Fake News

Hi everyone!

I'm not as active on the blog as I'd like, but in any case I'm glad I can take a little while from time to time to share an activity with you here.

The topic I've chosen is fake news and the impressive advancement of technology that can enable us to create false impressions. Someone once said that, if it's technology that the general public knows about, then it's probably already obsolete! Don't doubt that what we can see in a video like this one is much less advanced than what the actual cutting-edge software can do.

It's still quite shocking that we can manipulate images and sounds in real time, and even if fakes are easy to spot at the moment, the effect that it can have on public opinion is quite unpredictable-- regardless of whether it is finally disproved or not.

So let's go for a bit of sentence completion to accompany this short BBC report:

1. Green screen or __________________ can give us virtual backdrops to interact with.

2. We’re only years away from creating realistic environments: in real time, we can manipulate voices, facial expressions and __________________ .

3. Some software operates by taking take one person’s facial expressions and __________________ on to another person’s features.

4. The development of these technologies requires ethical frameworks that could __________________ the implications they may have on society.

5. A new tool to manipulate voice __________________  by Adobe, the company who invented PhotoShop.

6. To spot a fake, the resulting altered audio would be __________________ , but that wouldn’t stop it from spreading.

7. Fakes can be debunked in __________________ , but this doesn’t stop people from believing them or from becoming viral.

8. One possible consequence of the dissemination of fakes is that solid evidence could be dismissed as __________________  by those who try to deceive us.

9. If there is a high level of distrust in institutions, a term like fake news is deployed in many ways, even to describe what is __________________ and __________________ .

10. This fast-paced technological advancement means we will have to refine how we __________________  from our senses.

Share your answers and your ideas on the topic in the comments section. Key here. Enjoy!

Rumours

Hi there!

It's been a long time since I've featured a news video here. It used to be a staple (2nd meaning) in this blog, so I'll try to include one from time to time.

The one for today is a video that I have chosen for two reasons: one is the topic, rumours and the buzzword of the moment, fake news. The other reason is the use of an informal construction of the passive voice: the passive with "get".


So, one comprehension activity for each one of these elements:

1. Complete two sentences with the verb based on...

2. Find at least two examples of the passive voice with get. 


The video is in American English, so remember that the verb "get" will be get, got, gotten.


Some context:

During a press briefing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer is asked to give an example of a "fake news" story. He gives one example from the G7 meeting, and an argument with the reporters ensues.

Enjoy!

Oh... and no, the key is not here yet... I'll wait to see some of your answers in the comments!

Topic video: tourism and conservation

Hello everyone!

One of the widest topics that we can deal with, it also includes some vocabulary on cities and transport.

An old piece of news about an eternal debate: is Venice selling itself to tourist exploitation? Work on the vocabulary first (you can use the widget on the right to help you), then answer the questions as accurately as possible. You can find a lot of useful collocations in the answers provided in the key.

Enjoy!

VOCABULARY

dwarfing
to (bitterly) resent sth
liner
vessel
guidelines
tide

QUESTIONS

What do those people against large cruise ships argue?
What is the justification given by the cruise company?
How many people does the tourist traffic in Venice amount to?
Who argues that there are far too many tourists?
How is the debate summarized at the end?

Occupy London protesters evicted

Hello there!

This is the video on Occupy London protesters being evicted from St Paul's on Tuesday. Some of you did this comprehension in class; in that case this will give you the chance to watch it again or check your answers with the key in a couple of days.

There's some vocabulary on law and order here, as well as some interesting expressions like "it's a shadow of its former self". Can you spot it? What do you think it means?

These are the comprehension questions:

1. Why is it certain that they are going to be evicted?
2. When are they going to leave?
3. How do they interpret the eviction?
4. How has the movement expanded?
5. What's the purpose of taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights?

Please give your answers in the comments! Thank you!

BBC News - student fees rise

Hello everyone!

The video for today was already seen as one of the "daily videos" for Avanzado 2. I have been trying to subtitle it but try as I might, there is always something wrong. Encarna had so kindly provided us with a transcript, and I don't want to waste it, so we'll do it the old way: I'll give you the link to the video, and post the transcript as a comment.

The video is in BBC News, and it's usually a pain to load. Please insist, refresh and refresh until it loads.

Some comprehension questions:

What is the cost of Theresa's university studies?

What do students have to do in Dani's class?

Why is the student community important in Maastricht?

What's the difference between local students and overseas students according to Nijls?

When they graduate, what are the advantages that the students at Maastricht will have over other British students?

Enjoy (again)!

Frankenstein exhibition and play

The video for today explores the creation of the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, which is back in the news thanks to a theatre play on show at the National Theatre.

Try to find the following information, and feel free to post your answers as a comment, including any evidence from the video. Something that you might want to be careful about is the name Shelley, which can refer both to the author of the novel (Mary) and to her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mind the context to know which of the two they're talking about at each point.

Enjoy!

1. Why is the presenter at the Bodleian Library in Oxford?

2. Date of the Shelleys’ trip to Geneva:

3. Expression to tell us that they are getting on well with their host:

4. Why did they have to spend most of the time indoors?

5. Who suggested that they all write a ghost story?

6. Where did Mary get the idea for Frankenstein from?

7. Number of novels she had written up to that moment:

8. What’s happened to Mary Shelley’s notebook?

9. Who wrote on the margins of the pages? Why?

10. What happens in the passage that they have in from of them?

11. Shelley tried to persuade her to _____________ to her great history inheritance.

12. Mary Wollstonecraft (author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women) was her __________

13. Full date of first publication:

14. Where did Walter Scott publish his guess that the novel might be by Shelley?