Тема «Современные информационные техологии»

Задание 12-18 на ЕГЭ по английскому,

Тема «Современные информационные техологии»

Прочитайте рассказ и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании обведите букву A, B, C или D, соответствующую выбранному вами варианту ответа.

 

Ответы:

12. The fears of the users about the “millennium bug” were … C) overestimated.

13. Which of the following was NOT the reason why the “millennium bug” didn’t work?

D) The problem never existed.

14. The number of available IP addresses is limited by …A) address space of the Internet protocol.

15. The solution of the problem with the lack of IP addresses is to … B) improve the current Internet protocol.

16 The existing version of the protocol was believed appropriate because … C) no one expected the demand to grow.

17. The phrase “ Internet of things ” refers to … A) personal computers of the users.

18. Speaking of the future of the world-wide web, the author appears to be … B) hopeful.

What does the author think about educational value of prohibiting children from internet?

A) It is useless.

B) It is important.

C) It is effective.

D) It is advisable.

13. What way of using internet in education does the author mention (paragraph 2)?

A) Finding ready-made research papers.

B) Online instruction by school administration.

C) Communication platform for teachers and students.

D) Teaching from home.

 

What, according to the author, can the parents’ refusal to allow their children supervised internet access lead to?

A) Children become overprotected.

B) Children use internet in schools under teacher’s control.

C) Children turn to misconduct in schools.

D) Children start cheating on their parents.

 

15. What does the phrase ‘ don’t have an “off” switch in their brains ’ (paragraph 5) mean?

A) They are unable to restrain from spontaneous actions.

B) They are making reckless decisions.

C) They are acting anonymously online.

D) They are considering the consequences of their actions.

 

16. According to the text, the best way to protect children from internet hazards is to…

A) monitor their accounts in social networks.

B) follow them online.

C) ban them from using social networks.

D) limit their access to computer.

 

17. The danger of online games is, according to the author, in …

A) the possibility of losing one’s money.

B) availability of VIP passes.

C) getting used to spending money easily.

D) their accessibility.

 

18. What idea is emphasized in the last paragraph?

A) Chatting with strangers online can be dangerous.

B) Nicknames conceal the real identity of a person online.

C) Learning internet security is essential for young people.

D) Pictures should be uploaded wisely.

 

Ответы:

12. What does the author think about educational value of prohibiting children from internet?

A) It is useless.

 

13. What way of using internet in education does the author mention (paragraph 2)?

C) Communication platform for teachers and students.

 

14. What, according to the author, can the parents’ refusal to allow their children supervised internet access lead to?

D) Children start cheating on their parents.

 

15. What does the phrase ‘ don’t have an “off” switch in their brains ’ (paragraph 5) mean?

A) They are unable to restrain from spontaneous actions.

 

16. According to the text, the best way to protect children from internet hazards is to…

B) follow them online.

 

17. The danger of online games is, according to the author, in …

C) getting used to spending money easily.

 

18. What idea is emphasized in the last paragraph?

C) Learning internet security is essential for young people.

 

Текст 3

The lure of the screen

I used to tell my parents that the first cell phone I will allow my own children to have will be a flip phone, incapable of Internet access and certainly without the ability to use “apps.” I argued that their first phones would have only the capabilities of my first phone – texting and calling – used primarily to contact their parents, and once in a while classmates to ask about homework. Isn’t it primarily what we think kids need phones for?

It took me a while to realize how impractical this was because if the first piece of a given technology that I possessed had been the same as my parents’, I would have been walking around with a cassette player in a world of iPods (incidentally, I loved my Sony Walkman CD player).

So maybe it was a little ridiculous for me to suggest this, but I think my point was (and is) valid. I look at young kids today and see that they’re as attached to mobile devices as their adult counterparts. It has come to the point where kids would rather sit inside and play games on their parents’ (or their own) iPads than go outside and play hide-and-seek, or catch, well, do anything.

And while I recall my parents telling me to drop the Legos or even the PlayStation controller and head outside, I, unlike these children, often actually did it, and when I didn’t, at least I was capable of breaking away to utter a response.

Today, however, youngsters are becoming so attached to technology at such a young age, as young as 3 or 4, that they are forgetting – if they ever learned in the first place – how to have fun without an iPad – literally.

In April, The Telegraph quoted North Ireland teacher Colin Kinney, who said his colleagues, “have concerns over the increasing numbers of young pupils who can swipe a screen but have little or no manipulative skills to play with building blocks or the like, or the pupils who cannot socialize with other pupils but whose parents talk proudly of their ability to use a tablet or smartphone.”

