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The internet and the workplace
Student's Worksheet
WORKSHEET 1
SPEAKING
1. Discuss these questions with other students
a. Do you know who invented the internet and when?
b. When did you first use the internet?
c. Do these places have access to the internet?
Your school or college Your place of work
Your home A local café or bar
Your local park Your local library
d. Do you think the internet has made the world a better place?
VOCABULARY
2. Match these words and phrases to their definitions
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a. to join something
b. I.T.
c. a cable
d. figurative
e. to cope with something
f. to replace something
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Information Technology
metaphorical, not literal
to connect something to something else
a wire or lead
to be instead of something, to substitute for something
to be able to do something easily, without problems
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LISTENING SECTION 1
3. Now, listen to Professor Crystal talking about a word that has entered the language from the world of technology. Answer these questions.
a. What is the new verb phrase?
to be ________________
b. What is the meaning of this phrase, with regard to the internet?
4. Listen again and decide if the following statements are true or false, according to Professor Crystal.
a. Professor Crystal suggests that it is strange to talk about people being wired
b. The word appeared in 1919
c. The word is used because there are many wires in a computer
WORKSHEET 2
LISTENING SECTION 2
5. The phrase ‘to be wired’ developed a more metaphorical meaning. Which meaning do you think it has from those given below?
a. to be full of energy
b. to be ready and able to do something in an efficient way
c. to be ready with a lot of information, to know many things
Listen to Section 2 of the talk and check your ideas. Were you correct?
6. Listen again and answer these questions
a. Does the expression ‘to be wired’ have a strong future?
b. What is the new type of technology?
c. Are people already using words from this new technology in a figurative way?
Listen again to check your answers.
WORKSHEET 3 - EXTRA WORK
VOCABULARY
1. Look at the tape script and find words or phrases that mean the following.
a. says what something is like, how something appears or looks
b. to be able to cope with something
c. most fashionable
LANGUAGE
2. The word ‘wire’ has a few different meanings and is connected to a range of expressions. Complete the explanations and example sentences with expressions from the box below. You may need to change the grammar of the phrases in the box.
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behind the wire wiry to go down to the wire to get your wires crossed
a live wire to be wired to wire somebody something
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a. The discussion went on to the final minute, it _______________
b. Prisoners of war are kept_____________
c. There was a misunderstanding because we __________, we didn’t realise what each other was thinking.
d. He’s full of energy and life, he’s ___________
e. You can ____________ me the money, you can send it by telegram
f. He is quite thin but also quite strong. He is ______________
g. She is behaving so strangely, really nervously and anxiously. Do you know why she is so ____________________?
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