish / havent finished reading that book yet.

E. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.

1 Paul: How many times _____ you _____ this website in the last year?
Liz: Oh hundreds of times. Yesterday I ________ it three times! (visit, visit)
2 I ______ French when I lived in France but I ____________ almost everything
(speak, forget)
3 John: Im still doing my homework. I ___________ yet. What about you?
Patrick: Oh, I ___________ my homework hours ago. (not finish, finish)
4 Wheres my iPod? It ______________ on the table an hour ago.
It_____________! (be, disappear)
5 I ______________ all of Paul Austers books. The last one I ___________

was Sunset Park. (read, read)

6 Andrea: How long ________ you _________ in London? (live)

Sue: I ____________ here for five years. I _____________ here in 2006.

(live, come)
F. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
1 Ive bought a new computer yesterday in the Sales.
2 Where have you been yesterday morning?
3 Jill has finished her homework two hours ago.
4 How often have you played computer games when you were younger.
5 Shakespeare has been a famous English playwright.
6 When have you got married?
7 Have you heard that huge explosion yesterday?
8 Andrea: Is Jerry at home?

Sue: No, he isnt here. Hes been to the supermarket.

WRITING
Your school is doing a survey on the use of Internet amongst the students. They
have sent this e-mail:

Hi!
Would you like to participate in our survey? We want to know
what people use the Internet for. Write between 80-120 words on
how you use Internet, and send it to us by next week. The best
three entries will be given a book token for 30.
Thanks

G. Write an e-mail describing how you use the Internet. Follow the instructions
below.

Paragraph 1: Introduction.
Paragraph 2: Describe how often you use the Internet for different purposes.
For example:
- Networking.
- Researching for homework / projects.
- Music / cinema.
- Other.
Paragraph 3: Conclusion.
Useful phrases
I mainly use the Internet for
I hardly ever use the Internet for
Another important aspect of Internet for me is
As far as music / cinema / games / videos
is / are concerned

SPEAKING
I. Talk about these questions with a partner:
1 How much time do you spend on the Internet?
2 What is the last thing you used the Internet for?
3 Do you think you will use the Internet more or less in the future? Why?
4 Which three websites do you visit most?
5 How do your Internet habits compare with those of your friends?
6 Do you ever buy things online? If so, what kind of things?

J. Look at these websites. Discuss the questions below with a partner.

1

7
8

1 Which is:
a. the one you use most / least?
b. the most difficult / easiest to use?
c. the most / least attractive?
d. the one that most of your friends use?
2 Which of these pages do you visit regularly?
3 If you had a blog, what kind of information would you upload on it?
4 Which is your favourite website and why?

LISTENING
J. Write a definition for these computer parts. Then listen and compare your
definitions with the ones you hear.

The mouse.

The keyboard.

The monitor.

Programmes.

Hardware.

The cursor.

A virus.

Listening from:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/elementar y-podcasts/series-02-episode-07
Section: 3 The quiz.

ANSWER KEY
VOCABULARY
A
1 download
2 upload
3 access
4 social networking
5 web resources
6 self-created content
7 bloggers
8 website

READING
B
Facebook
Twitter.

and

C
1 have
2 unaware
3 Children
4 two
5 often
6 writing
7 dont understand
8 emotional intelligence

GRAMMAR
D
1 Did you see
2 studied
3 finished
4 Have you read
5 called
6 have you accessed
7 did you do
8 havent finished
E
1 Paul: have visited; Liz: visited
2 spoke, have forgotten
3 John: havent finished; Patrick: finished
4 was, has disappeared
5 have read, read
6 Andrea: have lived; Sue: have lived, came
F
1 I bought a new computer yesterday in the Sales.
2 Where did you go / were you yesterday morning?
3 Jill finished her homework two hours ago.
4 How often did you play computer games when you were younger.
5 Shakespeare was a famous English playwright.
6 When did you get married?
7 Did you hear that huge explosion yesterday?
8 Andrea: Is Jerry at home?
Sue: No, he isnt here. Hes gone to the supermarket.

WRITING
G
Students own answers.

SPEAKING
H
Students own answers
I
Students own answers

LISTENING
J
1 The mouse: the thing you hold to move around the screen. Its an animal as well.
2 The keyboard: the thing you type on.
3 The monitor: the thing with the picture on it, the screen!
4 Programmes: You have these on your computer and they make it do things. You
might have one for editing photos one for sending e-mail. You have them on TV
too.
5 Hardware: programmes are software but the different parts of a computer are
hardware.
6 The cursor: You use the mouse to move it the little arrow
7 A virus: You dont want your computer to get one of these, it makes everything
disappear.

LISTENING
Tapescript:
Ravi: Right speaking of computers its time for the quiz. Weve got Darryl
waiting to play. Hello Darryl.
Darryl: Hello Ravi
Ravi: Where are you today, Darryl?
Darryl: Im in Skipton. In North Yorkshire.
Ravi: I know it. Ive got an uncle who lives in Skipton. Is it raining there as
much as it is here today?
Darryl: It is pretty wet, yeah. But I dont mind the rain. Im going to go for a
walk later with my dogs.
Ravi: Lucky you. Are you not working today?
Darryl: Not today, no.
Ravi: What do you do?
Darryl: I work at a golf course. Im a groundsman.
Ravi: OK. So what does a groundsman do?
Darryl: We look after the golf course make sure the grass is OK and all of that.
Its like being a gardener.
Ravi: I see. Do you know anything about computers?
Darryl: Erm
Tess: Ravi! Youre not supposed to tell people what the quiz is about before we
start. Thats the second time youve said it.
Ravi: Oops. Well, lets get on with it. Were going to play Hot Seat, Darryl. Ive
got these cards with some words on them and Im going to give them to Tess
and she has to explain the words to you and you have to guess what the words
are. OK?
Darryl: OK.
Ravi: And all the words are on the same topic.
Tess: And I think we all know what that is, Ravi.
Ravi: And the topic today is computers and computing Computers and
computing. Youve got one minute starting from now
Tess: OK. This one is the thing you hold to move around the screen. Small
thing. Its an animal as well.
Darryl: Mouse.
Tess: Yes. Next one. The thing you type on.
Darryl: Keyboard.

Tess: Yes. Well done. Oh gosh. The thing with the picture on it. Erm the screen!
Darryl: Monitor?
Tess: Yes. Erm. This is something on the computer that does something Sorry
thats a terrible clue. Erm you have these on your computer and they make it do
things. You might have one for editing photos one for sending e-mail erm
Darryl: I dont know
Tess: You have them on TV too.
Darryl: Oh. Programme!
Tess: OK. Right. OK, the computer and the monitor and everything are all Programs
and things are software but the other things are
Darryl: Hardware.
Tess: Thats right. Ah. OK. The little thing you move around the screen.
Darryl: Mouse?
Tess: No, you use the mouse to move it the little arrow or whatever, you know?
Darryl: Oh, the erm I know it what do you call it cursor!
Tess: Right. This ones a bad thing. You dont want your computer to get one of these,
it makes everything go
Darryl: A Trojan? A virus!
Tess: Virus, yes. Erm ..
{buzzer sounds}
Ravi: Times up. Well done you two. How many was that? Hang on. Mouse, keyboard,
monitor, programme, hardware, cursor, virus. One two three four five six seven.
Tess: Well done Darryl sorry I wasnt very good at
that. Darryl: Thats OK Tess, thank you.
Ravi: OK Darryl, thanks for playing. Well send you some bits and pieces. Enjoy your
walk!
Darryl: Thanks Ravi. Bye.
Tess & Ravi: Bye.