The Pros and Cons of the Internet

The Internet is without doubt one of the most important inventions in history. It was started in 1968 by the US government, but at first it was used mainly by scientists. Since 1990, when the World Wide Web was created, it has changed the world and its uses are growing every day.

The main use of the Internet is to find information – for your schoolwork or job, or just to find out more about your hobbies, sports or current events.

All of the latest information is available to you, in your home, at any hour of the day and night. It’s much faster and easier to surf the net in search of information from all over the world than to travel to libraries in dozens of countries.

You can also use the Internet to read newspapers and magazines, play games, plan your holiday or buy from your favourite shop.

E-mail makes it possible to send electronic messages anywhere in the world in seconds, and you can use the Internet to ‘chat’ with people and make new friends.

However, the real world of the Internet may not be as perfect as it seems.

With so much information available, finding what you want can take you hours. Multimedia web pages with photographs, music and video are attractive, but they make downloading slow and boring. Besides, there is too much advertising instead of real information.

As for the Internet friendships, sitting at home in front of a computer making ‘chat friends’ is not the same as actually meeting people.

And what do you think?

My Favourite TV Programme

The most popular entertainment in our home life is television. We have a choice between five channels: First Channel, Russia and 3 commercial channels. There is also a cable TV station in our town. Television plays an important role in our life. It informs people about current events both national and international, the latest achievements in science and culture, and offers some programs, which are both interesting and stimulating. Every day we can see different tips of programs on TV. News is broadcast at regular intervals. They also present operas, ballets, music concerts and various shows. Broadcast for schools are produced on five days of the week, during school hours. In the late afternoon and early evening TV channels showed special programs for children. In the evenings and at weekends there are broadcasts of sports events. A large time of TV evening’s time is occupied by films and serials, but as for me I like quizzes. A quizzes–program is a question and an answer competition which offers money and other prizes and to the winners. Such programs as “Wonders field”, "What, Where, When”, “A Hundred to One” are my favorite ones, because they are both informative and interesting. But best of all I like the programs of “Travellers' club”, because it gives me a chance to travel of other the world without leaving home. Far away countries and their customs and traditional are come into my living room.

Mass media in Belarus

A variety of print media and electronic media of different forms of ownership is operating in Belarus. Foreign media are widely represented in the national media space, too.

Print mass media in Belarus

As of 1 January 2013, 692 newspapers and 739 magazines were published in Belarus. More than two thirds of them are private.

Printed press is available mainly in the Belarusian and Russian languages, though there are some newspapers in English, Polish, Ukrainian and German.

The most influential newspapers include Belarus Segodnya and the Respublika. Local editions of major Russian newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda and Argumenty i Fakty are very popular in Belarus, too.

All in all, more than 4,000 print media outlets are distributed throughout the country, including those from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the USA, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia.

News Agencies of Belarus

Nine national news agencies, including seven private ones, operate in Belarus.

The BelTA News Agency is the country’s biggest news agency, having the correspondent network in all the regions of the country.

Besides the local news agencies, Russia’s ITAR-TASS and Prime-TASS news agencies have their offices in Minsk. The correspondents of the leading world agencies Reuters and Associated Press also work in Minsk.

E-media in Belarus

As of 1 January 2013, there were 166 radio broadcast stations and 89 television broadcast stations in Belarus.

23 radio stations and 57 TV broadcast stations are private.

The majority of public radio stations are run by the local authorities.

There are 30 FM radio stations in Belarus, including Radius FM, Radio Unistar (Belarusian-German media project), Europe plus and others.

The target audience of the Belarus radio station are foreigners interested in local events. The radio station airs programs not only in Belarusian and Russian, but also in English, German, Polish, French, Spanish and Chinese. 

There are 5 national TV broadcasters in Belarus: Belarus 1 TV Channel, Belarus 2 TV Channel, ONT TV Channel, CTV and international satellite channel Belarus TV.

The broadcasting of International satellite channel Belarus-TV was launched in 2005. The programs of the channel are transmitted via Express-AM22  and Galaxy 19 satellites.

Today the broadcasting covers more than 60 countries. The channel is available to viewers from Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and North America. The programs are aired 24/7 in Russian and Belarusian languages. The channel also provides online broadcasting on the Internet.

Over 100 international channels, including Euronews, BBC, Eurosport are broadcast via cable TV.

