Online English

Lesson 1
by Paolo Rossetti

Topic : Internet Software
Grammar: Causative Verbs
Level : Intermediate

PRODUCT REVIEW

Product:	WebWhacker
Categories:	Offline browsers
Purpose:	Auto web site downloader
Platform:	Windows, 95; Macintosh
Vendor:	ForeFront Group
More info:	http://www.ffg.com/

WebWhacker lets you snatch an entire web site and store it on your local drive. It takes both the HTML pages and all the images - relinking them locally so that the site can be browsed naturally.

The "whacked" information, says the vendor, is "a mirror image of the same information on the World Wide Web. The aim of the product is to reduce the user's dependency on an Internet connection.

http://www.lycos.com/wguide/tools/pgview.html?wwmid=59547&wwprate=0.77&wwdoc=http%3a%2f%2fipw.internet.com%2foffline%2findex.html&wwdocid=388359&wwbestof=Y&wwtitle=Offline%20Browsing

It is an example of English used on the World Wide Web. I know nothing about this product.

EXERCISE 1.1 - Vocabulary

Please match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.

1.	a purpose	a.	somebody who sells something; a seller
2.	a vendor	b.	a picture; a photo; a graphic
3.	to snatch something	c.	to keep something, maybe for a long time
4.	to store something	d.	a reason for doing something; an aim; a goal
5.	an image	e.	to take something away quickly; to grab something
6.	locally	f.	to look around, especially on the Internet; to surf the web
7.	to browse	g.	a place near you; on your own computer
8.	to reduce	h.	to use less of something
9.	a dependency	i.	a link; something joined together; eg. between your computer and the Internet
10.	a connection	j.	cannot live without something; a strong need

EXERCISE 1.2 - Grammar

"WebWhacker lets you snatch an entire web site and store it on your local drive."

The verb 'let' in the above sentence works as a Causative Verb following this pattern: Let someone do something, or, Let + direct object + verb stem + indirect object.

Other causative verbs:

I let my students use the computers. = I allowed my students to use the computers.

I had my son draw a picture. = I asked my son (and he accepted) to draw a picture.

I got my friend to help me. = I persuaded my friend to help me.

I made the dog sleep outside. = I forced the dog to sleep outside.

Note: 'get' follows the pattern: Get someone *TO* do something. The other three verbs do not need 'to'.

Please fill in the blanks.

1. The teacher ......... the class stay in late as punishment.
2. She had her daughter .......... the windows because they were so dirty.
3. I got my colleague to .......... me some money so I could purchase more shares.
4. You ............ Joanne to cut your hair! She said she wouldn't do it!
5. The boss ............ the secretary re-type the letter until it was perfect.

EXERCISE 1.3 - Reading Comprehension

Please read the text and choose the correct answers.

1. What is the purpose of this text?
   1. to inform
   2. to advertise
   3. to warn
2. Who is selling a product?
   1. WebWhacker
   2. Windows 95
   3. ForeFront Group
3. Where can you get further information?
   1. search on the web
   2. at www.ffg.com
   3. no information given
4. What does WebWhacker do?
   1. creates a copy of the website onto your computer
   2. snatches your computer's HTML pages
   3. creates Internet connections

Hope you enjoyed it! This lesson is at an Intermediate level, every week the level will be different.

See you next week with the answers and a new lesson!

And, again, please help me advertise my project to as many people as possible :)

Paolo Rossetti
ONLINE ENGLISH owner
On-Line English Page

Page preparation contributed by Ilane Marie Walberg of Caryatid Software Solutions.