Lessons 2A–3A Describing trends, technology and synonyms

• I can describe trends and talk about the Internet of Things.
• I can talk about technology and gadgets.

Reading a graph about connected devices

1 When do you think IoT devices first became available?

Now describe what the graph shows with the right phrases.

Study the graph and complete the sentences with the phrases from the box.

1 Overall, there has been a —— in the number of IoT devices used globally.

2 In Eastern Europe, the number of devices pretty much —— between 2015 and 2018.

3 The number of devices in the Middle East and Africa —— between 2018 and 2021.

4 Western Europe and the United States and Canada had a similar number of devices until 2018 when the number of devices in Western Europe ——.

Study the Speaking box. Then rewrite the sentences in Exercise 2 using one of the patterns from the Speaking box.

There has been a gradual increase in the numbers of IoT devices used globally.

How to start describing a graph

• The graph illustrates …
• In this graph, we can see …

Which verb, which adverb, which noun?

• Start with: The number of … /Sales … /Users …
• Up: … increased/rose/grew/went up …
• Down: … declined/decreased/went down/dropped …
• No change: … stayed the same/remained steady …
• How: … slightly/sharply/steadily/gradually/dramatically …
• Or start with: There is/has been/was/will be a …
• How: … slight/sharp/steady/gradual/dramatic …
• Up: … increase/rise/growth (in the number of users/sales/etc.)
• Down: … decrease/fall/drop/decline (in the number of users/sales/etc.)

Wrap up the trend

• Overall, the trend in … is upwards/downwards.
• During the period ... It is noticeable that …

Early adopter or laggard?

Are you the kind of person who queues up all night because you can’t wait to get the latest tech gadget?

• Early adopters tend to be young, but buying state-of-the-art technology is expensive.
• Essentially, you’re paying more to have your device first and of course, it will eventually become obsolete.
• New devices often come with compatibility issues, so that you also need to buy new adaptors or cables.
• Being a pioneer also means dealing with any bugs or glitches that the manufacturers didn’t or couldn’t predict.

Ten technology words

Match the highlighted words and phrases from the article with their definitions.

1 Not in use any more because a newer invention exists.

2 Small problems that prevent a device from working well.

3 Everything a piece of software can do.

4 Old-fashioned.

5 Most modern.

6 Using the most recent ideas and methods.

7 Deal with.

8 The ability of one piece of equipment/software to be used with another.

9 Change for something newer or better.

10 Stored on a computer/other device so it won’t be lost.

Read Active Vocabulary and complete the sentences with synonyms.

1 That style of trousers looks really —— now.

2 The software isn’t working very well because it’s rather ——.

3 The telephone is very large and ——, with a wire connecting it to the wall.

4 The kitchen drawer is full of handy —— to slice onions or peel eggs and so on.

5 The spy’s listening —— was hidden inside a pen.

6 We will need a van to move the kitchen ——, such as the freezer and cooker.

Same meaning, small differences

• There is usually some small difference in meaning or register, e.g. an appliance is something electrical used in the house (a fridge). Gadgets and devices tend to be smaller.
• Sometimes synonyms have different connotations: dated and old-fashioned both mean ‘not modern’, but dated has a negative connotation.