EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• encyclopedia: a book that contains information about many different subjects
• entrepreneur: someone who starts a company
• expert: someone with a lot of knowledge about a specific subject
• volunteer: someone who chooses to do work for free
• wiki: a website that any user can edit
• document: to keep a record of something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:04 — 2.9MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites on the . It is available in over 300 , and its English site contains nearly 7 million articles. The idea for a free online encyclopedia began in the 1990s, when the internet’s user base was still growing. In 2000, an entrepreneur named Jimmy Wales created a site called Nupedia. The original goal of Nupedia was to publish free articles by expert volunteers. However, Nupedia’s volunteers wrote new articles very slowly, and the site did not gain many users. The site’s editor, Larry Sanger, suggested adding a wiki page to encourage participation. As Wikipedia’s popularity grew, people became concerned about the concept of an information source that anyone could . However, some researchers have found that Wikipedia contains about the same amount of as other online sources. Wikipedia’s community also documents misinformation on the site. People now use Wikipedia to learn new things every day.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Wikipedia contains about 7 million articles
   a. on its English site
   b. that are available to the public
   c. in total
   
2. Nupedia’s volunteers were supposed to be
   a. well-paid
   b. experts
   c. students
   
3. Wikipedia’s community tries to
   a. ignore misinformation
   b. spread misinformation
   c. document misinformation

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you use Wikipedia regularly? When would you not use it? Do you think it should become a more accepted source? Why or why not?

Transcript

Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites on the internet. It is available in over 300 languages, and its English site contains nearly 7 million articles. The idea for a free online encyclopedia began in the 1990s, when the internet’s user base was still growing. In 2000, an entrepreneur named Jimmy Wales created a site called Nupedia. The original goal of Nupedia was to publish free articles by expert volunteers. However, Nupedia’s volunteers wrote new articles very slowly, and the site did not gain many users. The site’s editor, Larry Sanger, suggested adding a wiki page to encourage community participation. As Wikipedia’s popularity grew, people became concerned about the concept of an information source that anyone could edit. However, some researchers have found that Wikipedia contains about the same amount of mistakes as other online sources. Wikipedia’s community also documents misinformation on the site. People now use Wikipedia to learn new things every day.

Answers to comprehension questions

1a 2b 3c

Pre-listening vocabulary

• intentionally: on purpose
• encyclopedia: a book that contains information about many topics
• plagiarism: the act of copying someone else’s work
• source: a text that is used to find information
• define: to explain the meaning of a word

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14 — 1.1MB)

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Gapfill exercise

A mountweazel is a piece of false that a publication includes intentionally. The word “mountweazel” comes from Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a woman who appeared in an in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. The article about Mountweazel claimed that she was a photographer who died in an explosion. In reality, Mountweazel never existed at all. The purpose of the fake article was to the encyclopedia from plagiarism. If someone else wrote about Mountweazel, the encyclopedia’s publishers would know that their was the source. Other types of publications also use mountweazels to catch plagiarism. sometimes define fake words, and maps sometimes include fake towns.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. A mountweazel is
   a. a type of encyclopedia
   b. a piece of false information
   c. a dishonest publisher
   
2. The article about Lillian Virginia Mountweazel claimed she was
   a. a photographer
   b. a soldier
   c. a mapmaker
   
3. The purpose of a mountweazel is
   a. to sell more encyclopedias
   b. to entertain the reader
   c. to catch plagiarism

Discussion/essay questions

1. With modern technology, false information spreads very quickly. Have you ever believed something and then learned it was false? What can people do to make sure they have the truth?

Transcript

A mountweazel is a piece of false information that a publication includes intentionally. The word “mountweazel” comes from Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a woman who appeared in an article in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. The article about Mountweazel claimed that she was a photographer who died in an explosion. In reality, Mountweazel never existed at all. The purpose of the fake article was to protect the encyclopedia from plagiarism. If someone else wrote about Mountweazel, the encyclopedia’s publishers would know that their text was the source. Other types of publications also use mountweazels to catch plagiarism. Dictionaries sometimes define fake words, and maps sometimes include fake towns.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3c