Unit 5 bargains from cyberspace free for the asking

1. Pronounce the following words and word combinations. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Disposal, effortless, appeal, bidder, auction, environmental, junk, brainchild, recycling, huge, far-flung, worthless, stuff, rubbish, overriding, reliability, corporate, tech-savy.

2. Give Russian equivalents to the following words and word combinations.

Cyberspace, effortless process, to get hands on all kinds of free goods, unwanted items, to sell to a bidder, online auction, to snap up, downtown, to subscribe to, to e-mail out lists, to be far from worthless, to recognise benefits, to channel unwanted items, overriding rule on smth, to buy more powerful software, to leave feedback about transactions, to rate the honesty and reliability of smb/smth.

3. Read the text again and answer the following questions.

1. Where is everything on offer free?

2. Where do Freecycle groups operate?

3. What is the appeal of this company?

4. What are the benefits of this company?

5. Is the most useless junk easily snapped up?

6. Whose brainchild was to create Freecycle?

7. How did the founder of the company realise to create Freecycle?

8. When did Mr. Beal start the Freecycle network?

9. What information does this website contain?

10. What was the number of Freecycle members in June?

11. Where are smaller Freecycle groups appearing?

12. Can you find useful things on this website? What kind of things can you find there?

13. What organisations have recognised the benefits of a free marketplace? Why?

14. What are the plans for the future?

4. Complete the sentences with the information taken from the text.

1. Freecycle website everything … … is free.

2. The company’s appeal is to help members to get rid of … … .

3. The most useless junk is … … within hours.

4. Freecycle is the … of Deron Beal, an environmentalist from Tucson, Arizona.

5. Mr. Beal set up an automated e-mailing list that anyone could … to.

6. Most of the goods offered on the Freecycle network are far from … .

7. Charities and other non-profit making organisations have recognised the … of a free marketplace.

8. The … … on Freecycle is that everything offered on the network must be free.

5. Explain the following English words and word combinations in your own words.

Cyberspace, bidder, unwanted items, online auction, brainchild, automated e-mailing list, message boards, overriding rule.

6. Decide which of the following statements are right and which are wrong. Give the correct variants.

1. Freecycle groups operate in wide areas and its appeal is to find more members.

2. Freecycle is the brainchild of Rachelle Strauss.

3. At first Mr. Beal’d e-mail out lists of the things people wanted to get rid of.

4. When he started his business, he got a lot of rubbish.

5. The benefits of Freecycle groups have been recognised by charities and other non-profit making organisations.

6. When the auction takes place there is always a risk that the buyer won’t pay.

7. Everything offered on the network must be free.

8. But Mr. Beal thinks that sometimes there are some things which should be paid for.