> Defining relative clauses > Quantifiers > Pronunciation: Stress in compound nouns D> Reading: Machines behaving badly > Vocabulary: How machines work, Describing everyday objects ‘Task: Make a ist of things you'd hate to be without > Real ife: Buying things > Writing: Saying thank you Reading 4 book at the photos taken from unusual angles Can you identify the objects? 2 Wihich ofthese do you have experience of? Do you feet positively about them? Why / Why not? | call centres ‘mobile phones the Intemet email computer help desks texting | laptops / palm tops digital TV 3 Which thingls) in exercise 2 do you associate the following words and phrases with? ‘a better quality picture the customer care department hardware instruction manuals being out of date saving time spare part software sing your thumbs 4.2 Read the article written by someone who isa ‘technophobe’ (someone who doesn't ike ‘modern machines). Then match the headings below with the seven paragraphs. It does things you don’t need Itdoesn’t save you time It was out of date before you bought it I's anti-social It’s destroying the English language ‘More choice does not mean better No one takes responsibility when things go wrong b Compare your answers in groups. 5 Work in pairs. Answer the following questions according to the author. ‘Why doesn't a PC save you time? Why do people have to replace their computers s0 often? Why is it easy for help desks and call centres to not “take responsibility’? ‘What is the problem with digital TV? What three effects is text messaging having on young people?MACHINES BEHAUIMG BAGLY Everyone, it seems, has a mobile these days, even children in kindergarten. Billions of text messages fly round the world every day, and computers and call centres run every aspect of our lives. But is all this really making life better? Here are seven good reasons to hate modern technology. A te doesnt save you time Many people make the mistake of thinking that technology is there to save you time. Wrong. It is there to give people new ways of filling their time, Take personal computers. Learning how to use ail. the features of a new PC uses up all the time that having a computer saves. And what about all the hours you spend staring at incomprehensible instruction manuals for your new phone / TV / digital doorbell? B Of course it's wonderful to have a CD player, a mobile, a home computer, ot an electric toaster, for that matter. But do you really want to play computer games on the 4 cm screen of your mobile phone? Do ‘you need your computer to answer the phone, or your TV to make toast? c Digital TV is a perfect example. When it arrived, we were promised a better quality picture and more choice. But at eleven o'clock at night as you flick through the 97 channels you can now get, it fs not the quality of the picture that you worry about. More the fact that not one single programme is worth watching. D After several frustrating weeks of finding all the right software for your new PC, then phoning ‘help’ desks when it doesn’t work, you will proudly show off your new machine to friends only to hear ‘Oh, are you still using that one? I'm thinking of buying the new PYX 5000, myself: A few months later, when you try to buy some minor spare part, you find it is no longer manufactured, and that it would be much cheaper to replace the whole computer with the new PYX 7500, 2 3 Can you guess the meaning of these words and phrases from the context? Check in your dictionary. anti-social (heading 4 in exercise 4a) fling your time (line 10) staring at (line 14) fick through (line 25) show off (ine 32) waiting on hold Qine 47) text speak (line $8) E This is easy, because very few people really understand how the machines they have bought work. So you phone the software company and they will tell \© you it's a hardware problem. You then phone the hardware company and they tell you it’s a software problem. Call centres are the worst, Phone the so- called ‘customer care’ number, and after waiting on hold for fifteen minutes you will be told you need the » sales department. The sales department assure you that it's the technical department you need, but surprise, surprise, the technical department put you back through to customer care. People can spend ‘weeks of their lives like this, F => Apparently, teenagers now do so much texting and e~ mailing that their thumbs are getting bigger. Unfortunately, they are also forgetting how to spel. One American schoolgirl recently wrote her entire essay on’My summer holidays’ in text speak, It began > 'B4 we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 kids. ILNY it’s a GR8 ple’ Or for you and me: ‘Before we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three kids. T love New York its a great place’ « A recent survey showed that more than eight out of ten young people would rather text their friends or family than actually speak to them in person. And according to the same survey, twentyfive percent of people would answer their mobile phone even during ‘2 moment of passion. I ask you, is this really a better world? 78 Discuss the following questions in small groups Do you think the author is male or female, young or middle-aged? What makes you think this? Do you agree with him/her or do you think he/she is living in the past? bb Either Think of some more ways in which technology drives you mad, Or Make your own list of ‘seven reasons to love technology’ 81module 8 Things you can’t live without Language focus 1 Defining relative clauses bo the quiz below to find out how computer friendly you are, Are you a ‘techie’ or a technophobe? BA computer system which allows millions Cf computer users around the world to types of communication signals down a 4 piace of software you install on your Match each word in the @ A person who doesn't ke machines, ‘box with a definition. especially computers an ant-vis broadband exchange information cyberspace © system that s abl to send afrent ee telephone line atthe same time, ‘mouse atechie ‘computer to protect it fom viruses, atechnophobe ‘@ A small object which you move with your hands to give instructions to the computer. The imaginary place where electronic ‘messages, information, pictures, etc, exist when they are sent from one computer to another 1g Someone whose life is dominated by testinology = especialy computers. 1 Lookat the quiz and underline the relative pronouns. ‘Apperson who doesn't ike machines, especially computers. 2 Complete the following rules. and that are used to refer to people. » and __ are used to refer to things, c ~ Is used to refer to possessions. d is used to refer to places or locations. 3. Why is there no relative pronoun in definition d? In which other sentence ‘can we leave out the relative pronoun? > Read Language summary A on page 150 82 Practice 12 Which words in the box do the definitions below describe? Complete them with the correct relative pronoun. | boiler bodyguard cleaner cook cooker decorator dry cleaner's | freezer launderette photocopier | plumber stationer's typewriter | vacuum cleanse YA) isa machine makes copies of documents. 2a isa person. _ protects important [people from being attacked. aa washing machines you can wash your clothes place with aay isa person job is to mend. animes alg isamachine sennne YOU se 0 clean floors and carpets. bb Match the other words in the box to the prompts below. Then write definitions. Use which, that, who, whose or where, I necessary. Example: machine / keep food very cold 4 freceer isn machine whith keeps food very cold 1 machine / cook / food person / you pay / cook for you 3 person / you pay / clean your house or office 4 old-fashioned machine / you use for typing 5 machine / heat water for baths, et. 6 shop / they clean jackets, suits, etc. for you person / job is to paint houses shop / you buy office supplies