Living with technology

Unit 1

With the rapid development of digital technology, great changes have taken place in people’s daily lives.

Among the electrical and electric products, which do you think is the most useful? Why?

Do you know other changes in people’s life?

What do you think life without these products would be like?

• How important are watching TV and listening to the radio to you?

• How have different electronic devices changed over time?

• How have these inventions improved people’s lives?

Compare the TV in the picture with the TV in your home.

Early TV was in black and white and had a poor picture.

LED

desktop laptop

The development of computers

The development of dictionary

The development of mobile phones

Do the electronic devices bring us advantages or disadvantages?

Advantages: Meet people’s needs and improve people’s lives to some degree.

Discussion

Disadvantages: 1) Radiation may be harmful to people’s health. 2) When people buy new electrical or electronic devices, they throw away the old ones, which not only cause waste, but also are harmful to the environment.

Think it over

Do you think these electrical and electric devices (products) are very useful? Why?

Who developed the system used for most early TV broadcasts?Who made the first recording of a human voice?What were developed by the late 1960s?

Reading

Who developed the system used for most early TV broadcasts?

John Logie Baird.

Who made the first recording of a human voice?

Thomas Edison.

What were developed by the late 1960s?

Portable cassette players and video recorders.

Careful reading

Read the text again and complete Parts C1 and C2.

Read the sentences below and decide whether they are true (T) or false (F) according to the article. Circle your answers.

1. Colour TV became popular within just

a few years after it was invented.

2. People without satellite dishes do not

benefit at all from satellite TV broadcasts.

F

F

3. Some of the first tape recorders used

plastic tape to record on.

4. Records and cassettes do not offer as

good a sound quality as CDs.

5. New technology will soon make

many of the things talked about in the

article out of date.

F

T

T

Complete the following table by

filling in the event happening in

a particular year.

Year Event1877

1887

1925

1929

1938

The first public TV broadcasts were made, in the USA.

Regular public broadcasting began in London.

The first colour TV programme was broadcast.

The first recording of a human voice was made.

Emile Berliner invented a record player that used discs to record on.

Year Event

1962

1967

1982

1993

1995

Satellites were used to broadcast TV.

Regular colour TV broadcasts began in the UK.

The DVD was invented.

The first CDs were made available.

The VCD was born.

Match these new words from the article with their meanings. Write the correct letters in the blanks.

1. evolution ____

2. principle ____

3. accessible____

4. distribute_____

a. easy to carryb. using a system of receiving, sending a storing information in the form of numberc. spread something over an area

ch

d

e

5. component___

6. portable______

7. digital______

8. storage______

d. a law or rule that is behind somethinge. the slow development of somethingf. one of several parts that make up somethingg. the space where things or information can be kepth. easy to reach, obtain or use

g

b

a

f

Read the following passage about the development of radio. Complete it with the words in the box.

constructed drawbacks percentageeventually delayed receiver

foresaw

With the patent of the telephone in 1876, people could now have a conversation with each other over a long distance. Many engineers _________ that it would be possible to send electrical signal through the atmosphere without relying on telephone wires. Some important breakthroughs in the development of radio were made by Nikola Tesla in the USA in 1891.

foresaw

However, Tesla’s work had many ___________. The first real radio was ___________ by Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian, in 1896. Early radios just sent signals made up of dots and dashes. It was not until 1906 that adaptations were made so that radio could relay conversation and music. Since people were sceptical that the public would want to hear radio broadcasts, the building of radio stations was _________.

drawbacksconstructed

delayed

Only a very small __________ of radio stations were built before 1920. However, most people had access to a radio ________ by the late 1920s and early 1930s. __________, radio became the primary means of getting news and entertainment.

Eventually

percentage

receiver

TV is a necessary part of our life, and most of us spend a lot of time enjoying a variety of TV programmes every day. What benefit does TV bring to us? Does it have any bad effect on us? And why?

Discussion

First of all, watching TV brings us a feeling

of relaxation. After a busy day, people can

forget the pressures and challenges of work

when sitting in front of TV.

In addition to this, TV is a way of helping us

to know the latest news and some national

policies. As is known to all, TV can also

Enrich our knowledge and open our views

by providing some relevant information.

One possible version

However, TV has a bad effect on people, too.

For one thing, people waste a lot of time in it.

Secondly, TV killed people’s creativity

undoubtedly. While watching TV, people

become receptive and unquestioning.

Finally, some TV shows are harmful to

children, whose mind may be filled with

confusing, misleading, and violent ideas.