Написание электронных сообщений.

Упражнение. Read the text and put 10 questions to the content.

The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (www) is a rapidly growing phenomenon which brings together many of the other electronic means of communication into a set of “Home pages” which are like a cross between a catalogue and a cd-rom. As well as text, it can include pictures (still and moving) and sound, and can have any kind of format. Much of the information is commercial, some is for entertainment, and some is educational. It is not necessarily accurate - there are no checks, and no-one is in charge of the Internet.

Many students find email a more motivating way of communicating with people around the world than putting pen to paper, and there are already many schools and colleges where students have electronic pen friends. Traditional letter-writing may have declined, but people are increasingly sending messages to one another in various electronic forms: electronic mail (email), computer conferencing, bulletin boards, and the World Wide Web. These are often used by people who would not have written a traditional letter, and in business and academic circles they are replacing faxes, memos, and even phone calls.

Electronic forms of communication have numerous advantages. First, electronic text can be changed and improved at the click of a button rather than going through several messy drafts on paper (this is also true of writing on a word-processor, of course). Second, it is possible to send letters to a large number of people very rapidly. If the recipient is at their computer, a reply can come within a matter of minutes. Even if they are not, the reply-time for an email message is usually much shorter than for a traditional letter.

Упражнение. Read and translate the text, make notes on the structure of the e-mail. Email is the most popular form of electronic message exchange, and also the easiest to use. A typical message might look like this:

Date: Thu, 09 Nov 1995 10:29:12 +0000

From: Gary Motteram <[e-mail]>

To: [e-mail]

Subject: English lessons - reply

Dear Carole,

Thanks for your message.

We would certainly be willing to set up an email link with your students so that they can practise sending messages in English. I think our students would benefit greatly too.

Yours,

Gary

********************************

Gary Motteram

Centre for English Language Studies in Education

School of Education

The University of Manchester

Manchester

M13 9PL

+++

Tel:[phone]

Fax:[phone]

Email: [e-mail]

*****************************

Email messages have an address such as <[e-mail]>, a subject: in this case, 'English lessons', and a message: 'Dear Carole ...'. The address consists of two main parts: the name comes first, and is often the actual name of the person, or some combination of their name and/or initials. The second part of the address, following the @ ('at') symbol, tells you what kind of organization the recipient is in and where it is: in this example 'man' = Manchester; 'ac' = academic, 'uk' = United Kingdom. In case the receiving computer is used by several people, it is best to start with the name of the person you are writing to. Often the message finishes with a signature which gives the postal address and telephone and fax numbers. The computer adds this automatically. Many email messages are very short and informal -more like notes than letters. However, they can be much longer, and as informal or formal as the writer feels is appropriate.

Упражнение. Complete this text using the following words to make appropriate compound nouns.

numbers paper personal office post electronic address pen race cards

Dear Sylvia,

Did you remember to send those post (1) _____ for me? I haven't been to the post (2) _____ yet. Has the (3)____ man come yet? We've run out of writing (4) ______, etc. I wonder how much longer such conversations will be heard in homes around the world? The human (5) _____ has been writing letters for centuries. Young people write to (6) _____ -friends in other countries — but nowadays many of them have their own (7) ______ computer. E-mail or (8) ____ mail is a system which allows people to send each other messages by computer. Today, it is more common to ask for someone's e-mail (9) _____ than for their postal address. Perhaps telephone (10) ____, like “postmen” are also threatened with extinction.

Much love,

Wendy ×♥×××♥×

Упражнение. (A)You have just got back home after staying with a pen-friend in Britain. When you get back home you find this e-mail message waiting for you. Write a letter to say thank you to your friend. Describe what you liked about your visit, the journey back home and what you're doing at the moment. Invite your friend to visit your country in the future.

Dear Sylvia,

Hi. I just thought I'd send you this message to say hello. Did you get back all right? Was the flight smooth? I hope there weren't too many delays.

It was great having you here. I hope you had a good time too and that it wasn't too cold for you, after the hot weather in your country.

Anyway, you're always welcome to come back any time.

Write soon. Best wishes,

Bob

(B) Read the letter again and find examples of the following: use of the definite article, short adjective, contraction, phrasal verb, short everyday connector, repetition of words, chatty style.

Упражнение. (A) Read the email and match the parts (1 - 5) with the following: * final question, *more questions, *ending, *reasons for writing, *initial question.

From: Nicholas Thomas [[e-mail]]

To: Activa Customer service

Subject: product enquiry

(1) I am writing to ask some questions about the “ACTIVA Pentium 5 laptop” advertised on your website.

(2) First, it says that ACTIVA is very powerful. Is it powerful enough to play all computer games? The advert also mentions an “extra fast Internet connection”. What exactly does that mean? Is it fast enough to download programmes easily?

(3) Another question is about size. I need a computer that is not too big to put in my school bag and not too heavy to carry. However, I do not want a keyboard that is so small that I can’t use it.

(4) Finally, exactly what do you mean by “fully guaranteed”? Could you tell me how long it is guaranteed for? Does the guarantee cover accidents or just technical problems?

(5) I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

Nicholas Thomas

(B) Write the similar email product enquiry about a radio: *batteries (how long last), *stations, *size, *weight, *headphones.