Sound-activated toys

Read the texts. Refer to the list below and fill in the blanks with the best word(s).

Sound-activated toys are an example of how high technology has affected childhood experience. When a child talks to a sound-activated toy, the …(1)… talks back. There is a doll on the market that has a more … (2) … memory than a personal computer. It has a soft face that looks alive because it … (3) … when the doll talks. Its eyes are sensitive to light, its hands are sensitive to heat, and it has a voice … (4) … facility which gives it the ability to … (5) … to the child playing with it. … (6) … with all the high technology going into making … (7) … toys, it may be surprising to find … (8) … the toys children … (9) return to after the … (10) … of a new toy has worn off are the ball, the ordinary stick, and the common cardboard box..

1. A child. B. toy C. sound D. technology

2. A. instinctive B. cumbersome C.extensive D. disposable

3. A. moves B. speaks C. listens D. looks

4. A. possession B. exception C. recognition D. discussion

5. A. question B. express C. respond D. laugh

6. A. In addition B. Also C. Despite D. However

7. A. expensive B. technique C. living D. facility

8. A. which B. that C. who D. what

9. A. rarely B. always C. occasionally D. now and then

10.A. gift B. talking C. novelty D. technology

Text VII

A new gene

Read the texts. Refer to the list below and fill in the blanks with the best word or words.

A gene that controls the development of speech and language has been … (1)… for the first time in a breakthrough that will transform understanding of an uniquely human … (2)…. British scientists have pinpointed a single genetic defect that …(3)… a rare hereditary language disorder, providing the strongest evidence yet that mankind’s sophisticated communication skills are determined by DNA.

The discovery, by a team … (4)… by Tony Monako, Professor of Human Genetics at Oxford University, is likely to lead to new screening…(5) … for detecting speech disorders in early childhood, and to … (6) … methods of therapy. It will also offer important … (7) … to the evolution of the power of speech – a capacity found … (8) … else in the animal kindom – and proves an observation made by Charles Darwin 130 years ago.

The …(9)… team, which also involved scientists from the Institute of Child Health in London, picked out the gene from an analysis of three …(10)… of a British family, many of whom suffer from a severe speech and language disorder.

1. A. reached B. understood C. done D. identified

2. A. ability B. possibility C. resource D. opportunity

3. A. discovers B. causes C. gets D. brings

4. A. named B. founded C. led D. created

5. A. contacts B. facilities C. results D. techniques

6. A. improved B. best C. safe D. cheap

7. A. clues B. keys C. roles D. ideas

8. A. anywhere B. everywhere C. somewhere D. nowhere

9. A. big B. scientific C. research D. academic

10. people B. representatives C. children D. generations

PART V

SUPPLEMENT

Opening phrases

1) I’ll start by describing….

2) To begin with, one can say...

3) It should be noted (mentioned, observed, emphasized, pointed out) that ...

4) It is evident (obvious, unlikely, doubtful) that...

5) I think (believe, suggest) that ...

6) What I mean (want) to say (to show, to express, to prove) is that…

7) What I (we) find in fact is that ...

8) The problem is the following…

9) As far as I can judge ...

10) As far as I know ...

11) As far as I remember…

12) In my opinion ...

13) From my point of view…

14) If I am not mistaken…

15) To tell the truth…

16) I am interested to know why...

17) I'd like to know ...

18) I have no idea…

19) It seems clear (possible, obvious, surprising, unexpected, doubtful) that ...

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 865