Unit 8 Cultural Change I.1 Reading and thinking about the topic.

Read the following passage: Todays world is changing faster than ever before. We have seen technological progress in areas we could not have imagined only ten or twenty years ago. Using computerized robots, a surgeon is now able to perform an operation on a patient in a different continent; music lovers can download their favorite music at the touch of a button and then burn their own !s at home; digital photography allows us to ta"e photographs and transmit them instantly to the other side of the world. What is the impact of all this technology on the way we interact with each other# $obody is %uite sure yet. &ome people have embraced and celebrated new technology, which allows them to save time and effort. 'thers are not sure if the supposed benefits are actually worth it. They are concerned that new technologies have too much importance in our lives. They believe that some new technologies are having a negative effect on the way people interact with each other. I.2 Answer the following questions according to the information in the passage (. What are some recent innovations in the world of technology# ). Why are some people in favor of technology# *. Why are other people concerned about technologys impact# I.! Read these questions and share "our answers with a partner (. +n what ways has new technology improved your relationships with other people# ). What is the most difficult e,perience you have had with new technology# *. What technological innovations do you thin" will occur in the ne,t fifty years# -ta"en from .im &anabria, Academic Encounters. Listening. Life in Society, ambridge: )0012 II.1 Read the te#t Welcome to Weblish: $elcome to $eblish% $ew technology always brings changes and new additions to the language, but the telecommunications revolution of the last few years has caused some of the most rapid and widespread changes yet seen. $ew words, such as webcast, are entering the language all the time to put a name to concepts that havent e,isted before, and e,isting worlds are being used in a new way. 3or e,ample, the words access and text, previously used only as nouns, are now commonly used as verbs in phrases such as to access the Internet and text someone. 'ther words, such as chat, which used to mean 4casual verbal communication but now means 4live email communication, have ta"en on entire new meanings. +n addition, many of these 5nglish words 6 the most obvious being computer itself 6 have spread outside of the 5nglish7spea"ing world and become part of a global language of technology. Than"s to the influence of the 8merican computer industry, users of 9ritish 5nglish have abandoned some 9ritish spellings in favour of their 8merican e%uivalent, such as program instead of programme and disk instead of disc. 3inally, the style and tone of the language itself is changing. 8lthough they are written forms of communication, the immediacy of emails and te,t messages means that their language is usually much more informal than a letter would be, even in a business conte,t. 8nd to the concern of many people, spelling and punctuation are becoming much more unconventional. &e#t message shortcuts &he senders of te#t messages ha'e in'ented a unique language of abbre'iation. (ere are some of the most common CU &ee you )R8 great

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II.2 After ha'ing read the te#t, match these titles to the four paragraphs a. The spread of 8merican 5nglish b. 8 period of huge change for 5nglish c. hanging style and tone d. hanging words and meanings -ta"en from 5lizabeth &harman, Across Cultures, 5dinburgh: ;ongman, )0012 III. 2ou are going to read an article about online safet". 5or questions 1687 choose the answer 8A7 07 C or 39 which "ou think fits best according to the te#t. 0. $.0 $I,. :rotect "our computer7 b" all means7 but don;t forget to protect "ourself7 ad'ises web safet" e#pert7 Amanda <no#. We<re always being urged to stay safe online. 9ut in an era where the internet is part of our everyday lives 7 for wor", fun, study, shopping, even managing finances 7 it<s not always easy to spot the dangers. Web safety e,pert, 8manda .no,, e,plores some of the issues lur"ing in cyberspace. =er first piece of advice is to install software and a firewall to protect your computer from viruses, hac"ers and criminals who want to steal your data or financial information. >Thin" of these as your first line of defence,> says 8manda. &o much for protecting yourself against intruders, but what about other problems# &ay you<ve accidentally deleted an important file or you<ve been at the mercy of a natural disaster. .aty ?arsh runs an online photography business from home and when a fire destroyed part of her house it could easily have spelled ruin for her business too. >;uc"ily + "eep a regular bac"7up of my data so it wasn<t a catastrophe.> 8manda advises that while bac"7ups are good to have we must ensure we protect our computers to start with. Whilst most of us are aware of the need to protect our computers, it seems we<re more la, when it comes to loo"ing out for ourselves, at least according to a recent web awareness survey. Web safety specialists say better personal awareness is needed and this is due in part to the rise of <&ocial $etwor"ing< sites li"e <9ebo<, <?y&pace< and <3aceboo"<, which allow us to connect with people around the world with similar interests and professional bac"grounds. hris &impson, a computer programmer, learnt the hard way. >+ @oined a free online networ"ing group in the hope of ma"ing some professional contacts to help me find a new @ob. 8fter a month, one of my online contacts invited me to ta"e out a subscription to a club that promised access to a networ" of @ob recruiters. +t turned out to be a waste of money. + ended up a laughing stoc" with my mates 7 they couldn<t believe that someone in my @ob could get ta"en in so easily.> $o wonder then that 8manda warns, >+t<s easy to get complacent and let our guard down when we meet someone with the same interests online.> This brings us to other potential pitfalls. 8re the people you meet online who they really claim to be# an you be sure the person you<re chatting with is in fact a ))7year7old ?aths undergraduate from ;ondon and

