Life through a lens
Level 1 Elementary
1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.
percentage research sedentary survey multitask
soap average childhood decrease own
1. A ____________ is a set of questions that you ask a large number of people.
2. ____________ is the time of a person s life when they are a child.
3. ____________ is when you study something in detail to discover new facts.
4. If you ____________, you do more than one thing at the same time.
5. ____________ is the opposite of increase.
6. If you do a ____________ activity, you sit down a lot and don t do much exercise.
7. If you ____________ something, it is yours, usually because you have bought it.
8. A ____________is a television series about the lives of a group of people.
9. A ____________ is an amount that is equal to part of a total you have divided by 100.
10. An ____________ is a usual level or standard.
2 Find the information
Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible.
1. How many children have a TV set in their bedroom?
2. What percentage of British children watch TV in bed at night?
3. How many children read books in their own time each day?
4. How many children did the survey interview?
5. What percentage of children watch TV during their evening meal?
6. What percentage of children use the Internet?
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Life through a lens
Level 1 Elementary
found that children aged 5 to 16 watch television
Life through a lens: How Britain s
for an average 2.6 hours a day, and one in 10
children eat, sleep and breathe TV
say they watch more than four hours a day. The
Lucy Ward, social affairs correspondent
survey also asked if children watched television
January 16, 2008
while eating dinner or in bed before going to
sleep. It found that 58% watch during their
1 A survey has shown that in modern-day Britain evening meal, while 63% lie in bed watching
many children spend a lot of their daily lives TV (rising to almost 75% of 13 to 16-year-olds).
watching television. They watch TV before they 66%  particularly the youngest children  watch
go to school, when they return home, as they before school, and 83% turn on the television
eat their evening meal and then (63% of them after returning home.
 a much higher percentage than read a book
6 Rosemary Duff, the research director of
each day) in bed at night. The survey of five to
Childwise, said television was now  a part of
16-year-olds shows that four out of every five
children s lives . She said that children watch
children now have a TV set in their bedroom.
it in a different way now.  In the past they paid
2 Many children now do other things while they a lot of attention when they watched television
watch television, including social networking but now it is everywhere, at home and
on the Internet, looking from their laptop to the everywhere you go.
TV screen and back again. Even if they are
7  Children now multitask. They have one eye
concentrating on the television, young people
on the television while they read magazines or
often do not watch just one programme. Boys
use the computer, Duff said. When Childwise
in particular often switch from one channel
asked boys to choose between programmes
to another and back again to watch two
on different channels they often didn t want to
programmes at the same time. The survey, from
choose and said they wanted to  watch both .
the market research agency Childwise, will make
 They switch from one programme to another
many people worried that childhood is now more
and cannot imagine that they need to make a
about private space and sedentary activities than
decision. They are surprised when you ask them
about play, social interaction or the child s
to make a choice.
own imagination.
8 Computers are also now a key part of children s
3 The survey also shows that children are watching
private worlds.  The Internet is now an important
more television than before. The amount of
part of most young people s lives, says the
television-watching decreased over the last three
study. 85% of five to 16-year-olds use the
years but is now increasing again. This is mainly
Internet, and over a third (including a quarter of
the result of more girls watching soaps.
five to six-year-olds) own a computer or laptop.
4 Children s use of the Internet is also increasing On average, they go online just over four times a
rapidly. This means British children spend an week and spend two hours online each time.
average of five hours and 20 minutes in front of a
9 The survey shows that children are using the
screen every day, compared with four hours and
Internet more and more, especially younger
40 minutes five years ago. But children do not
children. This is mainly because of social
read for pleasure as much as they did in the past.
networking sites like Bebo. The main reason
Four out of five children read books in their own
children use the Internet is communication
time but only one out of four read books every
(social networking), then fun (online games) and
day and only 53% at least once a week.
finally studying. Almost three quarters (72%) of
5 The survey interviewed 1,147 children in 60 children have visited a social networking site,
schools around England, Scotland and Wales. It and over half have their own profile. Sometimes
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Life through a lens
Level 1 Elementary
they lie about their age if there are minimum age habits. The Children s Society will publish a
requirements to join a social networking site. report next month on children and technology.
Children as young as eight are now joining sites
like these.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
First published in The Guardian, 16/01/08
10 Kathy Evans, policy director of the Children s
Society, which is studying modern childhood,
said that people are worried about the possible
results of children s TV and Internet viewing
3 Comprehension Check
Match the beginnings and the endings to make sentences about the text.
1. The survey shows that&
2. The amount of television watching is increasing again&
3. The main reason children use the Internet...
4. Two thirds of children&
5. Over a third of children&
6. 83% of children&
a. & because more girls are watching soaps.
b. & turn on the television when they get home from school.
c. & own a laptop.
d. & children are spending more and more time watching TV and using the Internet.
e. & watch TV before they go to school.
f. & is social networking.
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Life through a lens
Level 1 Elementary
4 Percentages
Match the phrases from the text with the percentages.
1. Four out of five children a. 25%
2. One out of four children b. 63%
3. One in ten children c. 25%
4. Three quarters of children d. 10%
5. A quarter of five to six-year olds e. 75%
6. Nearly two thirds of children f. 80%
5 Chunks
Rearrange the words to make phrases from the text.
1. school they before to go
2. least week at once a
3. going sleep to before
4. hours more a than day four
5. returning after home
6. channel switch to one from another
6 Word stress
Put these words from the text into group A or group B according to their stress.
average amount private children return result
survey (n) between programme childhood because report
A 0 o B o 0
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Life through a lens
Level 1 Elementary
KEY
1 Key words 4 Percentages
1. survey 1. f
2. childhood 2. a/c
3. research 3. d
4. multitask 4. e
5. decrease 5. a/c
6. sedentary 6. b
7. own
8. soap
9. percentage
5 Chunks
10. average
1. before they go to school
2. at least once a week
2 Find the information
3. before going to sleep
4. more than four hours a day
1. Four out of every five (80%) 5. after returning home
2. 63% 6. switch from one channel to another
3. One out of four (25%)
4. 1,147
5. 58%
4 Word stress
6. 85%
A 0 o B o 0
average amount
3 Comprehension check
private return
children result
1. d
survey between
2. a
programme because
3. f
childhood report
4. e
5. c
6. b
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2008
NEWS LESSONS / Life through a lens / Elementary
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