Are you a blogger too?

Only a few years ago, a “web log” was a little-known way of keeping an online diary.  At that time, it seemed like “blogs” (as they quickly became known) were only for serious computer geeks or obsessives.

This didn’t last long, though, and within a very short period of time, blogs exploded – blogs were everywhere, and it seemed that almost everyone read blogs, or was a blogger.

The blogging craze of a couple of years ago (when it was estimated that ten new blogs were started somewhere in the world every minute) now seems to have died down a bit – yet thousands of blogs (probably the better ones) remain.  Blogs are no now longer seen as the exclusive possession of geeks and obsessives, and are now seen as important and influential sources of news and opinion.  So many people read blogs now, that it has even been suggested that some blogs may have been powerful enough to influence the result of the recent US election.

Blogs are very easy to set up – all you need is a computer, an internet connection and the desire to write something.  The difference between a blog and a traditional internet site is that a blog is one page consisting mostly of text (with perhaps a few pictures), and – importantly – space for people to respond to what you write.  The best blogs are similar to online discussions, where people write in responses to what the blogger has written.  Blogs are regularly updated – busy blogs are updated every day, or even every few hours.

Not all blogs are about politics, however.  There are blogs about music, film, sport, books – any subject you can imagine has its enthusiasts typing away and giving their opinions to fellow enthusiasts or anyone else who cares to read their opinions.

So many people read blogs now that the world of blog writers and blog readers has its own name – the “blogosphere”. 

But how influential, or important, is this blogosphere really?  One problem with blogs is that many people who read and write them seem only to communicate with each other.  When people talk about the influence of the blogosphere, they do not take into account the millions of people around the world who are not bloggers, never read blogs, and don’t even have access to a computer, let alone a good internet connection.

Sometimes, it seems that the blogosphere exists only to influence itself, or that its influence is limited to what is actually quite a small community.  Blogs seem to promise a virtual democracy – in which anyone can say anything they like, and have their opinions heard – but who is actually listening to these opinions?  There is still little hard evidence that blogs have influenced people in the way that traditional mass media (television and newspapers) have the ability to do.

1. According to the first paragraph, a ‘web log’ or ‘blog’ _______

A didn’t last long.

B is a kind of an online diary.

C is read or written by everyone.

D is only for serious computer geeks or obsessives.

2. Which of the following can be inferred from text?

A The popularity of blogging has recently decline.

B The enthusiasm for blogging has increased for the last two years.

C At present ten new blogs are started somewhere in the world every minute.

D Most blogs are about politics.

3. What is the main difference between a blog and a traditional Internet site?

A There’s no difference.

B A blog can never have any pictures.

C An Internet site consists mostly of text.

D There’s a space for people to respond in a blog.

4. What does the author mean by saying that ‘Blogs are now seen as important and influential sources of news and opinions’?

A Blogs are means of political control.

B Blogs can have an effect on the popular beliefs and social processes in the community.

C Blogs seem to promise a virtual democracy.

D Blogs have influenced people in the way that traditional mass media do.

5. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?

A The best blogs are similar to intercommunication conversations.

B Blogs are rarely updated.

C Not all people in the world read blogs and have access to a computer.

D Blogosphere exists to influence the society.

Exercise 4. Translate the text into Ukrainian.

An operating system (OS) is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system. A user cannot run an application program on the computer without an operating system, unless the application program is self booting.

Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other resources.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and will frequently call the OS or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer, from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers. Examples of popular modern operating systems include Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.

A PRACTICAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR: Past Simple and Present Perfect

Past Simple in regular verbs is formed by adding ed to the infinitive:

Infinitive: to work Past Simple: worked

Verbs ending in e add d only:

Infinitive: to love Past Simple: loved

The same form is used for all persons:

I worked you worked he worked etc

The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn’t) and the infinitive:

I did not/didn’t work, you did not/didn’t work etc.

The interrogative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did + subject + infinitive

Did I work? Did you work? etc.

Negative interrogative: did you not?/didn’t you work? etc.

