Computers

There is no doubt that computers have become an important part of our everyday life. We can do almost everything with the help of a computer. It's much easier to edit and print documents using a PC. Besides, the World Wide Web allows us to access the latest information very quickly. If you want to travel abroad, you can find in the Internet the information about the country and its hotels. You can even buy things sitting at home and using your computer.

Interaction with the world is a great advantage of a computer. You can chat on-line and make new friends with people from all over the world. Besides, it's a chance to practise your English. And if you want to send a letter, clicking the mouse will be much more convenient than buying a stamp and an envelope and finding time to make a trip to the post office.

There are very few companies today that don't use computers. We must know how to work on computers, that's why computers have become a main part of school education. We have computer classes at many schools where we study computer science. 1 believe that within the next few years schools will begin to use laptop computers instead of books.

More than that, computers help us to do our homework. When I have to make a report for my Biology class or to write a composition, the first place I look for is the Internet. Besides, there are a lot of educational programmes that can be really useful in our work.

However, many teachers think that students who rely on computers to do all their work are being cheated out of mind-expanding experience. I can't agree with them because our home tasks are more complex today, that's why the way we work out problems and find solutions must become easier.

Of course, there are computer addicts that spend all day long in front of computers playing games, watching films or even reading books on-line. I don't believe that computers will replace printed books in the future, because printed books have certain advantages over electronic media. First of all, they are cheaper and easier to use. Secondly, printed books don't need electricity, and you can take a book with you wherever you like, even to bed. What's more, a printed book is better for human eyes than a computer screen. So I think that printed books will coexist with computers and will always be a part of human culture.

Yet we must admit that a lot of young people find virtual reality more attractive than their everyday life. Computer addiction makes them neglect school work and their everyday responsi­bilities. I can't say that I'm a computer addict though I like to play computer games and to watch films on computer. I understand the consequences of computer addiction, that's why I try to control my computer use.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that computers have introduced wonderful possibilities for people, but of course, we shouldn't totally rely on them.

1. What do you think about the future of computers? 2. How can we use computers in our life? 3. Will computers be able to replace printed books in the future? Why do you think so? 4. What do you think about computerized education? 5. In what school subjects can computers be especially important? 6. Do computers save our time? Why? 7. Are computers really dangerous? 8. How often do you play computer games? 9. What is your attitude towards computer addiction? 10. How can we help computer addicts?