My Friends Online

• Lyrics
• Magazine column
How do you like to express yourself and the opinions you have about
important things? Do you prefer to speak or write when you want to
share your thoughts with other people?
In this unit, we combine the two by rapping. We start by looking
at some rap lyrics about the problem of addiction to online social
networking, and then a magazine column about rapping.
My Friends Online
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1.What social or moral issues
currently concerns you? Write
your ideas down in a few simple
sentences ending with a short
word that is easy to rhyme.
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2. Read your sentences. Then, get
a rhythm in your head and read
them with this rhythm. Which way
of reading do you like more? Why?
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20
2
My friends online are really cool
We chat for hours when I’m home from school
I open FaceTime and close the door
My friends are waiting. Who could ask for more?
We chat about stuff we’ve done today
We chat about movies and games we play
We chat about the music we like and hate
We chat about the bands we think are great
Kenny in Canada’s a brilliant guy
His dad owns a plane and he’s learning to fly
His mum is an actress on daytime TV
He lives in a castle overlooking the sea
Jenny in London’s a friend of the Queen
Who likes wearing hats and anything green
Jen knows the Beckhams and goes round to tea
When I visit London she says she’ll take me
Jason in Sydney’s dad runs a zoo
With pandas, koalas and a striped kangaroo
Jase has a speedboat his friends think is hot
His mum owns a sports car, a train and a yacht
John-Paul in Paris knows Iron Man
They go out to dinner whenever they can
His sister’s a chef with her own posh café
John says he’ll visit me next year in May
25
30
My online friends don’t know the real me
They chat to the person I’d like to be
I open FaceTime and close the door
And shut out reality. Who could ask for more?
I lie about the stuff I’ve done today
I fib about the movies and the games I play
I make up stories of friends I once had
I close FaceTime and suddenly I’m sad
I am alone
it up
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40
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We always understand and
appreciate something better
when we know exactly what it is.
We recognize a newspaper article,
a letter of complaint or a film
review because we know what
these things are. But a rap? What
exactly is a rap? Rapping is the art
form of speaking or chanting
rhyming lyrics. A rap is different
from spoken poetry or a song
in that it is performed to a very
strong beat or rhythm. A rap is
something that fits in between a
speech, a piece of prose, a poem
and a song. Artists who write and
perform raps will tell you that a
rap’s use of rhyme and beat makes
it the most advanced of all forms
of poetry. Rhyme and beat are
the most important factors in rap
writing. Rhyme is what gives the
rap its shape.
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The second most important feature of
rapping is performance. A rap isn’t written
to be read silently to yourself. A rap
has to be performed out loud and with
confidence. To successfully deliver a rap,
a rapper has to have vocal presence,
clear enunciation and excellent breath
control. The ability to rap quickly and
without breaking up the flow of the rap
requires great skill. The record for the
fastest rapper in the world is held by
Spanish rapper Chojin, who rapped 921
syllables in one minute to get in the record
books. The subject matter for a rap can be
anything you want
it to be. What’s
stopping you? Let’s
get rapping!
3
U
nit
1
Answer the following questions using information from the lyrics and magazine column. Write
your answers in the spaces provided. For multiple-choice questions, choose the best answer and
blacken the circle.
Main idea
1. What is verse 1 about?
A. a secret that must never be revealed
B. the writer’s personality
C. a summary of what the writer discusses with his online friends
D. an absolute lie
A
B
C
D
Vocabulary
2. Find a word in verse 1 of the lyrics that means ‘things’.
Specific factual
3. Based on the information in the lyrics, fill in each blank by writing ONE word.
The writer chats with his
friends during
hours.
Specific factual
4. Which of the following is NOT what the writer and his friends talk about?
A. the celebrities they know
B. the best local attractions
C. the latest online games
D. their parents’ properties
Specific factual
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the lyrics?
A
4
B
C
D
A
B
C
D
A
B
C
D
My friends online
Vocabulary
6. Find two verbs in lines 25–32 of the lyrics that have the same meaning.
Implicit information
7. Why does the writer say ‘I am alone’ at the end?
Specific factual
8. Decide whether the following statements about the lyrics are True, False, or the information is
Not Given. Blacken ONE circle only for each statement.
T
F
NG
i) Kenny is a pilot.
ii) Jason helps his dad manage the zoo.
iii) John-Paul and Iron Man are good friends.
iv) The writer’s online friends are always available for a chat.
Vocabulary
9. Look through the lyrics for words which match these definitions. Write ONE word or phrase in
each blank.
i)
(adj) exceptionally talented
ii)
(phr v) to stop yourself from seeing, hearing or thinking about
something
Higher-order thinking
! 10.Do you think the writer’s online friends are really as rich as they claim? Why?
