RF Network Wireless Engineer

I VARIANT

Task 1. Listening (18 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

a) Listen to Professor Crystal talking about the use of the word 'cell' in English and answer these questions:

Which country does the word ‘cell phone’ come from?
On the Internet, which spelling is more common?

a. cellphone

b. cell phone

Professor Crystal talks about two examples of the use of ‘cell’ in the UK. Which topics do they refer to? Choose two from below.

a. Work and business

b. Social life

c. Publicity and marketing

d. International communication

b) Listen to recording again and decide if the following statements are true or false, according to Professor Crystal.

The term ‘mobile phone’ was soon abbreviated.
‘Cell phone’ is short for ‘cellulose phone’.
It is not possible to only say ‘cell’ to mean a mobile phone.
British people are using the word ‘cell’ more frequently.
The advertisement concerned a new phone facility.
The other older meaning of ‘cell’ that he mentions is ‘a small simple room’.

Task 2. Language (30 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

a) Choose the word or a phrase that best completes each sentence.

10. He couldn’t rest or sleep because he ...... too much coffee.

a) drinking

b) been drinking

c) has been drinking

d) had been drinking

11. Some of the girls in my group tease me because I don’t wear makeup, but I don’t …..

a) wear

b) care

c) do

d) like

12. A permit is a document which states that you ...... to do something.

a) are allowed

b) cannot

c) may

d) shall

13. They explained that she couldn’t take the course ......?

a) could she

b) couldn’t she

c) did she

d) didn’t they

14. Something ...... happened or they would be here by now.

a) must

b) must be

c) must have

d) must have been

15. A demonstration is an act of showing by giving proof or ...... evidence.

a) a

b) an

c) the

d) –

16. If you borrow something from someone, make sure you give ...... .

a) them back it

b) back it to them

c) it back to them

d) it to them back

17. Flights kept ...... because of bad weather.

a) delaying

b) being delayed

c) having delayed

d) having been delayed

18. Her father mentioned that Ellen ...... to Prague before.

a) was

b) went

c) has gone

d) had been

19. Can you understand ...... ?

a) she is saying

b) what is saying

c) what she is saying

d) what is she saying

20. Fieldwork is practical work ...... outside the university or office.

a) doing

b) done

c) which do

d) that does

21. If they’d ...... him more time, he’d have been able to do a better job.

a) give

b) giving

c) given

d) gave

22. ...... they had been waiting in line all night, I was sure they’d get tickets.

a) As though

b) Because of

c) Since

d) Until

23. Because it ...... a lot recently, I don’t go out as much.

a) is raining

b) has been raining

c) rain

d) rains

24. The Star Tree hotel chain is in financial trouble and some of their smaller hotels are going to have ..... .

a) been sold

b) being sold

c) sold

d) to be sold

Task 3. Reading ( 12 MARKS – 1 point per answer)

a) Read the article by Professor Crystal about the search engine ‘Google’ and answer the questions.

25. What is unusual or special about the name of the search engine ‘Google’?

26. How does the company “Google’ feel about the use of the word in the general language?

a) They are pleased that the word is used as a general verb.

b) They are worried about the use of the word in general English.

c) They are disappointed about the use of the word in general English.

TO GOOGLE

To google – as a verb. Of course, everybody’s heard of Google the search engine – popular development of the 1990s. In fact, in 1999, Google was designated the most useful word by the American Dialect Society, as a verb! ‘I’m going to google.’ ‘We are googling.’ And, of course, there’s all sorts of associated words that have come since – you know, ‘we are googlers, if we google!’ And people who google a lot are ‘google-minded’ and I suppose there are lots of other coinages too.

The word itself comes from a mathematical term, ‘googol’, and a term meaning 10 to the 100th power, an impossibly large concept, indeed. And, of course, the Google search engine has also become impossibly large! When you go searching for a word on Google, you might get a million hits, or 10 million hits, or a hundred million hits.

Of course, the penalty of success is when you have a word enter the language and it was originally a word that you thought you owned. In fact, the firm Google is very concerned over this use as a verb, because it is their trade mark – they like to keep the capital letter in the definition, for example – if you use it, they say, do use it with a capital ‘G’. But they’ve got a problem, I mean, no firm, and no matter how big, can control language change!

They’re not the first firm to be worried about this sort of thing. Xerox, once upon a time, was very worried about the way their name had become part of the language as a whole, you know, ‘I’m going to Xerox something’, meaning – I’m going to photocopy something. And Hoover was another one, you know, it now means any sort of vacuum cleaner. Of course, Hover is a particular brand of vacuum cleaner. So Google are a bit worried about this use of their name as a verb, but they won’t be able to stop it. As I say, no firm, no matter how big, can control language change.

b) Read the article again and decide if the following statements are true or false, according to Professor.

