Exercise 3. Choose the correct word in each of the following

1. If you transfer a file from a remote computer to your computer, you

a) download b) upload c) run

2. A document containing information and graphics can be accessed on the internet is _____.

a) a website b) a web page c) the World Wide Web

3. To send out information is to _____.

a) signal b) packet c)transmit

4. Computers that are connected together within one building form a _____.

a) WAN b) ISP c)LAN

5. Cables consisting of several copper wires each with a shield are known as _____ cables.

a) twisted pair b) optical fibre c) power cables

6. The speed with which a modem can process data is measured in _____.

a) bandwidth b) bits per second c) signal

Exercise 4. Below is an extract from the review of the newly released MobiPhone World. Complete the text using the words/phrases in the box below.

alert	browsing	cell phone	clock and alarm	currency converter
email	organizer	PDA	screen	weight

MobiPhone World 1000 is the latest product from MobiCom. It is a fully featured, future-proof mobile, packed with exciting applications. Not only a mobile phone, it doubles as a handy _____. As it is GPRS enabled, you can collect your _____ while you are on the move. In addition, the colour internet _____ makes world wide web searching a new experience. This is enhanced by the new LCD _____ which displays up to ten times the amount of text you’d get on a traditional _____. When you go abroad, you don’t need to worry about missing that important meeting as the World 1000 comes with a _____. You can also be one step ahead of the bank by checking how much you’ll get for your money with the _____. And when you get to the business meeting, you won’t disturb your neighbours , as the vibrating _____ lets you know about incoming calls. You can even write short notes of the meeting on the built-in personal _____.

With a _____of just 69 grams, the MobiPhone World 1000 is a must have.

Exercise 5. Read and retell the text about future threats:

1. Grey goo In his 1986 book "Engines of creation" nanotechnologist K. Eric Drexler suggested that an army of self-replicating nanorobots might destroy the world. Tough, omnivorous robotic "bacteria" could, for example, out-compete real microbes and spread like blowing pollen, replicate swiftly, and reduce the biosphere to dust in a matter of days. Given that we still struggle to control living organisms, if we aren't prepared, then this tiny, dangerous and rapidly spreading replicators could be hard to stop. The result would be a featureless world of "grey goo "within days. But how likely is this scenario? Drexler himself has played down fears in subsequent years, and a report by the Royal Society dismissed grey goo as unlikely. A study by molecular engineering firm Zyvex Technologies found that replicating nanoscopic devices of the type in the grey goo scenario would produce so much heat that they'd become easily detectable - and stoppable.

2. Robot uprising Modern machines may seem mundane compared to the super-smart robots that retro science fiction stories led us to expect would exist by now, but that won't be the case forever. And technical challenges aside, there is no reason to believe that artificial intelligences won't match or surpass humans soon enough. Experts believe that, later this century, robots with our mental power will appear that will be able to copy themselves into millions or even billions of descendants. Would this robot army help us meet global problems such as climate change or disease? Would it decide that people are a waste of space and resources? Doomsday could be triggered by accident. Perhaps the first super-smart Al will be given a benign challenge, such as a math puzzle, but then go gung-ho in its attempt to solve the problem by incorporating the entire planet-including us-into a global calculating device.

3. Alien invasion Contact with extraterrestrials would be one of the greatest moments in the history of humanity. But would aliens be benevolent? They might be wise and want to share information with us, or they might see Earth as no more than a filling station-mining our resources on their way to galactic destination. Or they might ignore us, but accidentally leave behind a virus or toxic waste that kills all life on Earth. Those worried about alien contact include physicist. Stephen Hawking, who thinks the outcome of a visit might be the same as when Columbus landed in America, which Hawking notes "didn't turn out well for the Native Americans". You won't have to run for cover just yet. Astronomer Frank Drake, the father of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI), reckoned that thanks to increasing computing power, detecting the first signal from a distant source might only be 30 years away.