Spelling notes: words of one syllable having one vowel and ending in a single consonant double the consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel:

knit + ed = knitted but help, helped (two consonants)

When the final consonant is w, x or y it does not double:

row + ed = rowed

Verbs ending in y following a consonant change the y into i before adding ed:

carry, carried try, tried

but y following a vowel does not change: obey, obeyed

The past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is done there is no difficulty, as irregular verbs have no inflexions in the past tense.

The Past Simple is used for actions completed in the past at a definite time:

1) for a past action when the time is given:

I met him yesterday. Pasteur died in 1895.

2) when the action took place at a definite time even though this time is not mentioned:

The train was ten minutes late. I bought this car in Montreal.

3) for a past habit:

He always carried an umbrella. They never drank wine.

Present Perfect is formed with the present tense of have + the past participle: I have worked.

The negative is formed by adding not to the auxiliary.

The interrogative is formed by inventing the auxiliary and subject.

This tense may be said to be a sort of mixture of present and past. It always implies a strong connection with the present and is chiefly used in conversations, letters, newspapers and television and redio reports:

1) with just for a recently completed action:

Has he just gone out?

2) for past actions whose time is not definite:

I have read the instructions but I don’t understand them.

3) often have results in present:

Tom has had a bad car crash.

4) for actions which occur further back in the past, provided the connexion with the present is stll maintained, that is that the action could be repeated in the present:

I have seen wolves in that forest.

Exercise 1. Put the verbs in brackets into Past Simple or Present Perfect.

Dear Tom,

Thank you for your letter. It 1) ………(arrive) yesterday and I 2) ……….. (decide) to write back immediately. You see, my agent 3) ……….. (find) me a part in a new film and I’m going to Hollywood next week! I 4) …………. (speak) to Robert Redford on the phone about the part and I’m meeting him as soon as I arrive. The film is a re-make of a 1956 thriller which I 5) ………. (see) hundreds of times. It starred Marilyn Monroe who, as you know, I 6) ………….. (meet) when I was a little girl. Yesterday I 7) ………… (buy) lots of new clothes and I 8) …………….(already/start) packing. Well, I must rush now.

There’s so much to do!

Love,

Sharon

Exercise 2. Fill in with Past Simple or Present Perfect.

1. A: I …………. (you/be) on holiday this year?

B: No, I ……….. (can/not) go, because I …………… (break) my leg in August and …………….. (have) to stay in hospital.

2. A: …………. (you/visit) the National Museum yet?

B: Yes, I ……………… (be) there three times, but I …………… (not/see) everything yet.

3. A: I’m ever so sorry, Jim, but I …………. (burn) your dinner. Maria …………. (phone) and I …………… (forget) about food.

B: That’s okay. I …………… (already/eat).

4. A: I …………. (buy) a new dress yesterday, but when I ……….. (arrive) home, I …………… (find) a hole in the seam.

B: What ………… (you/do)? ……………… (you/take) it back to the shop?

A: No, I ………. (not/be) into town yet. I’ll do it this afternoon.

5. A: Your hair …………….. (grow) a lot since I last ……………. (see) you.

B: Yes. I ……………. (want) to get it cut yesterday but I ……………….. (be) too busy.

6. A: I ……………. (never/fly) before and I’m very nervous about it.

B: I …………….. (feel) like that the first time I ………….. (fly), but I thoroughly ………….. (enjoy) it.

7. A: I ……………… (lose) my glasses.

B: No. Where ………….. (you/put) them?

A: I ………… (put) them on the table a minute ago, but they’re not there now.

8. A: …………….. (you/ever/meet) anyone famous?

B: Yes, I ………… (speak) to Paul McCarthney and I …………. (see) John Lennon before he was killed.

9. A: Where …………… (you/go) on holiday?

B: To Rhodes. ………………. (you/be) there?

A: Yes, I ………….. (go) there last year. We ………… (swim) every day. It was great!

10. A: How’s your job, Mike?

B: I …………… (just/start) a new one. I …………… (leave) the old one because they ……………. (not/pay) me enough money.

11. A: When ...................... (you/leave) school?

B: I …………….. (leave) in 1997, I ……………… (finish) university in 2002 and I ………….. (have) three jobs since then.

12. A: …………………. (you/see) “Barabas” on TV last night?

B: No I …………….. (see) it so many times already that I …………… (not/want) to watch it again.