27. In 1990 a language society said google was the most useful word.

28. The name ‘Google’ comes from a word used in mathematics.

29. Professor Crystal comments that the Google search engine might be too effective.

30. The company Google thinks the verb should be written ‘google’, not ‘Google’.

31. Professor Crystal says that the company name ‘Hoover’ is also used as a verb.

32. Professor Crystal thinks that businesses cannot manage the way people use their names and trademarks.

c) Find the phrases in the text that have the following meanings.

33. the number 1 followed by 100 zeros

34. to make a copy of a document

35. the specific name of a commercial product, similar to trademark

36. punishment

Task 4. Writing (20 MARKS)

a) Study the advertisement and write the letter of application.

Core Systems Engineer

Founded in 1994, listed on the NASDQ (WFII), with 2500 employees throughout the world, WFI (Wireless Facilities International Ltd) is the largest independent RF engineering company in the world providing business consulting, technical consulting, and Network Engineering services to the largest mobile operators and equipment manufacturers. We are currently looking for Core Systems Engineers. This role involves taking part of the customer installation unit working towards installation and support of in-house core applications within billing, roaming and Interconnect.

The role would involve review of technical documentation, analysis, design, system integration and support requiring experience from CDR (Call Detail Records). Project management experience would be of value. If you feel that you are suitable for this role please apply in writing, with full CV to the HR Department at the address below:

J.FORD

Wireless Facilities, Inc.

4810 Eastgate Mall

San Diego CA 92121

United States

Task 5. Speaking (20 MARKS)

a) Discuss the suggested topic:

1. What questions do you thinkan Interviewer and applicant could ask as job interviewer’s and applicant’s questions.

2. Imagine that youare making a presentation at the International Conference in London. Give a 5 minute report on industrial development in Ukraine.

3. You are telling your fellow-students what scientific research you are now working at. Much of researches still remain undone but your time is up because you have to make up a report in 2 weeks. Share your concern with your fellow-students and tell them about your plans in the nearest future.

4. You have received an invitation to an International Conference “Innovations in Ukrainian Science and Engineering”. Give a 5 minute report on “Science in Ukraine past, present and future”.

5_. KPI as the cradle of inquiring minds in science and engineering.

6. Why did you choose this specialty?

7. We can’t imagine our life without computers.

8. You take part in the International Conference dedicated to “European language years”. Inform your colleagues about it.

9_.You take part in an International Conference. Make a about the ecological problems in Ukraine.

Answer Key (I VARIANT)

Task 1. Listening (18 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

1. The United States of America

2. b. cell phone

3. a. work and business – ‘your company’

c. publicity and marketing – ‘advertisement’

4. True – ‘the term was immediately shortened’

5. False – it is short for ‘cellular phone’

6. False – ‘people shortened the phrase to cell’

7. True – ‘this usage is growing in the UK’

8. False – It was about the colour of the telephones

9. True – a cell is a simple room in a monastery, or where a prisoner sleeps in a prison

Task 2. Language (30 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

Task 3. Reading (12 MARKS – 1 point per answer)

25. Google is now used in general English as a verb, among other types of word.

26. b. They are worried about the use of the word in general English

27. False – ‘In 1999, Google was designated the most useful word by the American Dialect Society, as a verb.’

28. True – ‘The word itself comes from a mathematical term, ‘googol’.’

29. True – ‘the Google search engine has also become impossibly large!’

30. False – ‘If you use it, they say, do use it with a capital ‘G’.’

31. False – ‘It now means any sort of vacuum cleaner’. [In fact, it can be used as a verb, but Professor Crystal does not mention this.]

32. True – ‘No firm, no matter how big, can control language change.’

33. 10 to the 100th power

34. to photocopy something

35. brand

36. penalty

Task 4. Writing (20 MARKS)

Task 5. Speaking (20 MARKS)

TAPESCRIPT (I VARIANT)

CELL

By Professor David Crystal

When mobile phone technology came in a few years ago, the term was immediately shortened. Mobile phones became 'mobiles'. 'I've got my mobile.' 'Have you got your mobile on?' But that was in the UK. In the United States, a different term emerged, 'cell phone', short for cellular phone.

