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Get Connected - Computer Words and Terms
How many apps are on your phone?

Get Connected - Computer Words and Terms

Quiz playing is a wonderful way to increase your knowledge of English as a Second Language. Remember that all of our ESL quizzes have titles that are both friendly and technical at the same time… In the case of this quiz you might like to tell your friends about the “Get Connected Quiz” but no doubt your teachers will want to talk about “Computer Words and Terms”. If you hear a technical term and you want to find a quiz about the subject then just look through the list of quiz titles until you find what you need.

If you're learning English, we can assume you are keen to communicate with other people and in order to do that you will need to make yourself familiar with the words and terms used in the world of computing. In these days of so much IT there are many ways to 'get connected' but how good is your English for talking about computers?

1.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
The Turing Test is named after Alan Turing (in 1950), who had pioneered the use of computers during World War 2 ~ to break vast amounts of enemy military information, that were being transmitted in secret military codes. He was wondering about Artificial Intelligence: when would computers become so clever that we could no longer ... ... ?
... distinguish what they were saying, from what a real human being might say?
... distinguish their output from what a real human being might speak?
... tell their output apart a real human being?
... spot their words as not coming from a real live human person?
Only Answer 1 is both full and clear.
We hope this will give you 'pause for thought' when playing language quizzes on your own computer!
2.
After the nuclear power station accident at Chernobyl in 1986, some people began to ask, 'How about the computers? Didn't they automatically take control, to keep things safe and avoid a disaster?'
And the reply came ... :
... 'Where are the computers?'
... 'What computers?'
... 'We don't need computers.'
... 'They don't want computers.'
Apparently there were no powerful computers at the plant: everything was controlled by hand. (And human beings can, and do, make mistakes sometimes!)
3.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
There are lots of these available now, but if you want your document to look elegant it is better not to use too many different ... ... .
... templates.
... fonts.
... styles.
... headers.
You can make a good clear document using different sizes (12pt, etc) and weights (bold, light etc.) of the same font, or maybe two. If you mix in lots of quite different styles of type, the result will look busy but also disorganised.
4.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
What we Brits refer to as a ... ... , is known in North America as a ... ... .
... mobile (phone) ... / ... sell-phone ...
... mobile (phone) ... / ... cellphone ...
... mobile (phone) ... / ... cellular ...
... mobile (phone) ... / ... celluloid ...
'Sell-phone' (Answer 1) may be what the word sounds like, but it is nothing to do with 'selling' or business. Most people seem to spend more of their time using the phones for social purposes, than for work!
The 'cell' idea is because each transmitter only covers a limited area, and if you look at these overall on a map or diagram, the areas look like 'cells' in biology.
5.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
When people send ... ... they often use lots of ... ... instead of ... ... the words out in full.
... texts ... / ... abrevitions ... / ... speling ...
... txts ... / ... abrvtions ... / ... spelng ...
... txt ... / ... abrvtns ... / ... splng ...
... texts ... / ... abbreviations ... / ... spelling ...
As you can see, once you start stripping letters out of words (Answers 1-3) it can become hard to see what the message means!
6.
Your phone or device may be loaded with lots of 'apps': but what is 'apps' short for?
Approvals
Applications
Apple software
Appearances
These are programs that your machine 'applies' in order to perform certain tasks.
7.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
A spreadsheet is a program that offers you a big grid with several ... ... across and several ... ... down your page, where you can enter tables of figures and information, compare and calculate with them, and move them around.
... columns ... / ... rows ...
... series ... / ... sets ...
... rows ... / ... columns ...
... sets ... / ... series ...
Rows (pronounced like 'rose') run across the page, like rows of people sitting in a cinema; columns run up and down, like the ~ very vertical ~ Nelson's column on Trafalgar Square in London.
8.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
But nowadays we can send ... ... , and even ... ... , to other people instantly ~ even when they are not sitting anywhere near their computer.
... emails, ... / ... film and video clips ...
... e-mails, ... / ... audio and video clips ...
... e-mails, ... / ... audio and video files ...
... emails, ... / ... audeo and vidio files ...
Answer 3 is the most accurate.
It is still clearest to write 'e-mails' with a hyphen, because (even if the context is obvious) the word 'Email' is the noun for 'enamel' in a number of other languages. (Enamel is a very hard substance that forms the outermost layer of your teeth, and it is used in hardening household things such as sinks, bathtubs and toilets, and also for heavy cooking pots etc.)
9.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
We are each born with a ' ... ... ' more powerful than almost any ever built by engineers. Typically it weighs about ... ... , and is similar in size to the capacity of a ... ... (1200cc). If you look after it properly it will serve you amazingly well for your whole life.
What do we call it?
(The answer will be in the Helpful Comment box, if you haven't already guessed!)
... personal computer ... / ... a kilo and a half ... / ... small car engine ...
... computer ... / ... a kilo ... / ... car engine ...
... laptop ... / ... a couple of kilos ... / ... large car motor ...
... mobile ... / ... three kilos... / ... small railway engine ...
The top version made the best sense.
The answer, of course, is The Human Brain.
10.
Pick the best word/s to complete the gap/s in good clear English.
Fifty years ago, nobody would have understood you if you said 'Point with your ... ... and ... ... on the window'!
... finger ... / ... tap ...
... needle ... / ... wipe ...
... mouse ... / ... click ...
... wand ... / ... bang ...
You will have had to do this to answer the Question, so we hope you are familiar with it!
We believe that the use of 'mouse' and 'window' (as computer terms) is already quite normal in many other languages.
Author:  Ian Miles

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