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Unit6-Conversation1Janet:Whatareyoureading,Kate?Kate:AliceinWonderland,byLewisCarroll.Doyouknowit?Janet:I'veheardofit,yes,butI'veneverreadit.It'sa19thcenturychildren'sstory,isn'tit?Kate:That'sright.It'sveryfamous.It'ssetinOxford.Itstartswiththisyounggirlsittingonariverbank.Theinterestingthingis,theauthor,LewisCarroll,hewasanOxfordprofessorandheusedtohaveteawiththegirl'sfamilyonthisriverbank.Janet:Oh,that'sfascinating!I'llputitintomydiary.Kate:Isthatwhatyou'rewriting?Iknowyou'vebeenkeepingadiaryalltheyear.Janet:It'sbeenagreatyear.I'vehadsuchagoodtime—soluckytohaveMarkandKateasfriends.FeelI'vebeendoingwellwithwork.Muchhappieraboutaskingquestionsintutorials.Janet:Myscreen'sgonedark.Mark:You'reusingthebattery,remember.It'srunout,obviously.Janet:Itcan'tbethebattery.It'sstillcharged.Ohnoit'sstillblack.Ohdear,Ihopeit'snothingserious.Ihaven'tbackedanythinguprecently.Kate:That'snotlikeyou,Janet.Janet:Iknow,butIlostmymemorystick.Ireallyshouldhavebackedthingsup.Howstupidofmenottodothat!SupposingI'velosteverything!Mark:Letmetakealook.Thepowerisstillon.Andalsotheoperatingsystemstillseemstobeworking...Ithinkithastobethegraphicscard...Butmaybethat'snottheproblem...Janet:IfonlyI'dbackedthingsup!Kate:Relax,Janet!We'lltakeittothecomputershopthisafternoon.I'msureit'llbeOK.Janet:Ihopeso.Unit6-Conversation2Janet:TellmeaboutAliceinWonderland.Kate:Itellyouwhat,I'llreadittoyou.Kate:Alicewasbeginningtogetverytiredofsittingbyhersisteronthebankandhavingnothingtodo:Onceortwice,shehadpeepedintothebookhersisterwasreading,butithadnopicturesorconversationsinit,andwhatistheuseofabook,thoughtAlice,withoutpicturesorconversation?Soshewasconsideringinherownmind(aswellasshecould,forthehotdaymadeherfeelverysleepyandstupid)...Janet:Kate,Mark,whereareyougoing?You'vegotmylaptop!Kate:It'sallright,Janet,we'retakingittothecomputershop.We'llbebacksoon.Mark:It'snotlikeJanettoforgettobackupherwork.Kate:Sheshouldhavebeenmorecareful.Janet:Itwasstupidofme,Iknow!Stupid,stupid!Janet:Oh!Itwasadream!Whatarelief!Kate:Youweretalkinginyoursleep.Janet:WhatwasIsaying?Kate:Stupid,stupid.Mark:I'vesortedoutyourcomputer.Janet:Haveyou?Oh,thankgoodness!Whatwastheproblem?Mark:Itwasthegraphicscard,asIpredicted...Janet:Isthatwhatitwas!I'msorelieved!Thanks,Mark.Kate:He'sgreat,isn'the?Janet:Yes.Soareyou,Kate.Kate:You'resuchagoodfriend.Unit6-OutsideviewComputersareaveryimportantpartofourlives.Theytellusaboutdelaystotransport.Theydrivetrains,analyzeevidenceandcontrolbuildings.Didyouknowthat60percentofhomesinBritainhavegotaPC(apersonalcomputer)?Formanyyoungpeople,playingcomputergamesistheirfavoritewayofspendingsparetime.ComputersareaveryimportantpartofmostareasoflifeinBritain-libraries,thepoliceandinschool.Buttheyarebecomingmoreimportantinourhomesaswell.They’llevencontrolthewaywelive-in“smarthomes”orcomputer-controlledhouses.Thesmarthomeisnowarealpossibility.Itwillbecomeverycommon.Acentralcomputerwilladjustthetemperature,actasaburglaralarmandswitchonlights,readyforyoutocomebackhome.Andofcourseyouwillbeabletogivenewinstructionstothecomputerfromyourmobilephone.Soifyourplanschange,yourhomewillreacttomatch.Manyhomeshavegotlotsoftelevisionsandseveralcomputers.ThesmarthomewillprovideTVandInternetsocketsineveryroom,soyou’llbeabletodowhatyouwantwheneveryouwant.Ifthetemperatureoutsidechanges,thesmarthomewilladjustthetemperaturelevelsinside.Thecomputerwillalsoclosetheblindswhenitgetsdarkortostopsomuchsunfromenteringaroom.Andifyouwanttoeatwhenyougethome,thecomputerwillturntheovenonforyou!Arecomputerstakingoverourlives?Inasurvey,44percentofyoungpeoplebetween11and16saidtheirPCwasatrustedfriend.Twentypercentsaidtheywerehappierattheircomputerthanspendingtimewithfamilyorfriends.AnothersurveyfoundthatpeopleinBritainspendsomuchtimeonthephone,textingandreadingemailsthattheynolongerhavetimeforconversation.Whatdoyouthinkaboutthat?Unit6-ListeninginNewsReportUSScientistshaveannouncedthediscoveryofgravitationalwaves,whicharetinywavesproducedbymassiveobjectsmovingveryquickly.Twoblackholesproducedthewaveswhentheycrashedintoeachotherabout1.3billionyearsago.Ablackholeisaplaceinspacewherethegravityissostrongthatevenlightcannotescape.ThisannouncementofthediscoverycomesacenturyafterAlbertEinsteinfirstpredictedgravitationalwaveswouldexist.Thediscoverywasmadepossiblebyusingahighlysensitiveinstrumentdesignedtodetectsignalsofgravitationalwavesandidentifytheirsources.Thisdiscoveryprovesthattherearegravitationalwaves,andstronglyconfirmstheexistenceofblackholes.Withthisdiscovery,scientistsaregivenanewtooltostudyandunderstandtheuniverse.Thewavescouldhelpscientistslearnmoreaboutwhathappenedimmediatelyaftertheuniversebeganandhowtheuniverseexpanded.Scientistshopethattheymaybeabletoobservepartsoftheuniversethatwerepreviouslyundetectable.1.WhatdiscoveryhaveUSscientistsmade?2.Whatfeaturesdoblackholeshaveaccordingtothenewsreport?3.Whyisthediscoveryimportant?Passage1Whenyouhaveabiscuitwithyourcupoftea,doyoudunkit?Andifso,what’stheperfectwaytodoit?That’sthesubjectoftoday’sScienceinActionreport.Itmaybehardtobelievebutscientists