среда, 4 сентября 2013 г.

Are you for or against electronic books?

Are you for or against? 

Electronic books or paper books?*
Are electronic books better than traditional paper books? Ebooks are very popular
these days but many readers prefer paper books.
Some people think that electronic books are great. You can store thousands of
books on an ebook, whereas paper books take up lots of space at home. You don’t
need to go to a bookshop because you can buy and receive books online instantly.
On the other hand, printed books are still very popular. Some people prefer to hold a
‘real’ book and like to touch paper pages. You can lend a favourite book to a friend
but you can’t borrow your friend’s ereader for a couple of weeks. Also, electronic
books are very expensive.
To sum up, I think that electronic books are a really useful invention. Many people

use them but they won’t replace paper books in the future. What do you think?

  • Write a ‘for or against’ blog entry. 
  • You should use the blog entry in Task 1 as a model for your writing and write 4 paragraphs, an introduction, a paragraph with reasons ‘for’, a paragraph with reasons ‘against’ and a conclusion. Use the words and expressions from Task 1B.
  • Blog your essay in comments to this message.
*Lesson Plans by Teaching English British Council 

11 комментариев:

  1. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Safonova Julia FL11

    New technologies deeply got into our everyday life. Statistically every fifth inhabitant of our planet has the portable computer or a modern gadget, which is full of the most modernized functions and attachments for all cases of life. But sometimes everything becomes outdated and even books became not so much popular today. The electronic book or E-book came to change to the numbered pages and a bright beautiful cover.
    The electronic book is worth reflecting that more than ten years ago, this word would be a certain foreigner. Each of us now is able to get such invention of great minds of Japan and United States. With the advent of the electronic book earth turned upside down. Grandfathers and grandmothers read the newspaper TIMES on the electronic books now. School and university students can download all necessary textbooks for their education and not spend money for so expensive books in stores. Besides you can take the e-book with you, wherever you are going. In each subway car it is possible to meet a man now, whose eyes rapidly look in e-book.
    But there are a lot of haters of such so popular invention. Fans of printing editions began to protest against such innovation. And they explained it that it is impossible to touch the pages of the e-book, it is impossible to feel a smell of new paper. Process of browsing the pages causes delight in book-amateur. They love to make dog-ears on book’s pages. They claim that e-book will never replace the printing book.
    As for me, I can say that I just prefer to use e-book, because it is more comfortable and I can make notes and bookmarks on the pages of my e-book. My book is always with me, because I am fond of reading. It seems to me that the electronic book is not going to replace the printed book; they will keep up to date.

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  2. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Alina Veselkova, FL-11.

    We live in a world of new technologies and it is too important to march in step with modern electronic inventions. E-book is a great device for book lovers. For ages people used bulky books and couldn't even imagine that someday there will be a perfect way of comfortable reading.
    Although paper book is classic, it is still fashionable and respectable. But nevertheless it has many disadvantages which e-book compensates. First of all it is of course compactness and mobility: if earlier vast bookcases occupied a one third of the room today a thousands of books may be kept in a small gadget. It may go in a handbag and you shouldn't worry that pages may become rumpled there. The second advantage is saving of money. Books nowadays are expensive enough, especially for persons who read 5-10 books in month and need spend about 2000 rubles. At the same time e-book costs within 2000-6000 rubles considering that it works for ages and thousands of books may be downloaded there free from internet.
    But still there are a lot of people in the world who don't like the idea of e-books. It isn't difficult to understand them - every of us was grown up in love to paper books. Maybe not everyone will understand but there is some unaccountable pleasant feeling when you turn over the pages and hear their rustle. Some people get aesthetic pleasure when collect different books for their own home library. From this point of view paper books are needful too. But to my disappointment there are some conservative persons who think about e-books with strange hostility. As a rule such persons just afraid that someday e-books will replace paper books and then they'll disappear at all. More and more I meet people who say "You shouldn't become addicted from new technologies. Paper books are traditional and reading with e-book is a perversion!" In such cases I always remember Victor Hugo and his chapter "This will kill that" from "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame": when the first book appear many people was afraid because it replaced the architecture which was the only way of expression of one's thoughts. But anyway it is still more comfortable to write or read a paper book than to build or go abroad for seeing a "stone" book. There are always will be changes in the world and we shouldn't treat them as an enemy.
    In conclusion I would like to say that I like e-books. They are very comfortable and modern. But it doesn't mean that I will ever refuse paper books because sometimes it is so pleasant to read them too. And anyway - if I read a good novel in e-book and I like it I will certainly buy its paper version. And if I read a bad novel I'll be glad that I haven't spend money for it.