Today Belarus is switching from an analog to a digital broadcast television. The process is due to finish by 2015.

Digital TV is available to 94%of the country’s population.

The Role of TV in Our Life

TV is one of the best inventions the man has ever made. We are beginning to forget what the world was without TV. Thanks to TV we get a great amount of information. It gives wonderful possibilities for education. It enriches our intellect. We also become better informed by watching documentaries, science programmes, discussions and by learning the most important issues of the day.

TV gives an opportunity to see the best actors, sport matches, to meet famous people. TV brings the world to our room. We see people in our country and in other lands and learn about their customs, occupations, traditions, problems. We become cultured people by learning more of the arts. Television helps us relax after a hard day’s work, so we can then cope better with the next day’s work. Besides, there is a considerable amount of TV programmes: news, different talk-shows, TV games, concerts and variety shows, sport programmes, feature films, serials and so on. They are of great entertainment value and provide useful topics for conversation. A lot of these programmes are very popular. For example, news deals with political and social problems of modern society. Its aim is to give the analysis of the problems and show different view points. They are concerned with the country’s national events and the most topical political problems of the day. Thus, we can say that TV attracts millions of people to the screen.

But tastes differ. Some people are against TV. They say that TV does a lot of harm. It occupies a lot of free time. People used to have hobbies, to meet with friends, to go to the cinema or theatre, to read books, to listen to music. Nowadays many people sit watching TV hour by hour. They don’t read books, they don’t do sports, and they begin to forget the art of conversation. Watching TV for a long time may lead to poor health and ruin eye-sight. But nobody makes you watch TV for hours. You can simply switch off your TV-set. Finally we can say that TV is still a great force in the world today.

Press is the Mirror of Current Events

Every day millions of newspapers and magazines are published all over the world. Now it’s difficult to say how many different newspapers and magazines are issued every day. The list of their titles may seem endless. There are different national and local papers, dailies and weeklies, some that are issued three times a week and even monthlies. They satisfy different interests and tastes.

People subscribe to various papers and magazines, but they have one common aim. People want to know what is going on in the world, in the country, city, town or village, what people are anxious about. That’s why newspapers and magazines inform the readers of the current events and home and international affairs. They inform the readers of all important developments, give full attention to the most important national and international affairs, carry commentaries on the most interesting events. There are also articles on sports, art, music, new books. There are interviews with well-known people. Everything printed corresponds to people’s interests.

 As our press is democratic, following the principle of freedom of speech, it makes readers acquainted with different opinions on various problems.

As for me, I subscribe to (read, buy) “…”

It’s a weekly (daily, monthly) newspaper (magazine). / It is issued … times a week.

In “…” you can find all the necessary information on …

The paper has a supplement which contains information about…

This newspaper has a circulation of… copies.

Personally, I find it useful and interesting. And if you are interested in ..., I advise you to subscribe to (read, buy) “…”.

Exercises

1. Answer the questions:

1. What kinds of papers are issued in the world?
2. Why do people subscribe to different newspapers and magazines? Why do people read them?
3. Do newspapers and magazines give us a lot? Prove your point of view.
4. Do you read newspapers (magazines) regularly? Do you buy or subscribe to them?
5. What periodicals do you read (subscribe to)?
6. Do you find this paper (magazine) really useful?

2. Speak about the newspaper or magazine you read.

The Role of Mass Media

Mass media play an important role in modern society. We live in the era of information which is necessary for our life, work and entertainment. Mass media give us all kinds of information. The most important media are newspapers, radio and television and the Internet. 

All the mass media have their advantages. On the one hand, they supply us with political and other important information, entertain and give food for thought. On the other hand, they have some disadvantages. You can read a newspaper wherever you want, but you need a radio set if you want to listen to it. You can watch TV if you have electricity. You need both telephone and electricity to use the Internet. But the worst thing about mass media is advertising. It is useful, of course, to get information about new goods and services, but nobody likes when their favourite films are interrupted. One more disadvantage is that information is not always reliable, especially on the Internet.

Nowadays it is difficult to find a house without a TV set, a radio, magazines or newspapers. Of course, TV is the most popular. There are many programmes that keep people informed of current events in politics, sports, economics and so on. Besides, you can watch a lot of entertaining programmes. They let people relax, make them forget about their problems. No doubt, different people watch different programmes. Some enjoy detective movies, others are fond of horror films. Some people are interested in music concerts.