Now, cell phone was tricky because some people spelled it as one word and some people spelled it as two. I did a search on Google the other day, and the one-word spelling got eighteen million hits, and the two-word spelling got a hundred and thirty-five million hits. So it seems you can use both spellings at the moment. But either way, people shortened the phrase to 'cell'. And this usage is growing in the UK.

Somebody the other day said to me, 'Have you got your cell?' 'Call me on your cell!' 'Sync your cell with your company!' - That’s synchronise - synchronise your cell with your company - that's the sort of phrase you get these days.

I saw an advertisement, 'Cells have just got coloured!' In other words, mobile phones are now in different colours. It's a new sense of the word 'cell'. So, if somebody invites you to 'use my cell', it doesn't mean that they're asking you to go into their monastery, or indeed, asking you to visit them in prison!

II VARIANT

Task 1. Listening (20 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

a) Listen to Professor Crystal talking about a word that has come from recent developments in communication and technology. Answer these questions:

1. What word does he talk about?

2. Is this word a noun, verb or adjective?

3. As a verb, is it a new verb or a new use of an old verb?

4. Which of the following words do you think are real words that have come from ‘to text’?

a) texter

b) textive

c) texting

d) textation

e) text messaging

f) text noting

b) Listen again and decide if the following statements are true or false, according to Professor Crystal.

Text came into English because of changes in telephone technology.
The modern verb appeared before the modern noun.
To text is the same as to send an email.
In the past, to text meant to write in a special way.
The spoken use of the word is unusual.
Text messages use shortened forms of words.

Task 2. Language (30 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

a) Choose the word or a phrase that best completes each sentence.

11. He couldn’t rest or sleep because he ...... too much coffee.

a) drinking

b) been drinking

c) has been drinking

d) had been drinking

12. Some of the girls in my group tease me because I don’t wear makeup, but I don’t …..

a) wear

b) care

c) do

d) like

13. A permit is a document which states that you ...... to do something.

a) are allowed

b) cannot

c) may

d) shall

14. They explained that she couldn’t take the course ......?

a) could she

b) couldn’t she

c) did she

d) didn’t they

15. Something ...... happened or they would be here by now.

a) must

b) must be

c) must have

d) must have been

16. A demonstration is an act of showing by giving proof or ...... evidence.

a) a

b) an

c) the

d) –

17. If you borrow something from someone, make sure you give ...... .

a) them back it

b) back it to them

c) it back to them

d) it to them back

18. Flights kept ...... because of bad weather.

a) delaying

b) being delayed

c) having delayed

d) having been delayed

19. Her father mentioned that Ellen ...... to Prague before.

a) was

b) went

c) has gone

d) had been

20. Can you understand ...... ?

a) she is saying

b) what is saying

c) what she is saying

d) what is she saying

21. Fieldwork is practical work ...... outside the university or office.

a) doing

b) done

c) which do

d) that does

22. If they’d ...... him more time, he’d have been able to do a better job.

a) give

b) giving

c) given

d) gave

23. ...... they had been waiting in line all night, I was sure they’d get tickets.

a) As though

b) Because of

c) Since

d) Until

24. Because it ...... a lot recently, I don’t go out as much.

a) is raining

b) has been raining

c) rain

d) rains

25. The Star Tree hotel chain is in financial trouble and some of their smaller hotels are going to have ..... .

a) been sold

b) being sold

c) sold

d) to be sold

Task 3. Reading (10 MARKS – 1 point per answer)

a) Read the article about the use of the word ‘blog’ in English and answer these questions.

26. What word is ‘blog’ a shortened version of?

27. What is a ‘blog’ most similar to?

a) a letter

b) a newspaper article

c) a diary

d) a novel

28. Which two types of blog does he mention?

29. Which of these new words does he mention in this part of the talk?

a) blogger

b) blogosphere

c) blogmania

d) blogarrhoea

BLOG

In 2001, I wrote a book called, Language and the Internet, and I didn’t mention the word blog. Well, this year, I have a second edition out. In it goes, that’s how fast the internet moves.

Those who blog, bloggers, carry out the activity of blogging, setting up a blog site, with a unique web address in order to do so. It’s an abbreviation of ‘web log’; a phrase that was first used in 1997, both as a noun and as a verb, a web log.

It’s essentially a content management system, a way of getting content on to a webpage; it’s a genre, a bit like diary writing, or bulletin posting. I mean, people add their posts or diary entries, with some regularity, if you’re a blogger you do it daily at least, often several times a day.

So at one extreme there’s the personal diary, kept by an individual who wants to tell the whole world about his or her activities, or interests and opinions and so on. And then at the other extreme, there’s the corporate blog, maintained by an institution, such as a radio station or a music store.

