Unit A. Gadgets
Vocabulary
1. Make sure that you know the words:
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appliance
novelty
to vary
variable
invariable
gizmo
to trace back
according to
evidence
evident
evidently
precise
precision
circulate
circulation
to contradict
contradiction
nautical
naval
derive
derivation
hammer
reserve
inclusion
include
implement
implementation
exact
fitment
lever
mascot
to steer
to borrow from
to relieve
relief
connotation
define
definition
circumstance
desire
clip-on
USB
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2. Match the words in the box with the appropriate definition below:
variable, include, precise, connotation, derive, appliance, circumstance, gizmo, steer, mascot1) something suggested by a word or thing
2) to control the direction in which something (such as a ship, car, or airplane) moves
3) an instrument or device designed for a particular use or function
4) a person, animal, or object used as a symbol to represent a group (such as a sports team) and to bring good luck
5) to take in or comprise as a part of a whole or group
6) a condition or fact that affects a situation
7) exactly or sharply defined or stated
8) subject tochanges
9) a usually small mechanical or electronic device, a gadget
10) to take, receive, or obtain especially from a specified source
Reading
3. Read the text and say if the information is new for you:
GADGETS
A gadget is a small technological object (such as a device or an appliance) that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. Gadgets are invariably considered to be more unusually or cleverly designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention. Gadgets are sometimes also referred to as gizmos.
History
The origins of the word "gadget" trace back to the 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there is anecdotal evidence for the use of "gadget" as a placeholder name for a technical item whose precise name one can't remember since the 1850s; with Robert Brown's 1886 book Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boy’s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea-clipper containing the earliest known usage in print. The etymology of the word is disputed. A widely circulated story holds that the word gadget was "invented" when Gaget, Gauthier & Cie, the company behind the repoussé[1] construction of the Statue of Liberty (1886), made a small-scale version of the monument and named it after their firm; however this contradicts the evidence that the word was already used before in nautical circles, and the fact that it did not become popular, at least in the USA, until after World War I. Other sources cite a derivation from the French gâchette which has been applied to various pieces of a firing mechanism, or the French gagée, a small tool or accessory. The October 1918 issue of Notes and Queries contains a multi-article entry on the word "gadget" (12 S. iv. 187). H. Tapley-Soper of The City Library, Exeter, writes:
A discussion arose at the Plymouth meeting of the Devonshire Association[2] in 1916 when it was suggested that this word should be recorded in the list of local verbal provincialisms. Several members dissented from its inclusion on the ground that it is in common use throughout the country; and a naval officer who was present said that it has for years been a popular expression in the service for a tool or implement, the exact name of which is unknown or has for the moment been forgotten. I have also frequently heard it applied by motor-cycle friends to the collection of fitments to be seen on motor cycles. 'His handle-bars are smothered in gadgets' refers to such things as speedometers, mirrors, levers, badges, mascots, &c., attached to the steering handles. The 'jigger' or short-rest used in billiards is also often called a 'gadget'; and the name has been applied by local platelayers to the 'gauge' used to test the accuracy of their work. In fact, to borrow from present-day Army slang, 'gadget' is applied to any old thing.
The usage of the term in military parlance extended beyond the navy. In the book "Above the Battle" by Vivian Drake, published in 1918 by D. Appleton & Co., of New York and London, being the memoirs of a pilot in the British Royal Flying Corps, there is the following passage: "Our ennui was occasionally relieved by new gadgets - "gadget" is the Flying Corps slang for invention! Some gadgets were good, some comic and some extraordinary."
By the second half of the twentieth century, the term "gadget" had taken on the connotations of compactness and mobility. In the 1965 essay "The Great Gizmo" (a term used interchangeably with "gadget" throughout the essay), the architectural and design critic Reyner Banham defines the item as:
A characteristic class of US products – perhaps the most characteristic –is a small self-contained unit of high performance in relation to its size and cost, whose function is to transform some undifferentiated set of circumstances to a condition nearer human desires. The minimum of skills is required in its installation and use, and it is independent of any physical or social infrastructure beyond that by which it may be ordered from catalogue and delivered to its prospective user. A class of servants to human needs, these clip-on devices, these portable gadgets, have coloured American thought and action far more deeply––I suspect–than is commonly understood.
Today, the term has gained widespread currency in a variety of industries and activities. It can refer to tools and toys as diverse as "smartphones", GPS navigation devices, key finders, USB toys, and radio controlled cars.
Speaking
4. Speak on the following topics:
What do we call a gadget?
What gadgets have you got?
What gadgets would you like to have?
Unit B. Mobile phones
Vocabulary
1. Make sure that you know the words:
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cell
cellular
to cover
coverage area
to belong
to transfer
roaming
out of range
drawback
to convert
conversion
to increase
to decrease
to reduce
reduction
stage
PDA
wire
wireless
to appoint
appointment
to make an appointment
concern
to concern
to be concerned
as far as … is concerned…
kit
hands-free-kit
to occupy
occupation
to strike
striking
eye-catching
addict
addiction
feedback
to surf (the Web)
to impress
impression
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2. Complete the sentences with the words from the box:
feedback, reduction, drawback, conversion, appointed, impression, covered, wireless, stage, occupations1) There is a 20 percent______on selected items during this sale.
2) She was______professor of chemistry at the university.
3) He is thinking about changing______and becoming a police officer.
4) The company uses customer______to improve its products.
5) The café offers free______Internet access.
6) The company is undergoing a______toa new computer system.
7) The hikers______long distances every day.
8) He has no intention of leaving the political______.
9) My first______of him was that he was a kind and thoughtful young man.
10) The trip sounds great, but cost is a major______.