Kinney goes on to say that the “brilliant computer skills” these children possess is “outweighed by their deteriorating skills in pen and paper exams because they rely on instant support of the computer and are often unable to apply what they should have learned from their textbooks.”

It is true that we are moving into a world in which the ability to understand the language of computer coding is more important than the ability to read and write cursive. This, however, is not an excuse for the extent to which young children have become as addicted (or more so) to their mobile devices as their parents.

LeapFrog, the popular children’s brand is set to unveil a product called the Leap Band; the first wearable tech catered specifically toward children. And although the wristwatch-like product is designed to get kids up and moving, it raises a question for me: How young is too young?

I read that Google is considering allowing online accounts for children under the age of 13 (though giving their parents control over how the service is used).

Because of this cross-generational addiction, this week has been designated as “Screen Free Week” in schools around the country. The week is aimed at getting every member of the family away from computer and device use for just one week and head outside.

For parents, technology is now a dilemma: Give it to their kids at a young age so they are in line with their classmates in terms of computer prowess or withhold it and allow them the gift of social skills … only time will tell, but I fear the former is gaining ground.

 

Ответы

12. What kind of a phone does the author want her children to have first?

D) Something like her “old” phone.

13. Which of the following statements reflects the author’s views?

C) Children now prefer their gadgets to outdoor games.

14. What does the author remember about her childhood?

C) She went for a walk outside whenever her parents told her.

15. Teacher Kinney is worried about children’s …

A) communicative skills.

16. “ This ” in paragraph 8 (“ This, however, is not an excuse …”) refers to …

C) importance of computers.

17. What does the author imply by asking “How young is too young”?

B) Technology may enter children’s life too early.

18. How, according to the author, will the parents solve the technological dilemma?

D) In favour of the computer skills.

 

Текст 4

Time to get off the phone

Last week, while I was trying to enjoy my manicure, I watched in horror as the two women across from me talked on their phones the entire time they were getting their nails done. They employed their head nods, eyebrow raises, and finger-pointing to instruct the manicurists on things like nail length and polish choices.

I really couldn’t believe it. I’ve had my nails done by the same two women for ten years. I know their names, their children’s names, and many of their stories. They know my name, my children’s names, and many of my stories. When I finally made a comment about the women on their cell phones, they both quickly averted their eyes. Finally, in a whisper, the manicurist said, “They don’t know. Most of them don’t think of us as people.”

On my way home, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to pick up a magazine. The woman ahead of me in line bought two books, applied for a new “reader card”, and asked to get one book gift-wrapped without getting off her cell phone. She plowed through the entire exchange without making eye contact or directly speaking to the young woman working at the counter. She never acknowledged the presence of the human being across from her.

After leaving Barnes & Noble, I went to a drive-through fast food restaurant to buy a Diet Coke. Right as I pulled up to the window, my cell phone rang. I wasn’t quite sure, but I thought it might be my son’s school calling, so I answered it. It wasn’t the school – it was someone calling to confirm an appointment.

In the short time it took me to say, “Yes, I’ll be at my appointment,” the woman and I had finished our soda-for-money transaction. I apologized to her the second I got off the phone.

I must have surprised her because she got huge tears in her eyes and said, “Thank you so much. You have no idea how humiliating it is sometimes. They don’t even see us.”

I don’t know how it feels for her, but I do know how it feels to be an invisible member of the service industry. I worked my way through undergrad and some of graduate school by waiting tables and bartending. I worked in a very nice restaurant that was close to campus and a hot spot for wealthy college kids and their parents. When the customers were kind and respectful, it was OK, but one ‘waiter as object’ moment could tear me apart. Unfortunately, I now see those moments happening all the time.

I see adults who don’t even look at their waiters when they speak to them. I see parents who let their young children talk down to store clerks. I see people rage and scream at receptionists, then treat the bosses/doctors/bankers with the utmost respect.

When we treat people as objects, we dehumanize them. We do something really terrible to their souls and to our own. Martin Buber, an Austrian-born philosopher, wrote about the differences between an I-it relationship and an I-you relationship. We create an I-it relationship when we treat people like objects – people who are simply there to serve us or complete a task. I-you relationships are characterized by human connection and empathy.

I’m not suggesting that we engage in a deep, meaningful relationship with the man who works at the cleaners or the woman who works at the drive-through, but I’m suggesting that we stop dehumanizing people and start looking them in the eye when we speak to them. If we don’t have the energy or time to do that, we should stay at home.

 

12. The author watched the two women on their cell phones in horror because they …

A) ignored their manicurists.

B) talked on their phones too loudly.

C) talked to their manicurists rudely.

D) didn’t know their manicurists’ names.

