Is a smartphone really smart? The average smartphone serves as a camera, a calculator, a radio, a music player, an alarm clock, an answering machine, and a mini computer. You can use a smartphone to access the Internet, check e-mail, get directions, count calories, and text friends, and, yes, you can use it to make phone calls, too. If you like using smart technology, you can thank Jack Kilby for all this intelligence. Well, you could thank him if you could travel back in time, that is. While working for Texas Instruments in 1959, he invented the first integrated circuit, which served as the foundation for microchip technology. Kilby and his boss Patrick Haggerty could foresee this chip would be instrumental in speeding up the transfer of information. They knew it could be used in computer technology and predicted it would be used in communications technology in the future.
These men were absolutely right about the future of the microchip. Think about how quickly people access information via a smartphone. With a swipe of the screen (no need for buttons anymore), you have access to a world of news, facts, and ideas. This is all included in a device smaller than a slice of bread. Now that's smart! Part 1 1. What is the central idea of the first paragraph? 2. What are the most important points the author makes? 3. How do the details in the second paragraph help develop the central ideas? 4. What central idea does the last paragraph reinforce? Part 2: Writing Instructions Review your answers to the Part 1 questions. Use them to help organize ideas for your one-paragraph summary of "Smart Technology." Also, refer to the text evidence you marked in the article to write your summary. Remember to: • Refer to the title of the article in the beginning of your summary. • Restate the central ideas and most important details in your own words. • Leave out your opinions to keep the summary objective.