Technology and human history

 

Because of computers and other invent (1) it is easy for us to think of technological (2) as something recent. Though it is truth (3) that we rely on machines more than ever before, technology has always been an essence (4) part of human life. Fire and the wheel were doubt (5) important advances, even if we think of them as simple now. Our ancient ancestry (6) also created stone axes, other (7) they would not have been able to hunt effect (8). Later, people discovered metal, though plastic (9) were not invented until modern times.

Early technology was incontestably determined by metal (10) giving the names to the important periods in the early human history: Bronze Age and Iron Age. The manufacture of tools controlled the develop (11) of civilization, beginning with the cast-iron ploughshares. Therefore the ground could be worked to greater deep (12) and better harvests obtained.

Next, tools made of cast-iron and then of steel allowed hard materials such as stone to be treated, which led to the development of civil engineer (13). Many great structures were built, in which the Romans displayed compare (14) genius.

After metal, glass was a key material on the road towards civilization. It was to play a primordial role in the fabricate (15) of instruments for observation and measure (16), which are essential for learning about the world.

Archaeological excavate (17) continue to reveal the technical able (18) of our ancestors, and remind us that many inventions originated before our own technological age.

We have to real (19) that our whole history is the history of technology, regard (20) of the exact form it took.

 

 

2. Выберите подходящее слово из предложенных двух вариантов.

INFORMATION REVOLUTION

 

The first information revolution/evolution (1) took place five hundred years ago when Johann Gutenberg’s printing press/pressure (2) made books big business. From that point on, the printed page changed the route/way (3) how people ran their lives. Now we are in the process/procedure (4) of the second revolution, and the question is: “Will the printed word alive/survive (5)?”

Paper books are cheap and effective/efficient (6) while electronic books can store/stock (7) much more information – a thousand paperbacks on one disc – and control/manage (8) the information in ways paperbacks simply cannot. This revolutionary new system is called CD ROM, which means “compact disc read only memory”, as once the disc is made, its contents/content (9) cannot be altered/alternated (10). Imagine twenty volumes of the Oxford dictionary, which weights/weighs (11) 66 kilos and has 21, 710 pages put on one disc.

For children there are super/superb (12) encyclopedias which offer visual/evident (13) experience as well as information. Such access/approach (14) is bound to make learner/learning (15) more exciting.

 

 

3. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

A NEW GENERATION OF MOBILE PHONES

 

Mobile phones have increased in popular (1) over the last few years, and nowadays almost everyone has one. We current (2) use them mainly to make calls and send text messages. Soon, however, information such as exact (3) where you are, to the precise (4) of a few meters, may be available through a mobile. This may be extremely use (5) if you got lost, say, when driving a car. There is now no science (6) reason why your phone should not also be able to help you when you enter an area of high crime (7) activity. Such technology has been available to special (8) such as the police and pilots for a long time, but now that the finance (9) costs of such equipment have come down, mobile phone companies are looking at the suitable (10) of offering these services to the public. In their judge (11), there will be a great demand for such services. It remains to be seen, of course, whether the public will show any appreciate (12).

 

 

4. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

INDESPENSABLE DEVICE?

I was reading an advertise (1) the other day, which described the cellular telephone as an ‘aid of convenient (2) ’. As a techno-phobewho does not possess a mobile phone, still less an on-line connect (3), I was intrigued by the astonish (4) presumptuousnessof this claim. An understand (5) reason why I do not have a mobile phone is that I don’t want to be at someone’s beck and call 24 hours a day. But apparent (6) there are plenty of sane adults who do. There are many people who bought their phones on absolute understanding that it was to be used for emerge (7) only. But the insidious thing grade (8) took over their lives to the point where it seems they can bare (9) live without it. Doubt (10), giving a mobile phone to children helps parents to control them, however, the children tend not to develop the able (11) to make their own decide (12).

 

 

5. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

TELEPHONE CALLS

Today an enormous amount of person (1) and business communicate (2) takes place by telephone and fax machine. It is usually quite easy to make a call to someone in the most remote locate (3) on the other side of the world because these days most long -distant (4) calls travel via satellite. Fifty years ago, however, an nation (5) call was far more difficult to make. It could sometimes take an operate (6) a very long time to make a connect (7), and even then the receive (8) was often rather poor. Telephones at that time could only work between places connected by continue (9) wires which had to cross the oceans. The world’s longest cable still stretches water (10) for fifteen thousand kilometers beneath the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

6. Выберите подходящее слово из предложенных трех вариантов.

INTELLIGENT HOME

 

If you are worried about burglary, which in 2003 cost (1) ___ companies millions of pounds in (2) ___, there is good news for you. A traditional (3) ___ system, with specially built security doors and (4) ___ at each door and window, is very expensive to (5) ___. Technology, though, will soon make the “intelligent home” (6) ___ and the whole system will be included in the price of the house. New homes will be built with a special electronic system which will (7) ___ lights, heating, security and anything else the (8) ___ chooses. This means lights can be programmed to be turned on and off automatically at (9) ___ times, making it look as if someone is at home even when everyone is out. (10) ___ can also be opened and closed by the computer, and all (11) ___ can be recorded by video camera, making it possibleto protect yourself and your (12) ___.