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  3. A few years ago people started using a new gadget – e-book. It is a mobile device which is created with the object of reading texts in all electronic formats. At first I thought it was a very useless and unnatural thing. But about two months ago I purchased this device, and now I'm very satisfied with this gadget and can't imagine my life without it: it is full of advantages.
    First, the e-book is portable and very compact. You can download thousands of digital books and it will weigh less than any usual book. For example, my e-book weighs 100 gr. I don't even feel it's weight in my bag. Secondly, you cut down the expenses. Nowadays books are very expensive – 300-500 rubles in average, but digital books are usually free and available on the Internet. For instance, now I buy paper books only if the are designed and printed really perfectly. Thirdly, e-books have some options: you can change a type and a format. Is gives a chance to read for people who have a weak eyesight. And the fourth reason is the most important one, to my mind. This reason is the ecological compatibility. You know that for production of books forests are being felled. And forests are 'the lungs of the Earth'! For example, 28% of all wood cut in USA is used for paper-making. I think we should think about the future of our planet and save natural resources.
    But be that as it may, printed books sometimes can be better, because e-books have some disadvantages. First, e-books with TFT-screens can harm your eyes. Only e-readers with e-ink are safe, but they are expensive. The initial high price is the second disadvantage. The third minus is the fragility. I mean not only physical frailness but the short duration of the battery charging. One day I found myself in the traffic jam and realized that I hadn't recharged the battery of my e-book. It was awful because I had nothing to do for 1 hour.
    In general, it is difficult to compare these things – the paper book and the e-reader. They are too different. But they both help us to learn something new from reading and to mentally develop. For an avid book-readers I would recommend to buy an e-book. Not only it will give them an opportunity to enjoy their favourite books wherever they go, but it will also help them in their studies.

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  4. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Altyntseva Anastasia,FL-11

    In the present time e-books became very popular. They insensibly come to our life and practically every reading person have such dеvice. E-books constantly develop and acquire more useful functions. Now this books compete with paper books and a big number of people chooses the first. But is it true that e-books better and more beneficial than ordinary books?
    On the one hand, e-books have a lot of advantages: frequently it's lighter, it has a size as you want and it's simply handy. You can read it anywhere and it contains a big, and what is most important-free, library of your favorite books. Also, you don't need to go to the shop and spend your own time, you can get any book from your personal computer. Moreover, some e-books have additional functions such as the playback of video, pictures and music and even the access to the Internet. In general it's not surprisingly that people prefer it.
    On the other hand, e-books are not so cheap as paper books. Sometimes the price of this appliance are quite high. Besides, some people prefer to feel "a real book", to touch papers and feel the smell of printed book. Nonetheless, electronic books are technical device which can ray a man as a computer monitor and inflict harm to reader's eyes.
    As for me, I use only paper books and haven't e-book, despite I read a lot. People often say that it's expensive but it's not the case. Today there are plenty of sites which sell cheap books with the home delivery. Furthermore, people forget about librories which can provide you with any book and it will be free. Everybody can have e-book but it doesn't mean that we should throw its printed colleague.

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  5. Ebooks or paper books?It is the choise for everyone.People can choose what is more convenient for them.
    Some people think that ebooks are better than paper books.They say that it is convenient to have a lot of books in one gadget.But some people prefer touching pages,which were touched by a lot of hands after many years.Also such people like the process.They like turning pages and also touch them.Some people don't want to go to the bookstore and buy a book.But there are some people who like to go to store and just walk.Also some people think that the electronic gadget is the step in the development of the world.And it is great that we don't stay in one position,we have a progress.
    As for me, I think that the choise between ebooks and paper books is like the stick with two ends.I like touching pages but also it is convenient for me to carry my electronic gadget with me.So we can choose what we want.And it is perfect to have a choise.

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  6. Are you for or against e-books!
    Alyona Telyatnikova, FL-11

    There is no doubt that we live in a world of constantly development of information technologies. That's why it's important to keep up to date. How it's said "who owns the information that owns the world". To be successful and modern people use different electronic devices. As a result some things are changing. As in a case with books. Now e-books are replacing printed books.
    On the one hand there are a number of advantages of using e-books. Firstly
    They are mobile and compact. You can take it everywhere. Besides you can save many books in your tablet or computer. Secondly it's a price. In Russia you can download them for free, while printed books are expensive enough. Thirdly it's one of decision of ecological problem. Everybody knows that thousands trees are lumbered for printed books every year.
    But on the other hand there are some disadvantages. First of all such devices affects health, especially our eyes. Besides tablet's or computer's battery suffices only for several time. While you can read printed books any time you want. Moreover many people can't understand and remember information with the use of e-books. They need hold a book in their hands and touch the paper. Furthermore, one should not forget that printed books have amazing pictures and photos. How pleasant to hold it in your arms and imagine books' stories.
    All in all it's a choice of everybody which books to read. As for me i prefer printed books, but i haven't the opportunity to buy them often. To sum up it's more convenient to use e-books when I'm somewhere, for example at the university or in the road. But at home I have a big library and prefer to read printed ones.

