The book is reborn
You are about to leave for holiday. You have two long weeks on a beach
ahead of you― a chance to read all those books you’ve been planning to read all
year. So you decide to pack a selection of paperbacks. You know paperback books
are incredibly light and convenient, so it comes as rather as a shock when you put
four or five in your suitcase and realize they are as heavy as a brick. Suddenly the
thought that you will have to carry all that weight through the airport doesn’t seem
quite so appealing.
Well, now there is a solution. Instead of carrying heavy books around you
simply take an e-book. In the same way that MP3 players mean you don’t have to
carry around dozens of CDs, the e-book contains all the books you might want to
read in one small package. So, if you’re not sure whether you are going to feel like
a lightweight romance or a heavyweight biography, that’s no problem. You simply
load all the books you might want into memory and then make up your mind when
you arrive.
So, how does it work? Electronics companies had been working on the ebook
for years before they found the perfect combination of materials and
technology. The magic ingredient was electronic paper, a US invention that is
completely different from the liquid crystal display (LDC) technology used for
most computer screens. Earlier versions of the e-book had suffered from the same
problems as laptop computers and mobile phone screens―the screens were
impossible to see in bright sunlight and people found that their eyes were getting
tired after using them for any length of time. Manufacturers knew they had to
invent a superior technology, and electronic paper was the result―it is flicker-free
and looks exactly like real paper and ink.
And the e-book has many other advantages. The size of text can be changed
at the flick of a switch, which means many people with poor eyesight will be able
to read without needing glasses. As well as text, the e-book can display pictures
and diagrams, and with an electronic pen the reader can make notes on the screen
which the machine will remember, making it an ideal product for students. In fact,
there are several internet companies that will be supplying medical and scientific e-
book files in the near future. So the students of tomorrow won’t have to spend a
fortune on those expensive university textbooks―they’ll simply log on the Internet
and download everything they need to their e-book.
*From: “Language Leader” (upper-intermediate)
Work with a partner to discuss the following.
1. What sort of things do you read on a computer rather than on paper?
2. How does reading a computer screen compare with reading a book?
3. Name advantages and disadvantages of e-books.
Mass Media 