 

	A ensuring	B insurance	C assurance
	A conversation	B compensation	C convenience
	A safety	B protection	C security
	Adetectors	B detectives	C senses
	A equip	B fasten	C install
	A probable	B possible	Ccapable
	A connect	B unit	C linkage
	A owner	B proprietor	C host
	A prearranged	B preoccupied	C preset
	A cushions	B curtains	C cuisines
	A intruders	B invaders	C investors
	A proprietor	B possess	C belongings

 

 

7. Заполните пропуски подходящими по смыслу словами из предложенного списка.

TELEVISION

accurate attention audience clearer current delayed discovery events flood important invented inventor simplified transmission unclear

If you ask someone who (1) ___ television, they will tell you it was John Baird. While Baird was, of course, extremely (2) ___ in the history of television; it would be more (3) ___ to see his role as part of a chain of (4) ___ which finally led to television as we know it today. The history of television really begins in 1817 with the

(5) ___ by Berzelius, a Swedish chemist of the chemical selenium. It was found that the amount of electric (6) ___ that selenium could carry depended on how much light struck it. The discovery directly led to G.R.Carey, an American

(7) ___ of the first real television system in 1875. His system used selenium to transmit a picture along wire to a row of light bulbs. This picture was (8) ___, however. Over the next years, a number of scientists and inventors (9) ___ and improved on Carey’s system. It was not until 1923 that Baird made his first practical (10) ___. Once again, the picture was transmitted through wires, but it was much (11) ___ than Carey’s had been almost fifty years ago. The Second World War (12) ___ the development of television. After the war, television sets began to (13) ___ the market, with the first mass TV (14) ___ watching the baseball World Series in the USA in 1947. Within a few years, television had captured the (15) ___ of the whole world.

 

 

8. Выберите подходящее слово из предложенных двух вариантов.

SATELLITE TV

 

The advent/advance (1) of satellite TV has brought a whole new world of viewing into our rooms – if we can afford to pay for it. Major sporting events can now be seen alive/live (2). Besides this, a wider variety/variation (3) of sports is now available. The viewer can choose anything from dog-racing to sumo wrestling. Certain canals/channels (4) show 20 films a day. Again, the choice is enormous – from old classics to the latest Hollywood releases/issues (5). For those ones who like to keep informed, 24-hour news is available at the touch of a button. A special/especial (6) junior channel broadcasts cartoons/cartons (7) and children’s films. But do we really need all this choice/choose (8)? The greatest danger is that we will become a population/publicity (9) of passive couch-potatoes with square eyes and fingers glued to the remote/remove (10) control. Of course the choice is a good thing, but viewers/spectators (11) should use their ability to elect/select (12) the best and disregard the rest.

 

9. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

IDENTITY CARDS

 

The authorities suggested issuing identify (1) cards to everyone claiming social secure (2) to prevent fraud, but now even their supporters don’t prove (3) of them. British objections to identity cards surprise people in most Europe (4) countries. The major (5) of the members of the European Union use them, and they may be used to place (6) passports when crossing frontiers.

But despite the advantages they may have – it is said that if they were in exist (7), there would be fewer illegal migrate (8) and football hooligans could be prevented from going abroad − the Britain (9) still associate them with the Second World War and ration (10). It is also doubt (11) whether they would save money but for many people their introduce (12) sounds like the first step towards the police state.

 

 

10. Выберите подходящее слово из предложенных двух вариантов.

CREDIT CARDS

 

In most western countries, few people use cash any more to pay for a large purchase/pursuit (1). Rather, they either write checks/cheques (2) or pay by credit cards. Whereas cheques are decreasing in number/amount (3) each year, the credit card has become increasingly indispensable/dispensable (4). Many people have several credit cards at their disposal.

Paying by credit card offers several major advances/advantages (5). Firstly, you don’t have to carry around large amounts of cash/cashier (6) which could be stolen and is annoying to have in your pocket or wallet/valet (7). Secondly, unlike with cheques, you usually have several weeks in which to actually pay. This is duty/due (8) to the way the system works.

With a credit card, you get a receipt/recipe (9) from the credit card company or bank at the end of each month. If you make your purchase/bargain (10) at the beginning of the month, you will have interest-free credit/credentials (11). You can decide to pay the amount in total and thus not to be charged/discharged (12) any interest at all, or to pay a certain amount, delaying the remainder/remains (13) of the payment at a high rate of interest, to subsequent/sequential (14) months. This, of course, can lead to one of the main disadvantages of credit cards. They give people the impression that they can effort/afford (15) more than they actually can, resulting in their ending up with huge amounts of debt/doubt (16).

 

 

11. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

MULTYCARD

 

Forecasting the future is a risk (1) business. But that does not mean we can't say anything about the next decade. In fact one trend is almost completely predict (2): payment card system develop (3). According to the develop (4) of this innovative card system, action (5) will be primarily plastic-based but people won’t carry as many cards as they do now. So the wallet full of plastics is likely to be place (6) by a single multi-function card that will act as a cheque book, a credit card, a cash dispense (7) and a debit card. Some countries have already started to introduction (8) this system. This futureversion will be a ‘smart card’ with a built-in memory. It will carry as much information about you as your personal organize (9) – details of your bank count (10), salary, credit ratings, sure (11) – and will be able to provide that information to anyone you choose to do businesswith.

 

12. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.