 

13. The word exchange in paragraph 3 means the …

A) interaction between the woman and the cashier.

B) money that the cashier gave back to the woman.

C) conversation the woman had on her cell phone.

D) process of choosing purchases at the shop.

 

14. The phrase human being in paragraph 3 refers to the …

A) author.

B) woman working at the counter.

C) woman talking on her cell phone.

D) next person in the queue.

 

15. The author answered her cell phone while she was at the fast-food restaurant because she …

A) always answers her cell phone.

B) thought it was an important phone call.

C) knew it would be a short phone call.

D) didn’t think it could be impolite.

 

16. The woman at the fast-food restaurant got tears in her eyes because she was …

A) insulted.

B) worried.

C) grateful to the author.

D) unhappy about her job.

 

17. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Martin Buber’s teaching?

A) There are two ways people communicate with each other.

B) We choose between two types of relationships depending on who we think we are.

C) There can only be I-it relationships between customers and service staff.

D) I-you relationships are more difficult than I-it relationships.

 

18. The main message of the article is that …

A) talking on the cell phone in public is always impolite and irresponsible.

B) we should treat people with respect regardless of their social status.

C) it’s important to stand up for shop assistants who are mistreated by customers.

D) all people are equal regardless of their jobs and how well they do them.

 

Ответы

12. The author watched the two women on their cell phones in horror because they …

A) ignored their manicurists.

13. The word exchange in paragraph 3 means the …

A) interaction between the woman and the cashier.

14. The phrase human being in paragraph 3 refers to the …B) woman working at the counter.

15. The author answered her cell phone while she was at the fast-food restaurant because she …B) thought it was an important phone call.

16. The woman at the fast-food restaurant got tears in her eyes because she was … C) grateful to the author.

17. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Martin Buber’s teaching?

D) I-you relationships are more difficult than I-it relationships.

18. The main message of the article is that …

B) we should treat people with respect regardless of their social status.

Текст 5

Mind over mass media

New forms of media have always caused moral panic: the printing press, newspapers, and television were all once denounced as threats to their consumers’ brainpower and moral fiber. So too with electronic technologies. PowerPoint, we’re told, is reducing discourse to bullet points. Search engines lower our intelligence, encouraging us to skim on the surface of knowledge rather than dive to its depths. Twitter is shrinking our attention spans.

But such panic often fails basic reality checks. When comic books were accused of turning juveniles into criminals in the 1950s, crime was falling to record lows. The decades of television, transistor radios and rock videos were also decades in which I.Q. scores rose continuously.

For a reality check today, take the state of science, which demands high levels of brainwork. These days scientists are never far from their e-mail, rarely touch paper and cannot lecture without PowerPoint. If electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting. Yet discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies, and progress is dizzying.

Critics of new media sometimes use science itself to press their case, citing research that shows how “experience can change the brain”. But cognitive neuroscientists roll their eyes at such talk. Experience does not remake the basic information-processing capacities of the brain. Speed-reading programs have long claimed to do just that, but the verdict was rendered by Woody Allen after he read “War and Peace” in one sitting: “It was about Russia.”

Moreover, the effects of experience are highly specific to the experiences themselves. If you train people to do one thing, they get better at doing that thing, but almost nothing else. Music doesn’t make you better at math. Accomplished people immerse themselves in their fields. Novelists read lots of novels, scientists read lots of science.

The effects of consuming electronic media are also likely to be far more limited than the panic implies. Media critics write as if the brain takes on the qualities of whatever it consumes, the informational equivalent of “you are what you eat”. As with primitive peoples who believe that eating fierce animals will make them fierce, they assume that reading Twitter postings turns your thoughts into Twitter postings.

Yes, the continual arrival of information packets can be distracting or addictive. But distraction is not a new phenomenon. The solution is to develop strategies of self-control. Turn off Twitter when you work and put away your smartphone at dinner time.

And to encourage intellectual depth, don’t rail at PowerPoint or Google. It’s not as if habits of deep reflection or thorough research ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in universities, and maintained with constant analysis, criticism and debate. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet.

The new media have caught on for a reason. Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not. Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage and search our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter to e-books and online encyclopedias. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart.

 

12. At the beginning of the article the author reminds that the new media technologies …

A) could make people less intelligent.

B) turn our attention off morals.

C) used to frighten the majority of people.

D) improve human brainpower.

 

Ответы:

 

12. At the beginning of the article the author reminds that the new media technologies …

B) turn our attention off morals.

 

13. What has life proved about electronic technologies according to the author?

A) They don’t disrupt brainwork.

 

14. According to the author, the arguments of the critics of new media make neuroscientists feel …

C) annoyed.

