We use our phones for everything. But are they really necessary?
Warming Up
You may use English-language Internet sources to help you.
a Check out your screen time in your phone settings.
If you don’t know how to do this, look it up on the Internet.
b Check out which apps you spend most time on.
If you had to delete 3 apps, which ones would that be?
Your Reading Text: Would you ditch your smartphone?
Some people think it’s cool to swap their smartphone for a so-called dumbphone.
Read the text to discover why and how people are doing this.
Words
a Find the words in the text.
b Connect the words and expressions that have the same meaning.
| 1. to ditch | a. actually happening or existing in life |
| 2. real-life | b. agreement to get married |
| 3. upset | c. choosing |
| 4. opting | d. contact; communication |
| 5. dumbphones | e. famous people |
| 6. celebrities | f. to finally do something after thinking about it for a long time |
| 7. to take the plunge | g. to get rid of |
| 8. engagement | h. to laugh at somebody and make jokes about them |
| 9. to tease | i. to like better |
| 10. interaction | j. not polite |
| 11. rude | k. simple mobile phones that cannot connect to the internet |
| 12. to crave | l. unhappy or angry |
| 13. to prefer | m. to want very much |
Questions About the Text
a How did Ed Sheeran find out about Taylor Swift’s engagement?
1 Ed heard it on The Tonight Show.
2 Ed read about it in People magazine.
3 Taylor emailed Ed.
4 Taylor WhatsApped Ed.
b Choose all reasons to ditch your smartphone mentioned in the text.
1 All the negative stuff spread via social media.
2 Always mindlessly scrolling forever and forever.
3 Fear of missing out without internet access.
4 Feeling that you must always text back right away.
5 Losing friends because they are constantly online.
c What does Ed mean when he says that he’s not always “in the headspace” to answer texts?
1 He can’t always find the right words to answer.
2 He doesn’t always have room to reply.
3 He sometimes gets too many rude texts.
4 He isn’t always in the mood to respond.
Follow-up Task
A writing or speaking assignment
a Would you rather live without smartphones? Explain your answer.
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