G8 U8 L3

1 Read this article about virtual reality and match the headings to the four sections:

VR is an artificial world that is made by a computer. The user experiences this alternative

world in place of the real world. As you move

around, what you see and hear changes as

you would expect. Things get bigger if you walk

towards them – and smaller when you walk away.

The direction of sound also changes as you move.

However, what you are seeing and hearing is all

created by a computer.

Read this article about virtual reality and match the headings to the four sections.

2

The user wears goggles that control what the

left and right eyes see. Each eye sees something

slightly different which makes the brain think you

are looking at something with three dimensions.

(This is the same as with the glasses you wear to

watch a 3D film or TV.)

Sometimes the user also wears headphones to

play sounds – or a helmet that includes goggles

and headphones. The user might also wear

special gloves that detect finger movements. As

you move or tap your fingers, the computer feels

the movement and carries out your command

Read this article about virtual reality and match the headings to the four sections.

3

Games, of course, but there are serious uses too.

Architects can use it to see

what a building will look

like from the inside before

it is even built. Medical

students can practise

operating on virtual patients. One organisation uses it with ill and disabled children to give them

exciting experiences far different from their

everyday lives in beds or wheelchairs

Read this article about virtual reality and match the headings to the four sections.

VR will get better, cheaper and more common.

For now, the easiest way to experience it is

through a special application which uses a

smartphone. The phone goes into some simple

cardboard goggles with two eye-pieces to look

through. You can play apps on the phone

which will take you into the world of dinosaurs,

visit countries around the world or even fly

through space!

1 Someone who designs buildings

2. A hard hat that covers the head, usually to protect it.

3 Thick, stiff paper used for making boxes

4. Something created or shown by a computer, or existing only

on computers

5 Can be used or experienced instead of something else.

6 Special glasses that cover the eyes

7 Not natural or real, but made by people

8 A piece of equipment you wear to listen to recorded sound