Technology practice questions.

Choose the correct verb form: 'By the time smartphones became affordable, most people ___ already used a personal computer.'

• have
• had
• has
• were

Answer: had

The past perfect 'had used' expresses an action completed before another past event ('became'). This is the classic past-in-the-past construction.

Choose the best word to complete the collocation: 'Researchers hope this technology will ___ the way we communicate.'

• revolutionise
• revolt
• revolve
• resolve

Answer: revolutionise

'Revolutionise' means to change something completely and dramatically; the other options do not collocate with 'the way we communicate'.

'I will update the software tomorrow,' she said. Which is the correct reported-speech version if it is reported a week later?

• She said she will update the software tomorrow.
• She said she would update the software the next day.
• She said she updates the software tomorrow.
• She said she had updated the software the next day.

Answer: She said she would update the software the next day.

Reported a week later, 'will' becomes 'would' and 'tomorrow' shifts to 'the next day'; keeping 'will … tomorrow' would only work if the report were made on the same day.

Choose the correct article: 'She works as ___ engineer for ___ international tech company.'

• a / an
• an / an
• an / a
• the / a

Answer: an / a

'An engineer' (vowel sound) and 'a company' (consonant sound); the second article agrees with 'company', not with 'international'.

Which sentence uses the present perfect correctly to talk about recent technological change?

• Technology has changed enormously in the last decade.
• Technology changed enormously since the last decade.
• Technology has changed enormously last decade.
• Technology is changing enormously in the last decade.

Answer: Technology has changed enormously in the last decade.

The present perfect 'has changed' with 'in the last decade' links a past change to the present within an unfinished time frame.

Choose the correct relative pronoun: 'The programmer ___ designed the app won an award.'

• which
• who
• whose
• whom

Answer: who

'Who' is used for people acting as the subject of the relative clause; 'which' is for things and 'whom' for objects.