The mouse

A mouse is a hand-held device that lets you move a pointer and select items on the screen. It has one or more buttons to communicate with the PC. A scroll wheel lets you move through your documents or web pages. The pointer looks like an I-bar, an arrow or a pointing hand.

An optical mouse has an optical sensor instead of a ball underneath. A cordless (wireless) mouse has no cable; it sends data via infrared signals or radio waves.

Mouse actions:

-to click, press and release the left button.

-to double-click, press and release the left button twice.

-to drag, hold down the button, move the pointer to a new place and then release the button.

-to right-click, press and release the right button; this action displays a list of commands.

Ex. 1. Complete these sentences with the correct “mouse action”.

1. To start a program or open a document you … on its icon - that is, you rapidly press and release the mouse button twice.

2. If you want to select a menu option, you just … on the left button.

3. If you want to move an object, press the button and … the object to the desired location.

4. If you want to find the commands for a particular text, image, etc., you have to … on it.

Ex. 2. Fill in the gaps in these sentences. Use the correct word from the list.

Scroll up, on, scroll down, joystick, hold down, optical, touchpad, single, repetitive strain injury, roll, double.

1. … to see pages above.

2. …to see pages below.

3. To select text, … the left button, and move the mouse pointer.

4. If you use a mouse for many hours every day, you can get … in your finger.

5. With a laptop computer, plug in a mouse, or use the … in front of the keyboard.

6. To play some games, you need to use a … instead of a mouse.

7. To move up and down a page, you can … the mouse wheel.

8. This mouse doesn’t have a ball. It’s an … mouse.

9. One click of a mouse button is called a … click.

10. Two clicks of a mouse button are called a … click.

11. Click … the folder to open.

Ex. 3. Read this passage about a computer mouse. Fill in the gaps with verbs from the list.

Click, double-click, drag, grab, select, move, control.

A mouse allows you to (1)… the cursor and move around the screen very quickly. Making the same movements with the arrow key on the keyboard would take much longer. As you (2)… the mouse on your desk, the pointer on the screen moves in the same direction. The pointer usually looks like an I-bar, an arrow or a pointing hand, depending on what you are doing.

A mouse has one or more buttons to communicate with the computer. For example, if you want to place the insertion point or choose a menu option, you just (3)… (press or release) on the mouse button, and the option is chosen.

The mouse is used to (4) … text and items on the screen. You can highlight text to be deleted, or you can select an item from a check-box or questionnaire.

The mouse is widely used in graphics and design. When you want to move an image, you position the pointer on the object you want to move, press the mouse button, and (5)… the image to a new location on the screen. Similarly, the mouse is used to change the shape of a graphic object. For example, if you want to convert a square into a rectangle, you (6) … one corner of the square and stretch it into a rectangle.

The mouse is also used to start a program or open a document: you put the pointer on the file name and (7)… on the name – that is, you rapidly press and release the mouse button twice.

T E X T D

Task. Read the following and do the exercises below.