Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. veteran (n.) [vet-er-uhn, ve-truhn] – a person who has finished serving the armed forces
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. veteran (n.) [vet-er-uhn, ve-truhn] – a person who has finished serving the armed forces
Example: The veteran was awarded for his loyal
service to the military.
2. non-partisan (adj.) [non-pahr-tuh-zuhn] – not supporting a certain group or party
Example: The organization is non-partisan since they support neither
of the two political parties.
3. counseling (adj.) [koun-suh-ling] –the act of giving advice or guidance
Example: The association holds counseling programs for job-seekers.
4. contact (v.) [kon-takt] – to communicate with
Example: The military officer contacted his family abroad to get some
news from them.
5. chat (n.)
[chat] – to exchange conversation with other people over a computer network
Example: It is now easier to
get in touch with friends since the start of online chatting.
Article
Read the text below.
Article
Read the text below.
Facebook has recently
launched additional services specially made for veterans, military members and their families to help prevent them
from committing suicide.
The new services
were added to the original suicide prevention tools Facebook has launched
last year.
In a survey conducted
by Blue Star Families, a non-partisan
organization helping families of military personnel, ten percent of military
family members and nine percent of service members have considered committing
suicide.
Also, according to the survey, 90% of the respondents use social media and 86% use Facebook
daily.
Thus, the organization
decided to partner with Facebook to decrease the number of suicide cases.
The new Facebook
service identifies military families and members, and sends important counseling information to their
relative serving the military.
This counseling
information includes instructions on how to contact the Veterans Crisis Line which veterans and their loved
ones can speak with counselors through phone, online chat or text messaging.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you think the new Facebook suicide prevention
program will be effective?
Why or not?
·
Can you think of other social issues that can
be solved with the help of Facebook and other social networking sites?
Discussion B
·
Why do you think military service and family
members are more likely to commit suicide?
·
What other solution can you think of to help
decrease suicide cases?
