constituent facilitate federal hierarchy
ideology infrastructure legislate mediate protocol
Extra Word(s) You Learned in This Lesson _______________________________________
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A N S W E R S
P ra c t i c e 1 : C h e c k i n g Yo u r K n ow l e d g e of Po l i t i c a l Wo rd s 1. a
2. b 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. c 10. c
P ra c t i c e 2 : Us i n g Po l i t i c a l Wo rd s i n S e n t e n c e s 1. incentive
2. federal 3. ideology 4. caucus 5. implement 6. infrastructure 7. legislate 8. constituents 9. protocol 10. hierarchy
YOU’RE TOO YOUNG to remember that far-off historical time before com- puters existed, although it wasn’t really so long ago. Just ask your parents.
But you may well remember way back to the day you first sat down at a com- puter, or better yet, that day when you were first allowed to sit at the com- puter as long as you wanted and you discovered all the amazing things it could do.
A computer is like a whole universe in a box, a doorway for education, entertainment, and much more. It provides a way for you to communicate with friends, as well as make new ones all over the world. You probably have access to a computer at your school, library, or at home. And you probably know how to do a lot of different computer activities. What you may not know are the definitions of some words associated with computers.
Here’s a list of computer words whose precise definitions you need to know. The words may describe things you see or activities you perform fre- quently on the computer, or they may describe ideas and issues about com- puters of which you’re only vaguely aware. As you read the list, write down
L E S S O N 25
words about computers
Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.
ANDYROONEY(1919– ) AMERICAN HUMORIST
This lesson focuses on words associated with computers, many of which describe things you probably do every day.
other computer-connected words that come to mind, and look them up in a dictionary to make sure you really understand them.
WO R D S T H AT D E S C R I B E C O M P U T E R F U N C T I O N S A N D AC T I V I T I E S 1. browser. A computer browser is a program on your computer
that lets you view, download, and use sites on the Internet. A browser is also a person who explores, as in a library or on the Internet. I like the browser I’ve always used to surf the Internet, but my geeky brother wants to switch us to some new one he says down- loads ten times faster.
2. copyright law. The law that grants to the author (or other owner of the copyright) the exclusive right to make copies or allow others to make copies of anything created or written, including literary, musical, artistic, audio, or video works. This law applies to almost everything you read on the Internet. For example, you may not copy a newspaper story or an encyclo- pedia article without getting permission from the author or owner of the article. The committee discovered that Bill broke the copyright law because he downloaded the story and then claimed that he had written it.
3. desktop publishing. The use of computer software on a personal computer to design and produce publications. Our student newspaper now looks like a real paper because we use a desktop pub- lishing program.
4. domain name. An Internet address owned by a person or organi- zation to identify the location of its Web pages. Domain suffixes indicate the type of material on the pages: .com for commercial enterprises; .org for nonprofit organizations; .gov for govern- ment websites; .edu for educational institutions. What’s the domain name of your school? The website you visit most often?
5. icon. A picture or image that represents something. On a com- puter, an icon is a picture or symbol for a command, pro- gram, or function. The use of icons to represent words and ideas allows users who speak different languages to understand the same information.
6. ISP(Internet service provider). A company or organization that provides access to the Internet, usually for a fee. Service, as electronic signals, may come from a phone company through telephone wires or a cable company through TV cables. I saw lots of TV commercials promising better, faster download time, but I don’t want to change my Internet service provider.
7. search engine. Computer software that searches the Internet for documents containing a keyword, phrase, or subject you sub- mit. Many people type their own name into a search engine to see where they appear on the Internet; the results can be surprising.
8. social networking. Websites that enable people to meet and share information. MySpace.com and Facebook.com are two extremely popular and competitive social networking sites.
9. spam. Unrequested commercial messages usually sent as emails. Many computer users complain that unwanted spam mes- sages are a frequent and unpleasant interruption.
10. streaming. To stream is to flow, as in a river. As a computer word, streaming refers to the technology that enables the deliv- ery of a steady stream of information or images, such as a streaming video of a live concert. Viewing streaming video on a computer feels like watching a private showing of a blockbuster film on your own personal movie screen!
11. URL(Uniform Resource Locator). The system used for specify- ing addresses on the Internet. Each individual file or page has its own URL, which is located on the address bar at the top of your Internet browser window. Be sure to type the information in a URL carefully so your browser knows where to go.
12. World Wide Web (www). The complete set of electronic docu- ments connected over the Internet. Informally, the terms Inter- net, the Web, and online are used interchangeably. Which term do you and your friends use most often? When you’re wandering around the World Wide Web, you can be described as surfing the Web or browsing the Internet.
P R AC T I C E 1 : M ATC H I N G T H E C O M P U T E R WO R D W I T H I T S D E F I N I T I O N
Draw lines to match each computer word with its definition.
Computer Word Definition
1.copyright law a. websites for making friends
2.browser b.continuous flow of material over the Internet 3.search engine c. the exclusive ownership of material by an author
4.ISP d.online address
5.icon e. software that looks up websites 6.spam f. the system for finding Web pages 7.URL g.program for accessing Web pages 8.streaming h.unwanted emails
9.domain name i. service that provides Internet access
10.social networking j. image that represents files or functions online P R AC T I C E 2 : C O M P U T E R WO R D S WO R D S E A R C H
Find and circle the words from this lesson in the word search puzzle below.
Words may appear backwards, vertically, or horizontally.
H S B D N W H V D T G P S I I
L R U V V Z V E E P K M P G X
X T U W Y I D N D I H Z J D P
M H Y J D M R F S B X T F Y S
F G D K V E W P O B V X I O P
N I L O T M A W K O A F R D N
M R Y N M K W K O O K U S T I
H Y I X C A H P M D D P P N L
L P I P S J I M L I D M A S A
Z O S X S F H N T Y R Q M O C
L C T F H O M A F H D Y I N D
H K G J I N S J K I J U D C H
N W L V J A Q U Z A R I P T Q
T C A S T V X Q L I Y P J A L
B R O W S E R R X P T A T V G
Word Bank