Bagrut Level B Interview. Winter 2006

KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE

Pronunciation 
psychologist sy kol i gest
characteristics kar ri tre is tics
exactly x lact li
musical mu si kal
instruments in stru ments
traditional tra di shun al
educational ed u kas shun al

Smart Toys by Mark Robin

For our monthly column "Ask the Expert" I interviewed Dr. Charles Linden, the school psychologist, and asked him about Smart Toys.

Mark: Everybody is talking about Smart Toys. What are Smart Toys exactly?

Dr. Linden: Smart Toys are toys that have two important characteristics. First, they

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must have some kind of computer technology in them. Second, they respond to you when you play with them.

Mark: What do you mean?

Dr. Linden: I'll give you an example. Smart Toys for young children can be dolls, cars or musical instruments. They respond when a child speaks to them. For example,

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a "smart" car is a car that moves when the child says "go", and flashes its lights when the child says "lights".

Mark: That's just for little kids. Can you tell us about Smart Toys for teenagers?

Dr. Linden: Smart Toys for teenagers are usually computer games. In these games the players give commands to the computer in order to achieve a goal. If they give the

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right commands and respond very quickly, they achieve the goal and finish the game.

Mark: Do you think Smart Toys are more educational than traditional toys? I mean, are computer games better for kids than card games or a game of chess?

l Dr. Linden: No, not really. Traditional toys are often just as good as Smart Toys. Both kinds teach kids to make decisions and solve problems. Traditional toys, however

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are often less expensive than Smart Toys.

Mark: Thank you, Dr. Linden, for answering my questions.

1. Who is Dr. Charles Linden? (lines 1-2)

ANSWER: .......................................................................................................................... .

(6 points)

2. What are the TWO things that make Smart Toys special? (lines 4-6)

ANSWER: i) .................................................................................................................. .

ii) .................................................................................................................. . (2×5 =10 points)

CIRCLE THE NUMBER OF THE CORRECT ANSWER. (lines 8-11)

3. A "smart" car moves when a child (ç ).

i) turns on a light

ii) talks to it

iii) plays music

(8 points)

4. What TWO things do players have to do in order to end a computer game successfully?

(lines 13-15)

ANSWER: i) ............................................................................................................... .

ii) ............................................................................................................... . (2×8=16 points)

5. COMPLETE THE SENTENCE.

Card games and chess (lines 16-17) are examples of ....................................................... .

(4 points)

6. CIRCLE THE NUMBER OF THE CORRECT ANSWER. (lines 18-20)

Dr. Linden says that Smart Toys (ç).

i) are not any better than traditional toys.

ii) teach kids more than traditional toys.

iii) are more popular than traditional toys.

(8 points)

7. What can kids learn from playing with both Smart Toys and traditional toys? Write ONE

thing. (lines 18-20)

ANSWER: .......................................................................................................................... .

(9 points)

8. How are traditional toys different from Smart Toys? (lines 18-20)

ANSWER: .......................................................................................................................... .\

Your cousin Mark is 17 years old and lives in Canada. He is coming to spend three weeks with you in the summer. Write him a letter telling him what you are planning to do together. Here are some things you can write about:

• trips • fun activities

• interesting places • friends

• special events

June 7, 2016 Dear Mark

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See you soon! .......................