READING SECTION 1

Read the text below carefully.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality entails presenting our senses with a

computer generated virtual environment that we can explore in some fashion. The entertainment industry is
after all a multi-billion dollar one and consumers are always keen on novelty. It is difficult to state with any
certainty who the father of virtual reality is. More than one person has been involved in the development of
this technological system but if we are talking about the realm of virtual experience then the answer is
Morton Heilig. Virtual reality is considered to have begun in the 1950’s but early elements of it can be traced
back to the 1860’s and long before the development of digital technology.
Virtual reality has many other, more serious, applications as well. There are a wide variety
of applications for virtual reality which include architecture, sport, medicine, the arts, entertainment. Virtual
reality can lead to new and exciting discoveries in these areas which impact upon our day to day lives.
There are many different types of virtual reality systems but they all share the same
characteristics such as the ability to allow the person to view three-dimensional images. These images appear
life-sized to the person.Plus, they change as the person moves around their environment which corresponds
with the change in their field of vision. The aim is for a seamless join between the person’s head and eye
movements and the appropriate response, e.g. change in perception. This ensures that the virtual
environment is both realistic and enjoyable.
There are numerous ways virtual reality can be used which provide enormous benefits to us. These
include healthcare/surgery, military, architecture, art, entertainment, education, business, the media, sport,
rehabilitation/treatment of phobias. Medicine is one of the biggest beneficiaries with the development of
surgery simulation. This is often used as a training aid and enables the surgeon to perform an operation on a
‘virtual patient’ or to see inside the human body. It is also used as a diagnostic tool in that it provides a more
detail view of the human body compared to X-rays and scans.Another popular use of virtual reality is
aviation: a three dimensional aircraft can be designed which allows the designer to test their prototype
without having to have several versions – which are time consuming and costly.It is cheaper and easier to
make changes to the simulation rather than having to design and build a new aircraft. Games, surgery and
flight simulators are the most well-known uses of virtual reality.

Source: https://www.vrs.org.uk/

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Complete the chart below based on the “Virtual Reality” text that you have read.

Title Virtual Reality

The general classification is about:

General Classification -what is virtual reality and the functions

Descriptions The descriptions are about:

- the features tthat virtual reality provide
-numerous ways to enjoy and uses virtual reality
- the types of virtual reality system

TASK 2

Find the language features which are found in the text by completing the table
No Language Features Examples

1 Technical terms Virtual reality has many other, more serious,

applications as well.

2 General noun Virtual reality entails presenting our senses with a

computer generated virtual environment that we
can explore in some fashion.

3 Relating verbs There are a wide variety of applications for virtual

reality which include architecture, sport, medicine,
the arts, entertainment.

4 Action verbs There are many different types of virtual reality

systems but they all share the same
characteristics such as the ability to allow the
person to view three-dimensional images.

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 5 Present tense This ensures that the virtual environment is both
realistic and enjoyable.

6 Passive voice More than one person has been involved in the
development of this technological system but if we
are talking about the realm of virtual experience
then the answer is Morton Heilig.

TASK 3

Read the text below carefully

CGI

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of computer graphics to

create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, films, television
programs, shorts, commercials, videos, and simulators. The visual scenes may be dynamic
or static and may be two-dimensional (2D), though the term "CGI" is most commonly used
to refer to 3D computer graphics used for creating scenes or special effects in films and
television. Additionally, the use of 2D CGI is often mistakenly referred to as "traditional
animation", most often in the case when dedicated animation software such as Adobe
Flash or Toon Boom is not used or the CGI is hand drawn using a tablet and mouse.

The term 'CGI animation' refers to dynamic CGI rendered as a movie. The term
virtual world refers to agent-based, interactive environments. Computer graphics software
is used to make computer-generated imagery for films, etc. Availability of CGI software
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 and increased computer speeds has allowed individual artists and small companies to
produce professional-grade films, games, and fine art from their home computers. This
has brought about an Internet subculture with its own set of global celebrities, clichés, and
technical vocabulary. The evolution of CGI led to the emergence of virtual
cinematography in the 1990s where runs of the simulated camera are not constrained by
the laws of physics.

Not only do animated images form part of computer-generated imagery, natural

looking landscapes (such as fractal landscapes) are also generated via computer
algorithms. A simple way to generate fractal surfaces is to use an extension of the
triangular mesh method, relying on the construction of some special case of a de Rham
curve, e.g. midpoint displacement. For instance, the algorithm may start with a large
triangle, then recursively zoom in by dividing it into four smaller Sierpinski triangles, then
interpolate the height of each point from its nearest neighbors. The creation of a Brownian
surface may be achieved not only by adding noise as new nodes are created but by adding
additional noise at multiple levels of the mesh. Thus a topographical map with varying
levels of height can be created using relatively straightforward fractal algorithms. Some
typical, easy-to-program fractals used in CGI are the plasma fractal and the more dramatic
fault fractal.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imagery#Virtual_worlds

Complete the table below. You are allowed to use English to English dictionary.
No. Word Meaning in English Synonym

1. generated Produced and created Created

something

2. static Lacking in movement, action Constant. stable

or change

3. mistakenly In a mistaken way Wrongly, incorrectly

4. dedicated Devoted to a task or purpose Commited, devoted

5. render Cause to be or become Make. cause to be,

become

6. term A word or phrase used to Word, Phrase,

describe a thing or to express expression, idiom
a concept

7. interactive Influencing or having an Interactional,

effect on each other reciprocal

8. fine art Creative art, especially visual Arts and crafts

art whose products are to be
appreciated primarily or

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 solely for their imaginative,
aesthetic, or intellectual
content.

9. clichés A Stereotype or electrotype platitude, banality,

commonplace

10. emergence The process of coming into Surfacing, advent,

being, or of becoming inception, arrival
important or prominent

11. constrain Compel of force (someone) to Compel, force, impel,

follow a particular course of press, pressure
action

12. fractal Relating to or of the nature of Form, shape,

a fractal or fractals geometry, pattern

13. recursively Of, relating to, or involving Circularly,

recursion periodicly, looping

14. interpolate To alter or corrupt Insert, add,

(something, such, as a text) by incorporate
inserting new or foreign
matter

15. node A point at which lines or Junction, intersection,

pathways intersect or branch; branching
a central or connecting point

16. mesh Material made of a network of Netting, network,

wire or thread tracery, web

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