Google launches Latin translation tool

Google Translate, a service that can instantly translate entire web pages or chunks of text in to another language, has added Latin to its list.
Google Translate supports more than 50 languages, including minority languages such as Welsh and Haitian Creole, and the addition of Latin is sure to please scholars and traditionalists.

In a blog post, written entirely in Latin, Jakob Uszkoreit, a senior engineer at Google, said that Latin was far from a “dead language”. “There are many Latin language learners,” he wrote. “Over 100,000 American students take the National Latin Exam every year and many more learn Latin all over the world. And there is a wealth of information originally written in it.”

He said that while Google recognised that the Latin translation tool would rarely be used to decipher emails or captions on YouTube videos, it would enable web users to read many of the crucially important philosophical and scientific texts originally written in this language. “There are tens of thousands of scanned books written in Latin on Google Books, and many more contain Latin quotes and proverbs,” he wrote.

Google expects translations to and from Latin to be among the most accurate offered by its Google Translate tool. “Unlike any of the other languages Google Translate supports, Latin offers a unique advantage: most of the text that will ever be written in Latin has already been written, and a comparatively large part of it has been translated in to other languages. “We use these translations, found in books and on the web, to train our system.”
Google has also added a Latin text-to-speech function, too, to help people with their pronunciation.

Question 1:[2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a) Google Translate can be used to produce translations of stretches of language.
b) Only widely spoken languages are available on Google Translate.
c) The Google engineer wrote his message in American English.
d) There is no possibility of listening to Latin on Google Translation.

Question 2:[2 POINTS] Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Is Latin studied these days?
b) Why will Google Latin translations be particularly reliable?

Question 3:[1.5 POINTS]Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a) To make happy (paragraph 1).
b) a large amount (paragraph 2).
c) extremely (paragraph 3).

Question 4:[1,5 POINTS] Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Over 100,000 American students take the National Latin Exam every year and many more learn Latin all over the world.
The National Latin Exam …… and Latin ……

b) “What lessons do you have this morning, James?”
I asked James ……………………………………………………………

c) Many important philosophical and scientific texts were written in Latin People want to read these texts.
People want to read the

Question 5:[3 POINTS]Write a short essay (120 - 150 words) on the following topic:
‘Not everything that we have to study at school is useful.’ Do you agree?

Google launches Latin translation tool

Google Translate, a service that can instantly translate entire web pages or chunks of text in to another language, has added Latin to its list.
Google Translate supports more than 50 languages, including minority languages such as Welsh and Haitian Creole, and the addition of Latin is sure to please scholars and traditionalists.

In a blog post, written entirely in Latin, Jakob Uszkoreit, a senior engineer at Google, said that Latin was far from a “dead language”. “There are many Latin language learners,” he wrote. “Over 100,000 American students take the National Latin Exam every year and many more learn Latin all over the world. And there is a wealth of information originally written in it.”

He said that while Google recognised that the Latin translation tool would rarely be used to decipher emails or captions on YouTube videos, it would enable web users to read many of the crucially important philosophical and scientific texts originally written in this language. “There are tens of thousands of scanned books written in Latin on Google Books, and many more contain Latin quotes and proverbs,” he wrote.

Google expects translations to and from Latin to be among the most accurate offered by its Google Translate tool. “Unlike any of the other languages Google Translate supports, Latin offers a unique advantage: most of the text that will ever be written in Latin has already been written, and a comparatively large part of it has been translated in to other languages. “We use these translations, found in books and on the web, to train our system.”
Google has also added a Latin text-to-speech function, too, to help people with their pronunciation.

Question 1:[2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a) Google Translate can be used to produce translations of stretches of language.
b) Only widely spoken languages are available on Google Translate.
c) The Google engineer wrote his message in American English.
d) There is no possibility of listening to Latin on Google Translation.

Question 2:[2 POINTS] Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Is Latin studied these days?
b) Why will Google Latin translations be particularly reliable?

Question 3:[1.5 POINTS]Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a) To make happy (paragraph 1).
b) a large amount (paragraph 2).
c) extremely (paragraph 3).

