Breaking News English

Text messaging turns 20 (5th December, 2012)

 

1. TEXT MESSAGING: Walk around the class and talk to other students about text messaging. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

information age / birthday / software engineer / communication / mobile phone / relies / daily life / teenager / innovative / business strategies / shortcuts / shorthand / OMG

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. TEXTERS: What do these people use texts for? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

	Importance of SMS	What do they text about	To whom?
US President
10-year-old
Business leader
Rock star
Housewife
Spy

4. LANGUAGE: Students A strongly believe texting is destroying kids' written language skills; Students B strongly believe it isn't and is having other benefits.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

5. COMMUNICATION: What's the best way? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

SMS face to face telephone letter

e-mail body language Facebook / Twitter other ____________

6. BIRTHDAY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'birthday'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

 

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The first text message was sent by the creator of the World Wide Web.	T / F
b.	The first text message said "Merry Christmas".	T / F
c.	The abbreviation "SMS" means "Super Messaging System".	T / F
d.	Almost nine billion text messages are sent worldwide every year.	T / F
e.	An average US teen supposedly sends around 60 text messages a day.	T / F
f.	People blame SMS for a deterioration in writing standards in kids.	T / F
g.	An abbreviated, shorthand language has been created by texters.	T / F
h.	The texting acronym "LOL" is in the dictionary as "Lots of Love".	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	age	a.	fundamental
2.	humble	b.	surveys
3.	mode	c.	faraway
4.	remote	d.	abroad
5.	relies	e.	simple
6.	integral	f.	depends
7.	spawned	g.	held responsible
8.	overseas	h.	era
9.	polls	i.	generated
10.	blamed	j.	method

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	One of the information age's	a.	in language ability
2.	Little did	b.	on it to communicate
3.	take the world	c.	biggest successes
4.	villagers in remote	d.	language has spread
5.	relies	e.	for most of us
6.	an integral part of daily life	f.	they know
7.	innovative	g.	such as LOL
8.	blamed for a decline	h.	parts of developing countries
9.	A new sub-	i.	business strategies
10.	Texting shorthand	j.	by storm

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

One of the information (1) ____________ biggest successes has celebrated its 20th birthday. The very first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss at the British mobile phone   (2) ____________ Vodafone. It read (3) ____________, "Merry Christmas". Little did they know that their humble                     (4) ____________ of communication would take the world by   (5) ____________. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every (6) ____________ of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in (7) ____________ parts of developing countries                   (8) ____________ on it to communicate.		storm simply relies mode age's corner operator remote
SMS is now an (9) ____________ part of daily life for most of us. It is the (10) ____________ method of communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager sends up to 60 texts a day. It has also spawned        (11) ____________ original and innovative business strategies from sending cash overseas to voting in online                        (12) ____________. However, SMS has also been                  (13) ____________ for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spread worldwide as texters find (14) ____________ to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest                      (15) ____________ characters. Texting (16) ____________ such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.		blamed preferred possible integral polls shorthand countless shortcuts

 
 

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	One of the ______ has celebrated its 20th birthday.
	a.  age's biggest information successes b.  biggest information age's success c.  information age's biggest successes d.  information age is biggest success
2)	______ that their humble mode of communication would take the ______.
	a.  Small things they knew    /    world storms b.  Little did they know    /    world by storm c.  They knew little    /    storm by world d.  They never knew    /    stormy world
3)	… a multi-billion-dollar industry ____ of the globe
	a.  cornering every covering b.  covering every cornering c.  cornering every corner d.  covering every corner
4)	An estimated ______ text messages are sent globally each year.
	a.  nine trillion b.  19 trillion c.  90 billion d.  nine billion trillion
5)	from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in ______
	a.  remoter parties of developing countries b.  remote parts of developing countries c.  developing parts of remote countries d.  remote developments of parted countries
6)	SMS is now an integral part of daily life ______.
	a.  for most of us b.  foremost of us c.  for most of Earth d.  foremost as such
7)	…the average American teenager sends ______ texts a day.
	a.  around 60 b.  over 60 c.  as many as 60 d.  up to 60
8)	It has ______ original and innovative business strategies.
	a.  as well spawned countless b.  also spawned countless c.  also spanned countless d.  also spawned counts less
9)	texters ______ write their message as quickly as possible
	a.  fund shortcuts to b.  find shorter cuts to c.  find shot cats to d.  find shortcuts to
10)	using ______ characters
	a.  the fewer possible b.  the last possible c.  the smallest possible d.  the fewest possible

