Page 52 - More_3_2nd_edition_Workbook

Skills

Reading

1 Read about three different inventions. Choose the best headings and write them in the

correct place.

A The laptop B The camcorder C The digital camera
D The projector E The mobile phone
Changing technology

Many people like to have new technology – the latest smartphone or laptop. But how old are
these inventions? And how have they changed? Take a look at how far we have come in the last
50 years.

1 ............................................... now then
Nowadays, most people have these. And the latest smartphones can
do everything. Most of them contain small digital cameras, and can
also take high-quality videos.
This type of phone has been around since the 1940s, but many
people only started to use them in the 1980s. The first ones used to
be very heavy – about 1kg – so they weren’t very mobile! The word
‘smartphone’ first appeared in 1997 and the first models were very
simple. They could play games, send emails and take photos.

2 ............................................... now then

In most cafés and schools now, you can see people with these
mobile computers. They aren’t as old as mobile phones. The first
ones appeared in the early 1980s, but they used to be very simple.
They weighed more than 10kg and only had a very small screen.
You could only use them for simple programs, not for playing
games or reading documents.
now then
3 ...............................................
We can now take photos with our mobile phones or tablets. But
did you know that these cameras first appeared in 1975? They
were very big and weighed nearly 4 kg. They only took low-quality
black and white photos, and each photo took 23 seconds to make.
You saved your photos on a tape cassette, and then used a special
computer to show the photos on your TV screen, so you needed
three different machines just to make and see your photos!

2 Read the article again. Circle T (true) or F (false).

1 The first mobile phones were easy to carry. T / F
2 The first smartphones were very simple. T / F
3 Laptops are older than mobile phones. T / F
4 The first laptops used to have a screen. T / F
5 Digital cameras are older than laptops. T / F
6 The first digital cameras could take colour photos. T / F

50 UNIT 7