13.1 Pre reading task: match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8):                                                   

1) expertise; 2) a trend; 3) an audience; 4) consistent; 5) catchy; 6) to charge; 7) a bio; 8) a niche;

a) something that is popular right now; b) the people who watch or follow a public event, e.g. a film or concert; c) expert knowledge or skill in an area; d) to ask someone to pay; e) a specialized area; f) a short introduction of a person (short for ‘biography’); g) doing something in the same way over time; h) attractive and easily remembered.

 

Exercise 13.1.1 Read an article and come up with a suitable name for it

Social media influencers – it is estimated that about 40 per cent of the world’s population use social media, and many of these billions of social media users look up to influencers to help them decide what to buy and what trends to follow.

So, what is an influencer and how do we become one?

An influencer is a person who can influence the decisions of their followers because of their relationship with their audience and their knowledge and expertise in a particular area, e.g. fashion, travel or technology. Influencers often have a large following of people who pay close attention to their views. They have the power to persuade people to buy things, and influencers are now seen by many companies as a direct way to customers’ hearts. Brands are now asking powerful influencers to market their products. With some influencers charging up to $25,000 for one social media post, it is no surprise that more and more people are keen to become influencers too. If you are one of them, then here are five tips on how to do it.

Choose your niche

What is the area that you know most about? What do you feel most excited talking about? Find the specific area that you’re most interested in and develop it.

Choose your medium and write an interesting bio

Most influencers these days are bloggers and micro-bloggers. Decide which medium – such as your own online blog, Instagram or Snapchat – is the best way to connect with your followers and chat about your niche area. When you have done that, write an attention grabbing bio that describes you and your speciality area in an interesting and unique way. Make sure that people who read your bio will want to follow you. 3. Post regularly and consistently Many influencers post daily on their social media accounts. The more you post, the more likely people will follow you. Also, ensure that your posts are consistent and possibly follow a theme.

Tell an interesting story

Whether it is a photo or a comment that you are posting, use it to tell a story that will catch the attention of your followers and help them connect with you.

Make sure people can easily find your content

Publicise your posts on a variety of social media, use hashtags and catchy titles and make sure that they can be easily found. There is no point writing the most exciting blogposts or posting the most attractive photographs if no one is going to see them. Most importantly, if you want to become a social media influencer, you need to have patience. Keep posting and your following will gradually increase. Good luck!

 

Reference [13]

 

Exercise 13.1.2 Vocabulary:

1) social media influencer – влиятельное лицо социальных сетей;

2) follower – последователь;

3) relationship – взаимоотношение;

4) expertise – опыт, компетентность;

5) to persuade – убеждать, склонять;

6) to pay close attention – обращать пристальное внимание;

7) to market – продавать, сбывать;

8) to chargе up – запрашивать, завышать цену;

9) to be keen to – быть заинтересованным в том, чтобы; стремиться; жаждать;

10) medium – среда, сфера, область;

11) variety – разнообразие;

12) gradually - постепено;

13) to increase – расти, возрастать.

 

Answer the questions

 

1. Who is social media influencer?
2. Why do people follow the influencer?
3. How do companies usually use the influencers? Does it help them in making successful business?
4. What should you do if you want to become an influencer?
5. Do you know of any social media influencers? What are their niche areas?

 

Exercise 13.1.3 Are the sentences true or false?

1) An influencer needs to know about as many topics as possible, e.g.

fashion, travel, technology, etc. T/F

2) Companies are paying some influencers up to $25,000 to post about

their products. T/F

3) Most influencers write regular posts on their blogs or micro-blogs. T/F

4) You can chat with your followers using your bio. T/F

5) Your posts should not only be attractive but should tell a story. T/F

6) You can become a social media influencer in a short time. T/F

 

Exercise 13.1.4 Make an overview of the article you have read. Write pros and cons of being a social media influencer. If you became a social media influencer, what medium would you use and what would you post about?

 

Exercise 13.1.5 Discuss the following questions in pairs:

1) Do you use online sources in everyday life?

2) Add two or more benefits of using online sources:

-  they provide you by a significant amount of free information;

-  they keep you up to date;

-  you can easily get the needed information without wasting time.

- ….

  

13.2 Read the article

The internet or printed materials for research?

In the past, without the widespread presence of the Internet, people made use of printed materials for information. However, the Internet apparently wires in every corner of the world by now. Hence, most information now is referenced from the Internet, which I totally in favour of. This article will explore the reasons for such a choice.

To begin with, searching for information from the Internet is less time-consuming than from books and articles. It is because of the introduction of searching engines, which allow the exploration of millions of data. All users have to do is to type down the questions that they feel dubious, and all sorts of answers emerge at the click of a button. For example, when an Internet user asks for “How to say hello in English”, the searching engine on the Internet will reply with thousands answers on the dot. Compared to the printed one, it is far faster. On using books, readers have to look up the content and spend time looking for the pages. For this reason, it would take at least several minutes to do the book-searching procedures.

Secondly, the Internet can provide more sufficient answers than the other can. The Internet is dominated by billions of people. Among these people, there are possibly thousands of experts coming from different fields. So, when someone proposes a question, it can be answered by different experts. Consequently, the response to the question may possibly never get inaccurate. Meanwhile, the author who writes a book, whose authority on their subject might be profound, can make a mistake. But, since he authorizes the book by himself, the mistake will surely be overlooked. A classic case in point for this is the recently published result from the findings from Harvard University. It has pointed out clearly that nearly 75 % of the book contains some erroneous details, while the Internet only publishes 20 % false information. Finally, the finding constitutes a conclusion that the reliability of the Internet overwhelms that of the printed material.

In the final analysis, the Internet is a worthier source of reference for researching than the other one. Therefore, we should appreciate the essence of the Internet for researching purpose because the Internet are not sure to be here to stay.

 

Reference [18]

Exercise 13.2.1 Vocabulary:

1) widespread – широко распространенный;

2) apparently – по всей видимости, видимо, очевидно, явно;

3) hence – следовательно;

4) reference – ссылка;

5) search for – искать, исследовать;

6) time-consuming – затратный по времени;

7) searching engines – поисковые системы;

8) exploration – исследование;

9) dubious – сомнительный;

10) procedure  – процедура;

11) sufficient – достаточный, достаточное количество;

12) propose – предлагать, представлять;

13) consequently – следовательно, таким образом;

14) meanwhile – между тем, тем временем;

15) authorize – авторизоваться, разрешать;

16) erroneous – ошибочный, ложный;

17) appreciate – ценить, понимать;

18) essence – essence.

 

Exercise 13.2.2 According to the article, are these sentences True (T) or False (F)?

1) Searching for information from the Internet is more time-consuming than from books and articles.

2) On using books, readers have to look up the content and spend time looking for the pages.

3) The Internet can provide more sufficient answers than the other can.

4) The author who writes a book, whose authority on their subject might be profound, cannot make a mistake.

5) It would take at least several hours to do the book-searching procedures in Internet.

 

Exercise 13.2.3 Using the following website https://www.thoughtco.com/top-environmental-news-sources-1203564 find 10 Top Environmental News online sources and fill in the table:

Name of the source	Main issues discussed
1.
2.
3.