Beit Berl Academic College
BEIT BERL ACADEMIC COLLEGE
The Academic English Department
A BASIC ENGLISH READING COURSE
Part II: Academic Articles
Compiled by Susan Zisser
WINTER 2017
For Internal Use Only
TABLE OF CONTENTS
· 1. Television: How It Affects Us………..…………pgs. 2-8
· 2. Internet Issues……………………………………pgs. 9-16
· 3. The Importance of Sleep………………………..pgs. 17-22
· 4. What Stops us From Committing Crime……….pgs. 23-31
· 6. Deviance and Crime …………………………….pgs. 32-37
· 7. The War on Drugs………………………………..pgs.38-45
· 8. How We Learn to Behave………………………..pgs.46-52
· 9. Women’s Liberation………………………………pgs. 53-62
· 10. Levels of Sleep …………………………………..pgs.63-67
· 11. Growing Up Male or Female ……………………pgs. 68-73
· 12. Can Stress Make Us Sick?...... pgs. 74-78
· 13. What’s the Most Stressful Job?.………………….pgs. 79-84
· 14. Gender Issues………………………………………pgs. 85-92
· 15. A Cultural Difference ………………………………pgs. 93-96
Television: How It Affects Us (485)
1. How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the programs that they want to watch. Television can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are high quality programs that help us understand many fields of study; science, medicine, the arts, and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people who can't often leave the house, as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the advantage of daily informal language practice; they can increase their vocabulary and practice listening.
2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages to television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but in some countries, people watch the "boob tube" for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at a TV screen for more hours each day than they do anything else, including studying and sleeping. It's clear that the tube has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is often negative.
3. Recent studies show that after only 30 seconds of TV, a person's brain "relaxes" the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of TV can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes; they pay attention only for the amount of time between commercials!
4. Another disadvantage is that TV often causes people to become dissatisfied with their own lives. Real life doesn't seem as exciting to these people as the lives of the actors on the screen. To many people, TV becomes more real than reality, and their own lives seem boring. Also, many people get upset or depressed when they can't solve problems in real life as quickly as TV actors seem to. On the screen, actors solve serious problems in a half-hour or a thirty-second commercial.
5. Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand murders on the tube. He or she begins to believe that there is nothing strange about fights, killing, and other kinds of violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after certain programs. They may even do the things that they saw in a violent show. An example is the effect of the movie "The Deer Hunter". After it appeared on TV in the United States, twenty-nine people tried to kill themselves in a way similar to an event in the film.
6. The most negative effect of the "boob tube" might be people's addiction to it. People often feel a strange and powerful need to watch TV, even if they don't enjoy it. Addiction to a TV screen is similar to drug or alcohol addiction: people almost never believe that they are addicted.
Television: How It Affects Us
I. Pre-reading: Read the title, all of paragraph 1 and the first sentence only of paragraphs 2-6. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the topic of this text?
Answer in 5 words or less
2. What is the author's purpose in writing this text?
Circle the BESTanswer.
a. To list the advantages of watching television.
b. To convince us not to watch television
c. To explain why television has disadvantages.
d. To compare the good and bad effects of television
3. What is the main idea of this text?
Answer in one sentence.
II. Close reading. Read all of the text. Answer the following questions:
4. According to paragraph one, for which people can watching television be helpful?
Mark (x) 3 answers.
____ people who don't care which shows they watch
____ people who carefully choose what they watch
____ people who have knowledge of many fields of study
____ people who are old or sick and must stay indoors
____ people who want to learn a new language.
PARAGRAPH 2
5. According to the author, is relaxing in front of the television always a bad thing?
YES / NO Circle one answer
JUSTIFICATION ______
6. Why does television have a strong influence on children? ______
7. According to paragraphs 3-6, what are four disadvantages to television?
(Choose one from each paragraph 3-6)
a. ______
b. ______
c. ______
d. ______
e.
PARAGRAPH 5
8. What idea does the example of the movie "The Deer Hunter" support? ______
PARAGRAPH 6
9. Why might some people watch television even if they don't enjoy it? ______
VOCABULARY PRACTICE: Fill in the blank spaces with these words.
provide reality increase quality negative program view appear brain addiction suicide
a. Choose the ______you want to watch.
b. Television can ______our knowledge of the world.
c. After thirty seconds of TV, a person's ______relaxes.
d. Some children ______television for many hours a day.
e. The influence of TV on our lives is often ______.
f. After the movie ______on TV, many people tried to kill themselves.
g. Television ______us with a pleasant way to spend our free time.
h. Too much television viewing can become an ______.
i. To many people, TV becomes more real than ______
III. MATCH THE NEAR SYNONYMS
a. to affect 1. research
b. commercials 2. a result
c. an effect 3. an advantage
d. fight 4. advertisements
e. a study (studies) 5. influence
f. a benefit 6. Violence
IV. MATCH THE OPPOSITES
a. advantage 1. decrease
b. negative 2. different
c. similar 3. unpleasant
d. pleasant 4..positive
e. increase 5. disadvantage
V. Translate the following noun groups into Hebrew.
our knowledge
high quality programs
many fields
daily informal language practice
a pleasant way
a powerful influence
recent studies
the same way
the human brain
poor concentration
certain programs
a violent show
the most negative effect
drug or alcohol addiction
Internet Issues (512)
From: Academic Encounters: Life in Society
By Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, Cambridge, 2002
1. The Internet is an amazing information resource. Students, teachers, researchers use it as an investigative tool. Journalists use it to find information for stories. Doctors use it to learn more about medical developments. Ordinary people use it for shopping, banking, and communicating with family and friends. People all over the world use it to connect with individuals from other countries and cultures. However, while there are many positive developments associated with the Internet, there are also certain fears and concerns.
