Review 4
Fluency Strategy: Reading ACTIVELY
In order to become a more fluent reader, remember to follow the six points of the ACTIVE approach—before, while, and after you read. See the inside front cover for more information on the ACTIVE approach.
Activate Prior Knowledge
Before you read, it's important to think about what you already know about the topic, and what you want to get out of the text.
A Look at the passage below. Read the title and look at the photo. What do you think the article is about? What are billboards?
Sample Answer
The article is about new digital billboards that can recognize people's characteristics. Billboards are large outdoor advertising signs, and these new ones use cameras and software to target specific audiences.
B Think more about the topic. What do you know about billboards? Where can you see them in your country? What products are advertised on them? Discuss with a partner.
Sample Answer
Billboards are common on highways and in city centers. They advertise cars, food, electronics, and fashion. In my country, they are often digital and change frequently.
Cultivate Vocabulary
As you read, you may come across unknown words. Remember, you don't need to understand all the words to understand the meaning of the passage. Skip the unknown words for now, or guess at their meaning and come back to them later. Note useful new vocabulary in your vocabulary notebook—see page 6 for more advice on vocabulary.
A Now read the first paragraph of the passage. Write any words or phrases you don't know. Can you understand the rest of the paragraph even if you don't understand those items?
B Write the unknown words here. Without using a dictionary, try to guess their meaning. Use the words around the unknown word and any prefixes, suffixes, or word roots to help you.
Think About Meaning
As you read, think about what you can infer, or "read between the lines," for example, about the author's intention, attitudes, and purpose for writing.
Read the opening paragraph again and discuss these questions with a partner.
- What do you think is the purpose of the reading? Why did the author write it?
- How do you think the author feels about billboards with advanced technology? Do you think he or she is in favor of it, or against it?
- Why does the author call the billboards high-tech devices? How are the billboards high-tech?
Sample Answers
1. The purpose is to inform readers about new advertising technology. The author wants to explain both the benefits and concerns.
2. The author seems neutral but acknowledges both sides—advertisers see opportunities, while people worry about privacy.
3. They are high-tech because they have cameras and software that can recognize age and gender.
To increase your reading fluency, it's important to monitor your own reading habits as you read. Look again at the tips on page 8. As you read, follow these tips.
Now read the whole passage Billboards That Recognize You. As you read, check your predictions from Think About Meaning.
Reading Review: Billboards That Recognize You
Motivational Tip: How can this be applied beyond the textbook? Reading is a very important life skill and is used every day to accomplish real life tasks. How can the real life skill of doing research on the Internet be used in everyday life?
Billboards That Recognize You
Have you ever felt you were being watched? Some new technologies might make you feel that way. Digital billboards are being created that have the ability to recognize certain characteristics. These high-tech devices have cameras pointed at the people on the street, and software that tries to recognize people by age and gender. A computer inside the billboard then uses this information to display ads that are directed at the people who are looking at the billboard. For example, if a man passes a billboard featuring an ad for cosmetics, the computer can change the ad to something that is more likely to catch the man's attention, such as a restaurant, or sporting goods.
While advertisers see this as a great opportunity to reach their target customers, some people feel that this kind of profiling is an invasion of their privacy. People are now much more aware of how information is exposed, shared, bought, and sold on the Internet. Now this debate will include technologies such as these "smart" billboards. But advertisers claim that they are sensitive to people's concerns about privacy—companies that have tested the billboards in Japan and the U.S. assure consumers that the billboards can only guess your age and gender, but they will not be able to recognize your face or obtain any personal information about you.
Until recently, this kind of "personal" advertising has been mostly limited to the Internet. Search engines like Google and Bing can follow what we search for because each computer that connects to those sites has a unique identity. Companies then pay search engines to use this information to display ads for products and services that you have searched for. So if you search for travel information, you are likely to see ads for airlines and hotels. This kind of advertising has proven to be much more effective—and valuable—than traditional advertising.
In addition to taking steps to deliver more personalized messages, advertisers are using billboards to offer more useful information. Digital billboards can connect to the Internet to display information such as the time, weather, and news headlines. In the future, this technology could be used to reflect activity on social media sites or to broadcast ads that relate to local events.
In today's world, people ignore thousands of ads every day. Advertisers are trying to change that trend by personalizing the experience of seeing an ad. So pay attention the next time you see a billboard—it could be talking to you.
Check Your Understanding
1. What is another possible title for the passage?
2. What does a digital billboard's camera look for?
3. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
4. Why does the passage mention Google?
5. Because of advertising profiling, a person buying airline tickets online will ______.
6. In the passage, the writer says that video billboards ______.
7. What is the reason for advertisers making high-tech billboards?
Self Check
A Here is a list of all the reading skills in Active Skills for Reading Book 2. For each skill, say whether you found the skill useful, not useful, or you need more work with it. Check (✓) one of the boxes.
B Here are the four fluency strategies covered in the Review Units. For each strategy, say whether you found it useful, not useful, or if you need more work with it. Check (✓) one of the boxes.
C Look again at the Are You an Active Reader? How has your reading fluency improved since you started this course?
Sample Answer
My reading fluency has improved significantly. I can now read faster and understand the main ideas without translating every word. I also use prediction and skimming strategies more effectively.
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