Listening exercise: BBC News video
UN debut for $100 laptop for poor

Go to this page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4445060.stm#
then go to the upper right-hand corner of the page and click on:
BBC NEWS:VIDEO AND AUDIO: See the revolutionary wind-up laptop in action
Use the written news report to get background information on the report

Vocabulary:
laptop
one...per
aim
United Nations
to announce
to make available
developing countries
prototype
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
to involve
wind-up system
similar to
rechargeable
batteries
to set up
wireless networks
to operate
reliable
electricity supply
impressive 		technical
achievement
to hold the promise of
major advances
to express concerns
the best way forward
In Africa...
to go back to the basics
basic health care
infrastructure
to put in place
farmers
to produce
to generate (anything)
technology
function
as far afield as...
charitable donors
director
first batch


Listening comprehension questions:
1. Who are the targeted recipients of the benefits of the new United Nations program described in this report?
2. What is a "prototype"?
3. Who is Kofi Annan, and what is his view regarding this project?
4. What is the main power source for the computers?
5. In what type of regions is this kind of computer especially appropriate?
6. Why are some people hesitant about the new technology?
7. What is meant by "basic infrastructure"?
8. Which countries are reported in this video to be interested in the new technology?
9. Who is expected to pay for the new technology, and who will own the computers after they are distributed?
10. What is the name of the MIT director of this project? Make sure your spelling is correct.
11. What is your response to the argument that more "basic" things are needed in Africa, and computers like this are not a very high priority? Should this program be scrapped and efforts concentrated instead on the more "basic" needs of Africans?

home