IV. Reading. 1. Read the passage and fill in each gap with ONE suitable word. (1 m)

Now teenagers spend a lot of their free time using the internet. They (a)_______ using social networking sites to keep in touch (b)_______ their friends, write blogs or upload photos. They also follow famous people on the internet. Teenagers don’t usually use their real names online, but have a username. They use this on their profile pages (c)_______ show their pictures, interests and other details. Some people don’t like social networking (d)_______ they think teenagers are wasting too much time on it. But the use of social networking is still increasing.

Many parents are(1) _____________  that their children will spend time on  social networking which they could be using to do their homework, exercises, or interact with people in the real world.

They may feel that social networking sites are a (2) _____________ of their children’s time. However, new research claims that the communication opportunities provided by social networking encourage young people to explore their interests, develop technical skills, and work on new forms of self- expression. The three-year study carried (3) _____________ by a University of California research team that interviewed over 800 teens and conducted over 2000 hours of online observations. It found that social networking helps teenagers learn the social and technical skills they need to be knowledgeable(4) _____________ in the digital age.

   The study concludes that social networking contributes to young people’s extended friendships and interests. (5) _____________ the majority of teens use social networking sites to “hang out” with people they already know in real life, some use them to find like- minded people. Those interested in chess or international politics, for example, can expand their circle with(6) _____________ who share the same interests and can find information that goes beyond that they have access to at school. They can also (7) _____________ and distribute their music, art work, or writing to online audiences, and gain visibility and enhance their reputations. Teenagers create new modes of self-expression and rules for social behavior online. New forms of online media (8) _____________ them to acquire technical skills through creating videos, writing blogs or customizing their online profiles. The researchers said teens usually respect one another’s authority online, and they are often more(9) _____________ to learn from one another than from their parents or other adults. 

   Social networking has become a societal reality. Children and teens commonly use these sites to interact like adults. With social networking such an important part of youth social culture, it can be extremely difficult to completely keep teens away from social networks. Instead, it is better for parents to allow their kids to access the appropriate websites while teaching them to use them safely and (10) _____________.

1.       A. interested                 B. concerned                  C. glad                     D. wondered

2.       A. waste                        B.lot                              C. disadvantage          D.free

3.       A. in                              B. out                          C. on                          D. for

4.       A. citizens                     B. students                  C.  residents               D. scientists    

5.      A. When                        B. While                       C. Why                       D. If

6.      A. another                     B. others                       C.the others                D. other

7.      A. publicizing                B. publicize                   C.  publicized            D. public

8.     A. allow                        B. make                         C. force                       D. let

9..    A. worried                     B. interesting                 C. bored                     D. motivated

10.   A. inspirationally           B. responsibly                C. heathily                  D. effectively

Sport: In the Uk, football, rugby, tennis and basketball are the most popular sports for teenagers. In the USA, American football, athletics, basketball and baseball are popular

The Internet and televison: Teenagers in both the Uk and the USA today watch television less than before but they use the Internet more. They spend over 25 hours a week online

Pocket money and shopping: The average teenager in the UK get about 7 a week pocket money. In the USA it is about 10. They spend their money on clothes and going out, but magazines, presents and snacks are also important.

Friends: The average British and American teenager has seven close friends. He or she has sixteen online friend on social network websites.

1. Which sports do British and American teenagers play in their free time?

2. How long do the spend online?

3. How muxh pocket money do they get?

4. What do they spend it on?

5. How many oline friends do they have?

Fill in each blank with ONE suitable word to complete the following passage

Millions of teenagers enjoy (1) ... video games. Some play them at home. Others play them in arcades. These games are good fun (2) ... players must be careful. Teenagers should not spend much time on these games (3) ... they can become tired, dizzy and even obese. If they use the computer to much, they won't have time for their families and friends. People who are addicted to computer gmaes don't like to join any clubs or play any sports. They like (4) ... in front of th ecomputer all the time. One doctor says, "This is very bad for young people. They must take part in activities with others. All young people should play outdoors and develop their social skills. They should be with people of their own age. They should spend only a small part of their time playing video (5) ... They mustn't forget to do other things too.

This is the body paragraph from an essay on social networking. There are FIVE mistakes in the text. They are either grammatically incorrect or do not fit in with the sense of the text. For questions 51-55, find and underline the mistakes and write your corrections in the spaces given below the text. The task begins with an example (0).

Example: (0) arguing → arguments

Social Networking Sites

(adapted from Grammar and Beyond 4 by John D. Bunting, Luciana Diniz, &Randi Reppen© Cambridge)

Write complete sentences using the words / phrases given in their correct forms. You can add some more necessary words, but you have to use all the words given.

