English Recordings

Welcome Back to School

September is here
And so is fall

So welcome children
Welcome all

I hope vacation
Was real fun

and that you're glad
School has begun

TEXT 2: Social media, selfies and addiction. Can selfies become an addiction?

In March 2014, the UK's Daily Mirror published the story of Danny Bowman, a teenage "selfie addict" who allegedly spent up to 10 hours a day taking 200 selfies, dropped out of school, and tried to kill himself when he was unable to take the perfect photo of himself. Taking selfies has become a very popular activity, particularly among teenagers and young adults. However, selfie-taking is more than just the taking of a photograph and can include the editing of the color and contrast, changing backgrounds, and adding other effects, before uploading the picture onto a social media platform. These options and the use of editing has further popularized selfie-taking behavior. From a psychological perspective, the taking of selfies is a self-oriented action which allows users to establish their individuality and self-importance and is also associated with personality traits such as narcissism. In an interview for the Daily Mirror, Danny Bowman explained:
“I was constantly in search of taking the perfect selfie and when I realized I couldn’t, I wanted to die. I lost my friends, my education, my health and almost my life. The only thing I cared about was having my phone with me so I could satisfy the urge to capture a picture of myself at any time of the day. It’s a real problem like drugs, alcohol or gambling. People don’t realize when they post a picture of themselves on Facebook or Twitter it can so quickly spiral out of control. People would comment on [my selfies], but children can be cruel. One told me my nose was too big for my face and another picked on my skin. I started taking more and more to try to get the approval of my friends. I would be so high when someone wrote something nice but gutted when they wrote something unkind. It almost took my life, but I survived and I am determined never to get into that position again.”
Bowman was diagnosed as having body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a distressing, handicapping preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in body appearance that the sufferer perceives to be ugly, unattractive, or deformed. (…)

TEXT 1: Self-portraits and social media: The rise of the 'selfie' (BBC.com)
On the Internet, images can be shared with thousands of other people. Its immediacy - Look where I am! Look what I'm doing, what I look like! - is exciting. To some.
There's the high angle photo. There's the mirror self-portrait. There are posed selfies, with Bambi-eyes and pouting lips. And there are group selfies. The word "selfie" recently appeared in the Oxford Dictionary Online.
Emily Cook, a 22-year-old Instagram user from Lincoln, believes selfies elicit a feel-good factor. "It's always nice to document a good hair day, or an outfit you love". It is also, she believes, just another way to tell a story through social networking: "Instead of saying you're going to work, a photo of you in your uniform does that."
According to Dr Rutledge, we enjoy opportunities to experiment with different identities - and the selfie allows just that. "We all want to be able to 'try' on a new image and imagine how we would feel as that part of ourselves," she explains. “This is especially true for young people, at a stage at which they’re trying to define themselves. They’re trying out different personalities. With selfies, we see ourselves alive and dynamic, a person in progress."”.
According to recent findings from the Pew Research Centre, teenagers in America are sharing more information than ever about themselves on social media. Of those studied, 91% post photos of themselves online.
Selfie-taker Emily points out that her generation has forever been warned about internet risks and, as a result, she's careful. "I know the circle of people who see my images, and if any of them make me uncomfortable, I just block them”.

1° VOWELS
lab
goggles
hazardous
deadly
cell
gloves

2. DIPHTHONGS
contaminated
coat
virus

3. CONSONANTS
gloves
protection

Plagiarism

Topic: Plagiarism in academics has become a pressing problem in many countries today. What are the causes of this problem? What are some possible solutions?

Model answer:

Plagiarism has become a serious issue in academic circles in recent decades. The main causes of this center around the dissemination of information to countries with varying attitudes to intellectual property rights and the solutions are strict censures of plagiarised works.

In many countries, plagiarism is not considered an offence or treated very lightly. For example, students in Vietnam grow up in an environment where copyright is largely just for show. It is common practice for photocopy shops to print or copy entire books with no legal repercussions. In school, many students are instructed to memorise and reproduce the works of others and prohibited from coming up with their own ideas. The rise of Facebook, which hardly polices IP rights, has led to further lawlessness. Altogether, theft is culturally permitted if not encouraged. Countries around the world all have differing standards based on their history, culture, and legal frameworks.

The best solutions for plagiarism are to implement degrees of punishments. Those who outright copy and paste works and pass them off as their own for commercial purposes should be subject to full criminal and civil prosecution. This will limit the most extreme cases. Sharing and posting materials on the internet is a thornier issue because the perpetrators do not always receive direct financial benefit and can be difficult to track down. In these cases, it is the websites, such as Facebook, that must police members and initiate warnings and bans to repeat offenders.

In conclusion, the pertinent threat of plagiarism means both companies and countries must work in tandem to limit any potential damage. In the future, this issue will only become more difficult to extricate so it is advisable that preventive measures be put in place now.

That will do me good

Listening 1

Hi there! Let me introduce myself. My name is Tina Jones. I am 14 years old and I am American. I live in Seattle in the state of Washington. It’s in the North West of the United States of America.
I have an older sister and a younger brother. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pets.
I go to Jane Adams middle school and I am in 8th grade. Honestly, I don’t really like school. My favorite school subject is PE and my least favorite school subject is math.
I love hanging out with my friends and I couldn’t live without my phone.
I am quite friendly and good-tempered but I am also a little stubborn. What about you?

1. VOWELS
future
planet
art
neighbourhood
working
sports
other

2. DIPHTHONGS
generation
neighbour
organise

3. CONSONANTS
together
villages
relationship
future

Identities
exchanges
fictions
realities
innovations
art
virtual
diversity
inclusion
space

I didn't hand my homework in because I forgot it.

I didn't hand my homework in because it blew up on the way to school.

I didn't hand my homework in because my dog chewed it up.

I didn't hand my homework in because my mum couldn't do it.

I didn't hand my homework in because... ... honest!