Paragraph

No.

Text
1 was flabbergasted. My parents always treated the world of information technology as
though it were full of magic. To be fair, things did seem to go wrong when they tried: the one time
I convinced Dad to use his debit card, the machine ate it up. For ages he huddled with me at ATM
machines as 1 withdrew cash for him. The computer was no different. While he dictated, I typed
business e-mails and printed documents for work.

I began to slowly inch away from the computer as Dad fiddled the keyboard and mouse.
Often Dad would yell 'Something happened!' before I could get very far and I would have to return
to fix the problem. Some days I was able to escape from the room without him noticing.
My sessions with Mum were no better. When an unnecessary window popped up on the
screen, I instructed her to press 'Escape'. 'What's escape?' came the swift reply. 'It is the first key on
the keyboard,' I replied. 'Do you mean the first key on the left side or the first key on the right
side?'
This went on for several weeks. I tried to find inventive ways of explaining the basic
functions of a computer to my parents. I drew diagrams and wrote instruction manuals. Once in a ,
while I lost my patience but eventually I taught my parents how to e-mail, download pictures, open
files and do word processing. "
I'd like to think that we have bridged the digital divide in my family. My parents have
themselves to credit for this achievement. Even when I had my doubts about letting the older
generation have a go at modern technology, it was their determination and 1 guess their belief that
you can learn at any age that got them through to the other side. Their motivation was love.
Still my parents were anxious about the simple thirds. With me hovering around, they were
less willing to make up their own minds about what to do with new requests and options that the
programmes threw at them. I needed to boost their confidence.
During my first year of college, my parents and I Skyped almost every night. I showed them
my dorm room and introduced them to my friends. Seeing my parents' faces on video chat, still
awkward, got me through many a stressful day. And for that I am grateful to them.
One day a couple of years ago, my father sheepishly told me that he wanted to learn how to use the
family computer. I had just graduated from high school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was soon to
leave for Claremont McKenna College, a tiny liberal arts college in California. Dad knew that
regular telephone calls would be too expensive, so he had researched alternatives, including Skype
and Yahoo messenger.
My role has changed from computer instructor to seven-days-a-week tech-support. For the
most part, though, my parents were doing fine on their own with their new digital life.
Now Dad wanted to master the computer himself. And he wanted me to help him and
my mother do it. On his first day at our makeshift 'computer school' Dad asked a simple question
that should have been a harbinger of days to come. 'Why aren't the keys in order?' I had no idea. As
I tried to come up with an intelligent answer, he began to peck away at the keyboard, one letter at a
time.
The real star student was Mum. She worked diligently, enjoying the possibilities of Google
search and painting abstract art with Paint. Soon she was e-mailing with ease and Dad began
asking her to e-mail a friend for him. By the time I left for the US, Mum and Dad were
independently working on the computer.

I
J

Sequence: H, A, J, C, D, F, B, K, G, I, E
1. (a) From paragraph 1, why was the writer's father reluctant to use the telephone to communicate with his
son?
(b) From paragraph 2, how did the writer's parents feel about information technology?
2. From paragraph 5, state two methods that the writer employed to teach his parents about the computer.
3. (a) From paragraph 7, how did the writer help his parents to become independent computer users?
(b) From paragraph 8, why did the writer consider his mother to be the 'star student'?
4. (a) From paragraph 10, what is digital life?
(b) From paragraph 11, according to the writer, who was responsible for bridging the digital divide in the
family?
5. In your own words, describe how the writer felt about teaching his parents to use the computer.
6. Based on the passage given, write a summary on how the writer introduced his parents to the world of
information technology.
Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning. Your
summary must:
use materials from line 11 to line 44

 not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below Begin your summary as follows:
The writer was stunned when his parents expressed an interest...
Paragraph
No.

Text
1 was flabbergasted. My parents always treated the world of information technology as
though it were full of magic. To be fair, things did seem to go wrong when they tried: the one time
I convinced Dad to use his debit card, the machine ate it up. For ages he huddled with me at ATM
machines as 1 withdrew cash for him. The computer was no different. While he dictated, I typed
business e-mails and printed documents for work.

I began to slowly inch away from the computer as Dad fiddled the keyboard and mouse.
Often Dad would yell 'Something happened!' before I could get very far and I would have to return
to fix the problem. Some days I was able to escape from the room without him noticing.
My sessions with Mum were no better. When an unnecessary window popped up on the
screen, I instructed her to press 'Escape'. 'What's escape?' came the swift reply. 'It is the first key on
the keyboard,' I replied. 'Do you mean the first key on the left side or the first key on the right
side?'
This went on for several weeks. I tried to find inventive ways of explaining the basic
functions of a computer to my parents. I drew diagrams and wrote instruction manuals. Once in a ,
while I lost my patience but eventually I taught my parents how to e-mail, download pictures, open
files and do word processing. "
I'd like to think that we have bridged the digital divide in my family. My parents have
themselves to credit for this achievement. Even when I had my doubts about letting the older
generation have a go at modern technology, it was their determination and 1 guess their belief that
you can learn at any age that got them through to the other side. Their motivation was love.
Still my parents were anxious about the simple thirds. With me hovering around, they were
less willing to make up their own minds about what to do with new requests and options that the
programmes threw at them. I needed to boost their confidence.
During my first year of college, my parents and I Skyped almost every night. I showed them
my dorm room and introduced them to my friends. Seeing my parents' faces on video chat, still
awkward, got me through many a stressful day. And for that I am grateful to them.
One day a couple of years ago, my father sheepishly told me that he wanted to learn how to use the
family computer. I had just graduated from high school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was soon to
leave for Claremont McKenna College, a tiny liberal arts college in California. Dad knew that
regular telephone calls would be too expensive, so he had researched alternatives, including Skype
and Yahoo messenger.
My role has changed from computer instructor to seven-days-a-week tech-support. For the
most part, though, my parents were doing fine on their own with their new digital life.
Now Dad wanted to master the computer himself. And he wanted me to help him and
my mother do it. On his first day at our makeshift 'computer school' Dad asked a simple question
that should have been a harbinger of days to come. 'Why aren't the keys in order?' I had no idea. As
I tried to come up with an intelligent answer, he began to peck away at the keyboard, one letter at a
time.
The real star student was Mum. She worked diligently, enjoying the possibilities of Google
search and painting abstract art with Paint. Soon she was e-mailing with ease and Dad began
asking her to e-mail a friend for him. By the time I left for the US, Mum and Dad were
independently working on the computer.