Question 4:[1,5 POINTS] Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Over 100,000 American students take the National Latin Exam every year and many more learn Latin all over the world.
The National Latin Exam …… and Latin ……

b) “What lessons do you have this morning, James?”
I asked James ……………………………………………………………

c) Many important philosophical and scientific texts were written in Latin People want to read these texts.
People want to read the

Question 5:[3 POINTS]Write a short essay (120 - 150 words) on the following topic:
‘Not everything that we have to study at school is useful.’ Do you agree?

Lady Gaga most ‘liked’ on Facebook

Social network Facebook has revealed who its most popular people were in 2010, and said that over the past year the 500 million people who use it uploaded more than 2.7 million photographs, shared 1 million links and 'Liked' 7.6 million pages in one ramdomly chosen 20 minute period.

More than 61 million people also indicated in 2010 that they were in new relationships, married or engaged: 28.4 million people changed their statuses to 'in a relationship', 36.7 million people changed their status to 'married' and 6 million people declared themselves to be 'engaged'.

Lady Gaga was the most ‘liked’, closing 2010 with 24.7 million indications of approval from her Facebook fans. She also has more than 7 million followers on Twitter. Over the summer, Lady Gaga became the first living person to reach 10 million. US rapper Eminem’s 23.7 million ‘Likes' beat Barack Obama’s 17.2 million.

The identity of the most liked celebrity on Facebook will have come as little surprise to people who have followed Lady Gaga's meteoric rise to superstardom, as she has arguably harnessed the power of social networking sites as a promotional tool more effectively than any other star.

At the beginning of December, several stars including Lady Gaga stopped updating their Facebook page or using Twitter until $1m had been raised for US charity Keep a Child Alive. The charity works in Africa and India to provide treatment and support to families of people with HIV and Aids. The campaign, called Digital Life Sacrifice, was launched on 1st December to mark World Aids Day. Lady Gaga added a photo of herself in a coffin to her Facebook page, writing: 'No more updates little monsters until we buy life.'

Question 1 (2 points)

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) Over 2.7 million photos were posted on Facebook during the course of last year.
b) More people follow Lady Gaga on Twitter than on Facebook.
c) Lady Gaga’s Facebook popularity is unexpected.
d) Keep a Child Alive is an American organisation.

Question 2 (2 points)
Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) How did 61 milllion people’s relationships change in 2010?
b) What happened in ‘Digital Life Sacrifice’?

Question 3 (1.5 points)
Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) make public (Paragraph 1)
b) take control of (Paragraph 4)
c) commemorate (Paragraph 5)

Question 4 (1.5 points)
Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) 500 million people who use Facebook uploaded more than 2.7 million photographs. More than 2.7 million photographs .………………….………………………….
b) Lady Gaga said “I will not update my Facebook page until $1m has been raised.
Lady Gaga said that …...…………………………………………………...………………
c) Everyone thought that the campaign would raise $1m immediately but in fact it took nearly a week.
Although .......................................................................................................

Question 5 (3 points)
Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic:
‘Nowadays people are in danger of becoming isolated individuals’. Do you agree?

Lady Gaga most ‘liked’ on Facebook

Social network Facebook has revealed who its most popular people were in 2010, and said that over the past year the 500 million people who use it uploaded more than 2.7 million photographs, shared 1 million links and 'Liked' 7.6 million pages in one ramdomly chosen 20 minute period.

More than 61 million people also indicated in 2010 that they were in new relationships, married or engaged: 28.4 million people changed their statuses to 'in a relationship', 36.7 million people changed their status to 'married' and 6 million people declared themselves to be 'engaged'.

Lady Gaga was the most ‘liked’, closing 2010 with 24.7 million indications of approval from her Facebook fans. She also has more than 7 million followers on Twitter. Over the summer, Lady Gaga became the first living person to reach 10 million. US rapper Eminem’s 23.7 million ‘Likes' beat Barack Obama’s 17.2 million.

The identity of the most liked celebrity on Facebook will have come as little surprise to people who have followed Lady Gaga's meteoric rise to superstardom, as she has arguably harnessed the power of social networking sites as a promotional tool more effectively than any other star.

