Question

2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.
a) According to the text, what is a jammer used for?
b) Why is using a jammer considered a crime? (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos). PRUEBA SELECTIVIDAD MADRID CONVOCATORIA JUN 2013-2014 INGLES. Cell Phone Jammers It might look like a walkie talkie, but that little box is more powerful than you think. When a cell phone jammer is turned on, it can block any cell phone service in the area. Using one is not only a federal crime but it could result in a $16,000 fine and jail time. But that did not stop Eric, a man from Philadelphia, who was fed up with the chatty cell phone talkers on the 44 bus. According to a TV channel, Eric would fire up that jammer when he did not want to hear the conversations. “A lot of people are extremely loud, no sense of privacy or anything. When it becomes a bother, that’s when I screw on the antenna and flip the switch”, Eric told the reporters. Eric claimed that he did not know it was illegal to block a cell phone signal, and thought it was a “gray area”. He said he was under the impression that it was only illegal when blocking television or radio signals. “I guess I’m taking the law into my own hands and, quite frankly, I’m proud of it”, he added. This type of jammers is illegal because they could prevent cell phone communication in emergencies and because they can block other important signals such as police radio. But the bigger issue is that Eric is not alone in this jamming practice. Jammers are easy to buy at sites on the Internet. Police reported that other people in the New Jersey and New York area are using them as well. Maybe Eric’s story will remind them all of just how illegal using that powerful device is.

Answer 1

a) According to the text, what is a jammer used for?

A jammer is a box-like shaped device which goal is to block cellphone signals, leaving them without any type of communication.

b) Why is using a jammer considered a crime?

Because when someone blocks a cellphone signal, emergency calls cannot go through, causing delays and even deaths if we’re talking about ambulance calls or some crime-in-progress-call to the police that wasn’t able to be made thanks to the blockage of the jammers.

PRUEBA SELECTIVIDAD MADRID CONVOCATORIA JUN 2013-2014 INGLÉS