Computer Science

Jon Porter

What would happen to the world if we took all the computers out of it tomorrow？ What would happen if the Internet， which is called the World Wide Web for a very good reason， stopped working？

Do you have a computer？ When did you last use it？ Can you remember the last time you went a day without using a computer？

I cant.

Activity 1

Look at these adjectives below. They have ‘opposite meanings， just as ‘black is the opposite of ‘white and ‘big is the opposite of ‘small. Which word， a or b， goes with which meaning， x or y？

a. old-fashioned? ? ? ?x. from the past

b. modern? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?y. new， of or from our time now

Activity 2

Which words （1–4） go with which meanings （a–d）？

1. control

2. create

3. destroy

4. powerful

Activity 3

Read the next five parts of the story about computers and then use the words in bold in part D to complete the gaps in part E.

A Do you have a ‘smart （clever） telephone， one that is a computer and that can use the Internet？ And can you remember the last time you went a day without using your telephone and/or the Internet？ Im almost sure you cant！

B Computer science， which teaches you about computers and how they work， is a ‘young science. The first ever course was in Cambridge， England， in the 1950s， but now it is a very popular science around the world. As computers become more and more important in our lives， computer science will become more and more important every year.

C The first modern， digital or electronic computers of the 20th century were as big as some houses or their bedrooms， but now … well， you dont need me to tell you how small computers are these days. You probably have one in your pocket or handbag or even in your hand right now， and its probably talking to you while you read the words on this paper （very old-fashioned！）， bringing you information and messages from around the world.

D Humans （people） control the world. They are more powerful than any other animal in the world. They can create much more and they can destroy much more than any other thing.

E Humans might even （1） ______ the whole world itself with the things they have （2） ______ d！ What if computers became more （3） ______ than humans and （4） ______ led the world？ Could that happen？ It could， but who knows？！

Activity 4.1

Choose the best adverb， possibly， probably or certainly， for each meaning 1–3.

1. Im 100% sure.

2. I think it will happen. Im more than 50% sure.

3. It might happen， but I dont know if it will or not. I cannot say.

Activity 4.2

What does the writer think about the sentences 1–4 below？ Choose the best adverb， a， b or c， for each one.

1. The reader used a computer today.

a. possibly? ? ? ? ?b. probably? ? ? ? ?c. certainly

2. Computer science will become more important in the near future.

a. possibly? ? ? ? ?b. probably? ? ? ? ?c. certainly

3. The reader is receiving information from his/her computer or telephone as he/she is reading this paper.

a. possibly? ? ? ? ?b. probably? ? ? ? ?c. certainly

4. Computers will become more powerful than humans.

a. possibly? ? ? ? ?b. probably? ? ? ? ?c. certainly

Activity 5

Look at Activity 1 again. Then look at the words （1–5） and find their opposites （a–e）.

1. cheap

2. excellent

3. fast

4. light

5. strong

Answers

Activity 1

a. x; b. y

Activity 2

1. c; 2. b; 3. a; 4. d

Activity 3

1. destroy; 2. create; 3. powerful; 4. control

Activity 4.1

1. certainly; 2. probably; 3. possibly

Activity 4.2

1. b; 2. c; 3. b; 4. a

Activity 5

1. b; 2. d; 3. c; 4. a; 5. e