SEVENTH YEAR

KEY P1 2017

A. Rewrite these sentences without changing their meaning. (10)

Technology has influenced the way we hear about news stories.

BELIEVED
It IS BELIEVED TECHNOLOGY HAS INFLUENCED THE WAY we hear about news
stories.

2. I regret sharing his photo.

WISH
I WISH I HADN’T SHARED his photo.

3. Although the story lacked credibility, it went viral.

SPITE
In SPITE OF THE LACK OF CREDIBIBILITY / LACKING CREDIBILITY, THE STORY
went viral.

4. I’m almost sure this photo was taken by a citizen journalist.

MUST
This photo MUST HAVE BEEN TAKEN by a citizen journalist.

5. ‘I won’t reveal the source of the information,’ the reporter told the police.
REFUSED
The reporter REFUSED TO REVEAL the source of the information to the police.

B. Complete the text with the correct tense or form of the verbs in brackets. Use modals, if
necessary. (15)

How to stop a Facebook hoax

In 2012, Nolan Daniels posted a picture of himself on Facebook with a ‘winning’ lottery ticket and
1
OFFERED $1 million to one lucky person who shared his photo. He 2HAD NEVER POSTED a
public status on Facebook before, but he wanted to see who 3WOULD FALL for the scam and
share it. Two days later, his photo 4WENT / WAS GOING viral, with more than 2 million Facebook
users sharing it. However, soon after that, an anti-hoax website exposed the story as a scam. If it
hadn’t been for this website, people 5WOULD HAVE CONTINUED sharing the photo for a long
time.
Unfortunately, misinformation, scams and hoaxes 6ARE COMMONLY FOUND on the web. News
stories can sometimes help expose corruption, but at other times they can be inaccurate or false.
Nevertheless, this misinformation can 7BE DEALT with. For example, experts advise us 8NOT TO
POST stories that aren’t verified. They also tell us that if a story lacks credibility, we 9SHOULD
TRACE the sources to make sure the facts are true.
 SEVENTH YEAR

KEY P1 2017

As Facebook users, we set the agenda for the type of information that we share. Therefore, we
should avoid 10POSTING a story on our timeline that is inaccurate or false.

C. Fill in the blanks with only ONE WORD. (10)

Digital Shoplifting

While you’ve been looking at a book, newspaper or glossy magazine in a shop, have you 1EVER
taken a photo with your phone so that you could look at it later? Perhaps you spotted someone
with a stylish haircut, and thought ‘I’d like to 2HAVE / GET my hair cut like that. I think I’ll show
this to my hairdresser next week.’ It seems an innocent enough action, but 3IF you are caught,
you might be asked to leave the store. What is 4MORE, you might even be arrested by the police!
‘Digital shoplifting’ is a crime 5BUT / THOUGH / ALTHOUGH it’s one that few people realize
they’re committing. Officially, you 6MUST always get permission before sharing other people’s
photos. That’s the law. But how 7MANY of us ever get round to doing that?
Many retailers and publishers are now protesting about ‘digital shoplifting’ 8BECAUSE / SINCE /
AS they believe it’s cheating them out of valuable sales. 9UNLESS you buy the publication you’ve
photographed, they won’t make any profit. Unfortunately, most of us tend to leave it on the shelf.
So, be careful the next time you think about using your camera phone in a bookshop or
newsagent’s. You can never tell – someone 10MAY / MIGHT / CAN / COULD be watching you…

D. Complete the following conversation. (10)

SUGGESTED ANSWERS

At a small local newspaper office, two young reporters are having the following
conversation:

Nick: I’m sick and tired of this small town. Nothing ever happens here!
Paul: Yes, I know what you mean. I wish (1) SOMETHING HAPPENED FOR A
CHANGE.
Nick: I have an idea! Why don’t we (2) INVENT SOME NEWS?
Paul: Are you crazy?? I’m not going to do that.
Nick: What’s wrong with a little fun?
Paul: Inventing news is not fun. Plus, it is not serious either.
Nick: Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry for even suggesting the idea. If only (3) WE HAD
SOMETHING TO DO.
Paul: Don’t worry. We’ll think about something. Let’s play a game to relax… Let’s
see… If you could interview anyone famous, (4) WHO WOULD YOU
CHOOSE / WHO WOULD THAT PERSON BE?
Nick: Oh, I don’t know… and I don’t care because I’ll never interview anyone
famous in this small town!!
 SEVENTH YEAR

KEY P1 2017

Paul: You’re being so negative! We’d better (5) STOP TALKING TO DO SOME
WORK.
Nick: Yes, good idea.