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

One of the information (1) ______________________ has celebrated its 20th birthday. The very first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss at the British (2) ______________________ Vodafone. It read simply, "Merry Christmas". Little did they know that (3) ______________________ communication would take (4) ______________________. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every       (5) ______________________. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing (6) ______________________ to communicate.

SMS is now (7) ______________________ life for most of us. It is the preferred method of communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager (8) ______________________ a day. It has also spawned countless original and innovative business (9) ______________________ cash overseas to voting in online polls. However, SMS has also been (10) ______________________ in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spread worldwide (11) ______________________ to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible characters. (12) __________________ LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

 
 

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	On what day was the first text message sent?
2.	Who was the first text message sent to?
3.	How many words were in the very first text message?
4.	What does "SMS" mean?
5.	What do presidents and schoolchildren rely on SMS to do?
6.	For whom is SMS the preferred method of communication?
7.	Who sends up to 60 texts a day?
8.	What two problems has texting been blamed for?
9.	What did texters find to write messages more quickly?
10.	What does "LOL" mean?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What age has celebrated a big success?	6.	What is now SMS and integral part of?
	a) the information ages b) 20th birthday c) the age of 20 d) the information age		a) mobile phones b) the way leaders communicate to their people c) our daily life d) computer systems
2.	On what day was the very first text message sent?	7.	Who sends up to 60 text messages a day?
	a) Tuesday b) the third of December c) 1992 d) December 13th		a) the average U.S. teen b) a texting robot called Texty c) Barack Obama d) a dissatisfied shopper
3.	What did the first text message say?	8.	What has SMS created?
	a) haP xsms b) Happy Christmas c) Merry Xmas d) Merry Christmas		a) a museum for secret messages b) increased street violence c) innovative business strategies d) a breakdown in face-to-face communication
4.	What does "SMS" mean?	9.	What do people say has gone down because of SMS
	a) Standard Mobile Sender b) Software Messenger Standard c) Short Message Service d) Simple Messaging System		a) phone bills b) what kids know about language c) Internet use d) the number of words in the language
5.	Roughly how many text messages are sent globally each year?	10.	What have texters found to write more quickly?
	a) 9 billion b) 19 trillion c) nine trillion billion d) nine trillion		a) shortcuts b) the Oxford English Dictionary c) LOL d) messages

 
 

ROLE PLAY

Role  A – Worried parent You are very worried about your 12-year-old. Her written language is terrible. She can't spell. You blame texting. She spends most of the day staring at her mobile phone waiting for messages. She gets over 100 a day!! Not good. You want a law on children and texting. Tell the others 3 reasons why.

Role  B – Daughter You are very worried about your mother. She gets so angry when you text. She shouts at you when you spell a word incorrectly. She doesn't understand the information age. Everyone texts. You want to teach her about SMS but she isn't interested. SMS is cool. Tell the others 3 reasons why.

Role  C – Sociologist Your research tells you SMS is leading to behavioural problems in kids. They are losing their social skills. Their view of the real world is changing – they think the real world is online. This is bad. Tell the others 3 reasons why. If things continue, people will lose their ability to speak.

