In dialog boxes, messages are often written in a compact style.

Develop the following dialog

box messages, as in the example: (8/82)

Message: “-34 Ignition error. Cannot read video internal buffers.”

Answer: I found an ignition error which corresponds to number 34 and, therefore, I cannot read
your video internal buffers.
1. “Insufficient space to install program. Clear space.”
2. “Disk infected. Virus brain on drive C.”
3. “Waiting time elapsed. Download failed. Check session parameters.”
4. “Password invalid. Cannot connect. Refer to administrator.”
5. “Not ready reading drive A. Abort, retry, fail?”
6. “All files in directory will be deleted. Are you sure (Y/N) ?”
7. “Non-system disk or disk error. Replace and press any key when ready.”

You can read "a 24-hour-a-day application engineering service." What does this mean?
a/ a service which is open 24 hours a day and specializing in applications connected with
engineering
b/ an engineering service which is open 24 hours a day and specializing in applications
c/ an application which is used 24 hours a day and which is produced by an engineering service
d/ an application which is used 24 hours a day and which is used by the engineering team of the
service

Are the underlined words nouns or verbs?

- The 78PC features standard a fast hard disk and and 17" screen.
- Press-button operation and other new features make the meter easy to use.
- And our highly trained engineers configure and engineer systems to the customers' needs.
-The automatic Recognition System displays the parameters.
- This software allows the user to have fine colour displays.

Which of the following words are spelt in the British English (BE) way and which are
American (AE)? Make a table. (4/77)
Answers:
1. centralised – centralized UK - US
2. program – programme US - UK
 3. catalog – catalogue US - UK
4. throughput – thruput UK - US
5. center – centre US - UK
6. favorite – favourite US - UK
7. randomise – randomize UK - US
8. labour – labor UK - US
9. grey – gray UK - US
10. colour – color UK – US

Substitute a formal verb ( from List B) for the phrasal verbs (from List A).
A A number of modifications were built into the machine
Multi-stage pumps are made up of several impellers on one shaft
Tests were carried out on many specimens
The lever must be pushed down to start the motor
The machine can be taken to pieces and put together [again] in little time
The company set up a new factory in the industrial area
The magnetic field appears to go round and round
B to rotate, to establish, to constitute, to dismantle, to depress/ to lower, to [re]assemble, to
achieve, to incorporate

Sound and video on the net

If multimedia is so integral to the Net, where’s the noise? John Elliot looks at the helper
applications which handle audio files.
Remember how they told you the Web would be 2 multimedia experience? Well, it seems
that most people’s definition of multimedia on the Web consists of text and pictures.
Remember the first time you came across an audio file and clicked on the link, only to
have your Web browser say it didn’t know how to handle it? Well worry not because you’re
going to have all the helper applications you need on your hard disk. Then you will be ready to
discover the various sounds and audio files scattered around Web pages.
First steps
The number one requirement is to make sure your system can play sound. If you are a
Macintosh user, then you’ve no worries, but PC users need to make sure they have the right type
of hardware installed. This generally means having a sound card installed with the necessary
drives to let Windows, and its applications, talk to it.
Sound cards are not so expensive as they used to be and you’ll find that you can pick up a
reasonable Sound Blaster – compatible card for around 100 pounds (…).
Installation of a sound card means taking the lid off your machine and getting to grips
with the arcane PC architecture of interrupts, memory addresses and DMA. Don’t worry if this
sounds mysterious, as modern sound cards come with software utilities that help you set them up.
Sound formats
Sounds are basically a complex analogue waveform and must be converted to digital data
and compressed before they become files you can use on the Web. As you would expect, there’s
no single standard for encoding and compression and there are four main types of audio files
you’ll find on the Web.
Sun Audio (AU) is probably the most common audio format on the Web and it’s the
native format of Sun and many other UNIX machines. You’ll also find it called Ulaw and
Sun/NeXT format. There are a number of encoding methods used for AU files, ranging from 8 or
16-bit compression to stereo or mono clips. You don’t need to worry about this because any AU
player will read them all.
Waveform (WAV) is the native sound file format used by Windows. Since it is a subset of
Microsoft’s more general RIFF format, you’ll often see the two terms used interchangeably.
Again, there are different encoding levels within this format, according to the quality of the
encoding and the compression. (…)
MPEG Audio comes from the Motion Picture Experts Group, an industry body that has
developed various encoding and compression algorithms for both video and audio. (…)
Don’t get confused between MPEG audio and MPEG video compression – they are
different and you need different helper applications to understand each of the formats.
No problem
One of the headaches with all these sound files is that you have to download the entire file
to your machine before you can play it. However, this need no longer be 2 problem. There is 2
new way of compressing and delivering sound files over the Net, known as Real Audio, which
lets your helper application start playing the sound as it’s being delivered over the Net.
The Real Audio format is being used for all types of sounds, but most importantly for live
sound broadcasts such as radio stations and live events. (…)
John Elliot – Internet (December 95)
Match each of these technical words (1 – 8) with its definition (A – H).
1. sound card A. shape of an acoustic signal
2. interrupt B. information represented by digits or bits
3. DMA C. computer equipment able to treat
acoustic signals
4. waveform D. reduction of data
5. compression E. format specifically designed for a type of
computer
6. compression ratio F. automatic suspension of a computer
process
7. native format G. rate of data reduction
8. digital data H. direct memory access
Answer: 1 – C, 2 – F, 3 – H, 4 – A, 5 – D, 6 – G, 7 – E, 8 - B

