Вы услышите рассказ человека о его опыте использования современных технологий. В заданиях А8–А14 обведите цифру 1, 2 или 3, соответствующую выбранному вами варианту ответа. Вы услышите запись дважды.
The modern world
The modern world
Life has changed so much during my 50 years. When I was at school we were briefly shown a primitive bulky computer with the first available word processing software. That was my entire computer training! The real tools of my school days were pencils and pens—old fashioned fountain pens with copper nibs and refillable ink cartridges.
At university I used a typewriter and I never noticed the communication revolution that was happening all around me. At the age of 24 I was still using an electronic typewriter when the boss said that they were all being thrown out and we’d have new computers. Our card filing systems were going to be replaced by something weird called a database. Like many people at the time I was doubtful that the computers would ‘take over’ the working world, so I bought one of the discarded typewriters at a knockdown price for personal use at home.
But work demanded that I adapt to the computer and so I learned to write letters, copying them to a pre-formatted letterhead and then printing them off and putting them in envelopes for posting. At that point I hadn’t heard about email or the internet.
At the age of 30 I had a management position in a publishing company and my own glamorous secretary! I dictated letters and gave instructions about data collection and management although I really didn’t know how to do it myself. Very soon I realized it was time to learn and adapt or be left behind!
About this time the first mobile phones were beginning to appear. They were large and heavy — about the size of a large house brick! I had been promoted to director and so I was expected to have one. It fitted into my car — a top of the range rover — and could be operated hands free from a switch in the steering column. I still remember the day that I was driving in London and the phone buzzed. I was suddenly speaking to someone in Chicago. It all seemed like a science fiction dream. And that was over 20 years ago!
My first experience of the internet was in the early 90’s. I was on a business trip to Japan and a colleague told me about it. He then gave me a demonstration by looking on to the official site of the White House — home of the government of the USA. I was simply astonished.
Today the technology keeps driving forward at such a pace that one cannot but wonder what is around the corner. Cures for every disease? Travel in space and time? Immortality?
But the other day we all got a reminder that we all still live on a rapidly circling ball of molten magma — the same planet that saw the dinosaurs come and go: the planet of earthquakes, tsunamis and successive dramatic ice ages. Our planet is not especially impressed by our modernity and sophistication. A volcano in Iceland filled the skies with ash and for a while it looked like the age of travel was over. I was one of many stranded travelers taking an almost 24-hour train journey to get home.
Will we find ways to cope with our climate change as fossil fuels run out along with all the materials needed to fuel our technological development? I, of course, hope that the wonderful breakthroughs of modern life will continue and develop. But equally, I sometimes wonder what’s in store for our children and our children’s children.
A8 Which of the following is TRUE about the speaker’s school?
Computers were primitive, but they were regularly used.
Students were offered a basic course in computing.
The main learning tools were old fashioned pens and pencils.
A9 At the age of 24, the speaker was . . .
doubtful that computers would replace typewriters.
very keen to work with any type of computer.
resistant to change of any kind.
doubtful that computers would replace typewriters.
A10 The speaker began using computers because . . .
they were introduced at work.
it helped him to make many copies of the same letter.
he needed to write many emails.
they were introduced at work.
A11 By the age of 30, the speaker understood that . . .
he would have to learn more to make progress in business.
a secretary was essential to make progress in business.
he would have to learn more to make progress in business.
it was time to consult his secretary as a computer and business expert.
A12 The speaker was amazed at the first mobile phones because . . .
he could speak to someone in the USA from a car in London.
they were as big as house bricks.
he could speak to someone in the USA from a car in London.
they could be operated hands free in a car.
A13 The speaker believed the volcano to be a reminder that . . .
the planet is not impressed by the sophistication of humans.
there will eventually be another ice age.
the age of travel might soon end.
the planet is not impressed by the sophistication of humans.
A14 The speaker believes that . . .
technology will continue to develop and progress.
the effective management of climate change is possible.
