NC BOOK 4 UNIT 1

Whether by writing a blog or p erforming in their own online music video, mill ions of people are trying to make themselves known to the rest of the world... The video has received over

New Connection—Book 4

UNIT 1

Overnight Fame

Would you ever want to become a celebrity on the Internet? What would you want to be famous for? How

would you feel if you received negative comments about what you’d done?

Starting Off:

Thanks to the Internet, those hoping to beco

me a star have more opportunity than ever to

be discovered Whether by writing a blog or p

erforming in their own online music video, mill

ions of people are trying to make themselves

known to the rest of the world

GETTING READY

craze hilarious

users

well-known

hits deemed

Task II

Listen to the audio again Match the characteristics with the videos they describe below

GETTING READY

Audio Transcripts:

Thank you for tuning in I’m Dan Williams, and I’m here with a special report on an

online craze 1 that’s sure to make you smile Have you ever imagined what your pet might say if it started speaking? Well, Andrew Grantham probably doesn’t know

exactly what his dog, Clark, wants to talk about, but you would never guess that by his video on YouTube After taking a video recording of his dog opening and closing its mouth, Andrew added a dialogue in which Clark speaks to him about his displeasure over not being given any bacon The video has received over 125 million hits, which

shows just how many people have deemed 2 it hilarious 3! And that’s not the only

video putting words into others’ mouths One called “Talking Twin Babies” featured two small children making noises at each other in a way that seemed as if they were really having a conversation This led to other users of the site adapting the well-

known video by adding subtitles 4 that explained what the boys could be talking about

In one, the boys discuss playing a trick on their parents, and in another they gossip 5

about politics Do you have anything to say about this trend of giving words to those

usually speechless 6? Or do you want to recommend another video worth watching?

Then, head over 7 to my blog 8 and leave a comment on the entry that corresponds 9

GETTING READY

GETTING READY—FYR

Watch Talking Dog on YouTube:

（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（

GETTING READY—FYR

Watch Talking Babies on YouTube:

（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（

WORD POWER

A Listen Up

Complete the text messages between Wendy and Ron with words

from the audio

homepage

hyperlink

window browser

search engine

WORD POWER

Audio Transcripts:

Wendy: Ron, can you help me? I’m trying to add a hyperlink 1 to my

homepage 2, but I keep getting an error message I’ve edited these

HTML 3 documents before, but I’m doing something wrong this time

Ron: I didn’t know you had your own Web site, Wendy!

Wendy: I use it to promote my acting I announce what I’m doing in the hopes of

gaining fans and, someday, a big movie role

Ron: Let me see if I can help Hmm I think your problem might be

the GIF 4 you are also trying to add I’ll try to fix the file later; in the

meantime, your site is now up and running

Wendy: Great! Let me try searching for it in my browser 5 to make sure That’s

funny It’s working in the other window 6 I have open, but it isn’t listed in

these search results

Ron: Maybe it’s the search engine 7 you’re using Try it again in Google

Wendy: There it is! And it’s working perfectly now

Ron: Could you give me the URL 8? I’d love to look at it when I have free time

Wendy: Sure It’s www.wendycanact.net 9 And let me know of any criticisms you

WORD POWER

B Word Focus: Internet Abbreviations

Match the abbreviation on the left to its meaning on the right

a a file that contains images and sound

b a type of Internet connection that sends data

through phone lines

c the standards by which Web pages and Web

page components are requested and transmi tted on the Internet

d a domain for an organization, especially

non-profit groups

e a method for transferring files between comp

uters via the Internet

f a digital image file

WORD POWER

C Speak Out Loud

There always seems to be a new craze sweeping across the Internet

Look at the ones mentioned below and discuss your opinion of them

with a partner.

In 2005, people began p

utting funny captions on

pictures of cats and sha

ring them The

lines usually included sp

elling and/or grammatic

al errors, like “I can haz

cheeseburger?”

Not much is known about how this started, but for much of 2011, pictures and videos of people lying facedown

in strange places were all over the Internet

This challenge became popular in 2012 after a comedian put a video on YouTube of her attempt

to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in a minute Many others posted thei

r own videos or talked about their efforts on Twitter

Now, work with your partner and present information about a new trend to your classmates.

WORD POWER—FYR

Watch Cinnamon Challenge on YouTube:

（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（（

CONVERSATION ZONE

（（（（（（（

Internet Personalities

Ron returns home to find his roommate still using the computer.

Ron: Megan, what are you doing? You’ve been at your computer for an ①

_1!