Match A and B
A : computer, breakdown, equipment, transformer, most important / essential, reduction.
B : to convert into, to decrease, dependability, to alter, data processing, defective, device, core.

Fill in with words from the list below:

consumption, to consume, control /to control, to convert into, to (air/water) cool, cost-effective,
cost-effectiveness, current, cylinder, data-processing, to decrease (by X%), defect, defective,
dependable, dependability, design, to design, to develop, device, dial.

-This car runs on very little petrol : its __________ is only 4 liters per 100 km.
-A Japanese firm has just __________ed the first electronic navigation system for cars which is
really accurate and __________ (= reliable).
-This technique is still very expensive, but in a few years it will become __________.
-You can read the voltage on the __________ of the voltmeter.
-The internal circuits are __________ed by powerful fans.
-Pneumatic __________s can be used to direct parts into the required routes.

Find the root-word :

knowledge - illness - powerful - unseeable - reasonably - unattainable - disagree - carefully -
understandable - completion - unplug - microprocessor
Meaning of ' to develop' - Match A and B (careful one definition in B is irrelevant)
A Electric power is developed in the generator.
A new method of fuel injection was developed during the war.
There is a possibility of leaks developing in steam pipes.
B improve as a result of research
start
make for the first time
make, produce heat or energy

Here is a list of activities related to sound cards. Put them in their logical chronological
order (the first and last item are correctly placed).
1. Get a catalog or information about sound cards.
2. Order (or buy) the right card.
3. Test the card with a CD-ROM or a traditional compact disc.
4. Install the card physically.
5. Choose a card compatible with your equipment.
6. Remove the computer casing (i.e. take the lid off).
7. Set up the card computerwise with the installation utility.
8. Download a sound file through your Web browser.
Answers: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 7, 3, 8

I most lines of this text there is either a spelling or punctuation error. Write the correctly
spelled word, or show the correct punctuation. Indicate correct lines with a tick.

When faced with some new and possibility bewildering tecnological

0.technological
change, most people react, in one of two ways. They either recoil 0. react in
from anything new, claiming that it is unnecessary, or too complicated 0. _____--___
or that it somehow makes life less personal. Or they learn to adapt to 1. __________
the new invention, and eventually wonder, how they could possibly 2. __________
have existed without it. Take computers as an example, for many of 3. __________
us, they still represent a threat to our freedom, and gives us a 4. __________
frightening sense of future in which all decision will be taken by 5. __________
machines. This may be because they seem misterious, and difficult 6. __________
to understand. Ask most people, what you can use a home computer 7. __________
for, and you usually get vauge answers about how ‘they give you 8. __________
information’. In fact, even, those of us who are familiar with computers’, 9. __________
and use them in our dayly work, have very little idea of how they 10. _________
actually work? But it does not take long to learn how to operate a 11. _________
business programme, even if things occasionally go wrong for no 12. _________
apparant reason. Presumably much the same happened when the 13. _________
telephone and television became widespred. What seems to 14. _________
alarm most people is the speed of technological change, rather than 15. _________
change itself. And the objections that are maid to new technology 16. _________
may well have a point to them, since change is not always an 17. _________
improvement. As we discover during power cuts there is a lot to be 18. _________
said for the oil lamp, the cole fire, and forms of entertainment, such 19. _________
as books or board games, that don’t have to be plugged in to work. 20. _________
Answers: 1- , 2- wonder how, 3- example. For, 4- , 5- frightening, 6-mysterious, 7- people
what, 8- vague, 9- computers, 10-daily, 11- work., 12- business, 13- apparent, 14- widespread,
15- , 16- made, 17- , 18- cuts, , 19- coal, 20- don’t

