Active Skills for Reading 1 (Unit 12: The Power of Stories)


CHAPTER 2 - Internet Hoaxes

Real Life Skill - Understanding Internet Speak

Many English words have taken on a different meaning when used in relation to the Internet. For example, the search engine Google is so popular that people have started saying google in place of the word search.·Some words or phrases are also more commonly expressed as abbreviations in chat rooms and emails in order to save time; for example, FYI (for your information).

A. Match these Internet abbreviations with their meanings.

Abbreviations Meanings
1. ASAP a. no problem
2. BTW b. boyfriend
3. OIC c. away from keyboard
4. IMO d. as soon as possible
5. AFK e. laughs out loud
6. LOL f. in my opinion
7. NP g. girlfriend
8. TIYL h. oh, I see
9. G/F i. talk to you later
10. B/F j. by the way

B. Look at this list of words that are commonly used on the Internet. With a partner, discuss what the words mean and write them below.

Word Meaning
app

Answer

application, meaning a computer program or software;

friend

Answer

verb for becoming “connected" to someone through an online social-networking site, such as Facebook;

like

Answer

a verb which indicates that you approve of or like something you have seen on a website;

post

Answer

to publish something online, such as a comment, an article, a photo, etc.;

profile

Answer

the persona or identity which a person uses on the Internet, and the webpage it’s on;

spam

Answer

unsolicited, unwanted junk email;

tag

Answer

to add a person’s name or a location to an online post or photo;

tweet

Answer

verb used for posting on the social-networking site, Twitter;

virus

Answer

a computer program, usually malicious, which can reproduce itself and spread from one computer to another.

C. Email Challenge: Send a partner an email. Use any of the abbreviations and words above, or others that you know.

What do you think?

  1. Can you think of any similarities between folktales that you know? What do you think makes a good folktale?

    Answer

    A good folktale is one with an interesting storyline and characters that are compelling. Most teach a life lesson as well.

  2. Can you think of other examples of famous hoaxes? Why do you think people like to create hoaxes?

    Answer

    Some people feel a sense of power in creating Internet hoaxes; they enjoy the attention the hoax gets.

  3. Do you think there should be punishment for people who create Internet hoaxes? Why or why not, and in which cases?

    Answer

    Many think that if hoaxes hurt people or cause damage, then the people who created them should be legally punished.

Internet Hoaxes

The Internet is a fast and convenient way of sending and obtaining information, but it's also a very easy way to spread misinformation. And new hoaxes pop up almost every day about anything from shocking celebrity deaths to mystery objects in foods. Here are three examples of Internet hoaxes.

Pay what you weigh

On April 1, 2011, New Zealand Air began advertising a one-day fare sale-pay what you weigh. The airline's website offered visitors a chance to pay a dollar amount that was equal to their weight in kilograms. The idea was "more weight = more fuel = more cost" and many people believed it. The promotion brought thousands of visitors to the company's website and became a popular news story. In the end, though, the promotion turned out to be an April Fool's1 joke.

Croc on the loose

While the streets of New Orleans were still flooded after a terrible hurricane, a frightening email was sent around the Internet. It included a photograph of an immense crocodile over five meters long. According to the message, it had been swimming around the flooded city eating people. It was later discovered that the photographs of the crocodile were of one that was caught in the Congo2 years before.

Earn money through emails

The following email hoax fooled many people. The sender claims that a large company will pay you to send their email to as many people as possible. For every person that you send the email to, the company promises you will receive $5; for every person that person sends it to, you'll get $3; and for every third person those people send it to, you will be paid $1. To make the lie even more believable, the sender says that at first he thought it was a hoax, but the company soon sent him $800.

1 April Fool's Day is celebrated as a day when people play tricks and hoaxes on each other.
2 The Congo is an area in Africa.

Chapter - 2: Vocabulary Skill - Nouns That Are Also Verbs

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