1 Graphical User Interface

Tuning-in
Task 1 A Graphical User Interface (GUI) makes computers easier to use. A GUI uses
icons. Icons are pictures which represent programs, folders, and files. Can you
identify any of these icons?

Task 2 Find the icons for the software which controls these items.
1 date and time 3 fonts 5 a modem
2 the mouse 4 the keyboard 6 sounds

Task 3 Study this dialog box. Tick (√) the features you can identify.
1 text box 3 checkbox 5 drop-down list box

2 tab 4 title bar 6 command button

Task 4 Match the features of a dialog box (1-4) with the examples from the
screen (a-d).

1. Command button a. Find

2. Dialog box b. Advanced
3. Tab c. Look in
4. Drop-down list box d. Stop

Task 5 Here are the steps for using this dialog box. Put them in the correct order.
a. Enter name, location, and text required. c. Choose tab.
b. Press Find Now command button. d. Open dialog box.

Reading: WIMP
Task 6 Study this screen display. Can you find this items?
a window 2. an icon 3. a pointer 4. a menu

Task 7 Find definitions in the text of these items.

1 menu 3 window 5 pointer
2 interface 4 active window 6 icon

Most computers have a Graphical User Interface. The interface is the connection between the
user and the computer. The most common type of GUI uses a WIMP system. WIMP stands for
Windows, Icon, Menu (or Mouse), Pointer (or Pull-down/Pop-up menu).
Windows A window is an area of the computer screen where you can see the contents of a
folder, a file, or a program. Some systems allow several windows on the screen at the same time
and windows can overlap each other. The window on the top is the one which is ‘active’, the
one in use.
Icons are small pictures on the screen. They represent programs, folder, or files. For example,
the Recycle Bin icon represents a program for deleting and restoring files. Most systems have a
special area of the screen on which icons appear.
Menus give the user a list of choices. You operate the menu by pressing and releasing one or
more buttons on the mouse.
The pointer is the arrow you use to select icons or to choose options from a menu. You move
the pointer across the screen with the mouse. Then you click a button on the mouse to use the
object selected by the pointer.

Language work: Making definitions

Study these descriptions of an icon.
An icon is a small picture on a computer screen.
An icon represents items such as floppy disks.

We can link these sentences to make a definition of an icon.

An icon is a small picture on a computer screen which represents items
such as floppy disks.

Study these other examples of definitions.

A mainframe is a very large computer which is used by universities,
businesses, and government departments.
A palmtop is very small computer which can be held one hand.
A byte is a small unit of memory which can hold one character of data.

Task 8 Add to the statements (1-10) using the extra information (a-j).
Example A barcode is a pattern of printed black lines which supermarkets use for pricing.
1 A barcode is an pattern of printed black lines
2 A floppy is a disk
3 A motherboard is a printed circuit board
4 A password is a secret set of characters
5 A monitor is an output device
6 A disk drive is a unit
7 An expansion card is an electronic board
8 A CD-ROM drive is a common storage device
9 A notebook is a portable computer
10 The system unit is the main part of the computer

a. It contains the main electronic components.

b. It adds features to a computer.
c. It is about the size of a piece of paper.
d. Supermarkets use them for pricing.
e. It reads and writes to disks.
f. It can hold 1.44Mb of data.
g. It allows access to a computer system.
h. It controls all the other boards in a computer.
i. It displays data on a screen.
j. It reads data from a CD-ROM disk
Task 9 Work with a partner. Ask for and make definitions of these items.
Add other examples of your own.
1 PC 4.Active window
2 Menu 5. pointer
3 Window 6.CD

Problem-solving
Task 10 Work in pairs. Study these forms the cursor can takeon your computer.
Try to match each icon to one item from the list below.

a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

1.1.Hourglass
Hourglass 5.5.Crosshair
Crosshair
2. Arrow
2. Arrow pointer
pointer 6. Magnifying glass
6. Magniliving glass
3.3.Pointing
Pointing finger
finger 7.7.Drag
Drag and
and drop
drop arrow
arrow
4. Not available
4. Not available

Writing
Task 11 Write a description of the Exit Windows dialog box.
Your description should answer these question.

1. What does this computer screen show?

2. What do you use this dialog box for?
3. What features does the dialog box contain?
4. What happens if you click on each button?
 2 Interview: Computing
Support Assistant

Tuning-in

Task 1 Anne work in a large insurance company. She’s a computing support

assistan. She looks after people and their computers, and she help with any
problems people have. What sort of problems do you think they might
have?

Task 2 Read task 1 where Anne talks about the problems she helps with. Elaborate the
problems she mentions.
1 □ paper jamming

2 □ finding options in programs

3 □ viruses

4 □ computer freezes

5 □ hard disk crashes

6 □ printer switched off

7 □ no papper in the printer

8 □ people forget their passwords

9 □ no toner in the printer

Task 3 Tick the ways Anne keeps up with new developments in computing.
1 □ reading books

2 □ reading computer magazines

 3 □ speaking to other technicians

4 □ using the internet

5 □ taking courses

6 □ trying programs herself

7 □ reading newspapers

Language work : Adverbs of frequency

Study these extracts from the interview.

I : Are you ever bored?
A : No, not really, because I never do the same things over and over
again : it's different each time.

A : People have problems with the hardware, often with printers

paper jamming. They also have problems finding options in the
programs. Mostly with word - processing.
I : Are there any other hardware problems ?
A : Occasionally a computer freezers, it hangs or freezers. It's usually
a memory problem.
I : Is it always the machine or is it sometimes the user ?
A : sometimes it's the user. The printer isn't switched on, or there's
no paper in it.

The word in italics tell us how often something happens. For example:
I : How often does a computer crash?
A : Sometimes, not very often.

We can grade these word from always to never like this :

Always
Almost always
Usually
Often
Sometimes
Occasionally
Almost never
never

Task 4 This table shows the number of hardware and software problems Anne
Had last year. Describe how often these problems happened, using the
Adverbs above.
Example There were sometimes problems with the network.

Printers 116
Monitors 0
Cabling 13
Scanners 6
Network 34
Spreadsheet 15

Database 17
Word processing 93

Computing words and abbreviations

Task 5 Put the devices from the list into these sets

Input Output Storage

CD-ROM disk laser printer

digital camera light pen
dot-matrix printer magneto-optical disk
fixed hard disk magnetic tape
foopy disk microphone
inkjet printer monitor
joystick removable hard disk
keyboard
scanner

Task 6 Match each definition (1-8) with the correct feature (a-h).

1. This is a window which appears when information about a choice is needed or when
options have to be selected.
2. This indicates the amount of space between the dots which make up the image on a
monitor.
3. This is part of a screen which is used to select an action, usually by clicking the mouse
button over it.
4. This is a measure of the number of dots which make up the image on a monitor.
5. This show a list of choices which the user can select from using the monitor.
6. This is part of a dialog box where the user can type file names and other information.
7. This is the speed at which the monitor refreshes the image on the screen.
8. This is a small picture on the screen which represents a program, folder, or file.

a. aperture grill pitch e. drop-down list box

b. command button f. maximum resolution
c. dialog box g. refresh rate
d. icon h. text box

Writing

Answer these questions about the interview with full sentences.

Then link your answers to make a short paragraph about Anne.

1. What kind of work does Anne do ?

2. What does she like most about the job ?
3. What kinds of problems do people have with hardware ?
4. Why do computer freeze ?
5. How does she keep up with new developments in computing ?
6. What kinds of courses does she go on ?