At the beginning of December, several stars including Lady Gaga stopped updating their Facebook page or using Twitter until $1m had been raised for US charity Keep a Child Alive. The charity works in Africa and India to provide treatment and support to families of people with HIV and Aids. The campaign, called Digital Life Sacrifice, was launched on 1st December to mark World Aids Day. Lady Gaga added a photo of herself in a coffin to her Facebook page, writing: 'No more updates little monsters until we buy life.'

Question 1 (2 points)

Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) Over 2.7 million photos were posted on Facebook during the course of last year.
b) More people follow Lady Gaga on Twitter than on Facebook.
c) Lady Gaga’s Facebook popularity is unexpected.
d) Keep a Child Alive is an American organisation.

Question 2 (2 points)
Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) How did 61 milllion people’s relationships change in 2010?
b) What happened in ‘Digital Life Sacrifice’?

Question 3 (1.5 points)
Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) make public (Paragraph 1)
b) take control of (Paragraph 4)
c) commemorate (Paragraph 5)

Question 4 (1.5 points)
Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) 500 million people who use Facebook uploaded more than 2.7 million photographs. More than 2.7 million photographs .………………….………………………….
b) Lady Gaga said “I will not update my Facebook page until $1m has been raised.
Lady Gaga said that …...…………………………………………………...………………
c) Everyone thought that the campaign would raise $1m immediately but in fact it took nearly a week.
Although .......................................................................................................

Question 5 (3 points)
Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic:
‘Nowadays people are in danger of becoming isolated individuals’. Do you agree?

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones?”

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones?”

Mobile phones help us communicate everywhere, which is very important. They are good at emergencies, when you’ve 1. .... a car accident, for instance. A mobile phone 2. .... save your life! Mobile phones are also 3. .... because they have many good features - we can take photos and send them all over the world. But every coin has two sides. The 4. .... thing about mobile phones is that you have no privacy. My boss and friends find me whenever they want! I haven’t enjoyed a whole quiet day since the day I 5. .... my mobile phone. 6. .... disadvantage is that mobile phones make us lose good habits, such as punctuality. Before, when we 7. .... keep in touch so easily, if we had a date with someone, we tried our best to arrive 8. .... time. But now, because of the mobile phone, we are not afraid of 9. .... late any more, so, surprisingly enough, we make people wait! The third drawback I see is that I change my mobile phone once a year, and this means I’m spending far too much money on it. I think it is important to think why we use mobile phones. We should use things such as mobile phones, laptops, cameras, the Internet, and so on, 10. .... our needs. We can turn off our mobile phone when we don’t want to be disturbed by someone. If we know how to use it, we can eliminate its disadvantages.

1. A. HAVE B. MADE C. HAD D. CRASHED
2. A. MUST B. CAN C. NEED D. HAVE TO
3. A. ANNOYED B. INTERESTED C. INTERESTING D. ANNOYING
4. A. WORSE B. GOOD C. WORST D. IMPORTANT
5. A.PAID B. ACQUIRED C. OBTAINED D. GOT
6. A. OTHER B. ONE OTHER C. THE OTHER D. ANOTHER
7. A. COULDN’T B. MUST C. CAN’T D. HAVE
8. A. AT B. IN C. ON D. BY
9. A. BE B. TO BE C. BEING D. STAYED
10. A. FOR SATISFY B. TO SATISFY C. FOR TO SATISFY D. SO SATISFYING

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones?”

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones?”

Mobile phones help us communicate everywhere, which is very important. They are good at emergencies, when you’ve 1. .... a car accident, for instance. A mobile phone 2. .... save your life! Mobile phones are also 3. .... because they have many good features - we can take photos and send them all over the world. But every coin has two sides. The 4. .... thing about mobile phones is that you have no privacy. My boss and friends find me whenever they want! I haven’t enjoyed a whole quiet day since the day I 5. .... my mobile phone. 6. .... disadvantage is that mobile phones make us lose good habits, such as punctuality. Before, when we 7. .... keep in touch so easily, if we had a date with someone, we tried our best to arrive 8. .... time. But now, because of the mobile phone, we are not afraid of 9. .... late any more, so, surprisingly enough, we make people wait! The third drawback I see is that I change my mobile phone once a year, and this means I’m spending far too much money on it. I think it is important to think why we use mobile phones. We should use things such as mobile phones, laptops, cameras, the Internet, and so on, 10. .... our needs. We can turn off our mobile phone when we don’t want to be disturbed by someone. If we know how to use it, we can eliminate its disadvantages.

