1.

1 Binge-watching
Binge-watching has become a popular way of consuming television and movie content, with streaming services
making it easier than ever to marathon entire seasons or movie franchises in a single sitting. With the growing
number of original series and the convenience of on-demand viewing, binge-watching has transformed how
we watch television and has become a ubiquitous part of popular culture.
This week, we wanted to provide a unique look into the different experiences and perspectives on binge-
watching within families. So, we talked to various members of the Evans family to discuss their habits and
attitudes towards this trend.
13-year-old Amelia admits to being a huge binge-watcher. She says, ‘For me, it’s an important part of fitting in.
My friend Denise isn’t allowed to watch loads of television at home, and that makes joining in conversations
really hard’. So now, Denise comes to the Evans house to binge-watch. Amelia admits that she doesn’t do much
besides watching films and series. Once keen on ballet, she gave that up years ago and hasn’t picked up
anything else since. However, Amelia knows that her grades at school are crucial in determining her ability to
continue her TV-viewing habits.
Her mother, Karen, realises that Amelia is getting into a bad habit, but hasn’t done anything about it. ‘If I
stopped her, then I would have to cut down on the amount that I watch to set a good example, and to be
honest, I don’t want to,’ she says. ‘After a hard day doing work and chores, who doesn’t love chilling out for a
few hours with some episodes of a good drama? Besides, it’s not like I could do anything else instead, like join
an evening class. I rarely get a chance to sit down before eight o’clock’.
Kyle, aged 17, usually has a video playing in his room. ‘I wouldn’t call myself a binge-watcher, though,’ he says.
‘I’m not one of those people who watch all the latest series as soon as they are released. For me, it’s just
background noise while I’m getting on with my hobbies. I just let it play whatever comes up next. I’ve seen all
sorts of interesting stuff that I’d never choose for myself. I once saw a guy teaching how to cut up different fish.
That was really cool.’
Father, Rob, sees it in financial terms. ‘The monthly fee for streaming services is quite expensive, but in terms
of the amount of entertainment we get, it’s good value. And the more you watch, the cheaper it gets. It’s much
less than going out to the cinema, and everyone can watch whatever they like. Plus, even though movies or
series are often bad, you can just switch to something else. Some of my friends have stopped paying for
streaming services recently, saying they’re too expensive. That’s their loss’.
Rob’s mother, Gill, is less enthusiastic, despite once enjoying watching back-to-back episodes of her favourite
classic drama while bedridden due to illness. ‘I remember having to wait a whole week for the next episode of
that series to come out,’ she says. ‘And months for the next series. You got the excitement of wondering what
was going to happen next. Nowadays, you get everything as soon as you want it, not like old-fashioned TV, and
I think you lose something as a result’.
Meanwhile, Karen’s brother Kevin is interested in the intelligent design of streaming platforms. ‘They make
recommendations based on what you’ve enjoyed, and often the recommendations are right up your street, so
I guess that encourages binge-watching. Some people say that this limits what you watch. I’m not sure I agree,
though. As a sci-fi fan, live-streaming services have introduced me to some great foreign and low-budget
movies and series that I wouldn’t have known about. I’m sure that up-and-coming filmmakers worldwide are
benefiting from that promotion.’
1.Which of the following has resulted from Amelia's binge-watching habit?
a. She has poor conversation skills. b. She does not have any hobbies. c. She has problems fitting in.
d. She has improved her grades at school.
2. What is Karen’s attitude to watching series on television?
a. She'll try to watch less television, to set a good example. b. She watches television before eight.
c. She watches a lot of television as a way to relax.
d. She plans to do an evening class to reduce television time.
3. What does Kyle enjoy watching? a. Series, although not the most recent ones.
b. Instructional videos related to his hobbies and interests. c. Videos that he didn’t pick himself.
d. Programmes that his friends have recommended.
4. What does Rob think about streaming services?
a. They are well worth the money if you are a binge-watcher.
b. They aren’t as enjoyable as going out to the cinema.
c. They aren’t worth it because the movies and series are often bad.
d. He may stop paying for them soon because they are too expensive.
5. Gill thinks that binge-watching... a. is good entertainment for people with long-term illnesses.
b. is better, as you don’t have to wait to find out what happens.
c. results in people wasting a lot of their time. d. prevents people from enjoying a sense of expectation.
6. Kevin feels that live streaming platforms... a. only recommend videos that they is trying to promote.
b. prevent people from watching a wide range of videos.
c. are helping people new to the film industry to get attention.
d. aren’t very good at recommending things to watch.
