Discovery - Module 5B
B2 First · Gapped Text · First Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education
You are going to read an article about technology. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences (A-G) the one that fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
In search of simplicity
And that's because technological development is led by engineers, whose job involves endlessly dreaming these up and adding them to products.
In reality, people say all sorts of things in response to a list of questions but rarely what they really think.
And having bought one, which of us actually has the patience to go through the detailed instruction booklet that comes with it?
It's probably the same list of essential pieces of equipment, since most of them are difficult to use.
There are, however, reasons to be hopeful, if evidence from companies in the airline and motor industries is anything to go by.
People who invent useful things are good at solving technical problems but often they are not so good at explaining things to non-technicians.
He says he likes it but doesn't seem very convinced – something's not quite right.
In the film Amadeus, there's a lovely scene in which Emperor Joseph II of Austria is asked what he thinks of Mozart's music. It's a tense moment for Mozart, the unknown young composer. What does the emperor make of Mozart's new music?
'What do you mean, Sir?' Mozart asks, sensing this. 'Too many notes,' replies the emperor. That feeling, that there is too much to understand all at once, is a familiar one to users of many modern technology products. Think of a software programme with all its detailed menus and screens or e-commerce sites with form after form to fill in or the complicated telephone in your pocket with all those icons and messages. Too many functions, too many screens, too many notes. The 'too many notes' problem is a symptom of a larger one in technological innovation because a good idea can easily turn into a bad product. For example, think about the products considered to be the great technological successes of the 20th century: the photocopier, fax, video recorder, PC, mobile phone. Now think of the technology that frustrates you as a consumer.
Yet it's not that these products don't function properly. Companies put technical products through all sorts of tests before they come onto the market. Indeed, there's a whole industry sector that specialises in such trials. But what they are testing is whether the product works. What they should be testing is how it works and how it could work better for the consumer. There seems to be some confusion about what makes a good product, as opposed to good technology. People seem to believe that the more a piece of equipment can do, the better it is. Most software packages and most pieces of electronic equipment have too many functions.
In a typical home, for example, there are many devices that tell the time: cookers, radios, answering machines, TVs and hi-fi systems, as well as clocks and wristwatches. Some of them need to know the time to perform their other functions but others don't – the clock was just added for the sake of it. Another problem is that companies are not good at getting the right information from the people who will use their products. For example, a lot of faith is put in market-research interviews.
To understand consumer behaviour, designers of domestic appliances are now getting help from people called ethnographers, who spend their time observing how people actually behave, which can be of great importance in the design of a genuinely useful new product. A further reason for the failure of technology is the lack of cooperation between the engineers and those who do the marketing in many companies.
Marketing staff, therefore, find it hard to follow what engineers are talking about, so tend to put too much emphasis on the familiar aspects of new technology when promoting the products. Until companies realise that the technology they are producing is not what customers actually want, they'll no doubt continue to persuade us to buy new pieces of equipment which will disappoint us.
They have found that when designers and marketing people do talk together at an early stage in the development of a product, then equipment is less likely to end up containing unwanted functions that get in the way.
In the film Amadeus, there's a lovely scene in which Emperor Joseph II of Austria is asked what he thinks of Mozart's music. It's a tense moment for Mozart, the unknown young composer. What does the emperor make of Mozart's new music? ___ 'What do you mean, Sir?' Mozart asks, sensing this. 'Too many notes,' replies the emperor. That feeling, that there is too much to understand all at once, is a familiar one to users of many modern technology products. Think of a software programme with all its detailed menus and screens or e-commerce sites with form after form to fill in or the complicated telephone in your pocket with all those icons and messages. Too many functions, too many screens, too many notes. The 'too many notes' problem is a symptom of a larger one in technological innovation because a good idea can easily turn into a bad product. For example, think about the products considered to be the great technological successes of the 20th century: the photocopier, fax, video recorder, PC, mobile phone. Now think of the technology that frustrates you as a consumer. ___ Yet it's not that these products don't function properly. Companies put technical products through all sorts of tests before they come onto the market. Indeed, there's a whole industry sector that specialises in such trials. But what they are testing is whether the product works. What they should be testing is how it works and how it could work better for the consumer. There seems to be some confusion about what makes a good product, as opposed to good technology. People seem to believe that the more a piece of equipment can do, the better it is. Most software packages and most pieces of electronic equipment have too many functions. ___ In a typical home, for example, there are many devices that tell the time: cookers, radios, answering machines, TVs and hi-fi systems, as well as clocks and wristwatches. Some of them need to know the time to perform their other functions but others don't – the clock was just added for the sake of it. Another problem is that companies are not good at getting the right information from the people who will use their products. For example, a lot of faith is put in market-research interviews. ___ To understand consumer behaviour, designers of domestic appliances are now getting help from people called ethnographers, who spend their time observing how people actually behave, which can be of great importance in the design of a genuinely useful new product. A further reason for the failure of technology is the lack of cooperation between the engineers and those who do the marketing in many companies. ___ Marketing staff, therefore, find it hard to follow what engineers are talking about, so tend to put too much emphasis on the familiar aspects of new technology when promoting the products. Until companies realise that the technology they are producing is not what customers actually want, they'll no doubt continue to persuade us to buy new pieces of equipment which will disappoint us. ___ They have found that when designers and marketing people do talk together at an early stage in the development of a product, then equipment is less likely to end up containing unwanted functions that get in the way.
Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.