 

15. What does the example of Woody Allen’s reading of “War and Peace” illustrate?

D) Technology hardly influences the way brain deals with information.

 

16. The phrasal verb “ takes on ” in “ Media critics write as if the brain takes on the qualities …” (paragraph 6) is closest in meaning to …

B) acquires.

 

17. Which negative effect of information flood does the author recognise?

D) Continuous distraction.

 

18. What idea is expressed in the last paragraph?

B) New media help us keep up with life.

Текст 6

Tablets out, imagination in

In the heart of Silicon Valley is a nine-classroom school where employees of tech giants Google, Apple and Yahoo send their children. But despite its location in America’s digital centre, there is not an iPad, smartphone or screen in sight. The fact that parents working for the biggest technology companies are questioning the value of computers in education begs the question – is the futuristic dream of high-tech classrooms really in the best interests of the next generation?

A global report by the OECD organisation suggests that there is no link between excessive use of computers and high results for reading, maths and science. What is more, those students who use tablets and computers often tend to do worse than students who use them less frequently.

Beverly Amico from the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America explains that their teachers encourage students to learn subjects by expressing themselves through artistic activities such as painting and drawing, rather than consuming information downloaded onto a tablet. The idea is to get rid of the distraction of electronic media and to encourage stronger communication between teacher and pupil during lessons.

Amico claims one of the reasons parents who work in the digital industry are choosing a low-tech, no-tech education for their children is that it teaches students innovative thinking skills. And these are what many employers desire. She adds that students weaned on technology often lack the ability to think outside the box and solve problems.

Sarah Thorne, head of the London Acorn school, also questions the belief that limiting or removing the use of technology in class will make the students less competitive on the job market.

Students under the age of 12 at the school in Morden, London, are banned from using smartphones and computers, and watching TV or films at all times, including during holidays. The school’s students are allowed to watch TV once they reach 12 years old and then only documentaries that have been previously vetted by parents. They cannot watch films until they are 14. The Internet is banned completely for everyone under 16, both at home and at school. And computers are only to be used as part of the school curriculum for students who are at least 14.

It may sound draconian, but Thorne believes taking a more considered approach to the use of technology in class allows teachers to help students develop core skills such as leadership, decision making and creativity. Besides, much of the technology which is cutting edge today is likely to appear primitive in tomorrow’s world.

Thorne claims feedback from students about the restrictions has been positive. Younger pupils relish the chance to play and even teenagers who have come from a typical school admit they are happier.

Restricting the use of technology is also a challenge for the 21st century teachers, who are used to the easy accessibility of resources and information, thanks to interactive whiteboards and computers. “It is hard work,” admits Ian Young, a class teacher. “You definitely have to be a lot more creative in how you deliver a lesson,” he says. “You have to work with your voice more, whether it is loud or quiet, to give them incentive. You need to make sure you keep them interested in what’s coming next.” He adds: “I don’t think we are doing children any favours by teaching them through machines at that young age.”

 

Ответы

12. What question does the author pose in the first paragraph?

B) Is high-tech really very useful in education?

 

13. What does the OECD report suggest?

A) Students should not use computers in their studies.

 

14. Both Beverly Amico and Sarah Thorne think that limiting technology in the classroom will …

B) boost students’ creativity.

 

15. At the age of fourteen the students of Morden are allowed to …

A) watch films.

 

16. The word “ relish ” in paragraph 8 “… younger pupils relish the chance …” means …

A) enjoy.

 

17. The word “ they ” in paragraph 8 “… admit they are happier ” refers to …

C) teenagers.

 

18. Ian Young believes that the 21st century demands that a teacher becomes more …

A) creative.

 

Текст 7

 

Ответы

12. Which is NOT mentioned among the reasons for giving up social media in paragraph 2?

B) Realizing that real life was more enjoyable than the online one.

 

13. The word “ drastic ” in “ no action seemed too drastic ” (paragraph 3) is synonymous to …

D) extreme.

 

14. The author claims that her former self of the eighth grade would … her decision to quit social media.

A) be against

 

15. The author says that in the beginning her life without social media was …

D) quite difficult to get used to.

 

16. The author believes that if she had not quit social media, her decision to graduate early would have been …

C) harder to make.

 

17. The author describes her life without social media as …

C) quite enjoyable.

 

18. Judging by the last paragraph, the author now believes that staying away from social media means …

B) avoiding the real world.

 

Задание 12-18 на ЕГЭ по английскому,

Тема «Современные информационные техологии»

Прочитайте рассказ и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании обведите букву A, B, C или D, соответствующую выбранному вами варианту ответа.