Role  D – Mobile phone boss SMS is one of the most important technologies of the century. Tell the others 3 reasons why. People who don't like it live in the past. SMS is now the real world. Language has always changed, it's now changing faster. That's life. People communicate more today than ever before. That's great.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'text' and 'message'.

text

message

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

biggest software simply multi- nine remote

daily 60 cash increase fewest entered

TEXT MESSAGING SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about text messaging in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

TEXT MESSAGING DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the term 'text message'?
c)	How important is text messaging to you?
d)	What would life be like without SMS?
e)	Do you think SMS will change in the future?
f)	Talk about the first time you used SMS.
g)	Have you ever sent a text message by mistake?
h)	Do you think SMS is good value for money?
i)	What new things would you like to see with SMS?
j)	How has SMS changed the world?

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	How often do you send text messages, and why?
c)	In what ways is SMS better than e-mail, chat, Facebook, etc.?
d)	Are there any bad things about SMS?
e)	What's the most useful thing about SMS for you?
f)	Is sending 60 texts a day OK?
g)	What do you think of people who send messages that say, "I'm hungry"?
h)	Are you a fast texter? How can you get faster?
i)	Do you like the texting shortcuts and emoticons?
j)	What questions would you like to ask an SMS expert?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE - LANGUAGE

One of the information (1) ____ biggest successes has celebrated its 20th birthday. The very first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss at the British mobile phone operator Vodafone. It read (2) ____, "Merry Christmas". (3) ____ did they know that their humble mode of communication would take the world by (4) ____. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every (5) ____ of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries (6) ____ on it to communicate.

SMS is now an (7) ____ part of daily life for most of us. It is the preferred method of communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager sends up to 60 texts a day. It has also (8) ____ countless original and (9) ____ business strategies from sending cash overseas to voting in online polls. However, SMS has also been (10) ____ for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new (11) ____-language has spread worldwide as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible characters. Texting (12) ____ such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	age	(b)	ages	(c)	age's	(d)	ageless
2.	(a)	simply	(b)	just	(c)	simple	(d)	that
3.	(a)	Small	(b)	Little	(c)	Few	(d)	Lots
4.	(a)	thunder	(b)	lightning	(c)	typhoon	(d)	storm
5.	(a)	angle	(b)	reach	(c)	corner	(d)	wall
6.	(a)	rely	(b)	relies	(c)	reliant	(d)	reliable
7.	(a)	integral	(b)	integer	(c)	internal	(d)	ingratiating
8.	(a)	sprained	(b)	pawned	(c)	spammed	(d)	spawned
9.	(a)	innovation	(b)	innovate	(c)	innovative	(d)	initiative
10.	(a)	blameworthy	(b)	blameless	(c)	blame	(d)	blamed
11.	(a)	shrub	(b)	sub	(c)	snub	(d)	stub
12.	(a)	shorthand	(b)	longhand	(c)	upper hand	(d)	underhand

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	biggest susseecsc
2.	ltcaeebder its 20th birthday
3.	demo of communication
4.	a multi-billion-dollar dsnyiutr
5.	An dseatietm nine trillion text messages
6.	lereis on it to communicate
Paragraph 2
7.	an niltearg part of daily life
8.	the erdrfeepr method
9.	eoniitavnv business strategies
10.	online slolp
11.	traffic tnsidccea
12.	the fewest possible acesathrcr

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

(    )	first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software
(    )	presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries relies on it to communicate.
(    )	up to 60 texts a day. It has also spawned countless original and innovative business strategies from
(    )	as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible
(    )	did they know that their humble mode of communication would take the world by
(    )	communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager sends
(    )	storm. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every
(    )	sending cash overseas to voting in online polls. However, SMS has also been blamed for a decline
(    )	characters. Texting shorthand such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.
(    )	engineer Neil Papworth to his boss at the British mobile phone operator Vodafone. It read simply, "Merry Christmas". Little
(    )	SMS is now an integral part of daily life for most of us. It is the preferred method of
(    )	in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spread worldwide
(    )	corner of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from
(  1  )	One of the information age's biggest successes has celebrated its 20th birthday. The very

