Preview（腕試し）

Willy: You don't look so happy, Noel. What's wrong?

Noel: My hard disk died this past weekend.

Willy: That's not so bad, is it? I think you can buy a new hard disk for around 15,000 yen or so.

Noel: That's not the problem. The problem is that I didn't back up my data before it died -- I lost my e-mail addresses, browser bookmarks, digital camera photos, and a lot of MP3s.

Willy: Man, that's too bad.

What didn't Noel do?

A. He didn't put his data in the back of his hard disk.

B. He didn't move his data backward.

C. He didn't save a copy of his data on another disk.

Quick Glossary （用語辞典）

hard disk : ハードディスク

noun : 名詞

phrasal verb : 句動詞

Examples（例文）

This idiom has several meanings. The one commonly heard today deals with making a copy of the data on your computer's hard disk in case something happens to the computer (such as a bad crash).

If you have important data on your hard disk, you had better back it up or you might lose it someday.

I know some people who have never backed up the files on their computers.

The noun for this idiom is backup.

I always keep a backup in case my computer has a major crash.

Exercises （練習）Phrasal verb work!

1. If you don't want to lose important data, you'd better:

A. back up it on a regular basis

B. back it up on a regular basis

C. back it on a regular basis

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2. The documents on Keiko's computer are very important to her so:

A. she backs them up every week

B. she backs up them every week

C. she back ups them every week

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3. If you've never ____________ your data, you had better do it soon!

A. backed up

B. back up

C. backed it up

For a little more information on phrasal verbs, please look here.

Don't let this happen to you!