On the whole, it is hard to imagine modern society without mass media.

1. Translate into English:

Современное общество, развлечение, с одной стороны, с другой стороны, читать газету, слушать радио, смотреть телевизор, товары и услуги, любимый фильм, достоверная информация, текущие события, развлекательные программы,  расслабиться, заставить забыть о  своих проблемах, без сомнения, детективы, фильмы ужасов, в целом.

2. Make up sentences. Mind word order.

1.      Is, information, entertainment, for, life, necessary, our, work, and.

2.      Mass, and, have, media, advantages, all, their, disadvantages.

3.      Don’t, when, people, their, films, favourite, like, interrupts, advertising.

4.      On the Internet, not, is, always, reliable, information.

5.      Many, there, different, are, on TV, programmes.

6.      Programmes, people, forget, problems, entertaining, let, their, about.

3. Complete the sentences:

1.      The most important mass media are...

2.      Mass media supply people with...

3.      To use the Internet you need...

4.      From advertising people can get ...

5.      The most popular mass medium nowadays is...

6.      Many TV programmes keep people informed of...

4. Answer the questions:

1. What is the role of mass media in the modern society?

2. What kinds of media do you know?

3. Do the media have advantages and disadvantages? What are they?

4. Is TV the most popular medium nowadays? Why do you think so?

5. What programmes are you fond of?

6. Can you imagine our life without mass media? Give your reasons.

British Newspapers

In Britain newspapers differ greatly from each other in the type of news they report and the way they report it.

            On the one hand, there are “quality” newspapers: The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph. These papers report major national and international new stories, with the world of politics and business and with the arts and sport.

            On the other hand, there are “populars” or “tabloids”, so called because of their small size. Popular papers (The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, The Sun, The Daily Star) pay much attention to sensational news, extraordinary events, catastrophes, accidents, private lives of royalty and nobility, of people of art, of music and movie stars.

            Popular papers use many photographs and cartoons. It is often said that the popular press aims to entertain its readers rather than inform them. The tabloid press is far more popular than the quality press. The average circulation for The Daily Mirror is almost 3.200.000 while for The Times it is 450.000. The most popular quality paper is The Daily Telegraph with a circulation of around 1.100.000 per day, compared with The Sun’s circulation of over 4.170.000. It is estimated that two out of every three adults regularly read a national daily newspaper.

            In addition to 12 national daily newspapers there are 9 national papers which are published on Sundays. Most of the Sunday papers contain more reading material than the daily papers, and several of them include colour supplements – separate colour magazines which have special supplements with articles on music, TV, sports and a lot of advertisements of consumer goods. Reading a Sunday paper, like having a big Sunday lunch, is an important tradition in many British families.

            Nearly every area in Britain has one or more local newspapers – in England alone there are around 850 which are published once or twice a week. Local papers report local news and advertise local business and events.

            Newspapers in Britain are privately owned and the editors of the papers are usually allowed considerable freedom of expression. The offices of most papers are situated in Fleet Street in the City of London, which is the centre of British journalism. British papers are bought and read not only in the United Kingdom but also in many other countries.

Exercises

1. Look through the text and say what kinds of papers are issued in Great Britain.  

2. Fill in the gaps:

1. British newspapers are very much different from each other in the way they … news.
2. There are …, which pay attention to sensational news and extraordinary events.
3. The popular press aims to … its readers.
4. There are 9 national papers, which are published on …
5. Reading a Sunday newspaper is an important … in many British families.
6. Local newspapers are published … or … a week.
7. The centre of British journalism is …

3. Find the words and expressions that mean:

1. A newspaper which is published every day - …
2. A serious newspaper - …
3. A newspaper which usually entertains its readers - …
4. A special colour magazine which is published on Sundays - …
5. A newspaper which reports local news - …

3.    Answer the questions:

1. How do British newspapers differ from each other?

2. What newspapers present important political news?

3. What news do “populars” pay attention to?

4. Is the “quality” press more popular than the “tabloid” press?

5. Which newspapers include colour supplements?

6. What information do local newspapers publish?

7. Are British newspapers privately owned?

8. Where are the offices of most papers situated?

Famous Americans

Lesson 6, Ex.2

Not everyone who's on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous problems that made them work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you're feeling down about your failures at school or any other business, keep these ten famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

A. While Henry Ford is known as one of the richest and influential people in the world whose introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry, he wasn't an immediate success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.