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	One     successes     biggest     age's     information     the     of.
2.	storm     by     world     the     take     would     Communication.
3.	a     multi     -     billion     -     dollar     industry     SMS     is     today.
4.	Nine    messages    globally   text    sent    year    trillion    are     each.
5.	countries     developing     of     parts     remote     in     Villagers.
6.	daily     SMS     an     of     now     part     life     is     integral.
7.	to     American     up    texts   average    sends     60   The     teenager.
8.	original     innovative     strategies     Countless     and     business.
9.	been   also   has   SMS  ability   language  in   decline  a  for     blamed.
10.	Texters     messages     their     write     to     shortcuts     find.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

One of the information age's / ages biggest successes has celebrated its 20th birthday. The very first, sample / simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss at the British mobile phone operation / operator Vodafone. It read simply, "Merry Christmas". Little / Small did they know that their humble mode / module of communication would take the world by thunder / storm. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industrial / industry covering every corner / angle of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent global / globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries relies / rely on it to communicate.

SMS is now an integral / integer part of daily life for most of us. It is the preferred / preference method of communication between family members. One study showed what / that the average American teenager sends up to 60 texts a day. It has also spammed / spawned countless original and innovative business strategies / strategy from sending cash overseas to voting in online pills / polls. However, SMS has also been blameless / blamed for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spared / spread worldwide as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest / least possible characters. Texting shorthand / underhand such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

_n_ _f th_ _nf_rm_t__n _g_'s b_gg_st s_cc_ss_s h_s c_l_br_t_d _ts 20th b_rthd_y. Th_ v_ry f_rst, s_mpl_, t_xt m_ss_g_ w_s s_nt _n D_c_mb_r 3rd, 1992. _t w_s s_nt by s_ftw_r_ _ng_n__r N__l P_pw_rth t_ h_s b_ss _t th_ Br_t_sh m_b_l_ ph_n_ _p_r_t_r V_d_f_n_. _t r__d s_mply, "M_rry Chr_stm_s". L_ttl_ d_d th_y kn_w th_t th__r h_mbl_ m_d_ _f c_mm_n_c_t__n w__ld t_k_ th_ w_rld by st_rm. SMS (Sh_rt M_ss_g_ S_rv_c_) _s t_d_y _ m_lt_-b_ll__n-d_ll_r _nd_stry c_v_r_ng _v_ry c_rn_r _f th_ gl_b_. _n _st_m_t_d n_n_ tr_ll__n t_xt m_ss_g_s _r_ s_nt gl_b_lly __ch y__r. _v_ry_n_ fr_m pr_s_d_nts t_ sch__lch_ldr_n t_ v_ll_g_rs _n r_m_t_ p_rts _f d_v_l_p_ng c__ntr__s r_l__s _n _t t_ c_mm_n_c_t_.

SMS _s n_w _n _nt_gr_l p_rt _f d__ly l_f_ f_r m_st _f _s. _t _s th_ pr_f_rr_d m_th_d _f c_mm_n_c_t__n b_tw__n f_m_ly m_mb_rs. _n_ st_dy sh_w_d th_t th_ _v_r_g_ _m_r_c_n t__n_g_r s_nds _p t_ 60 t_xts _ d_y. _t h_s _ls_ sp_wn_d c__ntl_ss _r_g_n_l _nd _nn_v_t_v_ b_s_n_ss str_t_g__s fr_m s_nd_ng c_sh _v_rs__s t_ v_t_ng _n _nl_n_ p_lls. H_w_v_r, SMS h_s _ls_ b__n bl_m_d f_r _ d_cl_n_ _n l_ng__g_ _b_l_ty _nd _n _ncr__s_ _n tr_ff_c _cc_d_nts. _ n_w s_b-l_ng__g_ h_s spr__d w_rldw_d_ _s t_xt_rs f_nd sh_rtc_ts t_ wr_t_ th__r m_ss_g_s _s q__ckly _s p_ss_bl_ _s_ng th_ f_w_st p_ss_bl_ ch_r_ct_rs. T_xt_ng sh_rth_nd s_ch _s L_L (l__gh __t l__d) _nd _MG (_h my g_d) h_s _v_n _nt_r_d th_ _xf_rd _ngl_sh D_ct__n_ry.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

