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I hadn't been to Europe for close to a year, and have to admit I was surprised, even inspired by the speed with
which young people are upgrading their handheld wireless devices over there. As I strolled the streets of London
neighbourhoods, I saw kids taking photos, shooting video, sending real email (not just text messages or sms, but
genuine internet mail), and even mo-blogging, nearly everywhere I looked.
These just weren't the wealthy kids in the posh areas, but real people from a fairly wide variety of socio-
economic and cultural backgrounds. It seemed to be that a majority of people under forty, and nearly everyone
under 20, was sporting a fairly new and fully featured mobile phone.
Rather than bemoan the rampant (perhaps American-born) consumerism that may have contributed to English
youth's rapid uptake of new cell phones, I chose instead to explore the factors motivating all this handset
replacement. Why do they want the latest models? Style? Do they all love cell phone games? The ability to
check sports scores from the street? Why must they send photos to one another with so much urgency that it
requires always-ready wireless access?
The answer occurred to me as I wandered the Knightsbridge district in search of a place to check my email.
There were no Internet cafes. My friends in South Kensington happened to own a computer and a very
expensive and unstable connection. Unlike the United States, local phone calls in the UK actually cost money - a
lot of money.
In such an environment, a highly functional cell phone is not a luxury gadget, but a primary access point to the
net. It's not seen as just another gadget to go along (and ultimately dock) with the PC, digital camera, mp3
player, web cam, and game console. It is to serve as all these things, all by itself.
In America, where consumerism still does run rampant, old PC's are stacked in people's closets, and landline
access is cheap, or even free. Access is plentiful.
That's why reluctance of America's youth to dish out two or three hundred dollars on the latest Samsung camera
phone or Sony mp3-capable handset may be incorrectly attributed to their lack of sophistication with wireless
handheld devices. And it's certainly not a low appetite for digital services, messaging, music, and authoring.
America's youth are among the world's most avid consumers and users of gaming consoles, email, mp3's, video
editing, and web blogs. It's not their lack of technological sophistication that keeps American teens from
investing in souped-up cell phones; quite on the contrary, it's their access to technologies that are superior for
each of these tasks. They play games on a Playstation, listen to mp3's on an iPod, send messages using a real
keyboard, shoot pictures with a camera, and edit video on a computer.
It's not that American kids don't have cell phones. They do. It's just that they don't have the same need to use
their phones for activities that are already being satisfied better elsewhere.
Even if they don't prove to be eager handset upgraders, America's youth will still rack up airtime on the cell
phones they already have. They're just going to do it the old fashioned way: talking.
3 - Faced with these high levels of advanced technology use, the author decided to…
A) ... find out why Americans don’t do the same.
B) ... determine the reason why this has taken place in Britain.
C) … criticise British consumerism.
4 - The main reason why most British own a highly functional cell phone is that …
A) ... the phone is considered an interesting gadget.
B) … it offers a good way to communicate with others.
C) … it provides fast access to the net as well as other features.
7 - What explanation is provided by the text to account for American teens attitude
towards acquiring a sophisticated top-of-the-line mobile phone?
A) American teens simply don’t like mobile phones.
B) Teens don’t have the technological sophistication to acquire a high-tech
mobile.
C) American teens have access to other technological means to perform the same
tasks better so they don’t require a sophisticated mobile.
8 - According to the text, for what does an American teen use its mobile phone?
A) America’s youth will mainly use its mobile phone to access the net.
B) Teens will use mobile phones primarily to speak to each other.
C) They will use cell phones to satisfy their needs.
9 - Determine to what the words given below refer to. Tick the correct option:
they (l. 12 )
A) Americans
B) Cell phones
C) English youth
10 - it (l. 15 )
A) Send photos to one another
B) Urgency
C) Wireless access
11 - it (l. 21 )
A) Gadget
B) Net
C) Cell phone
12 - their (l. 31 )
A) Samsung camera phone and Sony handset
B) Wireless devices
C) America’s youth
13 - Chose the alternative that adequately explains the meaning of the given word or
expression:
1 - GRAMMAR
Rewrite the sentences given without changing the meaning they convey. Select the
correct alternative to complete the new sentence.
1.1 - If English youth doesn’t buy high tech mobiles, they will continue to have
poor access to the net.
1.3 - English teens need to have a highly advanced mobile phone in order to access
the net and perform other functions.
English teens need to have a highly advanced mobile phone so that ………………..
functions.
A) … they can access the net and perform other…
B) … access the net and perform other…
C) … accessed the net and performed other
1.4 - We may attribute American teens’ reluctance in buying high tech cell phones to
their lack of sophistication.
1.5 - Although they aren’t eager cell phone users, American teens will still use the
phones they already have.
Despite ……………………….. will still use the phones they already have.
A) … not being eager cell phone users, American teens …
B) … of not being eager cell phone users, American teens …
C) … they aren’t eager cell phone users, American teens …
1.6 - Cell phone users want a high tech device will spend huge amounts of money to
buy it.
Pergunta:
Faced with these high levels of advanced technology use, the author decided to…
Resposta correcta: ... determine the reason why this has taken place in Britain.
Pergunta:
The main reason why most British own a highly functional cell phone is that …
Resposta correcta: … it provides fast access to the net as well as other features.
Pergunta:
Select the correct alternative:
Why is Internet access so easily found in America?
Resposta correcta: Landline access is easily available at a very reasonable cost if not free.
Pergunta:
What explanation is provided by the text to account for American teens attitude towards acquiring a sophisticated top-of-the-line mobile phone?
Resposta correcta: American teens have access to other technological means to perform the same tasks better so they don’t require a
sophisticated mobile.
Pergunta:
According to the text, for what does an American teen use its mobile phone?
Resposta correcta: Teens will use mobile phones primarily to speak to each other.
Pergunta:
Determine to what the words given below refer to. Tick the correct option:
they (l. 12 )
Resposta correcta: English youth
Pergunta:
it (l. 21 )
Resposta correcta: Cell phone
Pergunta:
their (l. 31 )
Resposta correcta: America’s youth
Pergunta:
“… bemoan the rampant consumerism…” (l. 10 )
Resposta correcta: Complain about the ever rising consumerism
Pergunta:
- If English youth doesn’t buy high tech mobiles, they will continue to have poor access to the net.
Pergunta:
- Why do they want the latest models?”
Pergunta:
- We may attribute American teens’ reluctance in buying high tech cell phones to their lack of sophistication.
Pergunta:
- Cell phone users want a high tech device will spend huge amounts of money to buy it.