VoIP Technology.

• Listen HERE to an interview with Sue Reid, a specialist in telecommunications. Answer the following questions:

1. What exactly is VoIP?
2. Does the recipient need any special equipment?
3. What is an ATA? What is its function?
4. What is the advantage of Wi-Fi phones over mobile phones?
5. Do you need a VoIP service provider?
6. What is spit?

• You can check your answers in the Audioscript.

Wireless Electricity.

 A team of US researchers has come up with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough in what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic fields. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They have dubbed their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the transmission of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical appliances have been powered wirelessly.

This new development means that our houses may be free from tangled wires. Gone will be the days of having to unplug the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having countless plugs hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by poor wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla struck upon the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to fruition, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ensure the power source causes us no harm.

• How would "wirelessness" make our life better?
• Match underlined words in the text to these meanings:

  - completion: fruition

  - gadgets: appliances

  - spread: transmission

  - jumbled: tangled

  - faulty: poor

  - invented: come up with

  - send out: beam

  - called: dubbed

  - revolution: breakthrough

  - thought of: struck upon

• You can find out more about WiTricity in their website.

The Future.

These are some predictions for the future. What do you think? How many will come true?

Look at these presentations and practise FUTURE PERFECT and FUTURE CONTINUOUS.

Finally you can revise both tenses and do some exercises in these links:

• Future continuous
• Future perfect

We can use different expressions to talk about how sure we are that something will happen in the future:

- 100%  will definitely/to be sure to/to be bound to/to be certain to
- 75%  will probably/to be likely to/there's a good chance that
- 50%  will possibly/may/might/could
- 25%  probably won't/to be unlikely to
- 0%   definitely won't/there's no chance that

EXERCISE: Re-write these sentences using the word in brackets (highlight to see the answers):

1. A lot of companies are likely to go out of business. (probably)

A lot of companies will probably go out of business.

2. Windows is unlikely to remain the dominant force in software. (probably)

Windows probably won't remain the dominant force in software.

3. People could stop using cash by around 2015. (may)

People may stop using cash by around 2015.

4. The mouse will definitely disappear in the next few years. (bound)

The mouse is bound to disappear in the next few years.

5. There's a very good chance that mobile phones will be replaced with something different. (probably)

Mobile phones will probably be replaced with something different.

6. There is no chance that the rate of change will slow down. (definitely)

The rate of change definitely won't slow down.

The House.

 

• You can take a look at the ROOMS of the house and FURNITURE and do the EXERCISES. 
•  If you need more practice, click HERE.

Prepositions of Time.

We use:

• at for a PRECISE TIME
• in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
• on for DAYS and DATES

You can learn more about them by clicking on this LINK.
And you can download this worksheet + key.