1.2 Deadly TikTok challenges
TikTok, the popular app that allows users to create and share short videos, is now the most downloaded app in
the world. One of the most popular ways users engage with the app is to carry out challenges. 1 __ A
successful challenge will go viral, with hundreds of thousands of people around the world taking part.
Copying another person’s video is hardly original or creative. Even so, it’s easy to see the appeal, especially
among young audiences. Anyone with a Smartphone can get involved. 2 __ Users can just ride the trend to
gain popularity. As a result, challenges are ideal for people who have a little spare time, enjoy performing and
like getting attention. Unsurprisingly, most of those who take part are children, teenagers and young adults.
The problem is that these are the very people who are most at risk from performing challenges. This is because
the part of the brain that handles rational thought is not fully developed in humans until we are in our mid-
20s. Until then, we are less able to make long-term plans and analyse risk. It’s no secret that the young brain
values things that provide a sense of inclusion and popularity. 3 __.
The Tik Tok challenge trend has had severe consequences. In 2020, the ‘skull-breaker’ challenge, which
involves two people kicking a third person’s legs to make them fall over, caused teenagers in both the UK and
the US to be badly injured. In response, TikTok stated that it did not allow content that encourages dangerous
challenges that might lead to injury. 4 __ Any such content on its platform would be removed. Users searching
for the skull-breaker challenge would only see a warning about its dangers.
This reaction was clearly not thorough enough because, in 2021, several fatal incidents occurred resulting from
another viral challenge on Tiktok, the ‘blackout’ challenge, which encouraged people to choke themselves until
they passed out. Three youngsters died from attempting this challenge in January 2021. This was followed later
in the year by a number of deaths in the USA and UK. Two of those who died were young girls under the age of
ten. 5__
The challenge did not actually originate on TikTok, nor is it the only platform where videos of it have spread.
According to a TIME report in 2018, millions of videos of the ‘Pass Out Challenge’ were currently on YouTube.
However, where and when the viral trend originated is not known. 6 __ They say that the videos were
intentionally and repeatedly pushed onto their children’s feeds, encouraging them to participate. They claim
that the company has prioritised corporate profits over the health and safety of its users.
a. The bereaved families are suing TikTok for spreading the challenge among impressionable youngsters.
b. They allow users not only to express their creativity through editing and special effects but also to
participate and engage with a worldwide community.
c. These encourage people to video themselves doing some kind of activity, such as singing, dancing or acting.
d. The more attention a young person’s stunt might get, the less likely he or she is to consider its potential
risks.
e. It added that doing so was not funny and certainly wouldn’t make users famous.
f. No talent is required beyond a little extroversion and commitment.
g. Even so, the parents of the deceased youngsters claim that TikTok’s ‘dangerous’ algorithms are responsible
for their children’s deaths
1.3 Where are the Harry Potter Stars now?
The actors who played the children in the Harry Potter movies are now adults. So how have their early
experiences shaped their lives?
A. Daniel Ratcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the eight films, has recently been reading memes featuring him
in his famous role and has only just realized that many people considered him cool. At the time, he felt as
insecure as anyone that age. The English actor says that although he now has a successful acting career, he
always finds the early Harry Potter movies difficult to watch because he admits he wasn’t very good at acting.
The young actors received coaching in singing and dancing on set, but never any acting training in all the time
they were on set, so he feels his early films are very one-dimensional. It wasn’t until he met actor Gary Oldman
on set in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that he began to understand how to approach a role. Daniel
says he never particularly wanted an acting career but fell into the job. In fact, in an early interview, Daniel told
viewers that he wanted to be a professional wrestler!
B. Rupert Grint, who played Harry’s friend Ron Weasley, found being a famous actor very isolating as a child
and teenager. Being around adults so much, he felt very strange when returning to his peers to do exams, as he
thought he had little in common with them. After filming the fourth film in the series, he even considered
quitting the series, as it was “a bit of a drag”. Rupert also found being well-known a big sacrifice and even
scary. He was instantly recognizable whenever he went out, and people he didn’t know took photos of him.
The young actor says he disliked being known as Ron Weasley and nothing else. But he has got used to the
attention, and, despite these negative aspects, says that the Harry Potter films were an amazing part of his life
which he is proud to be a part of.
C. Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the series, always felt a great connection to her character,
as both were perfect students and neither were very cool. She admits to having become rather obsessed with
her character to the extent that she could not separate her own identity from hers. Watson feels that she has
missed out on her own teenage years as she was “being Hermione” all that time. Since the series ended,
Emma has been able to focus more on herself. She continued her studies, getting top grades, in case her acting
career didn’t work out, but has gone on to star in a number of films. No longer seeking blockbuster films, she
chooses smaller, high-quality films that mean something to her personally. She has also become a well-
respected ambassador for women’s rights. Despite her success, Emma has had to undergo a lot of therapy due
to her fame. As a teenager, she often felt that her life as Hermione was so “big” that she lost her own identity.
