Unit1
Mass Media: Radio, Television, the Internet
Test Yourself
I. LISTENING
1 You’ll hear five people speaking about the ways they learn news and get information. Listen and match the statements (1—6) with what the people say (a—e). There is one statement you don’t have to use.
1) The speaker explains that he uses only the Internet to find the necessary information.
2) The speaker prefers to listen to the radio to know the latest news.
3) The speaker says that the news is of no great importance to him.
4) The speaker says that not all the data on the Internet is correct.
5) The speaker prefers to watch television to know what’s going on.
6) The speaker explains he tries to get the current news from all the media possible.
Текст аудирования:
Для нового учебника:
Speaker A
I’m a van driver and carry different goods from Russia to Finland and back. It usually takes me rather long to get to the place I need and I spend much time in my van. So you can guess that I usually listen to the news and not often watch it. For me, it’s the best way to get information.
Speaker В
I think the current news can be easily found with the help of the computer. I work in an office so my computer is always at hand. There you can find all the information you need and often you can’t find it anywhere else. The information I get from the Net is quite enough to me.
Speaker С
I’m a student leading a very busy life. I want to become a journalist, and I certainly need a lot of information about different things. Where do I get it from? I say all ways are good. I can learn the news in the intervals during the film I’m watching, or surfing the Net, or listening to the radio. Every little helps, you know.
Speaker D
The Internet is full of information and offers us a lot of services, sometimes for free. I certainly use this medium to find the news I need though I can't be always sure that what I read from the screen is absolutely true.
Speaker E
I'm not very interested in the news. I think what is happening to me and my family are more important things. Naturally I know what is happening to all of us. That's why I don’t think it is necessary to surf the Net or watch television trying to find information about the latest events. It is quite enough to read some lines about it in a paper.
II. READING
2 Read the text and complete it with the phrases (a—f).
a) to surf the net
b) which is going to be the main medium of the future
c) or meet people online
d) are active users of the Net
e) to live in the real world
f) put their children in front of a computer
Children and Computers
Nowadays it has become clear that the Internet may have a bad influence on our daily life because it changes people’s social behaviour, especially the social behaviour of children.
In our times, when a lot of families have computers and (1)..., children should certainly learn how to do it. They should know how to get information, how they can buy something (2).... If they don’t learn to use the Internet when they are young, they will have great difficulties later. The reason is that the Internet is a very powerful medium (3)....
Meanwhile, there is a certain danger in the Internet. Children easily become its competent users, but they don’t know how (4)... any longer. The Internet will never replace real life, real friends, real communication and children should be told about it. Parents should not just (5)... and say “Oh well, that’s the Internet, go on, have some fun and be quiet.” The Internet was not made for children and so it should not be used as a babysitter. There is so much harmful material on the Internet, that children should not be allowed (6)... all by themselves.
Absolutely the same can be said about television, which also has a tendency to replace real life. I believe that people, who watch too much television, forget how to be members of a social community.
III. USE OF ENGLISH
3 Choose the appropriate words or forms to complete the sentences.
1) Do you have any idea why the police (is/are) here? Has anything happened?
2) I tried not to think about what(has/ had) been done the day before.
3) Please don’t turn the television (up/down): it’s my favourite piece of music.
4) She was busy at that moment and did not hear what (had been discussed/was being discussed) in the talk show.
5) Don’t be afraid to keep your money in this bank. (They/It) will be safe here.
6) They are showing a new (serial/series) of programmes about the animal world.
7) Nobody knows what the film is like, it( was not/ has not been) shot yet.
8) Mass media(is/ are) very important in the life of every social community.
9) In my view it is(in-/ im-)possible to spend all your free time in front of the TV or the computer.
10) I felt I was being spied( on/for) and I became frightened.
4 Complete the text with the derivatives of the words on the right. (important,usual,inform,probable,stop,serve)
The Internet changed our life a lot and the (1)….. of this medium is quite clear. To spend a part of the day on the Internet is for many people quite typical. They (2)….. use this medium to get (3)……. about all kinds of things. (4)……, some of them like surfing the Net (5)……, others would like to have some Internet (6)….., for example, they may prefer to do online shopping.
__1.___________________________________________________________________________________2.___________________________________________________________________________________3.___________________________________________________________________________________4.___________________________________________________________________________________5.___________________________________________________________________________________6._________________________________________________________________________________
IV.Writing
5 Write these in English.
1) Клавиатура компьютера;___________________________________________
2) без остановки; ____________________________________________________
3) портативный компьютер;____________________________________________
4) невозможное решение; ______________________________________________
5) средства массовой информации; _______________________________________
6) унижение и стыд; ____________________________________________________
7) шпионить за кем-то в интересах какой-то страны; ________________________
8) грубый ответ; _______________________________________________________
9) угрожать моей жизни; ________________________________________________
10) текущие новости.____________________________________________________
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