Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. solicit (v.) [suh-lis-it] – to attempt to persuade a person to purchase
or buy something
Example: Social networks are used by many businesses to
solicit.
2. telemarketer (n.) [tel-uh-mahr-ki-ter] – people who sell or advertise products
and services by telephone
Example: The telemarketer persuaded her to buy the new product.
3. irate (adj.) [ahy-reyt] – angry or furious
Example: Good service
prevents irate customers.
4. unscrupulous (adj.) [uhn-skroo-pyuh-luhs] – doing things that are wrong,
dishonest, or illegal
Example: Most unscrupulous activities are punishable by law.
5. bulk (n.) [buhlk] – the property of having large quantities
Example: Those who buy the products in bulk will get a
discount.
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
The
Indian government enacts a new policy that stops unwanted text messages
from telemarketers who mass send them to mobile phone
subscribers.
Sending
bulk messages offers great possibilities for telemarketers in India. With an
estimated 850 million mobile phone subscribers, India’s telemarketers indeed have
a lot of customers to solicit.
CNN
Correspondent Sara Sidner explains how annoying these solicitation messages can
be. Sidner used to receive an average of 12 SMS (short message service)
solicitations per day and several calls. The continuous beeping made her irate, but
she opted not to put her phone in silent because she could not risk missing any
important messages from work. Instead of reading important messages from the
office, family, or friends, she instead spent more time deleting useless
advertisements sent to her.
It is no
surprise then that more than 130 million people in India signed up for the
government's "National Do Not Call" registry. Upon registering one's
phone number, the telemarketers can no longer send promotional text messages
nor call that number to promote their products or services. Companies that
violate the rules will be fined $5000 or face a possible shut down.
However,
the new government policy limits the number of text messages from a single SIM
card to 100 per day. This keeps unscrupulous companies from
using unregistered phones to send bulk messages. To get a little
peace and quiet, at least from her mobile phone, Sidner says this is a price
worth paying.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you think people are likely to
pay for products or services promoted through telemarketing?
·
How do you feel when you receive
advertisements via text message?
Discussion B
·
How many times do you send text
messages in a day? How about calls? For what purposes do you send text messages
or make calls?
·
What do you think life would be like
without phones?