She also feels guilty for not enjoying the fame and attention that she has received. However, by focusing on her
family and home life, she has managed to form an identity for herself beyond Hermione.
1.___ thought about leaving the Harry Potter series.
2.___ felt that (s)he and his/her character had a lot in common.
3. ___ didn’t feel fashionable while acting in the series.
4. As a teenager, ____ felt that other teens were different from him/her.
5. ____ felt ashamed because (s)he didn’t like being famous.
6.___ is embarrassed by his/her lack of talent as a young actor.
7. ___ felt that his/her character’s personality took over his/her own.
8. ___ considered education as important as acting.
1.4 Scamming the Scammers
Tiffany Wilson is a scambaiter; that is, she spends time communicating with scammers in order to catch them
out. Here she tells her story.
‘I first got into scambaiting when my grandmother got tempted into adopting a puppy. She’d seen some
pictures of cute puppies on social media, along with a text saying that they were going to get killed unless
someone adopted them. Fortunately, I warned her before it was too late. Scammers attract people with
bargain prices, so she didn’t lose much. It isn’t until later, when people have fallen in love with their puppy,
that the scammers start demanding huge amounts of money. We tried to get the money back from the bank,
but that wasn’t possible.
‘I was already familiar with the puppy scam then. We’d learnt about scamming during internet safety classes at
school, though I heard about the puppy scam elsewhere. It was mentioned in an online video about the
different ways scammers get money out of people. I think my generation knows much more about scamming
than older people. It’s occasionally mentioned in the kinds of news articles my grandma reads, but people my
age who see loads of scambaiting videos have a much better idea of how common scamming is and the tactics
that are used.
‘Scambaiting involves engaging scammers in conversation. When they ask you to do something, you act a little
stupid by asking lots of questions or making mistakes. It’s frustrating for them, but they stay on the line
patiently because they think they will get money out of you. I don’t think you can be a scambaiter unless you
are pretty sociable, as you have to talk to people for a long time. Most scambaiters put videos of their calls
online, and the popular ones are very funny.
‘I scambait first and foremost because I want to help people recognise scams, and although most viewers of
my videos are young, I’m sure the content they learn passes on to other family members. It’d be nice if I
actually helped to get a scammer arrested, but there are just too many scammers for police to deal with. But
as long as I am wasting a scammer’s time, that person can’t be scamming someone else. I also get a bit of
income from the adverts that go out on my videos.
‘Some scambaiters go too far, though, when creating entertainment by punishing the scammers. I saw one
video in which the scambaiter convinced a scammer that he had a well-paid job for him in Lagos. The guy used
all his money to travel to the capital of Nigeria, and when he got there, there was nothing for him. For the
scambaiter and the viewers, that was all a big joke. For that poor guy in Africa who was trying to earn a living
by any means, it was a real situation and it could have been dangerous.
‘I’m aware that scambaiting doesn’t promote good international relationships. The most popular of my videos
are the ones that make the scammers look foolish, and I’m forever deleting racist comments. I know that a lot
of scammers are really poor. They believe that all Westerners are rich and that scamming them does little
harm. I’ve tried to convince scammers to get a more responsible job, but I haven’t had any luck yet, as they
have few employment opportunities. But I hope the conversations I have with them go some way in helping
people understand the lives of people in poor countries and the things they have to do for cash.’
1. Tiffany’s grandmother... a. paid a small amount of money to scammers.
b. didn’t pay any money to scammers. c. lost a lot of money to scammers.
d. paid a lot of money to scammers but was later refunded.
2. How did Tiffany find out about the puppy scam? a. From an internet safety class at school.
b. From a video that was made by a scambaiter. c. From an online source.
d. From a news article her grandmother read.
3. According to Tiffany, all scambaiters need to be...
a. good actors b. patient c. not good at technology d. sociable
4. Which one is NOT a reason why Tiffany scambaits?
a. To educate people. b. To help police catch scammers. c. To waste scammers’ time. d. To earn money.
5. What behaviour by a scambaiter did Tiffany find particularly shocking?
a. A scambaiter stole money that the scammer had earned from scamming.
b. A scambaiter discovered a scammer’s address and travelled there to film him.
c. A scambaiter tricked the scammer into spending his money to get a fake job.
d. A scambaiter got the scammer a job in order to trick him.
6. What is Tiffany currently trying to do on her videos?
a. Make scammers appear foolish. b. To change scammers’ perceptions of Westerners.
c. Help scammers find other jobs. d. Educate viewers about the lives of scammers.