one of the information age's biggest successes has celebrated its 20th birthday the very first simple text message was sent on december 3rd 1992 it was sent by software engineer neil papworth to his boss at the british mobile phone operator vodafone it read simply "merry christmas" little did they know that their humble mode of communication would take the world by storm sms (short message service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every corner of the globe an estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries relies on it to communicate

sms is now an integral part of daily life for most of us it is the preferred method of communication between family members one study showed that the average american teenager sends up to 60 texts a day it has also spawned countless original and innovative business strategies from sending cash overseas to voting in online polls however sms has also been blamed for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents a new sub-language has spread worldwide as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible characters texting shorthand such as lol (laugh out loud) and omg (oh my god) has even entered the oxford english dictionary

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Oneoftheinformationage'sbiggestsuccesseshascelebratedits20thbirthday.The veryfirst,simple,textmessagewassentonDecember3rd,1992.Itwassentby softwareengineerNeilPapworthtohisbossattheBritishmobilephoneoperator Vodafone.Itreadsimply,"MerryChristmas".Littledidtheyknowthattheirhumble modeofcommunicationwouldtaketheworldbystorm.SMS(ShortMessageService) istodayamulti-billion-dollarindustrycoveringeverycorneroftheglobe.An estimatedninetrilliontextmessagesaresentgloballyeachyear.Everyonefrom presidentstoschoolchildrentovillagersinremotepartsofdevelopingcountries reliesonittocommunicate.SMSisnowanintegralpartofdailylifeformostofus.Itisthe preferredmethodofcommunicationbetweenfamilymembers.Onestudyshowed thattheaverageAmericanteenagersendsupto60textsaday.Ithasalsospawned countlessoriginalandinnovativebusinessstrategiesfromsendingcashoverseasto votinginonlinepolls.However,SMShasalsobeenblamedforadeclineinlanguage abilityandanincreaseintrafficaccidents.Anewsublanguagehasspreadworldwideas textersfindshortcutstowritetheirmessagesasquicklyaspossibleusingthe fewestpossiblecharacters.TextingshorthandsuchasLOL(laughoutloud)and OMG(ohmygod)hasevenenteredtheOxfordEnglishDictionary.

FREE WRITING

Write about text messaging for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

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ACADEMIC WRITING

Texting has come under attack from teachers who say it is harming children's writing skills. Identify the problems with texting and suggest some solutions.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about text messaging. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. TEXT MESSAGING: Make a poster about text messaging. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. LANGUAGE: Write a magazine article about the negative effect text messaging is having on the writing ability of children. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against kids texting.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a texting expert. Ask him/her three questions about SMA. Give him/her three ideas on how to make it better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

F

d

F

e

T

f

T

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	age	a.	era
2.	humble	b.	simple
3.	mode	c.	method
4.	remote	d.	faraway
5.	relies	e.	depends
6.	integral	f.	fundamental
7.	spawned	g.	generated
8.	overseas	h.	abroad
9.	polls	i.	surveys
10.	blamed	j.	held responsible

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	December 3rd
2.	A boss at the British mobile phone operator Vodafone
3.	Two
4.	Short Message Service
5.	Communicate
6.	Family members
7.	The average American teenager
8.	Worsening language in kids and more traffic accidents
9.	Shortcuts
10.	Laugh out loud

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

d

4.

c

5.

d

6.

c

7.

a

8.

c

9.

b

10.

a

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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