LISTENING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Work with a partner. Read the descriptions of the people who were interviewed in the left column. Then listen to parts of their interviews. Write the form of media thev are discussing in the rigliL column.

Person Type of media

Vanessa is 44 years old. She is a musician.

Felix is 65 years old. Now retired, he is building a house in Florida.

Richard is 75. He lives in a large city and loves to travel.

Now listen to the entire Interview with these three people. As you listen, take notes in the chart below on the positive and negative effects of the form(s) of media each person is discussing. Sometimes more than one form of media is discussed.

3 Compare your notes with your partner.

AFTER THE INTERVIEWS

DRAWING INFERENCES

Remember that when you listen, you should try to be aware of what people communicate indirectly, or infer, when they speak.

1 Decide whether you ihink the following statements correctly reflect what the people who were interviewed inferred. Write T (true) or F (false) next to each statement.

1 Eddie believes that video games can be entertaining.

_ 2 Eddie doesn’t like to waste time.

_____ 3 Leslie would not buy something because it was trendy.

__ 4 Leslie thinks that there are no good reasons to have cell phones.

___ 5 Ralph thinks that children should not watch TV.

6 Ralph thinks that parents should monitor all their childrens activities.

7 Vanessa gets all her news by watching TV.

___ 8 Vanessa thinks that it’s a good idea to make the news entertaining.

9 Felix believes that girls should be encouraged to participate in sports.

_ 10 Felix thinks that children should only watch educational programs.

11 Richard enjoys writing letters.

12 Richard has a fax machine.

Work with a partner. Check to see if you drew the same inferences. Explain why you thought each statement was either true or false. You may disagree about your answers.

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE TOPIC

Work in a small group. Choose three of the following statements to discuss. Explain why you agree or disagree with each statement. Give examples to support your opinions.

1 The violence in video games has a very bad effect on teenagers.

2 Cell phones are essential items for today’s world.

3 Young children cannot understand the difference between imaginary things and real things.

4 TV news is a good way to stay well informed.

5 Parents should closely monitor their children’s TV viewing habits.

6 Modem machines and technology destroy a lot of the beauty in life.