Science and Technology

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TASK 1
Talk about the pictures. Say what kind of situation is depicted in each picture
and give your opinion of it.
(You are supposed to talk about the pictures for approximately 5 minutes.)

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Picture 1

There are 2 men in the picture. Both of them are bald. They are in a computer lab. One of the men´s
sitting at a desk. He must be over 75. He is wearing a shirt, woollen cardigan and glasses. He doesn´t
see properly. He has no good eyesight. On the desk in front of him, there is a PC and a keyboard. He
is holding a PC mouse in his right hand. The other man is younger. He might be about 60. He is
wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt, a tie, dark trousers and a watch. He is pointing at something on
the monitor (it might be an icon or something like that). He is explaining something to the other man.
In my opinion, he is an IT teacher. I think there are more students and all of them are retired. They are
having an IT lesson. The older man has just taken up the IT course. He is quite old but still active. He
wants to learn new things. It is not easy for him, but he is obviously interested in it. He might want to
know how to use a PC, the Internet, or the Facebook. I think his granchildren work or live abroad and
he would like to keep in contact with them. The teacher must be very patient and calm; he must know
how to explain things easily. This is an extra job he has. The lessons are in the evenings. He wants to
help older people and earn some extra money as well.

Picture 2

There is a little baby boy (toddler) sitting on a desk in front of a PC. He is also holding a mouse in his
righ hand. He knows how to use it. It must be warm in the room because he is wearing just a T-shirt
and he has bare feet. I think he can´t walk yet. He is still wearing diapers. He looks interested in what
he is doing. He might be looking at some pictures or watching a film. He seems to be/is fascinated by
them / the PC. I hope there is his mother near him watching him, or he might fall off the desk. It is
true that small children can learn new things easily. They are interested in technological inventions
and IT. But, on the other hand, there is danger that they can become addicted to PCs. In the future, the
boy might spend a lot of time playing computer games. He can lead an unhealthy life style. I mean he
will spend long hours in front of the PC, he won´t read any books, will stay at home, won´t go out with
his friends. He can become overweight. The PC/the Internet can be a good servant but a bad master.
In my opinion, parents should control what their children do on the Internet especially when they are
teenagers.

Picture 3 Below, describe picture 3. You can work with your peer at desk.

TASK 2
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What technological inventions do you use to make your life easier?

 the Internet, TV, radio, CD player, DVD player, MP3 player

 the cell phone, computer, remote control, digital camera, camcorder, headphones

 vehicles – cars, buses, coaches, trains, planes, bikes, ...

 household appliances, labour-saving devices

The car – we can get from one place to another easily.

The computer – reduces the amount of work (znižuje množstvo práce) which people have to do in
business and at home; it reduces the amount of paper needed in offices and the storing space
(skladovací priestor) needed for it; you can type on it, store information in it, it can count very quickly,
provide graphs; you can store photos without the use of paper, look up information very quickly from
your home, send e-mails in just a few seconds to any part of the world, ...

Household appliances (domáce spotrebiče) – they make household chores (domáce práce) much easier
for people (e.g. the vacuum cleaner, blender), or they do the work instead (namiesto) of people, e.g.
the food processor, microwave, toaster, cooker, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge, freezer, hair
dryer, iron, hoover.

Medical apparatuses and equipment – doctors can diagnose more easily and more precisely
(presnejšie).

What invention/ inventions do you find the most important?

the wheel – makes transport possible, is used in many machines because of its properties

writing – makes recording ideas possible

book printing (kníhtlač) – makes it possible to get access to books for everyone (získať prístup ku
knihám pre všetkých)

the car, the engine the telephone, the mobile

the racket – makes it possible to explore space (skúmať vesmír)

the satellite – we can see various parts of the world without travelling

electricity – provides power for machines

atomic power – we can produce electricity efficiently and cheaply, but it can be dangerous

the atomic bomb – the most dangerous and misusable (zneužiteľný) invention ever

What do people use the Internet and computers for? We can:

 write documents

 listen to CDs, MP3

 play games, make music, watch films

 draw pictures
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 take and save photos

 burn CD, DVDs
 send e-mails
 do online shopping
 browse the Internet
 read online books
 download music, films, documents
 learn languages

 Word Processing – (Microsoft Office) Word Processing software automatically

corrects spelling and grammar mistakes. You can use the Copy and Paste features.
You can print out documents and make several copies. You can add images to your
documents.
 Internet – is a network of almost all the computers in the world. You can browse
through much more information than you could in a library.
 Digital video and audio composition - audio and video composition and editing
have been made easier by computers. It no longer costs thousands of euros of
equipment to compose music or make a film. Graphics engineers can use computers to
generate short or full-length films or even to create three-dimensional models. Special
effects in science fiction and action movies are created using computers.

 Computers in Medicine - You can diagnose diseases. Software is used for

performing surgeries. Computers are used to store patients´ data.

 Banks - All financial transactions are done by computer software. It provides security,
speed and convenience (pohodlie).

 Travel - people can book air tickets or railway tickets and make hotel reservations
online.

 E-Learning – instead of a book it is easier to learn from e-learning software.

 Gambling -you can gamble online instead of going to a casino.

 Examinations -you can take online exams and get instant results. You can check your
examination results online.

 Computers in business – shops and supermarkets use software which calculates the
bills. Taxes can be calculated and paid online.