1. A. HAVE B. MADE C. HAD D. CRASHED
2. A. MUST B. CAN C. NEED D. HAVE TO
3. A. ANNOYED B. INTERESTED C. INTERESTING D. ANNOYING
4. A. WORSE B. GOOD C. WORST D. IMPORTANT
5. A.PAID B. ACQUIRED C. OBTAINED D. GOT
6. A. OTHER B. ONE OTHER C. THE OTHER D. ANOTHER
7. A. COULDN’T B. MUST C. CAN’T D. HAVE
8. A. AT B. IN C. ON D. BY
9. A. BE B. TO BE C. BEING D. STAYED
10. A. FOR SATISFY B. TO SATISFY C. FOR TO SATISFY D. SO SATISFYING

E-mail and texts 'boost office romances'

Electronic mail, voicemail and text messages have broken boundaries in the office and made it easier for people to flirt, a survey has found.
Researchers questioned 221 workers and found that 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy with someone in the office. A further eight per cent said they had conducted a purely physical relationship with a colleague, while 21 per cent said they had enjoyed only an emotional one. Many said their relationship started via e-mail, a device that enabled them to conduct their affair in private.
The findings, based on interviews with workers aged between 21 and 40, are in “Intimacy”, a book by Andrew and Nada Kakabadse. "Typing messages which appear on screen is easier than making a direct comment face to face," they say. "A number of respondents view e-mail as a seductive tool, as messages can be more easily sent while ensuring for perceived higher levels of confidentiality. "But others in the study consider IT as a negative mode of communication and highlight the increased possibility of sexual harassment. "Being 'bombarded' with e-mails and voicemails, no face to face interaction, is reported as an equally harassing experience as personal confrontation."
Judi James, a workplace psychologist and author of the book Sex at Work, said she was not surprised by the findings. "We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office," she said.
"This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work. This can be a good thing. It definitely makes work more fun." But she warned people to think long and hard before committing themselves to a colleague. "You have to think about what would happen if you broke up," she said.

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text
a. Some workers hadn’t managed a physical relationship.
b. People find it difficult to communicate personally.
c. There are no risks in e-relating.
d. The psychologist suggests that splitting up with a workmate could be hard to cope with.

Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a. What advantages do workers see in e-relating?
b. Why wasn’t Judi James surprised about the results of the research?

Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a. To make it possible for somebody (par 2)
b. Annoying or unpleasant behaviour towards someone that tales place regularly (par 3)
c. To make someone agree or promise to do something (par 5)

Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning:
a. 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy.
Physical and ………………………………………………………………………………………..
b. We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office.
If we didn’t …………………………………………………………………………………………
c. This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work.
She claimed …………………………………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120 to 150 words) on the following topic:
• What do you think about love relationships between classmates?


Self-Access Group CEP. Santander

E-mail and texts 'boost office romances'

Electronic mail, voicemail and text messages have broken boundaries in the office and made it easier for people to flirt, a survey has found.
Researchers questioned 221 workers and found that 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy with someone in the office. A further eight per cent said they had conducted a purely physical relationship with a colleague, while 21 per cent said they had enjoyed only an emotional one. Many said their relationship started via e-mail, a device that enabled them to conduct their affair in private.
The findings, based on interviews with workers aged between 21 and 40, are in “Intimacy”, a book by Andrew and Nada Kakabadse. "Typing messages which appear on screen is easier than making a direct comment face to face," they say. "A number of respondents view e-mail as a seductive tool, as messages can be more easily sent while ensuring for perceived higher levels of confidentiality. "But others in the study consider IT as a negative mode of communication and highlight the increased possibility of sexual harassment. "Being 'bombarded' with e-mails and voicemails, no face to face interaction, is reported as an equally harassing experience as personal confrontation."
Judi James, a workplace psychologist and author of the book Sex at Work, said she was not surprised by the findings. "We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office," she said.
"This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work. This can be a good thing. It definitely makes work more fun." But she warned people to think long and hard before committing themselves to a colleague. "You have to think about what would happen if you broke up," she said.