Vocabulary
11.Find a phrase in the magazine column that means ‘be in line’.
5
U
nit
1
Specific factual
12.Decide whether the following statements about rapping are True,
False, or the information is Not Given. Blacken ONE circle only for
each statement.
T
F
NG
i) Rapping evolves from poetry.
ii) The rhythm of a rap can be very weak
sometimes.
iii) There is a rule on the number of words a
rapper needs to deliver in one minute.
iv) The world’s fastest rapper is European.
Implicit information
13.Why do some rappers consider rapping the highest form of poetry?
Specific factual
14.Based on the information in the magazine column, fill in each blank
by writing ONE word.
A good rapper must have a distinctive
on record, be able to
his breath and
not
the flow of the
Tips
Use the correct form
of the words. Make
sure your answer is
grammatically correct.
rap.
Vocabulary
15.Find a word in the magazine column that means ‘clear pronunciation
of words’.
Thematic
! 16.Which of the following is the best alternative subheading for the
magazine column (lines 34–74)?
A. What a rap is
B. Writing a rap is fun
C. Rapping through the ages
D. A rap a day keeps boredom at bay
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A
B
C
D
Tips
The first sentence tells
you the main idea of the
paragraph.
My friends online
A. Match the words on the left with the meanings on the right. Write the letters in the spaces
provided.
1. appreciate (v)
2. chant (v)
3. enunciation (n) 4. fib (v)
5. fit in (phr v) 6. make up (phr v)
A. to lie about something that is not important
B. to have a view of something from above
C. to belong to a group since the person or
thing is similar to other people or things in
the group
D.relating to the use of human voice,
especially in singing
E. looking expensive and of high quality
F. to be able to understand why something is
important or valuable, or to be grateful to
someone
7. overlook (v)
G. to invent a story or excuse, often in order
to deceive someone
8. posh (adj)
H. a piece that is written or spoken language
in its ordinary form, as opposed to poetry
9. prose (n)
I. the clear pronunciation of words so that
they can be understood easily
10.vocal (adj)
J. to sing or shout a word or phrase
repeatedly
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U
nit
1
B. Complete the sentences with the words in Part A. Make sure your answers are grammatically
correct.
1.Protestors
slogans outside the Chief Executive’s office.
2. Walt Whitman is considered one of America’s most important poets. In addition to poems,
he also wrote a lot of
.
3. She likes to
about her clothing purchases.
4. The hotel we are staying in
Sydney Opera House.
5. The students were encouraged to become more
6. I tried to
themselves.
but everyone in the club was much younger than me.
7. The restaurant you’ve chosen looks too
. Can’t we go somewhere that
won’t be so expensive?
8.I
your helpful comments on my article.
9.He
an excuse to avoid punishment.
10.The experienced voice artist has perfect
.
C. Jake is writing about a famous writer. Complete the description with the words in Part A. Make
sure your answers are grammatically correct.
Simon Mitchell is a famous writer and illustrator of storybooks for kids. He
lives in a (1)
house that (2)
the mountains
in Switzerland. One of his popular stories is about a young boy who always
(3)
about his language talents to his online friends. The truth
is that the boy has (4)
problems and it is difficult for others
to follow what he says. Simon is a talented illustrator, but his favourite art form
is photography. Photos don’t (5)
with the type of books he
writes, so he only takes photographs as a hobby. In recent years, Simon started to
write (6)
and songs about his (7)
He hopes that one day he will give a (8)
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of nature.
performance on his songs.
My friends online
Lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song. Some people think that lyrics and poems are similar as they share
similar features like rhymes and rhythm. A rap can be regarded as a poem with a strong beat and rhyme.
The writer uses the following techniques to make his rap lyrics stand out:
1. Rhyming in each pair of lines
◆ My friends online are really cool
We chat for hours when I’m home from school
2. Key words start on a strong beat
◆ Jenny in London’s a friend of the Queen
Who likes wearing hats and anything green
3.Repetition
◆ We chat about movies and games we play
We chat about the music we like and hate
We chat about the bands we think are great
Structure of lyrics
Song lyrics can be written in many ways. Lyrics for a rap usually include the following elements:
1.Title
◆ The title tells readers what the song is about.
2.Verses
◆ The lyrics of a song are divided into groups of lines called verses. The number of lines in each verse
varies.
◆ The last word of each pair of lines usually rhyme.
◆ Each line fits in a particular rhythmic pattern when being read out.
One level up
◆ Use synonyms or words with similar meaning in the lyrics to avoid excessive repetition.
I lie about the stuff I have done today
I fib about the movies and the games I play
Now, you write!
Write a rap about your best friend. In the rap, describe anything that is special about your
best friend, such as his / her appearance, hobbies and talents.
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