Technology

Reading 2 Beware technology!

Thinking and speaking
TOPIC
A Check that students understand these words and phrases: cash, cashback, debit card,
DEVELOPMENT chain store, mail-order catalogue.
Buying on the Internet Notes Cashback is an amount of money that a shop, usually a supermarket, enables you
to take from your bank account when you pay for something with a bank card.
READING SKILLS A debit card is different from a credit card in that the money is taken from your bank
Reading for gist, account immediately.
reading for specific Hand out Worksheet 1. Give students a couple of minutes to work through the
information questionnaire individually.
B Ask students to compare answers to questions 1–4 in pairs or in groups. End with a brief
class discussion.
MAIN TASK
TYPE Reading
Matching sentence
A Hand out Worksheet 2. Give students five minutes to read the guidelines quickly, making
halves to check a note of the three guidelines they think are most important.
comprehension B Ask students to briefly discuss their choices with a partner. Then have a short class
discussion about students’ ideas.
KEY LANGUAGE C Set the second reading task. Check answers.
Informal vs formal
Answer key
language: contact, 1 f (guideline 1) 4 a (guideline 7) 7 d (guideline 12)
disclose, ensure, 2 g (guideline 4) 5 h (guideline 9)
e-retailer, request a 3 i (guideline 6) 6 c (guideline 10)
refund, returned items,
seek redress, the Language development
unwary, transaction A Hand out Worksheet 3. Students work through the task. Check answers.
Advice language Answer key
(imperative form): 1 ensure
Always keep …; 2 e-retailer
Be wary of + -ing; 3 the unwary (Note Unwary is used with the definite article to refer to a group of
people – similar to ‘the rich and famous’ etc.)
Don’t worry!; If in 4 security
doubt, email …; 5 disclose
Never disclose …; 6 seek redress
Only give … 7 contact
8 transaction

PREPARATION
B This writing activity should be treated as ‘fluency writing’, where the emphasis is on subject
One copy of matter or information, rather than absolute accuracy. Elicit students’ ideas on the four
Worksheets 1, 2 and 3 points listed and write them in note form on the board as reference for the writing activity.
for each student Students look back at the text and highlight some of the language used to advise,
suggest, warn, remind and reassure before starting to write.
TIME Note The imperative is the only grammatical structure used in the ‘Online shopping
60 minutes guidelines’: Don’t worry!; Ensure (that) …; Make sure (that) …; Only give …; Be aware of
… ; Never disclose …; Always keep …; Be particularly cautious …; Be wary of + -ing;
If in doubt, email … .
Allow students about 10–12 minutes to write their five guidelines. Make a time limit clear
at the outset and impose it strictly. When they finish, students could exchange guidelines
with a partner and compare ideas.
Finally, ask individual students to read their most original or inventive guideline to the class.
C Students discuss the questions in pairs or groups.

NEW
12 14 Sample pages from Advanced Skills
Worksheet 1 Beware technology! Reading 2

A Complete the following questionnaire.

A
A £ $
$
£ Your b u y i n g h a b i t s A $ $
£
£
£
1 Which of these ways of buying things do you regularly use?
• cash debit card•
• cheques • credit card

2 How do you get cash when you need it?

• from the bank from your employer •
• from a cash machine • from somewhere else

• as cashback from a shop Where? .........................................................

3 Which of these places do you regularly buy things from?

• small private shops •
mail-order catalogues

• chain stores / large

department stores
• advertisements in
newspapers or magazines

• out-of-town shopping centres • the Internet

4 Complete these statements so that they are true for you.

•
I ............................................. buy things online.

• Buying online can be risky ............................................. .

• Buying from the Internet is ............................................. enjoyable than going shopping.

• Buying online is for ............................................. people.

B Compare your answers in pairs or groups.

How similar are your answers?
Would you say you have similar attitudes towards
buying things?

‘Don’t worry, Mum. I’m just

buying a few CDs.’

From Advanced Skills by Simon Haines © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE 15 13
Reading 2 Beware technology! Worksheet 2

A Read the text below which offers advice on shopping online. Which do you think are the three most
important guidelines?