not someone merely mas%uerading as a student to win your trust# .haled, a postgrad from ?anchester University, %uic"ly realised that it was unwise of him to post his phone number and email address in the public forum of an online academic discussion group. =e was soon bombarded with unwanted emails and nuisance phone calls. Aet, it<s astonishing how many highly educated people do this without considering the conse%uence that anyone in the world could use the information to ma"e -unwanted2 contact. When networ"ing and @oining online communities it<s better to be cautious about the amount of personal information you share. 3or e,ample, it isn<t always necessary to use your real name as a username when registering for a service. Aou could instead use a pseudonym, or a name that doesn<t give away your real identity to other users. 8nd is it really important to tell the world details about your school, college or any local clubs you<re a member of# &ometimes it pays to be a little vague and simply say something li"e <+<m studying at college in ?adrid at the moment and +<m a member of a local tennis club<. +f you do e,perience problems from another user be prepared to report them for misusing the service. Aou<ll be doing other users a favour too. 8nd if all else fails, chec" to see if it is easy to delete your account and leave the service if you choose to and that you have the option to delete all your details. 8 general rule of thumb is not to post any information about yourself that you would not be happy for the world to "now 7 not @ust now but in years to come. This includes photographs of yourself, particularly embarrassing shots of you at that party which you may later regretB +t<s not always easy to remove information after it<s been posted so you 7 not to mention your future employer 7 may have an unpleasant surprise a few years down the line. (. +n the second paragraph the phrase <first line of defence< suggests something 8. is the only option. 9. offers protection. . is an instruction. !. shows wea"ness. ). The effect of the fire was 8. worse for .aty<s business than her home. 9. to ruin .aty<s business. . not as serious for .aty<s business as it could have been !. to ma"e .aty start to bac" up her data. *. 8ccording to the web awareness survey, our attitude to our personal safety is rather 8. rela,ed 9. concerned . positive !. uncertain C. hris first @oined the networ"ing group 8. because it promised him a @ob. 9. in order to ma"e friends and have fun. . to assist him in a @ob search. !. because it didn<t cost him anything. 1. Degarding .haled<s e,perience, the writer is surprised that 8. people telephone complete strangers. 9. people don<t thin" of the results of their actions online. . university students ta"e part in online discussions. !. people sent emails to .haled without as"ing permission. E. What tip does the writer give for @oining an online community# 8. 8lways use a false name

9. ?a"e sure you are properly registered. . ;imit the information you give to others. !. Tell other users where you<re studying. F. The writer says that you should report troublesome users 8. because other people will benefit. 9. so you can stop using the service. . only if nothing else wor"s. !. if you want to delete your own details. G. +n the final paragraph, the writer advises people 8. not to put photos online. 9. to apply for a @ob online. . not to have any personal information online. !. to consider what may cause problems in the future. -http:::www.flo7@oe.co.u":fce:students:tests:)part).htm2 I=. $orking in groups7 read the following statements and agree or disagree with one of them (. The +nternet gives you information, and information gives you power. Therefore, people without computers are at a big disadvantage. ). 'n the +nternet, nobody "nows your race, ethnicity, gender, or age unless you want them to. Therefore, the +nternet can allow more e%uality among people. *. +t is only right that the style of written forms of communication should change as technology ma"es increasing progress.