B. Bill Gates didn't seem to promise any success after giving up his studies in Harvard and starting a failed first business called Traf-O-Data with his friend Paul Allen. While this early idea didn't work, Gates' later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.

C. Today Walt Disney rakes in billions from products, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. Hardly had he started his first job in a newspaper when he was fired because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with loss of money and failure. He kept working hard, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.

D. Most of us take Albert Einstein's name as synonymous with genius, but he didn't always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he had mental problems, was slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and couldn’t enter the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.

E. In his early years, teachers told Thomas Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked.

F. The brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright had to cope with depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed models, the brothers finally created a plane that could get up in the air and stay there.

G. While today Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln's life wasn't so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you're not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn't stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed businesses and lost in numerous elections for public office he participated in.

H. Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most influential women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, having a terrible childhood. No sooner had she been born than her teenage mother fled away leaving her to live on her grandmother’s farm. The family was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which the local children made fun of her. At 13, after years of horrific life, Winfrey ran away from home. Later she also had numerous career setbacks including losing her job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for TV."

I. Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, was turned down 30 times, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to finish it and send it again, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time. His books have sold more than 350 million copies which have been made into many movies and television films.

Famous People of Belarus

The Belarusian land gave birth to many famous people whose names are known all over the world.    The history of the Belarusian culture is more than one thousand years old. The names of such Belarusian thinkers as Euphrosyne Polotskaya and Kirill Turovsky have been known since ancient times. Since the 12th century we have known the name of the great Belarusian jeweler Lazar Bogsha and his priceless creation - the Cross of St. Euphrosyne, which was decorated with numerous precious stones.    The age of Renaissance enriched our culture with new names of great Belarusian statesmen, writers and printers. For example, Lev Sapega, the dynasty of Radzivil, Mikola Gusovsky and many others. The name of the first printer Francisak Skaryna and his followers Symon Budny and Vasil Tyapinsky are known throughout the world. In 2000 we celebrated the 510th anniversary of the birth of Dr. F. Skaryna, the first-printer and the first translator of the Bible into the native Belarusian language.    It goes without saying Belarusian literature has made a great contribution to world literature. The names of Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, Maxim Bagdanovich, Kandrat Krapiva, Vladimir Korotkevich, Vasil Bykov are world famous. These names are followed by a number of other well-known writers and poets, such as K. Chorny , P. Brovka, I. Shamyakin, M. Tank, N. Gilevich, A. Adamovich. Their works are translated into many European languages. Many of Minsk streets are named after the Belarusian writers.    As for Belarusian art the names of K. Malevich, Mark Shagal, Ya. Drosdovich, A. Isachev, M. Savitsky and others are known far beyond the borders of our country.    The Belarusian culture is also famous for its ballet. The Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk is the center of the national Belarusian school of ballet. V. Elizaryev is one of the famous choreographers in the world. The national Belarusian theatre school is well-known too. The names of G. Makarova, S. Stanyuta, N. Eremenko, L. Filatov and other actors of the Y. Kupala Academic Theatre are also of great popularity abroad.    It's also a pleasure to mention the names of such famous Belarusian composers as N. Churkin, I. Luchenok, V. Alovnikov, A. Bogatyrev, N. Aladov. The Belarusian groups "Pesnyary", "Verasy", "Charovnitsa", "N.R.M." and dance group "Khoroshky" have been a great success in Europe.    Many prominent names in the history of Belarus of the 20th century are connected with two main events, the Great Patriotic War and space exploration. All Belarusians fought heroically defending their Motherland. But we are especially proud of the heroes of the last war: K. Zaslonov, E. Osipova, N. Gastello, V. Talalikhin, the defenders of Brest fortress and many others. In the family of cosmonauts there are also two Belarusians, A. Kovalyonok and P. Klimuk.    At the present day time, the time of revaluation of values, it's difficult to find heroes, especially among politicians. Time will put everything in its place and give everybody his due. But one thing is obvious: great times are created by great men. Their names are sure to become history whatever it may be.

Famous Belarusians - 2

http://eng.belarustourism.by/belarus/people/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_are_some_famous_people_from_belarus

Who are some famous people from Belarus?

1)Barbara Radziwill 
Grand Duchess, Queen of Poland

2) Tadeusz Kosciuszko 

Born in Belarus in 1746, Kosciuszko is considered a national hero in America, Belarus and Poland for his leadership in the American Revolutionary War and the uprising against Imperial Russia and the Prussian Empire in 1794.

