Computer software has made Joyce and Larry Lacerte and their family rich enough to build their dream house – an enormous computer-controlled mansion complete with swimming pool,…

Computer software has made Joyce and Larry Lacerte and their family rich enough to build their dream house – an enormous computer-controlled mansion complete with swimming pool, baseball pitch, miniature estate cars for racing round the grounds, and tennis court, in a leafy Dallas suburb. There are so many rooms in the house itself that to send messages to family members they need intercoms, absolutely essential in a house where it could take half an hour to find somebody. It is morning in the kitchen. Sitting in line at the huge breakfast barin order of age from two to eleven are their seven children. The daily printout from the master computer in the attic with its five gigabytes of memory has already told them what the day holds for them by producing a list of activities for each member of the family. The computer has also recorded the outside temperature, the air pressure, the wind direction and speed. Inside the house it controls the lights, the room temperatures, each child's computer, the back-up generator, the TV sets and the massive security system which protects the property. In addition to the main computer, each child has his or her own computer station, complete with laser printer, just like Larry's. It takes an army of helpers, dozens of machines and clockwork precision to make it all work. But then precision is something the family knows all about, for this is a house that computers have designed. Larry is a founder of the company which has built up its business providing computer software for small firms. Larry talks as he takes us on a four-hour tour of the mansion. “I've always been fascinated by computers. In fact, I was brought up with them – worked with them since the age of fourteen! I've been lucky, though, because I've always had good people to work for me. But I think my real strength is that I've done every single job in the company myself, so I know just what's elvolved in each one. We've got three hundred and fifteen employees at the moment and we've still taking people on. That's not to say that we haven't has some scary moments, of course. Like when we had to borrow money to pay the bills. I really hated being in debt, but it's actually worked out well for us. We're also bought four or five other small companies along the way. I suppose we came to Dallas mainly for the children's sake, because the schools here are wonderful... and I've also worked out that I get a couple of hours a day more with the children – you see, the office is so close to home!” The children are very important to Larry and Joyce. Particularly when Larry thought that he might not live to see them grow up. Three years ago the doctors thought that he had a brain tumour and the future looked grim. “It's changed the way I think about my family, the way I look at life, even though everything seems to be all right now”, says Larry. “I don't want to give up my job, but I don't want to work as hard as I did before!” 1. Read the text and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for questions 1-7: a) What disadvantages is mentioned about living in a big house like Larry's? - It is very expensive to provide lighting and heating - It is easy for someone to try and break in - It can be difficult to communicate with family - It takes too long to walk from one room to another b) What does what the day holds for them in lines 26-27 mean? - what problems might arise during the day - what arrangements have been made for that day - what they must achieve during the day - what they have been adviced to do that day c) What does Larry do for a living? - He works for several small companies - He makes electrical goods - He designs dream houses - He has his own computer business d) What does Larry think is the secret behind his successful career? - his educational background - his knowledge of the business - his friends and family - his strong financial position e) What does one refer to in line 69? - each member of staff - each company - each type of job - each computer f) Larry said that he moved to Dallas - to manage some smaller companies - to be nearer the office he works in - to build a dream house for the family - to give the children a good education g) What changed Larry's outlook on life? - having children - being ill - working away from home - moving to Dallas 2. Read the sentences and correct the mistakes: a) There are so many bathrooms in the house itself that to send messages to family members they need telephones, absolutely essential in a house where it could take half an hour to hide somebody. b) The weekly printout from the master computer in the wardrobe with its five gigabytes of memory has already told them what the day holds for them by producing a list of poems for each member of the family. c) The computer has also recorded the outside moisture, the air pressure, the wind direction and speed. Inside the house it controls the lights, the room heating, each child's computer, the back-up generator, the TV sets and the massive electricity system which protects the property. d) We've got two hundred and fifteen servants at the moment and we've still taking people on. e) I suppose we came to London mainly for the children's sake, because the parks here are wonderful... and I've also worked out that I get a couple of minutes a day more with the children – you see, the office is so close to the swimming pool!” f) Three years ago the shop assistants thought that he had a brain tumour and the life looked grim. 3. Read the sentences and write T (True), F (False), NS (Not stated): a) Computer software has made Joyce and Larry Lacerte and their family rich enough to build their hotel at the seaside. T/F/NS. b) There are so many rooms in the house that it could take half an hour to find somebody. T/F/NS. c) Larry is a founder of the company which has built up its business providing computer software for foreign online shops. T/F/NS. d) Larry decides to move to Dallas because he wanted to find a new job. T/F/NS.