Exercise 2. Choose the best answer (a, b, c or d) according to the text.
1. The early printers…
a) could not produce high-quality manuscripts;
b) were unpopular in some offices;
c) tended to leave gaps on the pages;
d) made people wish they could afford them.
2. When the writer and his colleagues saw how good the printer was, they…
a) wanted one each;
b) were surprised;
c) thought someone had played a trick on them;
d) began to think of tricks to play on other people.
3. DTP in the office may lead to…
a) the majority of staff misusing the system;
b) some people finding new ways of misusing the system;
c) staff producing far too much material;
d) changes in the facilities for office workers.
4. DTP enables anyone to…
a) forge documents;
b) pose as a policeman;
c) take control of companies;
d) type efficiently.
5. The false lapel badge…
a) could be worn with a fashionable business suit;
b) did not fool the doorman;
c) is a near-perfect imitation of the original;
d) should give the wearer certain privileges.
6. The story of the telex directory fraud is included to show…
a) the new spirit of individual initiative in present-day society;
b) the potential for crime using desk-top publishing;
c) the incompetence of secretaries everywhere;
d) that DTP can be a source of inexpensive amusement.
Exercise 3. Answer the questions to the text.
1. What does DTP mean?
2. What do such systems allow to produce nowadays?
3. What does the abbreviation IBM correspond to?
4. How can you describe this device?
5. What ways of using it can be found in the office?
6. Do you use such devices for work or study?
7. Do they really help in work or do they cause any problems?
PART 2. PRACTICE YOUR READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS
Text 1
Exercise 1. Read the text.
Robonauts
1. What do you get when you cross a robot and an astronaut? A Robonaut! Robonauts are robot helpers designed to work side-by-side with astronauts. Work on the first Robonaut began in 1997, and by 2002 Robonaut B was revealed to the public. Robonaut B may have featured interchangeable lower bodies, like four-wheel mode or hydraulic legs, but scientists and engineers continued to improve Robonaut. In February of 2010, Robonaut 2 was released to the public. Robonaut 2 moved four times faster than the first Robonaut. An advanced version of Robonaut 2 was finally tested in outer space in 2011. Robonaut functioned exactly as designed.
2. Automation is the use of machines to reduce the need for human labour. In other words automation is when jobs done by people become jobs done by robots. Automation can be a good thing. Because of automation, clothing, cars, and other manufactured products are available at good prices and in large supply. But automation can also be a bad thing. Because of automation, there are over 700,000 robots in America alone that do jobs once performed by humans. The way of automation may not be best for humanity, but it is the course we are taking.
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3. From airplanes to forklifts, hydraulic power is the strength behind many amazing technologies that affect our daily lives, even the breaks on your school bus, but how do they work? First, fluid is rapidly released into a chamber through a valve. As the fluid collects, the valve is slammed shut which causes a pressure spike. Because the chamber is sealed, the pressure has nowhere to go. The hydraulic mechanism channels the pressure and provides great power. And that's how, with the help of hydraulics, Grandma can stop a car with one foot.
4. Many people use the words cyborg and android interchangeably when, in fact, they have different meanings. Both terms refer to beings powered by robotics, but an android is powered entirely by robots. Though androids are completely mechanical, they are designed to look like humans. They may have synthetic skin, hair, and other features, but no human organs. On the other hand, cyborgs are part human and part machine. They may have robotic hands, legs, or eyes, but all cyborgs have surgically implanted technologies that enhance their abilities.
5. It is widely acknowledged fact that machines are stronger than people, but is it possible for them to become smarter than us too? Some scientists fear that it is, or so says the theory of technological singularity. In a nut shell, the theory of technological singularity says that when a computer becomes capable of improving its own capabilities, even in just the slightest way, it will go into an infinite loop, getting progressively smarter, which would inevitably lead to machines becoming smarter than people, or so the theory goes. Such gains in available intelligence might lead to huge improvements in science and medicine. Diseases could be cured and so forth. On the other hand, it could lead to the total domination of mankind by robots, which would be bad. I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.
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