70 Unit 05 | Reach out! Look at the article about how texting changes communication, but only read the title and the subheadings first. What do you think the article is about? How could texting change communication? Compare your ideas with a partner. Now read the entire article, then choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for questions 1–7. Put a cross ( ) in the correct box. The first one (0) has been done for you. READING 7a b Strategies box Reading – Multiple choice (MC) Read the tips on multiple choice listening tasks in Unit 3, p. 38 again. Most of them apply to reading tasks too. Mark the sentence where you’ve found the information so you can check your answers quickly when you’re done. The wrong options might use words from the text. Don’t pick an option just because you recognise a word. Make sure it fits the meaning of the text. How texting changes communication Texting has made communication less complicated in many ways. It can help people avoid long, unpleasant phone conversations and make a quick “Hello” much easier. It is the preferred method of communication among young people and has also become the norm for many older people. It is obvious that it has changed the ways people communicate with each other both in writing and in person. Face-to-face communication Texting encourages fast, single-sentence thoughts, but this style of communication doesn’t have a positive effect on face-to-face communication. Consequently, people who text a lot may be more uncomfortable with in-person communication and may even use their mobile phones to communicate with people who are in their presence. For instance, some parents report that their teens even text during dinner. Also, it is quite common that friends text each other during a group night. These teens may not mean to be rude but may be uncomfortable with face-to-face communication. Surface-level communication Texting increases the frequency of small talk and can be helpful when people begin to form a friendship. They may be much more comfortable texting each other witty one-liners than they are picking up the phone and calling. But texting is surface-level (or superficial) communication. When people communicate primarily via text, they’re much less likely to have meaningful conversations. Written communication People know they’re using incorrect grammar when they text; it’s a shortcut that enables them to put forward a message quickly and effectively. But over time, the way we communicate – even if we know the way we communicate is technically ‘wrong’ – affects the way we think. The result is that people who have grown up texting may have much poorer writing skills than people who regularly communicate using grammatically correct sentences either in person, over the phone or via email. Loss of privacy Unlike phone calls, there are no clear rules about when it’s acceptable to text. And because texting doesn’t result in an angry person answering on the other end, many people feel more comfortable texting at any time and in any circumstances. The result is a decrease in privacy: People may text in the middle of the night or while someone is on vacation and expect an immediate response. This makes it difficult for people to separate their public and private lives. We can only guess at the long-term effects on relationships. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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