I
J

1. (a) From paragraph 1, why was the writer's father reluctant to use the telephone to communicate with his
son?
(b) From paragraph 2, how did the writer's parents feel about information technology?
2. From paragraph 5, state two methods that the writer employed to teach his parents about the computer.
3. (a) From paragraph 7, how did the writer help his parents to become independent computer users?
(b) From paragraph 8, why did the writer consider his mother to be the 'star student'?
4. (a) From paragraph 10, what is digital life?
(b) From paragraph 11, according to the writer, who was responsible for bridging the digital divide in the
family?
5. In your own words, describe how the writer felt about teaching his parents to use the computer.
6. Based on the passage given, write a summary on how the writer introduced his parents to the world of
information technology.

Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning. Your
summary must:
use materials from line 11 to line 44
not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below Begin your summary as follows:
The writer was stunned when his parents expressed an interest...
Paragraph
No.

Text
1 was flabbergasted. My parents always treated the world of information technology as
though it were full of magic. To be fair, things did seem to go wrong when they tried: the one time
I convinced Dad to use his debit card, the machine ate it up. For ages he huddled with me at ATM
machines as 1 withdrew cash for him. The computer was no different. While he dictated, I typed
business e-mails and printed documents for work.

I began to slowly inch away from the computer as Dad fiddled the keyboard and mouse.
Often Dad would yell 'Something happened!' before I could get very far and I would have to return
to fix the problem. Some days I was able to escape from the room without him noticing.
My sessions with Mum were no better. When an unnecessary window popped up on the
screen, I instructed her to press 'Escape'. 'What's escape?' came the swift reply. 'It is the first key on
the keyboard,' I replied. 'Do you mean the first key on the left side or the first key on the right
side?'
This went on for several weeks. I tried to find inventive ways of explaining the basic
functions of a computer to my parents. I drew diagrams and wrote instruction manuals. Once in a ,
while I lost my patience but eventually I taught my parents how to e-mail, download pictures, open
files and do word processing. "
I'd like to think that we have bridged the digital divide in my family. My parents have
themselves to credit for this achievement. Even when I had my doubts about letting the older
generation have a go at modern technology, it was their determination and 1 guess their belief that
you can learn at any age that got them through to the other side. Their motivation was love.
Still my parents were anxious about the simple thirds. With me hovering around, they were
less willing to make up their own minds about what to do with new requests and options that the
programmes threw at them. I needed to boost their confidence.
During my first year of college, my parents and I Skyped almost every night. I showed them
my dorm room and introduced them to my friends. Seeing my parents' faces on video chat, still
awkward, got me through many a stressful day. And for that I am grateful to them.
One day a couple of years ago, my father sheepishly told me that he wanted to learn how to use the
family computer. I had just graduated from high school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was soon to
leave for Claremont McKenna College, a tiny liberal arts college in California. Dad knew that
regular telephone calls would be too expensive, so he had researched alternatives, including Skype
and Yahoo messenger.
My role has changed from computer instructor to seven-days-a-week tech-support. For the
most part, though, my parents were doing fine on their own with their new digital life.
Now Dad wanted to master the computer himself. And he wanted me to help him and
my mother do it. On his first day at our makeshift 'computer school' Dad asked a simple question
that should have been a harbinger of days to come. 'Why aren't the keys in order?' I had no idea. As
I tried to come up with an intelligent answer, he began to peck away at the keyboard, one letter at a
time.
The real star student was Mum. She worked diligently, enjoying the possibilities of Google
search and painting abstract art with Paint. Soon she was e-mailing with ease and Dad began
asking her to e-mail a friend for him. By the time I left for the US, Mum and Dad were
independently working on the computer.

I
J

1. (a) From paragraph 1, why was the writer's father reluctant to use the telephone to communicate with his
son?
(b) From paragraph 2, how did the writer's parents feel about information technology?
2. From paragraph 5, state two methods that the writer employed to teach his parents about the computer.
3. (a) From paragraph 7, how did the writer help his parents to become independent computer users?
(b) From paragraph 8, why did the writer consider his mother to be the 'star student'?
4. (a) From paragraph 10, what is digital life?

(b) From paragraph 11, according to the writer, who was responsible for bridging the digital divide in the
family?
5. In your own words, describe how the writer felt about teaching his parents to use the computer.
6. Based on the passage given, write a summary on how the writer introduced his parents to the world of
information technology.
Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning. Your
summary must:
use materials from line 11 to line 44
not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below Begin your summary as follows:
The writer was stunned when his parents expressed an interest...