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  7. Dolgov Anton
    Are you For or Against e-books?
    “Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don't abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book." Patti Smith
    And the day when a device becomes a book has come. It’s no rarity to see a guy, using an e-book. More often the guy turns out to be a friend of yours. Maybe right now you are holding an e-book in hand and thinking about the reason, why you have changed paper antiques .
    You find a lot of positive sides of using e-book. Its small size is only beginning. It gives you opportunities to watch photos, listen to music and many other functions of a device. If your friend ask for share a book, you can send him a file. You can read without any lighting a candle.
    If we talk about costs, I think it’s approximately equal. Costs of an e-book is about a half of printed one (If you use licensed stuff, I hope you do). I doubt whether you can get feelings that your friend, ancestor or somebody else has read exactly this copy with some remarks or marks before.
    In the past people used bags of books for self-defense and saved their lives.
    When you are crossing the street you see some printed books rest on a rubbish heap and understand that’s Brave New World…
    It doesn’t matter whether printed or e-book you have. Magnificent delight of reading of Words you’ll get!
    “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” Aldous Huxley

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  8. Этот комментарий был удален автором.

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  9. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Shmidt Valeriya FL-01

    Today is 21st century and we have many new technologies as PC, the Internet and etc. More people prefer to use electronic books more than printed books because it is handier. We can have it everywhere because of its size and it is easy to take rather real book which take more space. Everything is in one thing which is mobile and easy to take with you. The main advantage of e-books is that it is mobile. E-books have virtual library capability, cheaper and space saving.
    But there are else some advantages of e-books: Human Saving, this means that essentially we are saving on time and access meaning that individuals do not have to wait two weeks in order to have access to a book. Computer Viruses cannot be transferred via e-book formats. But most handheld reading devices still cost too much. But it is ok, most people who need e-books, have opportunity to have it.
    It is like new fashion line. But there is amount of people whom we can call old-fashioned. They like to hold books, to feel the paper and even smell it.
    As for me, I prefer both formats, one day I need to find the book fast and do some work and that’s way I use e-book formats. Or other day when I would like to read some interesting story, especially at home, I just can take the book in the library or buy in the shop. Honestly I am fond of bookshops.

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  10. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Mamedova Yana, FL-11

    We live in a century of high-technologies. Nowadays there is a great amount of different gadgets without which we can`t imagine our live. E-book is among them. But is it good or not?

    On the one hand, e-books are very comfortable for use. You can take it with you and read wherever you like, because it is smaller and lighter in weight than most paper books - you won’t notice it in your bag. Also it has a big memory, so you can download thousands of books into one gadget. And you won’t have to spend a lot of money on them: most of the books your can download for free, while printed books are quite expensive.

    On the other hand, there are some disadvantages. First of all is bad effect on the eyes. Then, e-book needs to be regularly recharged – it`s not always possible. Finally, it`s much more pleasant to hold in your arms printed book, touch paper pages and scent a wonderful smell of new paper.

    As for me, I prefer reading paper books. For me it`s much more comfortable and pleasant. And, despite the fact, that e-books become more and more popular, I believe, they will never replace traditional paper books.

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  11. Are you for or against electronic books?
    Stakhorskaya Ekaterina FL-11

    Some years ago eBooks started to be popular and nowadays we face the question: should we buy and use this device or not? There are many points of view on this matter but each of us has already made a choice even he isn’t aware of it.
    I’ll start with pluses. First of all, electronic book takes minimal space in the house that plays quite a significant role. Secondly, you can buy a book on the Internet without leaving home. Thirdly, you can do markers, notes, change image settings: a font, an output format, you can voice when you’re reading, The pictures can be displayed on the screen as well as video and audio files. You can find definitions of unfamiliar words on the Internet as quick as thought, using the eBook, it’s very useful. Many of books are free or cheaper than in the paper version. It’s easier and cheaper to publish an eBook. Besides, eBooks are environmentally friendly in a way. You don’t’ need light to read this version of book. And if you loss it you can restore the content of it without fail.
    But real books can’t break down in the fullness of time or because of a spilled cup of tea on the screen. You can dry paper pages and use the book again whereas electronic reader will be destroyed entirely. Moreover, I know many people who don’t perceive the information from electronic screen, that’s why I think that ebooks won’t replace paper books completely . Electronic readers are very expensive ( 9000-12000 rubles per one thing). That is important, an eBook depends on the battery charge. When you read eBooks, sensations are unnatural: you can’t touch the pages, hear their rustling and feel the fragrance. You shouldn’t think about the compatibility of the programs, buy a memory card, get used to the convenience or inconvenience of the buttons. Not all books can be bought in electronic form. And of course, you can share a book with your friend! That’s great because this is another reason to meet! And a final argument for the paper book is using of eBooks is harmful for eyes. Eyesight is getting spoiled faster when you read an eBook than paper one.
    As for me I prefer paper books because they are more convenient. I have already said about all pluses and minuses that I know. And my opinion ultimately stops on the paper books.

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