Read the following dialogue.

Hooking Up My Computer

Peter: Hi Jack. Can you give me a hand?

Jack: Sure. What’s up?

Peter: I’ve just bought a new computer and I’m having some problems hooking everything up.

Jack:... and I’m a geek. Yeah, I know. I'd be happy to help.

Peter: Thanks! I’ve connected all the cables from my monitor, mouse and keyboard, and I’ve plugged it in.

Jack: Have you installed the software yet?

Peter: No, I haven’t. Do I need to?

Jack: Not always, but it’s best to install drivers for your keyboard and mouse, as well as your printer.

Peter: Will the computer boot up without those?

Jack: Of course. Boot up the computer and then we can update the drives.

Peter: OK. What’s that thing (points to a computer component)

Jack: Oh, that’s a memory reader. You can insert things like SD cards from your camera and mp3 players into it.

Peter: That’s handy.

Jack: You’ve bought a nice system. How big is the hard drive?

Peter: I think it’s 750 gigabyte.

Jack: Good... The computer’s booted up. Let’s install those drivers.

Peter: Before we do that, can I get online?

Jack: Do you have a modem?

Peter: Yes, I do. I think I have a cable modem.

Jack: Hmmm... yes you do. Is the Ethernet cable plugged in?

Peter: What’s that?

Jack: It’s the cable that connects your modem to your computer.

Peter: Let’s surf the Internet!

Jack: Just a moment... First we need to launch the browser.

Peter: The browser?

Jack: It’s the program that allows you to surf the Internet.

Peter: Oh ... I’ve got a lot to learn.

Jack: Yes, you do. I can see I’m going to be here all day...

Read the dialogue and fill in the missing words. The first letter of each missing word is given.

Interviewer:Can you explain how a (1) p… computer works?

Tom Bryant: Sure. A pen computer usually (2)r… on rechargeable batteries. You hold the computer with one hand and with the other you use an electronic (3) s… to write, draw and make selections on a flat LCD (4) s… .

Interviewer:That means it doesn’t have a keyboard.

Tom Bryant: That’s right. You write (5)i… with the stylus like a pen.

Interviewer: And how does the computer (6) r… what you write?

Tom Bryant: It reads the (7) p… of the pen and sends signals to the screen. The computer then translates the movement of the pen into characters or performs the functions like ‘delete’. The operating system recognizes specific gestures like drawing a circle or crossing out a (8) w… .

Interviewer: Can these operating systems really recognize (9) h…?

Tom Bryant: Yes, they can be trained to recognize (10) c… written in your own handwriting. A lot of hand-held computers use Microsoft Windows CE or the Palm OS from Palm Computing.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1518