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text
a. Some workers hadn’t managed a physical relationship.
b. People find it difficult to communicate personally.
c. There are no risks in e-relating.
d. The psychologist suggests that splitting up with a workmate could be hard to cope with.

Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a. What advantages do workers see in e-relating?
b. Why wasn’t Judi James surprised about the results of the research?

Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a. To make it possible for somebody (par 2)
b. Annoying or unpleasant behaviour towards someone that tales place regularly (par 3)
c. To make someone agree or promise to do something (par 5)

Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning:
a. 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy.
Physical and ………………………………………………………………………………………..
b. We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office.
If we didn’t …………………………………………………………………………………………
c. This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work.
She claimed …………………………………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120 to 150 words) on the following topic:
• What do you think about love relationships between classmates?


Self-Access Group CEP. Santander

Emoticons

Emoticons typically represent a facial expression and are used chiefly to mark the tone of the preceding sentence or to indicate the writer's feelings. The following are some of the more commonly seen:

:-) happy (a 'smiley')
:-( unhappy
:-D laughing
:- angry
;-) winking; just kidding
:-V shouting
:-* kiss
-O yawning
:-o surprised
:-Q I don't understand
:-( frowning
:-& tongue-tied
:-c very unhappy
:-X my lips are sealed
X= fingers crossed
:-P sticking one's tongue out
:'-( crying
:-/ sceptical
:- bored, indifferent
:-Y aside comment

Emoticons

Emoticons typically represent a facial expression and are used chiefly to mark the tone of the preceding sentence or to indicate the writer's feelings. The following are some of the more commonly seen:

:-) happy (a 'smiley')
:-( unhappy
:-D laughing
:- angry
;-) winking; just kidding
:-V shouting
:-* kiss
-O yawning
:-o surprised
:-Q I don't understand
:-( frowning
:-& tongue-tied
:-c very unhappy
:-X my lips are sealed
X= fingers crossed
:-P sticking one's tongue out
:'-( crying
:-/ sceptical
:- bored, indifferent
:-Y aside comment

Texting

CLASSIFICATION: Vocabulary
LANGUAGE FOCUS: Texting
ACTIVITY TYPE: Multiple choice
LEVEL: 3


1: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? cul8r

a) See you at 8 o'clock
b) Looking forward to seeing you soon
c) See you soon
d) See you later

2: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? cu2nite

a) See you later
b) See you tonight
c) See you soon
d) See you at 2 o'clock

3: What emotion does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? :-)

a) angry
b) confused
c) happy
d) sad

4: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? gonna bl8

a) I'm going to be late
b) I'll be there at 8 o'clock
c) I'll see you soon
d) I love you


5: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? ru@school?

a) I hate school
b) I failed my exam
c) I'm late for school
d) Are you at school?


6: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? LOL

a) Laughing out loud
b) I'm crying
c) I'm going to be late
d) I love you lots

Self-Access Group Ciefp Santander 2007-2008



Key
1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. A

Texting

CLASSIFICATION: Vocabulary
LANGUAGE FOCUS: Texting
ACTIVITY TYPE: Multiple choice
LEVEL: 3


1: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? cul8r

a) See you at 8 o'clock
b) Looking forward to seeing you soon
c) See you soon
d) See you later

2: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? cu2nite

a) See you later
b) See you tonight
c) See you soon
d) See you at 2 o'clock

3: What emotion does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? :-)

a) angry
b) confused
c) happy
d) sad

4: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? gonna bl8

a) I'm going to be late
b) I'll be there at 8 o'clock
c) I'll see you soon
d) I love you


5: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? ru@school?

a) I hate school
b) I failed my exam
c) I'm late for school
d) Are you at school?


6: What does the following mobile text (cell phone SMS) abbreviation mean? LOL

a) Laughing out loud
b) I'm crying
c) I'm going to be late
d) I love you lots

Self-Access Group Ciefp Santander 2007-2008



Key
1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. A