Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. skyrocket (v.) – to rise suddenly and rapidly
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. skyrocket (v.) – to rise suddenly and rapidly
Example: Food prices skyrocketed because ingredients became more expensive.
2. transaction (n.) – the
act or process of buying an item or a service
Example: He prefers transactions that allow the use of credit cards.
3. expense (n.) –something
that requires money
Example: My friend got a part-time job to pay for
his school expenses.
4. pile up (phrasal
verb) – to increase or grow in number or quality over time
Example: Documents that need the manager’s
signature are piled up on the table.
5. deceive (v.) – to
make someone believe what is not true
Example: He deceived
customers by telling them the bad products were made of top quality materials.
Article
Read the text below.
The National Consumer Affairs Center
of Japan has recently been receiving a lot of complaints from parents about
“Freemium” games. Parents say their cellphone bills have skyrocketed because of their children’s transactions on these supposedly free games.
Freemium games are basically free of
charge, but still require payments for special game items and features. Such
a business model is very popular in Japan’s mobile gaming market.
However, some game companies
advertise their games as completely free, and this often misleads people, especially children and teenagers. Most of these young
players are unaware that game expenses
are actually paid with real money, and that charges pile up on their parents’ cellphone bills.
One complaint said the parent was
shocked to receive a ¥100,000 ($1,300) cellphone bill after their 5-year-old
child bought an item worth this amount in one of the “free” games.
The number of complaints about fees
from Freemium games rose from
To resolve the issue, the Japanese
Consumer Affairs Agency announced that it will strictly act on companies that
deceive customers about game fees.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor. .
Discussion A
·
Do
you think parents can be blamed for what happened to their cellphone bills? Why
or why not?
·
How
can parents lessen the time their children spend on cellphone gaming?
Discussion B
·
Should
advertising be controlled by the government? Please explain your answer.
·
What
do you think customers should do to avoid being misled by advertisements?