3) Ignat Domejko

Born in Belarus in 1802. Domejko was a well-known geologist who spent most of his life in Chile where he became a national hero. He is officially recognised by UNESCO for his achievements.

4)Zhores Alferov 

Born in Vitebsk in 1930, Alferov won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.

5) Louis Burt Mayer 

Born in Minsk in 1885. Cinematographer Luis Bart Mayer is best known as one of founders of the Hollywood film studio "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer".

6) Haim Wiezman 

Born in Belarus in the small village near Pinsk in 1874. Haim Weizman was an outstanding chemist who gave lectures in Switzerland and Great Britain. As an active Zionist he was selected as a first president of Israel (1949) and remained at this post until his death (1952).

7) Francysk Skaryna

Born in Polotsk in 1486. Skaryna is most famous in Belarus for translating the Bible into Belarusian. 

8) Saint Euphrosyne 

Born in the 12th century, Euphrosyne is considered the patron saint of Belarus. Descended from a noble family, she became a nun at the age of 12 and spent her life helping the poor and building churches and monasteries across Belarus. She died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and her relics were returned to Belarus in 1910.

9) Maxim Mirnyi

Maxim Mirnyi is the most famous Belarusian tennis player. He has won a series of international doubles titles and has led the Belarus national team to its best-ever result in the Davis Cup.

10) Victoria Azarenka 

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1, April 2012.

11) Darya Domracheva 

The bronze medalist in the women's 15km individual race at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The winner of the Biathlon Award 2010 (Female Athlete of the Year).

http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/famous-belarusians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Belarus
http://www.belarusguide.com/as/heritage/famous.html

The Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize  - any of six international prizes awarded annually for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics (since 1969), and the promotion of peace. The Nobel Prizes, first awarded in 1901, were established by the will of Alfred Nobel and are traditionally awarded on December 10, the anniversary of his death. The awards are decided by boards of deputies appointed by Swedish learned societies and, in the case of the peace prize, by the Norwegian Parliament.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɑlfred noˈbɛl] (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He was the inventor of dynamite.

Famous Belarusians

Ex.3a, p. 186

The borders of Belarus were changed so many times it can be hard to know where your family really comes from: Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine or Belarus. Our lecture is not limited to persons of Belarusian ethnicity; Russians, Jews, Poles, Vikings, etc., may be found in the list.

How many of us would have guessed that the legendary Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas was born to Belarusian parents? They emigrated from Gomel to the USA when Kirk was just three years old, in 1919. Likewise, top American designer Ralph Lauren’s parents are from Belarus (his father from Pinsk and his mother from Grodno).

Belarus also has its fair share of writers. Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Vasil Bykov… Science-fiction king Isaac Asimov was born in the village of Petrovichi in the Mogilev Region of Belarus. Few know that Fyodor Dostoevsky - one of Russia’s greatest prose writers – was born into a Belarusian family. Although his parents had moved to Moscow by the time he arrived in the world, they hailed from the small Belarusian village of Dostoevo in the Ivanovo District. Last autumn, the village celebrated the 500th anniversary of the famous family.

Belarus has brought forth some of our world’s most prominent athletes. Just think of Olga Korbut – from Grodno or Max Mirnyi (nicknamed The Beast for his aggressive play). Other notable sporting heroes include Olympic medalists Yulia Nesterenko, Yekaterina Karsten, Yanina Korolchik and Ellina Zvereva. How about Stuttgart midfield Alexander Hleb? The wrestler Alexander Medved? The winner of the 2009 World Chess Cup, Boris Gelfand?

One of most famous of all people from Belarus, Marc Chagall is known around the world as a master of classic avant-garde art. The pioneer of geometric abstract art Kazimir Malevich, sculptor Osip Zadkine, Vladimir Vyshnevski also come from this land.

As far as science is concerned: Ignat Domejko was a well-known geologist who spent most of his life in Chile where he became a national hero. He is officially recognised by UNESCO for his achievements. Alexander Chizhevsky, born in the Grodno region in 1897, was a famous scientist who studied the biological effects of the sun and universe. Zhores Alferov, born in Vitebsk, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.