Megan: Have I? I guess I haven’t been heeding 2 the time while watching these videos

of Maru the cat

Ron: I’ve never heard of him

Megan: You haven’t! Maru’s all over the Internet I get a kick out of watching him tryin

g to fit into tiny boxes

Ron: I usually steer clear of silly videos You really should do something to

② _ 3 your mind when you’re online, like keeping up with current events.Megan: I do! I check Perez Hilton’s blog every day

Ron: He’s that gossip ③ 4 , right? You know, it doesn’t really contain le gitimate 5 news, that blog

Megan: Perhaps, but the site has been considered the best of the best since it

went online Now Perez is almost as well-known as the people he writes about

Ron: He’ll end up a flash in the pan Blog readers are ④ _ 6 f

or having tastes that fluctuate 7 They’ll find something else to read soon.Megan: You’re just jealous, you are I bet you’re upset that your science blog nev

er caught on 8

Ron: It’s not a blog It’s a Twitter account And I don’t resent 9 others bein

g successful Besides, people are starting to transmit 10 my posts to other

s, so I’ll be gaining followers soon

Megan: (laughs) I can’t believe you don’t know the ⑤ _11 yet That’s

called retweeting 12

Ron: Whatever You know what I mean

Megan: Sure, but you shouldn’t ⑥ 13 having even fifteen minutes of f

ame unless you get off your high horse and learn about the medium yo

1 The weather fluctuated throughout the day, and Irene had to take off and

put on her coat whenever it changed / persisted

2 Before telephones, people transmitted messages using telegraphs Those

devices conveyed / suppressed information through the use of electrical signals

3 For some people, it takes an eternity to find the right career because they

spend a brief / lengthy amount of time trying out other jobs first

4 If you don’t have a legitimate reason for missing work, you could be in

trouble Our boss often fires people for giving excuses that he doesn’t think are valid / forged

5 Although the salesman had envisaged making sales without difficulty, what

he had dismissed / imagined never came true He didn’t sell anything

6 The blogger got in trouble when it was revealed he received money to give

positive information about certain companies People were upset that the online writer / singer would do such a thing

CONVERSATION ZONE—REVIEW

A Understand from the Context

Circle the answers

CONVERSATION ZONE—REVIEW

B Fill in the Missing Letters

Complete the passage with words or phrases from the conversation Change the forms of the words if necessary.

heeded caught on

retweeted terminology

enrich

CONVERSATION ZONE—REVIEW

C True, False, or Unknown

Select if the statements are true (T), false (F), or unknown (U).

1 T ■ F ■ U ■ Maru has earned Internet fame for the celebrity blo

g he writes.

2 T ■ F ■ U ■ Ron created a blog years ago before starting a Twit

ter account.

3 T ■ F ■ U ■ Ron believes that people who read blogs are loyal t

o the authors of them.

4 T ■ F ■ U ■ Megan suggests that Ron devote more time to

understanding how Twitter works.

5 T ■ F ■ U ■ Fans of Ron’s Twitter account are retweeting his m

essages to others.

6 T ■ F ■ U ■ Megan is knowledgeable about Twitter because

she uses the site often.

Fill in the appropriate expressions

1 Mexican food is much too spicy for me I / _ any

dish made in that style of cooking _ /

2 My mother _ to participate in craft fairs all

over the country She loves showing off the things she’s created to new people.

EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT

A Talking About What One Likes

• get a kick out of (something)

• live for (something)

• go to great lengths (to do

something)

• have a blast

• steer clear of (something/someone)

• avoid (something/someone)

like the plague

• wouldn’t touch (something) with a

ten-foot pole

• shy away from (something)

avoid like the plague goes to great lengths

wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole

EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT

B Describing Short-lived Fame

Rewrite the parts in bold using the expressions above

To Be Famous for a Little

While • flash in the pan • one-hit wonder

• flavor of the month

A Brief Period of Fame • fifteen minutes of fame

• a moment in the sun

1 Most reality television stars only have a couple years of fame Then,

there are new people to take their places

→

2 Everyone in my class is wearing bright pink sweatshirts, but I think that style will just be popular for a few weeks.

→

Most reality television stars only have a moment in the sun / fifteen

minutes of fame Then, there are new people to take their places

Everyone in my class is wearing bright pink sweatshirts, but I think

that style is just the flavor of the month / will only be a flash in

the pan.

1 Your favorite actress has just won an Academy Award.

2 Someone told you that they are going to get the highest grade on the final exam

Example:

With a classmate, practice talking about the situations below using the expressions above.

