Read the following text carefully:

10

15

20

25

As an instructor at one of the top universities in the Asia-Pacific region, I have some
really smart students. One of my smartest students ever is in my current essay writing class.
Her name is Esther. Last week, the deadline for submission of final assignments for my essay
was Friday, and I was surprised and disappointed when, at five p.m., the only student who had
not submitted her assignment was Esther. I tried calling her, but she was out.
Next morning, I did what most Internet addicts do on first getting up I checked my email. There was Esthers assignment, sent as an e-mail attachment. Received at 11:59 p.m. She
has a great sense of timing, Esther. I used the insert comment function of Microsoft Word to
embed extensive comments on her assignment, and, resisting the temptation to mark her down
for the anxiety she had caused, gave her a well-deserved A. I returned her assignment
electronically, and an hour or so later received a message from her thanking me for the
comments and the grade.
A student in the same section, although not in the same grade as Esther, also submitted his
assignment as an e-mail attachment. This student (lets call him Luke) is considerably weaker
than Esther. I was therefore astonished when I opened the e-mail attachment and found an
essay far more elegantly crafted than anything Luke had ever produced for me before. It was
clear that someone else had written the piece. However, when I confronted Luke he was
adamant of course it was his own work! He even managed to look hurt at the implication that
someone else had written it.
I showed the essay to a colleague who immediately recognised it as a piece from the World
Wide Web. He downloaded and printed a copy for me which I included, along with the URL, in a
message to Luke. Next morning, he was outside my office waiting, shamefaced, to apologise.
These two stories illustrate two of the ways that the Internet is transforming my
teaching. Im sure that many readers have similar stories. If the Internet has not yet touched
you on your teaching, its a reasonable bet that it will do so in the not too distant future.
Source: David Numan, LATEFL ISSUES, vol. 157, October 2000

A) Who or what do these words refer to in the text?

1. my (l.2)
2. her (l.5)
3. it (l.20)
B)
1.
2.
3.
4.

4. which (l.21)
5. you (l.25)

Go through the text and find words/ expressions that mean the same as:
clever
present
a date or time before which something must be done or completed.
surprised

C)
1.
2.
3.

Complete the sentences with information from the text:

Last week David was surprised and disappointed because ...
The first thing he did next morning after getting up was ...
Esthers assignment ...

D) Answer the following questions on the text using your own words:

1. How did Luke react, when the teacher told him that it wasnt his own work?
2. What happened next?
3. Did Esther and Luke prepare their assignments in the same way? Justify your
answer.

II
Rewrite passive or active sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

An article about Internet Security has been written by Peter and Ralph.
He sent John an e-mail alert about a new Internet virus.
Esther had submitted the assignment.
The teacher gave Esther a good grade.
Students could send the assignment by e-mail.
The Internet is transforming David Nunans teaching.
Someone else has written Lukes piece.
Is the Internet influencing our lives?

III
Write a short essay (100-120 words) on the following topic:

Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is

incapable of using the Internet is regarded as almost
illiterate

Do you agree/ disagree with this statement?

For what purposes do teenagers use the Internet?
Is the Internet always a useful tool? Account for your answer.