1. Young people / want / love / support / encouragement / nurture / attention / their parents.

2. Teenagers / need / "helpful attention" / rather / protective.

3. Helpful attention / mean / parents / be interested / who / the children / be / and / what / they / do.

4. Parents / try / listen / their children / although / it / sometimes inconvenient.

5. Parents / encourage / children / learn / their mistakes / rather / show them / hot / to it.

6. Teenagers / would like / be on / their mobile phones or computer / playing games / communicating / their friends.

7. They / also want / spend time / together / their parents .

8. They / spend time/ sitting around the table / have dinner / watching TV as a family / going out with the parents.

9. Teenagers / tend / make their own decisions / although / they / not have much experience.

10. Parents / share experience / their children / so that / they / not make wrong decisions.

II. Read the following passage and then choose the correct answer A, B, C or D.

Mai and Huong want to know their friends’ favorite free time activities, so they are asking their friends about what they like to do in their free time. Many of their friends say that usually eat and drink as well as chat with their friends. They like to talk about many things around them: their teachers, their friends, their families as well as their favorite musicians, singers, soccer players and movie stars. There are some popular activities after lessons at their school such as: skipping rope, reading books and playing sports. At home, many of their friends say they like to watch TV, listen to music or play computer games. They rarely go to the movies. Some of the girls like to go shopping. Very few of their friends like to do English exercises on the Internet. Many of their friends don’t take part in art, music club.

1. What do many of Mai and Huong’s friends usually do in free time?

      A. eat, drink and chat.                           B. go shopping            

 C. go to the movie.                                 D. do English exercises on the Internet.

2. What do their friends like to talk about?

      A. their teachers, friends and families                        B. their favorite musician and singers

      C. their favorite soccer players and movie stars        D. many things around them

3. Which of the following activities is NOT popular with their friends at school?

     A. Skipping rope                                 B. Take part in art, music club

     C. Reading books                                D. Playing sports

4. Which of the following activities is NOT popular with their friends at home?

     A. Watching T.V                                              B. Listening to music

     C. Do English exercises on the Internet           D. Playing computer games

5. What does the passage talk about?

     A. Mai and Huong’s friends                 B. Free time activities of Mai and Huong’s friends

     C. Mai and Huong’s school                  D. Mai and Huong’s pastimes

Nhan and Huong want to know their friend's favourite free time activities, so they are asking their friend's about what they like to do in their free time. Many ò their frienf 's say that they usually eat and drinks as well as chat with their frienfs. They like to talk about many things around them: their teachers, their friends, their families as well as their favourite musicians, singers, soccer, players and movie starts. There are some popular activities after lesson at their school such as: skipping rope, reading books and playing sports. At home, many of their friends say they like to watch TV, listen to music or play computer games. They rarely go to the movies. Some of the girls like go to the shopping. Very few of their friends like to do English exersise on the Internet. Many of their friends don't take part in Art, Music Club.

1: What do many of Nhan and Huong's friends usually do in their free time?

A. eat, drink and chat B. go shopping C. go to the movies D. do English exersise on the Internet

2: What do their friends like to talk about?

A: their teachers, friends and families B: their favourite musicians and singers

C: their favourite soccer players and movie starts D: many thing around them

3: Which of the fllowing activities is NOT popular with theirs friends at school?

A: skipping rope B: taking part in Art, Music Club C: reading books D: playing sports

4: Which of the fllowing activities is NOT popular with theirs friends at home ?

A: watching TV B: listenning to music C: do English exersise on the Internet D: playing computer games

5: What the passage talk about ?

A: Nhan and Huong's friends B: Free time activities of Nhan and Huong's friends

C: Nhan and Huong's school D: Nhan and Huong's pastimes

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

Social networks

Business applications

Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.

Medical applications

Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately “32 percent of their marketing dollars” attempting to influence the opinion leaders of social networks.

Languages, nationalities and academia

Various social networking sites have sprung up catering to different languages and countries. The popular site Facebook has been cloned for various countries and languages and some specializing in connecting students and faculty.

Social networks for social good

Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for social good. Such models may be highly successful for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested and passionate users. Users benefit by interacting with a like-minded community and finding a channel for their energy and giving.

Business model

Few social networks currently charge money for membership. In part, this may be because social networking is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers' minds. Companies such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site. Hence, they are seeking large memberships, and charging for membership would be counter productive. Some believe that the deeper information that the sites have on each user will allow much better targeted advertising than any other site can currently provide. Sites are also seeking other ways to make money, such as by creating an online marketplace or by selling professional information and social connections to businesses.

Privacy issues

On large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services need to be aware of data theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents. In addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individual's behavior on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.

Investigations

Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, has been used by police, probation, and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court.

Why do advertisers like social network sites?

A. They are cost-effective to advertise on. 

B. Detailed information on each user allows targeted ads. 

C. Most users have high disposable income. 

D. They can influence consumer behavior.