Well, there are even more coinages about to come, it seems to me. The totality of all blog sites in the world is known as the blogosphere. And if you have a blog and it goes on for too long, be careful, because somebody might describe you as having blogarrhoea!

b) Read the article again and decide if the following statements are true or false, according to Professor Crystal.

30. In 2001, Professor Crystal didn’t know about the word ‘blog’.

31. The original word, web log, was only a noun.

32. People usually update their blogs once a week.

33. Professor Crystal thinks the two types of blog are very similar.

34. Professor Crytsal thinks there won’t be any more new blog words.

35. If you have blogarrhoea, you can’t stop writing your blog.

Task 4. Writing (20 MARKS)

a) Study the advertisement and write the letter of application.

RF Network Wireless Engineer

Data Design Corporation is seeking senior engineers with experience in the design of RF subsystems especially those employing short range radio devices and associated antennas and matching elements. Experience with radio data protocol such as 802.11, Zigbee, GSM, and Bluetooth a plus. Should have experience with Ansoft Designer, or equivalent RF simulation software.

Candidates must be willing/able to attain DOD security clearance (company will sponsor qualified candidates).

Competitive salary, medical, dental, 401K & profit share.

Apply in writing, with full CV to:

S. Pyatkov

Data Design Corporation

7851-A Beechcraft Avenue

Gaithersburg, MD 20879

Task 5. Speaking (20 MARKS)

a) Discuss the suggested topic:

1. What questions do you thinkan Interviewer and applicant could ask as job interviewer’s and applicant’s questions?

2. Imagine that youare making a presentation at the International Conference in London. Give a 5 minute report on industrial development in Ukraine.

4. You have received an invitation to an International Conference “Innovations in Ukrainian Science and Engineering”. Give a 5 minute report on “Science in Ukraine past, present and future”.

5_. KPI as the cradle of inquiring minds in science and engineering.

6. Why did you choose this specialty?

7. We can’t imagine our life without computers.

8. You take part in the International Conference dedicated to “European language years”. Inform your colleagues about it.

9_.You take part in an International Conference. Make a about the ecological problems in Ukraine.

Answer Key (II VARIANT)

Task 1. Listening (20 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

1. text

2. a noun and a verb

3. a new use of an old verb

4. Real words are a, c, e

5. True – as a result of the cell phone revolution

6. False – you had the noun and now you have the verb

7. False – texting is by phone only

8. True – to write in capital letters

9. False – it was rare until about 4 or 5 years ago

10. True – introducing abbreviated forms into your text

Task 2. Language (30 MARKS – 2 points per answer)

Task 3. Reading (10 MARKS – 1 point per answer)

web log
c. A diary
personal diary and corporate
b. blogosphere, d. blogarrhoea
True – He did not put it in his book about Internet and Language, so we assume he didn’t know it.
False – ‘both as a noun and as a verb, a web log.’
False – ‘if you’re a blogger you do it daily at least’
False – He says they are at different extremes (on the scale of different blogs)
False – ‘there are even more coinages about to come, it seems to me’
True – ‘if you have a blog and it goes on for too long, be careful’. The new word is an adaptation of diarrhoea

Task 4. Writing (20 MARKS)

Task 5. Speaking (20 MARKS)

TAPESCRIPT (II VARIANT)

TEXT

By Professor David Crystal

'Text' is one of these new words that have come into English as a result of the internet revolution and especially, this time, the cell phone revolution. Cell phones didn't exist, well, 5, 10 years ago, they weren't around and as soon as they came along, people started using them to send messages to each other. So, first as a noun, you had the noun 'text' and now you have the verb 'to text', which is to send a written message using a mobile phone or a cell phone if you use that expression instead.

It isn't new actually. Although the verb 'to text' is a modern feature of today's English, you can actually trace it back to the 16th century when 'to text', in those days, was to write something in very large letters, in capital letters, in 'text hand'.

And, if you look it up in a big dictionary these days, you'll often be told "this verbal use is now rather rare". Well it was rare until about 4 or 5 years ago. Since then of course, everybody's been using it, and it's produced a whole new family of words.

You can now 'text' somebody of course, but you can be engaged in the noun 'texting'. And then you've got 'text messaging' which is a fuller form of the idea of texting somebody. And the people who send messages to each other are called 'texters', and the whole language of abbreviated communication that you can use - introducing abbreviated forms into your text message, in order to make it as succinct and as quick to send as possible. Well, what's the name for that? There isn't an agreed name at the moment - but I call it 'text speak'.