POST A SECRET

Have you got a secret that you have never shared with anyone? Thanks to a popular website called
PostSecret, you can now get your secret off your chest without actually risking anything. All you have to do
is write your secret on one side of a self-made postcard and go to the nearest post office to send it. You
remain anonymous. If your postcard appeals to Frank Warren, the creator of the website, he will post it on
his blog, where it will be read by millions of visitors.
The secrets on PostSecret are extremely varied. Some are funny, many are sad and some are philosophical.
One postcard said: “I still haven’t told my father that I have the same disease that killed my mother.” Some
secrets are sent on objects other than postcards. For example, Warren received one secret printed on a cup
from the popular coffeehouse chain, Starbucks. It read: “When customers are rude to me, I give them
decaffeinated coffee.”
The PostSecret project started in 2004 when Warren was preparing an art exhibition. He decided to print out
postcards inviting strangers to submit a true secret that they had never shared with anyone. Initially, he
received about 100 postcards, which he then used to form his exhibition. To Warren’s surprise, the postcards
kept coming long after the exhibition was over. In 2007, Warren began posting some of the most creative
and interesting submissions on his blog
Today, PostSecret is one of the most popular blogs in the world, with an estimated 2.3 million visitors a
month. Warren gets an average of 200 postcards a day, and to date, he has received more than 100,000
cards.
The site does not directly generate profit since it does not allow advertisements. However, Warren is making
money from books that he has published and from travelling art exhibitions which include selections of the
best postcards he has received. As more and more postcards continue to arrive at his family home, it seems
that Warren certainly holds the key to one important secret: the secret of success.

1. Answer the following sentences about the text:

A) How are secrets sent to the PostSecret website?
……………………………………………………………………………
B) How did the PostSecret project start?
……………………………………………………………………………

2. Say if these statements are TRUE or FALSE. Find evidence in the text to justify your answers.
a) Warren expected his idea to catch on. T/F
…………………………………………………………………………..
b) Warren has made money thanks to the project. T/F
………………………………………………………………………….

3. Find words or expressions in the text that mean:

a) illness ……………..
b) at first ……………..
c) earnings ……………..
4.1. Change this sentence into the Reported Speech:
A woman said: “I haven’t told my father that I have the same disease that killed my mother last year”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4.2. Write the question for the underlined part of this answer:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………?
Secrets will be read by millions of visitors to the blog.
4.3. Combine the sentences using a relative pronoun:
Warren received a secret. The secret was printed on a cup.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Write a composition of about 60-80 words. Choose one of the following topics:

a) Describe an occasion when you found out about a certain secret.

b) In your opinion, why is an Internet site where people can post their secrets so popular?