Media and global communications

Name No. Class Date

How the internet changed our lives

Just twenty years ago, there weren’t any smartphones.
Back then, if you wanted to keep up with the news, you had
to walk down to the newsstand when it opened in the
morning and buy a newspaper that reported what happened
5 yesterday. Today, however, a few clicks are enough to read
your local newspaper and any news source from anywhere
in the world. You can also buy shoes, talk to a friend and
even order food without leaving your doorstep. In other
words, the internet has completely changed our lives.

10 Four ways the internet changed our lives

1) It has changed the way you communicate

Of all the communication opportunities that the internet has introduced to our lives,
I would highlight that social media has had the biggest impact on the way we communicate.
Remember when reconnecting with old forgotten classmates or relatives was a struggle?
15 Today, you can reach to anyone you want through social media platforms like Facebook,
Twitter, and WhatsApp just by tapping your screen.

2) It has changed the way we create and share knowledge

Before the internet, few ways of sharing knowledge existed. These days, you can learn
more than ever and do it from wherever you prefer. In fact, you can easily get a bachelor’s
20 and a master’s degrees online. Online studying allows you to learn and train at your own
pace and schedule. What’s more, the World’s Encyclopedia is as weightless, free and
instantly accessible as Wikipedia.

3) It has changed the way we view privacy

Thanks to the internet, a complete stranger from across the globe may view your
25 Facebook profile and learn everything about you with just a smartphone. Long gone are the
days when privacy meant locking the front door, today you have to lock your social media
accounts and even add an extra layer of security for your emails.

4) It has changed our relationships

I remember the days when we had to wait until Christmas to see all my cousins and
30 aunties. Now you are connected with almost all of them and can reach out to them around
the clock. You can also share important moments of your life in a simpler, more accessible
and more immediate way using your laptop, phone or tablet.
https://legibra.com/internet-changed-lives/
(accessed in February 2018)

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 I
READING

A. Complete the sentences according to the ideas in the text.

1. Nowadays you can easily have access not only to local news…

2. Social media platforms allow you to meet…

3. You don’t have to go to a traditional university to take a degree because…

B. Find evidence in the text for the following:

1. The internet makes it possible for us to do shopping and socialise.

2. You can meet old friends thanks to social media.

3. Privacy has acquired a different meaning.

C. Explain the following expressions from the text.

1. “… I would highlight that social media…” (line 13)

2. “… you can reach to anyone you want…” (line 5)

3. “… at your own pace and schedule…” (lines 20-21)

4. “… around the clock…” (lines 30-31)

II
WRITING THROUGH READING

1. Write a short argumentative text (around 100 words) about the pros and cons of the internet
in a teenager’s life.

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 III
LANGUAGE USE

A. Choose a word or an expression from the box to complete the following text.

remotely countless employer wedding ring power email

The Power of the internet

You can reach out to billions of people across the world, buy products directly from people
in countries you can’t really place on a map.
You have free access to a._______________________ libraries of books, videos, and audio
recordings on every topic. 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every day.
You can work b._______________________, from home, on vacation.
Personally, my wife and I met online, while she was studying in my home country. We relied
on the internet to keep in touch for 6 years of long distance (and using the internet to buy
cheap flights to visit each other), and bought her c._______________________ from the same
jeweller who made her engagement ring, by d._______________________.
Now, I use the internet to keep in touch with my family back home, and work for my
e._______________________ back in my home country.
I’m not saying that relationships have never worked out long distance before the internet, or
people have never worked remotely without the internet, but it’s the f._____________________ of
the net that makes it seem so ordinary now.
https://www.quora.com/How-powerful-is-the-Internet (accessed in February 2018)

B. Fill in the gaps with a suitable relative pronoun, determiner or adverb.

1. My best friend, __________________ is a secretary, was harassed by a cybercriminal.

2. Emails __________________ come from unknown sources can be dangerous.

3. A renowned company, __________________ name I can’t remember now, sued some employers
for felony.

4. This is the company __________________ I had my first job as a web designer.

5. Steve Jobs, __________________ name everyone knows, has left a priceless legacy.

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 C. Rewrite the following sentences beginning with IF.

1. I don’t know anything about social media so I am not able to talk about its pros and cons.

If___________________________________________________________________________

2. You are always online. That’s why you don’t concentrate at school.

If___________________________________________________________________________

3. I didn’t buy a smartphone, so I didn’t receive your iMessage.

If___________________________________________________________________________

4. People with more than 5000 friends on Facebook are asked to put ads on their pages.

If___________________________________________________________________________

5. When you post something on Instagram, all your friends see it immediately.

If___________________________________________________________________________

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 Answer key
I. READING (65 p) III. LANGUAGE USE (100 p)
A. (38 p) A. (65 p)
1. but also international news. a. countless; b. remotely; c. wedding ring; d. email; e. employer;
2. people who you haven’t met for a long time. f. power
3. you can study online.
B. (56 p)
B. (37 p)
1. who; 2. which/that; 3. whose; 4. where; 5. whose
1. “You can also buy shoes, talk to a friend...” (line 7)
2. “... reconnecting with old forgotten classmates or relatives...”
C. (58 p)
(line 14)
1. If I knew something about social media, I would be able to
3. “Long gone are the days when privacy meant locking the
talk about its pros and cons.
front door...” (lines 25-26)
2. If you weren’t always online, you would concentrate at
school.
C. (45 p)
3. If I had bought a smartphone, I would have received your
1. I would stress the importance of social media.
iMessage.
2. You can be in touch with anyone.
4. If you have more than 5000 friends on Facebook, you are
3. at your own rhythm and convenience
asked/will be asked to put ads on your pages.
4. at any time of the day or night
5. If you post something on Instagram, all your friends can
see it.
II. WRITING THROUGH READING (35 p)
Open answer.

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