 ATM machines – computer software authenticates the user and dispenses (vydá)
cash.

 News – there are many websites on which you can read the latest or older news.

 Robotics – robots are controled by software.

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 Washing Machines/Microwave Oven - they cen be operated online by software.

 Aeroplanes – pilots train using software which simulates flying. Computers control
planes.

 Planning and Scheduling – software can be used to store contact information,

generating plans, scheduling appointments and deadlines.

 Greeting Cards – you can send and receive online cards on different occasions.

 Sports – software is used for making umpiring decisions (rozhodnutia

rozhodcov).There is simulation software used which a sportsman can practise his
skills on. Computers can also identify and detect flaws in technique (dokážu
identifikovať a odhaliť chyby v technike).

 Weather Analysis – supercomputers are used to analyze and predict weather.

What are the pros and cons of using of the Internet?

PROS: Via the Internet, you can:

 find information very quickly and easily, you can download files, programmes, music, films,...
– it is a very cheap source of information (you don´t have to buy books or newspapers or pay
for borrowing them from libraries.) The Internet saves your time and money.
 Send information, documents, photos, films, music. You can send people large files free of
charge (bez poplatku) and they will get them in a short time.
 Buy and sell things. You can save time if you do the shopping online and if you order things
online. If you buy things on the net, you can often find them cheaper than in stone shops.
 Transfer your money to a different bank account.
 Find a life partner in an online matching agency (zoznamka).
 Find a new job.
 Work from home.
 Book hotels, holidays, tickets.
 Communicate -you can communicate with other people around the world, you can talk seeing
each other via Skype.
 Use social networks- Facebook, Twitter Chatting Video conferencing E-mail
Internet telephoning etc.
 Entertainment - Internet also provides different types of entertainment to people. You can
play games with other people in any part of the world.
 Online education - you can get online education. Many websites of different universities
provide lectures on different subjects or topics.

CONS:
 You can become addicted easily.

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 Children can access inappropriate materials easily, especially if their parents don´t block
these websites.
 People are bullied online more because their bullies have anonymity (cyberbullying =
kyberšikana).
 Viruses – today the Internet is the most popular source of spreading viruses.
 Security problems - websites can be damaged by hackers, and your valuable data may be
deleted or misused (identity theft = krádež identity).
 Immorality - some websites contain immoral materials in the form of text, pictures or movies
etc.
 Accuracy of information - a lot of information about a particular topic is stored on the
websites. Some information may be incorrect or not authentic.
 English language problems - most of the information on the Internet is available in the
English language.
 Wasting of time - some people waste a lot of time chatting or playing games. At home and in
the offices, a lot of people use the Internet without any positive purpose.

What are your favourite applications/websites/social networks you use often?

TASK 3 - Simulation / Role play

Your family has a computer with no access to the Internet, which is there for all members of
your family - father, mother, you and your brothers and sisters. You think you need your own
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computer with an Internet connection because you often need to do your homework on the
computer, but there is always someone else who needs to work on the computer, too. Try to
persuade your mother / father to buy you your own new computer/laptop.
(You are supposed to make a dialogue with your examiner. It should last approximately 5
minutes.)
Possible arguments:
Mummy, I think daddy and you should consider buying me a PC because I really need one for school.
I use it every day and I always have a problem getting to it because Tommy and Janet are always
surfing the Net or daddy is doing some work on it.

They often give us homework which I need to do on the Net. If I did it at school, I would have to stay
there till 5 every afternoon.

If we bought it on hire-purchase (na splátky), we wouldn´t need so much money at once (naraz).

I´ll get a part time job and help you pay for the computer, I promise.

Our computer is getting old and the Internet is too slow. A new computer would be more efficient not
only for me, but for daddy, too.

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

Parent: Tell me. What´s the matter?

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

Parent: But we already have one. We bought it two years ago. I think you are demanding (náročný)
and a little bit spoilt (trocha rozmaznaný).

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Parent: Yes, I understand but we have just bought a new car, and there isn´t much money left.

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

Parent: How did you manage it?

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Parent: Oh, I didn´t know that.

Child: ____________________________________________________________________________

Parent: O.K. I think that sounds good. We´ll buy a notebook for you.

Child: Oh, Mum. I´d like to speak to you.

Parent: Tell me. What´s the matter?

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Child: Mum, I think I need my own computer.

Parent: But we already have one. We bought it two years ago. I think you are demanding (náročný)
and a little bit spoilt (trocha rozmaznaný).

Child: I´m not spoilt at all. That´s only I can´t use it when I need to. Whenever I want to use it,
there´s somebody working on it. And honestly, Peter and Mary are always playing computer games.
We have a lot of homework at school, and I need to do it on the computer and I have to practise
typing and I need the internet as well. I don´t want to spend a lot of time fighting for it.

Parent: Yes, I understand but we have just bought a new car, and there isn´t much money left.

Child: Mum, I know that. I have saved some money. That´s not a lot - about 200 euros.

Parent: How did you manage it?

Child: I didn´t spend all my pocket money (put some money aside) and my grandma gave me some
for my birthday. The computers, I mean notebooks, are not expensive now, and you can buy a
notebook at a reasonable price (rozumnú cenu). It costs about 400 euros.

Parent: Oh, I didn´t know that.

Child: I´ll try to save some money and pay it back. You know I´ll need the notebook at university.

Parent: O.K. I think that sounds good. We´ll buy a notebook for you.