2. One concern relates to a lack of censorship or control over what appears on the Internet. Anyone can put information on the Internet that can then be read by anyone else, at any time. This makes it very different from television or radio. With television and radio there are editors to check the accuracy or appropriateness of the content of programs. With the Internet, parents cannot check a published guide to determine what is suitable for their children to see. While software can be used to block access to certain websites, such as those displaying pornography, this can never be completely effective.
3. There are also concerns about privacy and control of communication on the Internet. For example, when you use e-mail or participate in chat groups, it is possible that your private messages may be read by others without your knowing. If you buy things on–line or browse the Internet, it is possible to trace all the websites that you visit. Such information can be used to build up a profile of your interests and habits. One purpose for such a profile is to provide information to companies who sell on-line advertising space. If they know your habits and interests, they can select particular advertisements to send to you when you are on-line. One potential danger is that the information could be used by others to your disadvantage. For example, an employer could use such information to decide that you are not a suitable applicant for a job.
4. A further issue relates to the misuse of the Internet in the workplace. Many companies are now finding that they need to establish policies to control when employees use the Internet and for what purposes. Recent surveys undertaken in the United States have revealed, for example, that:
· 47 percent of employees send up to five personal e-mails per day, 32 percent send up to ten personal e-mails daily, and 28 percent receive up to twenty personal e-mails per day.
5. A fourth and growing area of concern is that of Internet addiction. An Internet addict is someone who is unable to control his or her own use of the Internet and whose behavior threatens to overwhelm his or her normal life. Internet addiction can result in many problems including a lack of sleep, lateness for appointments, neglect of work responsibilities, and the disintegration of marriages and families. Internet addiction is not just a matter of how much time a person spends on-line. It is more a matter of how much damage Internet use causes in a person's life.
Internet Issues: Questions
· Pre-reading: Read the title, first paragraph and first sentence only of each paragraph. Circle the correct answer.
The author's purpose in this article is
a. to discuss why the internet is an amazing information resource.
b. to prove that the internet is useful for many different professions
c. to present many positive developments associated with the internet
d. to explain why using the internet is problematic
CLOSE READING QUESTIONS:
Paragraph 1
1. Is the Internet an entirely positive information resource?
Yes / No (Circle one)
Justification: ______
Paragraph 2:
2. What MAIN IDEA does the following example support?
“Anyone can put information on the internet that can then be read by anyone else, at any time.” ______
3. Why is it not always possible for parents to protect their children from viewing pornography? ______
Paragraph 3
4. What may be the danger of buying things online or simply browsing the internet? ______
5. What does “such information” (line 5, paragraph 3) refer to? ______
6. How might information about your internet habits be used by others to your disadvantage? ______
Paragraph 4
7. What main idea do the recent surveys in the United States support? ______
Paragraph 5
8. How does the writer define an internet addict?
a.______
b.______
9. Is spending a lot of time on the Internet always a symptom of addiction?
YES / NO (Circle one answer)
JUSTIFICATION: ______
10. According to the entire article, what are the writer’s major concerns about the internet?
a. ______
b. ______
c. ______
d. ______
Internet Issues: Vocabulary
Match the words in bold with their meanings:
(The first one is done for you)
F / 1.There are also certain fears and concerns / a. wrong use2.Such information can be used to build a profile. / b. additional
3.Parents cannot determine what is suitable for their children to see. / c. absence
4.Parents cannot determine what is suitable for their children to see. / d. like this
5. There are restrictions on what kind of programs can be shown on television. / e. appropriate, a good match
6. It is possible to trace the websites you visit. / f. worries
7.One purpose of such a profile is to provide information to companies who sell on-line advertising space. / g. decide
8.Employees send up to five personal e-mails a day. / h. boss
9.An employer could use such information to decide that you are not a suitable applicant for the job. / i. go back to find
10.A further issue relates to the misuse of the internet in the workplace. / j. give
11.A further issue relates to the misuse of the internet in the workplace. / k. workers
12. Internet addiction can result in lack of sleep. / l. limitations
Internet Issues
Translate the following noun groups:
an amazing information resource
an investigative tool
the latest medical developments
internet misuse
other countries and cultures
positive developments
certain websites
your private messages
completely effective
such information
your interests and habits
one purpose
on-line advertising space
particular advertisements
one potential danger
a further issue
recent surveys
internet misuse
CONNECTORS מילות קשור
CONTRAST ADDITION CAUSE
But moreover because/ since/ for
On the other hand as well as RESULT
However also / furthermore lead to (led to)
Although in addition as a result/ consequently
While/whereas another so / therefore / thus
Choose a word to logically connect the two sentences (in the middle).
1. Television has several advantages. Television can be addicting.
2. Television can increase our knowledge. It has several negative effects.
3. Television benefits very old people who cannot leave the house. It offers non-native speakers the advantage of informal language practice.
4. Too much television can lead to poor concentration. It can cause people to become dissatisfied with their lives.
5. Children often watch many violent programs. Some children become more violent.
6. You should not watch too much television. You may become addicted.
7. There are many positive developments connected with the internet. There are also certain fears and concerns.