Haim Weizman from the small village near Pinsk was an outstanding chemist who gave lectures in Switzerland and Great Britain. He also became the first president of Israel in 1949 and remained at this post until his death. By the way, Shimon Peres, Israel’s new President and Nobel Prize winner, was born in Belarus in the village of Vishnevo in the Minsk Region.

Petr Klimuk, the first Belarusian cosmonaut and a researcher in technical sciences was born in Komarovka village, Brest region, in 1942. He made three space flights as a member of spaceship and orbital space station missions.

Vladimir Kovalenok was born near Minsk in 1942. He trained as a pilot and became a celebrated cosmonaut in the Soviet Union. He commanded 3 space missions and was twice declared a Hero.

There are successful Belarusian artists, writers, models and businessmen all over the world. But the number one Belarusian in the world is Boris Kit. This outstanding rocket scientist and Belarusian turned 100 this year. Today he lives in Frankfurt-am-Main but remains truly devoted to his language and his motherland. Perhaps he is the man to make you feel that, in fact, you are lucky to come from Belarus.

Affixes

Ex.2, p. 182

Prefixes and suffixes are generally known as affixes. Affixes create new words, usually by changing the meaning of a root word. 

A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word: In the word '”UNHAPPY”, 'UN-' is a prefix added to HAPPY. UN- is a Latin word for NOT.

A suffix on the other hand is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word to make another word. The suffix NESS added to the end of the word TOGETHER creates another word TOGETHERNESS. A good knowledge of English prefixes and suffixes will help students develop vocabulary without the need to always check their dictionary.

Since English is a language that has thousands of words from other languages, a brief description of commonly used prefixes and suffixes would do much good.

How Smart Is Your Home?

Unit 6, Lesson 6, Ex.4a

1. When you're not home, nagging little doubts can start to crowd your mind. Did I turn the coffee maker off? Did I set the security alarm? Are the kids doing their homework or watching television?

With a smart home, you could quiet all of these worries with a quick trip online. When you're home, the house takes care of you by playing your favorite song whenever you walk in or instantaneously dimming the lights for a movie. Is it magic? No, it's home automation. Smart homes connect all the devices and appliances in your home so they can communicate with each other and with you.

Anything in your home that uses electricity can be put on the home network and at your command. Whether you give that command by voice, remote control or computer, the home reacts.

2. Ok. Here are a few more examples of cool smart home tricks: Light a path for nighttime bathroom trips. Start warming the bedroom before you get out of bed so that it's nice and toasty when you get up. Turn on the coffee maker from bed.  And some examples of smart home devices and their functions. There are cameras that will track your home's exterior even if it's pitch-black outside. A video door phone provides more than a doorbell -- you get a picture of who's at the door. Motion sensors will send an alert when there's movement around your house, and they can even tell the difference between pets and people. Door handles can open with scanned fingerprints or a four-digit code, no need to look for house keys. While most home automation technology is focused on lighting, security and entertainment, smart appliances may be on their way as well. Ideas include: Trash cans that monitor what you throw away and generate online orders for replacement. Refrigerators that create dinner recipes based on the ingredients stored inside.

3. Smart homes obviously make life easier and more convenient. Who wouldn't love being able to control lighting, entertainment and temperature from their couch? Whether you're at work or on vacation, the smart home will alert you to what's going on, and security systems can be built to provide help in an emergency. For example, not only would a resident be woken with a fire alarm, the smart home would also unlock doors, dial the fire department and light the way to safety.

Smart homes also provide some energy savings. The devices can go to "sleep" and wake up when commands are given. Electric bills go down when lights are automatically turned off when a person leaves the room, and rooms can be heated or cooled based on who's there at any given moment. Smart home technology promises great advantages for an elderly person living alone. Smart homes could notify the resident when it was time to take medicine, contact the hospital if the resident fell and track how much the resident was eating. If the elderly person was a little forgetful, the smart home would perform tasks such as shutting off the water or turning off the oven if the cook had wandered away.

­4. A smart home probably sounds like a nightmare to those people not comfortable with computers as sometimes you may find them difficult to operate. It’s like if you try to turn on the television in your smart home, lights will start flashing, and this does happen occasionally.

Smart homes also come with some security problems. Hackers who access the network will have the ability to turn off alarm systems and lights, leaving the home open to a break-in.

Of course, there's also the question of whether an individual needs all this technology. Is our society really so lazy that we can't turn flip a light switch? It's an interesting argument, but smart homes are coming.