Match each problem (a-j) with solution (1-10)

a. The door squeaks. 1. It needs servicing
b. The battery is dead. 2. It needs tightening.
c. The pencil is blunt. 3. It needs painting.
d. They screw is coming loose. 4. It needs oiling.
e. My watch has stopped. 5. It needs re-programming.
f. The car seat is too far back. 6. It needs recharging.
g. The light bulb is flickering. 7. It needs sharpening.
h. The car’s got a few things wrong with it. 8. It needs winding up.
i. The wall looks very bare. 9. It needs adjusting.
j. The TV isn’t picking up the signals ____ 10. It needs replacing.
from the video recorder.____
Answers: a – 4, b – 6, c – 7, d – 2, e – 8, f – 9, g – 10, h – 1, I – 3, j - 5

((Source: Oxford English for Computers – Keith Boeckner, P. Charles Brown, Oxford University
Press, 1993)
Match the if-clauses (1 to 6) to the main clauses (a to f) to make complete sentences:
1. If you never read computer magazines a. you will be able to access our
bulletin board
2. If you never back up your hard disk b. it is unlikely that you will have a
problem with computer viruses.
3. If you had a modem c. we would have a bigger range of
typefaces and fonts to choose from.
4. If you don’t copy pirated software d. you will miss important new
products.
5. If I knew computer programming languages e. I would get a better job.
6. If we bought a better printer f. you will probably lose some
important files.

Complete the sentences with the words below. Are the sentences first (F) or second (S)
conditionals?
would not post leave
grows will get
will be would need
wanted will be reduced
look at installed

1. If you __________ your VDU in direct sunlight, it __________ damaged.

2. If you __________ your screen for too long, you __________ a headache.
3. If you __________ to link your PCs with a mainframe, you __________ to install a network.
4. If the market for portable computers __________, prices __________ even more next year.
5. If we __________ a fax machine and e-mail facility, we __________ so many letters each day.
(VDU – visual display unit: the screen of a computer terminal or PC)

Fill in each of the blanks with one of the following phrasal vers (an equivalent for each is
given in brackets). Do not forget to put each verb in the right tense.
a. to speed up (to accelerate) d. to hand out (to distribute)
b. to cut down (to reduce) e. to turn down (to reject)
c. to look up (to consult) f. to pay off (to be profitable)

Xerox has (1)__________ notebooks to its sales force. Nobody was allowed to (2)__________
this proposition. Virtual offices are expensive but they (3)__________ in the long run. Overhead
costs should be drastically (4)__________. Employees will be able to (5)__________ the
company’s databases while presenting their products to their customers. This will (6)__________
sales.
Answers: 1-d, 2-e, 3-f, 4-b, 5-c, 6-a
Explain what these compound nouns mean by using the different elements in their names,
as in the example.
Example: a personal digital assistant = an assistant which contains personal information in
digital form
a handheld stock-quote device (= a device which gives you stock quotes and which you hold in your hand)
an e-mail and fax combo (= a device that combines a fax and e-mail receiver)
a single task machine (= a machine which can only perform one task / a single task)
his own Silicon Valley startup (=a startup located in the Silicon Valley and which he owns)
a simple push button (=a simple button which must be pushed to be activated)

Fill in the blanks of the following paragraph with the appropriate verb in the correct form.
to digitalize to save to compress to connect
to display to run to browse to access

The first operation consists in (1) __________ your computer to the mains. Then you must (2)
__________ an application, a word processor or a browser for instance. A word processor will
(3) __________ your document on the screen. To keep this document after editing, you must (4)
__________ it on your hard disk. A browser will enable you to (5) __________ the Internet. You
can then (6) __________ through Web sites. With 2 scanner you can (7) __________ pictures.
Picture files are usually very big. So it is advisable to (8) __________ them to reduce them.
Answers: 1- connecting, 2- run, 3- display, 4- save, 5- access, 6- browse, 7- digitalize, 8-
compress