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GENERAL ENGLISH · SPECIAL REPORT · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

SAY GOODBYE
TO INTERNET
EXPLORER
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1 Warm up
In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. How much time do you spend on the Internet each day? Do you think it is too much? Why/why
not?
2. Which browser do you usually use? Why did you choose that one?
3. Do you think that the Internet is generally a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
4. If you could change one thing about the Internet, what would it be?

2 Focus on vocabulary
Match the following vocabulary to the definitions.

1. retire (v) a. made something available to the public e.g. movie, album, tickets

2. released (v) b. do something, such as a task or an activity e.g., an important

medical operation
3. promote (v) c. help to sell something

4. budget (n) d. money that is available to a company or an individual

5. perform (v) e. stops using something due to age or working wrongly

Ask your partner

• What age do most people retire in your country? Why do you think most people retire?
• Are you excited about any movies that will be released soon?
• When you go travelling do you like to have a budget, or do you like to spend your money without
thinking?

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3 Reading: prediction

First, read the introduction to the article below.

Now, work in pairs and discuss the questions below.

1. What do you know about Internet Explorer?

2. Look at the titles of the first five facts, what do you think each fact is about?

• Shared respect
• Impossible to remove
• Super popular
• Jobs for everyone
• A variety of versions

4 Skimming for general understanding

Read the first five interesting facts about Internet Explorer and match the missing titles from the
previous task to the correct fact. Then talk to your partner about which fact you found the most
surprising.

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SAY GOODBYE TO INTERNET EXPLORER

Goodbye to Internet Explorer

Microsoft retires web browser

1.

These days around 3% of Internet users use Explorer but in 2002 when it was very popular, 95% of people used it
as their main browser. That’s quite a large number when you think at present the most popular program is Chrome.

2.

11 different versions of Internet Explorer have been released, with the most recent being in 2013. From 2015
Microsoft started to promote another browser – Edge.

3.

When Mozilla released the second version of their browser Firefox in 2006, Microsoft sent them a cake to say
congratulations. This continued for versions 3 and 4, and in 2010 Mozilla had a cake delivered to Microsoft when
they released version 10 of Internet Explorer.

4.

In 1999 Microsoft had over 1000 members of staff working on IE and spent about $100 million of its budget on
improving the overall service.

5.

Microsoft designed Internet Explorer in a way that made it very hard to remove. The program was linked closely to
Windows and there was a risk that if you took away IE other parts of the computer might start performing slowly.

6. Korean explorer

ActiveX is a plugin that only works with Internet Explorer, and in Korea online shopping and banking must use this
plugin to improve security online. As a result, IE has remained more popular in this part of the world than in others.

7. Microsoft’s mascot

In 2013 Microsoft Singapore released an image of an anime character which they hoped would attract more
customers. The character was named Inori Aizawa and she even had her own Facebook page.

8. IE Mode

Microsoft Edge, which has now taken over from InternetExplorer includes something called "IE mode". This lets
users switch on parts of the older browser that they might need when they visit older websites that ask them to
use ActiveX.

9. Famous logo

For the last ten years or so most Internet users have chosen a different browser to Internet Explorer. However, it
still has a logo that is recognisable to most people. A 2001 survey asked people which browsers they were most
aware of and 85% of them said it was Internet Explorer.

10. The end

A software engineer was quite sad about the end of IE, so he decided to pay $3,300 to have a gravestone created
to remember the 27 years of Explorer. On the gravestone the following words were written: "He was a good tool
to download other browsers".

Sources: theguardian.com; cnn.com; apnews.com; bbc.com

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5 Scanning for vocabulary

Read the final five interesting facts about Internet Explorer and find words that match the following
definitions.

a. the extra computer software that can be added so it can do more things (n,
fact 6)
b. the Japanese style of animated film and TV (n, fact 7)

c. easy to know or identify (v, fact 9)

d. questions that are asked to collect the feelings or opinions of a group (n, fact
9)
e. know or realise something (adj., fact 9)

f. something that is made to identify somebody after they have been buried (n,
fact 10)
g. an instrument used to complete a task (n, fact 10)

Part B: Put the words from above in the gaps below and then check with your partner.

1. Every year they visited the church to put the flowers beside their grandfather’s .

2. I hope everyone is that you must return to work on the 14th of November.

3. When doing jobs in your home, it is always important to use the correct .

4. I don’t really watch Disney anymore. I much prefer .

5. Most Picasso paintings are easily .

6. The BBC has an online which asks people to choose their favourite television
show.

7. You have to download a Flash if you want the website to work properly.

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6 Reading comprehension
For facts 6-10, read the following statements and decide if they are True (T), False (F) or Not Given
(NG).

1. ActiveX only works with Google Chrome.

2. The IE anime character had its own page on Instagram.

3. IE mode is required when going on some websites that aren’t up to date.

4. Internet Explorer became a security risk in 2001.

5. The majority of people can tell you what the Internet Explorer logo looks like.

6. Microsoft updated the logo to try and attract more customers.

7. A software engineer was so happy that IE ended that he built a gravestone to remember it.

7 Natural language
Look at Fact 8 below, with your partner discuss the meaning of the two underlined phrases.

Microsoft Edge, which has now taken over from Internet Explorer includes something called
"IE mode". This lets users switch on parts of the older browser that they might need when
they visit older websites that ask them to use ActiveX.

Now have a chat with your partner using the new vocabulary, and try to use the phrasal verbs when
asking and answering your questions.

1. Do you ever have to take over from someone in doing a task at work or at home?
2. What kind of things do you switch on in the morning? Do you always remember to switch them
off before you go to bed?

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8 Talking point

In pairs discuss the following questions.

1. Do you feel sad that you won’t be able to use Internet Explorer anymore? Why/ Why not?
2. Why do you think most people these days choose to use Google Chrome?
3. Do you think it is fair that Microsoft tried to make it hard to delete Explorer?
4. Can you think of a product that you love as much as the software engineer in Fact 10 loves Internet
Explorer?

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