E. Read the passage and answer the questions in your own words. (25)

Armed with a smartphone

Friday 11 March 2011 started like any other day on Twitter. A celebrity story was trending
that morning, along with business news about Google, when suddenly at 12.56 a.m.,
thousands of tweets started coming out of Tokyo. Something big had happened in the
area, and Twitter was first to report it: a massive earthquake had hit Japan, followed by a
huge tsunami. Eyewitness testimonies from cities rocked by the quake flooded the web,
and then as the tsunami swept the coastline, people posted footage on YouTube and
Facebook. The camera work was shaky, but the content was compelling – their world was
falling apart, yet they continued to film.
Over the last few years, the big news stories, such as the Japanese earthquake in 2011
and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 have been reported mainly by ordinary individuals. It was
citizen journalists armed with smartphones who brought these stories to the world. Mobile
technology has enabled people at the scene of the event to post videos, photos and
commentary more quickly than paid journalists. The landscape of reporting and of deciding
what is newsworthy has changed: news organizations and their reporters no longer set the
agenda.
The content of the news has changed, too, as stories told by citizen journalists are often
more personal and have more emotional appeal. Unlike investigative journalism, these
blog posts and tweets seldom include background information or give a broad overview.
People haven’t got time to collect and scrutinize facts or explore the bigger picture. A
YouTube video may cover battles between police and protestors at a G20 demonstration,
but it probably won’t delve into why there was a protest, what may have caused the
situation and what the possible outcomes could be.
But in other ways, citizen journalism supports investigative journalism. It is now easier for
ordinary people to expose corruption in government and private companies. In Africa, a
virtual noticeboard called Mimiboard helps people to report rigged elections and human
right abuses. These noticeboards create pressure for change and reform, and sometimes
they work – corrupt government officials have been sacked and international companies
have changed their working conditions. But because of the risks involved, Mimiboard relies
on anonymous posts, and anonymous publishing comes with its own set of challenges: it
makes it very difficult to verify information.
The freedom to publish whatever we want is exciting and empowering, but there are
serious ethical implications. Unlike traditional journalism, citizen journalism is largely
unregulated, with little or no accountability – there is no one to check the facts or trace
sources. People can spread rumours or anonymously post a defamatory article and get
away with it.
Citizen journalism is still finding its way. Yet, despite the challenges, this new way of
reporting the news has had a largely positive and democratizing effect. Armed with our
smartphones, we are now telling our own stories, controlling our own destinies and
creating impact and change around the world. ‘The choice we face,’ says Clay Shirky,
professor in new media at New York University, ‘isn’t whether or not this is the media
environment we want to operate in. This is the environment we’ve got. The question we all
face now is, “How can we make the best use of this media?”’
 SEVENTH YEAR

KEY P1 2017

1. How did the world first learn about the Japanese earthquake in 2011?

THROUGH TWITTER.

2. In what ways are citizen journalists’ reports different from professional reports?

CITIZEN JOURNALISTS’ REPORTS LACK BACKGROUND INFORMATION OR A

BROAD OVERVIEW.

3. How can citizen journalists help investigative journalists?

SHOWING / REPORTING CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE

COMPANIES.

4. What is the problem with anonymous reporting?

THE FACTS ARE NOT CHECKED AND THE SOURCES ARE NOT TRACED.

5. Why has citizen journalism had a democratizing effect?

BECAUSE WE ARE TELLING OUR OWN STORIES AND CONTROLLING OUR OWN
DESTINIES.