Reading
3. Mobile phones: definition and technology
a) Read the text:
Mobile phones, or cellular phones, are devices that enable communication to all types of telephones while moving over a wide area called the coverage area.
The term ‘cellular’ comes from the fact that the phone calls are made through base stations, communication towers or antennas, which divide the coverage area into cells. As you move from cell to cell, the calls are transferred to different base stations belonging to the same or different telephone company. This capability of mobile phones is called roaming. The phone is said to be out of range when it cannot communicate with a base station.
b) Complete this text about basic principles of mobile telephony with words from the text above:
Mobile phones, also called (1)……., or cell phones for short, need a network of towers or antennas to transmit calls. In a cellular system, a city is divided into smaller sections or (2)……., where the (3)……. usually occupy a central position. When you are outside your service provider’s (4)…….. area, your telephone may become out of (5)…….. unless your telephone allows (6)……, i.e. the ability to use another service provider’s network.
4. A brief history
Read the text and decide if these sentences are True or False. If they are false, correct them.
§ 1G, First Generation phones started in the 1980 when Motorola introduced the first hand-held phones. They used analogue technology and the main drawback was the small number of channels that could be used at a time.
§ In the 1990s, 2G mobiles introduced digital transmission methods that converted voice into binary information, increasing the number of channels, the speed of transmission between the phone and the base station and enabling a reduction of size. The most common standard, GSM, Global System for Mobile communications, started to be used at this stage. One of the features of this technology is the use of SIM cards, a type of small card that contains the user’s information, the connection data and the phonebook. It also enables the user to changes service provider without changing the handset.
§ 3G phones offer a high-speed data transfer capability. Some of these phones are called smart phones and combine PDA capabilities with the usual functions of a digital phone. The new communication standard, UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, enables the multimedia transmissions that are becoming common nowadays.
§ New standards are being developed that will open the way to new 4G phones with an emphasis on multimedia, real-time television and radio.
1) 1G phones had a slower transmission speed than 2G.
2) 2G phones introduced analogue technology.
3) GSM started to be used in the 80s.
4) Smart phones can be used for other purposes, e.g. as a personal assistant.
5) People won’t be able to watch live TV on 4G phones.
6) SIM cards enable users to keep important information.
7) UMTS, the standard used in 3G phones, has made video phones a commercial reality.
5. FEATURES and FUNCTIONS
a) Mobiles have become an essential part of our lives and there are many uses of them. Read the sayings of the people:
I сбрарлою
b) Match the CNET.com phone reviews (1-5) to the descriptions of the users who might be interested in them (a-e):
1) This is the best multimedia phone, with a 1.3-megapixel digital camera, TransFlash card slot, Bluetooth and an MP3 player.2) This is the best smart phone, with wireless support (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, WAP and mail.
3) This model is the best phone for SMS addicts, with a QWERTY keyboard and multiple messaging options.
4) This is the best status-symbol phone, with a striking design, beautiful display and speakphone; it’s a world phone. Hands-free kit included.
5) this phone is the best for teens, with eye-catching pop-up display, vibration feedback for game playing, programmable ring tones and changeable faceplates. / a People who love talking, playing games and unusual ring tones.
b people who prefer writing to phoning
с Phone users who love taking pictures and watching videos, and music lovers.
d People who want email and surf the Web.
e Mobile phone fanatics who travel a lot and want to make an impression.
6. Cell Phone Etiquette
a) Are you a responsible mobile user?
Mobiles can be very annoying for other people and they can even be dangerous in certain situations. Look at the information on this website and learn how to become a more responsible mobile user.
Cell-phone etiquette is really just common courtesy. Most people today have a Mobile phone. In fact, many people can't imagine how they ever got along without a portable phone. However, many people also complain about cell phone users. People complain about other people loudly discussing personal matters in public places. They complain when cell phones ring in movie theaters and concert halls. They complain about people driving too slow, and not paying attention to where they are going because they are talking on a cell phone. And they complain about people walking around talking to people who aren't there.
Whenever a new communications technology becomes popular, it changes the way society is organized. Society has to invent rules for the polite way to use the new devices. Our social etiquette, our rules of politeness for cell phones, is still evolving.
Cell-phone etiquette applies to most public places. Always try to keep your phone ringer as low as possible or put your mobile phone on vibrate, so it does not distract the people around you. A good time to leave your phone at home, or at least in the car, would be at a funeral, wedding or some event along those lines.
Basic Cell phone etiquette rules include:
Switching it Off: Know when to turn it off or vibrate it, e.g. meetings, movies, worship, seminars, etc. Choose vibrate mode when in places where you can take a call, but don't want to disturb others.
Be Brief :When you get a call and you're with friends, keep the call short.
Permission: Often, it is correct etiquette to inform others at the beginning of the meeting that you are expecting an important call and get their permission.
Be Polite :Don't scream : speak in a lower-than-normal voice, you will be heard by the caller, and not others in the room.
Don't Distract :Avoid talking where you may be distracting to others.
Driving :It is not only very dangerous, but also unlawful in most countriesto drive & talk on your cell Phone
b) After reading the information, decide if the following pieces of advice are True or False. If they are false, correct them:
• Switch off your mobile or turn it to vibrate when you are at a meeting, in
church, at the cinema, etc. Never use it in mobile-free zones.
• Don't talk and drive unless you have a hands-free mobile.
• Don't shout while you're speaking. Remember that you can't judge how loud your voice is to the other person while you are using a mobile, and hearing a loud voice can be annoying for other people.
• You can talk as much as you want if you are talking to friends.
• Use your mobile to phone your friends anytime, anywhere.