Can you live without your smartphone?
[ 1 ] Next time, you are in a public place, look around you, and count how many people are using their smartphones. I can tell you it is probably more than half, whether you are in public transport, in a café or simply walking down the street. I am not saying that I am not an example of this, but it always amazes me how people can spend so much time on their phones without actually talking to anyone in particular. With the upgrade of technology, we can do practically everything on a device that can fit in the palm of our hands. But has it gone too far? Do we spend a lot of time on our mobile phones and not enough time talking in real life?
[ 2 ] I recently visited London and traveled on the tube while I was there. Apart from the people asleep, almost everybody else was on their phones. Because of the nature of the tube, it is difficult not to see exactly what people are doing. Of course, being underground, it is difficult to get any single, which rules out texting or using the internet, but there is still plenty you can use your smartphones for. People were playing games, reading articles, and listening to music. I am sure that as long as they get out of the train station, they will start texting or calling, or checking their emails. There is a constant connection to everyone in the world since you have a mobile phone in your hand.
[ 3 ] Recently my smartphone broke and had to be sent off to the warehouse for repair a week or so. In the meantime, I had to use an old-fashioned basic phone just in order to keep in touch with my family and friends. All I could do on that phone was sending text messages, making calls, and playing one game. I loved being free from the internet. It was quite refreshing. I noticed that it deprived me of entertaining myself. This short experience allowed me to spend more time talking to my surroundings. I relished my time in London more; for example, I enjoyed nature and saw what was going on around me.
[4 ] However , I knew that as soon as I get my smart phone back, I would be one of these people once again, obsessed with finding out what everyone is doing and squandering time playing video games or checking social network sites. Perhaps I should just go back to using the basic phone and forget I ever got my smart phone back.
Comprehension Questions:
A. Choose the most suitable title for the text (1pts)
a. The drawbacks of technology
b. Smart phones consumes our time
c. Life without technology
The most suitable title for the text is:……………………………………..
B- Are these statements true or false? Justify
- [ ….. ] People spend more time talking to each other when they use mobile phones.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………… - [ ….. ] Thanks to smartphones, people get connected wherever they are.
……………………………………………………….. - [ ….. ] Hassan left his house because he did not like his stepmother.
………………………………………………………..
C- Answer the following questions
1. How do advanced technologies help people?
2. What can people use phones for?
3.Does the author feel comfortable without using his phone?
D. Pick from the text sentences or phrases which show that :
1. You cannot resist noticing what people do on their phones.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. When people get out from the tube, they resume their old habits of using mobile phones.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
E- WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS lN THE TEXT REFER TO?
1. I: (paragraph 1): ………………………..
2. They: (paragraph 2): ………………………..
3. It: (paragraph 2): ……………………….
F. Find words in the text which mean almost the same as :
1. Continuous (paragraph 2) :………………………
2. Outdated (paragraph 3) : ………………………
3. To connect with (paragraph 3) : ……………………….
4. Wasting (paragraph 4) : ………………………
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By : Mr .Abdali Ibrahim
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