Online shopping guidelines

Internet shopping offers many benefits to consumers. These include
opportunities to save time and money, greater choice, the
convenience of shopping when you like and having goods delivered,
and a powerful ability to find and compare information, products and
prices. Internet shopping is at least as safe as shopping in a store or
by phone, so there is no need for anyone to miss out on the benefits
it can provide. Here are some guidelines to help ensure that
everything runs smoothly for you.
1 Don’t worry! Shopping online is safe as long as you use your
common sense and always check the terms and conditions of
offers.
2 Ensure the e-retailer’s site provides a street address and a non-
mobile telephone number, not just an email address or post office
box.
3 Check that the spelling of the website name is accurate –
‘typosquatters’1 have been known to trick the unwary away from
genuine sites.
4 Make sure your shopping will be delivered in time! Good
merchants will advise you of delivery time scales and guarantee
a delivery time frame.
5 Only give your payment card details over a secure connection, and
never by email.
1 typosquatter: someone who creates a website with a domain name that is very close to the name of another site,
and in this way tricks people into visiting their site
2 encryption certificate: this is evidence that the website is secure because data is in code
3 PIN: Personal Identification Number (security number, like a password)
6 Be aware of the security features available both on the retailer’s
website and on your own browser. Only trade with companies
that have an encryption certificate2 and use secure transaction
technology. During checkout, look for a closed padlock symbol at
the bottom of the screen.
7 Never disclose your credit card’s PIN3 to anyone, including people
claiming to be from your bank or the police, and NEVER send it
over the Internet.
8 Always keep a record of every online transaction as proof of
order. Print off a copy of the order summary page as well as the
order confirmation page.
9 When you purchase goods from retailers overseas, be particularly
cautious, as it may be difficult to seek redress if problems arise.
10 If you have a problem, contact the company you ordered from. If
they do not give you satisfaction, contact your credit card
company.
11 Always check your credit card statement carefully. You have at
least 90 days to report any transaction you are not happy with to
your credit card company, who will usually refund all of your
money.
12 Be wary of opening files attached to emails, as they may contain
computer viruses. If in doubt, email or phone the sender to check
the file is OK before opening it.

B Compare your choices with a partner.

C Read the guidelines again and complete each sentence 1–7 with the correct ending a–i.You do not
need to use two of the endings.
1 Online shopping is not dangerous
2 Reliable retailers should let customers know
3 You should not buy things from an online company
4 You should never tell anyone your credit card PIN
5 It may be difficult to get problems resolved
6 Customers should get in touch with the credit card company
7 Computers may be infected with a virus

a … even if they say they are from the police.

b … if customers send back things they have bought.
c … if the retail company does not help them with a problem.
d … if customers open files attached to emails.
e … if they need to prove they have ordered something.
f … if customers check the terms and conditions of offers.
g … when their goods will be delivered.
h … if customers buy goods from other countries.
i … if it does not have an encryption certificate.

14 16 From Advanced Skills by Simon Haines © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Worksheet 3 Beware technology! Reading 2

Language development
A Which formal words and phrases in the ‘Online shopping guidelines’ on Worksheet 2 mean the
same as these informal equivalents?

Informal Formal equivalent from the text

Guidelines 1–6
1 make sure (1 word) ..............................................

2 Internet trader (1 word with a prefix) ..............................................

3 people who are not very careful (2 words) ..............................................

4 safety ..............................................

Guidelines 7–12
5 tell (something secret), make public (1 word) ..............................................

6 ask for things to be put right (2 words) ..............................................

7 get in touch with (1 word) ..............................................

8 business deal (1 word) ..............................................

B You are going to write a set of guidelines giving advice about taking care of your money when
travelling away from home.
1 Before you start writing, think about these points:

• common travel situations when people need to have money with them

• possible problems or dangers in these situations

• common ways of paying for things

• ways of making sure your money is not lost or stolen.

2 Make a note of the language used in the ‘Online shopping guidelines’ to advise or suggest, to warn, to
remind and to reassure.
3 Now, referring to your notes and using the ‘Online shopping guidelines’ as a model, write your set of
five guidelines.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................................................................
C Discuss the following questions in pairs or groups.
1 Have you ever bought anything on the Internet?

• If so, why did you decide to buy it on the Internet instead of in person? Would you do so again?

• If not, why not? Would you consider buying anything on the Internet?
2 Describe any good or bad experiences you or people you know have had with e-commerce.
3 Can you think of any more advice which should be added to the ‘Online shopping guidelines’?

From Advanced Skills by Simon Haines © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE 17 15