EXPRESSION SPOTLIGHT

C Comparing One to Others

To Be Better Than Others • the best of the best

• the top dog

• the cream of the crop

To Think One Is Better Than

Others • on (one’s) high horse• have/get a big head

• full of (oneself)

A: Did you hear what Jason said about the talent competition tomorrow? He

thinks he’ll be the top dog and is sure to win.

B: No way! I think Jason is so full of himself Everybody knows that Cindy

will win for sure

A: Mindy has been on her high horse all week Just because she did

well on the last exam doesn’t mean she’s going to beat us all on the final.

B: I agree She might have been considered the cream of the crop

before, but that doesn’t guarantee that she will be again.

Sample Dialogues:

EXPRESSION PRACTICE

A Fill out the Chart

Listen and indicate Jim’s and Alice’s opinions of the activities Give

your reasons

Ballet Alice Jim Alice thinks ballet performances are

graceful, but Jim steers clear of everything related to dancing

Alice

Jim says that he feels the same way about hockey that Alice feels about ballet, but Alice avoids hockey like the plague because of its violence

Although Jim likes to watch games live and Alice like to watch them on TV, both of

them say they enjoy basketball

Jim lets Alice know about a game, and he says he wants to go to it Alice agrees to

go with him because she also gets a kick out of baseball

Alice: Are you serious? Dance performances are so graceful! How could you

not go to great lengths to see them?

Jim: That’s how I feel about hockey games

Alice: Now that’s something I steer clear of It’s such a violent sport I live

for good basketball games though With the right players, those

games are amazing to watch

Jim: You’re right I always have a blast watching those,

EXPRESSION PRACTICE

B Complete the Poll

Summarize what the speaker says Use the words and expressions

provided

Votes About the Singer or Group

Brittany Gibson 8,526 This lovely singer was admired by many

after releasing her first song

(sparkling personality, one-hit wonder, a moment in the sun)

She had a sparkling personality, and

she was gorgeous as well

Unfortunately, she had only a moment

in the sun because her second song

didn’t become popular, making her a

one-hit wonder.

Banana Mama 1,884 Banana Mama had lots of dedicated fans in the 80s.

(comical, decade, flash in the pan, fifteen minutes of fame)

EXPRESSION PRACTICE

Listeners were amazed by their voices and how well

they sang together They were so popular that their

shows at large stadiums would completely sell out

When their second tour did poorly, however, it was

clear that they were only a flavor of the month.

People were sure that they would stay famous for

many years even though they had such a comical name As the decade ended, it turned out that they were another 80s flash in the pan Their fifteen

minutes of fame didn’t last into the 90s!

EXPRESSION PRACTICE

Audio Transcripts:

Thanks for tuning in, listeners! In today’s podcast, we’re going to talk about musicians from the 80s One of my favorite singers was Brittany Gibson She rose t

o fame after releasing her first single, but despite her sparkling personality and go

rgeous looks, she only had a moment in the sun Her second song failed to gain her any fans, and she ended up a one-hit wonder The R&B group Boys in the N

eighborhood did slightly better Their beautiful harmonies amazed audiences arou

nd the world They too, however, proved to be just a flavor of the month After s

elling out stadiums in their first world tour, they could barely fill a cafeteria in their second Another group that was very popular during that decade was Banana Ma

ma Despite the comical name, fans swore they wouldn’t be a flash in the pan B

ut they were wrong As the 80s ended, so did their fifteen minutes of fame I wo

nder what they’re doing now Well, that’s it for today Visit my Web site and vote f

or your favorite 80s artist or group, and I’ll announce the winner next week!

3 That compliment was so nice that I may believe

I’m better than everyone.

4 You should change your attitude and allow

others to be regarded highly.

Craig Jenny Ben Craig

EXPRESSION PRACTICE

Audio Transcripts:

Ben: So, who do you guys think will win the sales competition this year?

Jenny: Oh, come on, Ben It has to be me I’ve been the top dog for three y

ears in a row Who could possibly beat me?

Craig: Jenny, you are so full of yourself There are many salespeople wor

king here that could win

Jenny: Really, Craig? Who do you think is the best of the best then?

Craig: Actually, I think Ben is

Ben: Do you really think so?

Craig: Yeah I’ve been looking over everyone’s numbers, and you’ve been

doing well this quarter

Ben: Wow! I might get a big head after hearing that!

Jenny: You guys are crazy I’ve been checking the information too, and it’s p

retty clear that I’m the cream of the crop in this office.

Craig: Why are you always on your high horse? Just relax and let someo