I Read the article and answer your teacher’s questions.

Shopping on the Internet Book of the Future

Shopping on the Internet, or shopping on-line is becoming more and more popular. More and more people are using the internet to buy things. Why do people use the Internet to shop? Some people say it is more convenient. They don't have to leave their homes to order something, and they can shop for anything they want at any time, day or night. Other people say they can find things for sale that they can't find in the stores near their homes. Still other people say they can find better prices on the Internet.

If you want to buy something on the Internet, you need a credit card. You have to type your credit card number and information on the website and send it to the store over the Internet. You have to be sure that the store will not use your information in the wrong way. You don't want someone to get your credit card number and charge something to your account. Of course, you always have to be careful with your credit card number, because people sometimes steal credit card numbers from stores and restaurants too.

For people who are too nervous to shop on-line, the Internet is a good place to go window-shopping. Window-shopping is when you go to a store and look at the things for sale, but don't plan to buy anything. Window-shopping is easy on the Internet. You can see what kinds of products are available and how much they cost. You can visit stores with branches near you, or you can visit stores that are only on the Internet. (1183)

II Read the text and prove that Paralympics Games have become more popular than ever.

Speak about the importance of sport in people’s lives.

SOON online magazine

Paralympics Games

Just a few weeks after the Olympic Games, it’s time for the Paralympics. They are the Olympic event for athletes with physical and mental disabilities.

The idea of Paralympics Games was born in 1948, when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition in England for World War II veterans with physical disabilities. Four years later, the event became international when participants from Holland joined in. In 1960 the Paralympics finally became an Olympic event. Four hundred athletes came to the first Paralympics Games in Rome in 1960. In Athens in 2004, more than 3800 athletes from all over the world competed in 19 different sports.

By the way, ‘para’ is a Greek word meaning ‘alongside/beside’. So the word Paralympics means ‘the Games parallel to the Olympic Games’.

III Speak to your teacher. You begin the conversation.

Your friend has just returned from an English-speaking country. Ask him about the places of interest he/she was able to see there, and which of them he/she was impressed by.