Álvaro Peña's Text on Google

GOOGLE





Google is an American multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, and software. Most of its profits are derived from AdWords, an online advertising service that places advertising near the list of search results.

Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Together they own about 14 percent of its shares but control 56 percent of the stockholder voting power through supervoting stock. They incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. An initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. Its mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world information and make it universally accessible and useful,"and its unofficial slogan was "Don't be evil."In 2004, Google moved to its new headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex.EE

Rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions and partnerships beyond Google's core search engine. It offers online productivity software including email (Gmail), a cloud storage service (Google Drive), an office suite (Google Docs) and a social networking service (Google+). Desktop products include applications for web browsing, organizing and editing photos, and instant messaging. The company leads the development of the Android mobile operating system and the browser-only Chrome OS for a netbook known as a Chromebook. Google has moved increasingly into communications hardware: it partners with major electronics manufacturers in the production of its "high-quality low-cost. Nexus devices and acquired Motorola Mobility in May 2012.] In 2012, a fiber-optic infrastructure was installed in Kansas City to facilitate a Google Fiber broadband service.


1 TRUE OR FALSE.
1.1 Google was funded by Oxford students.

1.2 Google was moved increasingly into communications hardware.


1.3 Google is an spezialiced company in internet-related services and products.


2 OPEN QUESTIONS.

1. Which two guys founded google?

2 Which day has google become a privately held company?


3 SYNONYMS

1 Email.(Par 3)

2 Cost.(Par3)

3 Energy.(Par2)

Pablo Ortiz's Text on Apple Watches

No tattoos for Apple Watch

Early adopters of the Apple Watch who also have tattoos are complaining that a number of its key functions are disrupted by their ink. Tattooed owners of the new gadget have found that their inked skin confuses the sensors on the underside of the device. Users of the watch, which went on sale last week, took to social media on Thursday under the hashtag “tattoogate,” voicing their frustration with the problem.

One anonymous user on website Reddit said the device’s locking mechanism which should open when the watch detects it’s being worn, failed to work on tattooed skin. The user wrote, “My hand isn’t tattooed and the watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink, the watch would automatically lock again.”

An Apple support article says the watch uses green LED lights paired with light-sensitive photo diodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through the wrist and calculate the frequency of heart beats. A website support page from the company also says that tattoos can interfere with readings from the heartrate monitor but does not mention interference with other functions.

TRUE OR FALSE

·        The Apple Watch went on sale last year.

·         Users took it to social media on Thursday.

·         Apple can´t calculate the frequency of heart beats

QUESTIONS

·         Which was the name of the hashtag?

·         Which was the name of the website  where an anonymous user said the device´s locking mechanism of the Apple Watch?

SYNONYMS

·         Fail (paragraph 1)

·         Digital clock (paragraph 2)

·         Business firm (paragraph 3)

Carlota's text on Times Square

Times Square (New York City)

Times Square is a major commercial intersection and a neighbourhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the junction of Broadway and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Brightly adorned with billboards and advertisements, Times Square is sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the World", "The Center of the Universe", and the heart of "The Great White Way". It is the hub of the Broadway Theatre District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing over 39 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of whom are either tourists or people working in the area.

Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve, a tradition which began on December 31, 1907 and continues today, attracting over a million visitors to Times Square every New Year's Eve.

The northern triangle of Times Square is Duffy Square, which was dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The statue of Duffy and Duffy Square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

    1.       True or false

a)    Times Square was renamed in January 1905 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times building.

b)    Times Square is a major commercial intersection and neighbourhood in Midtown Manhattan

  2.       Open questions

     a)      What are the names referred to Times Square?

     b )      What is Times Square brightly adorned with?

   3.       Synonyms

         a)     Painting (1 paragraph)                                          

         b)     Avenues (1 paragraph)                                         

         c)      placed (3 paragraph)                                          

Exercises for the exam

Hi, guys!

These are some webpages in which you may find many exercises to practice the contents of the exam. Have a nice weekend and, you know... STUDY! :D

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/grammar-exercises.html

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/alle_grammar.htm