Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. slack off (phrasal verb) [slak awf, of] – to become less in energy or activity
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. slack off (phrasal verb) [slak awf, of] – to become less in energy or activity
Example: The growth of sales of
the company slacked off because of a
new product from a competitor.
2. live (adj.) [lahyv] – actually happening at the same time of announcement or broadcast
Example: The reporters will go
to the national event to deliver live
news updates to TV viewers.
3. diverse (adj.) [dih-vurs, dahy-, dahy-vurs] – made up of different kinds, qualities or characteristics
Example: The class is composed
of students with diverse
nationalities.
4. sustain (v.) [suh-steyn] – to keep up or maintain something; to make something continue
Example: The product must be advertised
and updated often to sustain its
popularity.
5. techie (n.) [tek-ee] – an informal term for a person who is interested in technological devices,
such as computers
Example: He asked a techie to find out the problem with his
laptop.
Article (10 minutes)
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
According to a
survey conducted by Pew Center for Internet and American Life, Twitter’s
growth seems to be slacking off, because
data show only 8% of Americans check their Twitter accounts each day.
This rate of
Twitter use is higher than the 2% in November 2010 and 5% in August, but when
compared to the use of other networking sites, the 8% rate is very low. Sixty
six percent of the people interviewed in the survey said they use Facebook, LinkedIn,
or Google Plus.
There seems to be
some growth in terms of number of tweets per day, advertisements, and
celebrities and brands using Twitter, but the proportion of people using it
is relatively low. Twitter has only 140 million active users per month, while
Facebook has 901 million active users.
Twitter has been
useful in spreading live news
updates in different areas of the world and promoting communication between diverse groups of people. But Twitter
is still not as popular as other networking sites.
However, Twitter
spokesperson Carolyn Penner says Twitter is actively growing. The number of
users quickly increased from 100 million just last September to the current
140 million. Furthermore, a billion tweets are produced every three days.
In terms of the ages
of Twitter users, the number of adults using the service doubled since May
2011 with mostly younger people sustaining
the service’s growth.
Meanwhile, techies argue that Twitter and
Facebook are not comparable as they serve different purposes—Twitter for news
updates and Facebook for friend connections and activities.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Which would you prefer, posting short messages through
Twitter or using Facebook to connect with friends? Please explain your answer.
·
What features would you like in a social networking
site (e.g., music, games, photo uploads, friend connections, privacy, etc.)?
Discussion B
·
What makes social networking so popular?
·
Do you think social networking sites will still
be important in the future? Why or why not?